Bass Ninja

A older gentleman I'm friends with fishes all over CT at least once a week. In 2019 he caught 8lber, a 7lber, three 5lbers, and of course, multiple smaller fish. Totally blows my mind how he does it, but it seems like every week he is showing me a pic of another fish over 3lbs.

If its a monster you want, reading through the thread about what lure caught your biggest fish of 2019 is interesting. A lot of big fish over 5lbs caught on regular lures. My PB of 6.5lbs was caught in October using a Walmart spinnerbait. If you want to throw swimbaits, throw swimbaits. If its monsters you want, I think there is a lot more important things to consider before you think about lure choice.

Reading through these forums! They're an absolute gold mine! Watching youtube videos or reading articles were somewhat helpful, but even with the good ones, it's still just one man's opinion/experience. These forums showed me what works or doesn't work for the majority of fishermen, little things the great ones do that make them successful, and it has given me far more data to process and learn from than I could have ever gotten in my own little world.

I have 11 decent sized ponds (average 100 acres or so) and 3 small lakes all within 30 minutes or less from my house. My favorite pond that is pretty secluded and doesn't allow motors is only 5 minutes away, and that is where I caught my PB last year.

I have a 12T, also with a 30lb trolling motor. I could be wrong, but from what I understand, a 30lb, 45lb, 75lb, etc, will all get you about the same top speed. The higher number just gets you up to that top speed faster. Best decision I made with mine was mounting it on the stern and running cables up to the foot pegs for hands-free steering, and wiring a control box up by my seat to control the speed.

@Catt What are your thoughts?

Well, for me, I don't know for certain. I just got a fish finder which I'll try to learn how to use this year, but I haven't been using one. I do fish shallow, 15 ft or less, like 90% of the time. I just take an educated guess based on all the data I have. Its more like based on everything I know (water and air temp and the trend for the past week, time of the year, wind speed and direction, sun angle, time of day, current from inlet streams or the current by the dam, forage base, topography of that body of water, etc) I try to eliminate 80% of the lake, and find my most productive areas on a map, and then when I hit the water, I'll go to those spots and fish them thoroughly, knowing odds are really high they have to be there somewhere, and some of those fish are going to want to eat. If I've fished a lake a lot, I dont really do this because I already have a really good idea where the fish are. Its too much to go into on here, but what really helped me out was watching on youtube a lot of Bassresource. They have some videos where they really go in depth of finding and patterning fish, their habits, how to break down a lake or pond, etc. Spending more time watching every video about it that I could, and learning about the habits of bass has helped me far more than learning about lures and how to fish them. I fell in love with bass fishing for its mental challenge. Its not just about going out randomly casting lures, hoping for the best. Its about correctly analyzing all the data around me, to come up with an educated guess on where the fish might be. I don't always do it correctly, but when I do, it helps develop that gut feeling where it gets easier over time to predict where the fish will be. I have passed up some pads that I thought didn't have good odds of holding fish, just to have a guy pull the winning fish from it a few minutes later. I don't think anyone ever knows for certain where fish will be. We all guess, but for some, its a more educated guess than a wild guess. Hope that helps.

@WRB This is gold. Thanks for sharing! I was told the same thing in so many words a few years ago and it really bumped up my numbers. An older gentleman in a fishing club taught me to focus more on finding the fish. Once I find them, if they're willing to eat, they'll eat a lot of what I throw at them. This older gentleman consistently wins tournaments or finishes in the top 3, and he only throws like 8 lures. I've since learned that I can go out with my confidence lures (Jackhammer chatterbait, hollow-bodied frog, spinner bait, and a punch rig), leaving everything else at home, and as long as I find the fish, I'll have a good day with a good chance at winning. So for me, I change location frequently to find active fish, and I'll only change lures if a new lure would be more effective at picking apart what is in front of me. I absolutely love what Tom said...You can cast a thousand different cast with different lures and catch nothing if you are at the wrong place at the wrong time. That was the big game changer for me.

I totally agree. I grew up fishing with my dad in a canoe, and the occasional trip on a boat with friends who had one. I still can't afford to get one yet, but I'm so obsessed with kayak fishing that I don't think I want one anymore. I just throw my kayak on my car in minutes, and it takes me about 7 minutes to unload and launch. Something about pushing off in the early, foggy morning, being closer to the water, the calm stillness while watching the world wake up around me just hits me on a spiritual level. As for my kayak, its an Ascend FS12T that I got used on FB Marketplace for half price. I raised the seat and added a trolling motor with foot peg steering, which is a huge upgrade for me. Its a good starter kayak...it paddles like a tank and doesnt track the greatest, but it gets the job done.

My PB, 6.8lb, 23 inch LMB that I got in August, caught on a white and red willow leaf Strike King spinner bait from Walmart.

