walt-14

All depends on the situation (water depth, water temp, time of day, and most importantly PRICE OF LURE, haha). Its funny this was brought up on here as I was thinking about this very topic last night. I plan on throwing some bigger swim baits this spring at some of my local ponds to see if I cant get a PB this spring. I'm going to be throwing an S-waver and you can bet your butt i'd go after that thing as long as the water isnt too terribly cold and it isnt hung up in water over 5-6 feet deep.

I'm a huge fan of their divine swim jigs and divine hybrid jigs. I have a handful of different variations their crankbaits but havent used them much. Their swimjig though IMO is the best out there. I usually pair it up with a rage menace and get a ton of bites on it at my local lake. The screw lock bait keeper is awesome. I go through 30-40 fish before having to finally change baits. Plan on trying the crankbaits a little more this spring now that the largemouth have gotten a bit bigger at my home lake. Ordered some of the finesse curves when they first released so those are going to be fun to try out. The hybrid jigs are great too. Quality, stout hook and the head design makes it very versatile. Ive thrown it everywhere from rocky structure, wood laydowns, to even grass.

Jerkbait and jig are a must for me. I've picked up a handful of new baits this winter that I'm looking forward to trying as well. The Megabass dark sleeper is one i'm most excited about. I also have had a 6th sense crush flat 75 that i need to throw. There's a few ponds in my area that I know have some PIGS in it. I have an S Waver that i'm hoping can trigger those fatties into biting. Should be a fun spring for sure!

When I first stared fishing Senkos, I always threw a Texas rigged orange with black flake. For the life of me I couldn't tell you why I bought that color but it flat out caught fish for me at my local pond. I've gone away from that color to more natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon. Probably should look into throwing that orange color again.

What are everyone's thoughts on trying new bodies of water when you know that your local spot is going to produce fish? I am always one that feel like i "want" to fish new bodies of water but then there's always that voice in my head that kind of talks me out of it due to the worry of not catching anything and then essentially I just wasted my time. My local pond has some decent largemouth in it. I would say a nice fish in that lake is a 2.5 lber. I know there are some larger ones in there though. I hear good reports from other places in the area but are completely unfamiliar with these spots. Also keeping in mind that I am strictly a shore fisherman and don't have access to any electronics or a boat. What are everyone's thoughts? Are you guys the type that are willing to go and have a decent chance of getting skunked at a new place or sticking the "old reliable" home waters?

Silver carp.

How is the shore access at both Lake Susan and Lake Auburn? I don’t have a kayak or canoe so shore access is going to play a big role in not only where I choose to go but where it’s even possible for me to go.

Can anyone tell me about these lakes when it comes to bass fishing? In particular, if there is good access from shore? I asked in a different thread about the Minneapolis area but these lakes weren’t brought up. Any info would be awesome! Thanks in advance

Did a little bit of research for this place and it looks great. Can anyone give me some input on what the water levels are like right now and then maybe what the river is like? By that I mean, if I throw a bottom contact style lure and I going to lose a ton of them or would I be good throwing something like that? Also, predominant species going to be smallmouth at this time of the year or what else would I be dealing with?

I would need a lot more guidance on fishing a river. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve fished plenty of rivers but all being in my neck of the woods and places I’m pretty familiar with. I wouldn’t have a clue as to where to access decent spots when it comes to rivers up there. If you’d care to elaborate some more, that would be great! Thanks

Sounds like I may be spending a decent amount of time up in the cities in the coming weeks and I’ll have quite a bit of time on my hands. I’ve never fished any part of the city but figured there has to be someone on here that can steer me in the right direction. Just looking for a lake or local pond of some sort that I can do some bass fishing. Would be great if that pond isn’t just full of 10-12 inch bass but has the possibility of producing some nicer fish. I’ll be fishing from shore so that might narrow down some possibilities. Thanks for any suggestions fellas!

You are correct now that I look at it. Guessing that might change some of the suggestions on here.

