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I nailed this fiesty 5-10 tonight in the shallows at sunset on a T-rigged black/blue S.K Rage Menace. I wasn't expecting much from shore fishing a pressured residential lake this time of year, so I was thrilled to get this beautiful girl. The Menace grub is a brand new addition to my arsenal, and I am very impressed with its ability to attract bites and with the variety of ways you can fish it. I'm looking forward to unleashing the Menace on Lake Okeechobee next week.

Walt & I were planning on taking the boat out today, but due to the rain forecast, we pushed it off. So, I took my UL rod down to the local Oxbow to try for some crappie from shore. Not much happening until around 8:00 am. Made a cast with the tiny jig. Felt the familiar "tick" and set the hook. All of a sudden it started getting really heavy and the "fish" started taking line off the drag! Definitely NOT a crappie. Fought the fish for a few minutes with my 7' UL bent almost double, figuring I hooked a big carp, or bowfin and that it was going to strip out all my 2 lb. test line and spool me. No way I could prevent it. However, I continued to fight the fish as best I could, holding my finger on the line spool, to assist the drag, as it surged out and started plowing through a weedbed. I figured, that's it.....here's where it breaks off. I kept a steady pressure on the fish and it actually got itself out of the weeds. How I still had it on was amazing to me. Finally I was able to start steering the head towards my shoreline. I climbed down the side of the bank in hopes of at least seeing the fish. It came up and I was amazed to see that I had a huge largemouth bass on......maybe 6 to 8 pounds(?). The behemoth rose with only it's head out of the water (it was too big to jump), opened it's mouth and - believe it or not - out pops my crappie with my jig still in the crappies mouth, not the bass! The bass just sunk back down into the depths. I unhooked my jig from inside the crappie's mouth and tossed it back, although it was pretty bad shape by that time. It was just shy of 9". That big ole largemouth just was determined to eat that crappie - period! (Maybe something for you big swimbait fans to think about!) I know the bass can grow pretty big in these waters (state record is 15 lbs, believe it or not!). I've also "heard" of people down south having this similar kind of experience. Just never heard of anyone around our neck of the woods having it happen to them. Then it started to rain so I quit after catching about a 1/2 doz. more crappie from that spot. Sure do wish I had a vidcam today! That'd be something for the books! Figured you guys would get a kick out of this one!

Almost shut out today, playing with different baits.....they wanted a wacky worm....sometimes I wonder why I have a ton of bait!

