Crestliner2008

If the bay opens to deeper water, I don't see why it wouldn't be a great spot for some decent bass. A lot depends on the water clarity, forage base and the general size of the bass in the lake. A Rage Tail frog buzzed across those pads should give you some action!

In a nut shell: fronts are all about barometric pressure and the fishes swim bladder. An approaching cold front lowers pressures in the water significantly, allowing them to move about - and feed - freely throughout the water column. The couple of days preceding a significant front, during the front itself and maybe a day after, are usually much better for fishing - in general. After a front passes, pressure rises fast as the front exits the area. A very windy day usually follows. This usually drives fish down deeper or at least to the bottom, due to the pressure affecting their swim bladder. They still eat during this time of high pressure, but their strike zone is diminished significantly. Right after the front, the weather usually clears to a "blue bird" sky, with few if any clouds. This requires you to fish slower and sometimes deeper. Pressures will stabilize in a day or two after a significant front, signified by increasing amounts of puffy clouds. As the pressure lowers/stabilizes, the fish will then start to move about more freely, with increasing larger strike zones, equaling better fishing - again, in general terms only! The severity of the weather front is important. Less significant fronts have less effect on the fish, obviously. Sometimes, especially in spring and fall, fronts can come in, one right after the other. The fish actually can adjust to these rapidly changing conditions and fishing may becomes as normal as during the heavier feeding periods. A lot has to do with the body of water you are fishing; water clarity, weed growth, forage base, bottom structure, etc.. Awareness of the frontal phenomenon, can increased the odds of your fishing success; if you adjust to the current conditions. Hope this helps.

The BBZ-1 6" swimbait was highlighted on one of the fishing shows last week. Lots of underwater coverage of it's action. It really impressed me. And they were catching decent sized smallies on it! Being not as heavy as some (I think it was about 2 oz.), they were casting it on regular baitcasting rigs. I'm going to pick one up. Only $20.00 too.

Lead may very well be toxic to the environment. I say "may" because I've been pouring my lead sinkers and jig heads for 50 years now and I'm still kicking. And most of that melting was done on our kitchen stove, along with that of most of my retired fishing friends as well. As kids, we use to "play" with mercury as well! Shining up those nickles and silver quarters with the stuff. It could also be a fact that tungsten is 10X more toxic than lead! The minutest amount of ingested tungsten will end your life surer than a lead bullet might. This was told to me by an old friend of mine, a retired chemistry teacher. I have no reason to doubt him. You have to understand that some environmentalist have their own "agenda". Some of it may be political and a lot of it has to do with $$$. Like with the "global warming" theory, which, thankfully, is now looked upon with greater skepticism. The "Cap & Trade" ponzi scheme would have passed if the European emails on global warming hadn't surfaced and put serious doubt and re-focus on this theory. Similarly, the focus on what we fish with, should be looked at in greater detail, before just jumping onboard with anything - just because it "feels" good to do so! Some folks like using tungsten, for reasons appealing to their ability to "feel" things better down there. Fine. If that's your reason and you have the money to put down on it, God bless you. But composition of our terminal tackle should not be the only criteria on which product we use. Of much more importance is how we use it. Just so you know....I use steel now-a-days, only because I've been regulated by law to do so!

X2 - I memorized his book as a teenager, which taught me well about what structure really is. Most fishermen think that a stump is structure! And even the Lowrance online sonar tutorial alludes to that - sadly. If everyone just got Buck Perry's book and studied it, they could not help but become better fishermen. "Depth & speed control". Everything else is window dressing.

I've been using the "Trilene" knot for about 15 years now and haven't had any problem. I have Trilene on 2 of my reels, 4# test on one and 8# test on another.

This past weekend, on "Getting Schooled With J.P. Derose" (I think that's how he spells his name?), he interviewed the rep from Keitech. Specific question was this one. Answer was that a standard gap, 5/0 worm hook is what they use in their 10" ribbon tails.

If you are old enough and recall the Heddon "Sonar", this was the very first "blade bait". It use to come with 3 holes for your snap to hook onto the bait. I recall the original packaging instructions that showed how you can actually bulge (like the now popular "wake" baits) the surface of the water with it, when retrieved rapidly and attached to the rear-ward line tie hole. Gives the bait a very wide and "powerful" vibration. I have tried it in the water a few times, but I've never really "fished" this lure, in this fashion, for very long. So, I'm wondering if I maybe should give it a whirl this season? Any opinions?

Depth & speed control catch fish. Everything else is window dressing. If a certain color give you added confidence, then I say go for it. Just don't rely on color to produce the bite for you.

I'd jump on that! What store are you getting them at?

That's a shame! You may be really missing out on something good here. How are you trying to fish them? Even if you just drag them along the bottom, you're going to get bit! A slow drift and casting or dragging is bound to get you into fish with a tube; unless the structures you're fishing are not supporting that good a population.

50 degree water = hard jerkbaits for me. Especially on a quick drop to medium depth water such as you describe. You would search those shallow shelves with this bait for starters, then move off into the drop off areas. Nothing there, then search the depths with your sonar and find out where any decent spots on the structure exists; downed trees, large bolders, etc.. I'd approach the depths with only one tactic this time of the year - the drop shot.

Accurate pitching for me. Don't do it enough....then when I get myself into a position where I need it, I'm not very good at it! My forte is definitely soft plastics on off-shore structures.

Should have been a live nightcrawler.

Shimano Symetre 750. Great UL reel. Been using this one for 3 years now.

phenomenal drop shot bait.

I think it was the PAA this weekend that put on a program about Candlewood smallie fishing. Great information! Just wish the licensing tax was so high. 2/10/10 - Yes, it was the TV Program, "Fish PAA" (Professional Anglers Association) that I saw the program on. I have it on my DVR at the moment. If you look up the program on the internet, I'm sure there must be a clip or two from that program.

Very effective in rivers. Rig them reversed on an EWG 4/0 worm hook. Green pumpkin color. Cast quartering upstream, ahead of an eddy and hold on! You won't regret that you did.

The main advantage is that you can put different reels on the rod and have them all balance out correctly. X2

Jigs are not for baitcasting gear only. Baitcasters can do a lot of things very well....until you start to go light. Then the spinning rigs excel. However....going the other way, there's nothing a spinning rig can't do. I know a lot of guys will disagree with that, but I've caught just about everything - big & small - on a spinning rig. I saw that same show btw.

Looks like a couple of old River Runts I have. This lure, the Lucky13 and the Jitterbug were my staples many years ago.

Well, hopefully we'll have a warming trend and ice out on the river by the end of this month. Then we'll start tossing tubes, blades and hard jerks for smallies. And, hopefully by the middle or end of March, the lakes will free up from their frozen grip. Then the fun really begins! Been a very long winter. >

When that adrenaline starts a pumpin' there's little option for much sleep the night before any fishing trip for me!

Really a great site! THANKS!

I like a show that illustrates how to achieve success with certain presentations, under well defined circumstances. I don't mind them using a specific product, as long as they don't say that this product is "IT", rather than this product as a "family" of baits. If that makes any sense? Shows that tell you the structure they are fishing, the depth, the seasonal period, water temperature, etc., are what I look for especially. That way you can relate better and get a handle on a new technique or find out what you may be doing that is wrong.