papajoe222

I don't know if there is any proof of this, but I find that if I'm marking big fish a few feet off the bottom, I experience exactly this. However if by chance I'm able to see fish on or very close to the bottom, I've been able to catch them. Sometimes, they don't even show up on my electronics, but the spot 'tells' me that they should be there, just maybe not at the moment. This is my biggest obstacle to being successful, I forget 90% of everything I've learned and experienced as soon as I launch, but I'll remember most of it 30min. after I'm off the water.

Hunting for trophy bass sounds excitng, but it really isn't. Catching trophy bass is exciting and that's the reason those guys and others hunt them, that and the remote possibility of one being the world record.. I use that verb because those anglers are doing the same thing hunters do to bag their prey. Long hours spent scouring potential areas that a trophy may use. Then sitting on that spot for hours painstakingly waiting and when it does finally happen, doing your best to bag her. Your success rate depends on both your skill in finding spots, a little luck in a trophy being there when you are and a lot of skill enticing her to bite. All that still doesn't guarantee success as you still have to land her and she's had years of experience avoiding that. Gotta give them and Tom props for sticking it out.

I have a problem when it comes to fishing in the summer. I'm a 'power' fisherman. I like fishing fast moving, hard baits and that mentality really limits my choices of presentations. Burning a spinnerbait, or crankbait, or even topwaters are options that most anglers like me use. Years ago, I found another option; jerkbaits. Working one the traditional way like KVD does with quick, hard snaps of the rod tip doesn't work for me. I don't mean it doesn't catch fish, it does, but it wears me out in no time and I'm left with switching to the above mentioned options. Unless, I switch my retrieve instead. I'll fish it like a crankbait similar to how Bill Dance works one. If you've ever seen him do it, he casts it out, cranks it down and then works it with the rod tip going from 9:00 to 12:00, dropping the rod tip while reeling in the slack and repeating. I'll add a snap of the rod tip into every retrieve a few times and that's when the fish seem to react. I don't know if they follow it and that quick jerk triggers them to strike, but for whatever reason, they do. I use to do the same thing with deep diving, minnow imitation lures for walleye back in my college days. That is a killer on bass over structure like drop-offs. The only thing I don't do is bounce the bait on the bottom. This presentation works best fishing above the fish. If you're looking to show the fish something different, you just like trying out new stuff, or maybe you just enjoy catching bass, give it a try. Let me know when you out fish your buddies that are throwing other faster moving lure or soft plastics.

I'm with him on everything but leader material. I use mono, exclusively for my leaders. I want my offering up off the bottom. Fluoro, like heavy wire hooks, pulls it down. My favorite hook is an EagleClaw Lazer Sharp round bend worm hook. The only time I don't use that hook is when I choose to throw a tube. I like an Owner HayMaker EWG for them because of the bait keeper bend and the extra bite it offers compared to most others. I don't like using a Carolina Keeper, a lot of anglers like their speed and conveince as I end up with line twist. A swivel eliminates that and the extra knots are really a non-issue as I've never had a knot fail. f

Thanks for all the replies everyone. It really sounds to me like my problem is twofold. My hook-set needs adjustment from that old school cross their eyes one and I need to retie more often. I'm kind of in the same mindset as Get Fish or Die Tryin. I believe once fluoro is stretched, in doesn't recover and tensile strength suffers. The other thing I will try is adding a bobber stop between the knot and the sinker, like a shock absorber. Hey, it couldn't hurt and I just may have come up with something new that will catch on and someone else will make loads of money marketing.

Just an observation; over the years I've seen more posts from guys that have broken multiple rods, than the occasional one from someone that's broken one for the first time. Equipment failures are part of the overall equation. Multiple failures on the same piece of equipment makes one wonder if it is in fact the equipment.

You can apply this same reasoning to off shore, structure, fishing. I always attack an spot from different angles before moving on and it's paid off more often than not. A dock pattern is very productive on a lake I fish as there are so many that are close to deep water. I'll follow a boat or two down the shore, make my casts from close to shore out under the dock rather than sitting off the front of the dock casting in. I picked up my biggest smallie doing exactly that two weeks ago.

