BigAngus752

I do when I remember to! So....no.

This is my 1. through 5.

Is this a selfie?!!! That's a pro-level selfie! If I took that you'd see my chin and your hand and that's about it.

Most respectful forum on the internet and the moderators set the tone. Spectacular work!

In all fairness, the "You-can't-fish-by-my-dock-Ken" is just as bad. Just ask nicely, maybe?

Exactly! Weather and season plays a huge part this. You just have to start hitting areas to find out if they are out near the main lake or further into the coves near shallow spawning areas. It's like an interstate. They follow the road in to spawn, they follow it back out when they are done. And they don't all go at once.

Look for anyplace that shallower water sticks out into deeper water and has the wind blowing across it. Like at the turn where you go into a cove there is a point sticking out into the lake. If the point sticks out to the north and the wind is blowing from the west, it's blowing across the point. The bottom goes quickly from deep to shallow and back to deep again and sometimes the bass will stack up on that point hoping the wind will blow baitfish across it. Keep throwing! You're gonna figure this lake out.

Awesome advice right there ^^^. All I would add is, if there's any wind try wind-blown points.

If you have current, head right for the pinch points. Anywhere it gets narrow for the water to get through. If visibility is poor the bass will hang right next to something hard while facing the oncoming current. I've gone from zero to hero running muddy, flooded lakes just going from pinch point to pinch point.

^^^+1^^^ Well said.

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

"Spots" change with season and weather. I WANT to be good with my electronics and I know I need to take the time to learn them, but I just haven't. Part of that is because 90% of lakes you can look at the bank and extrapolate how the bottom of the lake looks in that same area. I have used electronics to find single stumps or rocks in the middle of nowhere that hold a fish, but I have found many, many more "spots" with my eyes and brain than with electronics. Your question was, "How do you find your spots?" 1. Know the season (the season the fish are in, not what season you are experiencing). 2. Know the fish in that lake and where they are likely to be during that season. 3. Know what the water temp is. 4. Know what the weather has been (including wind direction) for the past couple of days. On the lakes I fish the most I know what spot to try first, second, third, and fourth based on the above criteria. On a brand new lake? Well, that's a brand new ballgame...but I love new games...

I used to swear by Interstate and then I got several lemons in a row. I was in a bind after my last Interstate failed so I ran to Advance Auto and had them get me the two newest DieHard 27s they had. That was over three years ago. And my closest lake is electric only so I run my batteries down to 20% or lower at least once a week. When these finally go I'll be getting more DieHards. Cheap and sturdy.

Me too. Got the "lifetime powertrain" for mine and I follow the rules to the letter.

That's fantastic that you take such great care of your vehicles, but I have to suggest that you stop with the 3400 mile oil changes. The quality of oil has changed immensely since I started taking care of my vehicles in 1985. The quality of the oil, the design of the engines, the fact that the engines recirculate everything including air...it all adds up to much longer mileage between oil changes. The fact that you are using a blend of dinosaur and synthetic gets you even more miles. I bought my first brand new truck in 2020. I go strictly by the computer's percentage as it monitors the quality of my oil. I change it when it gets below 20%. The LEAST miles I've gone is 7500. The Mercedes dealer won't change the oil in my wife's car until it has 10,000 on it. They won't let us waste the money. You shouldn't even look at that drain plug until you have 5000 miles on your oil. It's going to run forever for you because you take care of it.

^^^This is me constantly when I'm up on plane. Constantly.^^^ I never have my front seat mounted in place, I keep my trim set so I can see as much in front of me as possible, I pay total attention and STILL have have had a couple of scares. ANY kind of rough water and we struggle to see you guys regardless of color, flags, etc. I'm not a kayaker. I would hope that anyone who IS a kayaker is also an experienced boater so they know what they look like on the water. I got my first real motorcycle when I was 9 years old (I had a minibike before that) and I started racing at 12yrs. My mom used to tell people that I came out on two wheels. I tell people that EVERYONE should be REQUIRED to ride a motorcycle on the road before they are allowed to have a car or truck. It's the best way to become a safe, defensive driver. That mentality should apply here. Any kayaker should have the you-know-what scared out of them as they are up on plane in a bass boat and a kayak appears "out of nowhere". Maybe the accident is my fault but you're still dead. Same as a motorcycle. I get mad at a lot of car/truck drivers but I know that I'm a pile of gristle at the end of it, no matter whose fault it is. Funny thing, most semi drivers are awesome. It's been extremely rare to have an issue with a semi. It's the Prius or the minivan that's going to do me in.

Just what was the bass going to do with that? LOL

During spawn and when the males are guarding fry the standard Speed Worm is my only lure on one of the lakes I fish. I fish it as weightless as I possibly can (based on wind) and I gently shake it down through shallow laydowns and brush. The males on fry just hammer it. It's a sure thing.

Well, that was interesting. The fishing was tough. I caught 7 but it was a grind. Much tougher on "eclipse day" than two days prior. One thing that was a bit freaky was the animals losing their minds when the eclipse was happening. About 30 minutes before a owl started going nuts and then during the eclipse a rooster was crowing and a bunch of deer went crashing through the woods on the bank for no apparent reason. Very strange. No awesome eclipse-bite though.

Gorgeous! Is that a kingsnake?

Another vote for a white Rooster Tail. When my son was little that was the only thing I ever tied on for him because it catching every thing that swims.

At my closest lake, which is chock full of big crawfish, the raccoons come out at night and dig in the rocks in the shallows. The next morning what you found is all over the bank.

Funny that you ask this because I just dealt with this yesterday. We had more than seven days in a row of full clouds, massive temp drop that had us below freezing at night, and over 2 inches of rain with constant wind every single day. Yesterday was the only day I could get to the lake. It was blue bird skies, almost no wind, and what little wind there was came from the north. I launched and found the water was high, muddy, and the water temp had dropped from 55.5 degrees to 47.5 degrees. Worst possible conditions, right? I almost just loaded the boat back on the trailer but it was a beautiful day and I'd rather be outside so I stayed. Caught a small bass on the first cast. I knew where the bass had been so I moved from where they were before back toward the main points and I fished in 4-8ft of water instead of 1-2ft of water. I started my day in the deeper end of the lake and, just as I thought, it was two degrees warmer than the shallow end. In two and a half hours I caught 9 bass including one right at 4-0 pounds. I started catching on a finesse craw but got tired of doing that and started throwing two different crankbaits and caught all of my biggest bass on the crankbaits. Turns out the bass care more about the calendar than the conditions. They know when to eat. Also PSA: My nose got sunburned. Use sunscreen!

I've seen one. I don't think that this will be so different as to be worth driving 100 miles to see it. Instead I think I'll sneak out of work and onto the boat to see if the bass are interested enough to look up. Weird natural phenomenom sometimes affects animals. Let's see if they want a boat ride.

One of my favorite things about fall fishing is catching striper on crankbaits in a foot of water. Those things are just plain angry. What a blast!