Airman4754

Another 3 this morning.

Pretty good so far. 6.43, 5.2, 3.2, and 2.8 in two full days. Drop shotting is about all that works. Good fish for Oregon.

My co-angler/fishing partner is the ultimate "that guy." Money wise he isn't too bad. He will pick up my food and entry fees most of the time. Very rarely do I ever fish without him. We work together, we have young kids, I coach football, he refs football, so our schedule is always the same which makes us available at the same time so it works out. Anyways I have all the stuff; boat, truck, gear, tackle, etc. He brings two 6' Ugly Sticks for show and a little tackle bag that I'm pretty sure only has trout gear in it. Once we get on the water he just uses EVERYTHING of mine and he is such a thinker. I'll almost always at least triple his fish count, but sometimes when the bite is slow that big brain comes up with something that beats me like a drum. If we fish for eight hours I will have my line in the water almost the entire time. He might fish a total of two hours because he is always changing baits, my baits. When I get home it's damage control. All of the cup holders on the boat are full of plastics so I have to put them all back where they are supposed to go. I'll never ditch the guy though. First, he is as into bass fishing as I am in an area of the world that hates it. Second, he fishes off of what I do and never complains. We have had days where I've caught over a hundred fish and he might catch three and he considers it an awesome day because we caught 103 fish.

A true punch rod will be between 7'6" and 8' with a heavy rating and a moderate action. The heavy is to handle flipping 2oz a hundred times in an hour without your wrists giving out and to muscle fish. The moderate action is so you don't completely rip the hook out of the fish's mouth when you pin it to the top of the mat. Anything will work in theory, but like with every technique there is specific gear that will reduce fatigue, make it more efficient, and help you put more fish in the boat.

We use 4lb on tiny vintage Ryobi V-Mag baitcasters for kokanee. They have a "V" spool that holds a tremendous amount of line for their size.

I have two finesse casting rigs. I throw Senkos on a Lamiglas "Senko Special" which is an incredible rod if you can get your hands on one with whatever Browning's higest end baitcast model is with 20lb Spiderwire high-vis. The second is a Phenix UMBX 707ML that I use for jig rigs and I fish jig rigs all year. It has a Lew's Tourney Lite his it and I run 30lb PP. These are fairly high end setups but nothing crazy. Use what you have for a season and make a pros & cons list at the end of the year. Then see if there is something out there that you think will improve your success.

I'm the same. I've never been able to find conditions that make a difference. I think that goes back to why people think black/blue is better than junebug and vice versa.

8lb CXX for 6 and 10XD's.

I used to have the same problem. I hated fishing with the finesse hooks. I switched to light wire straight shank worm hooks in and my hookup percentage is great. I actually enjoy drop shotting now.

I'm going down the weekend of the 16th to fish with a buddy out of Stockton. I'm stoked!

I use a Phenix UMBX Classic 7'7" MH/F and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Spinnerbaits are my go to in the spring and fall. Great video Glen. For me I keep it extremely simple. I'll try to keep this as short as possible, but I have a ton of success with spinnerbaits everywhere I fish so I know it works. 1. Bait prep. The stock skirt is too long 100% of the time. Push it down from the head and trim it off flat 1/2" from the bottom of the hook bend. Use whatever trailer you want but make sure it's at least 4", visible in all water conditions, and it moves a lot of water. I use a chart Mr. Twister grub on every color and size I have. This is to give the fish a strike target so I don't get blade bites. Then finish it off with a 1/0 trailer hook. 2. You really only need three colors: white, chart, and black. In clear water white and willow blades will cover every application. Personally I like black with a silver Colorado blade for night fishing and stained water and a chart with a gold Colorado blade for muddy water. 3. Unless you are trying to bottom fish in the summer you will only need 3/8 and 1/2oz. Slow rolling a 3/4oz on bottom in the dead of summer can be good, but that's not the common use of a spinner bait. With the weight keep it simple. In a canyon lake or out in water over 20ft throw a 1/2oz, around cover or less that 20ft of water throw a 3/8oz. You don't want the fish to really get a good look at what the bait actually is. You want a disturbance above them that has a lot going on and it's moving away quickly so they have to commit. 4. Roll cast, land it as close to the bank or cover as possible, and work on landing it as soft as possible so there is very little splash. YouTube has plenty of videos on how to do this. Never set the hook on a spinnerbait. Be patient when you feel the strike and just keep reeling while moving your rod to the side naturally. You'll miss maybe two or three fish a year this way. Then just fish a lot and put it all together.

The only time I have the patience to fish a jig is after the water reaches 60 degrees. Then I can hop and floss it like a mad man lol.

Powell makes a 735 that is well regarded. My favorite is the Lamiglas Pro-X 735. It's $225, but it's a great one for soft and hollow frogs.

The last FLW was paced by stick baits. The Top 5 were using them almost exclusively. If the bass are heading to beds or on beds stick baits will be the main bait.

The region I live in has a nice mixture of both kinds of lakes. You can go chase a small number of good fish or go to a place where 25 fish is a slow day. It's all good times.

Pfluger Supreme 200 size. I really like it.

I prefer the jig rig over both, but if I had to go between the two it would be a jig.

Unless the water is really cold and you are fun fishing I wouldn't suggest changing up retrieves initially with a reaction/search bait. If there are fish in the spot you are on just a chuck and wind retrieve will catch one of them if they are into biting that bait. Some guys will say find the presentation they want then hone in the bait, but for me personally I have a lot more success finding the style of bait then dailing in the presentation to catch size and numbers. Basically just go fish and keep it simple.

Mother of pearl. Just when I thought there were no more techniques to buy. What is this flat sided crank bait you speak of and what does it do that makes it special? It kind of looks like a lipless with a square bill.

Throw a bottom contact lure than you absolutely know will catch fish so you don't have to wonder if you're at the wrong depth. Then run whatever technique you are most confident in (jig rig, T-rig, C-rig, drop shot, shakey head). Next hit only high percentage spots. 45 degree slanting points, transition spots on banks, cover, etc. You'll catch fish.

8lb CXX. You'll get max depth on your cranks, it won't stretch, and it stands up to rocks.

This is what I use. I wrap the braid around the fluoro. I've never had it fail on me. I use this for crank baits, jigs, and swim baits along with my spinning gear. I fish mostly micro guides and have zero casting issues.

We had an awesome day fishing Spots and even hit a few smallies. We boated at least 60 fish. As the day rolled on my buddy (drop shot guy) started going through my plastics and to find obscure things just to make it more of a challenge. This is an 11" ribbon worm on a drop shot and the 12" fish that hit it. We had a good laugh.

The Abu Orra line is really really good for $100.