TriStateBassin106

When the bass are agressive? Chatterbait. When the bass are being stubborn I would go with the senko weightless. 5/0 EWG hook, any brand works really just make sure the hooks are sharp. 5 inch senko in either Green Pumpkin or Black n blue but the most important part is the retrieve twitch twitch fall for about 10 seconds and repeat the twitch twitch many bites will come on the fall so watch the line.

What jerkbait colors would you throw for that kind of stain?

I tried spinnerbaits today, it's heavily stained though and some sides of the pond are a little bit more murky than the others, the windy side in my jerkbait pic was much more dirty. This was the "less dirty" side, for my pond being a pressured fish bowl with a fountain i'm surprised the water clarity can be "good" at times.

It's my first entire spring of bass fishing. Last year the spring fishing was canceled because of covid and the year before I started late (late may) I always wanted to catch spring bass before, even if it's 1 bass only in March I'll feel happy.

Tried that today, kvd shallow and also threw around some finesse jigs. Water temps dropped down again to 50 degrees... I don't expect to catch a bass until April to be honest. This is my water clarity, pretty much stained. When would that usually happen? April? I live in Northern NJ so I know it's different for regions.

Which one is better? Does a spray attractant work better than traditional gels?

Would KVD shallow cranks work?

So I finally tried out some bang garlic yesterday and after spraying it once and then storing it my backpack compartment it started to smell like garlic. The smell is gone now but what's the best way to store this can so it doesn't stink up everything? Ziplock bags?

That's almost the same water quality here in the summertime, runoff will come into the pond and make everything murky and green like, here's a pic of a snapping turtle that was creeping up on me last year with similar water conditions. This was the jerkbait color I was throwing, behind it you can see the water quality on the windiest side of the pond which I tried first, average temps was 52 degrees.

I've caught ned rig fish there before. Yoga pants and junebug colors. I think the problem is the metabolism is still very slow.

What's everyone's favorite retrieves for jigs during the pre spawn? I've always been a fan of slowly dragging and pausing. I've heard some other people enjoy slow hops this time of year.

Finally went out to the pond today after waiting for the warm spell to heat up the lake here in NJ. water temps for the most part were in the lower 50s (warmest part of the pond was the northern bank with a temperature of 53 degrees) after 4 hours I couldn't get anything to bite, water clarity is about 5 to 8 inches and I tried jerkbaits finesse jigs and the ned rig, is it too early for the bass to be shallow yet? What should I throw in this situation until the temps reach 55? what parts of my pond should I target? There's little to no cover except some small riprap and overhanging trees.

Welcome back, you're in good hands here. Everyone on the forum is very knowledgeable and knows a lot about the sport, also the founder Glenn makes a bunch of cool videos and articles explaining everything about bass fishing! Tight lines.

This! Could prevent any injuries in the eyes/face. Always wear them no matter the conditions

Anyone here throw any of the Berkley gulp products for bass? I've heard a bunch of negative things about gulp from other anglers for bass fishing. I've only used Gulp saltwater and gulp minnows before.

I mean, it is the winter time. I wish I could carch bass right now hahaha.

There's nothing to be bummed about not catching bass this early in the year... I got back into bass fishing in 2018, my first year I only fished the middle of summer for bass, 2019 I started in June and fished all the way until the middle of November, even grinding it through in December. My last bass caught that year was Nov 17th 2019. A week out from Thanksgiving... 2020 was a late start for me because of well....obvious reasons but my first bass wasn't caught last year until May 8th! 2021 will be my first year since 2018 I will be bass fishing for the entire spring! Am I nervous? Not really but I won't be surprised if I don't get anything until April. It happens. Doesn't mean to give up though.

Ayup. Still haven't caught a bass so far this year. I usually don't until April/May at the latest but I'm hopeful March will get me some results, in overall fish this year I've caught 2 rainbow trout, a yellow perch and pickerel through the ice.

Any videos from him about it you could recommend?

Pictured here are two finesse TRDs in the color "yoga pants" basically black. The TRD on the right has been "roughed up" or "stretched" compared to the one on the left. What is the point of doing this to soft plastics? More salt? Especially the ones zman makes. I've never really done this until it was recommended by another forum member. I am generally curious.

What would you recommend throwing bait wise for pre spawn?

Really? How do you do that?

What do you guys use to polish spinnerbaits? WD-40? Vinegar?

Could've been a skinwalker lol.