papajoe222

Likely my weirdest was floating ‘inner tube’ style platforms. In practice, the fish were holding to nearby docks, but come the day of the tourney, none. I looked for nearby deeper cover, but what little I found came up empty. For S&Gs, I ran a shallow crank under one of those tube floats and scored. Picked up three before moving to another a few hundred yards down and got two more. By the third one, I was culling. Dangdest thing I ever encountered.

If you're loosing a lot of jig heads, you may want to check out one of the many offerings on that auction site, or consider pouring your own. The initial investment may take a while to make it worth considering, but you can choose the weight, color, weed guard, hook, etc. to fit your needs/wants. For football jigs, I prefer lead over tungsten as it offers a bigger head. That translates to more action as it's dragged along everything but the smoothest bottoms.

Most any topwater will catch fish in clear water UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS. The worst conditions are the same as for most any lure, but calm water and clear skies are a killer for topwater. Have I caught fish on a Spook under those very conditions? Yes, but they were likely of the brain damaged variety which fits right in with the angler throwing said Spook. If you try different styles with different retrieves without any takers, it's time to try something else. Keep a close eye on conditions, because if they change the fish's mood my also change and that topwater you set down earlier may be just what they'll be looking for.,,,,,,,,,,,,or not.

I really don't think there is any factor that determines which one to throw. It's more of a comfort/confidence decision. You'll figure it out for yourself once you gain some experience using both. The first time you reach for one rod and not the other without thinking about it, you'll know you're there.

With top-water baits, I’ve let them sit motionless for a couple of minutes, especially when I ‘know’ a fish is eyeballing it. With soft plastics, about 1/2 a minute is as long as I can hold off without at least rocking or twitching it in place.

I rarely, if ever, see dead sticking mentioned here on the forums. I'm not talking a do nothing presentation like a Ned rig, but actually letting a bait sit motionless for more than a few seconds. I used to do it a lot, especially during the summer month's dog days. Top-water, suspending cranks and especially stand-up jigs like shakey heads. Lately I've all but abandoned it favor of finesse tactics. Just like I've done with some old tried and true lures and presentations, I'll be revisiting this one this season. Let's hear from some of the guys that still do this, seeing as I've let the cat out of the bag.

I fish a T-Rig when I want to cover an area and I'll work it all the way back to the boat. Except for a football jig, I work a jig in a very small area. Letting it fall and sit, or jigging it a couple of times before reeling in and hitting another target.

About the only way I've ever fished crawlers for bass is on a split-shot rig anywhere from 12in.-18in. above the hook. If you're gut hooking fish it's because you're not concentrating. It can happen with nightcrawlers, Senkos, tubes and plastic worms too.

What type of line are you using? I recommend braid for most jig/trailer presentations and sticking with the Med/Hvy rod. It’ll give you the most sensitivity and most positive hook sets. Fluorocarbon would be second on my list, but manageability keeps me from using it.

For me, it depends on whether the bite slowed or stopped, or it was slow to begin with. If the bite was there and slowed, something has changed. I know the fish are in the area and I'll adjust my retrieve speed and depth until I contact them and either continue with that presentation or possibly change to one that better suits it. If the bite is slow, I normally opt for changing location/target depth. I'm not big on changing baits as I'll have something tied on one of the rods on my deck that will cover most depths and presentation speeds (spinnerbait).

Focus and determination paid off for you. Congrats on that first pitchin' bass. Often times it isn't our biggest fish that occupies many of our fondest memories, but one that was extra special in one way or another. One of my fondest memories was of a 14in. bass I caught with the first rod I ever built. Every time I pick up that rod, I remember the rush and the sense of accomplishment I felt from that first catch.

Photos can be deceiving and so can our minds. I've caught 3lb. fish that I thought were closer to 5lb. and a 5lb. beauty that looked like it'd be a stretch to call her 3.5lb. Regardless, you know how big that fish was the photos are for sharing and for sparking your memory. Nice catch.

Obviously you don't live in southeast Wisconsin. I'll ask ten guys at the ramp how they did and they're all talking bluegill and half of 'em are fishing outa bass boats! Sounds like an awesome spot to introduce some kids to fishing. Keep some and fry 'em up for the little guys and you''ll have them hooked on fishing.

