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MichaelCopeland

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Everything posted by MichaelCopeland

  1. I plan on it. This post may get deleted. Made some correction and added more content before I realized it posted twice. The other one has the corrections and added content. I'm not gonna stop til I catch her though. ?
  2. There's a monster bass in the smaller pond here by my house. Unfortunately I've had a couple of those days where nothing went quite right. To start things off I went to the smaller pond yesterday morning and was out there for about 3 hours. There's a spot out there, the furthest section I can get to from the bank without a paddle boat or a kayak. In this spot there are 3 trees side by side. I believe they are cypress trees. I know there's big bass in this area because I hear them blow up on whatever is moving around on the surface of the water that's all up in the tree areas I can't get to. I cast as far as I can along the edges of the one tree that's closest to me and get nothing. I've thrown chatter baits, buzzbaits, hollow body and poppin' frogs, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, wacky rigged senkos and centipedes and Texas rigged senkos and ol' monsters. Nothing has drawn it or them out. After almost losing my newest chatter bait in the tree, thank You Lord I got it out easier than I expected to, I started to work the rest of the pond I can get to from the bank. Got around to where the pump for the pond is, still with my new 1/2oz Project Z breaking bream chatter bait tied on, and cast across the pipeline that runs underneath to and from the pump. Caught a little dink and let him go quick, no pics. Made a few more casts to the left of where the pump is and about the fourth cast had that all familiar bump. This time it was alot harder of a bump than normal so I set the hook and immediately it pulled a slight bit of drag. So I starting reeling fast keeping tension on the line, a tad more drag come off and then my line went limp. I was disappointed and excited all at the same time, because I knew it was a monster but I missed her. Reeled my bait in as fast as I could and threw back out there, kept throwing all around the area that happened in and couldn't get the bite back. I know it wasn't a snag because if it was I would've gotten snagged again as I came back through the same area or at least the surrounding area in case I had moved it. Didn't happen. The pond is only 5' deep give or take a little so if it was a snag I definitely would've have got in it again. Went home disappointed but confident I would catch her one of these days. Today after work I went back out there. This time I wanted to mix things up a little to see if I could catch her. Tried a 7/16oz white pearl/snow white shad Booyah buzzbait with a bait fish Zoom super fluke trailer. Covered a good bit on the water in the area by the pump on both sides of it and a little furthrr down both directions, still nothing. Tried a T rigged Senko and worked the area slower to see if that would work. Nothing doing. Tied on a fire tiger colored diving crankbait, not sure the brand, and began working the same areas. Finally, in a spot to the right of the pump, a little further away, got a bite. Set the hook and had him, just a dink, got him all the way to the bank and was about to pull him out when he flopped real hard and was off the hook. Just wanting to catch something, I threw it back out in the general area and immediately got another bite, another dink, set the hook harder this time hoping to avoid another miss. Again got him all the way to the bank and was about to pull him out when the same thing happened. Flopped hard and was off the hook. Now I'm really ticked at the hooks on that diving crankbait. Gonna replace em with some Mustad hooks from work. The color works but those hooks don't! Immediately I cut it off and tied on an orange belly craw SK Red Eye Shad and worked all the areas like before. Nothing doing again. I said the heck with it and tied on my 3/8oz white Z-Man chatter bait except I took off the white EZSkirt and put the breaking bream EZSkirt on for a different weight and slightly different look(Really loving these EZSkirts, I can switch em around and I think that's pretty cool). Zoom bait fish super fluke trailer. Worked those areas again. Still nothing doing. By this I'm getting hungry and my girlfriend had already texted me that supper was ready. So I decided to give one last effort on the other side of the pond near the entrance/exit. There's a picket fence that borders someone's yard and goes out into the pond about a foot. Can't get through there to fish it easily but I've cast kind of around it before and caught a keeper size before. So I cast around it and I'm burning it back when that super hard bump hits it again and like yesterday, a slight bit of drag come off as I set the hook. This time I felt the weight again, it tried to run so I reeled in some as I pulled back to get her coming my way and again the line went limp as she was gone. Reeled it in quickly and fired it back out there, nothing. Not a snag or anything. Kept casting all around that area, because I'd already made up my mind if she bumps it that hard again I'm gonna cross her eyes twice when I set that hook. Sure enough in a different spot not far from the initial strike, she hits it hard again, I dropped my rod tip, reeled the little slack and swung for the cheap seats. The weight of this fish is so much it literally jerked the rod out of my hands when I set the hook. I felt like an idiot. Grabbed my rod back up, but by that time she was gone again. Frustrated, I put that rod down and grabbed my spinning rod with the trusty Ol' Monster T rigged weightless and cast over on the other side of the fence again. Slowly reeling it in like always got that strike, set the hook, felt the weight, it was heavy, but not as heavy as the one I was after. Starting reeling it in and suddenly the line went limp again. Ok time to go home and eat! There's a monster bass in this pond and I'm not gonna stop til I catch her. Just been having a couple of those off days with today being my worst hook setting day since I started bass fishing back around the end of March of this year. Sorry this was so long and hope I didn't bore anyone too bad...lol! Just wanted to tell this story. ?
