ww2farmer

I have lived my whole life on my home lake. When I was 8 or so my parents split up...things were ugly, and my grandparents (mothers side) took me in and raised me from that point on. My grandpa took me fishing for bullhead in the spring, and we caught a bunch, as well as some bluegill. That's my first memory of fishing. When I was about 12 or so, I started riding my bike to the lake, which was just on the end of the road I grew up on. At first I fished for bullhead, and panfish, but caught a bass or two here and there. What hooked me on bass fishing was catching my first one on an artificial lure....a yellow mister twister grub. I promptly told my grandpa I was done with chasing bullheads and panfish and was going to be a bass fisherman from now on. Without saying a word, he went out the shed in the back yard, got some old rods/reels out, dusted off a big metal tackle box, and with a smile on his face said..."OK, me too" That box held bass fishing treasures from days gone by. He never said a word to me, but he too liked to chase bass and pike years and years ago. We started renting small fishing boats from the local boat livery on the lake, and spent weekends, and evenings after work fishing for bass. We used mann's jelly worms, floating rapala's, jitterbugs, johnson silver minnows, and many other old classics, and caught lots of bass and pike. We did this for many years, through my late teens, and we constantly mixed in new lures/techniques I would read about in magazines like In-fisherman or see on TV. We also would fish some small local derbys/tournaments. Never won anything back then, but we had fun. When I graduated high school, moved out, and started working, we, and I rarely fished anymore. It was about 10 years later I got back into bass fishing. I used my modest savings to buy a shiny new aluminum bass boat (which I still have and use daily) and Grandpa let me keep at his house as it was just up the road from the lake. For the first couple years I owned that boat, it was just like old times again. Gramps, now retired and all alone (my grandma passed a way a few years before I bought the boat) went with my all the time. We fished our home lake, made trips to explore and learn other lakes, and had a ball. He could still catch them, and I showed him all the new fangled things and ways to catch bass. A few years into it, he started wanting to go less and less, and then he had a stroke about 5 years ago, and I couldn't take him at all anymore. Grandpa passed away early last summer, but he left me one last smile on my face.....I won the next four tournaments in a row that I fished. I have won plenty over the years, but never 4 in row....I don't think it was luck. Now my boat sits in a new spot. His house, my childhood home, has been sold off to strangers. But I drive by it all the time on the way to the lake, and the cemetery he, my grandma, my sister, my mother, and my uncle who was like a brother to me are buried in over looks the lake, so every time that boat hits the water they are all with me and watching.............Sorry guys, it just got a little dusty in here.

In no particular order: Season Depth Cover Structure Weather conditions Water clarity Water temp. Location And what color bass I am targeting....IE smallmouth vs. largemouth.

I always like to start with a reaction bait in over cast, and/or rainy weather. In 50-60 degree water temps, and lightly stained water, the entire tackle box is in play. Depending on wind conditions, my choices would be: Quite windy/breezy: Lipless crank bait Chatterbait Square bill Light wind/chop: Swim jig Suspending jerkbaits Bumping/grinding a Biffle head with a craw or creature bait on the bottom or Pitching flipping a jig to cover if they don't seem to want to chase in these conditions. Slick calm, yet rainy/drizzly/cloudy: Frog or other topwater Soft jerkbaits Wacky rigs. Now these are just general starting points, the mood of the fish tell me what to go with most of the time, because there are days when it's really windy and you would think they would chase, but are not, and vice versa some times on calm days they want something moving. I'll have all of the above rigged up and on deck during all those conditions described and rotate through them until I get an idea of what they are doing.

If it's a good looking piece of cover/spot, esp. one that I have caught a big fish out of before, I will hit it multiple times. If no takers the first couple pitches, I often come back to it later too, sometimes with a different bait. Usually my first pass in an area is a "one and done" to the sweet spot on what ever I am targeting until I establish a pattern. For example with docks, some days they are under the boat hoist's/docked pontoon boats, and other days they are under the walk way or platform. I will make a pitch to the half dozen "sweet spots" on each dock, before moving on. When it's obvious that they are in one spot under docks, it usually plays out that way lake wide most days. In my exp. usually after hauling a big one out from it's hiding spot, at least on my home lake where the hogs are more "loners", I keep moving. On Conesus though, multiple big ones will come from the same spot often on back to back to back casts. But that's just knowing the subtle differences and quirks of each lake. It doesn't keep me from pitchng right back to the same spot the cast or two or three on Silver, but in 20 years of fishing there I can count on my fingers how many times big ones have been grouped up AND not spooked off by catching one of their buddies there from the same piece of cover. That's another diff. between the two lakes...for some reason Silver lake bass (except smallmouth on beds) are extra spooky, if they see you....game over....they swim 1000 mph away, jump out of the lake, get in a car and drive to Buffalo. I have sat right on top of a school of hogs on Conesus in gin clear shallow water and been able to poke them in the eye with my rod tip, and have them almost jump in the boat to tell me to knock it off.

