1 hour ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Do you like those bladed jigs in clearer (3-4 feet of visibility) water, in lakes that don't have any brush to bounce them of?  They are one bait that I cane seem to catch a fish on.

Almost always have to be throwing them around grass to get bit in my experience. Clear/dirty doesn't matter as long as you've got grass!

8 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Do you like those bladed jigs in clearer (3-4 feet of visibility) water, in lakes that don't have any brush to bounce them of?  They are one bait that I cane seem to catch a fish on.

I don't fish them through trees. The big hook I put on them snags trees like crazy. I fish them in any water clarity, stained to mud is best though. I do well in clear water with either a naked one with a swimbait or a solid white with a chartreuse trailer. I was fishing it over grass in that video which is why I was reeling so fast and snapping the bait.

Dad and I put together a 23.35lb bag for our first win with the Northern NY Bassmasters Team trail 2 weekends ago! I guess I'm a fan of the St. Lawrence and those pesky brown fish again.

I can't even fathom how many fish are in there. It must have big tournaments almost every weekend now, and it still kicks out tons and tons of limits, not to mention how many of those limits are over 20lbs!

Went to the Red River behind Lake Buhlow around 6:30ish this evening. Tried out my new Strike King 7/16oz midnight special spinnerbait. Took a few casts and this about a pounder or so hit it right by the boat dock I was casting from. Second spinnerbait bass and first river bass. Nothing else bit and they were about to close up the recreation area we were in. Tried a little in Buhlow but nothing doing. Unless we're getting slammed by Harvey tomorrow, I'm going back to the Red River to see if I can catch some more. Hopefully a big un!

My first whopper plopper 90 caught fish .. and Nebraska lmb at least 1.5 lbs

 

 

Caught a nice 5.5 on a jig this morning 

Air temps were at 43° when I launched this morning...summer is on it's way out. It had the bass biting though, with plenty coming to the boat including 4 on 4 consecutive casts. Found this nice one hiding under a floating dock.

On 8/25/2017 at 0:05 AM, IndianaFinesse said:

Do you like those bladed jigs in clearer (3-4 feet of visibility) water, in lakes that don't have any brush to bounce them of?  They are one bait that I cane seem to catch a fish on.

 

On 8/25/2017 at 1:10 AM, everythingthatswims said:

Almost always have to be throwing them around grass to get bit in my experience. Clear/dirty doesn't matter as long as you've got grass!

 

On 8/25/2017 at 8:45 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I don't fish them through trees. The big hook I put on them snags trees like crazy. I fish them in any water clarity, stained to mud is best though. I do well in clear water with either a naked one with a swimbait or a solid white with a chartreuse trailer. I was fishing it over grass in that video which is why I was reeling so fast and snapping the bait.

 

 

Another vote here for "clarity doesn't matter".  I caught my first bladed jig bass two years ago in 10 feet of visibility with a zoom fluke trailer.  I think I use them more often than spinnerbaits these days. As long as the bass willing to chase something, a bladed jig will certainly do in my area regardless of clarity, which ranges about from 15 feet to less than a foot. I don't know if "around grass" is strictly necessary, but I don't fish many places where I'm not around grass, other than rocky smallie rivers.

Jerk baits ruled this AM.....Getting to be that time of the year again 

I tried out my new and only chatter bait I've ever owned yesterday while at the Red River. Didn't do anything. So, since I've never owned one before, I watched a video on how to fish one. I felt really stupid when I saw how to tie one on. I assumed you tie it on just like a regular jig through the eye of the jig head. Boy was I wrong...lol! Anyways I tied it on the right way today and tied my new spinnerbait on to my other rod I don't use much anymore. Went to the smaller pond by my house. Took my tackle bag with me just in case. It was lightly raining almost the whole time I was there(about 2 hours). I would cast the spinnerbait and work an area. Then do the same with the chatter bait. Nothing was really doing except for one that got off the hook of my chatter bait. I was kinda disappointed but didn't let it get me down. I got it in my mind afterwards that I was gonna catch me a bass on that chatter bait before I went home. Sure enough, just about 30 mins later this little fella finally broke it in. Again it's not much to brag about only that it's my first chatter bait bass. I was using the tail end of an Ol' Monster junebug red worm for a trailer. The worm had already given me several bass in the past and wasn't riggable anymore. So a short piece of the body and some of the tail that had been partially bitten off. I took my knife and cut it back into a point so it looked more like a tail again. May have to try a longer piece next time to see if it's more effective. Made my day though. I was fishing it like a spinnerbait, just reeling it in a little slower. Now it's raining again and really wanna go back out in it and fish some more. Don't think my girlfriend would like that too much, specially considering I've done alot of fishing the past week or so...lol. Guess I can wait a day or so to go back. Really anxious for the fall to get here. Maybe then I can catch me a big un.  I'm slowly but surely learning how to use more baits/lures thanks to this site and all you great folks on here. I may not necessarily fish them like everyone else does but so far it's working for me. Thanks everyone for all the great advice and knowledge. I'm actually becoming a better bass fisherman! ?

