Shad_Master

A non-fishing friend of mine was telling me that there were 'gators in the pond at his housing development here in the mid-west. He knew this because they were eating the baby ducks. He even saw one get snatched from the surface of the water. I told him it was because there were too many bass in the pond and that I would be glad to come out and catch them - this would discourage the 'gators and they would leave

Went to the local lake at lunch time today and had three bass follow my crank bait up to the surface of the water. I know about making adjustments to the lure and throwing a follow-up bait, but I was fishing from bank and only had the one rod with me. My question is, when you don't have a follow-up bait or another lure, it there any way to get them suckers to bite?

"dark colors in dark water because the bass's eye sees the outline outline of the bait better for some reason" . You have to put your self in the position of the bass -- he is in the water looking up at the sky rather than on top looking down. The light in the sky provides the backdrop against which the bass sees the lure. Now in clear water, the fish will be able to see the lure out in front and in his peripheral vision and this is why lighter colors and flash will draw his attention. You also have mix all this in with the sounds produced and the vibration picked up by the lateral lines of the bass. All of these help you get him headed toward your lure.

I totally agree. Not living in California, the articles about fishing huge jerk baits just doesn't get it done for me. I have begun to notice more and more articles that seem tailoered to fishing in parts of the country that I don't live in -- maybe this was true for people in the Northeast for years, but even that has begun to show up. I have thought that maybe they need to start having a regional section in the magazine (I believe Outdoor Life or one of those does this already) just to make the publication more applicable to those of us that are stuck between the coasts and not close enough to the Gulf. As of the "Insider" it really doesn't matter to me, I have been trying to log on for months now and they won't accept my member number so I have just given up.

The answer was that fish were scattered in all locations. Big fish were hanging in the brush piles, but limits were caugt along shore lines (remember I said that there were very little, if any grassy banks). There were fish on the rip-rap as well. For a tournament with 26 anglers, the three big fish were caught: #1 on rip-rap, #2 on a "do nothing bank" and 3# off of a brush pile with a top water. Limits were caught by putting together a fish here and one there. I got my fifth fish with 20 minutes to go in the tournament (from a brush pile) and had the smallest limit, beating out only those with less than a limit and those who blanked (I think I finished 19th :-[). The most interesting thing is that none of the fish had been where they were the week earlier and there was no "pattern" that produced consistent results. This was one of the most frustrating tournaments I have fished and just wondered what you guys would have done. Thanks for the input, I will ponder this one for a long time.

I had this happen to me a couple of years ago, but on a spinning reel. It was late in the season and I had put off changing my line and it had developed a lot of memory. I was fishing and decided to cast into a pretty stong wind and it cob-webbed out all over the place. I was hand-linning it in when I felt a tug and instinctively set the hook. It turned out to be a big ol' bull frog (he stretched out to 27") :-[

I have often thought about what it would be like to fish from the back of the boat with one of these guys (I have even told my wife I would sell her car for a chance to fish with Gerald Swindle - that guy cracks me up ;D). This is a lot like the "Day on the lake" series in BassMaster Magazine. I always go to this article first and often re-read it several times to look for things that are similar to my "home lake" and conditions that I run into. My guess is that they would beat me out, primarily because they know how to adapt and change with the conditions. I am trying to learn this, but still have a long way to go.

One thing I have been wanting to try (and almost did this weeken) is fishing a senko type bait, wacky rigged, from a bobber. This could be a good technique for suspended fish. The reason I didn't is that there was no wind and not enough boat traffic to give the bait any kind of action while suspended. This would be kind of a variation of a vertical drop shot approach, but would require more patience than I usually have. You would need a medium sized bobber, probably round would be best, for this technique. I have another tournament this weekend, if I get the chance (early limit :-/) I might give it a try.

Okay, here's your bonus questio -- and remember your points count double in this round! You are fishing a lake that gets some ya-hoo boater traffic. The air temp is 82 at blast off (5:30 AM) and the water surface temp is 90. The humidity is about 1500% and there is just enough of a breeze to keep you from getting a good sweat going, not enough to ripple the water. The sky is "blue bird" clear and it has been hot and stagnant for about 1 12/ weeks. The lake doesn't have much in the way of grassy banks, but there are lots of brush piles in about 10-12 feet of water scattered around the lake, stake beds on two points out to about 15' of water and rock jetties near a silt dam on the lower end of the lake. The main dam is rip rap with a spill way running off the side to hold the lake level. Fish (big fish) were holding tight on wood at various brush piles the week before and the main forage in this lake is blue gill. Where will the fish be and how will you catch them? Post any other questions you need about the lake or the conditions.

