papajoe222

Based on your evaluation of the conditions, starting with a finesse presentation was very logical. What you need to remember is that you based your approach solely on those conditions. In a tournament situation you need to constantly evaluate as many factors as you can. One thing that will tip you off that a faster presentation may be more effective is to evaluate how aggressively the fish you caught took the bait. A deeply hooked fish, or a hard thump vs. a tel tale pick-up are good indications that a faster presentation is in order. Don't beat yourself up because you didn't power fish when that may have been the route to take. Finesse tactics will work the majority of the time regardless of the conditions. In tournament fishing the mindset is to get a limit as fast as possible. If finesse is how you feel you can do that best, don't fix it if it ain't broke. But keep your mind open for the other option when it presents itself.

The beauty of a true Texas Rig (sliding bullet weight) is that it allows the fish to pick up the bait without feeling the weight. The downside to using it in weed or brush type cover is that the weight and bait often separate catching the cover in between. The normal way of eliminating this is to peg the weight. What you are finding is that, rigged that way, the bait is falling nose first whereas with a belly weighted hook, or weedless on a slack line, the attitude of the bait is different. It's horizontal. That is more than likely why you are not getting bit. The fish prefer that look. There will be times when they prefer the vertical fall of the pegged weight and I would suggest the next time the belly weight isn't working to give it another shot.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/berkley-havoc-change-up I've been using these on both my Jika rigs and 3/8oz. stand up jigheads with very good results, especially with lengthy pauses. My go to prior to trying these out was the PacaCaraw . Are there any other 'craw worms' you have confidence in using? I've been looking at BigBites craw worm and NetBaits Slim Crawas I like the more realistic craw portion, but I've been unable to find them locally.

If you target suspended fish, there isn't anything for your crank to deflect off to trigger strikes. A constant retrieve will get you an occasional fish, but varying the retrieve speed, stop and go, or popping the rod tip occasionally will trigger a lot more strikes. I have a couple of baits that will kick out when I give the reel handle a quick spin. I get a lot of strikes just after doing that. Suspended fish are tough enough to get a response from. Up the odds in your favor, change it up. The other thing I'll repeat that's already been pointed out. Find cover, or structure, at the same depth you see fish suspending and target that rather than the suspended fish. At the very least, give the suspenders a shot and if you're not getting any love, move to those spots.

It really upsets me when I see unattended rods there is a good chance that fish may survive, but using circle hooks, even for cat fishing would have eliminated their need to cut the line and insured that bass' survival.

Way too early in my area to be thinking about the fall bite, but one fact that was driven home last season was that a body of water cools MUCH faster that it warms. On one set of strip pits I fish, the deepest water is only 12ft. and in the span of a very cool week in Sept., the water temp. dropped fifteen degrees. It took me the better part of the day to figure out fish location. On other, deeper, pits the temp. only dropped seven degrees and that was just enough to trigger the movement of the gills and the bass. All you pond fishermen, remember... Water cools faster than it warms and a shallow body of water will cool much quicker than a deeper one.

The fall bite turn on has more to do with the forage than the water temp. IMO. If minnows and shad are the main forage, their movement can start as early as a temperature drop into the low 70's or upper 60's as mentioned. If it's bluegill, expect it much later, closer to turnover. Around here, it happens around the same time the frogs start to migrate and the craws begin burrowing.

To narrow down the spots, I'd look for two things.....Forage and Structure. Those areas where the bottom drops quickly to the 7ft. level and the banks of the old river sound like the places to start. Don't rule out flats close to those deeper areas if you can determine the presence of forage there. Pick your poison for presentations, but you're pretty much limited to the top of the junk, or getting down into the timber underneath. Either way, stealth is going to play a big part in your success. Shallow water is not the place to disregard how much of a factor it is, regardless of the clarity of the water.

I use a 6'6" Med. power Fast action B/C,Daiwa Sol reel spooled with Yo-Zuri Hybrid UltraSoft 10lb. Any of the smaller baitcasters should be able to handle all but the lightest soft plastics. My buddy uses a 50E and another guy at our club uses a Carbonlite. I'd go with fluoro, but I hate the stuff. I'm not attempting to steer you away from fluoro, it's just my preference.

I've used the weed guards of a jig and tied/trimmed them to the hook (one strand per hook). Most are already V shaped when pulled from the jig.

