56 minutes ago, FishDewd said:

I've caught 3 bass this winter... apparently that isn't too bad for someone who is choosing winter to get into bass fishing for the first time. Lol. Two were on yamasenkos (red pumpkin w/ black and green flake), then when I finally got the stuff I needed for a proper ned rig, I caught one on the second to last cast of the day about a week ago. Used a pink bubblegum TRD (don't laugh, that's all my Cabela's carries right now, though they are getting others in... one of these days!) and a 1/15 oz Z man shroomz jig head. None were over a pound though, but a dink is better than nothing! I also caught a few catfish on senkos, and a few catfish on other baits: 2 in my pond with a bass tube, and one on a magnum zoom lizard. So right now, the senkos are in the lead with about 4!

 

Still trying to watch something on the Yum Dingers, but I think I may have the wrong color.

Dinks are indeed better than nothing, especially in the winter! You sure did pick a tough time to get into bass fishing, but looks like it's working out for you.  And yeah, 3 isn't bad for winter.  For me, 1 winter bass holds me over quite well lol.  Also, no shame here in admitting that one of my biggest producers while growing up was a bubblegum colored zoom finesse worm and other bubblegum colored worms.  The bass in the lake I grew up on loved em.  And yeah, if you seem to be having bad luck with one color, switching can always help.  You never know when the bass might prefer that color on another day or place with different conditions. 

Not just bass fishing, but bank bass fishing since I don't own a boat! I think the pink TRD may not be the worst idea in my location though, considering that the waters are so murky and dark. Sure, vibrations can be felt, but nothing like a hot pink little worm wiggling on the bottom to really entice a bite! I mean... who wouldn't want a piece of that action?

1 hour ago, FishDewd said:

Not just bass fishing, but bank bass fishing since I don't own a boat! I think the pink TRD may not be the worst idea in my location though, considering that the waters are so murky and dark. Sure, vibrations can be felt, but nothing like a hot pink little worm wiggling on the bottom to really entice a bite! I mean... who wouldn't want a piece of that action?

Kayaks are a great way to get out on the water and covering more areas if you don't have a boat.  They're not too expensive, are good exercise, and can get places boats can't.  I still plan to get a bass boat when it makes sense for me, but right now my kayak takes care of all my needs.  As far as bank fishing, that's been all my winter fishing as I don't want to take the kayak out on the Potomac in the winter.  Most of the main water bass are hiding in the deep which is too far from shore and too close to other boats to comfortably consider in my kayak during the winter.   

A gold blade bait’s worked best so far this winter, netting 3 yellow perch and 3 smallmouth bass, with the biggest being 1-4 and 2-2, respectively.  Plymouth, MA has some open water right now which is rare this time of year.

40 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

A gold blade bait’s worked best so far this winter, netting 3 yellow perch and two smallmouth bass.  Plymouth, MA has some open water right now which is rare this time of year.

I haven't had any luck yet with the blade bait, but I've also been using the lipless a lot more.   Check out my other post on lipless vs blade baits for winter bass:

 

 

10 hours ago, Riazuli said:

Kayaks are a great way to get out on the water and covering more areas if you don't have a boat.  They're not too expensive, are good exercise, and can get places boats can't.  I still plan to get a bass boat when it makes sense for me, but right now my kayak takes care of all my needs.  As far as bank fishing, that's been all my winter fishing as I don't want to take the kayak out on the Potomac in the winter.  Most of the main water bass are hiding in the deep which is too far from shore and too close to other boats to comfortably consider in my kayak during the winter.   

I love kayaking, but they are still out of my price range right now, unless I wanted to go with a really small one not intended for fishing.

12 minutes ago, FishDewd said:

I love kayaking, but they are still out of my price range right now, unless I wanted to go with a really small one not intended for fishing.

Save up and check ones out on Craigslist or other classifieds.  You never know when you might find a great deal on something. Until then, enjoy bank fishing!  I am

2.5-2.75" tubes with a 1/8 oz head is my favorite winter bait, maybe a bigger tube under certain circumstances. Sometimes feel like finesse tubes have gone out of style since the Ned rig gained so much popularity (nothing against the Ned of course, it obviously works well)

Flipping a general larew salt craw, and dragging a speed worm in 10 foot of water

Plastic worms, of course!

Lately it's been ol' monsters and trick worms. In late fall-early winter They were all over grape shad 7.5 inch culprits and 6 inch lucky strike worms in tequila sunrise.

blade baits and jigs! people love jerkbaits  but i cant figure em out, i suck at jerkbait fishing! 

3 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Plastic worms, of course!