A friend (walleye angler) turned me on to fishing the 3in. version on a horsehead jig/spinner (think RoadRunner). I'm always looking to show the bass something different and although this combo isnn't much different than fishing a larger version with an underspin, they pair perfectly together. The light wire hook sticks them with little effort on my part and you can use most Med power casting or spinning outfits. What really got me hooked on these is their glow color option. At night, those things get hammered. They're affordable too as they come in 10 packs. Even if you don't use this particular brand of soft plastic swimbait, try presenting the 3-3.5in. ones on a small underspin jig Now I'm going to take a long 2-3 week trip until my buddy stops steaming after reading this. He told me it was a secret.

I fish cover on structure basically the same way I fish visible cover while keeping in mind that off shore structure often holds multiple fish. That's why I prefer a stealth approach with something I can cast well past the cover and still stay far enough from it as to not spook the fish. My #1 approach is a T-Rig with a pegged bullet weight. Tungsten is smaller and comes through brush and submerged weeds better than lead. I'll go with a tube if I think a slower fall is the ticket, but I don't use an internal jig, I just T-rig with an internal weight to give it that spiral fall. If a reaction strike is called for, a heavy, double willow bladed spinnerbait run fast through, or just above the cover hangs up less than a crank and can draw some hard strikes. Cracking a tube doesn't require changing rods/baits and will get them also. I'll go back over the spot with the slower approaches if I catch a couple and the action dies. Talk about a flash back. I haven't seen or heard about a Rinky Dink in years. AS far as I can recall, they aren't made anymore.I know some outfit is marketing a very similar bait a Wink Dink I think it's called.

I've never been a fan of fluorocarbon line. My issue(s) with it are due to the line breaking at the most inopportune time. When I first began using it, small kinks in the line that I'd reeled over would end up breaking 30-40ft. up the line. I figured that one out, but since day one, I've had knot issues with single hook presentations. I'm a 'cross their eyes' guy and thought my hookset was the culprit, so I eased up and went to more of a reel and set approach. I ended up loosing fish that came unbuttoned. I've tried many different knots, from Palomar to Double Pitzen an most everything inbetween. About the only one I haven't had issues with is a snell knot, but I have trouble tying one on the water. For those of you that use an aggressive hook-set with jigs and T-rigs, What knot are you using? I can tie a perfect Palomar, Trilene, and SanDiego Jam and, yes, I do wet before tightening down the knot and I do so slowly.

It depends on the cover, if any, water clarity, and what kind of jig I’m throwing. If you’re talking about a typical, skirted bass jig and trailer, I’m using straight braid, even when dragging along the bottom.

Another thank you going out to all the members here for singing the praises of the drop-shot. Anyone that's been around here for a while knows I'm not much of a finnesse guy. A split-shot rig or a Bitsy Bug with a small trailer were my reluctant choices and I always start my day with power presentations. That was the way things started on the 4th with only one dink on a soft plastic swimbait for two hours of effort on my part. The fish were holding just off the bottom which was covered with 'snot' moss and I had a difficult time presenting anything without bringing it back without a gob of the stuff attached. The drop-shot seemed like the perfect solution, but it was another hour before I reluctantly tied on on. Working a sharp drop from shallow to deep I boated three fish in ten minutes and five more in the hour I had left to fish. The sinker would come back covered in moss, but the hook was clean, or stuck in a fish's mouth. That totally convinced me that this technique isn't just for tough conditions. If you can locate fish on or close to the bottom, it's the perfect presentation. Thanks again. Whoever said: "you can't teach an old dog new tricks," wasn't talking about old anglers.....stubborn ones, maybe.

1?4oz. or under, MHX 843 paired with a Daiwa Viento. 5/16oz and over, St.Croix Mojo Bass MBC70HF paired to a Diawa TD Advantage. That MHX blank is a bit on the stiff side for the lighter weights, but with a big worm, I can still get 25yrds. from a cast.

