martijw

Hey, I am from the Toledo area so you bet your *** I walleye fish, white bass, and smallies on the Maumee. I dont have a boat yet, but I fish any pond that I can get permission too. I also hit up a few lakes in Michigan and Illinois for some pretty good luck. Still waiting to get the dream bass though...I will conclude by mentioning the fact that I carry a consolidated Plano tackle box in my car with two spinner rods that are ready to go at a moments notice. If your water has bass and I have the time, I am there.

stupid rookie question here... How the heck do I find the pictures to compare? Google like crazy or what? Secondly, that case in your photo looks pretty neat. What is it and where can i get one? All i use is cranks and my tackle cases never seem that organized...

that video was a blast....

Id like to think that they have an idea of where "home" is. However, some are probably a lot better than others at it. My example for bass being smarter than we give them credit for is the bass that follows your lure and can distinguish real from fake and doesnt take it. Anything that can do that surely should be given some type of "smart" credit.

and of course, if you dont want to leave Springfield you have a very good lake for bass right there. Lake Springfield heres the link http://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/lakes/summaries/springfieldsum.htm sorry about all the posts- im getting twitchy waiting for the water to warm up

ah, finally at ten posts.....heres the link to otter lake. its from the Il DNR and it has a map and a fishing report that you can click on... http://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/lakes/otter.htm

Im back again...I havent yet posted 10 times and i have a link to post for you about otter lake. either this post will let or the next one... anyhow, I have very good success using orange bottomed crank baits such as crawdads. The best fishing, I think is on the other side of the bridge away from the boat ramp. Under the bridge is always a hotbed too, but its very small opening. Once you get through the bridge, the riprap is usually nice and there are several weed beds too. The best thing about otter lake is the tons of little coves to fish in with plenty of downed trees. You may get "lucky" and have a muskie tear your bass gear up too or you might get a hybrid or 5. Its a fun lake and the best time is to get out before the other boats chop it up.

I live in Ohio, but every summer i go to Springfield 2-3 times. I always fish on lake there. I go to Otter lake which is a tad outside Girard. I love it and I wont fish anywhere else. The lake has severalk good areas and i have never been blanked there.

Thanks for the responses. I checked out the site and things look good. Now, if only my trip would hurry and get here...

I take a yearly trip to the Appalachicola area in July and while the deep sea fishing is a blast, I want to know where to go for lunker bass-hell, bass in general. I live in Ohio and I have always wanted to fish bass in Fl. Now of course, I dont want you to sell out your local small waters (unless you wish too), just the main bodies that are close by and the ones that can be accessed by shoreline - Furthermore, does anyone know anything about fishing upper Appalachicola River and Lake Wimico?? Thanks...

First and foremost, i highly recommend looking at your states DNR reports and getting some basic idea of the fishing reports. I know Ohio, my state, has a really nice DNR site which includes the main fishing waters and the main species in the waters along with small, but readable contour maps. So you might start out there. However, if you cant find much, find a local tackle shop by the water you fish and ask away. Most of them are pretty resourceful and usually sell tackle that works in those waters. Secondly, what I do is actually go the water and drive around it if I can and just look for the most generic cliche spots you usually catch fish. IE overhang, rocky shoreline, points, fingers and so on. Other than that, you just need to get your butt on the water and try things out, but but basic info will help a lot!! ;D

sounds familiar...I have my favorite pound by me and the water sounds similar. First, I think the water is still warming up. Although it is shallow (for the most part) inconsistent temps are wreaking havoc on my fishing. Hot as H*&% for a day and then a cold front the next. I usually rip cranks over worms and jigs, but I would recommend dropshotting as well. Lord knows bass fishing is an art based on luck and a smidge of skill and nowhere near a science so I am sure we all have all sorts of weapons in our tackle box to use. And frequently, at "my" pond, smaller cranks pull some nice bass.

Jigs are the way to go. If you fish in current launch it about 45 degrees up stream and let it flow naturally down. Once it passes your position about 30 degrees or so bounce (jig) it back in (if you dont have rocky and snaggy bottoms). Otherwise reel it in quicklike and hope for no snags. To add on about weeds, dont over look tree stumps and rootseither. Get myself a nice eye up in the stumps every now and then too. The stumps and roots retain heat... Pretty darn sure that helps with most fish though.

had it for a year and dropped it. Did get a nice fillet knife to test and some realistic worms to try for crappie (got me more bluegill than anything else though) and I also got to test some injector worms. Other than that, the mag was ok...

That link is pretty solid advice...thanks Alpster