papajoe222

I don't know how good your DF is, but fish holding tight to the bottom are difficult to distinguish from the bottom on many traditional sonar units. If you graph a spot that looks like it has a lot of potential, fish it, or sit on it for a while. There is plus side to sitting and waiting for fish activity. Quite a few of the spots I run don't hold fish the majority of time, but when they do, they're normally quality (3lb.+) fish and they rarely show up on my unit.

The longest worm I throw is a Mann's. I prefer a Mag Ol Monster or a C-Mac from Net Bait which is only 11.5in. but thicker. I've also reduced my collection to two basic colors; green pumpkin and plum. The C-Mac is only available in two colors and I use both. Cabela's currently has the Magnum Ol Monster on sale. At just over $4 a pack, you can get three for what two packs normally cost.

Not many do and I think that’s why it’s been so effective. I’ve never used a Little George, but I will be giving the some consideration this summer, too.

Yes, Gay Blade, Silver Buddy blade baits. If you're looking for some 3/8oz. baits let me know, but I have a feeling you either make your own, or know someone that does.

Do you know the water temp. I have a feeling the fish have just spawned and that is one of the toughest times to catch them. The other thing that could be happening is very unstable weather. You know, one day bright sunny skies and the next heavy rain or storms followed by more bright sunny skies. If that's the case, a few days of steady weather should improve their attitude.

First, let me inform you about big fish being off shore and on ledges; Big fish are shallow, deep, or somewhere between. Seriously, big fish will use many different locations as their summer 'home.' Two things that must be present are the forage and security. Security for a bass can be depth, or easy escape to it, or cover. As to pitching to brush in water 15ft-30ft deep, it is a much better option than casting. The most advantageous approach would be to pitch to the brush and strip line off the spool after it lands. This allows the bait to fall straight down, or as close to straight as you can get from a distance. Watching your line as it falls and keeping your rod tip up, engage the reel when the bait stops falling. Now jiggle the rod tip and if the bait begins to fall, strip more line. Repeat if needed. Once it's on the bottom, work it back up a short distance at a time. Your first bite will be an indication of the depth the fish are holding and you can then just target that depth as you continue to probe the brush. This technique works best when flipping as you'll insure a straight drop and be pulling the fish up through the brush rather than pulling them out as your line can tangle on branches above the depth the fish. IMO, the best time to target this type of brush is under post front conditions when fish are holding tight to cover.

Early in his career, Roland Martin would frequently wade through weedy areas casting a Johnson Silver Minnow with a pork trailer. The situation the OP is faced with isn’t one that wading will solve, IMO, as the reeds appear to be the only form of cover available in that portion of the lake. Casting into the reeds rather than away from them, would be a better option. If possible, wading out to the edge of the reeds and casting parallel to them is an option.

I find it next to impossible to fish slowly for any length of time. A two or three minute cast seems like an eternity to me. I'll do it in the summer at times, but an hour later I'm reaching for something I can burn for a reaction bite, or picking up stakes and moving to another spot. Before I leave, I'll give a fast moving presentation a go. I've already gone through the water column and need to give retrieve speed/fall rate the same opportunity.

I love fishing hard baits during the summer. Cranks, spinnerbaits, topwater all get a work out once the summer kicks into gear. This year, I switched things up a little. Lipless cranks and cranks in general have been replaced with blade baits. Shallow running cranks have been replaced by minnow baits (jerk baits). I normally reserve these two baits for spring, pre-spawn, but decided to keep them tied on. I even found a guy that makes 3/8oz. blade baits, so I can fish them deep. Needless to say, they are still producing quality fish into the summer. Anyone else use them with regularity this time of the year?

Maybe on your next crankin' video you can demonstrate using cranks for suspending bass. My favorite is dropping a Red Eye Shad, or similar lipless that wobbles as it falls, through a school of bait fish to the bass suspended below. Choosing a crank that runs just above the depth bass are suspending and using a pumping retrieve is a way to fire up a school, too.

I was going to mention the toll road costs, but seeing as Scott already did, I'll add this. Plan a 10-15min. stop every couple of hours. This will give you and your vehicle/trailer a chance to rest. I just returned from a trip to Georgia, my truck is 11yrs. old and with the mountains I don't think it would have made it if I hadn't done this. Granted that once you get out of PA, you'll be driving a lot of flat land, it's still a chore for most vehicles if attempted nonstop. Take the time to feel the tires and bearing hubs on both. Your vehicle tires will heat up a lot quicker with the extra load. Tread separation is common. Lake Geneva is a great lake to fish, but is also a BIG pleasure craft lake. On the week-ends you'll get blown off the water if you like to fish off shore structure and on that lake, in the summer, that is where you'll find the most action.