April was a bust, zero fish. I finally got into a few on Wed. and got my first 5lb.+ largemouth tonight. I threatened Mother Nature earlier in the week and that worked, so I decided to carry my trusty Glock19 in case that skunk showed its face. Dang, it feels good finally do some catching.

IMO, downsizing the hooks is going to cost you fish. The stock hooks appear to be short shanks, so unless you can find shorter ones, switching them out is moot. As Tom mentioned, you're using a flat sided crank in an area that it isn't designed to be fished. I've used SK's flat sided cranks in wood cover (not brush), but I also carry both an extendable and standard lure retriever. Removing the rear hook can reduce hang-ups, but will likely reduce your catch rate. Where you're fishing it is likely the reason for its success, more so than the tight wiggle. My advice is to stick with a fat body crank for brush and use small split rings and short shank hooks.

I fish mostly natural, northern lakes and I do a few things when targeting a new one. First, I get a topo map and look for points, pockets, changes in bottom composition and areas where contour lines bunch together. Then I check out Google Earth to get an idea of the weeds. I target, in order, points with weeds or changes in bottom composition, weeds and docks with quick access to deep water and flats with an adjoining drop off. On rivers, I look for bends, indications of depth changes and any areas of slack water, current seams, or current eddys.

I don’t even consider a Senko type plastic when pitching. Not to say it wouldn’t work, I just prefer a more compact bait in those situations. I can adjust the fall rate by bait or weight choice and a nose hooked stick worm has little action on the fall.

For the deeper (20ft.) stuff, I'd go with the basic tube and grub jigs. I doubt that I'd even consider throwing a weightless stick worm deeper than 10ft.-12ft. as it'd just take too long to get much deeper. I have, however, used one on a C-Rig worked with a lift/drop retrieve.

I'm going to give a double prop-bait a try. I haven't used on in over a decade. Wounded Zara Spook and Cordell Boy Howdy. I still have an old WoodChopper that I may break out.

Don't know what type of vegetation you are encountering, but if it's breaking the surface you have two options IMO. Stay on top with a frog or weightless worm, or get down to the bottom with a punch rig or something that will get down without being bogged down getting there. Anything in between is just going to frustrate you an likely not reward you with takers.

I just went through a stretch of seven days on the water with nothing to show for it. The fish would move up shallow late in the day and the night would turn cold and they'd be gone. Two days of unseasonably warm weather, and I'm finding them on beds and pairing up scouting for bedding sites. This has to be the WORST April that I've ever experienced. Sweet May finally brought about a change with an overdue day of catching.

I'll stick with my Stanley VibraShaft spinnerbaits, or my last, original Terminator (wish I could find those blades somewhere).

For the level of protection they offer, you can’t beat Wiley X and for clarity, Costa 380 in green/mirror (glass). ive had mine for a number of years and if you spread the cost over the years of service.....

I reserve swim jigs for fishing vegetation. Their weedguard vs. the open hook of a swim bait and the ability to fish it in a similar fashion to a jig/trailer give it the nod in my book. Swim baits, are reserved for fishing over rock, gravel, or structure and off the bottom. I’ll even use one to quickly check out a ‘featureless’ flat when I don’t want the rattle of a crank.

I started reading responses and almost forgot what the topic was. I'll say one thing that I don't recall seeing mentioned; If you're going to target BIG fish you'll need to mentally prepare yourself for fishless days and I'm not talking a three or four hour outing. I'm talking a full day of fishing. The feeding window for a big bass is very small and may only happen once or twice in a day. Big bass are very proficient at obtaining the amount of food they need without wasting much time or energy and enticing a big girl that's in anything but an active mood will humble even the most patient of anglers. If you've read the book, you know that the big girls will position themselves close to a consistent food source. The other things necessary are sanctuary (cover or structural change) and access to deeper water. When you're playing the numbers game, one or even two of those factors can be missing, but you'll need a spot that offers all three for a big girl to even stick around. Locate as many spots containing those three elements and return to them often throughout the day.