Yesterday, I fished a small lake I have had success catching large bass at this summer.   The fish have been suspended in large trees.  Water depth is 25 feet, with the bass typically at the surface first thing in the morning and mid depth after the sun comes up.  Strong wind in the afternoon brings them back near the surface, and has been when the best bite occurs.

     Yesterday, I started the morning with surface lures, then switched to spinner baits, which have caught the majority of my fish.  Surface temp. was 88 degrees, up a few degrees since last trip.  I assumed the fish were deeper, so I tried working jigs and soft plastics through the branches to the bottom, again no luck. I then grabbed a spinning rod, and fished a weightless Senko, passing the time until the afternoon winds picked up.

     For some reason the wind didn't come.  Hoping to catch anything, I decided to throw a #3 Vibrax inline at some Tilapia that were swirling on the surface.  First cast I landed a 5 pound large mouth.  After finding out there were bass mixed in with the Tilapia I switched to lip-less crank baits, swim jigs, small swim baits, square bills, and a 1/4 ounce spinner bait.  Not one bite.  Switched back to the inline, and caught a few bass from 2 to 3 pounds, and some Talapia.

      This is not the first time I have had a small inline spinner save the day.  I often wonder why I don't start the day throwing them, instead of waiting until I start to smell skunk before giving them a try.  Maybe I'm just scared of loosing my good friend the Bait Monkey.  

      

   There are reasons that spinners (my favorites are Mepps) are still around. It's not all about panfish, trout and musky. It's about bass, too. They just catch fish .... period.    ?     jj

Mepps black fury #3 dressed yellow dot has saved many a day 

I have a brand new multi  pack of Blue Fox inlines that I bought a long time ago. I never used in-lines much , I should give them a go some day on the river .

A 1/16 rooster tail has kept the skunk off of me many a fishing trip. 

I picked up a couple 1/2 ounce meps, last time out. I should try them out. Won’t hurt since I can’t catch anything anyway. My dad always used them, and always caught fish. 

#3 Mepps in gold is one of my few hard lures I throw. Very successful Lure. 

 

I agree with your assessment, small inline spinners,

and small lures in general, are a great way to oust the skunk.

 

BTW: From what I see, no BR member will be unfriended by the Bait Monkey   

 

Roger