hoosierbass07

I hope to pick up a GoPro 4 Silver this weekend so I can record some bass underwater at the strip pits I kayak fish at. I have other video cameras but none that go underwater. So I'm looking forward to playing around with the GoPro if I get it. Although I will feel rather uneasy sticking a $400 video camera under water. lol.

I don't see much talk about putting noise making rattles in plastic worms. I ordered a pack of glass rattles for worms last night so I could try them out in 2015. I did get a pack of soft plastics that was made to hold rattles in the tail. So, is putting noise making rattles in worms and soft stick baits (senkos) very effective or not very effective? When I punch this topic in on youtube I can hardly find any good videos on the subject. When you do put a rattle in a worm, how then are you supposed to work the worm? Work them normally as you would without a rattle or do something different?

Those Fenwick HMG spinning rods are very nice. I have two of them and want one or two more. I find them not only functional but very nice to look at - prettiest rods out there.

I'm skeptical of the UV idea but I'm a soft plastic fanatic so I had to get at least one pack of those Tightlines lures. I got their stick bait version figuring that design will give it some help in catching a bass even if the UV stuff in it does not work. Should be fun testing them out spring 2015.

I'm not clear on something. I watched a DVD I bought a few days ago, Advanced Finesse Bass Strategies with Mike Iaconelli. It's a very good $15.00 DVD. He mentioned that in dirty/stained water bass stay close to cover and in clear water they roam around away from cover. I think I heard someone on Youtube say the exact opposite - in brown/dark/stained water bass roam and in clear water they stay in heavy cover. So which is it? What do you all believe is true or are both true? Thanks!

So I've been eyeing the Tightlines UV baits the last few months. From what I've read it seems more people are skeptical or think its a gimmick lure. I've also been seeing a lot of videos about the Zman ZinkerZ and how good they are when you cut them in half and put them on a little jig head and Ned Rig it. So I received one pack of ZinkZ lures and one pack of Tightlines UVenko lures, both in five inch. ZinkerZ in dirt color and UVenko in blue/black. It's 19 degrees out here in Indiana so these are not going to be used till spring 2015. If you were putting money down on which one will catch bass and more bass, which one would you pick? I'll be fishing from the bank and kayak fishing with these lures and use them weightless, split shot, Texas Rig and I'll Ned Rig the ZinmkerZ. I have read the Tightlines lures smell sort of funny. They do have smell but I wouldn't call it bad nor good. ZinkerZ has no smell at all. One thing is for certain, the local Walmart and Gander Mountain don't carry Tightlines lures and I don't think they carry the ZinkerZ either. So maybe the bass will see a lure they don't see often when I throw it out there.

Zoom Trick Worm. Once I discovered them I had fun rigging them on a split shot and using them bank fishing and kayak fishing. Cheap and you get a lot of them in a bag.

Interesting article.

I'm going to put these two type of lures in the "did not work for me" category even though they both worked one day for me. The first one is a crankbait (square bill). That was my first time catching a fish on a crankbait (I didn't and don't use them often.) As you can see in the video - it looks like the bass went after it after only after one crank of the reel handle. That bass is the only bass I caught on a crankbait all year! I used crankbaits at that same spot later in the summer (strip pit ponds) but no bites except one blue-gill. I used crankbaits from time to time at other strip pit ponds in the area and still not bass caught. I'm thinking I would have caught that same bass at that same time if I had on a plastic worm Texas rigged but not 100% positive. Even if I give that crankbait credit, the casts I made vs. bass caught has a low percentage return. So I say they didn't work for me. Next thing that did not work - spinnerbaits. I caught five or six decent sized bass while bankfishing one evening all in under an hour in the spring at a big state park reservoir. I had a blast because the bass were hitting my Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbait hard. But that was really the only success I had on spinnerbaits the rest of the year. I did catch one more bass at that same lake while in my kayak. But that's it. And I used spinnerbaits a lot at the strip pit ponds I fished at a lot this spring/summer. Maybe those strip pit ponds I fish at are lousy for bass fishing. I don't know, I'm still learning. But considering they both worked the best in the spring and quickly stopped working after - I'm inclined to believe they are low percentage bass fishing lures, as Bill Murphy said in his book.

Roboworms. I bought a pack last winter and tried them in the spring. Went to one of my favorite bank fishing spots at a reservoir lake, tried soft worms for thirty minutes and no bites. Didn't want to give up so finally put on for the first time a Roboworm. Three casts and caught a bass. Felt good working an area and not giving up and finally getting a bass. Since then I always carry Roboworms and they have kept working for me.

Did any of you buy any new lures over the winter/spring of 2013/2014 that you tried this spring and summer and did not have any success with them or found they are a bust? I wanted to try my Coppers Live Bait Ball crank bait but didn't use it much this year. I tried it a few times and only caught a blue gill. lol. The more I look at it the more stupid it looks. I also bought some Spy Bait lures and tried them only once but did not catch anything. I think they might work good when the bass are biting. I'm going to give them another try in 2015. I'm not sure I will use that bait ball in 2015. So what about you all? Any disappointments in new lures that did not turn out so good?

