NILBasser

OK, anybody been on Clinton? Gonna head down Fri for the weekend. Guessing the weather is gonna move some fish around with the dirty water. Anybody know the water temps?

Anybody got any tips or info on Carlyle?

What tournament are you fishing? I will also be down there that weekend. I just fished a tournament there this past weekend and it was a tough go. Only got one keeper, 3.2, on a crank and 6 between 15 1/2 and 15 7/8ths on plastics. JT is right, some areas look perfect but you just won't catch them and others are great. Get out and fish is all I can tell ya until you find them.

Does anybody thats been on Clinton know what the water temps are at the 48 and Dewitt bridges is?

Anyone been on Clinton lately?

Does anyone here have any experience on this lake in the early spring? I've fished here alot from May-Sept but never this early and I'm going to be fishing a tournament at the end of March. Any tips?

Still waiting on mine!!!!

I had an owl come down and hit the water trying to get my Zara Spook. Luckily he missed by about 3in so didn't get hooked. Then he sat there in the water for a few seconds, lifted up and landed on a boat lift 20ft from my partner and I. I had to take a pic with my phone, and thankfully I had someone with me to verify the story. I never would have believed it if I wasn't there.

Just looking to get some opinions on the EXO rod and reels from some of you that have used them. I was checking them out at an outdoors show today and like the way they feel but don't want to spend the money if they aren't what they appear to be. Currently I'm throwing Revo's on St. Croix Premiere's and Mojo's and I'm not unhappy with them just keeping my options open.

Just curious what everyone favorite trailer is on their swimjig?

Blue basser said it perfectly, go slow and subtle movements. And yes it is highly effective!! It's my go to bait when things get tough.

My patience. I love to finesse fish and alot of the guys in my club comment after tournaments that they couldn't sit and fish as slow as I do. I love it because as they are running all over the lake I concentrate on one or two areas and usually do pretty well.

Just wondering if anyone here has used them and what you think of them? A buddy bought a few and they seem like a good idea.

Shakey Head or a jig/pacacraw

Thanks

Ok, so I'm looking at pouring some of my own plastics and I have a couple questions first for you guys that have done this already. I'm looking to pour some worms similar to Robo Straight tails and want them as soft. When I look at buying plastic I find soft, med, hard and I'm assuming I want soft but is it so soft it falls apart? Can I meltdown used baits and add softener to get the consistency I'm looking for? Does anyone have a "recipe" to get a Junebug color?

Where would be the best place to buy unpainted jig heads in bulk? I like making skirts for my jigs but don't want to get into pouring my own lead so I am looking for the best place to buy in bulk.

Hell, our water temp dropped to the upper 40's two weeks ago.

Ok, I got a question. I've tried using a Fluke but the problem I'm having is that they constantly roll over when sinking. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks guys. How does the double rig not get tangled on each other? I can't picture it in my head not getting all twisted up.

Ok here's the deal. I never really fish a Fluke to much unless its to schooling fish chasing bait. Next week is my clubs Classic and we have a major front moving thru on Thursday night going from high 70's to 50 on Saturday. I've found two bites that are working, one being a jig up super shallow tight to any wood I can find. The second(bigger fish) is on a crankbait over brushpiles in 6-8ft of water, I can't get them on any other bait I threw at them on the brush, jerkbait, rattletrap, jig. So what I'm thinking is to try and slow fall a fluke right in their face figuring they will be tight to those brush piles after the front moves thru. The fish are holding right on top of them now, I have to hit the brush with the crank to get a bite. So my question is how would you rig a fluke for the situation?

Anyone know what the water temps are on Braidwood? Got a tournament Sept 2 and hoping to get a jump on finding fish so I'm planning on a trip this week. Anyone been out?

Ok here's the deal. We just got hit with about 1" of rain in about an hours time and our temps are going to drop close to 20 degrees by tomorrow. Tomorrow is tournament day and I found fish this morning on a rock/mud line in about 8ft of water. Water temp is running in the low 80's and very clear as of this morning. How do you think this front will affect my fish?

Shakey is by far my favorite way. It's definitly become my go to confidence bait on my lake. When I'm on some other lakes then I go with a t-rig, I can cover more water faster with it and more types of cover than I can with the shakey.

Same thing happened to me here this past weekend. I've been killing them on drop offs for 2 weeks with the water temps in the upper 80's. Well Sunday was tournament day and I went right back to where I've been and NO ONE ELSE came to my area which is very strange. After struggling to put a limit in the boat I ran up to the shallow end of the lake and they were stacked up shallow something fierce. I got 4 in 15 min and upgraded one to finish in the middle of the pack and the guys ahead of me spent the entire day in the shallows. Didn't think they would go that shallow with a 5 degree difference but I learned a valuable lesson.