the reel ess

I've heard, but only anecdotally, that it's from crushing craws that emerge as the first easy source of protein for winter bass. It's been quite a while since I caught a bass on anything that didn't resemble a craw at least a little. But that's not evidence.

Is this because they're eating crawfish? Or is it due to some other factor (water temp)? I see this a lot in early season bass. I caught two today and both had red lips.

I went today and the water was cold, but the air temp was around 60. I used a black Col blade spinnerbait, suspending Husky Jerk, a crappie jig under a float, a jig and Speed Craw and the Yamamoto Hula Grub, T rigged with 1/8 oz bullet weight. I only caught two and both on the Hula Grub but they crushed it. The second actually chased it as I was reeling up for the next cast. After that one I started slow swimming it along bottom but no more takers. I might have gotten another bite if I fished another hour. That was the average. Anyway I don't know why I never tried this bait before.

We all have our priorities where we don't skimp. I like GOOD beer and I've spent $13 on one 12 oz. bottle. I consider myself to be a middle-of-the-pack angler. I have a couple spinning combos in the $70 range, one combo in the $90 range, one in the $110 range and 2 in the $240 range. One would have cost $300 if I hadn't bought used. And I spend more on baits than anyone else I personally know except one guy. He likes good baits and cheap spinning combos. I have a friend who thinks I waste mega bucks on fishing but he owns a pull-behind camper that cost more than his house and he has a dually to pull it. Says it saves him money on vacations LOL.

Squarebill in the wood cover. But I usually have a lipless crank tied on anyway.

Yeah, after I typed it, I realized that was pretty cheap and you generally get what you pay for. I would have deleted it, but you can't so I changed it to NM. I have a couple reels worth more than $100 that I didn't pay that much for. And I have a Falcon Lowrider rod I paid $50 for. So I get you.

No, I was going to say you and I have a different opinion of "cheap" but I thought better of it. That's all. Have a good one.

NM

In warm weather (3/4 of the year here): Morning: Topwater to midlevel bait (spinnerbait, Trap or jerkbait) to bottom bumping bait like a T-rig. Afternoon: I'd start at the midlevel and go to bottom of it's not working. Evening: Reverse of morning, ending up with a topwater if they'll take it. Often, if there's no sign of fish chasing bait, I'll usually skip the middle depth in the evening. In cold weather: Bottom bumping, Rat L Trap and spinnerbait in the middle of the day.

That's a great use for these reels.

Mepp's Comet. The inline spinner with a minnow body. Caught a good many white bass, some crappie and smaller largemouth with it. Second was a white Mr Twister grub may dad gave me to keep me busy while he and his buddy fished with minnows for crappie. I was probably 11 years old. I wore them out that day with the grub. We bought the local tackle store out of them on the way home. I was hooked.

I have 2. They don't cast light baits very well in stock configuration. I eventually put them on 7' M rods with the idea I'd use them for stripers. But I stopped going to the lake in lieu of smaller ponds. I found a good use for them. I can reel well-used braided line off a low profile reel onto an ABU, then reel it on to the other ABU, then reel it back onto the LP reel and I have the unused end of the braid to tie to. Good as brand new line.

Welcome. I'm a SC fisherman as well. A little ways up the road though. Mostly fish ponds but sometimes I got to L Wateree or down the river to Camden.

You'll get both answers. But try it. If you're comfy with it, do it. I still like mono for topwaters and lipless cranks mostly. And I have a cheap combo I filled with 15# mono because I didn't want to waste good line on it. I like mono where you like a lure to float and when you need some stretch. But you can overcome that with a more moderate rod tip. I tried braid in a pinch once with topwaters and I got a hook thru the braid. I mean I had to push the braid together to open up the hole the hook got into and back it out. But I've been told that's rare. I know a lot of guys are using braid fro walking baits. But I use the same rod for lipless cranks and all other topwaters. I should also note one reason I like mono for topwaters is I kayak fish. That puts me at an angle that makes walking baits dive. I need all the buoyancy I can get from a line.

I've bought two off Ebay. You have little control over how used they are. But here's a secret. BPS does repairs very cheap. I have a Johnny Morris reel I paid $50 for and put $19 in it sending off to BPS. I couldn't buy a reel that good for less than $130. WIN! But I have another older Abu reel that's never worked well and I probably paid too much for. LOSE!