  3. I have some Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worms in green pumpkin. I also have some JJ's Magic clear garlic liquid and some Spike-It crawfish scent spray. I'll have to look for that Dip-N-Glo garlic chartreuse or do you think what I already have will do the job?
  4. Go weightless with your Texas rigs. There's lots of grass amongst other stuff to get hung up on in the ponds I fish too. The weightless Texas rigged worms go through it or over the top of it very well and hardly ever have to pull any grass or moss or whatever else off of my bait. Instead of dragging or hopping them, I slowly reel them in giving them a swimming type presentation to the bass. I mainly Texas rig u tail worms, speed worms and Ol' Monsters so the slow reeling of them is pretty effective. I do Texas rig Senko type worms too. Those I drag the bottom or twitch or jerk them pause reel slack and repeat varying the twitch/jerk/pause retrieve as needed. Hope this helps. Good luck and tight lines! ?
  5. When it comes to crankbaits, most all of mine are lipless and mostly Rat-L-Traps because I work there. I do have a couple SK Red Eye Shads too and 2 diving crankbaits. 1 is a deep diving(8-12 ft.), not sure the brand and I think it's 1/4oz maybe 3/8oz. The other one is smaller and dives less than 8 ft. Haven't really tried either of the diving cranks or the Red Eye Shads yet. Which one would you throw out there? Is it possible to make the deep diving crank dive less than the 8 ft. minimum depth it is rated for? If so, do I reel slower or faster to make it dive less deep?
  6. Sadly my cross necklace, the one I always wear and can be seen in most all of my pics on here, broke today. I was very disappointed as I've had that necklace for 3+ years. As I was pondering what I could do to possibly fix it, I remembered I had a short piece of Power Pro 50lb Spectra braid that I kept for some reason. Glad I did! Apparently the good Lord knew I would need it for something. So I took all the pieces of the necklace off the broken rope or whatever it was that held it all together and proceeded to thread them all on the braided line. The clasp is still good except for the ring that connected it to the rest of the necklace. So I used a split ring for the clasp side and another split ring for the other side that the clasp hooks onto and used palomar knots to tie the split rings on. Guess Power Pro 50lb Spectra braid and split rings are not just for fishing anymore...lol! Thank You Lord my cross necklace is fixed now! ?
  7. I've got some Senko style baits, Yum Dingers, Shim E Sticks and Trick Sticks. Also have various other worms that work well Texas rigged. Since the maximum depth is roughly 5' give or take, should I try them rigged weightless or weighted?