[June 26, 2017] (Monday) -----Conditions----- Time: 7:00am - 1:30pm Sky: Partly Cloudy to Overcast To Partly Cloudy Wind: Light Wind to Medium Gusts to Calm Water Temps: 64-71F Water Clarity: Clear (10ft+) -------------------- Jeremy and I have been talking about our results from the previous trip on the 21st over the past few days. Lately we've been heading north near deeper water, fishing rocky areas and catching a lot of Smallmouth. The numbers have been great, however most of the fish haven't had much size to them. When he checked his pictures from last year he saw that he was catching some good sized Largemouth around this time at the south end of the lake where its more shallow and weedy. We both decided it was time to try fishing the south end to see if we could find us some good Largemouth. I was to meet him at his place at ~6:15am, so I got up around 5:30am to get ready and the first thing I did was check the weather. It showed a high of 89, partly cloudy with falling pressure, and the radar showed a small cold front moving in, with spotted rain showers... I had already geared up for this trip days prior with an emphasis on selecting "weedless" baits, knowing the area we planned to fish. So around 5:45am I started heading toward his place... We loaded the boat up, headed for the lake, and arrived at the ramp just a little before 7:00am. Being that it's Monday, and late June, we noted fishing pressure could be high from the past weekend. I've seen numerous trucks with fishing boats on the road over the past few days, so I can only imagine how many more were out on the lake. This is why I was surprised to see two bass next to the dock spook as we were launching the boat. As Jeremy was parking the truck, I tied the boat off, grabbed a combo, and made a cast, and ended up catching one of them. 1st Bass = 9 & 1/4", 0.26 lb (04 oz) Just a small one, but it got the skunk off my back. This was actually a good thing as our plan for today was to head to an area of the lake I have never fished before. I was going to change my entire bait selection from confidence baits to baits that work for the area, and hope that we can locate some fish. When we arrived at the location, I rigged up my three combo's with... 1) Strike King Swim Jig (White) + Keitech Swing Impact Fat (Bluegill Flash), 2) Zoom Horny Toad (Bullfrog) + 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line EWG Hook, and lastly a bait I haven't thrown in years which turned out to be the most productive bait today... 3) Zoom Finesse Worm (Watermelon \ Red Flake) + 1/0 Gamakatsu Offset Shank Worm EWG Hook. Here are the results... 2nd Bass = 13", 0.97 lb (~ 1 lb) [Finesse Worm] 3rd Bass = 14", 1.26 lb (1 lb, 04 oz) [Finesse Worm] 4th Bass = 15", 1.37 lb (~ 1lb 06 oz) [Horny Toad] 5th Bass = 13", 0.95 lb (~ 1 lb) [Finesse Worm] 6th Bass = 13 & 1/4" 1.06 lb (~ 1 lb, 01oz) [Finesse Worm] 7th Bass = 13", 0.91 lb (~ 14 oz) [Finesse Worm] 8th Bass = 13 & 3/4", 1.06 lb (~ 1 lb, 01oz) [Finesse Worm] 9th Bass = 12 & 1/2", 0.79 lb (~ 12 oz) [Horny Toad] 10th Bass = 12", 0.68 lb (~ 11 oz) [Finesse Worm] 11th Bass = 13", 0.88 lb (14 oz) [Finesse Worm] 12th Bass = 9", 0.31lb (~ 05 oz) [Finesse Worm] 13th Bass = 11", 0.45 lb (07 oz) [Horny Toad] I managed to catch 13 bass, and Jeremy caught 16. The Horny Toad caught a few of my fish, but the majority came on the Finesse Worm. One bass came back for the worm 3 times. I didn't catch anything on the Swim Jig, but to be fair I didn't throw it that much as I was focusing on the more weedless stuff. We saw a lot more bass than we caught, the place was loaded. I believe this could be the reason... There were a lot of Bluegill beds in the shallows. There were a few beds in the area that could have been bass, but a lot of the bass seemed to be roaming and willing to chase baits. They were possibly hunting the bluegill around their beds as it was common to see groups of 2-5 bass swimming together. Even saw a few 2-3 lb'ers that wouldn't commit to our baits (probably spooked them and put them into curious mode not feeding mode). Almost all day long we could look down around the boat and see multiple bass checking us out. I have to say, this was our best day out so far this year. WolfyBrandon

5.4 on the popping perch

Fishing in the Fast Lane. Anglers have been using Speed to trigger strikes with moving baits for a long time, and bass anglers are no exception. I’ve been a fan of this approach for a while and I’m probably guilty of using it a little too much. I’m not the biggest Fan of the “finesse” deal and have had some success using a Speed approach in these conditions instead. Doesn’t always work but I can catch a skunk on anything, so might as well do something I like. The technique involves the use of horizontally moving baits that a bass can track & chase down; FAST. For me this is usually most effective in clear to slightly colored water & in shallow to mid-depth ranges of 10-12 ft. and less. Doesn’t mean that using speed can’t or won’t work in something else, just that this is where I’ve found better results. Some wind is very helpful, as is staying off the fish and making a long cast. I prefer to fish into the wind if conditions permit, but either direction / approach has shown solid results. Fishing cross wind is a little tougher. Quite an assortment of lures can be fished / retrieved quickly and in the right conditions /situation can & do catch fish. I have a few favorites that have proven themselves over the years. Crankbaits, Lipless Baits, Spinnerbaits, and Jerk / Rip Baits are what I use most. More recently, several lures manufactures have introduced baits that are specifically designed to be retrieved with speed which has resulted in more & better options for those of us who like it Fast. The Spinnerbait is one of those lures. (For the remainder of this write up I am always referring to a single or double willow leaf bait). It’s such a versatile lure that can & will produce in a wide variety of situations but does seem to come into its own over & through some type of shallow vegetation. Burning one just under the surface to about one foot down, is one of my all-time favorite ways to catch Smallmouth bass. Which is what makes right now, early fall, such a great time for this technique. The weeds are starting to die back but the water is for the most part still warm enough where the bass are very ready, willing & able to chase it down. Back in the day (and there’s no real need to say when that actually was) I read somewhere that by making two simple modifications, most any quality spinnerbaits ability to run fast & true could be improved. One was to down size the willow leaf blades 1 or 2 sizes and the other was to add weight to the bait. The smaller blades allowed for easier reeling & more speed without the bait coming out of the water. Same with the added weight, bait stayed subsurface and casting distance was improved, in the wind especially. Sometimes Smallmouth will follow a bait for quite a while. (Regardless of how fast I reel it) It’s like they enjoy the chase before eventually hammering it. Other times they just seem to come out of nowhere and Blast the bait. Both are OK by me. A few years back SK introduced the Burner Spinnerbait. This was a game changer for me. The baits compact head design allows for max speed, but the real innovation was the Raz-R-Blade. It’s a somewhat down sized, thin cut willow leaf that was designed to increase revolutions, increase flash and keep the bait from lifting like traditional willow leaf blades are so prone to do. BAM ! No more changing out blades. But I have found that by still adding some weight to the ½ oz. bait, I can make an already great bait, Better. By simply spinning on length of wire solder onto the baits hook shank, centered & balanced weight can be effectively added to any bait. How much weight will depend on the length, type & size (gauge) wire solder selected. This can easily be done by hand and a drop of Super glue at each end will help keep it there. Any spinnerbait is a candidate if you want to add weight to, not for just burning, as it’s quite applicable for deep water applications as well. Trailer hooks are optional. Don’t remember who to give credit to for sharing these ideas, but I’m certainly glad they did. A-Jay