I have had an Ascend FS12T for two years now, and its not bad. Its not the greatest, but it gets the job done. Like others have mentioned, I watched Facebook Marketplace for 3 months before I found this one used for $400. Its a little heavy to transport, but I still strap it to the top of my 2002 VW Jetta with the foam blocks and quick cam straps from Dicks Sportings Goods. I've always just done the two straps across the middle, with no bow or stern line, and I can go 80 on the highway without it moving around. Takes me under a minute to unload it when I get to the water. Now that I've modified it for a stern mounted trolling motor with foot peg steering, plus the rest of my gear, I can pull up to the ramp, unload, and be motoring away in under 7 minutes. All that to say, if you don't mind car topping it, and you're trying to save money, I would pass on the trailer. Also, the Ascend is ok, but its heavy in the water so its a little harder to paddle and it doesn't track that well. As soon as I can find several hundred bucks that my wife won't miss, I plan on upgrading. ?

I know some guys like fishing for snakeheads. I saw this today. What do you guys think? https://www.foxnews.com/science/snakehead-fish-discovered-georgia

He said he keeps it simple to what he has confidence in and knows it will work. During the winter, he uses either jigs or jerkbaits, and spring through the fall he uses square bills, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, senko-type baits usually wacky rigged when he gets desperate, a frog, and his pitching set up. As soon as the weeds come up in the late spring though, 90% of the time he is pitching shallow weeds. His pitching set up is a 6" Zoom Brushhog on an extra wide gap hook with a 1/2oz bullet weight, and he uses a 7ft heavy rod with 50lb braid. He's told me plenty of times though that those lures cover pretty much all scenarios for him, so dont get hung up on specific lure or brand. Odds are high that the same fish that ate his brushhog would eat my pitboss, its just what he likes to use, but more importantly, he can take apart cover effectively with it. He'll pitch a lake for like 6 hours straight before he'll think about switching out to a different lure, which I don't quite have the patience for, and I don't quite think thats the most effective way to fish, but....he's beat me enough times and his record is such that I can't argue with him haha ?

Thanks for all the replies! With all the house projects, I was only able to get out for about 2 hours on Sunday, but it was mostly teaching a friend how to fish. I was teaching him how to fish a frog at first and got a 4lber while I was demonstrating how I do it, which is always nice. Practiced pitching a lot for the rest of the time, like you guys said, slinging it sideways. Its not too difficult, and hopefully it'll pay off soon with some nice fish. Just one more question....When you guys pitch it out, what do you do next? do you just let it drop through the weeds and sit? Do you hop it couple times? When reeling it back to you, do you let it drop in any more pockets? How long do you leave it in a pocket before you decide to do another cast?

Anybody have experience pitching from a kayak? I just met a guy who is somewhat of a local fishing legend in my area. I fished against him in a couple tournaments and got really lucky to get second place only a pound under him, but he beat everyone else by a nice margin. Got to talking to him over the past few weeks and we've built a good relationship. He's been giving me pointers, saying that I'm overthinking my lure selection, really all I need is like 8 different lures to use year around. But from spring to fall, he exclusively fishes shallow, and since most of our lakes and ponds have a lot of shallow areas with tons of weeds, he pitches a texas rig 98% of the time and consistently puts up amazing numbers. I've tried it once or twice but never more than 10 minutes at a time before I give up and go back to fishing a frog or chatterbait. I tried it a little last week, and I can sort of pitch my lure out sideways maybe 15-20 ft, and if I stand, I can get a little further. My friend is in a bass boat, but I only have a kayak. When I stand, I'm comfortable and pretty stable, but I still make little ripples from the kayak rocking slightly. I cant find a whole lot on youtube about pitching from a kayak. Any tips? Will the ripples from the kayak spook fish? Is it too much of a disadvantage being that low to the water or am I just overthinking it? I'm using a 7ft medium heavy baitcaster with 30lb line.

Fished early Saturday morning with 3 rods. I had them rigged with a popping frog, a punch rig that I'm trying to master, and a KVD strike king spinnerbait with a little paddle tail trailer for backup. Went to a pond that is mostly 4-6 ft deep with 8 ft max depth near where the launch. Super weedy most of the year. I've consistently caught 2-4lbers on the frog and chatterbait there. This morning, I saw all kinds of activity but I missed 4 blowups on the frog which pretty much never happens to me, and I missed two hooksets on the punch rig, which put me in a bad mood. Ran out of time and was forced to admit that I got skunked for the first time this year. I'm paddling back to the launch, and right on the edge of the 8 ft hole, I decided to do the famous "one-last-cast". Didnt think a fish would really want to come up to hit the frog, and didnt want to fish the bottom, so I pulled out my backup rod with the spinnerbait. let it fall for a few seconds, started reeling to get the blades spinning, and I felt a bite. If I could just get it in the boat, I don't have to say I got skunked. Felt it snag some weeds so the rod bent over a little more, and then it started fighting a little. Felt like a 4lber. Got it to within two feet of the kayak, and when it jumped, I saw how big it was. Decided to use the net, got it in, and weighed my new PB. 6lbs 8oz!

