papajoe222

Welcome. My advice is to learn as much as you can about the fish you're targeting and pick the lures and presentations that suit it's needs at the time you're after them. Sounds basic, but too many guys get info about specific lures and techniques and use them in the wrong situation. That just leads to frustration and loss of interest. You need to 'learn to float before you can swim' and this sport is no different.

It's an alge bloom, which is a form of aquatic vegetation in the reproduction stage. My guess is there is a lot of moss in the lake (that's the stringy looking stuff that sticks to everything) and there isn't a lot of wind movement on that lake. Other than blocking light penetration, it shouldn't affect the fish. Bad news is it'll be around until a good wind or storm blows.

One of my favorite ways to work it. That and running it into the weeds, pausing and then ripping it free. I like the SK red eye for stroking or yo yoing and a Cordell HotSpot for rippin the weeds. Keep in mind that both these techniques work best with a rod with plenty of backbone and braided line. Keep your drag on the loose side so as not to pull the hooks free and drop your thumb down on the spool when setting the hook or ripping it free from the weeds.

The kid outfished me. 'The teacher has become the student' Next time, he operates the boat and I'm gonna sit in back and cherry pick! Just busting chops. It's always great to get out and share your passion with someone, especially someone that puts up with my rambling about the good old days.

I use the Pitszen knot for flouro and mono as it doesn't allow the line to cut into itself, but any knot that is tied with the tag end wrapping around the standing line is a good choice. Although flouro does sink, it won't get your bait any deeper than mono or a copolymer of the same diameter. On drop baits, it may get it there quicker, but on cranks etc. it's the resistance of the bait that gives it the depth. BTW, don't buy into the hype that flouro has less stretch than mono. The difference is so minimal that at 50yrds. there is less than a foot difference in stretch of lines of the same diameter. It is, however, much more sensitive because it has a heavier molecular structure which is also why it sinks and doesn't absorb water.

Check the roller on your bail. If it isn't spinning freely, you'll end up putting a bunch of twist in the line and it will knot itself up as soon as there is enough slack (like during a cast). A quick way to check is to let a bait hang a rod length or so from the tip. If it starts spinning around, you have too much twist. Clean and lube that bearing and make sure to close the bail manually on every cast. Mono and flouro would do the same, but because braid is so limp, it's noticeable a lot sooner.

I use water clearity and light penetration to help me determine what color to use. The prevailing forage and bottom color are good places to start, but you can't go wrong with chrome in clear water or good light penetration and gold in stained or low light. Both reflect the suroundings as well as reflecting the available lignt. The sound and vibration of these baits get the bass' attention and the reflective qualities keep them from getting a really good look at the bait.

If a bass follows your bait, the good news is you're doing something right. The bad news for you is that it isn't just quite right for that fish to commit. If you were using a hard bait, I'd say switch to a similar bait that runs a little deeper, wobbles a little tighter or wider, is a different color, etc. There are only two physical changes that you could make with the swimbait; color and sink rate. Color would be my first as you say you tried increasing and decreasing your retrieve speed. I carry markers in eight different colors for quick color changes, or just to add a splash of a certain color. One other thing I would recommend is adding some kind of scent to your bait. It may be just the thing to turn on those followers and if nothing else will mask any negative scent that the bait may have acquired. An oil based one will also help keep weeds from clinging to the bait.

I won't get into recommending particular baits, but I will address the other parts of your post. Most diving depths of cranks that the manuf. lists are determined with 10lb. test mono, or an equal diameter line. Using 12lb. would likely result in your bait running a little shallower. There are a number of ways you can retrieve cranks. Most of them require that you get the bait down to it's maximum depth first. A steady constant speed retrieve can be productive at times, however the more the bait changes direction, the more strikes it will attract. Stop and go, or pausing for short periods or just hesitating on occasion while reeling is one way as is speeding it up and slowing it down. Letting the bait bounce off the bottom or an obstruction is another. Pumping the rod from around the 9:00 position to 11:00 and then reeling in the slack as you drop it back down is a good way to work a deep diver. Something as simple of moving your rod from left to right and back can also increase the baits ability to draw strikes. These baits really shine when bounced off of something, so look for structure and cover where you can do just that.

What works best for me is finding the baitfish. Most schools will travel at the same depth from ths surface. Unless there are fish actively feeding on them, I'll search out cover or structure, or both, in that zone and saturate it with cranks and spinners. This year, I plan on using an umbrella rig to see if my numbers increase over previous years. I don't have a lot of confidence in this rig, but I figure this is the best time of year to really give it a thorough scrutiny.