Check your guides for nicks

A Z-Man Finesse TRD on a 3/32 oz. Midwest Finesse jig caught the interest of this this 3.96 lb. smallmouth.

Another Craigslist find: Shimano Exsence DC on a Megabass Orochi XX EMTF. Then got sucked in to the BOGO 50% off sale at DSG. Mostly saltwater stuff for a kayak flounder trip tomorrow morning.

BFS has lot of fun

I fail to see a problem

What do the bluegill in your area eat? Children?

A few outside pics and a nice chunk on the MB giant dog x to break it in.

Mannnn...These pickerels sure do love my lures! I wanted to get a bass but instead i get this, I did however get my bass last night right before we were asked to leave by security as it was like 9-10pm. I'm just using a weightless, wacky rigged senko but that's enough to get them to bite. Our catch: A 5 pounds and two feet long pickerel, He was giving me a fight and kicking a ton of water at me.

When fishing by yourself I always advise people to fish up river and then float back down to where you put in (less chance of you getting too tired to get home). When fishing with others, have one person park their car at the take out landing and drive both of you to the put in - float down river until you hit that landing and load up the 'yaks in your buddies vehicle. Also - went fishing with @BigBassLoveSenkos yesterday. Good day on the water despite high winds and the cold fronts that came through. As his name implies, we caught the majority of fish on senkos and a few on jigs/texas rigs. If anyone decides to fish with Mr. BigBass just know he will have close to 25 rods across his deck in the morning but only use about 4 throughout the day.

Second time using the wacky rig & I landed this 6 pounder, bet I caught 50 over 3 pounds using just the wacky rig, well having trouble loading pic

went out or an evening of relaxation. ended up being a fruitful evening, caught 28 bass , the down side was they were all dinks. the biggest barely over a pound. I guess It was just shoulder and back theropy!

Although I haven't tried them wacky rigged, I use the jrs a lot as a dropshot bait and have done well with them. This was one that fell for it

Yesterday I finally broke the four pound mark for the first time this year. This one went 4 lb 8 oz and I caught it on a black jig and black craw. Wind started coming out of the North about 8:30 AM, and the lake I was fishing was very muddy, less than a foot visibility.

So they can sell you different versions. I agree, the rattles are useless.

I've not found color to matter much, but I fish bone a lot because I have confidence in it. It works well in all 3 sizes. The 90 is 3/8oz, I can cast it a mile on the MH/F rod I fish them on. The 110 handles better in the wind or choppy conditions. All 3 sizes catch all sizes of fish. I caught probably a dozen fish on a 130 last Thursday and not a single one was over 2 pounds. Then the last guide trip I had the 2 guys I took caught several smallmouth and largemouth from 3-4 pounds on the 90 size.