  8. What if throwing right back out there doesn't work for your moving baits? I ask because I was throwing my chatter bait this morning and I felt that all familiar bump letting me know it's time to cross its eyes. So I swung for the fences and thought I had a good hook set because drag immediately came off, not very much, but I felt the weight and it pulled a little more drag and I pulled on it and then suddenly the line went slack. I threw right back out there as quick as I could and nothing. I know it wasn't a snag because coming back through the same area didn't result in anything close to that. This was the second time that had happened in this same spot. The first time I tried to follow up with a jig. Nothing, not even a snag. So there's a pretty good size bass out there that I'm gonna eventually figure out how to catch.
  9. Since I've been trying some faster presentations to cover more water, here lately, I've tried spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, buzzbaits, hollow body/poppin' frogs and chatter baits. Ive had tons more success with the chatter baits so that's my confidence go to fast action bait. What I'm looking for, here, is some advice on a good follow up presentation to the chatter bait. One for slowing things down and more thoroughly working an area. I mostly fish the ponds by my house because it's less hassle for everyone for me to do it that way. Both ponds have a maximum depth of about 5' give or take a little. What do you fine folks on here suggest?
  10. Guess I'm at my likes limit for the day. You're right she wants me to say that, but she still doesn't really know where she wants to go when I say that to her. It's a no win situation...lol! ?
  11. Another 2 keeper sized bass on the new 1/2oz breaking bream Project Z chatter bait with the same Rage Tail Structure Bug trailer. Structure Bug finally got beat up a little but I was able the cut that part off and still use it some more. Got into a few little snags and it got tore up some more. 4 bass in all with that one trailer is pretty good in my opinion. Anyways we went to Buhlow Lake this morning around 10am. Soon as we parked got out grab my baitcaster walked up to the water and made a cast. Reeled it in and made a second cast. Turned the handle a few times and bam the first one hit hard, set the hook and reeled him on in with a little resistance. Girlfriend took the pic and it looks like I'm further away than I actually was. Not sure what's up with that...lol. Unhooked him and let him go. Made a few more casts and girlfriend had to go to the restroom. May have missed out on at least one more, but I understand she didn't want to go by herself. Restrooms are in the back of the lake in the recreation area a good distance from where we were. After she did her business we started heading back to where we were and stopped at a spot I've done decently before. Made a few casts and this other one hit it pretty hard. He was a little bigger than the first and gave more of a fight. Got him in and this time I took a selfie, side view, bait in mouth shot and my girlfriend took the other. Nothing else was doing so we came on to the house. About an hour later I went to the bigger pond and nothing was going on. Seems like every time I go to that one the accessible bank gets even smaller. It needs to be mowed and weedeated. Really hate that it's like that there. I know there's more bass in it than the smaller pond and probably some really big uns too. Oh well it was a good day anyways, other than the heat. 91* today! Soooooo looking forward to cooler fall weather. The pics below are 1 of the first catch and 4 of the second catch. ?
  12. Haven't experimented much with the wacky rig as of now. However when I did I tried Yum Dingers, Shim E Sticks, finesse worms, Centipedes and even an Ol' Monster that the tail had been bitten off of. Only one that worked so far was the Centipede.
  13. That's a really cool idea! Not just as a game but something similar for practicing casts. Don't know about the 75 yards part just yet. I'm working on the 50 yards part. I'm pretty close to a 40 yard or so cast now with my baitcaster.
  14. The things I hear most from my girlfriend of 3 years are: "Do you really need to get more fishing stuff?" - when I purchase even one bait, pack of hooks, weights etc. When she wants to go fishing and asks me where I wanna go and I tell her she says "I don't wanna go there" and I'll ask her "Why did you ask me then? When she just takes me somewhere to go fishing but isn't gonna fish herself it seems like every cast I make she'll say "Honey I just saw a big one over there, you need to cast over there." Today we went fishing stopped to get breakfast on the way. When we got there I was done eating so I got out and proceeded to make some casts. My second cast I caught one. She got a pic and she finished her breakfast. I continued casting when she says "Honey I gotta go to the bathroom." Bathroom is in the back of the lake in the recreation area. I told her to go ahead then. She says "I don't wanna go by myself." So I loaded up my rod and went with her. There's lots of other things she says when it comes to me fishing as much as I do but that would take a while to list them all...lol. ?