Thanks for the heads up on using it on your firearms. It'd be nice to reduce the number of chemicals, solvents, lubricants, etc. around the house. Wonder how it would work as a general lube like for hardware?

I can't speak for the bronze boys, but the largemouth here really go for suspending cranks in the upper third of the water column. You don't need to pause as long as you would during the spring, but sometimes it takes 8-10 seconds. As soon as you move the bait after the pause is when they suck it in. No hard strikes, they're just 'there'. I like the suspending FatFree Shads and Norman's suspending series, but I've also scored with Bagley's weighted with SuspenDots. Of course, I'm fishing these baits like this before the turnover and keeping them about halfway between the thermocline and the surface. Around here, that's somewhere in the 8-12 ft. range. My kid (son-in-law) was doing okay burning a RedEye Shad with his rod halfway submerged. He wasn't outfishing me, but he sure was covering a lot more water. One more thing. They don't seem to relate to anything in particular when doing this. No structure, or baitfish schools. You'll just be motoring along watching that 'majic' depth on your electronics and there they are. Go figure.

I do quite a bit of multi-species fishing and use in-line baits for much of them. When I'm targeting muskie, pike, walleye, lake trout, I catch my share of good sized bass on them also. The one thing I don't do and I'm thinking that maybe I should, is use them when I'm targeting bass. I catch a few pike and some good size walleye on bass style spinnerbaits and an occasional muskie will cut off a buzzer or spinnerbait on me. Although it isn't my motto, I do believe in showing the fish something different, or at the very least the same things others are, but differently. So I was wondering if using an in-line when everyone else is using a safteypin style could up my odds. I know an in-line spinner gives of a different flash and vibration and the body of a buzzer in that style sits higher and normally farther back from the blades. What I'd like to know is if anyone has fished a lake that doesn't sport toothy critters with any of these baits? My home waters have really been pounded by the locals this summer and although I do fairly well on them, the spinnerbait bite has all but disapeared. I should be able to pick them up in the 4-6ft.range on spinners, but the only consistant bait late this summer has been a jerkbait ripped through that zone. My old shoulders can only take a couple of hours of that and I'm back to burning a spinnerbait, with no success.

When I fished club tournaments, I would only carry four rods and would ask my non-boating draw to do the same. When I fished invitationals by myself, I'd have five rigged rods on deck and another four or five in the rod locker. Now, I still carry the same five when I'm out by myself, but only bring three when I go out with a partner. I do, however carry my reel case with me unless I know we'll be using one technique esclusively. I own too many technique specific rods not to utilize them, so I try to determine which I'll be using on a particular day. You can use a spinnerbait rod for cranks or a worm rod for jigs, but you loose the benefit that the rod was designed to give you. I'm one to put the odds in my favor whenever possible and multiple rods do that for me.

I don't on a C-Rig, but I do on a split-shot

Swim jigs without, flippin', pitching, skipping, with.

The article was likely about that topic and didn't give you any options if that style of fishing didn't produce. Fish are normally in one of three catagories when it comes to their activity level. If they're in the first, active, fast moving baits are the way to go and sometimes you can trigger a school of fish into activity with a fast moving bait. If they're in what I call an inbetween mood, they're likely holding close to bottom or cover and will strike at a lure presented close to them. Sometimes a fast moving presentation will work then. When they're in a neutral mood, they're likely suspended near structure or burried in some form of cover. Their strike zone is small their activity level is low and they're not looking to eat. A fast moving bait is only going to get a response if it bangs into whatever cover they're burried in, or it runs into the suspended school. This is what is often refered to as a reaction strike. The tough part isn't figuring out which mood they're in, their location will give that away, it's figuring out how to trigger them into taking your offering. You can, and often do, get a reaction strike fishing a jig or soft plastic, but I guarantee a fast drop will outproduce a slow one with the same jig in the summertime. If for no other reason than the fact that you can cover more targets with it. In that context, I'd have to agree with the author that a fast retrieve will outproduce a slow one in the summer. The only thing I'd add is that if the fished are stressed from high water temps combined with low water levels or low oxygen/high PH levels, You could knock them on the head with a lure and not get a reaction strike. Covering water with a fast moving or fast falling bait is NOT going to put many, if any, fish in your livewell.

