Mottfia

Alpster is definitely right about this one. If only for the kids it would be a great benefit and would save yourself from being upset all day over a small fishing hole. remember that day will probably be just another fishing day for you but could be a one of the best days of that kids life. Mottfia

and there is always that time when they are full and aren't interested in feeding any more. Mottfia

I can't say much about the thermocline cause I fish a river system but it could be number of reasons out side of that. Bait is my first reason that I point to. If the bait is shallow then the bass will not be far behind. enough said lol Best feeding oppurtunity is my next reasoning. If the water is muddy then they stand the best chance in shallow water or if another type of fish can out compete them in deep water then they will stay shallow. We see this alot with spots dominating the main lake areas cause largemouth can't compete as well out there. Cooler water and more oxygen can come into effect in the backs of creeks, where bass will hang out super shallow. Mottfia

If you get the chance try getting out there earlier. Those fish should be more compliant in the morning. Mottfia

I live them on the river during the summer but they aren't my primary approach. I'll use them between targets when I'm running a bank that has alot of whatever pattern I'm running but spread out. I put my trolling motor on high and cruise along with it. Last year when I was fishing a little more I would come across a nice suspended fish from time to time. For me that is a great plus when I already plan to catch a solid limit with other approaches. Mottfia

Hey buddy, How'd the tournament go? If you're like alot of us that tournament fish, cold fronts won't stop you from getting out there. Cold fronts are funny in that the fish can do some funny things on them. Two days would be a typical that I hear that most people experience. I've had a few times where after a bad cold front the fish would feed hard in the morning and shut down shortly after day break. So I wouldn't waste much time getting to your sweet spot and I'd fish it with some type of reaction lure. if they are feeding hard that morning you will load the boat and be ready for that slow period after. If the morning bite is tough you should fish slow and diligently like they say with the occasional reaction bait just to test the chance of the fish picking back up quicker than expected. Lets us know how it went and how you caught them Mottfia

The most famous person I've fished with thats not a fishing pro is my dad. A few hundred people know and like him. Mottfia

way to go ! We all need to go fish your hole lol Mottfia

Hey guys, Its been awhile since I've posted anything and I'm glad to be back. When did the layout change? lol Anyways back on topic, I make a couple of trips this weekend and I thought I might let yall know how the River fish are doing in Alabama. The river has been tough with bites being hard to come by. leading up to this point I had very little information to try to develop a partner. I did know that the river was a normal summertime clear and that the current has been sporatic at best. So I hit the water with my dad with the goal of working a topwater bite in the morning. We don't have any gas in the boat so we're not gonna run around like crazy. We'll just keep it close. So we run across the river to a good looking bank with plenty of timber cover. Now if you fish a river regular, I'm sure you've developed a distinction between inside and outside cover. If you're not as familar, I'll break it down a little more. Inside cover would be cover on the bank while outside cover is off the bank. If you want to develop a solid pattern this can be a big clue. So as we work down this bank that has both inside and outside cover, we notice two things; the current is flowing lightly down river and the shad are moving close to shore. This kind of hinted us off to fishing inside cover with our topwater but before calling that our pattern we have to test all options. We work down out bank hitting everything that touched the water and like clockwork we come to a inside laydown with shad clicking around it and catch a small fish and then another small one. Nice to have but not what we are looking for. We move to an outside tree and nothing. continue down the bank to another inside laydown with an eddy pocket in front of it and BAM, three pounder. That'll get you rolling. we move down the bank and dad made a pitch to an inside rootwad and a good one boils up but misses. a few extra casts...no takers. Back down the bank. At this point we have figured out from the four bites that we've had that the fish will jump out at the lure on the first cast so we are now running with the trolling motor on high from target to target or cranking up and driving to the next spot. We're still hitting outside cover because our test sample has only been three at this point and with little gas what can it hurt to make a cast between targets. Continuing on the pattern we have two more good fish blow up on the lure on inside cover without getting hooked up and we caught a few smaller fish. We only fished from day break to 9 because I wanted to go to church but in that short period we had four solid fish attack the lure. We developed a pattern that we believe could be run for another hour and with less time wasted on bad areas...tho we didn't waste much time anywhere. lol Hey it might just be a tournament winner. We just have to make a few adjustments to the strategy to actually get those hook ups. hmmm lol Mottfia

I remember fishing a bed in a pond for a small 8" fish and it seemed like he was suidical cause I could catch him daily if I so chose. I remember one day I caught him three times and he even bit a forth time but I didn't have the heart to set the hook again. That little guy was intense. so its definitely possible to catch them multiple times. Mottfia

There ya go. That's how to get a good start in tournament fishing Mottfia

If I was to suggest a book I would go with the Infisherman Largemouth book 100%. It gives you everything you will need to know. The way it worked with me was that I would read it one time and figure out something new and come back a month later, read the same section and have something else click. The book is very detailed and thorough. It will definately lead you in the right direction and give you something to build upon until you are comfortable enough to wing it. I know you'll enjoy it Mottfia

I personally don't spend alot of time working my jig. I like to do what I call speed flipping. Basically I get a 1/2 oz jig trim it up and put a trailer with a sutle action and go to flipping everything in sight. Its a shallow water visible cover approach but when the fish are shallow you can define a pattern quickly. I make a pitch to the cover as close as I can. Let it sink straight down on semi slack line. Let it set for a second and give it a hop or two to make it dance close to the cover and then pull it back in real quick for the next pitch. Mottfia

Versatility is nice and useful but in my area the best guys are the guys that are specialist and are dedicated to a style of fishing. They are confident that it will work. This doesn't mean they don't make adjustments. They do but its still around their style. We have done great in a number of tournaments just by sticking to a technique that was only working so so because we believed that we would catch them . Just take a look at the pros. They are all over the place in different styles and techniques. The top thing is that they believe they can catch them. Confident is key as one guy already said Mottfia

My Dad. Not a doubt in my mind. He has pushed me in improve in every aspect of my fishing (except finese lol). He taught me his style and philosophy and encourages me to soak up all the information I can so that one day I will be better than him. Mottfia