AJ Hauser

@TnRiver46 WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!

Hey guys - quick question for you. I've been lucky enough to find a few creeks that I'm able to fish this year. A kayak is required to get through certain deep areas... but I noticed the other day when I was out that the water level has dropped since I first visited a few months back. The creek feeds into one of the major rivers by me... and I'm wondering, is there a good way to tell where the water level will be (roughly) before I head out? Will the water level of creeks mimic that water level of the river? Any tips, or suggestions from what you have learned when planning your own trips? Many thanks.

Noted - thank you @TnRiver46 - I think that will be one of a few presentations I try out next week. I think downsizing and going super-natural is a good place to start! @papajoe222 I appreciate your feedback as well - very helpful fellas - thanks!

Got it - I will check those out ASAP - thanks @Tennessee Boy, and thanks again @MN Fisher - good luck on Friday!

Hey what's up @MN Fisher! Long time no talk You getting out at all lately? Missing the Midwest at all?? I'm still here... for now. Looking to head to Arkansas in about 18 months... after seeing the water in Bull Shoals I better figure out how to fish these clear pits by me with spooky bass right away. I'm going to check that unit you mentioned - when you want to review the maps, can you pull them up on a computer screen at home or do you have to do everything from the unit itself? Thanks again - much appreciated. EDIT: this looks like a similar, recent unit? https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/739043

Hey guys! I hope all is well. I wanted to ask for your expertise with something - I am currently using a Humminbird 899 CI HD side imaging unit from several years back. While it works well on the water, I'd like to be able to create my own topo maps to essentially "record" the trips, so I can go back and look for things like structure and spots that I missed while on the water. I did pick up a Deeper Pro+ Sonar that does this, however, this unit is a bit sketchy and in order to work it has to connect to my phone... well, yesterday the phone overheated in the sun, shut off, and I lost about 75% of my trip. So I'm using two clunky things to do what I hope one unit can do. Do any of you have experience with a unit like this, or know of a company that has this functionality built into a unit that would be worth the investment? I'm ready to upgrade and simplify. Please advise - thanks very much!

UPDATE: went back this morning... had a rough time. Didn't get a bite for the first 90 minutes on swimbaits or a Northland Tackle Riggin' Leech on a weedless jig. Surprising. After that, I did catch a decent smallmouth about 15 feet deep on a light TX rig with a 6" stickbait (I was surprised) and later I came over a pod of like 10 to 15 bass all stacked up close, and only caught 1 that went 2-pounds before I accidentally spooked them. I floated right over the top of 'em before I knew they were there - scared the crap out of me. They were in an area where the bottom near the shore was slow-sloping about 10 feet, with big bluegill and beds of some sort, then it dropped almost straight down to like 35 or 40 feet. I'm thinking I come back and work areas like this one with a drop shot or shaky head... any thoughts? Big worms? Tubes? What are some favorite presentations in areas like this with clear water and pressured fish? @WRB you had mentioned smaller swimbaits and little worms - how would you rig that 4.5" one - split-shot rig or just straight on a jig? @papajoe222 you mentioned finesse jigs but said they were more for when the fish were active? Thanks guys - tough morning, but we learned a thing or two!

Gotcha - thank you @the reel ess, that makes sense. I actually saw two big girls while scouting the other day headed deep right outside a really shallow slack water bay-type area. This sounds almost exactly like what you are describing - yes? Thank you too @PressuredFishing - good tips. It seems like you are suggesting some areas that I have seen - so I need to get back to work! Much appreciated everyone - thank you.

Beautiful. Thank you very much @papajoe222 - all well received advice. You mentioned plankton... I assume that is important because the baitfish feed on that, and the bass follow the baitfish? Follow up question: let's say you arrived at a lake like this in the early morning, and it was hot and dead calm. Would you spend any time fishing the side of the lake in the shade, or hit the side of the lake that the sun hit first? Thank you again for the feedback - very helpful!

Outstanding - thank you so much. Really appreciate your feedback and expertise! Got it - thank you Tom! You guys have really helped me out here - thanks so much!

Thanks, I appreciate the insight. Do bass see well at night or is it more of a lateral line / dark colors that silhouette against the surface kind of a thing? Hey thanks Tom - I believe there is an incoming creek on the back side. This will require more investigating, but when I was back in the bay as far as I could go I heard a trickle of water and there is a creek that runs right next to the lake. Not 100% sure though. I think the max depth is actually 45 feet. I'll probably take a depth finder with next time to double check that as well.

