plawren53202

Fellow bank fisherman here (in Missouri)...one thing that might be coming into play. I have been getting skunked a lot here the past month as well. In my area, the only available bank fishing locations also are very heavily pressured. I have much better luck when, for instance, I can get away to our family's farm that is a few hours away and has ponds that are not fished by anyone else. On a lake in a boat, you have access to more water; not that it doesn't get any pressure, but the places I'm able to bank fish in my area just get pounded with pressure. So, I have to remember to do all of the typical "high pressured area" tactics--smaller baits, finesse techniques, slower presentations; things like a Ned rig, wacky rigged Senko, slow fished weightless fluke, or smaller baits that I might typically use for panfish like small jig and curly tail grub, small Rapala crankbait, etc. Even then, I still come home with the stink of skunk more often than I want.

I've hired a guide twice, ironically didn't hardly catch any either time. Both times were for saltwater, once flyfishing in the mangroves near Cancun and once for wahoo in Aruba. But even though we didn't do well either time, the Cancun trip was outstanding and worth every penny, and the Aruba trip was a complete waste of money--because of the person doing the guiding. On my Cancun trip, the guy who took us was working his butt off to put us on some fish. We were trying to sight cast to juvenile tarpon back in the mangroves and he poled us all over that mangrove. After a while when it became obvious they weren't biting that day, he took us to some different water to fish for sea trout. Caught a couple but still not tearing them up. But he worked hard every moment we were on the water. Plus, just a super good guy and great conversation all day. By far the most memorable part of the trip was at the end, for lunch he took us to a very local, waaaaay off the beaten path seafood shack. We got to see actual local culture, much different than most people's experience of Cancun. And the guy went considerably over our "clock" for the trip. On the Aruba trip, the crew just seemed like they'd rather be a 1000 other places the whole day. After trolling for wahoo for a while, with only one bite and none caught, they made what seemed like a very token effort to try for barracuda or more inshore species. Very little conversation the entire time. At the end of our four or five hours, on the dot they just kind of unceremoniously dumped us back at the pier with a halfhearted "sorry you didn't catch anything." Not catching hardly any on either trip, it really illustrated well that the success of the guide is not really in the catching.

Ordered on Friday from SO, still don't have a tracking number. I started a thread about it in the Rod forum; couple people there said they never got a tracking email and then the rod just showed up at their door.

Both, depending on what I am trying to mimic. If I'm trying to mimic a crawdad (green pumpkin or brown, fishing it more on the bottom, etc.) I rig it conventional; if I'm trying to mimic a shad or bluegill (obviously whites for shad, brown or green pumpkin for bluegill, but fishing it more like a spinnerbait) I rig it on its side. I also leave the tails attached if I'm rigging it on its side. Seems to work well like that, as well as conventional style like a crawdad.

I use both of them. I think the Rage Bug would work better for a finesse jig application. The slightly wider beaver style body should let your jig fall a little slower. I like the Menace mainly as a chatterbait trailer.

So my "home water" is our HOA pond. 3 acres or so, typical HOA type pond, bowl shaped, not very deep, no real dam to speak of. Very little cover, except that in the shallower end some thick stalked weeds grew in the summer. Last year I had quite a bit of success especially fishing those weeds. All generally small, but it was a good way to entertain myself and only 2 minutes from front door to water. Even managed to catch some into January, until it got really cold. This year, the water has been much clearer than last year. Water was never muddy, per se, but always had a slight stain. My guess is due to the fountain that used to always run (maybe stirring up the water enough to loosen a little silt?). They always turn the fountain off when it ices over, of course, but for some reason they didn't turn it back on after ice out this year. Now, the water is gin clear. And, the moss/algae/slime growing up from the bottom has completely taken over the whole pond. It is so thick you can't hardly fish anything without coming out with a goo ball of green mush every time. And, it forms big mats on the surface. In fact, the shallow end where the "good" weeds grew last year is also on the downwind side of the pond, and now it is just completely cased over from bank to bank with thick green slime. So needless to say, the bass fishing has been nonexistent this spring. I have tried every possible solution to fish the slime: fishing a drop shot to ride my bait over it; weedless rigged fluke and Senko; and a topwater, even though probably still too early. Several trips out now, not a single bite. And interestingly, yesterday I was trying throwing super light tackle to see if that would help. Again, not a bite from the bass, but I did catch three good sized bluegill. That was unusual because I have never seen anything other than tiny bluegill in the past. The bluegill are the main forage in this pond, so the fact that I for the first time caught a couple of good sized ones makes me worry that it's because the bass aren't eating them any more. Anyone else experience anything like this? I really hope my usual evening-after-work spot isn't dead. There are not a lot of great publicly available fishing options in my area to begin with, so that would really stink.

