deep

About time I stuck a half-decent fish here.

I have little use for flukes except on the back of a scrounger.. as far as fast-floating jerkbaits are concerned, they all probably work, but I love both the 110 hi-float and the 110 silent riser. Doesn't hurt that they both cast really well on casting gear. I think I like the hi-float a little better. Shallow grass/ weeds is good. Sometimes, especially in warmer water, I feel the fish respond better to a floating rather than a suspending bait even though I'm working both equally fast/erratically.

They like to bite what they like to bite; and sometimes the color doesn't matter. My biggest pet peeve is the "fact" that apparently you need to fish something that the fish can "see". Bunch of nonsense. Even if they can't see your bait, they can feel it. If they want, they'll come and find it. Anyway, I've never seen a black and blue baitfish, in muddy water or otherwise. I fish colors I have confidence in, because I've caught fish on them. I don't change colors depending on water color or weather conditions. I change colors when the fish tell me to. Works for me.

Caught a few walking the banks. This one was the only non-dink.

Caught a long and super skinny one today.. dinks were out in full force too.

You're welcome. In my simple mind, bass live both close to and off the shoreline, and some of them move back and forth. Offshore doesn't always equate to deep water, like Tom explains above. I was going to ask about forage, but Tom covered that as well. If there are offshore shallow spots (or regions) with cover, forage and other preferred conditions, if I were a bass I'd stay out there and avoid most of the fishing pressure. In fact, fishing pressure and/ or lack of cover will both put bass away from the shoreline. I see that you're up north. If there are larger predators (pikes/ muskies) that's another factor you want to take into account. I have no firsthand experience/ tips on this. Unfortunately, I have seldom experienced this mythical early morning bite everyone seems to talk about. In any case I can usually fish after midday, so there's that. I have no doubt though that in a small reservoir, if there are biting fish near the banks, there are biting fish offshore too, shallow or deep.

Where would you have fished offshore if there were no stumps/ stump fields? I'd start exactly there. A topo map would help.

Fish it like a texas (florida) rig, and use the same gear you would.

Don't sell yourself short. From your blow-by-blow description, I'm pretty sure that bass was at least a 20 lb-er. @OCdockskipper will confirm.

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got... unless something else changes. P.S. Come fish with me. I'll set the hook and let you reel them in. (that was a joke btw.)

IROD 754 Fred's Magic Stick + Citica I or Curado I.

Man, I've been fishing rats for a long time, but I swear I've never "lost" a tail. They get beat up and I fix them with mend-it, but I have not "lost" one, ever. I will admit I have not fished a BBZ rat though. To answer your question, any floating- or even non-floating- straight tail worm will do, but try the V and M pork pin worms.

Just kidding. "On Monday’s first day of practice, Lefebre had a largemouth take his jig. Then things ramped up when a larger smallmouth also got hooked. He pulled them both in and just had to show them off."

Brake, spool tension or drag? What line and backing do you have on it?

Ok, casting gear sounds good. You don't need a light wire hook in that case. With brush and wood in the mix, I would actually prefer a somewhat shorter shank hook and fish more vertically (rather than drag it; use the rod tip to guide the jig in and around them). With the depths you plan on fishing, I'd start with a 1/2 oz. (up to 2' or *twenty* feet??). While I do prefer football heads in rocks, fishing them in grass is not easy. Agree that the arkie head is a good all-around choice. In fact, I'd recommend a brush head if you're casting <50' or so. Most brush head jigs also have the hook angle optimized for short distance fishing. You'll lose jigs from the bank. I lose them from the kayak/ boat often enough. If you want to go the arkie head jig route, go to walmart and buy some "arkie brand rattle band bass jig". Costs ~$1 each out here anyway. Trim the weedguard a bit; that'll make it stiffer. Also superglue the weedguard in. I've had them occasionally fall apart after a few hours (if the jig lasted that long). Get some mono or a ziptie and tie the skirt; they'll fall apart otherwise. I usually do a lot more mods. But don't worry about that. I like these for good all-around jigs at any price (after the mods). Pair with your favorite trailer. GYCB 5" DT grubs are a good all-around choice. $5 for a pack of 20 and they catch fish. I also like rage craws (the regular size, not the baby, not the lobster), rage menace, beavers when it's cold, keitech crazy flappers, and a few others. Haven't met a trailer that didn't catch fish. Pick one you're confident in. A more convenient option might be a swing style jig with no skirt. Strike king structure head in 3/8 oz. Do not buy the football head swing jigs for this purpose. Pair with your favorite plastic, and you can pitch flip skip and cast that and fish it exactly like a skirted jig. Good luck.

I have found couple GREAT crankbaits for deeper (6 ft+) brush this season. The bomber fat free shad deep squarebill (they come in two sizes) and the timber tiger (DC-8 and DC-13). All four caught fish (the DC-8 has been the best of the bunch), and rarely get snagged. Now I can get cranks in where the fish don't usually see them and I'm pretty stoked about that.

What kind of cover are you fishing? What depths? Pitching/ flipping or are you planning to fish them on long casts? What gear do you plan to use (casting/ spinning)?

My buddy- who I fish with often- likes to use his rod like you would use a telescopic lure retriever. I learnt not to hand him my rod the first or second time I fished with him. Luckily it was only a busted tip insert and not a broken rod. Other than that, he's a great guy. If we can't get my bait free after trying from a couple different angles, I just break it off before he can ask me to hand him my rod.

The reel part is easy. 14 casting reels. All Shimanos. (Don't fish spinning.) I have and fish rods from 7 different companies. Love them all.

No experience with any of the reels you mention in the third paragraph of your OP. Day in and day out, I fish a variety of baits on my Curado 71's though. 1/4 oz all the way to 1.5 oz. Now I understand that's out of your price range. No worries. Before I got the 71's, I used to fish them on Curado 201I's. They throw light stuff just fine. Citica I's are not saltwater safe IIRC, but otherwise, they should have comparable performance. Before the Curado I's, I used to use Curado G's. They worked just as well. Still have and fish the I's and the G's; I use them for specific conditions (and not as often as the 71's).

Unless you're A-Jay, or Aaron Martens, or you want them to sink and/ or deaden the action, this is what you want: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Katsuage_Out_Barb_Treble_Hooks_5pk/descpage-MBKOBH.html Size 6 for both baits you indicated.

Uhhh, walk around; maybe? More excellent suggestions here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/docks-restaurant-and-spirits-valley

Move around. The fish aren't going to find you.

Went out for a few hours with my buddy yesterday. Only caught one little catfish on a crankbait. Not sure what kind of catfish, but it was pretty neat. Fished a little pond for an hour or so tonight, and caught 8 small bass on a topwater.