papajoe222

That is the reason I've never fish a Fluke. That and the fact that I don't fish them any other way than as a jerkbait.

I've found this to be true also, especially when targeting largemouth. The southern strain, IMO, are much more difficult to catch under post front conditions. Smallmouth are also, but not as much as the largemouth. However, both are easier to catch when the water up here gets hard. We did have a January a few years back when the fishing was awesome, but two weeks later and we were back to watching videos of guys catching hawgs down south.

Yes, flats close to deeper water that offer some type of cover are prime areas for summer bassin.' As mentioned previously, this is a general rule of thumb that can give you a place to start your search. Other factors may have more influence on fish location on any given body of water. Map study is essential when it comes to areas to target, or places to start.

I was a member for almost three decades. If I had foreseen that, I would have chosen a lifetime membership and saved some cash. if you plan on continuing fishing competitively, it may be a worthwhile investment

I tried it. Overhand at first......NOT. Sidearm next.....NOT. Roll cast next...... No effin way. Then I tried pitching with the rod in my left hand as was surprised at the accuracy I was able to achieve with not much practice. For now and the unpredictable future, I'll cast and switch hands.

Three steady days of low night time temps leading up to Saturday should get the baitfish moving. That's a good thing, however the east, northeast winds will have the fish holding tight to available cover. I would target off shore fish as they would be least affected by the changes. First check if there is still a thermocline. Look for structure changes at or slightly above that depth, then look for cover or bottom composition changes there. If your strength is shallow water, I'd target those same places you would under late/pre-spawn. Little, or no cover will see fish going deeper for security. Don't be surprised to find fish suspending out from that break-line and not tight to it, but that (tight to the drop) is where I'd be looking. Fish your strengths. A one day tournament isn't the place to experiment. Good Luck

Without a doubt, mine is some form of jig and an Arkie style gets the nod the majority of the time. I can pitch it, swim it, hop it or drag it and it just produces for me. I even tie some up with hair for cold water presentations. Trailers vary throughout the season, but I always have a jig tied on a rod on my deck.

I like smashing down the sides of a snagless jig head with a pair of pliers until it looks like wings on either side of the hook shaft. The action on the fall is rarely the same and there is plenty of action. I do the same thing to the original to give it more of a gliding action. Either way, that extra slow fall rate is sometimes exactly what the Dr. ordered. I've used some big worms with the Pro Snagless.

Deep divers have their place and although I don’t throw them much, I do break them out when conditions are prime. You don’t need a large profile, in fact a small bodied bait seems to produce more fish from a school than a a big one. Don’t confuse profile with size. Look at just the body, from the bill back. Look at Columbia Craw’s pic and focus on the body size. That’s what the fish do.

I’ve been throwing paddle tail swimbaits a lot the last couple of seasons, but I don’t think I’ve tapped their true versatility as I’ve never used them with an under spin. With the fall approaching, the bass here move up in the water column and I thought it would be a prime time to give them a try. Am I wrong? What are some other times to reach for them? I’m thinking those times I’d be reaching for a spinnerbait with less flash.

There are very few baits that I switch out the trebles on and there are many I don't need to sharpen right out of the box. In 50+yrs of fishing, I have never had a bass straighten out a stock treble hook. Avoid the work and expense of switching out treble hooks on new baits. Check them for sharpness, yes and sharpen the ones that you feel need it. You'll know when it's time to replace them.

I don't think it's what you're throwing, rather when and where you're throwing them. You didn't mention if you're bank fishing, or doing so from a boat. I assume by your mention of water depth, it's the bank. The when, you have zero control over as you've stated. The where is where I think you should concentrate your efforts. If the fish aren't actively feeding, in which case you'd likely be catching, you need to change locations. If you can't reach deeper water, choose areas that are close to deeper water. As the water is dirty, you should skip the presentations like Neds, straight tail worms and shakey heads and concentrate on moving baits for a couple of reasons. The first is that the fish can find them easier and the second is the limited amount of time you have. My recommendation is for a big, shallow running crank like a FatBoy, Big O. or a 2.5 squarebill.

