skekoam

OP, listen to all the advice above and try not to get caught up in the plethora of baits there are for bass. If you try to buy everything out there, you will end up more confused and frustrated than you started out. I'm somewhat new myself and my favorite thing to throw is a weightless senko. I don't know why, but I just find it easy to rig and throw. I've also caught most of my fish this way. i've yet to catch one with any lure or spinner bait. Good luck out there.

Ok, long story short. My son was golfing over the weekend and he had a putt for birdie on the first hole of approximately 80 ft. He asks how much he gets if he makes it. I say, 'New rod.' Now I need to pay up. My son is 9. I just bought him the Abu Garcia pro max combo about 4 months ago. I like the reel, but the rod is super heavy and boardy. I'd like to get him something better and ideally in the <$100 range.

Look at it this way OP, At least you don't live in Southern California. My son and I got into bass fishing about 6 or so months ago. In all, I've spent well over a grand in gear and buying any bait that someone would recommend. It became a big money pit. Just to make it worse, each time my son and I would go out, we would get skunked. I felt bad more for my son than anything else as he has become literally obsessed with fishing. I will say we have caught some nice ones, but these were mainly on golf courses where we asked permission first. The difference is amazing when you fished an unpressured lake/pond vs. a pressured one. I've thought about quitting too, but like everyone else, I enjoy the out doors and rush when you finally get a fish on. Sorry I can't offer any advice as we are noob's as well. Keep at it and good luck.

Yikes. sounds dreadful. Thanks for the heads up. If I do go, I plan on a weekday for sure. Hopefully its a lot less busy out there.

I've been reading a lot of recent posts about guys killing it at Lake Perris off the bank. One guy saying he caught 30 or so LMB. Like anywhere else, location is key but the fish are definitely there. I want to go try my luck one day soon.

Ok, so there is a lake that I frequent where I see bass jumping around in the middle of a large bush/brush pile. Its almost like a tree about 5 ft tall with very tough reeds/straws growing out of it. The bass are literally jumping right in the middle of it. If you look closely, you can see tons of line and other tackle hung up and caught in there. Is there an approach to somehow get to these bass without the luxury of heavy braided line? I've tried to do small pitches to the outter edges, but no luck yet. Thanks!

Being fairly new myself- most guys recommended starting with a drop shot. I understand how it works, but have had little success with it from the bank. I could be going about it all wrong. My favorite way to fish is a T-rigged Senko. That also how I've caught most of my fish. I will attest to the idea of spinner baits being difficult for kids to do effectively as it requires so much casting. It seems like my son is getting tangled every other cast, which also takes away from my fishing time. LOL!!

So, when is it good to use a trailer on spinners or should you always do this?

Here is a better pic. I'm not sure which brand/model, but I'm almost positive its a spinner. I look forward to trying it out as its my first.

My family and I are headed to Watsonville and then Monterey for a golf tournament. Just curious if there are any smaller ponds that might hold some bass in the area. We are driving from Orange County so don't mind stopping on the way back or forth either. Thanks guys!!

A local guy was selling some tackle for cheap so I picked it up. Is the circled item a good spinner bait?

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Have any of you had any luck with the Zoom floating worms?

So I visited a new pond today. First cast wit a jig and it seems like there is grass just below the surface. I was getting caught up in it everytime. Finally found some clearing along the grass lines and caught several small ones with a senko. Is there a better bait i should be using given the conditions? I wish I had a buzz bait, but not sure if the fish are aggressive enough for top water. thanks

Went out yesterday for 3 hrs and not even a bit using a senko and fat ika. They stocked trout earlier in the day so I caught one of those, but not what I was going for. Socal bass fishing is so frustrating.

Are you freakin serious? I'm moving to Canada!!!

Hi Glenn, Which worm is that? thanks

Good lord that was awesome. I would even be a bit scared handling that beast.

Thanks Hammer. I'm going to go try my luck during lunch at a lake in Fullerton. At this lake, you can literally see the bass swimming in packs of 3-4 but man are they ever hard to catch. People have recommended large fake blue gill lures, but I haven't bought one yet as they are like $30 each. I've caught one on the lake so far with a drop shot robo worm. I'm going to try that again and then switch to a fat Ika and maybe Senko. I need to fish with you one day. ?

I really agree with this. TMI is the phrase for me as a noob. Not to mention whenever I watch bass videos, they are fishing in areas or states where there seem to be tons of fish with very little pressure. I on the other hand call California home.

Good question. I normally don't switch for a few reasons. First, I don't like packing multiple rods because I'm really scared of accidentally leaving them. I'm from Southern California and the ponds that I frequent don't have anywhere to safely leave another pole. Many have cement sidewalks around them. Also, I don't know how to fish a variety of baits. I recently suscribed to MTB so I really need to start experimenting soon. The last shipment had a frog, toad, and a few other lures. Lastly, I'm on a time constraint most of the time. Curious, how long do you guys fish a certain bait before you switch to something else?

I've fished a few golf courses and caught all the fish on weightless senko. Just dragging it on the bottom. These are rarely fished ponds so I assume they will bit on almost anything.

What is a slider? Is it just a hood with a weight at the head? Also, seems like with almost all the applications, a spinning reel is ideal due to the lack of weight correct?

Yup. My son pointed it out to me that they aren't supposed to use bluegill. Not sure of the present of G&F there, but wish these guys got caught.

I'm curious for those experienced guys out there. If you visited a local lake/pond and could only fish 1 bait then what would it be? I only have 1 baitcaster and a spitting reel. Often times, I only have a few hrs to fish so I keep the same thing tied on all day (weightless senko). I rarely change baits and thats probably a big reason, I get skunked a lot lol. Just curious what you would keep tied on all day if you had to.

Well after about 30 minutes, my wife is normally calling me to see when I am coming home. My son and I normally go for about 4 hrs at a time, but my son would easily stay from sunrise to sunset. I swear that time flies when fishing and it is sometimes hard to leave especially if the bit is slow.