OP here...update...ordered my rod last Friday, still waiting (and no shipping email yet, but not worried based on others' responses here). Also, pulled the trigger on a Lew's Tournament MP (7.3:1) to go with it. At 119 sale price on SO, that just seems like a solid reel for the money.

That 40% off code at SW was just too good to pass up, even though the bait/gear monkey is supposed to be firmly in his cage right now with all the economic uncertainty. I got the 733C (7'3" med/heavy fast action). Looking for it to be an all-purpose rod. This is my first non-Walmart bass rod purchase ever so I'm looking forward to finding out what all the hype is about with the Dobyns rods. Now on to the decision of what reel to pair with it. I have been looking at the H20 Mettle M3. All aluminum frame and 10+1 bearings for $59.99? Seems like a pretty solid combo for a grand total of $131.

I was just yesterday throwing a standard Zoom trick worm on some nondescript shaky head yesterday in my local pond, and it was having no trouble standing up enough to stay up off the bottom.

Interesting to hear different perspectives on this. For me, it's nearly the opposite. The thing I enjoy most about fishing is figuring out the ever-changing puzzle as to what will make a certain fish in a certain location bite on a certain day (or even figuring out where they are in the first place). Once the fish has bitten, the fight to land the fish is kind of an afterthought. Certainly I'd much rather land every fish that bites, but getting them to bite in the first place is the puzzle that I enjoy solving the most. But having said that, I like hearing from those with a different opinion on this. Good thread.

I have never been a fan of DSG for fishing gear, even though there are two close to me. An occasional diversion when I needed a long lunch break at work were about the most they ever offered. Prices just not in line with what I can find online or at Academy, BP, Cabelas. Having said that, now that the news came out about them removing fishing gear from their stores, and I see lots of people in other parts of the country getting 50% off or other good deals, I have been to both of my local DSGs in the last week to hunt for closeout sales. One had absolutely no fishing gear on sale, zero, and the other had a small table where a few things were marked down maybe 10%. Both stores still had shelves basically full of their fishing gear. Good ole DSG. Disappointing me even to the end.

So by way of background, I'm a relative newcomer to baitcasting reels; the one I currently have is the best one I have owned. I currently have the Lew's black Speed Stick combo that Walmart was selling a while back for 79.99. I think it is called the "Classic Speed Stick" combo. It looks to me that the reel is comparable to the current Lew's Classic Speed Spool SLP reel (4+1 bearings, etc.). The rod is the "Classic Speed Stick" rod with IM6 blank. I've had my eye on the Mach Crush combo for a while (side note, I know there are arguments about Daiwa/Shimano etc., better for the money, but I've read good reviews about the Mach Crush and petty or not, I just like the way it looks). I'm wondering how much of an upgrade I can expect, not having spent that much on a baitcaster before. I have one kid in college and another soon to be, so money is tight...I'm willing to spend it on the Mach Crush if it is really going to make a noticeable difference in things like casting distance, rod sensitivity, drag power, and so on. BUT, if the difference is only going to be marginal, I'd rather spend the money elsewhere bc as we all know, fishing ain't cheap. If I'm not going to notice much difference, I'd rather upgrade on down the line when I have a few more pennies laying around. Just looking for some honest thoughts from those who have gone through a similar upgrade process.

Zoom Super Fluke, bluegill flash color, Texas rigged weightless on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG hook largemouth between 4 and 5 pounds (no scale or tape measure with me)

Thanks for your thoughts. Good stuff. Your suggestion is consistent with my recent experience; I was bank fishing a pond--so by definition the fish I caught were relating fairly closely to the bank, definitely not chasing schools of shad deep in a lake. I'm limited to bank fishing so I guess I should have specified that with my question.

