Bass Turd

This is not about swinging a golf club and hitting the ball as hard as you can. Bass fishing is about detecting subtle bites. Sometimes very very subtle. Just to be clear we're talking bottom baits like Texas rigged worms or jigs not crank baits. If you feel more bites you will catch more fish... simple. I have a very easy way to compare the sensitivity of two rods. Rig one rod and reel and have a friend pull out a casts length of line. Reel up the slack and close your eyes and have him tap on the line with a pencil or pen. Now switch rods and use the same line and reel. You can even leave the tags on the expensive rod and take it back if you don't feel a difference. Maybe your $50 rod is as good as the expensive one... who knows. This is a good way to test it.

That's an amazing deal on a great rod. I have the lizard dragger version with micro guides. One warning- once you go micro it's hard to look at another rod. The guides look clunky in comparison. Get it.

My partner is happy with me doing everything from the front of the boat. I try to position us so he always has a casting lane etc.. I did hear of a pretty neat idea though.... put a hand operated trolling motor on the back of the boat. If the guy in the back of the boat isn't satisfied with positioning he has the ability to adjust it a bit. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.

It might be easier to post what you have found. Too many options to just guess.

Thanks everyone. I read about it somewhere but couldn't find any information. I appreciate all the reply's.

Open up a whole new world... get on the lake somehow. Get a kayak or find someone with a boat. A club is a great idea. Even if they are competitive you don't have to be. I believe co anglers fish against each other in club tournaments. You will learn so much from the fisherman in front of you.

Has anyone had experience rigging any kind of hard bait (jerk bait or crank bait) on a Carolina Rig? Share any tips please.

Check the videos and articles section. Lots of information like this: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/how-to-dropshot-fishing.html

Definitely take Wayne P.'s advice but with his blessing I would suggest resetting to factory defaults if you haven't already being that is a used unit and your brother probably changed some settings to his liking.

I learned to use a baitcaster a few years ago and now use both spinning and casting. There are things baitcasters can do better than spinning and vice versa. As mentioned above most suggest upgrading to a better rod first. You really can feel more bites with a sensitive rod. Plenty of good ones under a hundred dollars. If you do try a baitcaster do a little research, pick a model then buy it used off this forum or Ebay. If you don't like it you have a very good chance to turn around and resell it for the same price. I learned on a Shimano Curado B which is now a little over 20 years old. They are still going strong with a loyal following. This means there are always used ones to be had at a pretty stable price. I cannot speak to other brands and what would be good used one to try but someone else here in the group will chime in with good information.

Thanks for the great advice everyone. We've had a lot of rain lately and the lake is up 10' from last weekend and up 20' since May 1. The lake is now at full pool. for the first time in 10 or 20 years. I'm sure things will be settling down for quite a while with all the new water. I'll be trying to fish deeper as suggested.

Thanks guys. I'm working today but let me study your comments tomorrow. The lake is fairly clear 5-10 foot visibility. Because the lake came up 7 feet in May already the upper portions are muddy but will clear out soon. I Like I said... I've always been a bank fisherman so it just "feels wrong" to be away from shore. The only way to fix this is to arm myself with information that tells me where they would be and why. Lots of points in the mid to lower lake but they drop very very quickly to the flat of the river bottom/channel. Will they use these steep points to travel back and forth to feed? Makes sense. Tomorrow I'm planning on hitting the points from further off shore and drag a Texas Rigged worm down them until I hit bottom. I'm also going to graph more. I must admit... when I get to the lake I guilty of just fishing as soon as possible. And like I said we found plenty of fish on the edges... until now. Trying to learn something new. How deep can bass be caught? I'm guessing just a heavier weight to be able to feel the bottom and keep it there at depth? Thanks for posting links and pictures.... couldn't figure out how to do it. We launch in the middle of the lake at Park Road 37. We have been going up lake mostly. The bluffs at Church Cove have been very good... until lately. Will Bass be at the bluffs all year long off and on? When actively feeding? Ok... I'm all over the place.... Give me a good solid game plan each time I hit the water... For instance "Start by graphing the bluffs and points. If you don't see any fish move to...."Do you always graph fish or at least bait balls before you fish?

