Bpett2552

Thank you for all the responses so far. As usual, you guys always provide me with a plethora of useful information.

Do you guys think that the lunar cycle affects your bass fishing? I just read an article by a guy who believed that it didn't affect much, unless you were fishing at night where a full moon would just provide the angler with more light. I'm interested to hear your opinions on the subject. http://www.lurenet.com/blog/wrong-about-moon/

I fish clear northern lakes a lot. If you go with the texas rig keep your colors somewhat natural. I like t rigged yum dingers and I fish green pumpkin, watermelon red flake or sometimes something a bit brighter like watermelon pie. Anything thats close to green pumpkin or slightly translucent should be fine. I dont shy away from a little bit of yellow or orange however because one of the main forage species up north is the yellow perch. Northern bass tend to be more aggresive so a spook is also a great choice. I like to use then when the water is flat or slightly choppy in the morning or afternoon. I do best when the belly of the spook is a chrome color however I have had luck with white and even chartreuse.

I went out to buy some tackle tonight and of course I forgot the one really important thing I wanted. A new frog. I've been fishing very thick, matted pads from shore during the day and I'm worried that my frog isn't creating enough noise to call bass through the mat. I currently use a booyah poppin padcrasher with trimmed legs. What frogs do you guys fish in very heavy vegetation?

About a year ago I bought an Abu Garcia Black Max combo. Its a 6"9 medium heavy baitcasting rod with a baitcasting reel. The whole package cost me 80 dollars. The rod is very sensitive. When fishing a chatterbait I can feel every vibration the lure puts out. It handles fish well and I feel that it gives me a lot of control over my lures. The reel is the true highlight though. The inexpensive black max reel has, in my opinion,a fairly smooth drag and good line capacity. It is EXTREMELY easy to cast. I can send my lures a long way and still have excellent accuracy. Since I got all this quality from such a cheap combo I would assume that you would get an excellent product from abu garcia if you spent a little bit more. Hope that helps

On any body of water its easy to peer over the side of your boat and see some forage fish. Over the course of a day on water I can usually see 2-3 different types of bass food swimming around me, in addition to whatever the bass might regurgitate when I catch it. How do you guys determine what the bass are eating when you know that an area might hold 4 or more types of good forage species? I would love to be able to better tailor my presentation to match the tastes of the fish.

Thanks for all the replies! I would have got back to you guys sooner but I was in maryland fishing a tournament. I will try out what you guys are suggesting. In terms of time I usually am busting the banks during the heat of the day. Bad idea of course but its when I can get out. I think fishing early and at dusk is a much better idea just as you suggested.

Thanks for all the replies so quickly, I appreciate the advice fellas.

I would work a crank on those rocks. Bounce it off of the boulders to trigger strikes. you can crawl the crank through a laydown as well, just feel for the branches and let it float up.

You need to stay confident. Fishing is a very psychological sport. If you dont feel confident in the bait you are using you just wont work it with the same enthusiasm. Keep you head up and the fish will come!

Hey guys, I'm from southeast PA (right on the NJ border). I have a fishing camp up in Maine where I do a lot of fishing and am very succesful. However down home in PA I struggle, which results in me not fishing as much as I should. I want to perform better on my home waters. I fish primarily from shore on small man made resevoirs. (Fairly tiny, made for water overflow). Some examples are Lake Minsi, Leaser lake or Hidden lake. I also have a float tube. Any Largemouth advice from local guys? I would love to hear how you guys are catching bass. Thanks.

Hey fellas, I havent fished seriously for bass in a few months because of school/work etc. Now that I have free time I'm trying to dive back into this great sport. Im re-reading my old magazines trying to memorize as many tricks and techniques as possible. I have a tournament coming up and I want to be able to fish with confidence. So my question is, what is your favorite technique to fish for largemouth? It could be for any time of year or any type of gear. I just want to hear what you guys are doing so that maybe I can mimic it. Thanks.

I currently own a 7 foot medium heavy baitcasting rod and a 7 foot heavy baitcasting rod. I'm looking to buy a new rod soon and I want your opinions guys. I want something that is versatile and if anything, a little on the heavy side. What are your go to, all purpose rods? Thanks.

I prefer Gamakatsu

Hey guys, Winter is rapidly approaching where I live and I've never fished during the winter. What type of structure should I be fishing and what type of lures should I be using to catch bass during the dead of winter?

Start to fish the fall transition once you notice the baitfish starting to school up. You will also notice bass feeding really hard on these schools. One way to find the baitfish is to look for herons or other similar birds wading in the shallows. Another sign that you should start to fish fall patterns is when the days start to shorten. This can sometimes be a bigger trigger for the bass to start feeding up than a temperature drop. Once you determine that the fall pattern is in full swing a lot of different things can work. Shallow cranks, top waters and lipless cranks are all good options around shallow cover, specifically rocks or green weeds. The biggest rule though is find the bait to find the bass. During this time period bass are completely focused on feeding to prepare for the winter ahead so it is absolutely critical to find the baitfish.

I really appreciate all the advice that I'm getting so far guys! It's interesting to hear all of your opinions on this topic.

Hey guys, I live in Northampton county PA. I do a lot of fishing on small lakes in the area from shore. I was wondering if any of you guys have fished on either Lake Minsi, Leaser Lake or Hidden Lake. If you have I would love to know any tips or tricks you guys have to share about fishing these waters. Also if you live in the southeast part of PA like I do I would love to hear about any bodies of water that you guys like to fish. Thanks!

Hey guys, I normally fish with clear copolymer line but recently I was forced to buy P-Line CXX "moss green" because my tackle shop didn't have my usual line at the time. My question is do you think that having some color to my line will affect the bite? I typically fish in fairly clear water so that why I prefer the clear line. I do know some guys though who fish with straight braid, no leader, even in clear shallow water and say that it does not turn off the fish. I would love to know what you guys think. Thanks.

Hey guys just a quick question, I've been looking through the forums and the internet looking for some advice on fishing in the fall. I was wondering what some of you guys like to do. A lot of what I've been reading has been focused on finding shad to find fall bass but the problem is that I fish a lot of small lakes without shad or even major creek arms. In this situation what would you guys do? The most major forage fish on my lakes is bluegill/sunnies and even sometimes stocked trout. I haven't been on the forums in a long while so I'm excited to be back and to hear some great advice! Thank you

I do most of my fishing during the summer time and I have the most luck fishing tight to structure. I know many anglers prefer to work deep crankbaits over humps and other offshore structure during this period but I usually stay fairly shallow. During the morning and evening use any topwater bait you like. I typically fish them in the shallow water on top of a tapering point or around any sort of cover. A Zara Spook is a great choice during this time. As it heats up I head for cover particularly floating vegetation, where I use a frog or throw texas rigged baits. Try using a BioSpawn Vilecraw as your texas rigged plastic in this situation, it works very well for me. Don't necessarily think that summer time means working deep. It is a very good way to fish, however I am very successful focusing on more shallow cover.

I love fishing a texas rig around submerged vegetation, but as I hop or swim my bait through the cover plants often get caught on the front of my bullet sinker. Is there a way that you guys fish texas rigs around underwater plants that prevents you from catching on so many weeds? Also are there any other lures that you guys like to fish in vegetation other than a texas rigged craw, worm or even a jig? Thanks.

The clear water of a swimming pool seems like the perfect place to test out new crankbaits. Should I be worried about the chlorine damaging the paint and finish on my lures?

Thanks for the advice guys!

Thanks!