Luke Barnes

Like others have stated, I like night fishing. I'm a bank fisherman and have limited time sometimes so when I get out I stay as late as possible. 2020 I caught my biggest fish night fishing topwater. But what I may do different, if its just a tough day with no bites I'll throw a bobber on, straight shank hook and a 3 inch Gulp minnow and slowly move it around. Works most of time casted as far out as I can to avoid sunfish.

I never knew frogs went after frogs until this year! Got a dedicated frogging setup and first thing I catch is a bullfrog!!! Big sucker too. Put the rod through its paces! Ive given up on the Lunkerhunt Yappa Bug. Looked cool and has that jitterbug front lip but hollow and weedless like a frog. I had hopes for it then I used it a few outings and it didn't wiggle like a jitterbug. All it did was take on water and sink. Tied on a SK Pad Perch and wham! So the crappa, I mean Yappa Bug is crappa to me.

That's a bummer! Did you return it?

@RyanCastin I could google the color wheel but I'll ask. What's the opposite of blue? If im understanding correctly since the water has blue UV blockers whatever is opposite on the color spectrum will stand out more?

Ive had the best luck with junebug in that pond. I kind of figured it all meshed together into a dark color. I used a finesse TRD in Meatdog, which is just black one side blue other side, and that did good too. Im trying to remember what other colors have worked but it's a tiny urban pond that sees pressure so most of the time its finesse that catches them. Oohh I tore it up on a windy overcast day with a white buzz bait with black paddle tail trailer once. That was fun.

Its a small pond so I'm assuming it's maybe 6 feet deep in the middle. I usually use dark like junebug or black and blue. Sometimes I try green pumpkin. I figured the blue in black and blue either becomes invisible or washes out to dark. From what ive read the dye blocks thw blue UV rays which cuts down on the algae bloom in the summer. But I dont know how that would make other colors look.

@RyanCastin I did think of something that im hoping you can help shed light on. I fish a few ponds that use blue dye to cut down the UV rays thus helping to keep the algae at bay. Besides the water being literally blue, with it cutting down UV rays would that have an affect on what the colors look like from shallow to deep? I try to throw dark baits to be darker than the blue to contrast but if it looks way different because of the UV factor maybe I should throw something else?

Yeah threw that part in to be cheeky!

Ok science guy, have fun theorizing. I'll just go fishing and catch bass regardless of mercury being in retrograde and the oligotrophic nature of the body of water I am on.

Actually..... I did read the thread. All of it. Im just giving my 2 cents on what colors I pick because I dont really care about the science of rods and cones and light angle and all that. Shad arent black and blue but bass manage to find them in deep muddy water otherwise they would die. Swap bluegill or craw or minnow for shad and same principal. Im with @WRB who the heck actually knows what a bass' brain interprets color at any depth and light and clarity. So obviously you didnt see my point in my previous post. Add some Lumapearl if you want that reflective sheen that a fish has.

Ive thought no matter the water clarity of I mimic the colors and patterns of what they naturally eat I stand a good chance of getting bit. They find and eat them to stay alive even if the water is total mud or gin clear. If they didnt they would all die off because they couldnt locate baitfish. So sometimes i disregard water clarity and what i normally would throw and use what looks most realistic.

I sometimes bump an old post because I googled what i was looking for and saw there was a thread for it. So instead of making a new thread I just bump the old one with a question. Hence the Spike it vs. JJs thread.

See I'm the opposite. I do ok at ponds, which is what I fish 29/30 times, but when I make the trip to one of the lakes and bank fish or go out with my step dad on his boat i do way better. Ponds, a one bass day is pretty decent for me, but these are pressured urban ponds around Tulsa.

Snakes. When there are water moccasins swimming around i tend to high tail it out of there. As @jbsoonerfan said too, wind. Oklahoma is known for being windy and some days it's just too much.

I know nothing about them. I know they make specific jig heads for them. Do you poke the line tine out through the plastic? Texas rig? How do you fish them?

I use Bang crawfish/Shad and JJs. Just picked up some spike it markers that are garlic scented that are fun to use! Everyone keeps praising Megastrike so much. May have to check it out.

Ive got a Scum Frog Bigfoot which is a hollow body frog with kicker legs. Ive dragged it right along the edges of weed lines and for no takers. Tied in a trusty Pad Crasher and got a bite. If you want a frog that makes alot of commotion Booyah makes the Toad Runner with a big boot tail that really moves some water around.

I'm doing a test on an A Rig and tipping the tails of two swimbaits with chartreuse and the other three left alone. All five are same size so will be interesting to see if they get different bites or not.

I really wonder if it's something the bass havent seen around me much because I fish alot of ponds and even most of the local lakes dont have smallmouth so doubt they get thrown much.

That is a really cool idea!! Adds some bulk but matches the "skirt" to the bulk! I have two packs of Mizmo tubes I have never even opened. Got them in a monthly tackle box, cant remember which, and never even thought to use a tube. My understanding is they are aimed more at smallmouth. No idea what they arw even supposed to imitate!

I have a rage menace in Falcon Lake Craw rigged horizontal on my fire craw right now. Couldnt find the Swimon in Flamethrower for the life of me. I have Rage Craws in Falcon lake too but havent tried it yet. Ive heard the Berkley Chigger Craw has a good flappy action but havent tried them yet.

That's why I only marked the one swimbait so far. I'll wait until its the night before or morning of before I mark all five and put them on the A Rig.

Im no big bass angler but in my opinion i would throw big swimbaits to try to weed out the dinks. Big jigs to pitch to the timber and cover. My luck, I would use a ned rig haha.

Even an expert would be hard pressed to notice you used markers and that wasn't just an out of the pack sexy shad swimbait. It looks great!! Im a bank fisherman but ive been debating on whether to keep them home or in my tackle backpack when I fish. The JJs is staying home!!! That's why I was so glad they had a multi pack. I wouldn't buy a whole jar of blue dye. But having a blue marker im good with. Good idea on paying attention to the forage and coloring accordingly.

I tried wiping it off with my finger and it didn't wipe off at all. If its anything like the dip it stains the plastic and gets into it. I hear JJs actually soaks and dyes the entire section you dip and this does the outside but it wasnt going anywhere.