Black Hawk Basser

I've probably had equal luck with hooksets waiting, and with immediately swinging. Both pretty low percentage for me! It does seem like I get slightly better results waiting just a split second when I'm running a T rigged buzz toad, just to drop the rod tip and hit them hard. I think this is the main thing - the right rod and low stretch line to tear through weeds that may be between you and the fish.

I like that scale. I haven't weighed a fish in years.

I've done this. Or I just use a 1/32 or 1/16 oz Bull Shot (bullet split shot) in front of the hook. I like the super slow fall rate, but I only fish waters up to about 15 feet.

There is no way with the amount of vegetation in my area to drop shot with an actual drop shot hook. Maybe from April-May. I always have to use a offset hook, especially from the bank.

I have a lot of the BPS worm binders, they're okay for the price. The best binder I've found is from Cabela's. It's nice because it fully zips up, and has a front pocket for terminal tackle, pliers, etc. They are sort of spendy though.

I do this. At minimum, I hold the fish against the pole and take a measurement later if I don't have a ruler handy.

Yep. I used to use the Powerbait Beast, which was sort of a craw shaped creature bait. It worked on top. I have some small Netbait craws meant to be trailers that are sort of like a downsized buzz toad.

3/8 oz BPS double Colorado black/red spinnerbait with Grass Pig Jr in California color.

I can't speak on the specific body of water but I can share what works for me in the very clear gravel pits I fish. I have had lots of success with Texas rigged senko type worms, 5" finesse worms, and flukes. Lower light(morning, evening, or cloudy days) conditions call for topwaters, spinnerbaits, and if vegetation allows, shallow to mid diving crankbaits. I like a lot of muted colors in these pits, such as green pumpkin, brown, black, black/red... although white seems to work well in almost all conditions for me, especially for the flukes. Bluegills are the primary forage so those imitations work well too. As far as the trailer goes, I always just try to match colors with the color of the jig, or maybe slightly contrast. That's an ongoing experiment for everyone.

Well said!

I get a bruiser cat once in awhile on the river with husky jerks and squarebills. I've gotten one on a hollow body frog, which was crazy.

Yours was definitely bigger haha...I tie them on fly hooks with a tungsten bead head. I have an online store if you're interested in looking!

You're not alone, @Arcs&sparks. I'm a hard core ice fisherman and commercial ice fly maker.

Gulp Minnow Worm Berkley Chigger Craw Berkley Grass Pig & Jr. Lake Fork Craw Tube Zoom Super Fluke

Unless you eat fish daily, I would guess there's not much to worry about.

I have always done just fine with the basic green pumpkin, watermelon seed, and junebug colors everywhere I've fished. I do have some BPS 10" worms in motor oil that have been good producers. As far as black and blue goes, a recent study has shown that largemouth bass probably see blue as black, so to them those baits are all-black.

I fish a ML Quantum Smoke and it does fine. I probably do lose more fish, but the fightin' is much more fun!

I have read that for fluorocarbon line to be truly "invisible" under water, it would have to be square, not round. Obviously it's still harder to see than a big braid, but I think it's visibility properties are exaggerated for marketing purposes. I would be more concerned about the difference in stretch, feel, and buoyancy between mono, FC, and braid, rather than what the fish can see.

Tubes make for a pretty stealthy entry into the water when pitching. I try to skip my baits, I think that gets some extra attention at times.

One difference I have noticed is that the Senkos are so loaded with salt that they sink faster than Dingers.

Never seen a squirrel even swimming anywhere but last year I saw an adult duck that was apparently too injured to fly get seriously harrassed by something, over and over. Had to be LM, pike, gar, or catfish in this particular pond.

First attempt: Fished from 4:30-5.30. Nothing on buzzbait, Ned rig a no-go(too much grass), one decent fish on black Terminator spinnerbait. Didn't catch it until first light. I'll keep at it, and probably give a Chatterbait and Jitterbug a try next time.

I really like fishing the swing heads near bottom at a crankbait-like pace. There's not a ton of hard cover to fish around here, but I'd think it would be great around laydowns.

Saturday is my type of bass weather; thinking about my tackle selection, my first casts would be with a live target sunfish in shallow cover. I'd also be working near the surface along weed edges with a weightless pearl white super fluke, Texas rigged. Maybe a buzz toad too. A spinnerbait of some sort would also get some work, I'm sure. If I had to slow it down, I'd opt for a Texas rigged senko or, as mentioned, a small-ish skirted jig/craw combo.

I like the Mepps Black Fury and the Comet Mino. Good multispecies trolling baits in local gravel pits here. I also make my own inline spinners - I take the treble off a bass or pike sized Mepps, and replace it with a weighted swimbait hook. I usually use a Grass Pig Jr or regular Grass Pig.