They can't always be big ones. Dinks are better than a skunk!

As good as a jig and pig is, there are times when bass will ignore them. The first thing I try then is adjusting the fall rate, either by going lighter or heavier with the jig, or just switching out the trailer. If that doesn't work and I want to continue targeting the same cover, I switch to a worm with the weight pegged. It's basically the same presentation, but a different profile. If I'm targeting deeper structure, I'll grab the old ball and chain and start with a tube or other plastic that resembles a craw and switch to a worm if that doesn't work. Sometimes all it takes is getting the bait up off the bottom. If you haven't guessed, I'm not a big fan of drop shotting.

Years ago, I stumbled on a nice 35 acre pond with river input and dam controlled. I walked up to the owners home and asked if he minded if I walked around and admire it with my lunch. He came out and gave me a little tour. 45 minutes later he said I could use his aluminum row boat and fish at will........as long as I treated it as if it was mine. Respect goes a long way as does a firm handshake, eye to eye contact,

I agree with the others that it sounds like your knot is the problem. Braid and rock do not always mix well, but it sounds like you are having different problems. Also, I never go lighter than 15-lb., but that's just personal preference. I would start by checking your knot to be sure that isn't where the issue is starting.

Is your Health Insurance premiums current @J Francho? My son's first experience playing in a stadium...packed house...

barely pull and break? sounds like your knot is bad

When I was a young boy growing up in South Easter Kansas I lived with my Grandparents on their large farm... The farm consisted of a large pasture for the dairy heard to graze in... The farm had a Creek running thru the property from surrounding areas... The pasture had three Tank/Ponds that had Cat Fish, Bull Heads, and Bluegills in them... My creek fishing consisted of live bait fishing with Night Crawlers, Grub Worms, and Crickets, that I would dig out of the ground from the barn yard areas, plus the Cray Daddies that I would trap in the Creek... The Grasshoppers would come in season during late Summer and were very easy to catch with a Butterfly Net... I used these baits in the three Tank/Ponds also.... I can't remember the exact month but my Grandfather had to go to town on his once a monthly business visit and I went with his to the General Feed Store in Arma Kansas... The owner had started selling fishing supplies... I saw this rod and reel combination which I pick up and played with it and kept asking the owner Mr. Norman a bunch of questions about it, most of which he tried his best to answer... Well my Grandfather saw that I have fallen in "LOVE" with the fishing rod and reel and ask Mr. Normand how much it was... Apparently he was told what the price was and my Grandfather told him that I had taken a very big likening to it that he would buy it for me... Mr. Norman told my Grandfather that he would give it to me if that was ok with him and this is how I acquired my first rod and reel... Prior to this all that I had been fishing with were two 8' Cane poles with some kind of braided line, Red/White Bobber, a clamp on lead sinker and a "Eagle Claw Live Bait Hook"... Next month we had a out of town trip and were going to Pittsburg Kansas because my Grandmother needed some sewing supplies to make a Winter Quilts... There was 5-10 BEN-FRANKLIN store in town, I ask if I could go and see what else they had in the store... Much to my delight they had a small area that sold fishing items... I bought some "Three Beetle Spins" in assorted colors and some "Small Pinky Jigs" for Bluegills... Now I was really something, at least I thought so at the time... Now 60+ years later I can remember it like it was yesterday. WOW! time sure does fly by very fast when you grow up and get a job, go into the Army, get married, have children, spend time fishing with your Children, Grand Children and Great Grand Children and are active in your community's... Some where along my path in life I lost my First Rod and Reel...

I had two - both thrown on spin cast gear, a seriously noodle fiberglass rod (that weighted 6 lbs - easy) & bad mono. I was like 7 years old. A Rigged Crème Scoundrel (had to be nightcrawler) and the Original Eppinger Dardevle Imp. First several years I didn't use a swivel - the line twist was Epic. Now, my confidence lure is just that; Confidence. A-Jay

Got a new Avid-X last week for spinnerbaits, a MH/F 6'6". I was actually using a M/XF rod just because that was my extra rod, needed some more backbone I thought. Broke it in the night I bought it with a couple of 1.5#'s in my backyard pond, but yesterday I got into something that made me glad I had the extra backbone. Close enough to 4 to call it 4:

