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Gonna be making a trip next week. Staying across lake from indian mounds. Any word from that area? Probably gonna check the backs of the little fingers of indian mound and the wind blown exposed humps. I feel it might be best to either trailer or run north. Anyone could sway my decision either way?

Right, but could the habitat itself lend itself to more or less feeding opportunities for bass? I wonder if less grass has shaken up the comfort level of these fish when feeding.

To me it comes down to preference, but that is not directly correlated to the line. What I mean is that my line choice comes down to the rod itself. I like a fairly stiff rod for texas rigs and jigs, therefore I normally use flurocarbon. I use Braid when punching regardless of rod.

I think the problem with fishing and hunting sims is that they are too easy. I guess developers have to do this to appease to non-sim gamers. It would be nice to actually feel as if you accomplished something when you catch a fish rather than just a rinse and repeat process.

I'm enjoying the discussions of the toledo bend grass issue (or lack thereof). I'd like to chime in with one idea/theory. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember researching hydrilla and finding some interesting info. Besides the fact that it provides better habitat for baitfish and bass alike, it apparently allows bass to feed more comfortably. In other words, bass can't help but use the grass to ambush prey. They feel safe and are given a better vantage point when they live there. If this theory is correct, it may be that these fish are just not feeding as rapidly and thus, this may have done two things. 1- The bass aren't growing as quickly AND 2- the bass are a little harder to catch. I may be entirely wrong here, but I wonder if this may be the long time result of little grass. The lake is still awesome btw. If anything, I think the fishing pressure has had more of an effect that the lack of grass.

I recently discovered the punching technique last fall and man oh man is it awesome! Today, i began premfishing for a tournament on my local lake on Saturday. At 10:00 AM, after catching catching only a couple of dinks, i picked up the punching stick and went to work. It took me until 1:00 to put the puzzle together, but found some very nice fish in a creek connecting two major sections of the lake. The creek currently has a decent current, and the bass are stacked in mats, mostly the ones created by laydowns intercepting the grass through current. This lake is fairly shallow, and contains ALOT of hydrilla, lily pads, milfoil, coontail,... basically you name it and it has it! Anyway, the key seems to be the current here (or so i think). My question is: as the current dies down int this creek, will this bite die as well? Is it a matter of ANY current creating this pattern or does the current need to be of a certain degree? It does not look like we will receive any rain from now and until Saturday, and i am worried that at the very least, this current will subside. Also, when you have patterned a good punching bite, how early in the day do you begin punching/flipping these mats/laydowns? Should i make a pitstop near a topwater spot until 8 or 9, or head straight there and begin punching? Thanks in advance, and i do understand that a pattern may not hold up for more than a day or hour, but punching/flipping heavy cover patterns seem to hold true under the same conditions during the summer months here. Again thanks in advance. Looking forward to hearing from some of you knowledgeable folks...

(I am MicahB. I'm on my old account at work) Wow.. great info. While im at it, I have created a finnesse setup and have only tried it in ponds. It works great but i have not tried it in heavy cover yet. It is a tsunami air wave spinning 7'6 medium light with 10lb. fireline original and a 10 lb. red label seaguar fluoro leader. The rod is actually a surf fishing rod but has unbelievable sensitivity. I am afraid of the medium light power though around stumps and thick vegetation. I considered that this setup would be used when the bite was tough, and thus sensitivity would be more critical. Should i stick with this medium light rod or move to a heavy/medium heavy, albeit reduce casting ability?

Thanks so much for the info. I dont normally fish wacky from my local lakes so im trying to adjust for this weekend. How about the Owner need point hooks in 2/0? http://www.***.com/Owner_SSW_Needle_Point_Hooks/descpage-OSSH.html I have a pack of these and am thinking of using them for my weightless setup. Also, has anyone had any luck on the weighted wacky hooks? (The ones with tiny jigheads attached)

31.014323,-91.734381 (Copy and paste into google maps) I frequently fish this river channel connecting the Red and Mississippi Rivers. The channel is about 5 miles long, 1/4 mile wide, and snakes a couple times left and right. About a mile before the lock, the channel splits into two seperate channels... one ending up against a levee and the other going through the lock. I have GREAT days here during the summer when the water level is normal. However, I tend to struggle during the prespawn (Such as now). I am unsure as to why this is the case as I feel as if i understand pre spawning bass well and have success this time of year on other lakes. Could it be that the bass have moved out of the area entirely? Or, probably most likely, is the high river water hurting my chances that much. I tend to believe that it may be a bit of both... Therefore, i present this question to all: How do you fish the aforementioned river channel at this time of year when the water is high and "in the trees"? There are various sand bars and many willow trees which are now flooded. There is also a couple rock jetties, one of which stretches across the entire channel. I do not need to hear that i should go elsewhere as i absolutely accept the great challenge of fishing high rivers. This time of the year is the only time i struggle in this location and i want to figure this out. (BTW... I will be there in the morning and will try any tips posted as well as provide feedback) Safe fishing to everyone and good luck this year!