softwateronly

I'm partial to alberto to join braid to 7x7. And for some reason my old rigging days means I tie a bowline similar to this style to my bait. Works for coated or uncoated, but I'm pretty sure a bowline is @ 66% knot strength at best. scott

This excellent advice, that has been given before, put me on fish today. Bass had dropped back from the flats and were willing hair jig eaters today on a cold and windy day. scott

I'm learning when to use it as well, but my best success last year was using it like a crank in weedy areas, rubbing scrub grass, between clumps of thinner stalks, etc. I also did ok cruising within a foot or two of bare bottom breaks and tracing them out on a longer cast. My best day with it was on a different lake to me, and it was a mid column type deal, but that was a one time event so far. scott

If the braid fouls the trebles, 2 or 3 bobber stoppers will help keep the line from slacking out in front. scott

I have a Conquest 904 and 18 Ban and 20 Met. The 904 is a little better balanced w/ the extra 1.3oz of the Bantam, but still slightly tip heavy. Ended up w/ the Met on it because the Ban weight had an advantage on a rod that was closer to neutral. scott

25.25"L 18.75"G in mid Feb this year, down in NE TX. Caught it on a 100mm white ice R2S D walker on an owner flashy swimmer.

4 power dobyns is what I usually use. Hook up ratio has been very good if the hook is sharp. The bites have never been super subtle, so I'd pick the 4 power that is most comfortable in the yak. Good luck! scott

I think the keitech underspin, especially if 3.8" or less, was a good choice. I would have stuck with that for awhile using various retrieves. Slow bottom bouncing, mid water slow and steady, and reeled as close to the surface as possible. I also think flipping a finesse jig and compact spinnerbait would have been appropriate. Flukes seem more like visual baits to me and water clarity might have been the issue. Personally, it seems like your lures couldn't compete or stand out from the real thing and size and location in the water column sound like possible culprits. One thing that's gotten me over the years is fish busting the surface doesn't always mean topwater is the ticket. A lot of times the baitfish are being followed from deeper, trying to escape, so I like to work below the surface and in your case all the way to the bottom, in case that's where the hunting starts. Overall, it sounds like you and your son had some bad luck. scott

One thing that's confusing for those located in the upper midwest is that for the most part, we fish natural lakes. Most bass pros and articles talk reservoirs. Secondary points in creeks or channel swings are examples of structure we rarely encounter. But the info behind it is similar across the country. For me, locating spawning locations is the most important thing because you can work in either direction in time from that spot. In general, I look for flats in protected water that are 12' or less. Bottom composition and transitions are important as well. So once I locate what I think will be a spawning flat, I like to check the first set of breaks leading up to that flat. I look for sharp and or irregular breaks located nearby that lead to deep water. I also search out the gradual slopes closest to that sharp or irregular break and the spawning flat. The closer all these features are to each other, the more promising the spot. Usually, this triangle holds fish in some capacity throughout the non ice season. Jerkbaits do best for me above the bass, which part of the water column needs experimentation. So in this case, I'd fish parallel or slight angle to the sharp irregular breaks and fish the gradual breaks either uphill or downhill until I determine which depth I'm getting bites from. If I think the bass are feeding on the flat and the flat is shallow, I'd probably switch baits to a 3-5" swimbait. The running depth, flash level, and jerk/pause cadence require constant tinkering in my opinion. In general, water in the 40's means deeper and longer pause between groups of jerks. Warmer water is generally faster and shallower. I like ghost colors for clear water and sun and holographic colors for clear water and overcast. I don't have much experience with water clarity under 6' so I can't offer much there. Hopefully, this helps your prespawn fishing in some way. This link will help you search for the spots on your water. https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating scott Here's what the breaks look like on my water....

Usually, it's the next one I want to buy. scott

I have a DSJ hitch, Spro 8" swimbait, and an Ima 7" fluke glide that haven't caught yet, but they've all barely gotten wet. I usually get hard headed and beat a bait to death when the conditions should favor it. It's possible that these don't get bit this year if I don't make some time for them before the spawn. scott

I use the 7x7 strand afw, with an alberto and flying bowline to the bait. I didn't like the action last time I did it with jerks, maybe I need to downsize to the 20lb test version or I was just wrong. I'm gonna check it again, thanks. scott

Pike get my soft bait tails as well, but when they steal my jerk baits or Gantarels...? Makes these catches even better, even if the next cast cost me my favorite jerk bait to her sister. scott