Group, I have a favor to ask. I'd love to get into contact with someone willing to pass on their knowledge of large mouth bass fishing in a deep reservoir. There aren't any printed maps of the lake but the google earth images show the lake while only 5% full before it filled up last year. Medina Lake near San Antonio Texas. And of course there is the Navionics web app. Currently the lake is only down 8 feet. We were catching tons of dinks and one or two keepers each weekend but the fish have moved off the bank and I'm just have no confidence fishing deeper water. We could converse through PMs or preferably email and you can share in my success. I know the fish are there... just need pointers on where to find them. I have a boat with a Helix 5 di/si. Please help. I would be eternally grateful. You can me directly at dwhanke@gmail.com Thank you. -Danny

... because it's cheaper than therapy... mostly...

So the question is.... Would you send someone a donation once a year so they could remain sponsor free? Let's do some math... 100,000 subscribers and "YouTuberX" is asking for $10 a year from everyone to remain sponsor free and be able to do independent reviews of products etc... etc... while still being paid for his or her time. If half the subscribers send money that's $50,000. The second question is... are sponsors paying this or more?

Thanks Turtle135. I learn more everyday. Thanks Sam... I think that will keep me busy for several hours on the lake.. thank you.

Early last year the drought ended for one of our local lakes and went from 20% full to 80% full literally overnight. During it's ten year drought lots of bushes and brush grew up that are now flooded and anywhere from 20 to 50 feet deep. I've always been a bank beater but the bass have left the shallow water and seem to be in deeper water. The water temp is 75 degrees on the surface so I suspect they are looking for cooler water. I'm looking for suggestions as to how to fish flooded bushes in 20-50 feet of water. Line type and diameter, lures and presentation. I can fish both spinning and bait casting. I would guess fishing vertically over the 50 foot stuff and casting to the 20 foot brush. The bass were crazy for a green pumpkin trick worm with chartreuse tail dipped in JJ's Magic early in the season so planning on trying that. What else? Thanks in advance.

Go early in the morning when the sun is just coming up. Jerks like to sleep in cause they are sleeping off the hang over from the night before....

Remember.... worms weigh something too. So a 1/8 head with a worm probably weighs at least 1/4 oz.

Sounds like a spool ship or two is either missing or has a divot worn in it. Just replace them (on on each end of the spool by the bearing).

Pull out or cast out a casts worth of line plus a little more. Get some masking or electrical tape that is thinner than the spool width and tape around the remaining line on the spool. This will keep back lashes from happening deep in the spool. Then when you can cast to the tape reliably move the tape deeper. This is how I learned.

Thanks everyone. The picture was taken two weeks ago. Those fish aren't very big... its the small size trap. I could see these fish on my sonar swimming back and forth along the bluff on sonar. I went back a week later and hooked into three keeper fish... much bigger but lost them all as they surfaced and threw the trap out of their mouths. These fish I didn't see on sonar so they must have been stationed along depressions in the wall (no shelves at this spot but probably small caves?) waiting to ambush. Once they have seen this bait a few times and stopped biting I wanted to throw a follow up lure and just didn't know what to try. I have decided on a tube and just let it fall on slack line as I watch the line closely. I have also put one size up Mustad hooks on the small trap. I will also throw the larger trap. Sometimes I get tunnel vision on the water and don't stop to think about another presentation that might work better. Thanks again everyone! Great tips.

I can't get it to orient properly but here's the spot.

How would you guys suggest fishing a bluff wall? It's anywhere from 25 to 50 feet deep. Very sheer so no shelves to bounce a jig down. It probably only comes out about 5 feet for all that depth. I found myself fishing a 1/4 ounce Rattle Trap with some success although I lost several fish when they threw the lure (replacing hooks tonight). I would let it free fall for different counts and slowly reel it back pausing occasionally. Sometimes I'd wait for a twenty count while it fell. The bite was coming from anywhere between 10 and 20 feet deep. What are some other ways of fishing this set up? Spinner bait? Swim jig? Vibrating jig? I would guess something that looked good on the fall but wouldn't sink like a rock. I've got both casting and spinning set ups. I didn't think to follow up the trap with something else until I got home. Thanks in advance.

Maybe heat it gently with an indirect flame until it gets soft and reshape it? This way you won't be removing any material. it looks pretty thin already.