"hamma"

smoke with silver flake is another that works well for me

things you "will need" a life preserver (co angler usually responsable for their own), hat, glasses, rain gear (if need be) Tackle? usually 4 to 5 rods, and a good sized bag with several clear planos and still have room for plastics, pliers, line clippers etc,. What club are you fishing? Massbass? aba? And,... where is your first tourney at?

that sux mainebass, i call these people spot suckers,.. many times i've taken people fishing on my boat and brought them to some good spots , showed them what to use there, only to find them fishing those spots after they bought a boat of their own, all be it, in a tourney or not,.. . really raised my ire, so now i keep the best spots to myself, and my kids,.... If you have spot suckers using pics, they probably cant fish those spots right anyways

nice fish!,..i miss fishing out there, northern side of zion always produced some nice fish for me congrats!

Bad indicator? in what sense? their mere presence doesn't hurt, until they eat all that grass bass have been using for cover. Usually they kick stuff up which in turn brings in baitfish, then bass. Ive caught some big bass around carp, but then yet i've seen lakes turn baron for grass cover due to carps introduction.

typically,. i fish deeper when pike or even pickeral are present. Saves lures and time, But if i see a big one finning in the shallows, i'll toss a spinnerbait by it just for giggles. Ct river has some brutes in it

Awesome!,... congrats on the success,...those pigs are one reason why,.. i love maine

Considering "MY" past and how if effected my fishing, I Agree to a point (and only to a point) that what Nathan posted holds some water. You see, I have been riddled with injury since my early 20's, about the same time I became legal to consume alcohol, and i did,...lol,. right on thru my mid 30's, which ironicly is when i started tourney fishing. Many a tourney am's i woke to a brutal hangover,in pain from my injury, and still perfomed on the water BUT!, and i mean a huge but,.... I love bass fishing, always have and always will, (some of you know exactly what i mean) this is what i believe is what contributed to the success I had at it. Did I turn pro? no,..it was at a state level, but success all the same to me That "love" i harbor is the ticket, when you are passionate about something you put forth your best effort, attention to detail, and effort to research as much as possible. Couple that with experience, desire, and direction,.. you have the makings to be at your best no matter what your physical condition is. Did my condition hinder me some? of course it did,... but as they say ,..love conquers all. Many bass anglers fish because they like the distraction from everyday life, albeit work, family, faith, etc. the challenges that the sport contains is a easy draw, and offers that "other world" these anglers seek and utilize. Others actually love the sport as i do, that love puts these anglers in a different position. Instead of just showing up at the ramp on a weekend morning as a "distraction angler" and going fishing for that day, with the last tourney's lures still tied on,..... The "love angler" has prefished that lake, studied the maps, figured out a pattern during the prefish time, and has devised several plans for the day. With fresh line on the correct rods, even the backup rods are ready to go with the proper lures, with the backup plans gear ready as well,.. etc. I believe that these anglers are the ones that progress. to the pro level. Im sure that all pro's are in the "love anglers" category,.. with the kvd's of the sport, putiing forth their best effort and keying in on the aspect of the sport,, that brought him there to begin with,...loving the sport.,..........Then possibly using what Nathan posted,... to a degree.

I,.. like a-jay,... have been bass fishing for 50 years and i too have seen this before,. it happens, usually its that we are fired up to catch anything to buck those winter time cabin fever blues and are fishing too fast. A remedy i've found {probably 20 years ago, yeah it took that long) is to put all but 2 rods in the rodbox, and fish just them. (1) a spinning rod with a 1/8,. or 1/4 oz jighead with a 3 inch white grub smothered in real craw (or scent of your choice) cast out , let it settle on bottom but watch your line every second the lure is in water. the slowly lift rod tip up, let it "swim" to the bottom,..repeat. (2) 1/4 oz black jig and pig (prefer hair jig, but not "necessary) trimmed to be about 3 inches, again doused with real craw,. fished so slow its almost like noodling, or should i say dragged on the bottom, with intermittant small hops. Of course you need to be where the fish are so pay close attention to your fishfinder, if you see fish suspending and you havent got any hits, they could be any type of fish, my telltale sign they are bass is, if they are spread out between 12 ft deep. Meaning say they are suspending from 10 to 22 feet. if you find that and still no hits, its gunna be a real tough day, be diligent. If you dont see any fish suspending at all but marking alot of "rocks" on the bottom? its gunna be a better day, they are tight to cover and more likely to bite those slow presentations. Nothing is set in stone when bass fishing, this is what I do and its worked in the past "sometimes",..fish the northern portions of the lake or area choosen and fish slow,...only other lure i might try is a original floating rapala in a pattern of the previlant baitfish, fish it deadsticked good luck ,..hope this helps ya