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 1:09 AM, WolfyBrandon said:

[August 21, 2017]
(Monday)
-----Conditions-----
Time: 6:15am - 4:30pm
Sky:  Sunny + Hazy Clouds + Eclipse (Slightly Dim Afternoon) 
Wind: Light Wind Morning to Strong Wind Early Afternoon to Light Wind Late Afternoon

Water Temps: 66-74F
Water Clarity: Clear (~4-10ft)
--------------------

 

"Day of the 2017 Eclipse"

 

 

Over the past week, Jeremy and I have been talking about fishing on this day as we were excited to see what the fishing results would be like. We both have Monday off from work as it's part of our weekend schedule, so we planned to get up early and spend most of the day fishing. The Eclipse is said to have 90% Obscuration for our area, and take place around ~10:15am - ~1:00pm. We expected some fishing pressure from the past weekend as well as possible increased activity on the lake due to the eclipse event. (Today is also the New Moon)

 

As it is now late August, the fall season is right around the corner. I have noticed the mornings are getting darker, and the temps getting colder. The highs still average in the mid 80's to mid 90's, but the lows are dipping down to the mid 50's to high 40's. The smoke from the wildfires has dissipated now, however farmers have begun burning fields so you can still see some smoke on the horizon. I've been thinking about seasonal patterns as the conditions are beginning to change. As the main lake begins to cool, more bass should start moving up from their deep summer area's.

 

We planned to fish shallow first during the early morning, and if needed we would move to deeper area's later in the day. Our first stop was a new spot that we haven't fished yet this year...

 

 

Water temp was 69F and had a bit of color to it (~4ft clarity). Upon arriving we quickly noticed a lot of surface activity from fish of various sizes, we couldn't tell if any were bass or not.

 

I couldn't decide on bait selection prior to this fishing trip, so I opted to wait until I was on the water to see the location and conditions first, then just adapt as needed as the day progressed.

 

 

I rigged up a 1/8oz jig head with a Zoom Fat Albert Grub (Green Pumpkin) for a confidence bait, Lucky Craft Gunfish 115 (Ghost Minnow) since I seen the surface activity, and a Strike King 1/2oz Spinnerbait (Gizzard) for a search bait since the water had a bit of color to it.

 

We both fished a good while without a single bite, all the while seeing surface activity all around us including behind us where we had just fished. Not even a single blowup or follower while using the Gunfish. I didn't want to do it, but out of frustration I decided to just lock the Grub in my hand and toss it to shoreline rocks and cover. I knew fish were in the area, if any of them were bass I was confident that should do the trick. Though the bite was soft, it didn't take long to put the first one in the boat... 

 

14 & 1/2" - 1lb 06oz

 

The first 3 hours of our day was spent fishing that first spot, and that was the only bite... Time to move.

 

 

We headed north to one of the main lake points where the water was much clearer, deeper, with a good weed line and heavy enough wind to cause occasional white caps...

 

 

First cast to the point I instantly hooked into my 2nd bass of the day. Just a dink, but with the slow fishing this morning I'll go for some numbers...

 

 

A few minutes later, Jeremy makes a cast and hooks into a nice 3lb 3oz Largemouth...

 

 

Shortly after catching his nice bass, was when the Eclipse was starting. We watched as the daylight began to dim, and throw the ambient light off as if you were wearing a pair of lightly tinted sunglasses.

 

 

Sadly, it never got any darker than that. Fishing seemed to slow, or at least was less productive at our current location (we were on the move) so I experimented with some other baits. Tied on a Strike King 5XD in (Green Gizzard) and caught 2 more small bass, roughly the same size as the last one. After the eclipse ended, we noticed a few deer down by the waters edge getting a drink.

