papajoe222

Unless the weeds are matted, a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Worm or a Stanley Ribbit Frog buzzed over the weeds and allowed to drop into openings are my favs. In all but the thickest weeds, I like a creature tube rigged weedless with a heavy internal weight.

It happens more often than you would think. If MikeOGNR knows how to remove the side plate to access the spool, he should check out its shaft. If it's covered in grease, that (being packed with too much grease from the factory) is likely contributing to the distance concern.

Welcome to BR The 'best color' depends on what you want the bait to represent. If you know the major forage of the lake, then something that looks like it would be my first choice, otherwise I'd recommend something dark in color as light penetration diminishes with depth and a dark color will give the fish contrast down deep, or something bright that can be seen easier in the reduced light. There are no absolutes, just general guidelines when it comes to fishing. Find a starting point and if that doesn't work, improvize.

You seem to be limiting yourself to as far as presentations go. As suggested, a Colorado bladed spinnerbait (possibly black or dark blue) is a great choice for muddy water. A wide wobbling, rattling crank,or swimming a jig with a trailer that moves a lot of water, possibly with a rattle, are some other options. The jig gives you the option of slowing down your presentation without changing baits.

Whenever you find cover, or a change in bottom composition on or near a piece of structure take your time probing it with a couple of different presentations. Regardless of what you consider a small rock pile to be, yes, it's worth giving serious consideration to. This goes for subtle saddles or mini points or indentations along the point. The less frequent those changes or cover occur and the closer they are to the main structural break, the better the chances that they will hold multiple fish. Just as an example, a dock thirty feet from a drop off has good potential. If it's the only dock around, that potential increases.

Whichever you have the most confidence in. I prefer using a snap tied direct to the bait. Some baits track better, plus it makes changing baits much easier for an old fart like me. I agree with your statement about them being a great search bait and I'll add that they are under utilized.

Not knowing the lake, I'd start out working the docks (flipping/pitching) on the side of the lake the wind is blowing to. I'd stick with that as long as it produced concentrating on any shade the docks offer. Moving my way toward deep structure with the swim jig targeting the inside (shallow) weed line first, the tops of the weeds as I moved deeper and the outside weed line before switching to a football jig and working any structural changes or cover on the structure. Remember this though, jigs are not search baits. You should have an idea of where the fish are located before you start. Fishing a body of water that you know will eliminate a lot of searching with a slow presentation. If you aren't familiar with the lake, I suggest you locate active fish with some other presentation first. Once found, you can switch to the jig presentation that best fits the situation.

Switch to an oval split ring or a snap. The regular split rings split-section can work its way around to the line tie of the bait and hang there. The result is more torque applied to one side or the other leaving you with a bait that wants to run true, but can't.

Try adding a swivel a foot or so above the hook. If you do go with braid, you can still use fluoro below it.

How close are they to deeper water?

I keep both a pair of wire cutters and mini bolt cutters on my boat for exactly that scenario. I also have an 18in. fluorocarbon leader solely for the removal of hooks. I live just outside Chicago and the doctors in the ERs around here are clueless about removing hooks. Went to the ER once in Wisconsin and the Dr. had the hook out, wound sanitized and bandaged in less time than it took to fill out the paperwork.

If you're having trouble finding fish, this is the answer. One pass over an area and you know for sure if it holds fish. Catching them is easy too. You just turn the boat around and scoop them up with a net. Best part is you don't ever have to put your beer down.

For you married guys; Never, Ever put your girlfriend's number on your favorites list.

I want one.

I use a gym bag that holds seven 3700 series boxes, plus it has pockets at both ends that will hold all the terminal tackle I need and a front pocket that holds my sunglasses, sun block, insect repellent, JJ's, pliers, cutters, buff and whatever else I can fit in it. Sometimes I need a two wheel hand cart to tote it around, but you gotta do what you gotta do. My other 'tackle back pack' is my boat. It sits back of my car and I can pack a whole lotta shuff in it.