There are a number of options other than cranks that will target a variety of depths and come through weeds fairly well. A swim jig, or swimbait, T-rigged worm with the sinker pegged, spinnerbait, heck, even a wacky rigged senko can be worked just of the bottom, or over the weeds.

You don't need to burn a spinnerbait to keep it over the weed tops, but if that is your intention, I'd go with a 1/2oz. double willow. I'd also go with the 1/2oz. but with a Colorado/Indiana combo. All blades would be gold.

Not necessarily in any type of order: Jig, plastic worm, spinnerbait, minnow style jerk-bait, shallow-medium-deep running crankbaits and the hooks and weights for the soft plastics.

You'd better check the weight capacity on that jon of yours. Eight of us fat old farts would probably be the limit and I have trouble with my balance of late and standing in a yak is out of the question for me.

Pick me up on your way down A-Jay. Just let me know if we'll be taking your boat or mine. BTW, what lake is it and does he have enough room for us all. I call dibbs on the recliner.

I stumbled upon Ozark Tackle while down in Branson, Mo. The make awesome 4.5in and 5.5in. tubes. I picked up two packs of their 2.75in tubes that were on clearance and have been fishing them on a 2/0 Trokar tube hook when I T-rig them. Most any thin walled tube can be fished on a 2/0 hook. Tender Tubes and Havoc Smash tubes come to mind, but they're 4in.

I'm really bummed out about my trip to NW Wisconsin. I drove 960 mi. round trip to get skunked for the third time in three years . I even resorted to trolling because my shoulder couldn't take the strain after two days of chucking everything from bucktails to Depth Raiders. The only musky I saw is the one that tore into a 12in. bass that was unfortunate enough to inhale a 1oz. spinnerbait. Stupid bass! That muskie was likely following my spinnerbait up from deep water when that bass hit it. I'll say one thing for the bass up there, they are not spooked by big baits. I ended up with nine bass on them. I switched over to bass fishing for the second half of my last day. I had a blast with fish in the 16in.-18in. range, but I didn't go up there for bass! I'll be looking for a different lake even though my PB came from those waters six years ago. Anyone know of a good muskie lake up north?

You don't have the issue of coils slapping against that first reduction guide with baitcasters, so increased line diameter influences casting distance much less than with spinning gear. I've always been in the minority when it comes to line size. The heaviest I use is 30lb. braid and 14lb. mono or copolymer. I do so for two reasons, casting distance isn't one. I fish mostly clear natural lakes and the heavier non-braid lines I find difficult to manage. BTW, the only time I use any kind of leader on my braid is when I Carolina rig.

I only use one trailer on my swim jigs and it isn't either of those you mention. I'm a graduate of the 'Show 'Em Something Different' school. All my swim jigs are minnow imitations and a Kalin's Lunker Grub adds almost transparent action that gives the illusion of a small compact bait, but one that moves a lot of water calling attention to it.

For weight choice, you want something heavy enough to get your bait to the bottom and keep it on or just off the bottom throughout your retrieve. Dont confuse structure with cover. You do want to cast past cover when possible and bring the bait to it. With the bullet weight of a Texas rig staying on the bottom, a fish can take the bait without feeling it. You can hop or swim the worm with occasional pauses. Keep an eye on where your line enters the water as many pick ups will not be felt through the rod.

Wipes are good if the temp. is 70 or more, but at 38 wet and cold....... I'll use my socks first!

Like A-Jay said, an original floating Rapala, I like the #7 for river smallies, in gold/black back twitched down a seam equals smallie on the hook most anytime.

Through the lips, you might get away with a 1/0, but through the back you'll want a 2/0. Remember, if you've never used them before, you don't set the hook with these. Hold your rod tip up around 11:00 and just reel. The hook pivots as it begins to exit the mouth, hooking them in the upper lip. I use them all the time when teaching kids to fish because they so often gut hook fish with regular hooks.

Flip the reel into the lake and get a baitcaster. Just kidding. For optimum reel life and the least amount of frustration due to line twist, closing the bail by hand is the answer.

Not knowing if you're dealing with corrosion, or just gunk build up makes it difficult to recommend anything. I'd start with a good scrubbing down with Simple green. That would get rid of any grease and grime. If it's corrosion, take the reel apart and soak the frame and side plates in CLR. Test it out on a spot on the underside to make sure it doesn't harm the finish.