Buzzbaiter

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

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.

When I think of buzzbaits, I think Pat Cullen

I am a sniffer. Of the crawfish I’ve sniffed, none have really had any discernible smell

There are many instances of smallmouth overtaking shoal bass in the southeast. Same with smallmouth and Guadalupes in Texas. Largemouth have a tendency to dominate smallmouth in stillwater environments. Here in MD we have a lot of lakes with smallmouth in them, but very few smallmouth dominant lakes. Add any bit of current, however, and the smallmouth get the upper hand. Even if you have a decent idea of what you think will happen, it’s probably best not to play bucket biologist.

I’m well aware of that; my deer season has been quite fruitless lol. My point wasn’t that results are guaranteed (or should be expected to be so), but that many of us engage in these activities to see a result at some point. Of course some goals require an extended amount of effort to be fulfilled, but these arduous endeavors are undertaken with the intention of actually accomplishing the target. With fishing (or big game hunting), the catch/kill is the ultimate culmination of the effort put forth. You’re going to strike out in some days, but that’s the learning process. It might sting, but what matters is that you get back up, piece together the rest of the puzzle, and finish what you started. Someone in this thread mentioned that fishing in waters that didn’t have many fish was a bit pointless, since it’s impossible to reach a stated end. I agree. If some divine being came to me and told me with 100% confidence that I would not catch anything all year, I probably wouldn’t go fishing. Of course, that’s just my philosophy ?

It annoys me when people try to dictate how people should enjoy a sport as simple and harmless as fishing. That’s what this quote is. It gives off the same vibe as a fly fisherman looking down on a lure fisherman, and that same lure fisherman looking down on a bait fisherman. There’s always a bigger fish, but each one has an equally fragile ego. To me, it comes off as a way for the author to say, “you don’t enjoy the sport the way I do? You’re not a real fisherman then.” Different people value different things; your mileage may vary. Personally, if I only cared about the scenery and serenity, I’d go hiking. If I only cared about being on the water and taking in nature, I’d always go trout fishing. But the thing is, I don’t just do those things. I go fishing to catch fish. I’ll have days where I skunk, or things just aren’t working out. If things are really frustrating, I can take a break and come back another day. Am I less of a fisherman for that? I don’t think so. You don’t go hunting to come home empty-handed. You don’t take a college course without intending to pass. For me, I don’t go fishing without intending to catch fish. Fishing is relaxing, to be sure. However, I don’t fish to ease pressure, I fish for the thrill. Nothing gets the heart pumping like a smallmouth smashing a topwater, or pulling into a 12 inch trout in a blueline where 6 inches is the norm. That’s just my opinion, though

What do you guys think about switching trebles to single hooks and going barbless on bass? It seems to be pretty popular among wild trout anglers, but I never see it in bass fishing. Do you think there’s merit to the idea? I am of the opinion that I (personally) can unhook trebles and barbed hooks easily enough that I wouldn’t take the trouble to switch. Still, I’d like to hear your thoughts

In lowland MD, ice isn’t guaranteed. Some years the water just gets really cold, and others it’s hard enough to walk on. Either way, I don’t fish for bass much past November. I pass the time by targeting native brook trout from November-April. This year I’ll try for pickerel. As the water warms up, my set list changes. My smallmouth season usually starts around late May (ending in late September), but I want to fish lakes and catch bigger fish this year so I’ll start around March. March-May is crappie time for me. May-June is going to be striper time. June-September is largemouth, but I spend most of it catching smallies anyways.

With Neds I tend to watch my line more than actually feel the bites. Same with stickbaits and dropshots (to a slightly lesser degree). I let the line be my bobber. I haven’t had many issues detecting strikes or having fish swallow the hook

Any one of those fish could have eaten my pb smallie. Of course, that’s gonna change this year. I’m going to spend less time in small creeks and try to frequent large rivers and lakes a bit more. 2022 was pretty awful for me, fishing-wise. I have a feeling 2023 will be better

Have you seen the man’s biceps? I’d feel bad for whomever is attempting to catch him.

If your trout are predatory, small swimbaits might do well. I’d match the size of the baitfish. For small streams go with a 2in Keitech easy shiner or similar, larger streams might call for larger swimbaits. I’ve also wanted to try suspending jerkbaits for winter trout, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I might pick up a couple of Rozantes in the smallest size

From what I remember, several studies have concluded that bass don’t really care what fish goes in their mouths, so long as it’s within a certain size range. Smallmouth, on the other hand, do have a strong preference for craws

I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Give it a shot