BigSkyBasser

It really depends on the waters you're fishing and how those fish respond to threats in their territory. I've grown up fishing gin clear, cold, deep lakes, so I have learned to adjust based on how fish react. My go-to has always been larger crawfish applications, especially floating baits texas rigged. The first time I took by girlfriend fishing on beds, we slayed em' throwing Z Man Lizards on a 3/8 oz bullet sinker on a 3/0 WIde Gap EWG. When you have baits that actually float or suspend it seems to trigger more aggressive bites during spawn.

I found this series this year as well. The Casey martin ones are the most epic! Truly inspiring and makes me want to fish the FLW circuit. It seems like B.A.S.S. doesn't have much concern or support for the grassroots and weekend warrior anglers compared to the FLW. Perhaps that's my jaded view but for example, if I won the National championship this year, They wouldn't pay for me to fish the Elite Series next year and give me a boat and truck. You get to fish the Classic once and "try again next year." Doesn't seem like much incentive to keep investing into Bass Nation Federation when they don't give much back to the anglers that do. But I'm young, perhaps I'm just biased and lacking wisdom/ insight on the matter......

Ok, thanks Lou I appreciate it. I think my dilemma is I don't know whether to apply as a student organization or athletic club. I'll clarify that with someone on campus.

Good idea, it'd be a far reach but I think we could find somebody. and sorry for the double post. I just found another thread like this started by someone else

Bass fishing at the collegiate level is always something that has captivated me and after biding my time I finally have an oppurtunity to do so! The problem being that my school The University of Montana doesn't and never has had a Bass Team/Club. Just curious if anyone has an best approaches to creating a collegiate team or club and generally what all it entails. We will be fishing on the College B.A.S.S. side of things and would like to be an eligible school by the 2017 season.

Ok so circumstantially you guys see very similar weather to us here in Northwestern Montana. I usually find that fish really start their quest for pre spawn feeding when water temps rise around 50 Degrees. But that can vary wildly here. Based on what I understand of your area, the smaller river feeding the larger pool would generally be the place to avoid as it'll be colder for longer and smallies will avoid it when they have access to warmer water before spawn. Bass particularly in pre spawn seem to be especially sensitive to slight differences in water temperature. This can help determine what ledges and secondary/primary points will be holding larger (if any) groups of smallmouth. Hope you post pics if you nail some slabs this year!

It really depends on how fast the water warms up around there. Most prespawn smallies will absolutely crush a jerkbait if you can find the ledges they're moving up on and fish them effectively When I fish rivers I always recommend casting upstream into seems and secondary pools, these are less obvious but preferred ambush spots for most smallmouth during prespawn here. Also, where are you fishing?

Linders Angling Edge is a bit preachy for me so I skip the end......BUT it's incredibly informative and I've always enjoyed watching Al Linder fish, including when he was with In-Fisherman. I still do watch In-Fisherman as they are more bass oriented than they used to be with Doug Stange at the head of the show. MLF is awesome, I also suppliment it was the FLW and Elite Series shows. The one I like the least is "Pro Team Journal." It has never been an entertaining show regardless of who is fishing on it.

Is your spinning outfit a finesse/drop shot oriented set up Glenn? I'm planning on trying it out this year because I have problems with coil memory on Invisx and I'm looking at either Tatsu or P-Line Halo.

I actually switched from Gamma to Seaguar myself. Personally I did not enjoy multiple different gamma lines. They're coil memory is not as advertised and the sensitivity felt dull. Now I prefer InvisiX and Red label.....will likely also be testing out their Tatsu line as well.

Strike King Denny Braur Flippin' tubes Texas rigged on a 3/0 Lazer Trokar Worm Hook with a 3/16 oz Tungsten bullet. I don't have much experience throwing tubes on your traditional lead tube jig, but I know it's a killer for smallies out on sand bars and weed flats!

That's a questions that has a different answer almost every time I go fishing LOL. This girl was caught on a Yamamoto Hula Grub texas rigged. Several others the next day pushing 3 pounds were caught on wacky rigged assorted worms. Just letting them float down in the current, then watch for your line to stop and drag to indicate a bit. With a shallow river I'd be tossing jigs endlessly depending on the composition of the bottom and the time of year. What conditions are you going to be fishing?

