JonB2

I get what you’re saying and agree. I still like fish talk my man, and seeing what others run is interesting. That crank bite sure is fun when it’s rocking!

I tried flouro last year and the start of this year and just don’t like it as a mainline. Bass fishing is all about touch and feel for me and I can’t stand the sag of flouro hanging down to your bait. It has a clunky, springy feel working baits. I much prefer mono or Hybrid which is a great comp. I like braid as well but mostly on my spinning rigs and a couple casting. I didn’t mind straight flouro cranking though.

Well yeah, that’s why I put “8+”…

I have a St. Croix Avid 8’ panfish rod that’s fun. I was wailing on nice bluegills just today on gulp minnows…not much more fun than 8”+ gills!

Man, that was some long downtime. I caught too many fish to even try to catch anything up, so I’ll have to offer some targeted and incidental “panfish hookup” bass from the last week on my little inland lake. Prespawn, deep water bluegill have recently began staging near the shallows and it’s been a hot bite for them. I’ve lost a few nice bass on the bluegill tackle, but that is expected. I had a nice afternoon with the bfs setup tossing bitsy bugs on 6lb and pulling a few bass threw emerging and still frail pads. That was fun, but I won’t be trading in my mh any time soon!

What do you feel is most versatile ratio for shallow cranking squarebills? I’m leaning towards one of my 7.1:1 reels. I started with a slower 6.1:1 and my bro smoked me one day on cranks. At first we thought it was color, but it was a stark difference. I then realized after that he had a 7.5:1 reel and my guess is a quicker, steadier cadence to his lure. The next trip was even better crank conditions and I had a 7.5:1 reel, and we both destroyed them on squarebills that day. So I’m thinking a 7.1:1 would be a good compromise. I’m newer still to serious bass fishing, but found the crank bite highly addicting and really enjoyable when it’s on.

Tougher, cold front conditions and bite last few days. Smallies were a little pocket flurry on a jig/stickworm at first, a lull, then a scattered paddle tail bite with one on a jig to end it. Got a big male and one fat hen. Bite wasn’t long and very hit or miss. The largemouth were doable, but picky and tentative at times on the bite. Had a lot of drops today and most bites were simply weight or tension. Jigs were best, with a stickworm trailer a MUST. No crank fish, but I did get some dragging a baby brush hog on a c-rig and my first senko fish of the season in a little closing flurry in the weeds(3 on 1 senko!). Tough bite and scattered around. When it gets picky, you gotta experiment. A craw trailer caught one bass all day. The pop and drop of the worm was their trigger(like coho salmon).

Having only recently gotten into bass fishing, I’ve mostly tapped into my youth when bass and pike were regular targets and fish like walleye were a prize back in the 1990’s. I’ve also saw, read and watched stuff just to see how modern bass fishing is and what most guys use so I can use something else. All the posters who say same ol’ thang works are very correct. When I started running a Carolina rig this spring, the very first bait I thought of was a 6” zoom lizard in pumpkinseed/chart tail. Black or motor oil power worms Texas rigged, black/blue skirted jigs for largemouth, spinnerbaits- all that stuff was popular in the 90’s when I was a kid. I’ve settled on a baby brush hog in place of the lizard(modernized) and switched to electric grape and blue fleck power worms as those colors really get bit lol

We decided to “get some jig fish” for a bit after we started with a dozen right off the bat on cranks. We could’ve walked around with one rod all day easily. Jigs did get smoked and caught plenty. I really enjoyed putting it on the far bank and barely turning the reel before getting stopped cold! I will also say, there is something about laying into a fish on a plug with a softer rod…feels good

I’m not sure where I’m at, I kinda just keep doing what I’ve been doing. I’m in my mid 40’s, but don’t feel I’ve dropped off physically a whole lot. I mean, I get wore out and take a little longer to recover fishing hard..but it still hurts to feel good so to speak. If I was completely free of everything and could just fish…I’d go dawn to dusk if it’s bangin’ no problem. There isn’t anything better than fishing, except for God. That’s it

Our prespawn bite is hitting a fever pitch and today was the best bass day I’ve ever had, from shore too! I normally fish Wednesday and am d**n glad I went today. Gloomy, rainy and a steady NE wind most of the day. The water pushed back in, rose and murked up overnight. We did just fine on jigs per usual, but conditions screamed a crank bite and oh it was. Squarebills were absolutely on fire and we had 3-4 straight casts with fish, fish blasting them at our feet at shore, fish hitting while stopping to pull them out, several doubles. I even had a nice walleye choke one. No idea how many we got for sure, but 60+ is very likely. Sorry so many pics again, but this is only my second full bass season and hard not to share a day like this!

Do it. I started running it this spring and so far, it’s definitely had its moments. It’s caught good fish and I really like pulling it along, pausing, then going to pull again and tap-tap-thump! Sometimes they thump and go, look for that line running. These are my best green and brown bass this spring on a Carolina rig; largie on a baby brush hog, smallie on a smally beaver

I like natural browns, olives and oranges in combination for smallies. However, they absolutely have a love for chartruese when it comes to bright colors. Again, I prefer in combination with something natural, but they really do like chartreuse. A clown or glass clown is deadly on chilly water smallmouth.

Thanks man, it certainly was…don’t get them often on shore. You’re as alive as you’re ever gonna be setting the hook into those bronze bombers bro…we live for this stuff 💯

I honestly feel 3-4” sizes are perfect for smallies, big or small. My biggest smallie ever came on an 1/8oz bitsy bug with a 3” craw trailer. I think you can target big fish with bigger baits, but 3-4” is hard to beat overall imo.