 

 

After that we changed locations a few more times, I caught another little dink at the first location, then hooked into my fish of the day at the second location on the 5XD...

 

17 & 1/2" - 2lb 01oz

 

Release Video

 

Decided to experiment with baits again and gave topwater another chance. Tied on a Rapala Skitter Pop in (Silver) and this bass torpedoed it hard twice to finally get it...

 

10" - 05oz

 

Changed locations yet again, and between the two Jeremy managed to catch two good sized pike, one being 6lb+. I caught a few more small bass for a total of 10 today, Jeremy caught a total of 7 bass (big one being fish of the day), and the two pike. At 4:30pm we had to call it and head back to the ramp...

 

 

All in all it was a good day, we managed to catch a couple of nice bass, some small ones for numbers, and two bonus pike. Would have like to see the eclipse have more of an effect on the light levels like other locations, but it is what it is. Moving around was key to get the bites we did today, would have liked to visit a few other spots but we just didn't have the time.

 

 

WolfyBrandon

 

beautiful scenery!  looks like you had a nice day on the water, great pics!

Took the day off from important things for some even more important things...

 

Got my first "keeper" sized largemouth in months yesterday.  Tried chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits but can only seem to catch them on texas rigs.  

Caught a bunch of these guys today...nothing of any real size though. Going to be busy the next couple of weeks so am going to take a hiatus until mid-September.

 

7 hours ago, SummertimeCarl said:

Got my first "keeper" sized largemouth in months yesterday.  Tried chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits but can only seem to catch them on texas rigs.  

I know what you mean. Texas rigs do seem to get the job done when nothing else will. Don't give up on the chatterbaits and spinnerbait though, it'll happen for you. It did for me. One day I hope to have caught a bass with every bait/lure I have. Don't have any swimbaits. Guess I should get some and see how I can do with them. Nice catch by the way!

A day of firsts. 1. "Catching" a fish on a jerkbait(I never use). 2. Foul hooking two fish(I believe these are gizzard shad) in one day. Very odd. 

 

 

And a little guy off the black/blue flake Senko. 

 

5 hours ago, WDE said:

A day of firsts. 1. "Catching" a fish on a jerkbait(I never use). 2. Foul hooking two fish(I believe these are gizzard shad) in one day. Very odd. 

 

Around here, those are the size shad you want to be fishing around, because that's where the big bass want to be. 

When your froggin game is so on point...

 

 

I caught a few off the frog at a new lake I was exploring and was hammered by this guy right when I tossed my frog onto shore.

 

I actually did get a few bass off the frog. heh

 

 

Here's one off the jig

 

 

And one off the D Shad

 

git r done in the jon boat

Lightning abated at 5:45am to let me launch and do battle with high winds settling and calming into 109 heat. Managed a couple deep structure jig fish.

 

 

21 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Around here, those are the size shad you want to be fishing around, because that's where the big bass want to be. 

 

Fish were a bit 'off' yesterday because of this today(or I assume). The bass I grabbed was by the lamppost in the background, I'd be knee deep if it was today.

PB 5 1/2 lb New Jersey Cow

 

And this sad excuse

 

After what felt like hours of tying on most of my tackle and not getting a single bite i felt like heading home.

But before i did, I gave it one final shot and rigged up a bullet weight t-rig with a green watermelon color yum dinger thinking "Why not?, I haven't used this today"

Bingo!

My first bass of the day was like playing cat and mouse, I watched as this same bass went back to the same spot i was casting to after getting off the hook two times just for my worm, Talk about being determined.

Cast 1:Hooked, Lost.

Cast 2:Hooked, Lost. "Blood is boiling at this point because i want  this fish regardless of weight and size lol"

Cast 3:Hooked and she was not getting away this time.

Bass number two went much better>Threw out let it sink and felt first bump/saw my line go in another direction and set the hook.

This bass jumped in the air many times till the grass was on top of her and after getting all that slop off of her to unhook her she ended up breaking off one side of her mouth/jaw off allowing the hook to fall off.

I wanted to get a picture but didn't want to hurt the fish so i put her back into the lake and packed up.

 

Just keep the rod tip down and your line tight to keep the fish from jumping to much.

Those are the best fish. I caught a fatty similarly with the  "Ooh, let me try here before I go"