shimmy

I know there will be some ambiguity around whether jig fishing (casting) is finesse or not. So, for me, this is my preferred style, but really, the lake vegetation or lack thereof determines what i mainly throw. Vegetation laden lakes, jig fishing 90% of the day. Reservoir with rock and little vegetation, crankbait will be my 50% lure with jig the other 50%. When it comes to super finesse with 8 pound line, i just can't get myself to fish this way. I want to feel the weight of the fish. I just couldn't get myself to fish like Aaron Martens. Just doesn't seem fun to me. If i ever fish tournaments, i don't see myself fishing this way ever! So, i am sure i would donate to other anglers on a frequent basis. However, i will say this, there are plenty of FLW and Elite series pros who fish with the same mindset. And let's be honest, being stubborn with jig fishing is rarely a winning formula (but don't let Denny Brauer, Tommy Biffle, or Greg Hackney know about that).

That is awesome!! Congrats. What did you catch them on!

Wow...simply wow. Every year you catch those giant smallies. I would love to get into some giant smallies like those. The lake trout look fun to catch. Ever eat the smaller ones? Great season. You really have that lake down. My hat is off to you sir. Shimmy

Not much more to add, but several things stand out to me. Learning to jig fish in the cold may not be the best thing to build confidence, so just recognize that it will get easier with spring/summer etc. I saw Hank Parker wait several seconds for his hook sets in cold water, but...he missed most of his fish. The better jig fisherman I have studied prefer to set the hook IMMEDIATELY. The old saying is the first bite means they are on, the second bite they are off. Like Tom says, they do more bites than we know. Downsizing the trailer helps with short strikes. That's what kvd always recommends. Your other options are changing color and/or speed. For a slipping trailer, I superglue my trailers on now. Some anglers may be terrified of the smell, but when I fish 3 or 4 people in a boat, I have done just as good if not better. If paranoid, just keep 3 jigs with glued trailers on so you quickly retie without worrying about the smell. Quicker than reglueing the trailer. Some people keep extra fishing line and tighten it on that way. For hookset, I like to reel into the hook set. This solves the problem of setting the hook away from the target if you miss the fish. I just reel quickly with the rod pointed at the fish and if the line starts tightening, I set the hook, if the line keeps coming, then the fish has let go and I can keep working the jig. Shimmy

Holy smokes batman, did someone just guess a weight that legitimately looks like the weight without using a scale? I see a good future ahead for this man.

I heard on good authority that Glenn's name has only one "n" but tries to hide his true identity online. I heard that 00mod lives in Mexico and the big bass he posts are not from the states like he pretends. A-jay licks his fish when he turns the camera off. Dwight's biological parents had gills. Jfranco was born a women and moonlights as a tiny dancer. Shimmy posts the same fish in every picture.

Great insight. I particularly like the tag line idea for the jig. I love pork. I wish the uncle josh company recooperated and got back into making them. But I must say, I have greatly enjoyed finding a plastic trailer that fits my liking. While I don't drink, I feel like choosing a plastic is like a way of showing what your particular drink would be. There are so many great options to pick from with plastic and every time I find myself catching a good fish on one, I secretly tell myself, "ahhhh must have been my strategic approach with this particular plastic trailer." Whether or not it made a difference, it is fun to find trailers that fit your own personal preference and style of fishing, and ultimately, build confidence.

That looks like the point in the distance we always see in Dwights monster smallmouth photos... I hope Dwight is doing better. Miss his posts. That is a beautiful smallmouth. I want one. Shimmy

St George and lake Powell are your best bets for bigger bass. 8 pounders are caught frequently in st George. Lake Powell holds state record.

The question of pork or plastic totally beats the crap out of me. I literally second guess myself the WHOLE time i have one or the other tied on. This year i forced myself to mostly fish plastic. I did try some pork this trip, but realized i wasn't building confidence in my plastic so took it off. I psych myself out all of the time and have always preferred pork. But with uncle josh stopping their pork, the tediousness of making your own pork, and all of the missed fish from the pork impeding the hook from hooking the fish, i tried this fall to wean myself off. The 4 and 5 pounders didn't seem to mind; however, i did catch less 6 pounders this fall than i did last fall and i was using pork last fall...See, this is the problem with this. I can tell myself, "sure, 28 pounds shows that it is just fine...nothing to worry about." But then i think of catching less 6 pounders and this gets my head all messed up. I don't know the answer and i am sure one or the other might outfish the other at times, but i am currently committing myself to plastic. I just used a subtle action/soft plastic trailer that seemed to work. Anything that moved too fast and the bite would stop. Many to most of my bites came when the jig was sitting on the ground for a about 4 or 5 seconds. I did however get a lot of bites that never held on and i think pork would have been better for those bites, but i probably caught more fish because of the unimpeded hookset from the plastic...an interesting tradeoff. The struggle is real.

