Revo_Carrot Stix

VC I know I shouldn't have a "routine" but the first thing I throw in the mornings is a black buzzbait. What a great way to start off the day!?! In the past, if there were no takers, I'd try prop baits (LC Kelly J), poppers (Spit N Image) or Spooks which resulted in a few more strikes here and there, but nothing worth calling an effective alternative. This year (if there are no buzzbait takers), I've been successfully using a SK Rage Shad 4/0 Gama EWG with great results. I'll work the same spots as I did with the buzzbait and I'm consistently getting bites-whereas in the past, I'd move on with soft plastics or crankbaits to a different location. The SK Rage Shad can be worked slower and has a softer gurgle, plus it's rigged weedless which can get closer to the cover. That's my two cents...good luck.

1/4 or 3/8 Black buzzbait, black twin-tale trailer, 3/0 trailer hook is the first thing I throw every morning or evening. I have tried to use white and chartreuse buzzbaits, but I have NOT had the success. This year I've taken notice to the V-wakes scattering as my buzzbait draws near. So I've started to follow up or switch to a SK Rage Tail Shad (Smokey Shad) w/ 4/0 EWG which appears a little more subtle with a slower gurgle. Texas-rigged - I can hit the weed edges (or throw in the weeds) with little to no problem and have got a lot of extra bites!

My sentiments exactly! You can straighten the hooks out with your fingers. Their lipless crankbaits (replace the hooks) are about as far as I go. I've tried topwater, shallow and mid-divers before and the paint chips easily and lips break. Usually for an extra $1-2, you can get a name brand with better quality if that is your price range. I have found Cabela's bulk-on-the-rack buzzbaits excellent with hardly no adjustments, sharp hook and a heavier wire (vs. cheapos at Walmart). They have gone up to $1.49/each from .99, but it performs just as good as $3.99-4.99 name brands. Good luck!

1. Black buzzbaits 2. Lucky Craft Kelly J 3. Rebel Pop-R

Baitcasting: Carrot Stix LTX-6'6"MHF / Revo Premier / 17# BPS Excel Mono Spinning: BPS CarbonLite 7'0 MF / BPS Johnny Morris / 8# XPS Flourocarbon

1...Q's KVD Signature Series spinning rod. Broke it in half, just past the first guide. 21" 6# Larry. Top half of the rod slid down into the water, following the fish. It took awhile (once I got past the shock of the rod snapping) to land the bass. Mixed emotions - I was excited and ticked off at the same time. I had the BPS insurance, so they took it back. Needless to say, I went another route and stayed away from the Marketing Monkey.

I live in KC Metro (Olathe, KS) and I was hoping to make it out there within the next week or so. I was wondering if any local anglers had a bass report? At this point (based on Internet reports dating as far back as 2007), the list narrows to Bluestem, Catclaw, Gopher, Nell, and Plover Lakes. Any ideas out there? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I'm in.

Not sure if it's possible on your pond, but I'd try (cutting the corner) and throwing your soft plastics to land on the bank and then work it in the water over those spots. I've seen many V's dart in the water as I approach or cast (with a soft entry) to areas like this. It wasn't until I accidently hit the bank with my frog one day and landed hawg after I cranked it a few times in the water. Sounds like you are taking the right approach with finesse plastics. You may try throwing a tube (SK Coffee) or crawfish (Chigger Craw). Don't overwork your baits - let it sit/soak, then pop it softly, repeat. Good luck.

In the Kansas City area, it usually doesn't start until mid-May. I've tried and tried, but it seems to hit when we start seeing vegetation grow in and around the banks. Right now, everything near the water is pretty dead.

I just started using weightless Flukes 3/0 EWG this Spring with decent results. I've been using BPS 5" Super Shadee watermelon pearl. I use the same technique I use with stick worms. Totally different strike though. I've had a few misses, but I'm getting better. For the past 2 years, I've tried the Zulu-rig w/ 2 Flukes on leader with swivels with no results in hopes of nailing a double. I'm sure I just haven't timed it right and it's kind of a pain to get it setup. I'm assuming that I need to try this shortly after the Shad spawn?!? Anyone else have luck with this setup? I've seen videos with KVD doing this and Tom Mann Jr. won a tournament last year on this technique.

The 1/4 ou Su-Spin is a spot-killer at LOZ w/ 2 3/4" Zoom Tiny Flukes.

I know you mentioned bending it. Bending the buzzer arm will affect the direction, but it won't do anything to how the bait sits on the water. Have you tried "twisting" the weight while holding the buzzar arm OR are you keeping your rod tip up in the retrieve(like 10 or 11 oclock)? A lot of times when I aim the rod tip down (trying to steer it) I notice the bait will turn sideways. Good luck.

3.5" Strike King Coffee Tube - Crazy Craw color. I just started using tubes last year and I've had the best luck with these.

I've had good luck with this worm so far. Right after snow and a lot of rain, we just had a couple days ranging in the 50-70's. A bad storm blew in this morning and cleared up by noon. I caught 14", 13" and 18" on a shaky head post front. The fish didn't swim off with this worm. All three fish seemed to attack this worm with some hard strikes. I know it's just one day, but I'm very pleased with the results so far. Here's the pic of the 18".

6'9 M Carrot Crankin' Stix parabolic action, 10# Yozuri Hybrid on 6.3:1 Revo SX with "rod tip in the water" like Mr. Clunn suggests.

I've used both and I'm pretty set on 65# Suffix braid for flippin' and pitchin'. 9x/10 my 20# mono did the trick. The last time I used mono, a nice bass 20+" ran to the heart of Brer Rabbit's underwater briar patch. I could see him, but could not get my hands on him. He was wedged in the thicket and I felt like I was tugging on a rubber band. He wouldn't budge. After 5 minutes of frustration, he snapped off AND THEN he decided to move and swim off! He probably still has my black/blue jig hanging from his upper lip like some punk rocker. Lesson learned from then on.

Whoa...the ultimate enthusiast's lure! Not sure I'm prepared to cast this bad boy in the vicinity of low hanging trees. Yikes!!

Heddon® Bill Dance Signature Series Hardbaits - Pop'n Image - color: Ozark Shad

It's good to see a fellow KC angler! Welcome from Olathe, KS!

1. Paca Craws 2. Zoom Chunks 3. Berkley CL Chigger Craws

This is usually my routine when I first throw these baits, then I make adjustments. Lipless: Yo-yo - varying retrieve from long pulls-and-falls to small hops. Jerkbait: 2 twitch 1 twitch cadence, varying pauses from 3-10 seconds. Jigs: small hops and a lot of pauses.

It's nice to see more folks from the Sunflower State. I live in Olathe, KS! Welcome.

If it wasn't for DVR's and DVD's, I'd go nuts. Here are my lists: 1. The Bass Pro's 2. Strike King Pro's 3. Classic Patterns 4. Day on the Lake 5. Facts of Fishing w/ Dave Mercer 6. Bill Dance 7. Extreme Angler TV w/ Karl Kalonka And here's what I DON'T watch: 1. Roland Martin 2. Jimmy Houston 3. City Limits 4. Charlie Moore 5. Ultimate Fishing Challenge

I agree with the typical rule of thumb: White or Flashy on sunny days Black or Dark at dawn/dusk or cloudy days A lot of times we get fixated on how the lure looks in the water from our perspective. I remember reading an article on why black is good at night - the author described holding your lure up and looking at it with the moon behind it and that's what the bass see.