Team9nine

Nice job figuring out a bite within a bite. Always been a fun lake to fish...just hate the drive and lack of launching/parking facilities.

Pre-storm finesse fishing after work. Got run off in under an hour by the storms, but managed 18 fish in one pass before that happened. Fish were up a little shallower than expected. Fun stuff.

I use 8# Power Pro mainline, Alberto or FG knot, and Tatsu or InvizX FC leader (6 or 8 pound depending) typically around 4-5' in length.

Depends on several factors, but one good way is to just focus on marking the points and indentations along the weedline, along with any unusual things just outside the main weedline (rockpiles, hard bottom, isolated clumps, etc.). These are all going to be high percentage areas to focus on, then just quickly fish between the marked areas, slowing down on the waypointed spots.

Not to jump in much since you were asking Catt, but Don is the real deal - personally trained and fished with Buck Perry after Terry O'Malley went back to a real job. I don't agree completely with everything he says, but you could sure do a hell of a lot worse these days listening to some of these other Internet/YouTube stars trying to talk "structure" - lol Well worth watching IMHO.

Another vote for ML, and if you can get it in a slightly more moderate action, go that route, too.

"Color occupies in most fisherman's minds, about 50 percent of their thought process in a given days fishing, and really, it should occupy only about 2 percent. There are many, many things much more important in locating and catching fish than color" - Rick Clunn No doubt there are instances where it makes a difference, but I go with the majority of cases where I simply choose a color based on either/both confidence or water color, or just because, and let the chips fall where they may until proven otherwise.

All released to swim again but speaking of sammiches... Changed up and decided to target crappie today. Another fun afternoon on the water!

Pretty simple, really. When it comes down to it, a thermocline is just another form of breakline. Find where that breakline intersects good structure near deep water along with breaks ("cover"), and you'll be fishing in a lot of the right areas.

I don't think it has brought more fishermen to the sport, or even boat buyers, but it sure has brought more fishermen out off the bank. Actually saddens me in a way to see what technology has allowed. It started with GPS and the ability for anyone to just drive by you and push a button, forever marking your spot even though most people had no clue what you were fishing out there. Then came side imaging and hi-def mapping, and suddenly all the people who could never mentally create a 3D picture in their mind to know exactly what the bottom looked like from a 2D screen could now literally see the bottom and everything down there, along with how it all lays out. Stuff that took years and years to find and locate can now be found in a matter of hours. No more triangulation and lineups. No more guess work. Even boat handling has been taken out of the picture thanks to things like spot lock and contour linking between your trolling motor and your depthfinder. It is what it is, and I use it because it's out there, but it's still sad for me to see. And BTW, "get off my lawn!" -

Best advice above - practice, practice, practice. Fluoro is a little stiffer and heavier than braid, so your technique needs to be a little better, but orherwise...nothing different. I was on the water yesterday launching #6 Shad Raps on fluoro (InvizX) with a baitcaster yesterday, so pitching anything close to a standard weight jig/worm presentation should be no problem.

Bluegill are done spawning for the most part, so moved on to another bite window...post-spawn walleye that are now recovered and feeding again. Managed half a dozen this afternoon.

Never trust an inline knot in braid. It cuts the straight line breaking strength of the line by as much as half. If you can't pull it out (or unknot it - see another recent thread on this subject), then definitely cut it out.

Nothing over 8# braid for me with finesse. A lot of 3# to 6# mostly. Landed plenty of hybrids, catfish and buffalo (to 25#) on the stuff over the years to know that I don't need to worry much about any bass I might hook.

Never pull both sides of the knot unless it's the last option. Most times it's simply twisted line wrapped around itself. Start by looking for the larger loops. These will either be wrapped around each other, or lightly knotted. Lightly pulling on the loops to start, or using a hook to insert into a loop and pulling, will give you an idea of what's going on. Just slowly work with the loops of line, always thinking in terms of untwisting. If the loop is still on the spool, pin the loop to the spool with one finger while slowly pulling the standing line off the spool with the other. I use 3-8# braid 90% of the time, so dealing with 12# should be s piece of cake. Like everything though, the more you have to deal with the knots, the better you'll get at untangling them. @J Francho mentioned in another thread about the twist in braid (from fishing) causing a lot of these issues. What many don't realize is it helps a lot to untwist your braid after every few trips. It's usually restricted to the last 10-15 ft of line, so it's easy to remove with just 5 minutes of effort and will help minimize wind knots.

With this heat, the gills appear to be done spawning, as do the bass. Lots of smaller fish hanging in the shallows, but several nicer ones are too, though many were skinny post-spawners. Still caught between 45-50 Monday and Tuesday afternoon including several sight fishing (becoming a favorite way to target them).

Just an opinion, but it looks way too low to me. I've mounted them on a couple different aluminum boats and they were all just a little below flush with the hull bottom. One way to tell if it's turbulence is to simply see if the screen clears and the picture gets sharper when you're just drifting with the engine off. The other recommendation is to never trust the picture on the box. It's not real ?

There is a saying among fisheries people; "Bluegill set the table for the success of most bass lakes." In smaller (non-shad) lakes and ponds, the size and quantity of the spawning bluegills gives you a good idea about the quality of the bass fishery. Lakes with big spawning gills usually have high populations of smaller bass, with just a few barrier breakers. On the other hand, lots of small spawning gills or hordes of gills in the shallows usually suggests less, but larger bass. Frequently you'll also see this reflected in the skinniness or fatness of the bass you catch. Bass anglers can literally change the dynamics of the fishery in some cases in this regard. Bluegill also like to spawn on firm bottoms near vegetation, so knowing the areas where they spawn every year can tell you something about the substrate and cover in the area. Bass will often spawn in these same areas but earlier than the bluegills. You can also learn these areas in reverse by observing the vegetation in the area and knowing what bottom type they prefer. In one particular pond I fish, it's easy to pick out all the good spawning areas based on whether the bank has pencil reed along it or cattails. Additionally, there is a certain portion of the bass population that will hang around the bluegill bedding areas after spawning, picking off smaller stray gills brought into the area during spawning, creating good locations or patterns that bass anglers can exploit. Plus, just sitting in these areas and watching the bass move into and out of these areas gives you a better idea of bass behavior. These are just a few things that come to mind. Lots of articles online that go into more details on all these specifics if you want to search them out.

A change of pace Thursday as a buddy and I decided to chase crappie on a local reservoir. Water was warmer than expected (82-83), with too much sun and not enough wind - lol. Started shallow but got little to show for it, so we moved out and started graphing and finally put a little something together. Ended up keeping a nice limit of crappie out of the 60 or so we caught. Also managed a nice keeper bass and channel cat, along with a few small walleye. Light traffic, and a fun trip.

I like to play on the margins, and my only isssue was knot strength in the lighter pound tests, both direct and leader knots. Seems like once you get around 8lb. and above, it becomes less of an issue. Was enough of a problem that I finally moved on after about a year and a half of trying to make it work.

One more to throw in the mix, similar to the Zappu but a bit more basic (lead, fiber guard) and half the price. Still accomplishes the same thing and the one I usually throw. RedShad Little Pek Shake Wacky

No slowdown on the ponds here. Some bass still spawning, but those that aren't are marauding the bluegill in the shallows and along the weedlines. Chased a wave of spawning gills that just came up a couple days ago and managed about 30, along with several bass caught incidentally.

Another top rigger here...

None ?