Ditto on 6th Sense. Good quality products. I've been slowly building my collection as they constantly have a good selection on their clearance or sale page, with many as low as $4 or $5 apiece. And, it's not hard to find a 10% off code on social media to add on top of the sale prices. But more importantly, I've found their stuff to be good quality, great hooks, and they catch fish for me. Unless you're fishing deep water, I'd agree with comments above and start with square bills. Get a range that covers shad patterns (natural colors or to match your local bait, and dirty water colors) and craw patterns. Maybe also grab a couple of lipless.

This is my first year that I have done any substantial amount of fishing in the winter (Missouri). I have heard conflicting opinions on Wiggle Warts and other similar crankbaits as winter baits (I put the Spro Rock Crawler and the 6th Sense Curve 55 in the same general category). I have heard people say, don't use a crankbait with a wide wiggle like a Wiggle Wart in the winter...which I get the logic in their point, and earlier in the season (late late fall, cold but before the super cold temps) I had some luck on a flat sided squarebill which I know has a tight wiggle. BUT I have also heard people who highly recommend Wiggle Warts/Rock Crawlers/Curve 55 as a winter bait. And, on a day a couple of weeks ago in north Missouri when conditions were absolutely brutal (cold front had moved through the evening before, water temps in low 40s, and about an inch of rain the day before) I caught three keepers on craw pattern Wiggle Wart and Curve 55, in just a couple of hours. This was a day that I would consider catching anything to be a big success especially given my lack of experience fishing winter conditions. So, just curious as to others' opinions on these baits in the winter, and generally, why these three crankbaits may be good in the winter when generally wider wiggling crankbaits don't have much success.

I'm throwing in the towel on the drop shot. I have tried many times and don't know that I've caught a single fish on it. Yesterday was a perfect example; cold Missouri farm pond, I forced myself to throw a drop shot for quite a while with no success. Finally gave in and switched to a shakey head and thereafter a Ned rig, both of which I am much more comfortable with, and caught fish on both. YMMV, I know many people have great success on a drop shot.

I've caught many fish on the Walmart spinnerbaits. Longevity tends to be my biggest issue with them; on some of them, the skirt falls apart too early. Having said that, I have had some where there skirt lasted plenty long, especially given how much they cost. I've had less good luck with the buzzbaits. My main complaint with the Walmart buzzbaits is that with most of them, it seems like it takes too long for them to rise to the surface. I.e., I have to reel for a lot longer than "quality" buzzbaits before the bait starts buzzing on the surface.

I'm certainly no expert on turkey hunting but have done some, and have successfully called in a number of gobblers. As someone else said on this thread, I don't think the particular type of call is as important. More important, I think, is: (a) get good at whatever call(s) you use; and (b) get good and setting up and blending in correctly. I would definitely want a diaphragm/mouth call in my arsenal. When those gobblers get within eyesight, I don't want to have to move a muscle, so being able to have a call in your mouth and not move hands/arms is important. Besides that, I usually used a slate call til I could hear one getting close--seemed that I could punch out longer distances with the slate call. Then switch to a mouth call when I thought one was getting close. I got a couple of DVDs when I first started out that had lots of footage of turkeys in the wild, categorized by types of calls (yelps/clucks/purrs/etc.). Then sat around trying to emulate what I heard on the DVDs. You can imagine how much the family enjoyed that.

Now that you mention it, my PB largemouth was an approximately 8 1/2 lber caught on, of all things, a black woolly bugger (flyfishing fly). I was at a pond casting a new flyrod I had gotten for Christmas, just to see how well it cast, and just threw the woolly bugger on there just to have a fly on the line. I think I will give downsizing, and in particular hair crappie jigs, a shot in my pond.

I forgot...add this to the list of things I've tried.

