Buzzbaiter

https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/crawfish-relationship.html

I was curious when you guys put on the swim trunks and start casting for smallies. I usually start the first week of June and fiddle with green fish until then. However, now that high school is over, I have nothing to do between now and fall. What’s the earliest you guys start wet wading?

I went to Liberty earlier today. Water seemed warm and I saw a dead bass on the ground (no clue what did him in), but no bites. I might try fishing some small ponds or hit the river for smallies

I cannot catch fish in the spring. I’m awful at catching bass this time of year, and I can’t seem to catch perch, crappie, or sunfish either. I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I just get lost. I’m great at catching fish in the summer, but the spring just frustrates me. The water looks dead and I never pull any fish up. Anybody feel the same way? Any tips? I’d love to hop on the prespawn train the rest of you are riding, but I just can’t figure it out.

It seems that every other day, one of his “most closely guarded secrets” gets out.

I got mine just yesterday in the 7’ 1 piece light. I haven’t used it yet (I’ll fix that this weekend), but it is the best light/ultralight rod I’ve handled so far. IMO, it’s a hair stiffer than other light power rods. That might just be because it’s a longer rod, but it’s not nearly as noodley as my other panfish rods. Again, I haven’t used the Procyon in the field yet, but I think it’d do great with bobbers as well as slightly heavier jigs in the 1/16-1/8oz range (as well as your standard UL applications).

On an unrelated note, I think there should be a distinction made between Alabama bass and spotted bass. It’s not really fair to compare the two fish since one grows much faster than the other.

I’d either go for the smallmouth or the redeye. I love smallmouth, so that’s my inclination. Fighting a 15lber would be awesome. At the same time, redeyes are just plain cool fish. I’ve never caught one, but I’d love to see what a 6lber would look like

I’m not too experienced with crappie. I’ll camping at a small lake the last weekend of February, and I wanted to know where to start looking for them. The lake is in southern PA near Fort Littleton, and it functions similarly to a lowland reservoir or large pond. It’s a shallow bowl that’s impounded by a dam on the northeastern side. The banks next to the dam slope fairly hard. The northern and eastern shores have lots of laydowns, and the southern end has a small, stagnant stream that flows in and sources the lake. I think there are some rocks in this area, but I don’t know how deep it is. The western shore is all shallow. It’s cattails, spatterdock (in the summer), and mowed grass. There is one spot with a soft bottom, submerged tree, and a moderate drop off, but I don’t know exactly how deep that area is either. What do crappie do in the late winter? I’ve heard conflicting things about them during that time period. Where might I find these fish? I’m thinking the dam and northern shore, but I’d like to hear your thoughts

Also, I hardly mess with canned fish. Most of the fish I eat is what I catch anyways. Occasionally I’ll open a can of Wild Planet sardines though, they go well with crackers and mustard when the craving arises

Do I have to say it? Fine, Jeremy Wade. I used to watch nature documentaries as early as I can remember. River Monsters (though not really a nature documentary) ranked among my favorites. Looking back, the show is very dramatic and over the top, but I don’t know if I’d have picked up a fishing rod if it weren’t for Jeremy Wade’s show

I’m partial to the 4in Yum Dinger in Elder’s Magic. I caught my first bass on one years ago, and they’ve been catching them since

When would you use each one? Swimbaits and spybaits seem pretty similar to me. They’re both (mostly) straight retrieve baits that can be worked in the middle of the water column. For that matter, when would you use a spybait over a jerkbait? If the fish are schooled up on structure, wouldn’t both work? I have very limited experience with jerkbaits and spybaits, and I’d like to figure them out this year

Throw some crappie in there and watch the fireworks 😈 In all seriousness, call in with an expert. I’d sooner add cover than stock new fish if predation is the problem. It would give the bait a place to hide and also improve the fishing.

Hoppe’s 9 or lighter fluid under the collar will usually suffice. If I’m feeling daring, I might just draw a smiley face on my hand with a scented marker.