Just got a whopper plopper 110 on EBay in the bluegill color. It's much better than the 90 which I have fished quite a bit. I just wanted to highlight some info about it for people considering it. 1. It always stays on the surface unlike the 90 size which dove on far casts or when the rod tip was low. 2. It has a redesigned tail section. The tail can still get tangled with grass but the grass won't works it's way into the joint like other versions. 3. I have no trouble casting it on a medium heavy rod, and it casts FAR. My rod is rated for 1/4 to 1 oz baits. 4. It creates more of a whirring noise in the water where the 90 was more a plopping noise. (I know that is vague) 5. It catches fish!!! Both in clear water and stained. I recommend the more natural translucent colors rather than black and white colors. I have a black loon whopper plopper that has only worked in stained water for me. The bluegill color has worked in all water clarities. 6. The 110 is not too big. I have caught small bass with it even though it is a substantial lure.

I can't speak for A-Jay, but my rationale has been that the conditions (semi-cleare/stained, esp with wind) generally warrant flash over thump, but also that the wider, rounder Colorado blades have a bigger, wider wobble and simply don't respond as well to fast cranking.

I am in the wrong state.

Not sure my fish finder is kind of old and danky I have never picked up the thermoclines on it. I just try to use it to find the bottom contour I'm looking for and match it to my map then drop anchor and fish it up, down and side to side till I find them and how they want it. I'm still in the stone age when it comes to electronics in my boat.

My success has been greatly improved by bringing a kid along. My little girl melts hearts and i seem to do well when she goes with. In CT i never had any luck at all people in the north east haven been very friendly as down south or out west.

Spent the week up on Lake Michigan with some family last week. I was excited to try and get on some smallmouth but never could get them figured out. Caught a truck load of big drum off the pier by our house and a handful of largemouth. Finally was able to sneak away and rent a kayak to fish a better area. First time fishing from a kayak, it was pretty fun but as you can tell from parts of the video, I didn't have all the logistics down and did a lot of fumbling around. If I wasn't saving for a house and a bass boat I'd contemplate buying a yak. I liked the added challenge and could see it being fun on some of the smaller lakes around here.

POOR TASTE! Hysterical though!

The flat Dawg is a killer bait, once I found it, it became my go to worm. Have you tried putting it on a weightless hook? It will fall just like a wacky worm but is weedless and casts better. (I use a 4/0 Lunker city Texposer hook which works perfect)

Bait making has led into some unusual requests for other projects. Lately I've been asked to do this Rice Krispie fish base for a cake topper, and a walking stick that I painted in a copperhead pattern. Who knows what I will get into next.

usually you have to give something to get something. Make them feel at ease and say you will pick up trash and not keep any fish etc...or if they want fish to eat you can always offer to give them fish too. You kind of have to play it by ear and read the person as you are talking to determine the route to go

Definitely makes me feel old! Lazy Ike in green/yellow and a Mepps spinner on a fiberglass noodle with a Mitchell 300. Good times!

It seems all the rules change in a yak. I fish heavier rods than most due to wanting a solid rod for just the reason you mentioned. When i am tossing a swim jig or a 4.8 i am running 15lb p-line 100% or 15lb YHB. I dont like braid for swim baits as its supposed to be a natural approach. As said earlier i hit them like i want to cross there eyes and any fish under a pound normally flies over the boat and i have to reel him in after his airborne trip. The hookset is everything in a yak because you start to move right after and keeping tension is much more difficult. I do this same thing when frog fishing from my yak.

First confidence bait was the lure I caught my first good bass with. Lazy Ike. Next was the old Snagless Sally. I caught a LOT of bass on these. I was convinced that I could catch a bass anywhere, anytime with these. These days, it's a 7.5" ribbon-tail worm in tequila sunrise or red shad and a black/blue jig with a chunk trailer. Tom

Some days they bite...some days they don't

How is tube fishing any more boring than drop shotting!? LOL

That's a fatty! Nice catch!

I was cleaning some stuff up in the tackle room and respooling, so I thought I should take a picture since it's been a while..

The top 2 were bogo 50% off. Not a great deal but I "needed" an 8xd so i got the senkos for like $3. The DTs came from gander for under $6 each, the 14s in Parrot were only $3something each

I'd suggest switching species. White bass can't jump.