pawpaw

They are great images. But on the Helix line?

I could see this topic going back and forth between the two opinions. I have buddies on both sides of the argument. I don't know for certain either way so I really have no solid opinion. I have turned mine off during high fishing pressure times like the Big Bass Bash but most of the time I don't. I can't say turning it off helped at all, but I'm pretty confident in saying it didn't hurt at all.

Looks like Mega frequencies on the Helix line http://www.humminbird.com/Freshwater/Lifestyle/HELIX_FW/ For now. Doubt that's the big news though.

It's the de-stratification of the different temperature layers of the lake. It would be lengthy to explain while typing on a phone. Do a google search or search this site and I'm sure you will find a ton of info. Anyway, if you're not fishing a low current or back water area of the Ohio I don't know if turnover would be the reason for your fish to suddenly quit biting when the gizzards moved in. Current typically stirs the water up enough as to not allow stratification to occur enough for a turn over. So.... In other words, I doubt turnover is the culprit.

Assuming you already have a good understanding of alot of the whens and whys of how to catch fish on your favorite lake it would then come down to... Do I want to catch fish or do I want to learn to adjust and catch fish most every where I go. I'm not saying you don't have to make adjustments to catch fish throughout the year or even the day on your favorite lake. I know you do. I'm not saying you can't learn a ton by just fishing one or two lakes. I'm saying that different lakes can have their own characteristics, cover, structure, water color and patterns etc. that come into play on any given day. Exposing yourself to these differences and going through the decision making process to locate bass on different lakes under different circumstances can only make you better in the long run. There really is no substitute for experience. There will be a learning curve to figuring out new water. There will be days when you struggle but sometimes you have to figure out what aint working in order to figure out what is. Every good fisherman went through it. That's how they got good.

Any time I'm casting a jig or carolina rig I like braid and a leader. I like it for feel, casting distance and the low stretch for hook sets.

Straight black or with charteuse or blue, brown or with orange, green pumpkin or with orange, watermelon candy.

I like a 6'6" for side arm casting square bills and stuff that require more accuracy like undercut banks, over hanging trees and behind docks and such. Every thing is a comprimise it seems. For those patterns I would prefer to sacrifice distance for accuracy.

Reels above a certain price point , let's say $150 or so, are what most would say are good reels. Beyond that it seems you start getting a more fine tuned and in some cases, specialized reel. It's like with a car. Some folks are fine driving a Chevy with crank windows, manual transmission and no a/c. Others want high end Porche's and such. Both move your butt from point A to point B. Only you can decide what your comfortable or able to spend on a reel. For myself, when making purchases of any kind, I try to buy what I feel is the best product I can afford at the time.

Is there any chance your lake has recently turned over? Here in Missouri the gizzards heading to the banks seems to peak just after the turnover. That would explain why fishing has suddenly fallen off. I think if you give it a week or 2 all should be good again.

I doubt it matters if its American shad or gizzard shad to the bass. If you have them around the banks this time of year the bigger bass know it. I would try to capitonlize on that.

Do they look like this

If you look out off the bank a little you can see 3 more or so that look to be gizzards

I can't really tell at all from that pic but they seem to be acting alot like the big gizzard shad do in the Fall around here. The gizzards get in small-ish schools and feed on the algae growing on the big rocks. When I see this I feel I'm in the right area to catch better than average sized fish. I typically start with reaction baits around them. My go to reaction baits are usually crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, swimjigs or swimbaits etc. Some days a jig or shakyhead is what it takes. The better fish are usually just out of sight in deeper water waiting for one of those gizzards to wander out a little. Every now and then they go up there in the rocks and get em one. Not saying that's what you have going on but it looks like it. Alot

1/2 probably more than anything else but 1/4-1oz depending on the pattern

Congratulations

And......... if it's not dirty hinges, this is the reel guy I'd send it to be fixed.

I have no interest in anything other than bass fishing. Never have, never will. I guess I'm just into the ever changing puzzle that is patterning bass. I'm pretty sure this holds true for other fish species too, I just have zero interest in it.

I'm not a reel repair guy but it sounds like the bail spring to me. They are cheap to replace if you are comfortable doing it yourself. If not it shouldn't be too much to get a reel guy to fix for you.

Good point Hamma. It's possible that many of us who have fished docks for many years assume the sun/shade thing is a given and everyone gets it. In hind sight, I'm sure that is not the case. Those newer to fishing, whether it's docks or any cover for that matter, may not get that. There are probably some seasoned anglers who never really thought about the attraction/protection as well. Sun, as does wind and current, do play a huge roll in how fish set up on docks most of the time. For example I find that in Winter, like on a jerk bait bite, the fish will often times be on the sunny side of docks. They are taking advantage of the solar heating while still taking advantage of all the things the the dock offers. Other times, probably most of the time, the shadiest part of the docks are the key. Many times they are so far under the dock, in the darkest part you can find, that it is very hard to get a bait to them. Even harder to get them out. During the Summer, brush piles under the shady side with some wind blowing in to that side of the dock can be the best pattern on the lake. On the other hand, if you have some fish on a dock and you get a day of overcast or rain, the fish that were buried up under the dock or in brush under and around the dock tend to move to the outside edges and corners and the bank behind the dock. These can be the days when it's lights out around the docks on a ton of different baits. I think the main point of this thread is, if you have docks on your lake and don't fish them much you're probably not catching as many fish as you could be catching. They are bass magnets.

Great info guys. An often over looked part of the dock is behind it, under and around the walkway. Skipping baits over or under the cables is something some guys can't or won't do. You will have some fish run you under the dock or through the cables and you WILL break some fish off. Know that when you go back there. The best stretches of docks can often be ones where there are 5 or 6 docks in a row that are so close together that you can barely squeeze the boat between them. Most guys just won't mess with getting behind them. You'll see them fish the fronts and sides then move on. A ton of LOZ fish spawn behind the docks and the shade of the walkway and where it meets the dock can be a great prespawn and post spawn pattern in itself. If there's some brush back there it can be even better. This pattern is not limited to the Spring though. It can be excellent for much of the year. One thing I like to see when fishing docks is intact spider webs near/around the water line. They tell me it is likely no one has has fished that dock today. If they did fish it, and the web is in a location likely to be pitched to, they didn't fish the dock very thoroughly.

I have never caught a smallmouth........LIKE THAT!!! Very Nice!!

. Pretty much. If the conditions were such that they could survive they should spawn. Obviously the lake can not freeze solid and water quality must stay suitable for them and such. They would prefer some sort of hard-ish surface to make beds on but even that isn't necessarily a deal breaker for them.

Ahh, fixed it for me. That is also an option. Haha

Yes, If you have gizzard shad they should be up in the rocks, RIGHT on the bank, eating algae. Soon, if not right now. You should be able to see them, depending on water clarity. A square bill, spinner bait or topwater etc. fished right on the bank can be the DEAL.