So in the past, I would usually hang up the gear for the winter. Decided this year I am going to try powering through it and learn winter fishing. The easiest water for me to access is our subdivision HOA lake. Small (prob. 3 acres or so), doesn't get any deeper than estimated 6 feet in the middle. Other than one end, it's like a fishbowl, almost no features at all. One end has some vegetation, that is of course dying/dead now. The pond doesn't really have any big bass, but enough in the 1/2 to 1 pound range that during warmer weather I can have some fun. Sometimes I would have days of 20+ in a couple of hours. I'm in Missouri; our temps are currently averaging highs in the 30s to occasional days topping out over 50. Nights get down in the 20-25 degree range. I would estimate water temp to be around 40 in the pond right now. A couple of cold snaps it has just started to ice in the ends, but melted back off. Fishing has consistently gotten harder and harder, so that the last two times out I did not get a bite in 2 hours or so of fishing. I have tried every winter technique I know of: drop shotting a Yum mini dinger or swimbait; jig with trailer; suspending jerkbait; texas rigged Senko; small Keitech style swimbait; slow rolling a spinnerbait on the bottom. All of these have been at winter speeds, that is to say slooooooow dragged on the bottom. Nada. The last couple I caught were just before Thanksgiving; those came on a red craw flat sided squarebill fished just fast enough to dig in the mud bottom. That technique hasn't worked for me the last times out either. So my question is, given the lack of depth in this pond, is it fruitless for me to try catching them during the winter? I understand the logic in winter fishing lakes that have some depth i.e. warmer water, but is a shallow pond like this just a different story? Wanted to hear thoughts from some who have succeeded (or failed) in shallow ponds like this during cold winter weather.

When I was a kid we would fish in Mississippi River sloughs and oxbow lakes for big bluegill, and we would use flyrods with crickets as live bait. Besides the hook and cricket, we would use one splitshot in the tiniest size we could find, along with a very small float as a strike indicator. Even with that light setup, it was all roll casting. I can't imagine that the cricket would have stayed on the hook on a standard overhand cast. In any case, we were frequently fishing among cypress trees, so overhand casting wasn't an option in the first place.

So I have recently been reading about/watching videos on the virtues of blade baits for winter bass. (For me = pond and lake largemouths) I have never used a blade bait. I have a whole bunch of lipless cranks, which I use frequently. To me, it looks like a blade bait would be very similar to a lipless cb--similar action, similar target water, similar retrieve, etc. I'd rather not buy anything new if I don't need to. But, I would appreciate hearing if there is something fundamentally different about blade baits that makes them substantially better than lipless cbs for winter bass. Thanks!

Much of what I'll say echoes comments others have made. Having said that, I'm a major cheapskate, so here's my observations about cheapest bass baits: --Sales of course are the best. E.g., I just grabbed a bunch of z-man original and elite chatterbaits at $1.88 each in an online sale a local sporting goods store was having. --Apart from sales: soft plastics can be cheap (or expensive). The best deal going is usually Zoom or Yum at Walmart. Look in particular for "value deals" in boxes below the Yum and Zoom lures on the rack. I've generally found Zoom and Yum to be at least as durable as many other soft plastics--an example is Yamamoto, which seem to tear up awfully fast relative to price. --Spinnerbaits: the cheapest are the ones in the $1 box at Walmart. I've absolutely caught fish on these. Now, some of them, the skirt will wear out faster, or it might need a little tweaking to get it to run straight. But generally, I've had good luck with them. --Crankbaits, jerkbaits, other hard baits: Walmart has their own brand (Ozark Trail I think) that are the lowest price you can find. Sometimes the components on these are sketchy--hooks, bill needs tweaking to run straight, etc. I have caught fish on them, though. Academy's H2O hard baits are not much more than Walmart's and seem to be much better made. Bass Pro also has their own brand, and some of them will either be in a $2.75 bin, or some for regular price of $3.39-3.79, every time I go to BP. They do also have their own brands for significantly more, so you just have to look at the price. --Topwaters: I have caught many a fish on Walmart's Ozark Trail brand frogs, and they have seemed to hold up well. There are also some Yum or Zoom soft plastic frogs that you can rig weightless/Texas style and fish on top, and I have caught fish on them as well. That gets you a basic selection of all three zones (topwater, moving bait/mid-water column, and slow baits/bottom). I got back into bass fishing after a several year hiatus and had to start over with tackle (someone broke into our family farm and cleaned me out a couple of years ago). You might try what I did: I got a basic selection of stuff relying on these sources, lots of Walmart and Ozark Trail stuff. As I determined what I like to use best and what works best for the waters I fish, I then started slowly upgrading in those areas. For instance, over the months I have gotten some 6th Sense squarebills on sale because I use squarebills a lot; I have also upgraded to some better spinnerbaits as skirts would fall off the cheapies. Still using lots of my cheapy stuff though, like lots of Yum and Zoom plastics and the Walmart frogs.