flyingmonkie

I've heard something similar - think it had to do with the oils/aroma that are more predominate in evergreens. Most of the brush piles I fish are evergreen, but if they are still fresh, I stay away from them.

Flathead and a perch. Case closed.

Looking for a decent lake close to home (30 minutes from Norman). Tired of fishing Thunderbird, and hate the hour drive to better lakes. Anybody ever fished Wes Watkins or the Shawnee Twin Lakes? Wes Watkins sounds like it may be worth a shot. Any others I should be looking at?

I remember my first INTENTIONAL bass catch. T-rigged blue ribbon tail worm along a log. Caught several before, but just generally fishing as a kid. This one was special.

That whole area (all the way up to the third creek arm) looks good, actually. The bank just above the points WRB mentions looks pretty steep. Any bluff walls? At those depths, a good deep diving crank might be a good option too.

Great article... it is an excellent start to answering your question, CD. The cold front that blew through your area is now in mine. I've made a point of going out the past two mornings for a little while to document how active the fish are, as this was a pretty significant summer front. We had a spike in pressure yesterday morning, and I got skunked... it dropped during the day and overnight and is now on the rise again. I caught a dink this morning fishing slower than normal, but that was about it. Pressure has been up and down, and it's clearly affecting the bite. Digging the cool temps though.

Interesting! I've always been curious how bass would react to significant changes in water clarity/color, and this summer has been a learning experience for me! Had a similar situation a few weeks back… a normally very clear lake that fishes very deep in the summer had 1-2 feet of visibility and we were catching them on the bank. It's reassuring to me that a "bass is a bass". Sometimes I think we have the tendency to over think things.

Round #2 with the full "Buck Moon" tonight was a SUCCESS! Caught two chunks on back-to-back casts with a black spinnerbait with a single purple CO blade. Then proceeded to loose it on stump. Few nibbles on a black/blue Brush Hog, nothing on a Hula Popper. Beautiful night, though - that moon is BRIGHT! Cool experience to be able to fish at midnight without any artificial light.

Same here! The problem with jig shopping is all the dang options - now there is no excuse! First order just placed.

Ribbit Frogs

1. Surface - Water to Air (Lund Explorer) 2. Shoreline - Water to Land (Lund Explorer) 3. Shade Line - Sunlight to Shadow (Lund Explorer) 4. Dirty water to Clean (A-Jay) 5. Bottom Composition Changes (Rock to Sand, Sand to Mud, Chunk rock to Gravel, Bottom to Concrete) (A-Jay, bighead) 6. Channel edge to Flat. (Nice_Bass) 7. Thermocline (Nice_Bass) 8. Grass/vegetation. Could be different types of grass or vegetation coming together or grass line to open water, or dead vegetation to live vegetation. (Hatten, Mike L) 9. Current to Eddy (bighead) 10. Bottom - Water to solid Bottom (flyingmonkie) 11. Dropoffs - Shallow water to Deep (flyingmonkie)

I thought tonight would be the night - full moon straight overhead, slight south breeze, and sitting on a spot that was super productive last weekend. Nothing! Packed light, so my only options were a black w/red flake rage tail worm with a rattle, and a black buzz bait w/ clacker. I got one bluegill bite on the worm. I've been chasing a night bass for years. Not seriously - a few times a year - but unsuccessfully nonetheless. That moon was bright! Who got bit (by a bass) tonight???

We had a similar cold front move through here two days ago, and got about an inch of rain yesterday. I went for a bit last night, and the only bites i got were up very shallow. Couldn't buy a bite this morning but only fished for 20 minutes on the way to work. I would usually expect weather like this in the summer to turn the bite on. With an inch of rain, water will probably be stained and rising... I'd be looking shallow.

Happened to my whole family… thousands of them. It was horrible. We were taking baths in rubbing alcohol and went through gallons of GermX (Isopropyl kills them quickly). P.S. Pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen the word "taint" used on this forum.

I used to confuse these with Rock Bass. Had one absolutely SLAM a Caffeine Shad the other day.

There are other factors that influence casting success, too. What type of line are you using? You said you're new to baitcasting, so I'll ask the obvious question: are you sure you have it setup properly?

I've been fishing soft jerk baits almost exclusively the past few weeks with great success - I had always reserved it as a spring/fall technique and was surprised at how much success I've had. They key to my success has been keeping the bait down in the water column, while maintaining the traditional weightless action and quick retrieve. I've been using a three-way rig (that I'm affectionately referring to as a "Jerk Shot"). I suspect my unique presentation is contributing to the numbers… sounds like you're in the same boat? “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost

I had one heck of an evening yesterday fishing the white pearl Zoom super fluke with the tail dipped in Chartreuse JJ's. Enjoy!

If these are the "Zero" worms with Greg Hackney on the package, then YES! This is my go-to senko. Dipped one in JJ's this spring and it dissolved almost immediately… should have known though, they are very vulnerable.

Yeah... I second most of the sentiment here. This is a risky, risky venture. Not going to say you can't be successful, just going to say that the odds are not in your favor. If you're in the business of making money, then I'd take your savings and invest it in something else. If you're doing it because of your love for fishing... well then... I wish you all the luck in the world. Considering you still have a couple years before you pull the trigger, PLEASE learn about business. Business is a science, and the knowledge you need is industry agnostic. Take classes, read books, and find a mentor. Who is the most successful small business owner in town? Buy him lunch - or heck, take him fishing! - and spend the next two years building that relationship. Passion is not enough to make a business successful.

That's awesome! I've gotta figure out a way to get my wife out there with me for more than 30 minutes.

So you're hooked now, right?!?! Sounds like you might have your wife hooked too - if only we were all so lucky! You seem to have the perfect place to get some experience and confidence... places like that are few and far between, so take advantage of it. Swallowed hooks will come less frequently as you get better at detecting bites and setting the hook. Be prepared to spend the rest of your life obsessing over those little green things. Welcome to the club!

I've heard one after midnight once on my folks property... very chilling. Game wardens told us we were nuts, saying "there ain't no mountain lions around here!"... that is, until we snapped a picture of one laying on the back porch. Good for you to trust your instincts. It's hard when the bite is on!

Well, I'll be! This has the weight leader shorter like Kevin22 mentions.