Last day of the week and went a little south for largemouth with my bro and we had a fine day. We didn’t keep any real track, but probably got 40-45 or so from the bank. Not a hot and heavy day, but a steady grind. Jigs ruled the day and caught most by far, but we(he) also got several fish on squarebills, two on bladed jigs(my first), one on a swim jig. Paddle tails never had a bite. My brother put together a solid crankbait bite as one color seemed hot and he soundly smoked me cranking. I did have the exact same crank, but competition and male stubbornness kept me at bay. Nothing huge at all, just good 16-20” prespawn largies. We also got two pike and three bowfin. Last pic heavy post lol

Seems I timed a week of fishing well as today was very solid from shore again. Started at a river mouth and got 6 smallies, missed probably a half dozen. No largemouth. Jigs were dead here, but paddle tails came through. After it really dropped off, I headed to a harbor and feel I hit the first wave starting to poke in. Pulled 11 from two particular spots, 7 brown, 4 green. Jig/finesse and paddles were about equal. I have a little spot with a single piece of “cover” no one else ever fishes that I found last year. It gives up several fish most times unless it’s flat and bright.

I do, but I’m mostly a quiet guy that keeps to himself. I don’t do the “like” type thing at all. Maybe once I get more under me as a bass fisherman I’ll have things to say.

Had a fun and interesting two days bass angling from the bank. Made my first trips for prespawn smallies and it’s getting going. I fished river mouths and had to work a bit for fish, but I enjoy those days for some reason. The one spot has a mix of brown and green bass, and I got a couple solid largemouth each day. Of course I also lost the biggest greenie I hooked. Paddle tails are usually a gimme, but were not as automatic. However, the ol’ reliable jig/craw was on the menu and took most of my fish. I did have a nice little flurry the second day on paddle tails. Jerkbaits, cranks, and underspins were dead. I got one big smallmouth on a c rigged beaver. Bonus fish were a spawned out walleye and good sized Atlantic salmon, both on paddles. Man, my world feels right now that bass are full blown back in action!

I’ve got the week to fish and tried today after a low of 21* and the second day in the 40’s for a high. Only good thing was nearly full sun and slight winds. The winds were what I would call come and go, and man did I struggle with positioning in the yak, but it’ll come around. I could quickly tell despite the chill, jig bite wasn’t happening…at all. Structure was hit or miss today with fish tight, but I did notice for the first time bass slowly cruising the slightly deeper flats just off the shallows. I tried a jerkbait and nothing at all, which I thought was a bit surprising. I wanted to slow down, but still search around…so I ran a carolina rig for the first time and caught every bass on it today. A handful of 12-13” dinks, a lucky to be alive 17-18” male and heavy 20” female. A 3/16oz tungsten with a glass bead and since I couldn’t get an old school lizard in pumpkinseed-chartreuse, I used a knockoff baby brushhog in gp/chart tail. Both bigger fish choked it and the one absolutely was t-boned by a large northern, likely last fall. I loved easily feeling and working that c rig and the bite was cool. I only had a 7’ MH today, but will 💯 bring the 7’3” next time!

I just take it for what it is during the spawn when the majority are on beds. I usually switch to panfish or something when it’s peak spawn and wait till good amounts start posting up resting and hungry “post spawn”. I do not think there is any magic wand for that period, take what you get and call it good.

Sometimes I think that bulky, compact profile of a jig really appeals to bass. I agree with @Lottabass …go light and use feel. It takes patience and touch, but a lighter weight allows you to “float” and glide your jig around cover like that. Usually bass are in major ambush mode in standing cover, so you typically don’t have to do a ton to trigger them. Don’t give up on jigs; huge mistake in my opinion.

Had a few hours this afternoon and since I’m 20 min at most from the lake, off I went. I brought two casting rods, M and MH, then the bfs. I started in the back end of a semi-protected spot. I warmed up with the bfs since I hadn’t caught any fish with it. I started with a ned head and ned bug. Got dinks and one keeper, losing two other keepers. I then decided to switch to a jerkbait, throwing the smallest husky and started hitting dinks, bluegill and a few crappie. I was a bit much at first, pulling hooks before chilling out. I also hooked a big gill on the ned bug but it flipped off in the kayak. After that, I went bass fishing and got a handful of keepers with a couple decent fish. Fish were still relating to docks, but the deeper heads were barren and working the shallower sections paid off. I got a couple swim jig fish, but most on a black/blue bitsy bug with gp finesse trailer. I feel the big females have pulled back again with a slight cooldown and definitely will with 19, 20 and 23* nights coming up…man I sure love bass fishin!

Swim jigs and casting jigs in lighter weights and natural colors have been solid for me on my first two trips here in MI. My bite is just getting started.

Fished this afternoon and had a nice, solid day. Overcast and flat calm for a good while before a slight chop kicked up later on. Yesterday’s pattern wasn’t there today as fish were not set up the same. Big females seemed to have pulled back deeper again with a few medium girls hanging around structure, but scores of 10-12” dinks and smaller keepers were around and active. Working flooded brush, stickups or certain docks with an 1/8oz bitsy bug with a finesse trailer worked low was best. A jig bite is my favorite bite and even better around cover. More variable weather including continued rain, but also a cold spell in the mix so it will be hit or miss. Might check a different, slightly bigger lake next trip. Most keepers were 14-16” with a 17ish as big fish. Even threw tight to the dock at the launch before leaving and got one lol