Yeah, I caught some juvenile stripers on the Wateree R last May. I let them go. When I got to the landing in Camden the game warden told me they were out of season and it's illegal to even target them. The Wateree R joins the Congaree and that feeds the Santee-Cooper lakes. So the same rules apply because stripers run upriver to spawn. However, on the other side of the Lake Wateree dam, the limit is 10 of any size all year because they're stocked.

I forgot the tube. Nary a bite on a bass-sized tube. Although the crappie size tube really draws in all kinds of fish. It's one of the best baits I've found in creeks too. I've been bass fishing with my buddy when they won't bite and we'll start trolling for crappie and catch a few bass mixed in.

No. I've never fished them. Always wanted to. I know there are a lot of big bass in them. I do like stripers. I grew up fishing Wateree because my family has a house on it. But in the last 5 years, I've only gone there enough to make sure my boat will run. My mom passed away a few years ago and it's just not the same. I've been down the Wateree R a few times in the kayak, but that's a chore getting shuttled back. I bought a kayak a few years ago and started fishing a local reservoir that I got permission from a landowner to go in. They have a landing too so I can take my big boat if the water's too cold to get the soggy butt. It's a lot easier to catch fish in a huge pond with no competition. And there are some really big bass in it. There are two other small ponds that people let me fish as well.

T-rigged Senko-type stick worms. Not a bite although I had great luck wacky rigging them in early to late spring. Dropshot, thought I haven't given it a fair chance. Jig. Always get bored and pull out the ol' T-rig. I feel like I get 4X the bites on the T rig. Johnson silver minnow. One bite-missed. I've caught two flounder on it though.

Try them around bass on the bed. Use white so you can see them when the bass bite because sometimes they'll just move them away. What he said. use them around wood cover, stickups, blowdowns, docks... Bump them off of the cover. Fish hate that and want to kill this bait. Fish them as slow as you can and keep them on top. I find that for me black is the best color. I think the Spook doesn't work as well for in stained water. That seems to be my experience. I have several Super Spooks, one junior and a couple BPS Excalibur knockoffs. I've had one banner day on a Super Spook. But I bought a Chug'n Spook, Jr last spring and I did quite well just before sundown after the dog days hit. It seems to draw them in better than just the quite swim-swim action. It will walk, but you can also pop it. When you do it splashes a little. I caught a couple over 5 lbs last summer on it.

I HATE when the strippers run. Stripers now, that's a different story.

Start reading here and post your specific questions: http://www.bassresource.com/content/search?SearchText=beginner&BrowsePageLimit=30 There are lots more on YouTube. Welcome to the board! I don't know what your comfort level is with rod and reel types. Probably start with a medium-heavy spinning or spincast combo. Buy a few of the basic lures as mentioned in these articles. And improve with the ones you like the best. Then branch out in the directions you like. If you can get to a place with lots of willing bass, like a friends pond, do it. It will encourage you. Getting skunked will likely be discouraging.

I'm very jealous. My wife has asked me several times where I'd like to live if I could move anywhere and I always tell her FL.

I go whenever I can regardless of barometric pressure, moon phase or even when my very knowledgeable fishing buddy says "they ain't bitin'" and I try to attack it from top to bottom every time, except in cold water. Also if I go in the middle of the day, I won't start with topwater. If I go late, I'll end up with topwater. In winter, bass won't chase a topwater so then I concentrate on the bottom-to-middle.

1/2 oz, 3" Rat L Trap all the time. I keep a metallic gold one tied on because there are shiners where I usually fish. I have some smaller but the big ones seem to work even in winter. I might try a larger one, but it's grassy where I use them and they're already weed-fouled enough as it is. The trick is to keep them just above the weeds to trigger strikes. When I get in shallower water that gets difficult. I usually switch over to a Colorado blade spinnerbait then. My buddy has a little better "luck" than I do when we're on this pattern. He uses a CC Super Spot that's a couple shades darker gold. His seems to be "in the weeds" less. I might go buy a Spot, but I have 2 Traps and they do well. No real need.