papajoe222

You could probably cast it, but between the difficulty of doing so and the higher possibility of missing/loosing fish, I wouldn't recommend it. A big part of the equation when fishing cranks is casting distance and with that rod/lure combination, you'll be limiting that major element.

Guilty, especially early in the season (right after ice out) for my first few outings. All winter I'll be reading articles and watching videos or programs and it takes some time to unclutter. It's even worse if I hit the nail on the head my first trip out. Takes a while for my hat to fit again.

Maybe next time we get together, appreciate the thought. Maybe my local WM will bring 'em back when the season kicks in.

Mine was a 23in. LM on a 5in. Havoc Grass Pig rigged on a Siebert jig head. I went through about fifteen packs of those baits last season. Just my luck, they're getting difficult to locate around here now.

My last bass of the year was actually caught on Oct.30. The local lakes close on Oct.31. Nothing special about it other than it was the only fish I caught that day.

I tend not to give recommendations of specific baits, so bare with me. Use visibility to determine what type of soft plastic worm to use. An action tail for that one foot visibility you mentioned and a straight worm, or fry for clearer water. Choose either worm with one thing in mind; you want the bait to rise, or stay off the bottom, so it should either float, or at the least have only a little salt. Use the bottom cover to give you an idea of how far back the hook should be placed. For rocks, you can normally go with a short length, for grass, longer will keep it above the cover. Anything over a foot and a half tall, I'd recommend switching to a drop shot.

The only time I use a snell knot is on my punch rigs. I still struggle tying it, but I've been trying a couple different ones this off season.

First, let me address the poor hook penetration using 15lb. mono. A light wire hook will improve hook penetration as will passing the hook point through the worm and then backing off to texpose it. As for bent hooks using 30lb braid; a bad batch of hooks is more than likely the reason. There should be no issue with the Mustads. I use them with 30lb and 40lb braid on my MH combos and have yet to bend a hook on the set and I keep my drag set tighter than most guys. Come to think of it, Mike uses Mustads on many of his jigs and again, I've never bent one, even setting the hook into a stump.

Although I absolutely love throwing my spooks, without a doubt a jig/trailer is my favorite. That combo accounts for a minimum of 50% of the bass I catch throughout the season. Jigs, however, only account for a very small portion of the lures in my possession. Based solely on numbers, cranks top that list.

Luckily, for me, the power plant lakes here open the first full week of March. That doesn't mean that I'll be on the water that week, but I will be before April 1st. My home lake has some open water that's accessible from shore by mid-April, so I'm going to shoot for the 12th.

I use soft plastic swim baits rigged on a Siebert jig head the majority of the time. Havoc GrassPig, BPS SpeedShad and Basstrix hollow bodies for over 6in. although I have tried some solid body hand pours, but mainly those three. On occasion I have used a belly weighted hook for a weedless presentation, but I prefer a big, thick worm in that situation.

There are very few lakes in the Chicago area that hold 9# bass. The ones that do are the power plant lakes that have warm water year round. The downside is those lakes also get above 80 degrees by mid May and bass, in general, are difficult to catch. The same baits you use in the ponds you fish have just as good a chance of catching one of those brutes as any other, but 6in. swimbaits and jigs with big trailers catch the majority of fish over 4# Painfully slow presentations produce the occasional bragger, so, big or small that fact alone should swing things in your favor. I would imagine if you hit those lakes hard for three or four years, you'd have a chance at one.

Bill Norman Thin N, for shallow presentations and the Bomber Deep Flat A for deeper. The SK flat 1.5's lip is too wide for the tight wobble I prefer and the Livingston, although I do like them, are just a little pricey for my budget.

I use a slower action rod in cold water as I impart more of a drag than a jerk then. That's also when I employ long pauses. I do agree than when quickly jerking the bait, you want an action that recovers quickly so that you're not fighting it to get the results you want at the other end. Fluorocarbon, as mentioned, is the way to go as most prefer the bait to rest with a nose down attitude and fluoro also reduces the bow in the line that accompanies mono.

First and foremost, Thank You for your service. Second, Let me add that your contribution as well as all vets in whatever capacity they served, is no less deserving of thanks and recognition than any other. Enjoy, I know you will.

I retired at age 59, nine years ago, from a job I'd held with the same company for 33yrs. I loved what I did, but the risk of potential, career ending injury increased as I got older. Like Mike, my grandson was a big reason why I chose early retirement. I still miss the guys I worked with and the driving part of the job and my body misses the daily work out. The only thing I don't miss is working out in the cold. I've done odd jobs since, just to keep busy and drive a party bus a few times a month. Yea, I still dream about the job with regularity, but they're the kind that bring a smile to my face. I was very lucky when I found that job.

