Zman Chatterbait with Reaction Innovations Little Dipper

The algae bloom is starting already. Got five really good smallies today, but it was slow slow. Caught all of them on a drop shot. 

Took a ride out to New Orleans City Park yesterday afternoon to do some bank fishing. Bluebird skies with temps in the 90s (feeling like 100+) with absolutely no wind. When I say bluebird I mean not a cloud in the sky. Hit 4 or 5 spots without a bite. Figured I'd try one of my favorite and most productive spots in the park and finally got on them. Water was low and the fish were much farther out off the bank than usual. Caught 3 LMB. All over 2lbs. Biggest was right at 3lbs. Lost 2 near the bank, one of which I think would have been a new PB. At least a 6.5 pounder. Still a good day. 

Been hitting it pretty hard the last few days. The ol booyah buzz bait had been hooking up the best fish lately.  Really caught some nice fish the last few days. Texas rig 10 inch ribbon tail had also been doing the trick. 

 

 

 

 

 

The jerk bait bite was ON yesterday!! The area had large rocks extending out into a weedbed with a gradual drop off along the way. If I was a largemouth, I told myself, I’d want to live there. With the wind gusting up to 25km/h, a topwater just wasn’t an option. I figured a jerk bait would be the way to go, and I wasn’t disappointed. My first cast produced a largemouth of about 2lbs, and subsequent casts produced fish all the way up to about 3lbs. I purchased a new spinning combo before the trip which I wanted to break in, and these fish were just the ticket for the Daiwa Tatula 7' medium action jerk bait rod and Exceler 2000 reel. I had it spooled with 20lbs Power Pro Super 8 Slick in timber brown with about a 4ft long 8lbs test Seaguar InvisX flurocarbon leader all connected with a uni to uni knot. The bait of choice was a Rapala Shadow Rap Shad in yellow perch. The largest fish of the day, pictured below, came in at about 4 ¾ pounds; it hit like a freight train and ran that leader all over the rocks but it didn’t damage it at all. I’ve really grown to like InvisX over the last couple of years, and this fish just further reinforced that I made the right call. Sorry for the image quality, but I was shaking like a leaf from excitement and there wasn’t much light available at that time due to the clouds that had poured in.

First ever chatter bait fish

On July 1, 2016 at 3:24 PM, Big Easy Bassin' said:

Took a ride out to New Orleans City Park yesterday afternoon to do some bank fishing. Bluebird skies with temps in the 90s (feeling like 100+) with absolutely no wind. When I say bluebird I mean not a cloud in the sky. Hit 4 or 5 spots without a bite. Figured I'd try one of my favorite and most productive spots in the park and finally got on them. Water was low and the fish were much farther out off the bank than usual. Caught 3 LMB. All over 2lbs. Biggest was right at 3lbs. Lost 2 near the bank, one of which I think would have been a new PB. At least a 6.5 pounder. Still a good day. 

Nice! What were they biting? Got a couple up there Fri afternoon, small ones.

Here's some from past couple weeks.  Been posting down in the "IL" or "FIB" thread if you will.  It's been fun but mainly fishing for a BIG bite that seems to be eluding me. 

 

This high mountain lake near me has good fish, like it's almost impossible to catch a dink. The average fish is a 2lb smallie. 

So, it's 37 degrees when I launch and the sun is hitting the water. I motor over to a spot I usually do well at. Drop the TM, big fish, big school if 15ft of water. First cast I'm letting my spinnerbait fall down to 15ft range and my line just picks up and starts moving away. I've never seen such a thing in open water so I reel up and it's solid. At least a 4lb smallie. I get him to the boat and didn't even take him out of the water. I just lipped him and popped the hook out. Grabbed my drop shot rod and went to work. I caught three more around 2lbs. 

Worked a little more around the lake and put three more in the boat. I didn't get a picture of the good one because I thought I was in a school of them that size and wanted to get back to fishing right away. Pretty good Monday. 

3 hours ago, MarkH024 said:

Here's some from past couple weeks.  Been posting down in the "IL" or "FIB" thread if you will.  It's been fun but mainly fishing for a BIG bite that seems to be eluding me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very Nice ~ and I'll predict right now that if you stick with your approach (and we both know you will) your Big Bite will come around the 1st of September (New Moon) ~ 

A-Jay

 

Quick session yesterday. They were crushing this bait and they weren't even big. Lots of fun.

 

It's the middle of July and still in the 30's for you? 

Yeah up there it is. The lake is 4,700 feet in the middle of a mountain range. It won't stay above the 40's at night until mid August. 

If you went by the textbook water temperature do bass spawning there they wouldn't spawn until September lol. 

 

Nice Michigan bass.  5.5 - 6 lbs on that scale. 

15 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

 

What were you chucking, a chatterbait on the first couple

1 hour ago, boostr said:

What were you chucking, a chatterbait on the first couple

First few were on my homemade bladed jig in golden shiner color, which is what I normally catch them on at this lake. I caught 2 decent ones in the middle of the video on a 7" Slammer. Halfway through I stopped being stubborn and switched to my homemade bladed jig in a color I call Ivy (chartreuse with white/red blood spots), and it was on after that. Unfortunately, I'd been so stubborn in trying to make them eat what they normally do that I only had 2 hours with the more productive color.

On July 16, 2016 at 0:22 AM, Mosster47 said:

Yeah up there it is. The lake is 4,700 feet in the middle of a mountain range. It won't stay above the 40's at night until mid August. 

If you went by the textbook water temperature do bass spawning there they wouldn't spawn until September lol. 

I sure am glad I live in Florida...I'd probably freeze if I had to deal with those temperatures year round.

Clayton is being too modest, he put on a show and served me up a butt whooping!  Great time fishing with THE MAN!

 

 

This is a little late, but took the yak out two weekends ago for about two hours. It has been crazy hot so I knew they were deeper, but with no electronics I had to cast blind. I figured they were in about 15' of water on main points. Started by looking for a topwater bite, but no takers. Same with shakeyheads and mid depth cranks. Decided to try a Carolina Rig in deeper water. Rigged up my Powell Max 734 and Shimano Chronarch 200e7 with 50# braid, 1/2 oz brass bullet weight with a bead, 2' of 15# mono leader, and Brown/Red Flake Pit Boss and started chucking. Caught one largemouth right off the bat about 15" then a second one right about 16". Boat traffic picked up and I booked it back to the house. 

I keep going back and forth on if I'm going to upgrade this kayak with a depth finder, anchor trolley, and other goodies or just keep saving for an outboard. 

No gas, no trailer, no registration, you can fish ANYWHERE.... I can keep going 

Decent one this morning, 19", 3.92lb, plasmatail on a shakyhead:

EDIT:  Actually, now that I look more closely, I think it's the same fish as this one, from June:

If so, in a month it has gained 4oz and moved north about 1500 feet along the same shoreline, but a little deeper; the fish was in good shape and I couldn't even tell it had been caught before.

man there's some big fish on here this week!

My best for today came at noon. I was deadsticking a palm tree out 100+' and 20fow. While that was resting I was throwing paddletail with another set-up got 2 casts in when I noticed other line going tight. Dropped set-up in hand grabbed resting rod and set hook on a 3#10oz 18"+. My Fenwick World Class 7'6" MH/F rod didnt skip a beat handled it easily. With this rod I could feel every movement the bass made coming up sideways shake rod performing extremely well just a bit too strong, maybe.