I only use trailer hooks if im in a tournament

I keep a pair of long handled diagonal cutters on the boat so i can actually cut the hook itself as close to the flesh as i can if need be.,.. maybe i use it once every 2 years but worth it in my opinion

id utilize live search bing maps birdseye view before heading out. This is a satelites view you can zoom in on and usually find the shallower areas, points, etc. then read the shoreline, its slope and such, this will usually follow suit under water giving you an idea of its topography. then i should have some gameplan to start with.,. depending on season and what the fish "should" be doing ..tie on a heay jighead with a small grub on it and probe the depths and watch for any weeds brought up by it, By now you should be able to figure where to fish and with what.

I do like fishing with company, teaching them, and sharing the beauty of the great outdoors,..But ,...there definatly peace and solice of fishing alone,...so i guess its 50/50

field pond in harold parker used to be a bass hatchery, there's huge bass in there.I fished it for many years out of my tiny basshunter boat,..a kayak will work good, there is some shore fishing but your better off with a floating platform as there are stumps scattered throughout the entire pond,..be it a canoe, kayak, or crawdad.This time of the year you cant go wrong with a original perch patterned rapala, toss over the stumps, twitch and pause for a while as if its a dying perch. they will lightly suck it under the surface and will surprise you when you finally hook one and feel its weight, the hit will seem like a sunfish hit it, but you may pull out a personal best

Thanks nitro!,..and good luck

one can dream kevin,...lol

I live near boston, if i want fish i can get it at either the supermarket, or catch it myself,... largemouth and smallouth are not on the menu though,,..for one prefer a nice striper steak on the grill, or fresh cusk baked just right ,.. ok now im hungry,.....Plus,.there's enough commorants around here to "manage" the waters.,...I see them swallowing bass all the time when they surface,...makes me wish discharging a firearm in massachusetts wasnt illegal. Although i do understand the importance of management, sacreledge says I ,.!!!!!

Id agree that Catt and Nitro's discussion would apply in bodies of water that contain different compositions and cover on structure, but what about lakes and ponds that are just a sand bowl, or made up of nothing but rock left by the glaciers during the ice age? lakes that have absolutely no change in bottoms "composition" whatsoever? depth becomes composition I'll give you that this happens mostly in northern states with colder climates, ..On such waters bass seem to gravitate to changes in depth,... in sandbowls locating themselves for easiest access to forage, as say a river channels entrance to the lake, or the depth baitfish are holding at. on rock formed lakes they hold tight to the huge boulders for chasing baitfish, and can be anywhere when targeting crayfish. On such lakes the bass actually do spawn. feed, and live in the exact same areas.,... It's the usually subtle changes in depth that will attract them, and when you find those sublties,. Largemouth are there 24/7 moving slightly (maybe as much as 100 yards) depending on wind, sun, or current and smallmouths varying a bit more,.. kinda like nomads.. Now the game is a little different. It isn't as easy as fishing a defined change in composition on structure, knowing where they are, and what they are feeding on,..you need to now figure out what they relating to in that "subtle" change and why,... like finding a pattern within a pattern,. focusing your attention just a little more. Making it even harder is the fact that "most" of these bodies of water have extremely gin clear water. Usually, these fish see you before you find them, you'll NEED to pre-fish it well, make extremely long casts to that pinpointed "pattern within a pattern" and pay even more attention to the present conditions due to lack of demonstrative cover. When god above flicks that preverbial "switch" and what was working, now fails?,... On such lakes its a more difficult task to figure out whats going to work now, usually the fish will either suspend and shut down, or hold tight to the bottom and either reluctantly hit with great predjudice, or clam up. It's that reluctant hit thats tough to figure out. They dont have the availability of hiding in the weeds, or to snuggle up to a brushpile, or suspend under docks,...these three arent there. Many of you may be saying to yourself,, "whats the difference, change is change, be it subtle or definatve, id still fish it the same",... I understand your thoughts,... the difference is: first,... finding the subtle change is harder to do, secondly,.. its usually not like fishing a weedline as you feel the weeds then not,, or flipping docks you can see, or carolina rigging a drop that you feel the weight drop,. The "subtle" change may be a single cooler sized rock on a very slight depth change,.. or a different color in the sand that the darker color holds warmth better, or the presence of a short growing weed on the bottom. etc: the subtle is just that, finding it isnt as easy as you may think Just as bass are "oppurtunistic" in lakes with a great biodiversity of cover and structure,.. they are still the same species in lakes with no biodiversity or compsition changes at all,...just that they are in a different neighborhood and react a bit different to survive. they have no choice just my opinion from what i've observed, im no professor.,...... so please dont shoot!,...lol ,...I really find this type of discussion very interesting and welcome any replies,..positive or negative alike

