IdahoLunkerHunter

Absolutely Agree with RW. He got me using Yo-Zuri about a month ago and haven't had one line break since. Its awesome line! I use #12 and #8 instead of #6

I have found bass to be roaming creatures but they are cover and structure seeking fish. I have found that if you fish on and around cover or structure you will have much more success at catching fish. If I know or see structure or cover I will fish the general vicinity around the area. It might be a large or small area but also always remember that where ever you fish, underwater ledge, rocks, docks, trees, overhangs... under most circumstances that there will be deeper water nearby.

I would also say if you are interested in a "Fresh Water Bass Tank" you can buy Cichlia ocellaris (Peacock Bass) which are much more colorful than largies. This way if you buy a 1 to 2" aquarium bred fish it will be much easier to keep alive than transfering a live animal. All I know is keeping fish alive in an aquarium is all about maitenence and your commitment. Before your transfer, if you do buy fish, you should do your research about the living environment of the fish.

I don't want to toot my own horn because I definetly don't catch these fish as consistely as it may have sounded in the post. I have only caught (6) 5-6lb smallies this year. The rest average 2-4 lbs. I does seem that when I do go out, we or I, depending who I am with, catch a good amount of fish with atleast a 3-5lber in there. I fish from kayak and shore so deep water is primarily out of the question because the wind and waves we get up here would make it almost impossible to be fishing deep water and have fun, and that is why I fish. Also the time it would take to get to the places I usually fish the deep water for smallies would take 2-3 hours of paddling and that is no fun for me. Thats why I primarily fish for largies because the back water is pretty easy from kayak. If anything is interested in kayak fishing they should check out Freedom Hawk Kayaks. The back end of the boat swivels out and you can stand up in it. It is my new savior to getting around the backwater. I do agree with you about the days that you get into some "Heaven Like" days... they will always be remebered in my mind also

That is funny because my Pacu's names are Biggie and Tupac But they aren't haters, they are vegetarians hehe. I myself have a 125 gallon tank and have two 19" Pacu's, two 8" Jack Dempseys, (7) 2-5 inch Convicts, a 6" red tailed shark, (3) 4" ciclids, an a 12" gypsy tiger pleco. I have a Eheim 2260 Canister Filter and a emporor 400 wheel filter on this tank. A 25 Gallon community tank with about 20 misc fish. I also have a 35 gallon tank with about 20 1-3 inch black convicts I use for breeding. It takes a lot of time and food does get expensive. There is also a 5" pleco in this one also. The Plecos are definetly something you need in your tanks. They do a great job of cleaning tanks. I uaully clean my tanks about once every two months. and check the ph once a week. I would start with a smaller tank and work your way up.

Had a good week so far. I love late summer and fall fishing, its when the pigs really come into action. The three day pics were on monday and the night fishing was last night fishing top water. There is nothing else that gets your adrenaline SCREAMING than a big fishing hitting a top water bait in the dark when you don't have a clue how big it is until your line starts screaming.

Agree with RW. I do think that another state record is definetly possible to be caught there but I also wouldn't rule out Lake Pend Oreille up north. I have caught many 5-6 lb smallies and a 8lb large this year. Lake Pend Oreille has a surface area of 148 square miles and the river flows approx 20 miles till the dam. There is also the Clark Fork that feeds the Lake which also has great potential. Pend Oreille is a sleeping giant and it is only a matter of time before something huge is pulled out. I say this because on a weekly basis I can go out and catch 6+ lbers and I hope the next big one is me

Thanks for the suggestions on the yo zuri, just ordered two 600yrd 8# and 12#. Hope this might help. Best Regards

Just have to vent. Went out with the wife last night bank fishin'. She did her usual crappie fishing and I was out fishing a culvert that has primarily landed me 2-4 lbers. I grabbed my spin/med action pole and went down to the water. It was about 8:30pm and I rigged up a 1/4 oz jig and a 9" junebug floater finesse. First cast I got a tap and I set the hook and broke the line. Oh ya i'm using 14lb mono, spiderwire and I end up having to change line everytime I go out because it just doesn't stay strong, it becomes a little brittle after 10 hours of fishing. (Does anyone have any suggestions on the best line I can buy on a big spool, bulk) So I ended up taking about 10 yards off the line feeling for abrasions and didn't find any. So I threw back and the tap came back. Set the hook and line just started ripping. Fought the fish for about 15 minutes because everytime I got it about 5 feet from shore it just took off again. I got it about 2 feet from shore and I saw it, 8+ lbs. I was already counting my chickens and tightened the drag just a bit and BAM! line snapped. Sorry to anyone that was near me and the profanitity that was heard. Oh well thats the game of fishing.