Seriously, all those fish symbols represent is how strong the return signal is. The stronger/longer the signal is returning to the unit, the larger the symbol. You could have@1lb. bass suspending directly under your transducer and get a big fish symbol, or an 8lb. bass swim past the outer edge of the transducers cone show up as a small symbol. Turn off the fish ID and check out how to read the sonar screen either on simulator mode, or check out some YouTube videos.

So my on board battery charger bit the dust after 15yrs. of service. (RIP it served me well). I’ looking to replace it with a three bank charger as I had been charging my cranking battery separately from my 24V trolling motor batteries. I’m looking for recommendations for one that charges each battery individually so I don’t have to disconnect the jumper between the batteries every time I plug it in. I found that my batteries would last a season more, or longer by doing that with my old unit. I’ve been looking at the Pro Mariner Pro Sport 20+ Gen 3 12/24/36volt. I’ve run into conflicting reviews on this unit as well as the Minn Kota Digital Any first hand reviews would be a big help in decision making. Thanks

The only 'new' topwater I use is a WopperPlopper. One of my favorites is a TwoFer by Manns which was one of, if not the only, floating buzzbaits of that time. You could tie to the other end and fish it like a Lucky13, but I've never caught a fish on it that way, or on a Lucky13 for that matter. Another 'old' lure that I get a lot of bass on at night, is a CrazyCrawler. It outproduces a Jitterbug on many occasions. For mid-day, nothing beats a ZaraSpook, IMO, but a DevilsHorse is dynamite if there's a good ripple on the surface. ?

It's kind of a cross between a spider jig/tube/Senko and you can fish it a number of ways. Hook it through the skirted side with a jig head as you would a spider grub, dragging it, or hopping it along. Hook it through the other end either Texas rigged or with a jig head and exposed hook. A little known fact is many pros are using them on their punch rigs, for a more finesse offering, with good success.

Big bass will strike jut about any given lure under the right confitions, BUT..............and that is literally a big but, if you only target big bass, a plastic worm, presented ever so slowly will get them more often than the others you mention. A jig is the only other bait that comes close, in mu experience, is a big swimbait.

I’ve been retired for 12yrs. For the first ten, I concentrated on big fish, I’d catch a few small ones on occasion The big ones were BIG, but few and the majority of outings I went fishless and many times without even a bite. i’ve gone back to fishing for bass, all bass. The chances of my catching a truly big bass are now whete near what they were, but i’ve proved to myself that, if I want to, I can catch the big girls.

You mentioned that you fish from a yak. For some, that extra 3-4in. in length over the St.Croix Poses a problem. You can, if you like, cut the rod shorter from the butt without affecting the action. I’ve don this on a couple of rods bolt for youngsters.

You didn’t mention what your location is. In northern states like Minn. and Maine, bass are just now in their spawn cycle and that behavior is typical of some pre-spawn activity.

Thanks Mike. I figured everyone has their own way of doing it and there is more advanced equipment that incorporates something for the task. I'm just looking for something more uniform that what I've been doing. I'd even considered placing my old wrapper in front of the new one and running the thread from the new one through its guide. That is what I'll be trying with my current build.

Another factor that I didn’t see mentioned, is that a large percentage of time, worms are a bottom presentation, at least they are for me. Texas rig, split shot, Carolina and even a drop shot all target the bottom, or darn close to it.

Trailers add two things to spinnerbaits. They put the focus of the bait away from the blades and more to the body, and the action tail type also add bulk and drag, allowing for a slower presentation. Try using a split tail trailer. It adds attraction without adding drag.

I've built a number of rods, some of which I am very proud of and others are......functional. My question is about wrapping the guides closest to the tip. In order to get the last one or two lined up with my tension arm, the blank's tip is left unsupported. What's the best way to overcome this? I've been using a thread bobbin to do them, but I question the uniformity of the tension on the wraps.

Spinning, or casting rod? Not that it makes much difference. It will work, but may look a little odd to you if that matters. On a casting rod the bottom of the ring may sit .5mm or so higher that the smaller guide behind it. Under load it isn't going to be much of a factor.

Most combos only contain one good component, the rod or the reel. Some don’t have either and the ones that have both are pricey. you’re better off picking out a rod you really like and pairing it with something like a BlackMax. You can always upgrade the reel at a later date and use the less expensive one on your next combo rxperiment.