Thanks @DitchPanda - much appreciated! When you switch to the TX rig are you working out deeper? If so, any thoughts on why they move? Is it a temperature / heat thing or... whaddya think? Really? For bigguns'? It is super hot... appreciate the feedback!

Hey all! I'm sure this issue has been addressed like... once or... maybe twice... ? I'm wondering what your general thoughts were in terms of largemouth bass daily movement? I am usually able to fish in the early morning and sometimes the afternoon here in Illinois. It's HOT right now. I bank fish a lot. Next week I am lucky enough to be headed to a new lake. It's 16 acres with an average depth of 35 feet. As you probably guessed, this is similar to a strip pit or borrow pit, which means rocks and sand and probably fairly decent water clarity with steep banks & shorelines. Might be some light weeds present, and of course there is muck on everything in this state so I assume some algae wads up near shore in spots. How would you attack a lake like this? What would you think the daily movement(s) of the bass would probably be, based on what you've experienced in terms of behavior on your trips out? Thanks much - talk soon!

Got it - thank you so much @king fisher - that sounds like a great idea. I will venture ahead and see what I can find to give it a rest for a bit. Have a great weekend!

I like both, but I really prefer that whatever I'm using has salt in it (not just on it in the package). I really feel like this gives me more time to get a proper hookset when the bite is super light. If they're fired up you can probably just use whatever and they'll smash it... but... those days seem to be few and far between.

Ah, very interesting, both of you! Thank you so much @PaulVE64 and @cyclops2 - I think I need to spend more time exploring the creek. It's beautiful and it is so different from the local city lakes. Those are filled with all sorts of noises that aren't... natural... loud music, motorcycles, kids screaming on the playground - not that it's bad, but it sure is different than going miles up the creek and being surrounded by trees and farmland... and silence. Dang, this makes me want to go fishing... In terms of seasonal activity - my lakes seem to shut down here in Illinois when it starts to get cold at the end of October, early September - is it different in creeks? Do these areas have the potential to extend my fishing season?? Thanks guys, talk soon!

I'll have to get in closer - thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it. Is there a way that you like to dissect creeks when you're fishing new water?

Hey everyone, I'm in Illinois and while I was out with my son on the kayaks in a little creek, I was very surprised to see a whole bunch of smallmouth bass in the water. I went back to fish them the next day, caught 5 and missed 6 (I don't want to talk about it) on an inline spinner and jigworm over a 2 hour period. They were super active. Went again the other day, and I only caught 1 on a jig: I was working the same area with the same baits with no luck. The water was a bit muddier, and the weather had been HOT. My question is this: How do these fish move in creeks? There is a river below this stretch I was in, and riffles above so they can't swim upstream. Downstream is deeper but the water is slower and muddier (probably kickback from the river). Do they hunker down as the water muddies, or gets really hot? Again, on the first day they were out and about all over and hot to trot, next two times, not very active or I was nowhere near them... what do you think? Thanks! Appreciate the feedback, really trying to figure this out and hopefully find a place where I can keep fishing in the fall when the largemouth in my area shut down...

Gotcha - thanks all - I really appreciate the feedback!

Yes, purplish or even slightly blue. I think it's a silver shiner based on what I've read - we have golden shiners around for sure so I'm not 100% on that, but the golden shiners I've seen are really clearly golden in color - but I've also only seen them in the summer months. Not really early spring like this. What do you think?

HA! ?

Yeah but you guys are smarter than the dopes on the internet!

Got it - thanks guys - I really appreciate the input! Shiners are different than shad, then? Do shad typically have wider bodies? I've never really looked into baitfish before, I'm thinking that has been a big oversight on my part considering it's what the bass actually eat. Whoops.

Like this dude? https://www.britannica.com/animal/shiner-fish

Hey guys! Water here is finally warming up to about 50 degrees. I took the kids out to the lake for a walk the other day and my youngest picked up this dead baitfish. Any idea what kind this is? We're in Illinois. I know part is covered up by the dried muck but I'm pretty sure this isn't a gizzard shad (don't think we have them here). Any ideas? Follow up: would this by chance influence the lures you started fishing with? ? Thanks!