I fish about 90% from shore. My biggest problem at the beginning was feeling for structure and getting used to throwing in 'gunk' (the stuff 99.9% people won't even think about throwing a bait). Learn drop-shotting, texas rigged plastics w/weight & without, jig-n-pigs, and the trusty spinnerbait. I would also suggest only throwing top water baits during sunrise and sunset or at night. Thats the only time I have ever really had any luck with top water. I stick with metal flake plastics during bright sunlight and dark colors for gloomy days, cloudy waters and night. Hope this might help.

Good night for fishing last night. Been a while since I've been out. Caught 10-15(only 4 worth a picture), lost a pig in the weeds & got eaten by mosquitos. Had a blast though. I've become very fond of wading. Very quiet and teaches you how to be accurate when flippin'.

Went out with Crank Addict for smallies and largemouth on one of his local lakes. Caught about 30 or so 1 lbers, two big smallies and two big largemouth. Good Times.

Welcome! Great People, Good Info, Good Times

Lake Pend Oreille, 5.7lb

To all... I went out last night fishin for smallies for about an hour, biggest was about 3 lbs, no pics . I caught 6 fish. Only missed one fish which was a dink. I paid specific attention to setting the hook harder and I didn't lose one fish after the hook was set. I also paid attention to once I had a bite, pre-loading the slack just untill it got a little tight and then snapped the rod, worked perfect. Problem solved Thanks all for the suggestions.

This year I began in the winter fishing slow deep water. Finesse worms and jigs 40-50ft deep. I have gotten pretty good at learning how structure feels underwater when pertaining to finesse fishing and how to present baits to make them the most convincing of live bait. This year almost all my fishing is done by finesse. I probably have 20 or so cranks but probably 100 bags of soft plastics. I have gotten off the path of throwing baits near the shore looking for bass. I also agree with RW in that you have to fish...fish...fish. The more you fish and get used to what conditions contain the pigs, the more you will catch. My pigs this year have been around underwater culverts, rock piles, submerged pilings, drop-offs and downed trees/stumps. Also don't be afraid of throwing the bigger baits. Most of the time my plastics range from 6" senkos to 10" finesse worms. This spring I have already caught 4-5lb+ and 1-6lb+. Hope this might help and have fun!

Thanks all for the suggestions! I am heading out here in about 15 mins after I get work finished up. I will keep everyone updated on my outing.

Sorry shoulda been more specific... 2 and 4 aught. For the question why I use mono...I have been using mono since I was a little kid and never had any problems with it. Why switch a good thing I think ony of the other reasons why I might be losing fish is that the larger fish have a much harder mouth and I have never caught anything on regularily in the 5lb range, I am used to 2-3lb fish. I have been working on technique and bait selection and the 5lb+ fish have been hitting more and more. I just need to get used to setting a 6-7lb fish hook set. Thanks for the advice RW. I will give er a try.

Gear: 6'5" med/heavy pole, 12lb mono, #4 or #2 Offset Ewg Hooks, 4" or 5" *** ***. I thought about it for a bit and I think I just need to be setting the hook harder. My two big fish last month were hooked but not as solid as I want and I went fishing today and saw two dinks hit it and it was the exact feeling I was feeling in deeper water. Thanks for the suggestions

Agreed. But I would like to fix the issue before my summers tourneys roll around.

For some reason the past month has been really wierd because I have never had this big of a problem. I have been having an incredible time with fish throwing the hook and short-striking. I've lost like three 5+ lb fish this last month from them throwing the hook and probably 30+ from short strikes or me missing. I don't know if I'm not setting the hook hard enough, setting it too early, pre-season jitters or what. Past seasons my strike/catch ratio has been like 90% and now its dropped to like 70%. Any advice would much be appreciated. BTW: It's only happening on Texas Rigged Senkos.

All depends on the time of year, time of day and how much the pond gets fished. What are you fishing with? Also, if the pond gets fished a lot and you are throwing the same type of bait as everyone else the bigger fish probably won't be so offering to eat something they see everyday. Also could depend on technique and how you present your bait.

Senkos, Finesse worms and creatures. I catch 90% of my fish of plastics.

Biggest producer for me this year in muddy water are *** *** 4" and 5" and the 6" ***. Colors: Black, Watermelon, Baby Bass, June Bug, Sour Grape & Watermelon Chartreuse. I try and stick with dark colors in muddy water and a refelective flake when the sun is shining.

I recently bought some 8" and 10" swimbaits, color: perch, bluegill, and rainbow, colored lures. I have two questions: 1. I have a 7' heavy action w/ baitcast reel rigged with 15lb braided and I was wondering if this was enough to be throwing these types of lures. I primarily use this rod/reel for 7" senkos but the lures are a bit heavier. I just really don't want to wing one of these things out at $7 a pop and have one 100 yards out sinking at the bottom. 2. Anyone have good success using these large lures? The largest thing I ever throw is 7" senkos and 12" finesse worms. Any suggestions would be helpful, Thanks...