Yep, I don't think we had much of a fall this year. I just bought my first ice fishing rod yesterday. Never iced fished before so I'm looking forward to do some winter fishing. Who knows, it might be fun.

I'm with you on this. I'm starting to think this "fall bite" is a fishing consumer myth - created just to keep us fisherman buying lures, etc... I watch Youtube videos of fall fishing but they seem all recorded in October and on great fisheries. I worked nearly all days during October with only Sundays off because of overtime so I didn't get out much. But when I did I didn't find any increase of bass. In fact it seems worse than summer. Now it's November and now the national news first story is another cold weather blast hitting the mid west this weekend. Oh, I'm sure if you go to a great fishery then there might be a fall bite. But what about your every day small pond/strip pit pond/small lake?

I received the Nov/Dec issue today. Christmas/end of year issue or in other words - End of fishing in the north till spring.

Don't bash my little $300 Vapor! It's only 45 pounds or so and I can toss it into the back of the truck with ease! And after loading the Ride 115 all summer long, it's sort of nice to load and unload the Vapor. And once I figure out how to get the best seating in it and rig up a fish finder, that little Vapor is going to be a cool little fishing kayak. But if some one were going to buy a first kayak, I would recommend a sit-on-top. They are the ones that are fueling the fishing kayak craze right now. No doubt, they are the most comfortable and most fun once you get them on the water.

I have a Wilderness Systems Ride 115. As much fun as it is in small ponds, I don't think it's a big lake kayak. After using my new Vapor sit-inside kayak that slides across the water with ease, my Ride 115 sort of feels like a brick on water. I'm not bashing the Ride 115, for what it is, it's a great sit-on top kayak and I'm glad I have it but I wouldn't consider it a big lake kayak. Could it be paddled around a big lake? Sure, and it would survive and be fine. But I would hate to paddle that thing around a big lake.

Yep. I think you can get spinnerbaits for a dollar or so at Walmart. Those things seem like perfect bank fishing hard lures if you are unsure you might not get one back. Frankly, one reason I love soft plastics so much is because I think they are the perfect bass bank fishing lure, Texas rigged, weightless, split shot, etc... Perfect for bank fishing and if you get hung up, big deal. Put on another weight, hook and worm/lizard.

You ever think about getting a kayak? Once you are on one and fish from one you will be asking yourself why you didn't get one sooner. They are very fun to paddle around and fish from. And most importantly, they get you off the bank and to some nice spots.

More I think about it, I need to get out to more different places to fish. This season I mostly fished at a chapter of the Izaak Walton League. They have about six or seven strip pit ponds/lakes. I've been taking my kayaks there to kayak fish because its close by. But the bass fishing has not been that good except spring time. Besides spring it has been down hill. Now there is a state park with a big lake that I've kayaked fished a few times with success but because it's so big I feel my Ride 115 is a little to hard to paddle on a big lake. I think I'm going to have to visit that lake again this fall/winter in my new sit inside and see how that handles the water. Either way - I need to get out of my comfort zones and start fishing new waters with my kayaks.

Think I'll modify my routine. Even though I've been buying more and more hard baits and experimenting with them, I need to ditch it all and stick with soft plastics.

I received Charlie Brewer's book on Slider Fishin' a few days ago. There is a really good paragraph that I think he's very right on mark. He recommends people to specialize in four or five lures and not try to master all the ones on out there you can buy. He said often times fishermen master one lure and then switch to a new one and try to master that. Then master that lure and then switch to another. He said his catch rate had gone way up when he stopped trying to master all the lures out there in the market and instead focused on a few lures that he knows works. This year - I caught 99% of my bass on soft plastics. There was one day I caught four or five bass in under an hour with a small spinnerbait. Those were decent sized bass too. But that was the only day spinnerbaits have worked for me. There was one day (and one big bass) a crankbait worked for me. All other days I fished this spring/summer/fall, the only thing that has worked has been soft plastics. This reminds me of Bill Murphy's book on Big Bass Fishing, he said crankbaits may only be the hot lure one hour or so out of the whole day, or two weeks out of the whole year. Really, from my own experience and the opinion of other great fishermen, I keep asking myself - why use any other lure beside soft plastics worms/stick baits/lizards?

I have a 6'6" Fenwick HMG medium spinning rod. I liked it so much I bought 6'6" Fenwick HMG medium-heavy spinning rod. I have to say I think the HMG rods are very pretty and classy looking rods. Now I want a two piece HMG spinning rod.

I'd fish from it! How much weight does it hold?

How long as the newly designed Symetre FL been out? Like I said, I bought mine in mid-summer 2013. Maybe it was the 2012 model, I don't know. I do know its black, cost me around $100.00 and has been working very good for me.

2500FL