Hattrick7

Hey fellas, so I'm bank fishing my community lake and it's around 8pm. Throwing a red eye shad. I let it sink to the bottom, raise it high in the water column then let it fall on a slack line. I go to pick up and it feels like I'm snagged but also that feeling of a bass. So I set and normally you can feel the bass on the other end moving right? Ok I'm snagged. I'm able to get my bait back. I cast it out again with the same technique and as soon as I go to pick it back up again I feel that snagged feeling again and not wanting to lose the bait there was no hook set. And there was no movement on the other end. Well I try to work it free when there's this gnarly splash and the bass breaks me off. Now I've never caught a huge bass and I know there's some monsters in this lake. I've seen pictures of 8lb+ caught outta here. So I'm going over it in my head and just trying to understand this. Have any of you guys used this technique and caught a giant? Do they just sit there once they take the bait? I mean if the bass is hooked wouldn't it be running for the surface or at least something to shake the hooks loose? With a slack line it's basically impossible to feel the bit.

Clear I like morning dawn or Margarita muilator. Stained Aarons magic, baby bass and oxblood. Oxblood should work well in clear also. I would get both sizes. Either way they are deadly when dropshotting.

Since the bait sits above the weight suspended.

Dropshot should slay em. And you won't have your bait covered in algae the whole time.

Before you move I'd throw different plastics at em. If you caught one on a worm try a baby brush hog in a different color just something different for them to look at. You may learn that other plastics work just as well or even better than the worm. If they're aren't biting the other ones (topwater, jigs) they don't want it for some reason. Maybe the next day they will but you'll find out the more you fish it what they do like and what they don't.

BC is the way to go imo. I think the greatest advantage at least for me is controlling the casting distance. I know some guys who say they can control distance pretty good on spinning but it's way easier on BC. Plus the use of heavier line and not having to open and close a bale 100+ times. Click, cast engage you're in business.

I'd start off with some straight tailed Roboworms. But really it's like what plastics can you not rig on a trig kinda question. Possibilities are limited to your imagination.

Red eye shad, purple zoom Ole monster, PBJ & army green jigs

Dropshot. Id get yourself some straight tailed Roboworms. If the water is clear use morning dawn or margarita mutilator. Darker waters use Aaron's magic and baby bass. Oxblood works in either. Get both 4 and 6" sizes and experiment with both. Nose hook the worm about 1/4" and shake slightly. No bite reel in a little and repeat. If there's bass in there they will bite it.

I fish a community lake almost daily with lots of fishing pressure. Not everyone fishes for bass though. I've seen pictures if guys that have fished this lake for years pulling out pretty good sizes bass so I know they're in there. But they are extremely hard to catch and I refuse to use live bait. It forces me to think about different rigs, baits that they may not have seen or some other way to get creative with some plastic or jig. Plus fishing slower, different retrieve techniques you get the picture. And in turn I take that knowledge to other bodies of water. If all I threw were spinnerbaits and could do fine with them I wouldn't necessarily want to throw a trig, jig, Crig, dropshot, etc.

Just keep on encouraging her that it'll take some practice and there's going to be a learning curve to new baits. If she already knows what the trig bite feels like she's already ahead of the game. She just needs to to reel down a little and set. Is she gonna miss some? Probably but she'll eventually get it.

Modified Albright is my go to joining the two. I wouldn't say it failed me but one time when I was snagged the connection broke rather than the knot which never happened. It was always the knot that broke. But I has that connection for at least several weeks. Ever since then I check my line for nicks and I only use about an 8' leader and I fish almost everyday so I change out my leader about every week now. At 200 yards it'll take me a while to get through that and the peace of mind of a fresh leader is worth it.

Sounds like you need more rod backbone.

Nice looking bait. Are you rigging that on a 3/0 ewg?

Mainly with a t rig 3/0 ewg hook. When it gets beat up ill bite it down and use it as a chunk jig trailer.

What color water do you guys like to throw this color in?

Are you whipping the rod when trying to get distance? If you are you'll need to back off on that and just get your motion down. Also what size line and type are you using?

When I first heard of 50lb+ braid I thought it was crazy overkill until I started using a baitcaster. I use it because of similar line diameter to mono or fluoro. Putting on braid with a under 10lb diamter probably was going cause more problems than good.

Awesome! New basser welcome! I started off on similar equipment pretty much only throwing crankbaits and wacky rigged senko bank fishing also. My knowledge of different baits was pretty much limited to that and I caught bass on em just not a lot. I often got confused during the changing of seasons and weather patterns since one week a bass would hit the lure then I would go for weeks without a bite. If I were you I would get to learn more about different techniques. Texas rigging, drop shotting, reaction baits (cranks, spinnerbaits, etc), jigs, split shot, etc. I would also get to know about this thing called structure and cover. Learn about seasonal patterns of bass and their behavior. I think gaining more of this knowledge is priceless and you will become a better bass angler no question. Plus a lot of this info is free on the web! Now I've been bass fishing almost daily for about 2 1/2 years and I fish the same lake I started on and can get at least one bite every time I go out if I really wanted to but if I really took the time in the beginning learning all this stuff I'd be more advanced in less time. Having cool equipment is nice but you can easily outfish someone with the setup you have based on how much you know. Good luck!

How are you normally fishing it? Dragging? Swimming?

I usually just sorta palm it with my middle finger kinda touching the rod and index on the trigger and my left hand on the butt. Both sidearm and overhead. So as I release the bait my thumbs already right above the spool as I roll the reel so it's pointing towards the ground. Bait hits the water, I can then strip off line (t rig, jigs) or just start cranking since I don't have to change hands. Roll castings the same except one handed. Backhanded, pitching it's usually the same grip and it never leaves the reel.

Awesome T rig bait. Weights depending on water depth. 3/0 gammy ewg. I've used it as a chunk trailer on jigs that also get bit. I just bite it down a little or the ones that get mangled from the T rig bite then just poke it through like a piece of pork.

Say no to live bait. It's too easy.

There's this guy who told a story about how him and his buddy normally catch about 6 per outing. He got wind that fish and game was going to blue stone the lake on friday. So on Saturday, the day after, they only caught one. Then the following week they started to catch their normal amount. He ran into the fish and game guy and asked about the blue stoning. Fish and game guy told him that they ended up not doing it at the last minute because something came up. So much of this is mental.

Right here...righty that reels lefty with the exception of heavy saltwater tackle.