bigfishing85

Not sure if the image is showing up or not. Here is the link: https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=34.30444&lon=-83.84886&datum=nad83&zoom=4&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomin&size=xl I am looking where it says Lakeshore Estates and then it looks to be like a big E where the high school is located. In here is where I fish at a local park and cove. I notice there are lines and it says 1060. What do the lines mean? I watched the video about how to read the map and I know those are contour lines but I cannot tell how deep they go. I am very sure there is a point there only because I have seen the lake drained so low you would walk out across in this area. Trying to get familiar with the maps and how to read them better. Any advice would be helpful until I can get some sonar on my boat. Thank you.

Would have to completely agree with Fishes in Trees. Terminator brand with the Titanium wire is great along with War Eagle brand. Sometimes there are other brands depending on your budget that you can use. Honestly, I have caught bass on $14 spinnerbaits and $1 spinnerbaits from Walmart. The fish don't care how much the lure costs you, it depends on if they are in the mood for what you are throwing at that time and what it looks like to them! Otherwise, to answer your question about skirts, colors ,etc. Colors: White, White with Chartreuse, and Sexy Shad unless you fish at night then use Black Weight: 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 oz with 3/8 and 1/2 being the most utilized unless you want to fish deep fast then 1 oz is better. Brands: War Eagle, Strike King, Booyah, Terminator, and Death Shimmer Blades: Clear Water use double willow or tandem willow and Colorado. For dirty water use Indiana and Colorado blades For muddy water that looks like chocolate milk, use black spinnerbait with Colorado blades just like you would at night. Modifications to Consider: 1. Add a little chartreuse to the tips of a white spinnerbait skirt (Not to the only white spinnerbait you have though) 2. Add a little scent (in the stick form) such as garlic or anise to the back of the top blade.

Hope this helps. I caught more bass on Booyah spinnerbaits than any other brand EXCEPT War Eagle spinnerbaits. Not sure if it's the skirt material used on them or what but I can cast a War Eagle out and catch a fish when the other brands wont work. I have all three and catch bass on them. I like all spinnerbaits but by far the toughest would have to be the Terminator brand with the Titanium wire and then the War Eagle would come next. After I digress, there would be no problem with the Booyah brand spinnerbaits.

Sam's reply gave me some good info as well. I use FishSticks brand in the Craw which as garlic and salt along with craw oil and I use shad scent also. I also have some shad scent in Yum.

Agree with WRB. This is the exact way to rig with the jig heads; however, if you are fishing in colder water, you don't want any weight. You will want to rig it weightless and let it fall facing back towards you and straight down. In other words, you want the body of the tube falling and not the tube falling nose down like you would get when using with the jig head. You can try both ways to experiment anyways if you wish because sometimes the bass are in a chasing mood and want a faster falling bait and sometimes they dont. Good luck.

I fish trick worms on flouro because its better for visibility. I have had more strikes with trick worms on flouro around docks and cover than when using basic mono or copolymer. I will however use 8 lb test in copolymer and then add a leader of 6 or 8 lb test flouro for my worms and plastics. I have not had alot of success with flukes yet because I don't use them much at all.

I am sorry about your bad luck. I agree with some of the others, in weed lines I will try topwater around the evening too; however, it doesn't mean the bass aren't there if they dont bite. A senko (stick worm) either texas rigged weightless or wacky rigged around the weedlines are your best bet in this situation. I also noticed that you stated there was a storm front that had moved through. It was probably better if you would have fished before the storm. The barometric pressure dropping will cause a feeding sensation in the bass and they will bite a heck of a lot better. The rains could have cooled the water to the point of giving them some lock jaw. Also, I fish Lake Lanier in GA and the carp are ALL over that lake. So close to the shoreline I have touched them with my rod and had them swim off and they bite on top more than anything else I have ever seen so I typically ignore the topwater strikes because it is mostly carp causing it and not bass. It sounds like you were in the right spot because I fish around the same areas and catch bass too. Sometimes, you have to downsize your lures or slow the presentation in order to get them to bite. Try either a weightless senko texas rigged, wacky rigged, or a shakey head worm and you will more than likely get bit next time. Try changing your location a little too. I have fished in an area with no strikes and moved about 15 feet and caught them all day. Good luck.

Top water strikes could have been in open water if there was a school of bass around the area. There also could have been submerged cover such as trees or brush under the water where the bass was congregating and when you used the top water, they attacked. I have used buzzbaits over open water around different types of lake bottom structure and had bass come up and get them time after time. It also depends on the lake bottom structure as far as if there is a ledge or something you wasn't able to see where bass were staged. I fish from the banks but I also fish all year around so in the Winter time, I am out on the lake in the 20 degree weather when the water is down and I can see all the cover and structure so I know what the lake bottom looks like before Spring and Summer time rains. When the water level rises, I know exactly what the bottom looks like and where all the stumps, trees, weeds, etc. are when everyone else is coming out to fish for the first times in the warmer weather so in doing your homework in the Winter, you will gain the advantage in the Summer.