bass_101

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know about a new bass fishing series that has been started up this year. The series is called Iowa Premier Bass and it's a rapidly building series. Designed for high payouts and great kickbacks, this series was designed with challenging lakes in mind. Just because the schedule doesn't hold lakes that host a bunch of tournaments doesn't mean they don't hold some great bags of fish! Don't miss the chance to fish with one of Iowa's hottest bass fishing series! You can find more information, as well as contact information over on their site, www.ipbass.com Contact Information: Director: Scott Steinkritz 515-988-5337 Co-Director: Lance Baker 515-203-1158 2010 Schedule $150 Per Tournament Team which includes Big Bass 4/17/10 Icaria -SW Main Ramp / 7:30-3:30 5/15/10 Rathbun Lake -Buck Creek Marina Ramp /7:00-3:00 6/12/10 Saylorville -Marina Ramp / Safe Light-1:00 7/10/10 Brushy Creek -Taylors Island SE Ramp /Safe Light-1:00 8/07/10 Red Rock -Elk Rock Ramp /Safe Light-1:00 8/28-29/10 Okoboji Divisional Invitational -Upper Gar Ramp /Safe Light-1:00

This is a great picture! I've never seen a fish with no tail, but I have seen their tails clipped. Our DNR, like all I'm assuming, do shock data at all or most Iowa lakes to survey the fish populations. One way they can tell if they've shocked the same bass before is because they clip the top half of the tail off. The tail does grow back, but it is clear where they previously clipped their tail. If the lake wasn't covered in 15'' of ice I'd post a picture :-[

I had only fished a few weeks with the baits before the ice came. I did not have enough time under my belt with all of their baits to write them yet, but that will come in the future. When it does, I will be more than happy to post a link here. I only tested a few of their baits as they were still planning what all they were going to pour and what colors to offer. Sorry for the confusion. They refered to what I wrote as a short article, so I went with that.

I could not find the link due to the forum changing domain names, but I had it saved in my email. Here it is. If the mods think its too much of a spam, feel free to delete it; however, that is not what I intend this to be. When doing this, I first asked what they would want out of this article. Using what they were looking for, this is what I came up with. It is not a mile long yet it covers everything they were looking for. Pictures always improve an article! Fishing with Indian Creek Lure Co. Baits The Indian Creek Lure Co. Craw Tube and Brushy Pig are phenomenal plastics. My experiences with the baits have left me in awe. The baits have produced numerous 2-3 pound Iowa largemouth bass for me, more than any of my other fishing seasons. I Texas-rig the baits on a ¼ - 3/8 oz worm weight and a 3/0 4/0 EWG hook and pitch them to weed edges. The best presentation has been to slowly shake or drag the baits, inch by inch. I have fished the bait in both clear and muddy water, and the fish seem to always want the bait. I have noticed an increase in then number of bites with cloudy conditions with wind. The more natural colors work best, mostly due to it being late in the fall. Having a mixture of cover and structure, such as a weed edge running next to an old Christmas tree is an ideal spot to fish the Indian Creek plastics. Just as surprising as the results these baits produce is the durability of the baits themselves. Most plastics in today's market tear easily after a fish or two. Not these baits. I have caught 10+ fish on each bait before having to apply a little super glue to them. This is nearly unheard of in today's market. Attached are a few photos of the average fish I have caught using the Craw Tube and Brushy Pig. All of the baits had CB's Hawg Sauce on them, which was just an added factor in attracting bass. I look forward to experiencing the results of the Indian Creek Lure Co. baits in next year's tournaments. Cory D. Just an average fish: Pitchin' Fish: Bug-Eyed:

I am on the pro-staff of Indian Creek Lure Co. I was approached by them to do some product testing. I got some free baits, and in return I wrote them an article about their baits. After doing so, they asked if I would like to be on their pro-staff. I agreed to and in return do articles on the internet and help with some fishing expo's in the future. I don't wear a fancy tournament shirt decked out in their logo's. I don't hop onto fishing forums bragging about having a sponsor. And I didn't approach them. My philosophy is you should let the sponsors come to you. If you HAVE what it takes to have a sponsor, they will get ahold of you! I am not sponsored by them to simply save money, I am also working to improve their products and sales. You should not feel you get free stuff in return for a few kind words. You need to be aware they sponsored you so that they can increase sales and awareness for their business reguardless of their level.

Sorry avid, I should have said what it is. Its a piece that you fit over your rod and it will keep your rod-reel floating if it goes overboard. I re-read your first post and saw you have a canoe, I'm sorry I missed that.

Look at the rod holders that "Texas Bass Pro"'s boat has on it. Maybe something like this would work? I am not sure what you're working with as far as a place to mount something. Maybe you could post up a pic or two...just a thought. Anyway, here's two ideas I had. Good luck. OOOOOOOOR... avaliable at Bass Pro for $9.99 each. Then you will be guranteed never to lose another setup.

I'm trying the BR log this year to see how it works. Last year I made my own but it didn't work out as good as I think this BR one will.

The bass should probably be catchable in a year or two. You should get some small rapala jerkbaits that are 2.5" long. I've caught a lot of 6" bass on them where I should have been catching 1-2lbers. Remember that even a 6" bass can fit a nice size chunk of bait in their mouth, so they too should feed on those flatheads. You should have a nice pond in a few years.

