papajoe222

It's tough to detect a bite watching your line when it's windy. I'm a line watcher and have been since I was a teenager. The youngsters I teach start out with hi-viz yellow braid so it's easy for them to see. I use it for wacky worms, tubes, hair jigs and shakey heads as my eyes aren't what they used to be. It also helps with feeling the bite, so for us it's a win win.

Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper and Zoom Trickworm. The Bottom Hopper is a high floater and comes in a 4.75in. version. Both are great for wacky rigging also.

I have a number of them in my 'Skunk Repellent' box. I also will let youngsters use them when they become fairly proficient at casting, until then it's the good old Beetle Spin.

Anytime there is an upswing in the water temp. this time of year, the bite will usually turn on. Just the air temp going twenty degrees or so won't do it, but if the sun is beating down with that same increase in temp., the surface water will normally rise enough to get them moving. Spring weather is likely the most unstable of all the seasons and the possibility of a perfect, mostly sunny day when the water temp will rise enough to turn the fish on, isn't in our favor. Fish whenever you get the opportunity and fish the conditions you're faced with . It may not be the best time of day for the season, but it beats waiting around for the perfect conditions.

Ah, you two need a little alone time??

Likely, not. I have ceramics in five of my reels. Three have Boca's and two HH and the only time I can tell the difference is when I open them up to clean them. One thing you will notice for sure is the noise the ceramics make. I'm half deaf, so it doesn't bother me, but it drives my partner nuts (I make sure I'm always using them when we fish).

If you remember that first and foremost, a shakey head is a JIG. It can be hopped,dragged, dead sticked, yo-yoed, swam.....you get the idea. There are times when you accidentally figure out how the fish want it, but more often than not, you need to experiment with different retrieves. Glad to hear you had an awesome outing, sunburn not withstanding.

Learn techniques that target suspended fish, because once the spawn is over, that is what those bass will be doing if they're not up shallow foraging. Using different Crankbaits that run at various depths, you may be able to find the depth of some fish willing to bite. Generally, on overcast days, they'll be high in the water column and on bright/sunny days deeper. Learn to count down a sinking bait and keep it at that depth and you'll be able to use a larger variety of lures. Topwater is another option. In clear water there are times when the bass will come up twenty feet to attack one. Just remember to pause it occasionally.

I've run both lipless and shallow running cranks along with a paddle tailswimbait on a jig head. It's a great way to get a smaller bait deep.

Short periods of cold and windy conditions don't affect the fish as much as those that last a couple of days or more. The fish will bounce back almost as quickly as the weather. The warm rain and windy conditions will help distribute that warmer water down into the water column quicker than calm and sunny conditions when the warmer water will stay up. Early pre-spawn will see the fish moving up and back frequently and in a small/ shallow body of water, their only option is to move tight to the bottom or any available cover rather than deep. Base your lure choice accordingly.

Welcome to BR. I'd answer your question, but the most important information for this time of year is water temp. Depending on your location the fish could be in early to late pre-spawn, or may already be on beds. A little more information will get you what you want.

This early in the season, I like a single colorado blade short arm. Most of the ones I have I've shortened the arm, gone up in blade size, removed the clevis and front blade from a BooYah double colorado. I don't like using a trailer hook early in the year, because if they're hitting a spinnerbait, they will inhale a slow moving one most every time. Skirt and blade color are chosen with water clarity and sky conditions per norm. As the water warms, I'll downsize the blade and add a Kalin's grub as a trailer. I still want a slow retrieve, but the appearance of something moving faster. The smaller blade does that.

I couldn't tell you about the state of the weeds at Guntersville, maybe Kent or Jeff can help there. I punch with a 7ft. MH/Fast rod and it does an adequate job. My reel is Spooled with 40lb. braid and a lot of guys think that's a bit on the light side, but the combo isn't dedicated to just punching, so the line is a compromise. If you'll be using bobber stops for pegging the weight, I suggest using two. I switched to pegging and haven't had an issue with the weight slipping on me. I also started using a snell knot last year and it is without a doubt the best when it comes to hooking up.