Lately it's been ol' monsters and trick worms. In late fall-early winter They were all over grape shad 7.5 inch culprits and 6 inch lucky strike worms in tequila sunrise.

I was sight fishing a decent sized bass yesterday and threw just about everything I had at him with different presentations without any luck, but admittedly didn't try worms for long enough..he didn't take a weightless senko or a jig with craw trailer, but I have a feeling the one thing that might have worked would have been a drop shot or shaky head...im gonna hit the same spot in the next few days and see if he's still there or at least another one to sight fish (next to a WWD, so odds are there will be at least one decent sized one hanging out).  

Just now, Mr. Aquarium said:

blade baits and jigs! people love jerkbaits  but i cant figure em out, i suck at jerkbait fishing! 

That's another one I didn't try from my previous post... Will give that one a shot too.  I shyed away from it cause I was near a lot of rocks, but I might have to take the risk! 

i fish smaller ponds that are deep in the winter.   i fish out of a yak and the bigger places are friggin hard in a yak. so small ponds.  find deep structure, steep drops, flats, rocks, trees, anything deep. when you find one fish, youll find more. they school up in the winter, especailly smallies. 
with blades i use a ML rod with 8-10 lbs floro. slow hops, cast out, let it settle to bottom, lift rod till i feel it vibrate. sometimes they want it ripped up, most of the time they just want it lifted.  then pause let it fall to bottom, let the fish tell you how much vibration and how long to let the bait sit on bottom. 
hair jigs are my new thing ive been using, havent been out since november and december water in the 40s, hair jigs were getting chewed. cast out crawl it on bottom, or slow hop. 

6 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

i fish smaller ponds that are deep in the winter.   i fish out of a yak and the bigger places are friggin hard in a yak. so small ponds.  find deep structure, steep drops, flats, rocks, trees, anything deep. when you find one fish, youll find more. they school up in the winter, especailly smallies. 
with blades i use a ML rod with 8-10 lbs floro. slow hops, cast out, let it settle to bottom, lift rod till i feel it vibrate. sometimes they want it ripped up, most of the time they just want it lifted.  then pause let it fall to bottom, let the fish tell you how much vibration and how long to let the bait sit on bottom. 
hair jigs are my new thing ive been using, havent been out since november and december water in the 40s, hair jigs were getting chewed. cast out crawl it on bottom, or slow hop. 

I'm also a big fan of the smaller ponds in the winter, with it being easier to track down the bass.  They're in there somehwere, right?  I purchased a deeper castable sonar, which really helps to locate those deep spots for winter time bass.  I don't use it for fish finding - just to map out the pond's depth and for structure locations.  Generally, if there is a overflow drainage in the pond, and/or a fountain, those will likely be the deepest spots in the pond (from my experience in mapping out at least a few different ponds).  

 

I never knew you could catch smallies in ponds - I've yet to catch a smallmouth, as I lived more south for most of my life, but am now closer to smallie waters.  Can't wait to land one.  

On 1/25/2018 at 9:51 AM, FishDewd said:

I love kayaking, but they are still out of my price range right now, unless I wanted to go with a really small one not intended for fishing.

I started with an Ascend fishing ‘yak, which are a lot of kayak for the buck.  Last I knew they’re made in MO too.

 

Also, have you tried Craigslist and your local want ads?

 

Either way, best of luck getting one. Kayak fishing opens a whole new world!

I have, occasionally, looked through ads... seems like a lot of people want darn near what they paid for them new. But mostly just not in my budget right now.

1 hour ago, FishDewd said:

I have, occasionally, looked through ads... seems like a lot of people want darn near what they paid for them new. But mostly just not in my budget right now.

You could try starting off with something smaller that at least has some room to put a kayak crate...You can score something like that for as low as 100 bucks on craigslist - maybe even lower.  I remember from when I was actually looking to "downgrade" my kayak before because I wanted something lighter and easier to haul around, but then realized the one I had wasn't too bad to load up on my car, and at least doable by myself.  You could do that, and then when you're ready to spend more, get something you really like.  Just a thought - I'll stop trying to convince you now lol.  I felt obligated, because when I started kayak fishing, like dog_bone was saying, it opened up a whole new world.  For me, it was exhilarating, liberating, therapeutic, and totally worth any investment I put toward it.  I felt like it improved everything - my work, school, and life in general.  

Just ordered a bunch of squarebill crankbaits (kvd 1.5) as their have been some hefty bass caught on them at my recent spot.  I was using some smaller ones with no luck (and also hadn't used them as much as the lipless), so I'm looking forward to using these when they come in.  I'm also looking forward to the fact that they will have less chance of getting snagged seeing as they don't sink or dive as deep.