Im Guessing water temps are anywhere from low to mid 50s. Also, I should note that I’m fishing from shore. not really sure if that makes a huge difference but maybe.

I usually throw a jerkbait on my 6’6 MH vendetta but since the water is a bit warmer now in Iowa, I don’t feel I need to keep that jerkbait on. The rod is pretty new to me so I’m looking for suggestions on what else would be good to throw on it at this point of the season. Any help would be great to hear! Thanks!

Red eye shad, spro aruku shad (I prefer the jr) and also the cotton Cordell super spot.

My numbers are way down compared to most guys on here but I’m guessing I don’t get out as much as many of you do. I’d say in avg I catch around 100 a year. There’s days when I can go out to my local fisheries and catch between 20-25 in a matter of an hour. Those are mostly small farm ponds or smaller county lakes. Most of those fish don’t crack 2 lbs either. But most days I’m lucky to catch 2-3 but those are also better sized. I usually get out between 12-20 times a year. I’d say in my lifetime I’ve caught 1,300 fish or so

I dont fish chatterbaits very much but when I have i'm a fan of using rage menace grubs as a trailer. I see a lot of guys using Zakos as well. They look fantastic as a trailer and I'm planing on picking some up as soon as my local Scheels gets all the open water stuff on the floor. Has anyone used the paddle tail Kickin Zakos?

I'm a huge fan of the whopper ploppers (who isnt?). All 4 of my biggest bass over the last 2-3 years have come on a whopper plopper 130 in Loon color. It's a heavy bait so you'll definitely need some heavier gear to throw it on but just chuck and wind. Some of the blowups on this thing are more explosive than topwater frogs. I have the 130, 110, and the newer 75 size but the 130 outshines the rest.

Was going to start a new thread but then saw one about line and leader so i figured I'd add a question to the convo. How long of a leader do most of you guys throw on a typical rod. Plan on using like 40 lb braid with a 12-14 pound izorline copoly leader. Would be using this for swimbaits and other larger baits. Seems kind of light but at the same time, i'm not in an area that i'm going to routinely catch fish larger than 5 lbs. Thoughts on this set up and again, how long of a leader should I use?

I know i'm probably in the minority here because I do believe there are better quality spinnerbaits out there, but the best luck i've ever had is on a Strike King Premium Spinnerbait in Firetiger. Double willow blade in gold and silver with the firetiger color really sticking out has been killer for me in stained water.

I dont have a boat but the amount of tackle I bring with me on shore is crazy. It's funny you mentioned not using a majority of the tackle you bring. I'm the same way. I typically bring about 4-5 rods with me and my entire tackle bag whcih i'm guessing isnt anywhere short of 25 lbs. In the end I only end up using maybe 2 of the rods and only a very small portion of the tackle. I always tell myself that I need to only focus on taking 1-2 rods and only a small amount of tackle but there's always that thought in my head that maybe i'll need every rod and everything in my tackle bag. Better to be over prepared than under prepared I guess.

After reading what everyone was saying, I figured I’d pick it up from my relatives and give it a try. I noticed though when I got it, that the drag was set very lightly. I tightened it down as far as it could go and I still could pull out line with relative ease. Is there something I’m missing that would cause this? I feel like when I tighten the drag all the way down, I shouldn’t be able to pull any line out at all. Maybe I’m having a brain fart when it comes to solving this, actually hope that’s the case otherwise I’m afraid the reel is already screwed up.

Wondering your thoughts on the best time of the day to bass fish right after Ice out. Always heard mornings are typically good but during early spring, morning can be some of the coldest temps of the day, meaning water temp would be cold as well. Would it be best to avoid mornings altogether and just wait until early evening? Also, what about afternoon? Just trying to dial everything in before spring open water gets here. Thanks!

Have access to grab one of these from a relative who’s looking to get rid of it. Does anyone have experience using these? Thoughts on them?