No and yes. I personally don't believe you can put too much tension on the line when spooling. If you did, it'd break. Unless it's digging into itself, it would only affect casting distance on your first cast. After that, it'd be under normal tension. Too loose and you're asking for trouble. Not to change the subject, but how the line was spooled, tension wise, may not be what's robbing you of casting distance. When was the last time you cleaned the spool bearings and shaft? Do you back of on the spool tension after you're done using the reel? Did you go to heavier lb. test line than you had on the reel previously? All these and more could contribute to less than optimum casting distance, or in your case reduced casting distance.

Let me know if you ever want to get rid of that reel, I've been looking for one for a while now. If you're using mono, or flouro, you can go as light as 8lb. on most reels. I've used 8lb. Stren on my Abu C3 for years.

You're going to get a lot of opinions on this one, but I would base your final decision on the way you plan to use the combo , or at the very least on the type of cranking you do most often. If the majority of your cranking will be done with baits targeting 15ft. or less, I'd suggest a quality 6.3:1 baitcaster like a Curado or maybe TD Advantage. You'll want something that can stand up to the beating cranks give you and your equipment. If you plan on targeting deep water, you may want to consider something with a lower gear ratio as it will be easier on you over the course of a day's fishing. Besides, I've found that the deeper you crank, the slower you should be retrieving the bait once it reaches max. depth. I'm a Daiwa man, but I wouldn't recommend their Exceller 4.9:1 to anyone serious about deep cranking. Spend a little more on a Shimano or Abu, or go with a round baitcaster with a lower gear ratio. If you like to tinker, you can pick up a quality reel like a Curado and switch out the gears when you plan on deep cranking then switch them back for a later trip.

I like to add a crimp on hook weight to my buzzers just behind the skirt for extra casting weight. There are many times in clear water that you can't get close to your target, or it's windy and that extra weight makes it easier to get it out there. The resistance of the blade makes distance casting difficult, but is also the reason you can keep a 1oz. bait on the surface without cranking like a mad man. One other thing I'd add.....Use braid or heavy mono/flouro if you fish it with your rod tip high.

Wassa madder wit you bums? It's black, like my favorite shirt, tie, and jacket. It's gota big hook for da big mouts lika mine, It'sa even got not one, but two of dose things dat look kinda like my gut. It's a so obvious, I don't even need to make you an offer to name it after Papa. Hey I gotta idea....The Papa Jig.......make 'em an offer they can't refuse. Whadda ya think? I'd like all six in black wit da black skirt. Call me from one of dem throwaway phones and I'll give you the drop info.

That freshly downed tree is actually a fish magnet. The micro organisims and insects on the leaves will jump start the food chain and if there are bass in the area, it won't take long for them to find the buffett. Fishing from shore isn't a shortcoming, in fact I find it a blessing of sorts. You are very limited to the water you can fish and so you will be more thorough in the way you attack it. Besides, most lures that sink, will rise as you bring them in and in most cases, that will keep them in the same area(close to the bottom). I fished a lot of tourneys in my hayday and one thing that I did that kept me on top of my game was to do things differently. I use the normal, seasonal quidelines, used wind to help me locate active fish, studied maps, etc. What I did differently was I didn't fish the obvious unless it really jumped out as a fish magnet. A lone deadfall, a point or indentation on a weedline, would get my attention. What I feel kept me in the money was that I approached everything differently than most. My best advice is to always have a hunter's mindset. Approach the area cautiously, read the water as best as you can from your prey's needs, and unless it's working consistantly, don't do what everyone else is doing. Different approaches, not just lures will reward you with some surprises and you'll gain a lot of knowledge others never read about or see on TV

Color, IMO, is near the bottom of the list when it comes to what I choose to offer them, especially in the clear, natural lakes I fish. I use color as a factor only if I feel the fish need a little 'help' in finding my presentation. The same goes for sound. In clear water, especially shallow,clear water, bass are primarily sight feeders and I fish a lot of fast moving baits as I don't want them to get a good look at my offering. I'm positive my offering passes many fish that either don't give it a second look or run from it. The ones that don't do either are the ones I'm after.

I add a splash of red to all my cranks and plugs. Anything that doesn't get down below the light penetration gets some form of that treatment. I've been doing that for thirtysomething years. Sometimes that includes the front treble. When it comes to bottom hugging presentations, I have no confidence in the 'Red Factor"