The Drop Shot is an awesome presentation to pick up. My usual setup is deadly for any application and is as follows: Hooks: #2 Lazer Trokar Drop Shot Hook or VMC Sure Shot Hook Line: 6-8 pound Seaguar Red Label or Berkely Vanish Flourocarbon Weights Vary depending on application: My favorite when fishing rivers are 3/16 oz and 1-4 oz pencil weights, they seem to be less prone to snagging rocks but will hang in brush and weeds just as easy. Reels and rods come down much more to preference but usually a 7' Medium-Medium Light spinning rod is recommended with a smaller reel like a Shimano Stradic CI4+ or a Pflueger President (my goto.) I don't currently fish with braid to flouro leader but you might want to try it when you get more into drop shotting Baits: Roboworms are a great goto bait for dropshotting. Strike King dream shot is great. Also experiment with 4" senkos and senko like baits hooked wacky rigged. YOU CAN FISH NEARLY ANYTHING ON A DROPSHOT! I tie my weight 6-8 inches when drop shotting shallow water (drop shotting is great for bed and structure fishing, just more prone to snags.) Then when fishing in 10 ft of water or more I'll tie my weight 10-14 inches below bait for those ultra finesse presentations.

Do any of you Lake Mead regulars have a good Topo or contour map of Lake Mead? I spoke with Steven at the Bass Pro Shops there and he has them but cannot ship them to me for any price. I'd love one of these for my research and would compensate you for it,

I'm going tomorrow for the first time since ice over. Granted I'm in the Northwest, but I'll be fishing a smaller natural lake for big largemouth so the results should be translative. I'll post pics and patterns tomorrow evening. Tight lines!

You'll catch more bullets than bass out of Stockton lol

I thought about doing that, but it sounded like too much work so I made this thread instead. Maybe if this gets big enough we'll start keeping track of mutual answers and opinions for a winner.

I have friends and family from that area. You could fish a different lake every day of the year and not leave that hundred mile radius.

This was on my list before hearing your manifest to this world class bassery! I'm planning on taking a fishing trip to Texas in a couple years. Would you recommend anything else on the border like Caddo lake?

There are many articles on the internet written specifically about locations centered around fishing and how the appeal to the heart of a sportsman. I'm interested in hearing what your favorites cities and towns in the U.S. are for fishing (can be regardings more than just bass) and why you like them so much. To start, I'd say mine would be Kalispell, MT. I live two and half hours south of here and between the two Cities we have about 60 different fishable rivers and lakes for trophy smallmouth exceeding 6 pounds on the Flathead river, and largemouth push 8 pounds caught every year in the flathead chain. These are fishable through the ice but do best in spring and fall, and overview the scenic mission mountains.

I do this but on the other side of the season, right before melt off. It's when the water is at it's absolute lowest and has been for a while. This also usually lines up perfectly with some of the best pre-spawn fishing I've ever stumbled across so it's kind of a double win!

Will do! I love fishing with Roboworms but would not likely have these colors. I've also heard that Oxblood is a really good color for tubes and finesse baits. I'll be stocked up good on soft plastics!

Now I'm still learning the geography and terms of the lake locations. When you say "Middle Point" are you referring to part of the Virgin Basin known as the Middle Point Isle? I've heard this place is held winning bags of bass for FLW and WON Bass competitions alike. And I really appreciate all the advice, most of which doesn't apply to me. I'm fishing as a non-boater so my concern is less of tearing off a lower end while making a dangerous run, but rather getting back boated. I'm really serious about my approach to making it to the 3rd day this year. And I'm a very strong finesse fisherman, which I feel like will put me in a good spot to haul a larger bag than power fishing would get you for this time of year on this lake.

Montana and Idaho have some huge bass. My PB is a nearly 6 lb smallie. I have not fished much in Washington so my experience has less weight to it but I've never caught anything in Washington lakes over 2 pounds. I've fished Moses Lake, Banks Reservoir, and Lake Washington. They have large bass there, they just seem to be less common than in surrounding states in the Northwest.

The dates are a bummer! Ill be getting y for the B.A.S.S. Regional on Lake Mead. Still sounds like a great set of trips, good luck to everyone! There's always 2017