Rip-rap can be both cover and structure. It's a change in bottom composition and by definition, that is a form of structure not related to bottom contour. On many natural lakes, those changes in bottom composition are one of the main structural elements. Some chunk rock that makes up the causeways of some lakes up this way are the size of a pick-up and I'd consider them a form of cover also.

Tom mentioned a big factor in determining if there are fish there; Season. From boat, or bank, you need to have a general idea of where they 'should' be. Then, three baits will cover the water column-top, middle, bottom. Start with what your confident using. Your next factor to consider is presentation speed. Do you really want to burn a lipless in 40 degree water? I'm not saying it won't work, it just isn't the first way I'd present one then. Some responses mention a trick worm, but what time of year, what depth and how it's being worked are the answers you need to focus on. They could be hitting that trick worm at any depth for all anyone knows.

How I attack a piece of cover depends a lot on water clarity. If it's clear/calm, I'll stay off a ways. I'll also target the best spot first with something that I can get a soft entry with as fish in that situation will usually be holding tight to the cover and spook easily. With murky water and wind, I can get closer, bulk up my presentation and work my way into the cover as the majority of fish will be hanging on the edges. These are just starting tactics and as I tend to fish deeper that a lot of guys, 'staying off a ways' is relative.

It depends on how buoyant your worm/trailer is. 3/16oz with a 6in floating worm is a good starting point. You’ll know right away if it’s too heavy. If you go lighter you can hop it off the tops similar to freeing a lipless crank, but the one I originally mentioned works the majority of times for me.

If you’re seeing the fish, you don’t need to get into the weeds to catch them. For targeting the tops of hydrilla, a light shakey head and floating worm is the ticket. You don’t want the combination of jig and worm to bury into the vegetation, just sit on top. Gently raising your rod tip and letting it fall with some tension on the line will keep it on top.

When rigging with a straight shank hook, enter the nose of the bait on a 45degree angle. Push through and turn 180. The hook point is now at 45 to the body and that is the angle you want to re-enter on. Don’t concern yourself with the weight not being in-line as, with the snell knot, that is what gives the cam action to the hook set. With worms and other soft plastics that you’re not rigging with a snell knot, cover the hook eye with the bait’s nose and your bullet weight will rest against the nose.

I had never fished this lake, but my favorite muskie lake had been pilfered by the local Indian tribe over the winter and after two days of nary a follow, I pulled up stakes. Not known for numbers, but the occasional trophy, I headed out after lunch. There is a single, public launch on the west end of the lake with parking for maybe six rigs. I launched and beat the water until my shoulder couldn't take it any longer and as the sun was going down I started working my way back to the launch, fishing for the abundant smallmouth. As I neared the launch and the sun set, I could see three rigs waiting their turn to load and decided to fish the saddle between the south shore and a small island. That's where she hit. My poor TDA was screaming for what seemed like minutes, but was likely less than one before I got her turned the first time. The splash sent up when she spotted the boat is burned in my memory. With next to no light, I was able to bring her boat side. I have a 40in. ruler decal along the side of the boat, got her tail positioned at one end and made a mark on the gunnel directly above her nose. It was too dark for a pic as my old phone had no flash and I didn't want to take her out of the water and chance injuring her, so I released her without feeling her weight. With the launch empty, I headed in, heart pounding with nary a sole around to share my excitement with. After trailering the boat, I measured from the mark I'd made back to the end of the tape on the boat. 12in............That added up to 52in.!!! even if I was a little generous with the mark, that was at least a 50in.MUSKIE! I sat in my car shaking for a good five minutes. What haunts me, you ask? The date was Sep.9,2001. I thought nothing could erase the smile from my face after catching her..............I was so wrong.

I have you beat for second place finishes including club AOY. Only one first place finish in 14yrs. I did manage big bass honors with regularity, but even then 2nd place seemed to be reserved for my name. As as for a movie title: The Rodfather sounds appropriate.

If you know the running depths of your crankbaits, pick on that runs at, or just above the level that you're marking fish. Don't think that just because a crank isn't bouncing off cover or the bottom, they won't produce. The most productive retrieve I've found in sub 60 degree water is to crank the bait down to its running depth and then work it with the rod tip in short to long sweeps until you figure out how they want it. BTW, the best baits for this are either suspending or slow rising cranks. This is also a situation where jigging spoons really shine. You can target both the suspended fish and those on the bottom and they really shine in the cooler water situations.