Just to make sure I was clear, LM meant green bass. I'm a shore angler on Lake Michigan and have yet to try the A rig. Jigs, traps, and dark sleepers have always seemed like my best baits, I should probably give it a try. I'd definitely trust @A-Jay's brown bass system, but want to say that for me, no soft water is too cold for large mouth to hit an A rig. 3 hook, 2 or 3 dummy, 1/8oz heads, let it hit bottom, pop it off and start a slow steady retrieve. Every 2-3 handle turns I put some quick chop in the retrieve and it certainly seems to trigger bites. Best of luck, every bite feels like a giant! scott

If you're in LM territory at all, I'd say start throwing it now. A bladeless A-rig is a go to for me from ice out till post spawn. This year I've been using 3" & 4" largo shads, have caught dozens of fish, but no giants yet. Fishing uphill or parallel to a break was my usual method, but running docks downhill has gotten a lot of bites for me this spring. I feel like a 7'5 or longer rod makes fishing it much more productive and enjoyable in the clear water I'm usually in. scott

I know I'm late, but what an awesome day. Congrats!!! scott

I tend to fit in with your style. Moving baits are great, trebles or single hook. T-rig seems a little too soft for both snaking/shaking it through the weeds and hook sets. scott

My theory is slightly different, strictly based on 12 years at one 250acre lake in MI w/out electronics and more than likely I'm wrong or incomplete at best. I think there's 3 groups of bass in how they relate to structure, cover, and depth. Group one is shallow, >10 fow, very cover orientated, homebodies, and primarily ambush predators. If you put it in their face, they bite. Group two, I think the largest group, seems to move between deeper structure/cover and shallow structure/cover. I feel like they feed in both locations, actively, tend to be in groups, and seem to conform to "bite windows," but when they go shallow, they primarily go to feed. I think these fish target any and all things that they can fit in their mouths, but sometimes get keyed in on what is currently most prevalent. I also think a large chunk of these fish are nocturnal shallow cruisers/feeders. Group three, is the most mysterious to me and least likely to be true and in my opinion the smallest group. They exclusively live in open water and hunt schools of bluegill, crappie, and juvenile bass from below. They probably use structure in ways I don't understand, since my lake basically bowls out past 25 fow. Some of my "proof" is based on the coloration of the bass I catch and at what depth and the times I've run into large schools of bass both shallow and deep. I never pull dark, dark green bass from deep water. "Normal" to slightly pale seem to get caught at all depths, but my night time shallow bass caught on moving baits are almost always in the normal to pale hue. I feel like my group 3 is delineated by the open, deep water bass I catch at night or underneath daytime surface feeders that are a larger class of fish from the ones I get on topwater. There's a lot I don't know about bass, but this working theory usually puts me on fish when I get out on this body of water. scott

This is probably my MI LM PB, I'm a hard headed idiot without a scale, my guess is 6ish. Last year, 1st wk of April, on a swim jig in 6-8' of water. My PB MI SM was a 21" 5.3lb on a cane pole 30 years ago mid summer fishing for perch with wax worms. Congrats on your PB! Your girl has a head/build on her like she's got more room to fill out, which is pretty incredible for up north. scott

This saves most all of my single hook baits from the toothy scoundrels. Doesn’t help with jerks or cranks though. https://www.amazon.com/American-Fishing-Wire-Surflon-Stainless/dp/B00144CS4C/ref=asc_df_B00144CS4C/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312125955110&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=958876038250930460&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021717&hvtargid=pla-570584746221&psc=1 scott

I had some similar thoughts when I got mine, but found some uses for it that were way better than I hoped; ie deep cranking. It's an awesome open water swimbait rod, both trebles and single hook. I use braid to leader and think that's why the mod action is very versatile for me. Good luck! scott

I'm pretty sure @A-Jay put me on these, but they've been my best jig bite this spring so far. The gambler 3" otter w/ the legs pulled off has been a decent do nothing trailer with it. https://punisherlures.com/products/the-punisher-jig scott

I have the 7'7" Expride A. My favorite uses for it; A rigs, open hook swimbaits, 3/4oz swim jigs in light cover, scroungers, and deep diving cranks. My MI lake doesn't get much emergent grass, but the submergent grass gets real thick. I've tried working jigs through it with the 7'7" but found it a bit too soft for me to effectively fish it through the stuff. I use the 7'3XH for that now. scott

I don't fish cranks often, but early spring is my best time with them. Deep divers, with 30lb braid to 10lb mono, on a graphite mod/fast with my drag backed way down has caught and landed way more fish than I ever thought it would. This isn't a setup I can rightfully recommend, but it's been surprisingly effective. It might be time for me to dedicate a set up to it full time. scott

SD Jam has taken over for me because I tie it correctly a majority of the time, and know immediately if I didn't. scott