I going out of Grape Hammock around 7 tomorrow if anybody wants to go.

Please let us know how you did!! 

Mike (another sitekid) and I hit the south end of the lake about 10 am.  Light northeast wind, water temps in the mid to upper 50's.  The bite was completely shut down until the afternoon and the water warmed up.  When we found 60 degrees and submerged vegetation we found small fish.  We boated around 10 dinks, 9 on a speed worm and 1 on a frog.  No bedding activity at all.  No fish up shallow.  Most fish caught on outside lines in 6-8 ft of water.

I managed to fish for about 2 hours on saturday at a local pit lake.  I found the same thing.  Until the water warmed up to 60 in the sunny areas, nothing happened.  After that the dinks turned on.   

Lois & I fished the Big-K Sunday afternoon (out of grape hammock) and again Monday afternoon.

On Sunday afternoon we boated a couple buck bass and pickerel, but just before sunset on Monday

there was a hot bite just below the surface.

Most were bucks, but I did manage one girl just under 5 (hollow-belly swimbait).

Roger

Nice one! Berkley Hollow Belly? What colors do you like in the soft swimbaits?

Nice one! Berkley Hollow Belly? What colors do you like in the soft swimbaits?

I mostly throw the "Tennessee Shad" pattern, but I believe the biggest leg-up

is rigging the swimbait sideways on an Owner Sled Head.

Roger

C'mon! Sideways!? I am in a very gullible state, please don't toy with me. I have caught 1 fish THIS YEAR...

Really??

C'mon! Sideways!? I am in a very gullible state, please don't toy with me. I have caught 1 fish THIS YEAR...

Really??

Tomorrow I'll post a photograph of a side-rigged soft-swimbait

Roger

Nice one!!  I'm heading down 60, your direction this weekend

A soft swimbait rigged sidewards offers four advantages:

1) It's postured like a troubled minnow (Sick & dying minnows swim on their side or upside-down)

2) A 'different' action & more 'vibration' (vibration is critical in dark water, such as central Florida)

3) There's far more unoccupied hook-bite, which leads to a better hookup ratio.

4) 100% weedless (may be pitched 'anywhere')

Top View (Texskin the hook-point)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-topview.jpg

Side View (screw-coil keeper is buried in head)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-sideview.jpg

Bottom View (that "black dot" is probably more important than color)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-bottomview.jpg

=====================================================

Nice one!! I'm heading down 60, your direction this weekend

The Big-K is now in the 60s, and the bass are in 1 to 3 ft of water.

We did best in the South Slough, the Highway Canal (beside FL-60)

and also in the Keyhole just N of bouy "1". (look for circular clearing in spatterdock on left side).

Given wind under 30 mph, it should be worth the run to "Jack Slough".

Pro guides who live in my area are now focusing on Jack Slough (north point & jackson creek),

but typically use live minnows for their clients (a 9-lber was taken from the Slough this past weekend)

Roger

That's what the pros said at a recent seminar.  They showed several ways to do it.  It is nothing more than a wacky rig on most any plastic you want.  Rig according to the cover you are fishing and you will be surprised  Be very patient.  They also talked about the Senko--similar principle.  I have played with both and when the weather turns around I already have a lot of confidence in both techniques.  It felt ridiculous at first, then, so did throwing a swim bait on a 4/0 until I felt it load up the first time.  The 4/0 might have been an exaggeration.

That's what the pros said at the Nashville Bass University. They showed several ways to do it. It is nothing more than a wacky rig on most any plastic you want.

Not even close.

W-rigged plastics are centrally skewed so that both ends are free to waggle.

Very differently, a side-rigged swimbait is hooked nose-first as any T-rigged lure,

but instead of embedding the hook between the belly and back of the swimbait,

the hook only penetrates the thickness of the swimbait, from one side to the other.

Among other benefits, this leaves more unoccupied hook-gap.

Roger

A soft swimbait rigged sidewards offers four advantages:

1) It's postured like a troubled minnow (Sick & dying minnows swim on their side or upside-down)

2) A 'different' action & more 'vibration' (vibration is critical in dark water, such as central Florida)

3) There's far more unoccupied hook-bite, which leads to a better hookup ratio.

4) 100% weedless (may be pitched 'anywhere')

Top View (Texskin the hook-point)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-topview.jpg

Side View (screw-coil keeper is buried in head)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-sideview.jpg

Bottom View (that "black dot" is probably more important than color)

http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-bottomview.jpg

=====================================================

Nice one!! I'm heading down 60, your direction this weekend

The Big-K is now in the 60s, and the bass are in 1 to 3 ft of water.

We did best in the South Slough, the Highway Canal (beside FL-60)

and also in the Keyhole just N of bouy "1". (look for circular clearing in spatterdock on left side).

Given wind under 30 mph, it should be worth the run to "Jack Slough".

Pro guides who live in my area are now focusing on Jack Slough (north point & jackson creek),

but typically use live minnows for their clients (a 9-lber was taken from the Slough this past weekend)

Roger

Very interesting on that swimbait rig-thanks for posting

I am with Salmi...never seen a swimbait rigged like that.....gonna have to give that a try.

sounds pretty neat will be sure to try it out, fishindaddy was kind enough not to mention the one i lost due to "user error" never saw it but felt pretty good, then again so do most fish you never get to see...all the biggest fish i've ever hooked have got away and keep growing every time i tell the story. thanks again fishindaddy, had a great time.

Ok Roger, you are either really mean (cuz you know I am now going to be throwing sideways swim baits for hours on end) or a complete genius. I am thinking genius - we'll see after Toho this weekend.

What kind of retrieve do you recommend for the swim challenged hollow belly?

Ok Roger, you are either really mean (cuz you know I am now going to be throwing sideways swim baits for hours on end) or a complete genius. I am thinking genius - we'll see after Toho this weekend.

What kind of retrieve do you recommend for the swim challenged hollow belly?

As I'll bet you know, the best retrieve is not always the same (would be nice if it were).

On balance though, I'd say that a Steady, Medium-speed retrieve is most often the best with swimbaits.

On the other hand, bass are borderline insane and often respond best to a red-hot retrieve (when the strikes are most explosive).

Roger

Great advice Rodger. Increasing the vibration in dark/dirty water increases your odds for hookups.