If you oringionally stocked your pond with ADULT size crappies, 4" and up, and baby bass, minnow size... the crappie probably feasted on the bass when you stocked them. If I were you I'd begin fishing with a tiny hook and a small piece of night crawler under a bobber. This provides a meal to everything in that pond and will give you a better idea of the average sized fish. Also, if you live in the northern states, which is obvious because your pond is frozen, then the fish will take about 6 years I THINK to reach roughly 3 pounds. That is dependant on the population of other fish, as well as the food base avaliable. I hope the pond turns out good in the long run. I'd fish right off the dam this spring because its deeper, plus there is shallow water near by. Good luck.

I think finess fishing is a great way to get a quick limit. If I fished tournaments, I'd start out with some type of finess fishing and get a quick limit of fish. Then I'd slow down and fish "regular" baits such as jigs, cranks, spinnerbaits ect. ect. I agree that finess is taking over, but I think the pro's or tournament anglers that fish finess style's will be more consistent throught a season. Just my opinion.

I honestly don't think this would be too hard. First of all, you have to consider the time of year. If its spawning, obviously a finess rod and a baitcaster for jigs. As far as tackle goes, take lizards in several colors, and jigs in a variety of colors. If its pre-spawn, obviously bigger senkos and soft plastics are key. Crankbaits of a few colors and sizes are good any time of year. Spinnerbaits go the same way. A few top-water baits and you're set. This is just what I think I would do... and I think I'll try it. I've never thought of this. I have thought of taking just one bait for a day, but not just a few select baits. Thanks for the idea RW.

Glad to see you're getting better. It does suck with frozen lakes... the ice is about a foot thick and it just snowed today > And those fish are quality size. We're looking forward to the days in the 30's!!! I'm sad to hear you're temps. are dropping into the 50's :-/ I'm glad to see you're back out there reelin em' in! Good job!

Its pointless... but I'm bored so here I go. Sorry I can't post pics... no digital camera. Anyway..here's a list. the_natural and Raul have tooooooooooooooooooo much stuff.. Wanna donate?! LOL jk...anyway here goes.. 4 rattletraps 4 cranks 4 boxes of plastics -flukes, tiki sticks, lizards..everything 6 rolling thunder spinners 5 other spinners -Booyah, Strike King 8 buzzbaits- inline and normal A popper, jitterbug, small prop bait 4 jerkbaits 3 floating frogs 3 floating mice Small box of hooks, worm weights, beads, and swivels 2 spools of line, 14# Trilene, 10# Stren Small box of 5 inline spinnerbaits 6 un-opened packs of plastics, finess worms, tubes and creature baits 18 jigs of varius colors and sizes assorted "Flying Lures" that i've never used- they are old i think 1 7' MH action Bill Dance series baitcaster 1 6' M action rod that is for pond fishing 1 7' M action spinning rod- Berkley cherrywood 6'6" quantum spinning combo soon to be--abu garcia cardinal, more cranks, and another 7' M action bc I get assorted kits of lures to figure out what works and what doesn't so I can buy a lot of what does work and not waste money on stuff that's junk. I wouldn't mind having you guys' stuff though

I have never used them, but I've been looking to start putting my own chatter-type baits togeather and I have found www.barlowstackle.com to be pretty reasonably priced. They have several types of skirts and material to make your own. Good luck.

This reel seems like it would be great for panfishing, but not bassin'. After looking it over a few times (which I should have done in the store > ) I can see that the spool is tiny.

Good luck down there Ben. I'm sure you will fish to the best of your ability and come out with a solid spot. You're already a winner, like was said before. Go get em!!

Thanks for all of the responses. I will be exchanging it for a 2000 series or 1500 series sometime soon. I have never purchased a reel seperate from the rod so I wasn't paying attention to the reel code thing. Thanks for the help. I didn't want to have the package opened and not be able to return it. LOL that is what I was afraid of!!

I just bought a Mitchell Avocent AV-S500UL from wally-world for $20.00. I got it for finess fishing, such as shakey heads, small soft plastics, drop shot ect. ect. I am guessing the UL in the reel code means "ultra lite". Is this going to work ok, or should I return this reel for the next size bigger? Thanks for the help. Oh- I'd be using from 8-10lb line, probly mono or flouru.

Congrats on the good day of fishing. Today I scooped the sidewalk....

wow... i really like that top one. they are all awesome!

Fishing On the Edge by Mike Iaconelli. I read that book in about 3-4 days. I just couldn't put it down. On top of explaining his life and how he made it, there is little how-to sections aside from the book that are really good. It is one of the first fishing books I've read but I just went up to the library Friday and had they get me Bass Strategies by Kevin VanDam. I figure what better way to spend the winter than reading about fishing.

I am not trying to get off-topic, and I could be completely wrong, but if it's three people on the deck itself, with the majority of their tackle and other stuff below them, wouldn't that somewhat equalize the center of gravity? I'm probably completely wrong but just wondering.

Crankbait, jig-n-pig, carolina-rig, spinnerbait. That's what I'd be throwing. JMO. Jig-n-pig and the carolina rig or even a texas rig would be a good idea. Again, JMO, I'm not a big winter-fisherman considering my lake is solid right now! That looks like a pretty sweet spot thought. Good luck with it.

That looks awesome!! I definately support it.