DitchPanda

Garbage left by inconsiderate worthless people AKA trash leaving trash. Equipment failure and poor weather irk me in the moment but doesn't stick with me like trash. Another one that bothers alot of guys but doesn't bother me as much as time passes is the bent rod pattern...when a stranger sees you catching so they roll up on your spot. It used to tick me off to no end but then one day I came to a realization that changed my perspective on it. I realized these people arent on my level as anglers so they aren't worth my energy. I just move down the bank and keep catching them while they take over my hot spot and struggle.

So we have alot of threads on here about what are the important things for new anglers to learn. Of course the normal things of locating fish...learning seasonal patterns...reading cover and structure...bait rotation etc always come up. One of the most important things to learn in bass fishing in my opinion is patience. There are times when it is just tough and your gonna have to put your head down and just work. I bring this up now as we are getting later into winter and I know my open water season will be starting up in the next 1-2 months. Ice out largemouth are challenging but I love it...the bites tho few and far between are very rewarding and can often times be some of the biggest of the year. Id be willing to say my strongest suit as an angler would be that grind mentality. So who else is a grinder? Do you enjoy the struggle?

Our buddy on here @Paul Roberts is a fellow Colorado angler. Maybe he will chime in and offer some tips. He also has a YouTube channel...Nature of Fishing...where he has a bunch of several well done in depth instructional videos on locating bass at ice out and in cold water in general. I recommend giving those a look as well.

All the ones I've ever cleaned did not have that red meat....they are a firm white meat with no muddy or fishy taste

My parents live by the Iowa great lakes Okoboji/Spirit area. Several of those lakes have solid populations of good sized yellow bass. They are very good eating, fight hard for the size and its easy to catch 50-100 at a time.

So everybody throws red craw,bluegill and shad colored cranks but you don't hear as much about brown craw or yellow craw colors. Whose throwing these? Which color do you prefer and why?

What are your current temps here you live? Water temps? You may be fishing to slow...bass will react to fast moving baits in surprisingly cold temps

Cool- just saw a video of a guy using a DT10 in 42 degree water catching some nice largemouth. May have to get a few for my cold water crank box

Would you consider this a good cold water crank? Ashamed to say I've never thrown one.

You can also change the rate of fall on a jig by using the same trailer but rigging it different. For instance take a zoom super chunk...a very common standard trailer. If you thread it on it is very streamlined and will fall faster than if you just hook thru the middle of the pad.

Lots of things work but spring to me means cold water moving into pres pawn. I've has success with all manner of baits jigs, Texas rigs, shad raps,chatterbaits, Ned rigs etc. My favorites are as such...at ice out jerkbaits and lipless cranks. Once the water warms into the upper 40s into the 50s I like swim jigs and spinnerbaits.

I've used JJs for several years in chartreuse and methylate. I've heard all the horror stories of exploding and spilling bottles so I never carry any with me. I store my bottles in my fishing room in my basement and just tip my baits the night before. Gets hot in the basement in summer but I just open the bottles slowly and I've never had an incident.

Bone

Atta boy get em started young...teach em brand loyalty.

So I live in Iowa...our state record bass is 10lb 14oz. So a big bass around here is anything over 6lbs. I have a small pond about 10 minutes from my house in a county park that is maybe a few acres in size...over the past few years I've caught probably 4 or 5 bass there between 6 and 8lbs. One thing I've noticed is the biggest fish seem to be most active during non prime fishing times like bad weather...windy rainy...cold water.

I rarely if ever eat while fishing. Usually take a bottle or two water in the truck with me...maybe a soda pop for a little caffeine. On the drive home depending on which local I'm fishing ill stop at either Hardees or a local bar to grab a burger and fries.

All around length I prefer 6ft 10 to 7ft4 I've tried shorter and longer but this range feels more comfortable to me. For action i dont like very fast blanks...i prefer at least a slight moderate bend that loads a little farther into the rod.For handle material I'm not to particular but I do want something that stays kinda tacky so your able to grip when its wet or slimy...some EVA gets extremely slippery. I prefer a full grip but have gotten used to split grips and honestly have more of those at this point. For spinning reel size overall I prefer the 30 size that Pflueger makes and the 2500 size Daiwa makes..both very comparable. I prefer a standard handle and the AR switch doesn't matter to me as I don't backreel. But for my brothers on here that are avid backreelers they should keep the switch on all reels! I prefer low profile for bass but still use my old Abu round reels for catfish.

I want to make another point here...something I read once that Doug Stange said in an In Fisherman article that makes alot of sense. He said its one thing to go out and be hopeful and excited but to keep from being let down a guy has to be realistic about what he expects to catch...not verbatim but you get the point. This is a tough time of year...pretty much the coldest water we will have all year everywhere in the country. Ice out for me is when I lean on that idea Mr Stange presented...I can often times go numerous trips getting skunked...its just hard to catch bass at ice out especially largemouth. Instead of focusing on that I just enjoy the fact that I'm out and the ice is finally gone...if I catch some that's a bonus.

Well I drug an ice shack out onto A frozen lake Tuesday...the temp was in the 20s with a more than stiff 35 -45mph northwind making it feel like -15ish. And ice fishing is my least favorite form of fishing. So yes I REALLY like it.

The motor oil Mr Twister phenom worms are legit!

Ha....atta boy!

Tony Montana always said coke was white

So I'm in the north country and realize yes it's January and I'm early with this. But I've got cabin fever so I don't care! For you dudes and dudettes on ice lock down like me...what will be tied on for you at ice out?

I prefer a mod fast for larger baits with bigger more robust hooks like lipless and square bills. Easier to rip a trap out of grass or pull a fish out of wood with a rod that's not as soft. I prefer a moderate when throwing smaller hooked cranks...bandit 100, Berkley frittside, dt 4 & 6 etc.

Although I didn't know him long he always had interesting advice and perspective on topics. Also just seemed like a genuine guy. Lets all catch one for him. Rest in peace my friend.