Great fish! Depending on the thickness of that bass, it could be 7 pounds. That is a beautiful fish. All the reason to ALWAYS have a scale. I am terrified of this happening to me! No matter if i am fishing for 5 minutes from shore or at a spot that is not supposed to have a big fish, that scale is with me. However, i am sure that if i forgot it, i would start catching more giant bass. That always seems to happen when a scale is left at home. Great fish.

That is a HUGE bass!! Wow. Awesome catch. Congrats

Wow...that is soooo fat. Wow. Have you caught any of those near state record largemouth bass this fall yet Mainebass1984? Always fun seeing those monster bags you pull off.

Glenn, I must say, that is my favorite video of yours now. I think that is very informative and one of the better videos I have seen for fall. I think if more people understood fall fishing, they would plan more vacations around it.

Being a high water temps of 49 can make fishing tough. Especially on that lake. That lake is so full of northern. Haven't caught any northern over 8 pounds though but I am sure there are some giant northern in there. The summer can be tough out there when there are a lot of boats. Way to tough it out. Today is warm. Hoping someone gets out today and gets em.

It is when you say they, "move to the back of creeks" in the fall. Shad go back in the creeks for plankton-rich water as you know. Thus, it would seem the advice always given is to go way back into the creeks, but for lakes without shad, that migration is not happening. Baitfish do go shallow and in many instances on the lake side shallows or coves nearby main lake spots. But to keep posting (not just you, but posts in general) that bass are migrating to the "back of creeks" doesn't make sense. I just think of all the fall fishing I have experienced on lakes without shad and if people are to assume the big bass are going to the way backs of the creek, they are going to be surprised. We know some big bass will prefer shallow grounds year round and there is no doubt that they can be caught in a creek with fresh water coming in and possibly livelier weeds in the fall, but it is misleading to assume that is the best place to fish in the fall. They will end up fishing the back end of the creeks in the fall and miss all the big bass on the lake side, adjacent lakeside coves, flats, and points.

Only issue with these posts is that lakes without shad behave MUCH differently. I wish articles and posts would address this to anglers when they prepare for fall fishing.

I feel like a lot of conditions have to align well for the big swimbait to produce. As for the jig, i feel it is the best year round guarentee of catching 5+ bass. Go fishing with nothing tied on but a jig. Also, while you are fishing great lakes, i am guessing you probably dont know them very well. Fishing great lakes is the best, but if you dont know the lake, it might also be harder to get a 5+ fish than some of your local lakes. Fishing a nearby lake that is known for big bass, learning it really well, and sticking to it will probably increase your chances.

Fiske, I usually start main lakes this time of year, but when back coves have depths that are deep, then the fish will hang around there also and stay in prespawn zones for part of the fall. The main lake should hold them as well, but that was not the case when I fished there...I didn't see anything special on the depth finder like I was expecting. I would fish the outer weed lines in 5-10 feet of water. I would avoid all temptation to fish at the shoreline/reed line and wood. I did not get one bite on any wood. Granted there will be bass at all depths and possibly near wood, the baitfish are in the weeds and that is where the bigger girls are feeding. Flats near spawning areas gave me a lot of bites, but didn't catch all my bites. The fish on that lake were more spread out than I had anticipated. It isn't my favorite lake since a legit 7 is very unlikely, but there is something about catching really short bass there that are soooooooo fat. Always fun to catch those. Please give a report

Who says dressing like a homeless man scares the fish! None on the swimjig. A slow worked quarter ounce jig did the trick. As much as I want to take credit, some of the less pressured lakes I fish are easier to catch 4+ fish than your typical nearby crowded 400 acre lakes. Good advice, I am terrified of using anything connected to my lure that might deter a big fish. Then again, people swear by leaders...it's interesting, I see the smallest moss/weed on a jig deter bites and I fear that a leader might have that same suspicious look that deters fish from a slow worked bait. But, your advice and experience is a reminder that I should consider it.