The jackhammer chatterbait with a pit boss trailer, sprayed down with garlic scent. Its saved me from getting skunked at least 8 times this summer, and won two tournaments for me. I try to switch it up and do some frogging, maybe throw a spinnerbait or worm or crankbaits, but when all else fails, it has never let me down yet. I used to almost exclusively fish the senko which worked amazing, but now I don't have the patience for that. Two days ago I fished a large "pond" with a max depth of 8 ft. from 4 AM till 8 AM, had an appointment at 830. Started out with a buzzbait and some other chatterbait I had to mix it up...nothing. As the sun started coming up and I worked my way over the massive area of lilypads to try the frog, the chatterbait and spinnerbait both got a swipe but nothing solid. Frogged the lilypads till 745....nothing. Drifting with the wind back the boat ramp, tied back on the jackhammer, came across a little hump in that 8ft of water. Threw the spinnerbait at it....nothing. Threw the jackhammer, caught a little guy. Very next cast, caught another little guy, about a pound and a half. Very next cast after that, 4lber. The z-man jackhammer is by far my favorite lure this year. Well worth the money.

I feel you on those pickerel things! Hate them! Every time I come across one I lose a lure! So it looks to me that at around the 2:30 mark when you missed the fish, you swung as soon as you saw the blowup. From what I've learned, bass will either suck the frog right in if its barely moving, or if its moving pretty fast, they'll slap it beneath the water trying to stun it, and then suck it in. So if you set the hook right away, you'll miss because they've only slapped it beneath the water, and it takes a second for them to turn and inhale it. So yeah, just what I've mentioned before. Also, I've caught my biggest fish throwing it into places where most people dont and slowly working it through, like stuff as thick as the grass on either side of your video there. And, dont be afraid to slow it down when you're nearing a spot that looks really good. One or two pops, let it sit for 10 seconds, a couple more pops, etc. When I have the discipline and patience to make myself slow down, I catch bigger fish. Sorry but I can't help you with those pickerel lol hate 'em!!

I live in CT, also fishing for those northern LMB. A friend introduced me to the hollow body frog a couple years ago, and since most of our ponds are super weedy, its been my top producing lure by far. I used to miss a lot of my hooksets, but now after learning to wait a split second, or just till I feel the weight of them pulling before I set the hook, I now get over 90% of the fish that hit it. A friend said something that helped me a lot. He would say "oh theres a fish" before setting the hook. The time it took him to say that would take like a second a half, which is what you want. I dont bend the hooks out or anything like that. I have noticed it is easier to hook bigger fish. When I get blowups and they didnt really get the frog, its either been baby bass or sunfish. My setup is about the same as yours with a 7' MH or Heavy rod, with 30 or 40lb braid. But I really believe making yourself wait 1-2 seconds, if they're a decent fish, will make all the difference. Also, don't give them the slightest bit of slack line, even when you're ripping them through the pads and pulling in like 12lbs of salad with them. Slam that hook really hard and start winching and never let up till they're in the boat. Hope that helps.

Last year I purchased two Saga casting rods and a deluge baitcasting reel. Absolutely love them. One of them is a heavy action that I made my frog rod, and the other is a medium heavy that I mostly use for chatterbaits. They are now my most used rods. I was skeptical about trying them out at first, but a friend tried them and then I started following them on facebook. What finally convinced me was seeing their interaction and customer service on social media. They go above and beyond, and so far, I'm an extremely satisfied fan.

Horizontal. Didn't think to try it vertical. That being said, I have been using the elaztech razor shadz for a few months which has that vertical tail profile, and its not getting as much interest as the craw/creature style profiles, at least in my area...

