2 hours ago, Mosster47 said:

Fish as far from shore as possible. You have the whole lake to yourself and the number of 4+ pound fish you catch will increase to dramatically it will blow your mind. Also, launch the boat after 10pm. You have the lake to yourself again. 

 

Anyone can catch bass in that 2.5lb range and under. When they grow into true apex predators you have to fish where the high value targets live. That's usually not hugging shore. Pre-spawn and spawn excluded. 

I do this as well.  to say it a bit different:  95% of boats are trolling the same path--parallel to shore, exactly 1 casting distance from the bank.  there are untold numbers of unpressured bass directly below this boat track.  back 2 casting lengths from shore and start catching some of the best bass in the lake.

I C-Rig small, shallow running cranks using a 1oz. egg sinker. I’ll run that in the same areas others are deep cranking big baits. I’ll crank it for a fast presentation, or use the rod to creep it along. As a bonus, I’ve boated a nice walleye dinner on occasion. 

10 hours ago, Arcs&sparks said:

Come on, that’s impossible.

well, i try

3 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

I C-Rig small, shallow running cranks using a 1oz. egg sinker. I’ll run that in the same areas others are deep cranking big baits. I’ll crank it for a fast presentation, or use the rod to creep it along. As a bonus, I’ve boated a nice walleye dinner on occasion. 

Great rig for Lake Trout.

I almost never use stick worms in general but I can honestly say that I've NEVER used a genuine Yamamoto senko.  I think it's safe to say I'm in the minority with this one.

Yup never have used a senko here either

30 minutes ago, RichF said:

I almost never use stick worms in general but I can honestly say that I've NEVER used a genuine Yamamoto senko.  I think it's safe to say I'm in the minority with this one.

 

12 minutes ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Yup never have used a senko here either

?

12 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

I C-Rig small, shallow running cranks using a 1oz. egg sinker. I’ll run that in the same areas others are deep cranking big baits. I’ll crank it for a fast presentation, or use the rod to creep it along. As a bonus, I’ve boated a nice walleye dinner on occasion. 

I’m having trouble picturing this. When creeping it,  does the crank stay suspended above the weight?

Yes, it'll stay above the weight as you work it. How much higher depends on the running depth of the crank and the length of your leader. A proven retrieve is to work it by sweeping the rod. The crank will dive and make contact with the bottom (on a shorter leader) as you sweep and rise up as you recover and take up the slack. You can even dead stick it there before sweeping the rod again.

On 5/30/2018 at 12:11 AM, Mottel said:

I only use rapala countdowns my whole life

 

I bet you've caught some fish  tho !

When I catch a fish I rub my worm over it ;)

On 5/10/2018 at 9:38 PM, BuzzHudson19c said:

 

That is to this day the best frog blowup on Youtube.

I knew what fish you were talking about before even watching the link above....even though I haven't watched his vids in the past year...lol

Lately I've taken to acquiring a sample of lake water and gargling it.  This tells me everything I need to know (about parasites, dysentery, diarrhea, vomiting, etc).

I hate flourocarbon line, gave up on it completely. It is brittle, your knot must be perfect or it will burn or cut itself. Breaks if you look at it wrong. I tried several brands and all had the same issue. I fish all lures with straight braid or mono and do better than my friends who swear by flourocarbon.

On 5/29/2018 at 10:18 PM, Mosster47 said:

When they grow into true apex predators you have to fish where the high value targets live. That's usually not hugging shore. Pre-spawn and spawn excluded. 

Come to Florida and your opinion might change on this subject. I and many other Florida bass fishermen catch trophy bass from the shore and many of these trophy bass are from public waters, even in June- August which are months not associated with the pre-spawn and spawn.

On 5/30/2018 at 3:00 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Yup never have used a senko here either

I don't like senkos since its a boring bait to use for me but these lures have their place and time they do well, such as a beginner lure, a lure for someone that fatigues quickly with moving lures, or sometimes it's one of the best lures to use in certain conditions,etc.

On 5/22/2018 at 1:41 PM, MarkK76 said:

AS far as rather I'm missing a lot of fish due to line visibility I cant no for sure.. been told by lots line vis makes a difference and been told by others it doesn't /shrug  Tell I can get PRO enough to use fluoro without all the bait casting blow ups Ill just stick to braid and hope that the bass are not line shy

My little cousin uses yellow braid for all his bass fishing and he does well with it. Fished with orange braid before and still caught some nice bass on it. I prefer using green braid but having confidence in what you are using is far more important.

On 5/9/2018 at 8:28 PM, Graham said:

Rather than buying into the wacky rigging tool and o-ring hype I’ve always used little elastic hair bands made for braiding. 5$ gets you about 100 of em.

 

 

They are super small I just double them over once and they fit nice and tight.

IDK what it is if it's just a weird reaction between the different plastics or something, but these things tend to melt if I leave them on my lures when putting them back in the Plano. It's especially bad with classic Senkos. 

I have days that I don't catch fish.

3 hours ago, RealtreeByGod said:

IDK what it is if it's just a weird reaction between the different plastics or something, but these things tend to melt if I leave them on my lures when putting them back in the Plano. It's especially bad with classic Senkos. 

Hmm that’s odd, never had an issue 

Did I mention I catch giant bass on hair jigscwithbpork rind trailers.

Tom

Keep oars in the boat and if the fish are in thick mat or pads I pull the trolling motor up and sneak in. People give me weird looks seeing I have a trolling motor on deck but I'm paddling an entire shoreline. It helps me when I'm punching thick weeds and I can get right on top of the fish without spooking them which leads to better hook up ratios since I don't have to make long pitches. Hook set straight up and buries right in the top of the mouth every time 

On 5/31/2018 at 5:23 PM, rboat said:

I hate flourocarbon line, gave up on it completely. It is brittle, your knot must be perfect or it will burn or cut itself. Breaks if you look at it wrong. I tried several brands and all had the same issue. I fish all lures with straight braid or mono and do better than my friends who swear by flourocarbon.

You must fish in muddy water where it doesn't matter as much.  First off, never use vanish.  with flurocarbon you have to use the Palomar knot, there is no other knot but this knot.  and use the alberto knot to tie flurocarbon to braid.  also when spooling flurocarbon onto a bait caster make sure you keep the spool label side down on the ground .  dip it in a bucket of water periodically as you spool it.   

I give soft baits to people i meet out fishing.  i tell them and give them whats working for me.  if you think that by giving a tackle tip and showing someone what bait your using is going to ruin fishing at your spot your a selfish idiot.

 

I use Flouro for everything except punching and frogs, Love the stuff and only use a SDJ knot and never had a problem.

 

Only use mono to hang pictures on a wall

 

 

 

 

Mike 

I reel left handed on a spinning rod and fly rod, right on a BC.  Cast right.  

 

Sometimes I only take junebug plastics.  I focus on presentation speed, shape.

 

If I catch a couple on one bait  I will change and see if they'll bite something else.

 

I use a Lunker City Salad spoon like a toad

 

I throw weightless with my BC

 

 

On 5/10/2018 at 9:37 AM, Loochy88 said:

I've been throwing a maribou skirted custom chatterbait lately that the fish have been going bananas over.  Don't know if anyone else is making these, but it's been amazing.

Ill sure will be now!