Man, maybe we are thinking different lakes but I could swear your pictures are from the main lake side and your last picture is the reed island in the middle right side of the lake. Lake starts with the letter "N" Thing is, even though I did alright, fishing with 2 is so much easier to find a pattern and then fish less tentatively and confidently. And, is just more fun fishing with others.

Posted my fishing report in the main fishing report section. Was hoping to partner up with Fiske but our schedules just didn't match up. Full report here

Day 1 – Got to spend 5 days in Minnesota and had a blast. A very cold blast as well. Day 1 was great. Water temperatures were 51-53 degrees, 0-5 wind, and outside temps up to 55 degrees. First half of the day was rough. Spots that did well last fall were not producing, which had me a bit flustered. I decided to junk fish and hit a ton of spots until some type of pattern held. All active fish were in the 2-5 foot range. Had a great day for numbers and size. Here were my 4 pounders not in the top five: 4.1, 4.1, 4.3, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.12 and 4.12. My top 5 were 4.13, 5.6, 5.10, 5.12, and 6.8 for a total of 28 lbs 1 oz. I only caught 3 other fish that were not 4 pounds. The northern pike were very active as well. Every time my bait was too fast, the northern would let me know. I kept trying to make my Swimjig work and the northern would keep biting it. Finally, in my last attempt (definition of insanity), I was trying to cover water my last half hour of light with my Swimjig and then caught another stinkin northern that had most of the Swimjig down it’s throat. Took me 20 minutes to get the jig back without ruining my jig, having to retie, and clean up the boat. It was miserable. The 6.8 came from casting into weed pockets. Hard to fish this way since you only get a drop or two, but it can really pay off. 4.13 lb and 5.6 lb (with the serious face) 5.10 lb and 5.12 lb 6.8 lb Day 2 – Started with the trolling motor not working. Finally fixed the receptacle to the trolling motor after tearing the old wires out and installing a new one from fleet farm, I was on the water by 1. Only caught 5 bass the whole afternoon. Biggest two went 5.5 and 5.6. Both at random places and not at the places they were supposed to be... This fall fishing really keeps me guessing. 5.5 lb 5.6 lb Day 3 – Was unbelievably cold. Day started off at 35 degrees and 10-15 mile per hour winds which made it feel like it was 0 degrees. After fishing 8 hours straight, I only caught 5 fish again. 5 fish limit was around 22 pounds. Top three were 4.13, 5.3, and 5.4. The other two were ~3.5 pounders. Might be the coldest I have ever been fishing. 4.13 lb and 5.4 lb 5.3 lb Day 4 – Was cold. Started at 28 degrees but got in the 40s. No wind though so that made it much easier to fish than the previous day. It was freezing last night and I suspected this might affect the movement of the fish on this lake. Water temps were 49 degrees. After an hour, I was able to see that they were in the 5-8 foot range and stuck to that range for most of the day. Had another good limit. 27 lbs 6 oz. Fish not in the top five were a 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.6, 4.7, 4.11, and 4.11. The top 5 were a 4.14, 5.2, 5.8, 5.14, and a 6.0. Lost A LOT of lures to northern today. They were so active it is unreal. 4.14 lb 5.2 lb and 5.8 lb 5.14 lb and 6.0 lb Day 5 – This was my last day. The night before, the car wouldn’t start at the ramp so I had to phone a buddy to help jump the car. So I spent this morning going into town and figuring out what is wrong with the batteries/terminals. After this was done, I only had a few hours to fish in the afternoon. Fishing was super slow. Worst night of the week, but still fun to get out. After a well-rounded week, I decided to head home. Daughter wanted me back to watch her in her church singing program. Was too adorable to say no, so off I went. Tight lines! Shimmy

Hopefully this picture clears it up for you...This is why we should have gone out Saturday!!!

Howdy! Yeh i know that lake. Always fun and always people fishing on it. We must have missed each other by one day. I was there Wednesday. Was a tough bite. The northern were on fire! Top three bass were a 4.13, 5.3, and 5.4. About to head out fishing so i will give a better report in a bit. Trying to do this with my phone is difficult. Haha, pictures sideways. Will have to fix later when my computer has internet! By the way, i might take off Saturday afternoon. If you wanna fish in the AM from your boat, let me know. If i fished from mine, i would have to charge the batteries and woulf be too late for me to take off in the evening and then i would have to leave back to wisconsin on Sunday. Tight lines fellas.