Black Hawk Basser

Lots of good info and suggestions above. I cut my bass fishing teeth at gravel pits. I've found that the clear water and lack of obvious cover/structure can make them tough to fish, especially mid-day in bright conditions. In those cases, as suggested, finesse worms on light line can save the day. Downsizing to small bass baits can be beneficial, as you may get into a surprise group of other species along with bass. These come to mind: 2.5" paddle tail, 1/4 oz lipless crank, or inline spinner. Evenings, early mornings, cloudy days, and/or windy days can really be the ticket at these places. If it's on the calm side, aggressively working a weightless fluke over top of the weeds or through/around emergent weeds is a great option. If there is some chop, spinnerbaits seem to be the best option for me. Purists may scoff at this, but I have had a TON of success trolling spinnerbaits for numbers of medium sized fish. My biggest bites have come from LC Sammy's, Storm Chug Bugs, Whopper Ploppers & burned/waked spinnerbaits. See the theme? I think a pattern sets up where postspawn bluegills ride relatively high in the water column over deep water off that initial steep break, and bass hang below them waiting to pick off a straggler. Someone with advanced electronics could certainly pick these places apart in a much more methodical way, but that's never been a luxury I've had. So, most of the time, I've opted for baits that allow for covering water quickly, and finding the aggressive fish.

I recently got a President XT 25 size that I feel is way tougher to turn than it should be. I will have to see what's up with it. But other than that, I don't think I've ever had any issues with reels out of the box.

Poison ivy affects you immediately, the stinging itch is almost instant after touching the plant. The plus is, if you do come in contact with it, just washing it off with water helps a lot. I've been guilty of walking around the river in shorts and a tee shirt, so it's happened to me several times. Earth shattering idea of the day, wear long sleeves and pants.

Lucky Craft Gunfish?

I love the Ribbit, too. It is probably my favorite way to fish for bass in the slop. I hesitate a tiny bit after the bite before setting the hook. That seems to work for me on the majority of bites. I've always used a regular offset EWG hook but I may try one with a screw lock instead.

Jig, spinnerbait, T Rig worm/creature, buzz toad, T Rig senko/finesse worm

I've caught some micro dinks through the ice, probably minnow sized.

You have a good point. The thing is, if I am down to the last 75 yds of line on a spinning reel, the casting distance is terrible. At that point, I'd want to change it anyway. Perhaps I should fill a reel or two with all braid, then when they get down to the final 60-70 yards, spool that remaining line to another spinning reel with some mono backing to fill up that spool. As Tom mentioned, one can fill a reel with another reel's line, which would put the "used" part of the braid at the very beginning of the spooled braid, rather than at the business end. That's probably the most efficient way of doing it.

I am in Lake View, home of Black Hawk Lake. It is a serious up-and-comer for lots of species after its fairly recent renovation. It is absolutely loaded with bass, and grass - Bring your T-Rigs!

I use Sufix 832 on the majority of my reels, and I religiously use mono backing. I don't see any reason to put $20 worth of line on a reel when you're only utilizing $6 worth.

I have 3 RES's and one of them runs on its side. I will say I have had some great days with the ones that do run true. My go-to lipless is a Cordell Super Spot, especially in the craw patterns.

All this for $11 on eBay! I've been somewhat limited on jig trailers this year until now.

I use Berkley Grass Pig Jr's a lot for all three applications. I like Bama Bug, California, Gizzard Shad, and Watermelon w/black flake. I occasionally use a Fluke or Super Fluke on a spinnerbait if I want less action and thump. If I want a bigger look for a swim jig, I'll use a Zoom Swimmin Chunk.

I share in your frustration! My only good chance to fish for a few days was yesterday and it was crazy windy here in western Iowa. I left my pond of choice in frustration due to boat control being impossible. I was especially frustrated because I had caught a couple and knew they were biting if I could have presented baits properly.

That's awesome, thanks for sharing. I have a video in which I hooked a decent sized bluegill off a dock and a huge bass is chasing it around. I played with it for a minute or so, but the bass would not strike the bluegill. I think if it would have been a smaller one, the bass would have committed. As Koz said, go back and get 'er!

I was going to say the same thing. I've used several soft plastic toads and they all seem to flip over on me. I still have success. My goal is to get a reaction bite by burning it, so I doubt they get a good look anyway.

Happy birthday, buddy.

You're setting yourself up for disappointment! That big girl will probably come when you least expect it. But, I've found that fishing a jig/craw, big topwater, big soft plastic swimbait, or spinnerbait will help select for larger fish. I still catch smaller fish, too, but I think that raises your odds. Then again, some guys have caught their best on a finesse worm or other baits that wouldn't lead you to believe they'll get a big bite. You just never know!

Almost 30 years. My first memory of fishing - My dad worked for 30+ years at a rural water treatment plant, and the filters in the plant would "backwash" every few hours for cleaning purposes. This backwash water was discharged into a tiny, I mean tiny little lagoon behind the plant. It is probably 40'x60' and 3 feet deep in the middle. Before my time, a friend of my dad's had stocked the little lagoon with various species. When I was about 6, dad took me out to that lagoon with a cane pole and a few worms and we caught the heck out of bluegills and bullheads. This lagoon has a bottom composition of pure iron and manganese from the filter discharge water, making the bottom appear red/orange. Due to that uniquely colored bottom, it made the bellies of the bullheads such a cool looking red/orange color, unlike anything I've ever seen since. I continued to fish this lagoon until I was about out of high school, and it produced some insanely large panfish and some respectable bass. But at some point, muskrats tunneled their way in and out of it, and it drained to the point that the fish couldn't survive. That was a sad realization for me, as the tiny little pond had earned a meaningful place in my heart.

I bass fished for over 10 years before I threw a jig. I just didn't have the confidence or knowledge to effectively fish one. Now, I can't imagine not using one. It isn't often my first choice, but a jig sure has saved the day for me many, many times. My personal best was caught last summer with a jig right below my feet from underneath a pontoon. This year, I started making my own with the Do-It Poisontail mold. I've found it to be a versatile jig that does well swimming, ripping, or bottom dragging.

It's funny that you brought this up because I was just looking at a bag of about 9 torn up Super Flukes and wondered how well they would do if wacky rigged. I may just have to try that with some random plastics that aren't "meant" to be wacky rigged.

I wouldn't mess around trying to DIY something that costs about a nickel each. My time is worth a bit more to me than that. I have found them on eBay, but near that price point that you cite.

I haven't dug through a Wal Mart bargain bin in awhile, thanks for the reminders fellas.

A-Jay had a good point about reeling through the hook set. I fully concur.

This may be a tad over $100, but my most recent spinning reel purchase is a Quantum Smoke Speed Freak (36" IPT), size 30. I'll throw in another vote for the President or President XT. I had a President reel from 2002 to 2015 that was still working great until a catfish dragged it into the gravel pit, never to be seen again on dry land. I use Presidents for almost all of my ice and panfishing. I've had a Daiwa Legalis that I liked a lot but have since worn it out. The only thing about that I didn't care for was that the bail shut on me sometimes while trying to cast.