Outdoor Zack

Dont know about his plans, but I can tell you they're good spinnerbaits. I like the single Colorado blade style in white

squarebills on riprap banks!

A M/F or M/MF will cast a 1/4 oz bait well. I use small cranks, poppers, and even 1/8 oz. spinnerbaits on my M/MF all the time. Doesn't cast then across the lake, but it does ok for me Spray paint?

10 - 12 pound trilene xl will handle nicely on spinning gear. I ran it on my spinning rods for ages If you 'have' to use braid, I would suggest using the M/F with some heavier braid and a leader (I'm no expert. just giving you my thoughts)

Agreed, Especially with 15 lb braid. I would probably spool up with 10 - 15 pound mono in the first place though, especially on casting gear.

Finesse worms, 4 3/4" or a squarebill

My favorite. Mepps is a close second

There's a lot of good options here. I usually have a lot of luck in the mid to late spring in ponds (pre-spawn basically). I like to t rig and toss them around vegetation, especially in dirty water. Heres my top 3 options: 1. Baby brush hog/baby Christie critter. 3/0 round bend or straight shank. 10 to 12 lb mono 2. Zoom 6" lizard (not just a 6" lizard- a ZOOM 6" lizard. There is a difference!). 4/0 round bend, 12 pound mono 3. Zoom lil critter craw. 1/0 round bend or 2/0 straight shank. Use your finesse rod and 8 pound leader.

Very interesting, thanks a lot.

Can you explain this more please?

You are correct, I meant one of their other lines of spinnerbaits. Point is that a small spinnerbait, whether it's 1/8 or 3/16 or 1/4, can produce when other lures can't. My bad

Spinning: 6 - 6 1/2 foot ML/F or XF, pflueger trion size 30 reel. 20 lb braid and 8 or 10 lb mono leader. Zoom finesse worm, baby brush hog, or some kinda small craw Casting: 6 1/2 - 7 foot M/MF or F, Daiwa Lexa hs, 12 lb big game mono. squarebill, pond magic spinnerbait in 1/4 oz., and rebel pop r

Find a good price on some decent ones and buy up. I need to do the same before too long anyhow

Depends on how long. For long term storage, you should probably get a plano box or just leave them in the factory bag

Never thought about it that way, but sounds dead-on

Thanks for this post, I will certainly give thought to all of your points. To give you a little more info, I mostly fish about 3 - 4 local ponds that vary from 15 to 50 acres in size, an average of about 30, though I do plan to start fishing some medium size lakes and resovoirs in the upcoming season. All are totally or mostly man made. I wrote this this post hoping to get some ideas about how others develop a pattern on unfamiliar waters. I only fish about 1 - 3 times a week during the spring through fall, for about 1 to 4 hours at a time, unless I specifically plan a full day trip. I've only been bass fishing for about a year and a half now. I have basically figured out that I can catch a bass or two on every trip out up until the late spawn and post spawn period about 80% of the time or better and then the bite usually becomes less consistent and I have to break from a set gameplan on every trip out to even scratch out a little one. My goal this season is to work on getting on the fish more consistently during the seasonal/biological cycles (spawning, "winter patterns", etc.). I've done a lot of reading on this forum and on the website, read bassmaster magazine articles and just finished a library book, and have looked at many videos, including glenn may's and others. All of these resources have been really helpful- the above posts included. Thanks to all who made them available. But to simplify my question in the original post- Im confident that I know how to use the tools (how to fish lures, tie rigs, cast rods, etc.) but I want some resources (that you've had luck with) that will help me choose when to use them. I know now that all this will come eventually with experience, but where do you start off when you're working on establishing a pattern ? To start off, I'd really like to know how you all figure out: 1. What the fish are eating (crawdads vs. bluegills)? 2. When are the peak times for bass feeding (from what I've read and have experienced to a small degree in ponds, bass tend to feed heavily at certain times of the day in certain systems and that "golden hour" can vary depending on conditions)? 3. What times of day or when in the year will bass key on certain structures or will that stick to it all year long? If so, how do you pick out a certain spot (one specific rock pile or one specific tree stump) in a big body of water?

Pflueger trion is an awesome reel for under/right at $30. I also have a abu Garcia Cardinal s that is a really nice reel for about the same price

I like small round bends (1/0 or 2/0). Owner Z bend hooks are my favorite, but I also use Bps brand i know know some also like straight shank for finesse worms, so you may be able to find some 2/0 live bait style straight shanks in light wire (look in the crappie fishing section?) that may suit your needs

1. Aaron martens 2. Jimmy Houston 2. Bill dance 4. KVD 5. mark zona or Gerald swindle

I cant say that I have ever tried just bass, but I have gotten some small ones on panfish flies.

I have been reading this book, Bassin' with a Fly Rod by Jack Ellis lately and can say that it is worth spending some time to read. I really liked the book and I want to recommend it to you all. If youre a fly fisherman, veteran or beginner (me), ithink there is a lot for you to get out of the book. He talks a lot about how fly fishing is a versatile technique in the top of the water column. He says that a fly rod can offer you a "ultra finesse" approach or a really good top water approach. For instance, Using cork and foam poppers is a classic technique for bass and it can be an awesome way to throw the fish a curve ball if they're under pressure. But you can also go with an almost literally weightless muddler minnow along the bottom in a shallow spot and catch some lazier fish. Ellis makes some more interesting points that really got me thinking. First off, he talks about how effective a finesse worm on a t rig can be when fished on the fly rod. you can strip the the line in really erratic moves to give it a lot more or a lot less life than you could with a regular rod. The fly setup gives you more control of the bait. He also talks about the pros and cons of dirty vs clear water. I know some people are very connected to one or the other but I like that he spoke to the benefits and frustrations of both. These are just a couple of the interesting points he talks about in the book. It may seem off topic if you're just a conventional (non fly-fisherman), but the author does have a lot to say about finding bass and getting to them. He has sections about pond, lakes, and rivers and how to approach each of them. I think that just about everyone has something they can get out of this book like I said, I just want to recommend this to you all because it was a great read. If you decide to read it, please report back with your thoughts. Hope this helps

know this is a broad topic without a single answer, but I'm looking for ideas.. When you visit a new place, how do you ID important details like: Primary forage for bass Key features/contours feeding/spawning cycles Basically Wondering about how you can pick out features like those and others without a fish finder. Do you have good luck with charts/maps? Fishing/DNR reports? Smartphone apps? Also, if you have any books, articles, or other reading please let me know as I am really interested in getting more educated on some nearby systems thanks in advance

Hard-bottom bags are awesome. Im in love with my 3600 Guide series but the one in the link looks really nice too

1. 5 wt. fly rod, 5 wt. line, 36'' of straight 6# - 8# mono leader. "bream killer" fly or similar pattern. Best thing I've found so far, even better than live bait in some ponds with a lot of pressure. I've had 50 - 75 fish in less than 2 hours (all catch and release- gotta stay legal) 2. 5' 6'' UL, 15 lb braid (optional, but casts real well and is tough), 6# leader. Small spinners, topwaters, and even crankbaits are my top choices for this setup. Otherwise its small plastics on 1/16 oz jig heads worked slow on the bottom or on rocks

I ask because I'm planning on going out on Saturday and maybe Sunday and was wondering if tying up my soft plastic rigs (plastics on) on Thursday or Friday would make any difference Example: it's been cold and partly cloudy and is supposed to warm up only a little, so I know I want to use a 4" yum dinger in green pumpkin and black flake. Would it be ok to rig it and store it on the rod for a day before ?