In no particular order: Buzzbait, Ole Monster, or 10in. Culprit, 1/2oz. jig/RageTail, Super Spook. What I basically do is eliminate the middle of the water column and concentrate on the top or bottom. I'll often dead stick the worm or Spook a number of times during a retrieve.

I've followed boats down a row of docks and seen guys throw lures with three sets of trebles at a dock with a ladder on the side they're casting to get hung on the ladder and yank on their line rather than go get it unstuck. I've also seen guys 'pitch' jigs onto a docks canopy and get hung up. Many of the docks on this lake have large river rock at the base of the wood pillars and are excellent fish holders, but sadly a lot of those same docks have twine run across the top and underside of the dock to discourage anglers and the owners will say something to fishermen if they're home. Can't really blame them, just nod and move to the next one.

wishing him the best. The P/T is a pain both physically and mentally, but it's the best bet for recovery. I have no idea why it, surgery, affects your balance, but I wear an inflatable PFD all the time now. It paid dividends two weeks ago when I did a header off the stern. Hopefully he's back on the water in no time.

Black grape. It actually works better than green pumpkin around here. A dark grape worm with the end of its tail dipped in red dye has caught me more fish than just about everything except a jig/trailer combination

Thanks for the replies and a special thanks to looking45,Barry, who is sending me a couple dozen of his hand pours. Looking forward to using them on some rocky points and weed edges.

Back in the day, a Reaper on a stand up jig head was a killer for fishing weed edges. We'd just drag it for a couple of feet, lift it about a foot and let it fall, rinse and repeat. I love fishing the Megastrike and Crush jigs with a trick worm, but I think I'd do better with Reaper. If nothing else, it'd be something the fish rarely see. I'm looking for something mass produced as I'm not into pricey hand pours. Any suggestions/recommendations?

never when I'm on the water fishing.

Reading the post concerning football jigs got me to thinking about the different ways to stroke a jig. When I first began doing this, the only way I knew was to jerk it up like I was setting the hook, and then letting it fall on slack line to the bottom. That is still a great way, but since then I've also had success letting it pendulum down on a semi-taught line, giving it a couple of quick, short hops before stroking it and dead sticking it after it hits bottom. The last one will get me fit when most guys are throwing shakey heads, or drop shots. What variations, if any do you employ, or do you basically stick to the quick lift and fall option?

I believe the reason I get such explosive strikes on chrome topwaters, is that they mirror what is around them and the fish can't see a good target. They, in turn, will suck in as much water as they possibly can to get whatever it is into their mouth. I've never had a bass just slurp a chrome one like they do sometimes with colored ones.

IF there were bass using the schools to feed on, which is very likely, your timing was likely off. Bass have feeding windows and although they can be caught using different approaches when they aren't feeding, getting their attention immediately after one of those windows can be frustrating. You didn't say how deep the baitfish were in relation to the the depth of the water they were holding was. My choice would be something like a Razor blade spinnerbait, or a crank that won't kick out when burned, like a Speed N from Bill Norman. If you can get a reaction strike from a fish or two, it may fire up the other fish in that area. If you suspect the bass are holding in the nearby weeds, something buzzed over their heads may do the same thing.

I'm with Tom on this one. Give me a 3/0 straight shank, light wire hook. If you insist on going with an EWG, choose one that the hook point sits well above its eye.

My go to, summer time worm is a NetBait C-Mac. I don't recall the exact length, but I know it's over 12in. That and a Mann's Jelly Worm. I fish both the same way, on a light weight C-Rig with a short 18in. leader. I know a lot of guys will tell you to use long leaders in the summer, but bite detection is much better with the shorter leader. To activate the tails, I use a quick, short sweep and then let it sit until I can't stand it and then I wait a little longer before moving it. Most of the lakes I fish have little vegetation, but the ones that do, I'll ditch the C-Rig and go with as light a weight as possible, not pegged. Whether it's grass, rocks, or structure, as long as there's deep water fairly close, I'll fish the worm rather than a football jig.