Last year I was bummed out 'cause it rained all day on Labor Day and I couldn't get out to fish the local pond. It finally stopped raining about 7:00 PM and so I headed out. There is culvert where the water spills over from the golf course across the street (private water :'() but I knew the fish would be swarming on the water flowing in. Fished until after the sun went down and nailed 'em, but also got snagged on a lot of bull rushes that were washed down. Late in the evening I felt my lure snag something and pulled it up above the skyline and though I had a bull rush, but when I went to pull it off, it began to squirm and fell back in the water. It was some kind of snake, probably a corn snake, but I decided that fishing was finished for the night

The answer to this will vary with what's going on with the fish. A lot of people will tell you that spring and fall are the best times, but yesterday I was fishing in an area where I have been getting hammered on cranks and spinners, no takers. I noticed there was some activity in the weeds so moved over and tried dragging/hopping a worm. Still no takers. I felt my worm get hung up on a weed and tried to snap it free and the water exploded (3 #'er). Threw back in the same area and gave it a twitch, another 3#'er. Caught another one on the next cast the same way. As a guy I sometimes fish with once told me, "the fish will tell you what they want - you just have to listen".

One of the biggest things to learn about fishing with soft plastic is the difference between a blue-gil bite and a bass bite. This mostly comes with practice, but the bass bite is a little harder as the bass sucks in your bait and then (if you are not paying attention) spits it out. Sometimes the bass will suck in the bait and run with it, so watch your line, too. It is probably a little easier to learn in the spring when fish are getting ready to spawn or on the beds. They tend to be more aggressive and you will get more strikes, this will help you sort it all out. In the mean time, if you are catchin fish, you must be doing something right. Keep on bustin 'em and you will get better with experience.

I guess I was thinking more in terms of weather conditions -- are they more likely to chase when the weather is hot, like now or are they more prone to hit slow presentations. I know that "chase baits" work well in the fall, but I have been having luck with cranks all week until today and they just seem to have shut down, but are starting to hit worms in the weeds. The interesting thing is the weather hasn't changed here for a week or more. Just trying to figure this thing out.

What are the conditions that prompt bass to chase baits rather than prefer a slow presentation (i.e. crank/spinner vs. soft plastic/jig)?

When you are fishing with a spinner bait and ole Mr. Bass swirls on you but doesn't get hooked up, how do you work your spinner bait? I'm not talking about throwing back with a soft plastic, I mean do you kill the retrieve and let the spinner helicopter down or do you burn it in from that point like it's trying to get away? And what has been your results with either or both methods?

Another thing you can do when the lake is low and it's winter time is go looking for baits that got snagged in the brush piles. I have found several crank baits, jigs and spinner baits that I have been able to recondition and use again. Sorta like a treasure hunt

Something we used to do when I was a kid in Arkansas was use a Johnson Silver Spoon with a white pork trailer. These are weedless and can be allowed to drop down in the pockets.

If you are talking about a rocky bank (rip-rap, etc.), I would suggest a shallow crank bait (Baby 1-). If you are looking at grass, I would suggest a spinner bait.

A tip I read a couple of years ago was to carry some garlic salt in the boat and sprinkle some on your hands after launching to mask the smell of gas and oil caused by fiddling with the motor. You can also sprinkle some in your bag of baits to give them a little more scent and some flavor. Don't know if it works, but it can't hurt.

Check the clearance bins - I got a whole bag of "stuff" last year for about $10.00 - used some and sold the rest at our club flea market and re-couped the $10 8)

"because they are the same lure" - I'm not sure you can say they are the same lure. GY started a revoloution when he came up with this simple design that catches fish. Lots of people tried to imitate this lure and some did, but some didn't. There is more to a lure than the overall shape. When GY's son decided to start his own lure brand, Kinami's, his dad gave him the mold, but not the formula. There is a guy in this part of the country that manufactures a Senko "knock off" that works great and was used to catch the Kansas Small Mouth record a couple of years back. They sell for a lot less, and catch fish like crazy, but they ain't Senkos. What you have to consider is, do the fish know the difference? If they do, they may bite one bait when they won't bite another. Last year I fished with a guy using Kinami's in red shad while I used Trick Sticks in the same color. He caught fish and I didn't. Was it the bait? GY is carrying all that money to the bank 'cause he has a product that people want. If they stop wanting it, you can bet your bottom $ that he will find another way to get that money, if he can.

I don't know, try posting and see if you get a response

About the only time I ever "dead stick" is when I get a backlash and have to spend time picking it out -- however I have caught a lot of fish this way when I wasn't expecting to. 8)

Does anyone have a resource for getting outboard parts -- I need a stater and a starter for my 1988 Mercury 45 HP (Classic Fifty). I tried my usual web resource and they don't carry them and the local Mecury Dealers don't have them in stock. Any suggestions?

Years ago I went fishing with a buch of guys down in Southern Arkansas on the Texas border. We got there late and camped out. This night I woke up and looked out over the lake and it looked like a small town, there were lights every where. The next morning I asked some of the guys what was going on and they told me it was crappie fisherman and what they would do was put a Coleman lantern on their spare tire and tie it to the boat with a rope and push it out to attract the fish. When I asked why they didn't just hang the lantern on the boat they said it was to keep the water mocasins from climbing in the boat with them as they were attracted to light as well ???