Pre-Spawn: Blade Bait, Jerkbait and Jig/Pig Spawn: Tube and popper Post Spawn: Jig and Tube Summer: Jig, or worm and Spook For a faster presentation I like cranks and buzzers Fall: Crankbait and White Jig

First off, have you tried slowing down your retrieve? Second, what type of line are you using? Third, what rod are you using? Fourth, how are you holding your rod? They all make a difference. You're going to miss strikes on almost any topwater lure. You miss them on subsurface lures, you just are unaware of it. The fish just miss the bait. There's nothing you can do about that. You can increase your hook-up percentage by letting the ones that don't miss get the bait into their mouth. Slowing down your retrieve speed is the easiest thing to do. If you find that a slower speed doesn't generate any strikes, then I'd add a trailer hook. If you're using braid, you should be using a rod with some flex at the tip. Holding your rod tip up does a number of things in your favor. It will make getting and keeping the buzzer on top easier. It adds a length of line over holding the tip down. Lastly, it almost forces you to hesitate setting the hook as you will want to drop the rod tip and pick up the slack before setting the hook. The other thing to consider is the type of cover you fish. For vegetation, I shy away from using a trailer as it has a tendency to attract the green stuff. When I do, It's the kind that has the shrink tubing over the eye. Same goes for timber. A loosely swinging trailer hook is an invitation to getting snagged.

I used my son-in-law's PT casting rod the other day and it seems to be a decent rod for its price. If you're going to purchase a new rod, check the power (heavy, med. etc), action ( fast, mod. etc) and the recommended lure weight. For learning to use a baitcaster, the lures you'll be using should fall into the upper half of the rod's recommendations. I would avoid Rods with heavier powers and faster actions as they are difficult to learn with.

IMO, adding a leader adds another knot and knots are weak points. Also, IMO leaders are used for one reason, to reduce line visibility. On faster moving baits, line visibility isn't a concern. The fish are focusing on the bait, not the line. So the only presentations you mention where a leader might be beneficial are the jig, worm and possibly the walking baits. This is where water clearity and your own confidence enter into your decision whether to use a leader or not. As a side note, I'm curious about your spinning combo. What applications do you use it for?

Nice fish! Just curious, what hooks?

The rod you use will influence your ability to cast light lures as much as the reel. I have a combo that will cast crappie cranks and tubes with 1/16oz. jig heads with very little effort, but will still get them to the boat quick enough to eliminate concern over their survival. It's a Daiwa Sol paired to a Med power Mod/Fast 7ft. rod built on a Forecast blank. I made the rod specifically for light lures and it fit the bill perfectly.

He's Hooked. I think he's going to need a bigger allowance.

I know there are those that don't put much stock in the moon's affects on fish behavior. I, on the other hand, always included 'moon notes' in my fishing logs. Although I no longer keep a log, I still take note of both the moon phase and it's position. This year, the major feeding seems to be taking place when the moon is in the last third of the sky. The flip side is around 2.5hrs. prior to its appearance. Either of those two times, I'm using reaction baits and covering water. As the bite dies down, I'm slowing down and fishing tighter to cover in any shade I can find.

I adjust weight for a number of reasons. The first is to maintain contact with the bottom and I mean feel the bottom. You can keep a 1/8oz. jig on the bottom, but if you can't feel what's going on down there, what's the point? The second is to alter the fall rate. You could do this by going with a bulkier bait, but sometimes this works better. The third is to keep the bow of the line as minimal as possible under breezy conditions ( when I can't change my casting angle The weight of your cranks and spinnerbaits is moot as long as you can cast them. The blades/bills are what's important.

IF they are bass, they're telling you that you are doing something right, just not enough to get them to commit. You've tried changing colors and maybe size and possibly adding rattles. I suggest two things; Speed up your retrieve. They will either ignore your bait, or aggressively hit it. Change baits to something similar like a rat or a different brand frog. if you were using a soft plastic frog, switch to paddle feet. Last, but not least, switch to something subsurface You have figured out the hardest part of the puzzle, finding the fish. Don't give up on them.