I take two things into consideration in the fall, which doesn't officially arrive here for a couple of weeks. The first is water temp. as the off shore fish don't begin the move to shallow structure until the water temps drop into the 60's. More importantly, to the OP's question, is the weeds. Green weeds give off oxygen and as long as they stay green, the fish will be in, or around them. In that situation, conditions will dictate whether to fish the edges for active fish, or to dive into the mats for neutral or negative fish. If the weeds are brown, both the baitfish and the bass will abandon them in search for other cover. Dead weeds use oxygen rather than produce it which can deplete the oxygen to levels too low for active fish. We either search out weeds that are still green and will hold baitfish, or follow the baitfish which will likely seek out brush, wood, or rocks.

I throw a modified SB from Labor Day until the lakes here close for waterfowl season. It's a short-arm, single willow blade. It's easy to burn over the tops of weeds and when paused, will helicopter down weed edges, drops, steep banks, etc. I remove the front blade from an out of the package bait, cut the arm and reattach the rear blade after adding a loop in the end of the arm. I have even stroked them like a jig with success. As a drop bait, it's something bass rarely see.

There is a big problem fishing a light hair jig at those depths. I'm talking 3/16oz. or less. Aside from the fact that the jig will swing back toward you on the fall, even a slight breeze can move your presentation off its mark before it ever reaches the fish. Used as a vertical presentation, they'd be a good choice, but for casting there are better options IMO

The something else is called weedless rigging a plastic, but like a lot of terms used in this sport, others are used, like Texas rig. Regardless, if you're an avid basser, you understand exactly what the person is attempting to convey.

How far under the surface is the moss mat and how deep is the water? If it's close to the surface, within 2ft. and you fish above it, the fish have to get through it to get to your offering. If there's some depth below it, punching is the way I'd go. The downside is you're fishing from the bank and any attempt to work your presentation back to you will collect moss. You can reduce it using smaller, tungsten, weight. That could get costly if you get hung up and have to break off.

So the last smallmouth I caught was almost three years ago, Sept. 12,2018. I love catching smallmouth, but sadly there are no lakes close. I bit the bullet and drove two hours into Wisconsin only to be denied access to the lake. There was a fire down the street from the launch. I drove to another lake just to have some place t go fishing. I ended up catching my PB smallie and I didn’t even know that lake had Smallmouth. The Lord knew I needed to catch one.

Jan’s Net Craft and a couple uf other lure making sites have knock offs of many popular cranks. The Deep Little N is one I’ve seen.

Had to take four weeks off from fishing because I had hand surgery. Got the stitches out Friday and have been out every day since and will be again tomorrow.

I'm in the 'I like September' group. Once the night time temps. start dropping 15-20 degrees from the daytime highs, the fish start moving around more and the weeds continue to die concentrating baitfish and bass around the deeper green weeds. I love fishing hard baits and come Sept. into the first couple of weeks of Oct., I break out the cranks, spinnerbaits and jointed swimbaits.

Gotta get me a turtle! ?? ? or three.

You could try twisting the wire where the rear treble is attached. Start with maybe 1/4 turn or less and see if it doesn't make a difference. If the body isn't spinning, I wouldn't mess with it though as an eye facing down on a topwater is actually a good thing. I've added one to the belly side of a number of Spooks and when I get a strike on those, the bass really hammer them.

I don't think Lucky Craft offers a floater. I know that Smithwick and Bagley do and the Rebel Minnow, although it isn't marketed as a JB, and original Rapala are also floaters.

Fluorocarbon stretch, some have a little and some have a lot. Along with spool memory, we learn to live with it. I noticed the first time I used fluoro that after pulling on a snagged jig, the stretch and the coils were gone. Evidently, unlike mono, it doesn't spring back. I'm sure others are well aware of this, but anyone intentionally stretch their fluoro to remove its stretch, or would that weaken the line?