TriStateBassin106

I threw 12lb big game last year, I still use it for my backing. How has it been for you?

I guess it's because I'm always fishing there? I never asked for any of that, I just catch bass and post them. People find that appealing I guess lol

My chatterbait setup is a 7'3 Medium Heavy Fast Action rod paired with a 6:6:1 Gear Ratio Baitcaster reel, line is 12lb Yozuri Hybrid. For chatterbait size and color I would recommend 3/8oz and black and blue, green pumpkin and white for color. For starters use the Gary Yamamoto Zako trailer and get it in the same colors I mentioned. For retrieves a simple cast and medium speed is always good, if you want to fish fast you can "burn" it on the surface or even hop it on the bottom. It's a very versatile lure.

I usually fish alone or with a few friends but I'm kinda a celebrity like figure at my two ponds because i'm always posting catches on the fishbrain app, I always have other anglers coming up to me and saying stuff like "I know you you're the guy from fishbrain who fishes here" or the usual small talk between anglers about the fishing. I also have family property on a private 300 acre lake that's for homeowners which I fish and it's basically the same situation. Except it's people fishing on bass boats and kayaks that recognize me. I even met another forum member on My lake! (He didn't tell me his username just that he was a member on here) Now going back to my ponds I did have one incident last fall where this Eastern European man would come around and harass anglers for fish to take home. One day I caught a nice 2lb bass and this guy basically tried persuading me to give him the fish in broken english. After telling him no multiple times politely he tried grabbing the fish tail first out of my hands which I then proceeded to walk backwards calmly and released the fish. He then started arguing with me in his native language before being pulled away by his wife. Haven't seen him since ane I hope Fish and Wildlife gave him a notice. I've heard horror stories of the bass anglers who fish the lakes in central park, everything from being harassed by homeless people to kids throwing huge rocks and logs and even karens acting like they're game wardens.

Good to see more Jersey anglers joining the forum! May I ask what part of the state do you reside in? I'm in North Jersey, you'll enjoy the forums plenty of helpful people and information to learn. Tight lines!

Thanks Glenn!!

"Bob, you're drunk again" - All the other Bass.

How do you retrieve it? drags or hops? I always heard with a Carolina rig simply swimming it will get bites

Never tried the Neko rig, but I've had success fishing all other baits you listed from the shore, throw what you're the most confident in.

What's the action on the rod??

Baby Brush Hog Havoc Pitboss Rage Craw Sweet Beaver

So I was told to try this rig out the other day by another forum member, I understand the concept of it being a finesse approach to the Carolina rig, What is a good starting size weight and line size to start out with, I have a finesse combo with 15lb braid and I fish from the bank at shallow ponds and lakes (3 to 8 feet). Also what are some worms/creature baits you would recommend to use?

I fish a similar pond but it's a giant fish bowl with a fountain and some cover like rocks and overhanging trees, My water looks like pea soup in the summer and most of my bass are pale in color at that point. I would recommend throwing black baby brush hogs bkack n blue senkos and maybe black n blue chatterbaits

The bluegill have started spawning at my pond, water temps are in the low 60s and starting to rise after the chilly weather we had last week. My only question is did the bass spawn already? Or will they now spawn alongside the bluegill? I saw one bed on May 3rd but then we got rain and chilly temps and it seemed like any bass beds I remember seeing disappeared.

Spinnerbaits.

Baby Largemouth, I fish a creek for trout and the Largemouth in there look identical to OPs pictures, people mistake baby Largemouth for spotted bass because of how vibrant the black and the lateral line is. Overall pretty fish.

2021 has actually been great for me, I caught a good number of fish in both April and late March, also caught fish on new techniques which I thought I never would. May so far has been a total bust. I know it will kick off once the warmer weather stays around into the mid fall.

I remember seeing like 1 or 2 bed fish at the very end of two weeks ago (Around the beginning of May) but since the beginning of last week we had a few days of heavy rain, surface temps dropping from 70s and even 80 degrees at the end of April to high 50s and low 60s with nigh time temps in the low 40s. at my pond right now the water is a few inches higher than normal and the visibility is around 6 to 8 inches compared to it's usual 1ft of visibility. any beds I remember seeing are now gone, probably because of the water clarity making them out of sight. This time last year my ponds and lakes I fish here had bedding fish everywhere, really started to warm up mid April and stayed like that all May. but this year is different, this is also my first full spring bass fishing from start to finish.

How are the temps up there in NY? guessing you're also having 40 to 30 degree nights?

how did you retrieve the chatterbait? were you fishing the bank or casting to the deeper water?

UPDATE Still haven't caught a bass since May 2nd. I got the water temps today and they're different at both ponds, average temp of pond number 1 right now is 59.6 degrees, pond number 2 (which is shallower) at 7 feet is 62.5 degrees, wasted what seems like an entire day at both ponds. Bluegill are starting to become more noticeable though, I guess that's a good sign.

I've tried speeding up, even burning lipless cranks and bladed jigs. Just can't hit the nail on the head right now with a pattern, it'll be better once the temps rise back up.

I really hope so, I feel like the 40 degree nights we've been having here is really ruining everything. It's hard to kinda figure out any patterns atm.

Fish spawing in the middle of May has been a tradition in NJ. The past three years this time the fish were mostly on beds already protecting fry. There was a few on beds as far back as April 25th if I remember this year. But this weather has just been awful, most bed fish who haven't recieved eggs yet probably retreated back to deeper water, honestly I just want to know what to throw at this point. I know the fish are there but there just being lock jawed.

Bite has been brutal but here is some the fish I got at the early part of May and Late April, also caught my first ever rock bass!