i hope it helps ya fisher guy,.. good luck

sure it can or might,...it may even be the "most subtle change" in any section of any lake,.... in my honest opinion But just because you find a change in the composition, doesn't mean it will hold fish right then,.. I think it depends on what they are relating to at that moment. I have found that you may find a,... lets say (just for giggles),... rock to sand pattern, that holds true in several sections of a lake , but then you come to one that it doesn't,..possibly due to wind, current, direction of sunlight, etc. To disect all the variables, could be an endless endevour and as for peat and muck? muck may be just lifeless mud and peat holding live biodiversity,....just a guess I hope i explained that corrcctly

Lake quanapowwitt has some decent bass in it too, beware of the tiger muskies though they get huge here, the lake had a 10 hp limit, and not much fishing pressure. and its right off 128,.. on the southeastern shore theres a park with a tiny ramp just after the cemetary. many years ago we used to fish it out of a coleman crawdad, We'd catch some white perch first, and troll them live very slowly with wire leaders at the northern shore for the tiger muskies in the am,.. then spend the afternoon on bass. was some huge bass in there, Also Ive seen guys fishing off the shore with spinnerbaits over by the honeydews donuts recently

as my boat is being re-powered, i have yet to make a cast. and if the guy doing the repower doesnt display some urgency i may never get to cast this year!,...lol,...but im sure it will be a jerkbait

bone colored pop-r spinnerbait , white or chartruese 1/4 oz jighead with a 3 or 4 inch smoke grub pins minnow 1/8 oz 1/8 oz lake fork screwlock weight with a 1/0 gammy ewg hook with either a 4" black chartruese tailed worm, or bluegill colored 4" berkley zipper worm, (not sure they still make these, but i bought bulk years ago) heddons torpedo topwater

I have a clear plano 3700 chock full of jerkbaits,..original floating rapalas, x-raps, shadow raps, deep divers as well,..smithwick rogues, some lucky crafts, several megabass, and a few others, and they all have their 'moments",..and one that i added a few years ago as i felt the "need" to,.... I dont just bass fish i fish other species as well, I bought a downrigger a couple years ago for lakers and salmon, and as a avid angler i had several yozuri pins minnows that i got seeing as they infamous as a salmoniod killer and really mimic a smelt rather well and theres tons of rainbow smelts in new hampshires lakes region and in Maine as well.,.. theres a pattern that i dont know the "name" of but its a cross between chrome and gold with a yellow vertical stripe on the sides that the smallies just wouldnt leave alone as i was trolling for lakers/salmon. only drawback is that its a 1/8 oz size, so to get a good casting distance and have enough backbone in a rod to hook a smallie was a difficult chore to find,... well i have a 6 1/2 ft med. light action cheapo berkley rod for trout that casts that lure just fine on 8 lb test mono. wherever i go now that theres smelt present i have that rod set up as it just kicks bass.

go with the lightest weight you can feel while fishing,...not casting,...then consider what setup that lure should be on.