  15. Howdy and welcome aboard! ?
  16. Thanks. Like @Weedwhacker said they're like a cross between a spinnerbait and a swim jig. I have caught bass on spinners and swim jigs, but I've caught way more and bigger ones on the chatter bait. Guess there's just something about the chatter bait that the bass seem to like better than the spinners and swim jigs. I don't mind, I'm more than happy to throw em something they like. ?
  17. You're welcome. I've read alot of them already. I fish a couple ponds in my neighborhood mostly and move around constantly covering as much water as I can. Wish there was articles for pond fall fishing patterns. I'm finding it hard to determine what would be equivalent to the backs of creek channels. These ponds are pump fed, I believe, and there's not any channels that branch off the main body of water. I've been able to find a bass or two here and there but I'm thinking they're in the parts of the ponds I can't get to without a boat/kayak. Really wish I could afford one. I believe my catch ratio would increase tremendously.
  18. I definitely would add more SK Rage Tail Structure Bugs and I'm going to. Worth every penny I paid for them today. ?
  19. Yeah I believe it is pretty normal. I've had a bit of a hard time here lately finding any big uns. Even the dinks and keeper sized ones have been hard to locate, with the exception of the 2 I caught today. The bass are starting to get ready for their fall habits, which means they will start getting more active and have feeding frenzies to gorge themselves for the winter. There's a lot of good info in the Fishing Articles section of the menu here under Seasonal Fishing Articles. Explains alot about what the bass are doing around this time and during the fall. There's also articles that explain the other seasons as well. Check em out and good luck in the upcoming fall season! ?
  20. Really love my new breaking bream 1/2oz Z-Man Project Z chatter bait and the watermelon red flake SK Rage Tail 4" Structure Bugs(didn't realize they had the exclusive coffee scent) I used for a trailer. These 2 keeper sized bass, not big uns and a little bigger than dinks in my opinion, engulfed them and put up a pretty good fight for their size. Those Structure Bugs are very durable. After catching those 2 bass it still looks like I just put it on. Very impressive considering the sweet beavers wouldn't stay on after only 1 bass caught with them. Never thought I'd pay $6.99 for a bag of 7 of any kind of plastic baits, but with all the good things I've heard about them I had to give em a shot. Glad I did and I will buy more as needed. Probably would have caught more today but a young man of 16 show up and we started talking bass fishing. We were just staying in one spot, talking and cover that area more thoroughly than necessary...lol. It didn't matter the conversation was good and kinda lost track of time. My girlfriend was fixing to get off work and I wanted to be home when she got there so I went ahead and headed to the house. Pretty good day in all. It's always great to catch some bass with baits/lures you just bought the first time you use them. Can't wait to throw em back out there tomorrow. Might just have to go to the bigger pond this time, haven't been there in a couple days or so. ?
  21. I have 2 of the original Z-Man chatter baits and 1 Project Z chaterbait. Those are the only Z-Man products I have at this time and I really like em alot. Had no issues with them at all.
  22. Had a nice little walk this morning to the local Holloway Outdoors. It's about a 45 minute or so walk from the house. Was in there for quite a while just looking at all the different stuff they had. I coulda been in there all day...lol. Finally made up my mind on what to get, harder to choose when you have limited extra funds. All I could spend was $20 so I picked up a new Z-Man Project Z 1/2oz chatter bait in breaking bream color, a pack of SK Rage Tail 4" watermelon red flake Structure Bugs and a pack of Missle Baits 4.5" candy grass D Bombs. Can't wait to go try them out here shortly. ?
  23. I do that too, even with my spinning gear. I've learned how to pitch ok with my spinning gear too doing it that way. Still goutta work on accuracy but I'm getting there.
  24. Gotta get me some of those Rage Bugs. Think I saw some at Wally World. Next time I'm there gonna check and if they got em then I'm gonna get em.
  25. Wow! Now that's a big un! Congratulations on shattering your old PB with that monster!
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