MIbassyaker

I actually prefer black over white for clear water, but I don't have much white forage around here where I fish. Although I bet if I put it to a systematic test, I wouldn't find a color difference.

I was managing to catch fish with a 1/4oz buzzbait fine for awhile this summer on a 7' ML spinning combo with 10lb trilene XL. And I was able to handle a 3/8 size well with a 6' medium. As is often the case, there is a wide distance between "optimal" and "sufficient".

Be persistent with them, bill, and you are in for a treat. 5lb cavitron fish from two weeks ago, exactly the size/color/set-up bluebasser mentioned above, except I used 12lb mono:

Best thing I ever learned. If anything, now I fish too slowly, too often, and don't catch many fish per hour. Still better than getting skunked, though. And I may do the opposite of you: I might buy my first baitcaster next year and spend the summer learning it.

Something I'm trying to understand better: Rod action, drag, and line stretch -- most advice i see about recommendations for particular lures or techniques (especially crankbaits and other treble lures) seem to treat these three factors as compensating for each other. That is, while they are not the same thing (they originate from properties of the rod, reel and line, respectively) they are treated as having similar practical effects on hooking and fighting fish. So i hear: "braid is fine for crankbaits if I loosen the drag and use a moderate action rod." Or, "a faster action rods is fine for cranking as long as there's some stretch in the line and looser drag." I hear this sort of compensatory argument a lot -- is it really the case that these three factors are as interchangeable as they are made out to be? I'm skeptical of that, although I do treat them that way -- for crankbaits I most often use braid on a mod-fast rod with the drag pretty loose, and the rest of the time mono on a fast action rod with the drag a little tighter but still somewhat loose. Many people seem to express a preference for softer action in the rod, rather than looser drag or using stretchier line, but I can't tell if that's a true preference based on Reasons, or if it's the downstream effect of a very effective marketing campaign to get me to buy a shiny new moderate action cranking rod.

Sounds like somebody did catch a hungry little bass before then -- you said somebody caught one years ago. Largemouth populations do not tend to go away easily once present, and it sounds like this lake has always had a small population hanging around, probably spending most of the time tight to cover, nearer shallower water than the walleye, pike, and smallmouth, possibly in places most anglers of those other species aren't hitting. Whatever watershed the lake is in, I bet you can find largemouth here and there throughout it depending on whether there is enough habitat to sustain them -- connecting waters and/or occasional flooding would be how they got there. And a small population can still have some big ones growing in it provided there is enough forage. One of the best lakes near me for good sizes of largemouth is a fairly bad lake for numbers; it's easy to get skunked, but when you tie into one, the chances it's 4lb or more are pretty good.

Nicely done.

In the original Klingon, it's pronounced "Michigan Bass Kayaker", although I've removed some unnecessary syllables and compounded it. Like in Esperanto. Only cleverer. As for lure color, I can only say with certainty it is a problem i have not solved, not that I know what kind of problem it is.

Just type "wrench" into the search bar...

It is quite possible, of course, for a "problem" to occasionally be illusory and self-serving...

As natural lakes age, they accumulate sediment and nutrients, and become increasingly more shallow and more fertile, going from oligotrophic to mesotrophic to eutrophic. Largemouth tend to be found in late mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes, while smallmouth tend to be found in late oligotrophic to mesotrophic lakes. Here in michigan, especially the northern half of the lower peninsula, we have a lot of lakes in the mesotrophic range with some zones that support more smallmouth and some that support more largemouth. But human development can make the transition speed up a lot, due to agriculture, fertilizer, erosion, shoreline changes, pollution, etc., and some zones of the lake may transition faster than others. You may well have a lake in which human development and use has caused some eutrophication, thus increasing the amount of suitable largemouth habitat a lot in a relatively short amount of time. EDIT: I should add, the In-Fisherman books on Largemouth and Smallmouth have excellent, detailed discussions of this.

Using an owner twist-lock hook seems to have solved the nose-sliding problem for me for flukes. I have not, however, found a solution to the "not enough colors" problem that is capable of avoiding the Exasperated Spouse side effect.

And am I the only one here wondering if we are witnessing some performance art?

Not likely to be the most popular choice around here, but I gotta go with Field and Stream's take on this exact question, from 9 years ago: Curly Tail Grub on a jighead: http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/bass/2006/04/50-greatest-lures-all-time/ It was the first artificial lure I ever had regular success with, and while I don't use them much any more, it's not because they ever stopped producing. They still will catch almost anything, almost all the time.

Helpful info, folks, thanks. I have not been carrying a kit with me but I should.

That's exactly what I do. I do regret leaving something at home occasionally, but I have come to the realization that I don't actually need all that many different lures no matter where I go, and I wouldn't use them all even if I brought them. Two or three essentials, a few alternates or wildcards, and a couple new things to try out. Plus terminal tackle. That will fill two 3600s. I then swap things in and out at home, as needed, depending on where I'm likely to be and what time of year it is.

Outstanding post. Cuts right to the heart of it.

Lol -- meanwhile, here we all are on the forum splitting hairs every day over exact lengths, weights, colors, brands, actions, scents, etc. needed to get a few more bites...

Each year I try to pick a couple lures, rigs or presentations I haven't used much or haven't been very successful with, and spend a lot of time working on them. This summer it was buzzbaits and drop shot. I finally broke through with buzzbaits, but I had a lot of trouble getting the hang of drop shot and gave up on it. I basically get to fish between may and September, and then work puts me out of commission until the next may. My 2015 fishing season is pretty much over now, so it makes sense to look ahead -- Next year, I'll give drop shot another look, and probably focus on getting more proficient with jigs and hard jerkbaits.

That's an awesome selection -- looks like you're ready for just about anything.

I like them on a 2/0 Owner ultrahead finesse ball-head, 1/16 or 1/8 oz. Just sorta hop them around slowly.

Small ponds tend to have small forage. Small forage calls for small baits. Crappie lures, for instance, will often catch bass in small ponds. Consider: -4" straight-tail worms weightless or on a shakey head -ned rig -2"-3" curly tail grubs on a jighead -crappie jigs; roadrunners -3" and 4" stick worms on a wacky rig -any other 2"-4" plastic lure on a weightless texas rig -small topwaters: Rebel pop-r, Heddon tiny torpedo -small shallow crankbaits: Rapala original floaters, Rebel Craw or Crickhopper, Bomber model 2A, KVD 1.5 squarebill -small spinnerbaits, like booyah pond magic or a beetle-spin

Never done it myself, but have witnessed it a number of times. Actually, folks around here post pretty frequently about it happening, with pics.

I am at this very moment resisting the urge to buy another cheap combo simply because I can. I think it's just habit. Nothing in my arsenal is technically the best quality I can afford, so the obvious next step is to make one or more major upgrades. But I could have gone right to the next tier or higher for my last couple rod purchases, if only I had taken the time to do enough research to make an informed decision on what to get.

2-3 feet maybe? I don't use a swivel (I hate hate hate extra hardware) but flukes twirl around a lot, so a swivel can cut down on line twist.