I don't own one that doesn't have rattles, although I do believe there are times when a different sounding rattle will make a difference. That's why I carry Diamond Shads, Red Eyes, Hot Spots, One Knockers and some others that I don't even know the names of. After catching a few from a piece of structure or a grass bed, I'll switch out to the same general color with different rattles and pick up a few more. I did give a floater a try a few years back, but didn't have any confidence in it so I gave it away.

Fit is just as important as brand as a great pair of glasses that allows glare to reach your eyes, especially from the top or sides, will disappoint you. Comfort is another. Costa 580G's are great, but they are glass and if they rest on the bridge of your nose all day, you'll end up taking them off regularly. Try them on first and then find somewhere to test out how much glare they actually eliminate on your face.

One thing to keep in mind; Power fishing is something you do one you've located fish or are on a spot or pattern you have confidence in. Don't confuse it with searching and eliminating areas with many of the same baits. Generally speaking, it involves finding a pattern and sticking with it. That eliminates a lot of potential targets.

This happened just last week on my way into Chicago. I was doing somewhere between 70-75mph on the interstate where the speed limit is 55. An older van gets up on my bumper like I'm going to go faster because he's right on my butt. We're in the left lane passing everyone to our right and when he finally figures out I'm not going to move over he makes a quick change to the middle lane, gasses the old POS and about the time he gets past my front bumper he makes a quick cut back in front of me. Well, that's what he tried to do. He cut it too hard and shot across both the lane I was in and the shoulder. He sideswiped the concrete barrier and blew his left front tire. The idiot is lucky he didn't kill himself. Lucky for me, I anticipated he might cut me off and slowed a little just as he did this. I watched it all in my rear view mirror. Something tells me I could have been doing 80mph and he still would have tried it.

There are a number of articles on this site. I'm partial to this one. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/zara-spook.html

I would say it depends on how experienced they are. If they only go fishing once or twice a season, or are just getting started, they are pretty much in the learning stage. In that case, it is their way of sifting through that process. If they've been out with you on more than one occasion and still don't have a few of each type of lure they intend to fish, I'd tactfully say something. Three strikes and they get to fish from shore.

I say: Keep it simple to start out. There are basically two types of baits. The first elicit a reaction bite or strike and the second a feeding response. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits are primarily reaction baits. Soft plastics and most finesse presentations fit into the latter group. Slonezp is right on the money with his comment on a well placed bait. The most difficult part of this game is locating the fish. A search bait (reaction style), electronics and a good pair of polarized sun glasses will assist you in that quest. There are times when those three will be all you may need and other times when you'll have to painstakingly sift the water with a slower presentation to get bit. This is why many anglers will start out in a search mode and switch to a slower presentation when that doesn't work.

You're just attempting to make him feel better by calling him a youngster. Getting a little soft in your advanced years are you?

Seriously??? I have two or three boxes that have even full of plastic baits for five years or more and never had a problem with the boxes or the baits. What brand of plastics are you using?

No, they shouldn't dry out in a Plano box. What's beneficial about using a box? You can keep different types and colors in the ame box (separate) and you don't need to transfer the entire bag into the box. What's the down side? If only one of the bait styles/color is catching fish, you could run out. Another downside for guys like me is knowing what color I just ran out of, not because I'm color blind, because I tossed the bag after I filled the box. Here is what I do. If I'm shore fishing or heading out on someone else's boat, I'll fill up a couple of 3700 boxes with my confidence baits in my favorite colors. Otherwise, they stay in their original bags in a Flambeau 1/2 Satchel. All my extras are kept hanging on a pegboard in their original pkg.

I use the UltraSoft i6lb. on a casting reel and absolutely love it. I started using Hybrid 10lb. as a leader on my spinning combo last season without issue and I also use it on both my cranking combos.

Now that you can find them here in the USA, the Storm Thin Fin and one you will find hard to believe is Cabela's flat sided PorkChop.