Fished a small tournament this weekend with about 15 anglers on a local lake with my kayak. It was a CPR (catch, photo, release) format. After studying maps and the weather trends last week, I eliminated 70% of this small lake and had about 5 spots I was going to try. I like to cover water fast, and my confidence lures are the hollow-body frog, spinnerbaits, jigs, and above all else, a jackhammer chatterbait! I just have to take a second and say, I know everyone debates if they are worth the price. For me it is. Its the only chatterbait I throw now and average per hour, it gets me almost double what the other chatterbaits have. Love love love it!! Thanks to all of you on here, I was reading through some threads and multiple people mentioned using a berkley pit boss as a trailer. I gotta say, I've tried just about everything except for that. Well, I went out and bought a pack. At the start of the tournament, I knew it was a highly pressured lake with everyone beating the banks so i stayed about 30 feet offshore in about 10-15 ft of water and started cycling through my lures, throwing the frog only at lilypads near the bank that looked to juicy to pass up. Well 10 minutes into the tournament, I caught a 12 inch bass on the chatterbait using my favorite technique....swimming into weeds and popping it free repeatedly. Moved on about a hundred yards doing the same thing and caught the winning bass. 3lbs 7oz, 18.25 inches long in 12 ft of water. It absolutely hammered the jackhammer when I popped it out of a clump of weeds. Luckily everyone else had a horrible day with only 2 other bass being caught, so I won with those 2 bass, and I also caught 3 pickerel and a trout, all on the jackhammer chatterbait. All the other lures I threw didn't even get a sign of interest. Come to find out, only 1 other guy was fishing a chatterbait in the weeds, but it wasn't a jackhammer.

Man I get goosebumps just reading this thread!! So my PB was caught on a lake in northern Maine 4 years ago. I was camping with family and some friends, and the first morning I got up right at sunrise to hit the water in a kayak. It was one of those mornings that I dream about, 60 degree weather, partly cloudy, water like glass with fog rising off the lake. I was just getting into freshwater fishing, so my uneducated self was only armed with a couple texas rigged weightless senkos and a couple top water poppers that I threw with my 2-piece 6.5ft cheap spinning rod with 8lb mono. I tie on the popper, go around the corner to this cove, go near the bank where some trees are over hanging the water and cast the popper out a few times working it really slowly. 3rd or 4th cast, all the mono with its memory gets a big ole birdnest. With the popper still out there, I strip off a bunch of line, and work on clearing the mess. Took me probably 2 minutes, but I finally got in untangled. I sit back in my kayak seat, look around me to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the lake, and then start reeling in the slack. With most of the slack in, I'm ready to start working the popper again, so I give it one barely noticeable twitch. The water exploded as my popper disappeared and I felt the weight of the fish pulling line off and I heard the drag singing my favorite song! I was in shock for about two seconds before I remembered I should probably set the hook. Fought the fish for a couple minutes before I was able to lip it and pull it inside my kayak. I turn my kayak around to paddle back to camp to wake everyone up and show them, and I see my friend standing on the dock watching me. Only thing better than catching a nice fish is catching it in front of an audience! That largemouth weighed in at 6lbs 4oz.

Now I could be totally wrong here, But I'm thinking with air and water temps close to 80, they're either pretty tight to cover, or deep on some humps somewhere. With the water being pretty muddy, that means they'll probably be extremely shallow, especially if the water level is rising. I'd be looking for submerged trees or laydowns super close to the bank and I'd either be flipping with a jig or a colorado bladed spinner bait for the most noise, since its muddy and they can't see as well and I want my lure to make a lot of noise for them to find it. If its more open water, such as rocks or a submerged tree off the bank, a crankbait like a chartreuse squarebill deflecting off the limbs might get me a few reaction strikes. I'd just start going through the coves and bluffs, and when I catch a couple fish, try to start putting together a pattern. Maybe they're only on the shallow laydowns that are pretty close to deep water, or maybe they're on the submerged brush in the back of the cove, etc. Hopefully after a couple of hours I've figured that out, so then I'd start skipping around and only fishing what fits that criteria. Like others have mentioned, when all else fails and I think I might get skunked, I just resort to a senko, throwing it and anything and everything. Like I mentioned before, for me its factoring in all the variables to make an educated guess on where I think they might be, and then when I get there, what lure do I have that would most effectively fish that? Do the fish want more noise or less noise? Do they want a more natural color or darker/flashier color to help them find it? You can drive a nail with a large wrench, but a hammer just works better for that particular task. The whole figuring out where they are is half the fun for me.

Spring through fall its all about the frog!! I'm addicted haha! That being said, I look at water temp, water clarity, wind direction and speed, and if its going to be more sunny or more overcast. If its below 80 degrees, I know they wont all be buried in the weeds sucking oxygen. So then I look at my lures and what I know about the lake and the types of cover and I try to figure out my route. And then all through my route, what lures will best fish what is front of me? a lot of times several lures will work, but I go with my confidence baits. I try to let the conditions tell me what to throw by always asking myself where do I think the fish are, and when I get there, what lures will best fish the water/cover in front of me? and then if its sunny and the water is clear, I go with more natural colors. The muddier the water or the more overcast it is, I go with darker colored lures that make more noise to help the fish find it. Last year the chatterbait and frog produced the most, but this year a bluegill colorado bladed spinnerbait and the frog have been by far the most productive for me.