I have been using the Max series of reels for a while now, right along side other more expensive/aluminum framed reels. They have given me ZERO trouble that regular maint. couldn't solve. I have winched big (for the area) 5 and 6lb fish out of the nastiest cover with them, deep cranked, and landed many double digit pike and tiger muskies with them that put a bass to shame in the power and fight dept. In other words...lots of things that experts would tell you would melt a graphite framed reel, and have had no trouble. I think graphite framed reels are perfectly fine for bass fishing where sub 10lb fish are the norm, and the importance some people place on having an metal/alum. frame is way overblown. I used to be a big fan of Shimano Curado reels, especially the "E" series in the 201 and 51 size, but when Shimano discontinued them, I switched to Daiwa Exceler's, and started sprinkling in the Abu Max reels. I am down to my last Exceler, I like them but they have proven to be LESS durable than the Max reels. When that one finally gives up, it's going to be all Max's , all the time on my boat. They are cheap, effective and just plain work. Also, I don't know if it's my skill (typed semi-sarcastically) or the reels performance, but I have far less backlashes/casting issues with the Max reels doing things like skipping under boat docks, fishing light/weightless baits,etc...than I ever did with my Curados, or other higher priced reels that many will tell you are a must for effective casting of such things. I fish........A LOT...........and if these reels can hold up to my use/abuse they are good to go.

The Lightning Rod Shock 7' MH has been my go to frog rod for about as long as they have been available. Great rod for this. I am almost ready to retire my originally purchased one that is probably 10 years old, and landed 1000's of bass. The grip is falling apart, and the end cap on the butt fell off last week. Not bad service for $39.99 rod at Walmart. I have others in reserve stock that I have picked up over the years when Walmart has had them on sale, some for as low as $5 each.

I assemble my own using BOSS swim jig heads, and skirts I make my self. Usually in a pattern to look like a bluegill or a yellow perch. But I make and use some black and blue ones, and white ones too, as they work well at times in certain conditions. I am pretty simple in my trailer use. I like a SK Rage tail grub, a 3" chigger craw (the 3" flaps more than the 4"), a Yum 4" swimming dinger, and a new to me experiment with trailers this year that has produced very well so far, is the tail of a 7" Power worm cut 4 "ribs" up from where the curly tail portion starts. So far, it's out produced the other trailers combined, and bonus...it's a cheap way to find a new use for power worms that have the head all torn up.

Around here 5'-9' feet of water is usually covered in thick milfoil, coon tail, or other assorted grasses, so any thing that dives down into it is an exercise in frustration and futility. Early in the year when it's only a couple feet tall, I use a lipless crank that I let sink into the grass and "rip" it out or a suspending jerkbait that hovers over the top of the grass. Then later, once the grass starts getting near the surface, I use a squarebill that will dive down a couple feet, tick the top of the grass, and use a pause and pop retrieve to trigger strikes. I will also parallel the "wall" of grass on the deep side with a 5xd, letting it bang bottom, and/or get hung on random clumps of grass out side the main weed bed and again use a "pause and rip" to trigger a bite. I'll do the same on the shallow inside grass line with a squarebill, or an ultra shallow diving crank that only goes down a foot or so. In rocky area's of this depth zone, or where the grass is a little more sparse, a 3xd gets the call, I'll toss it right up to the bank and let it bump and grind all the way back to the boat. Some guys like flat sided balsa bodied baits for this in cold water, like a shad rap, etc...but I have found the 3xd to out fish them on my home lake, no matter what time of year. My favorite baits/colors for each situation listed are: Lipless: 1/2 oz Strike King Red Eye Shad in Chili Craw for stained water, and Natural Bream for clear. Jerkbaits: SK KVD 200 in Yellow perch on sunny days as it's translucent, and Natural bream on cloudy days, as it's a solid color. I tend to reserve jerkabaits for clear water conditions. Squarebills: SK KVD 1.5 in spring, in natural bream in clear water, orange belly craw in stained water. I switch to the 2.5 when I am looking for a big bite, or if this bite is on fire. I'll alternate between the 1.5 and 2.5 all year long depending on the mood of the fish. During our summer algae blooms, I switch to Chart. black back on cloudy days, and Chart. Sexy Shad on sunny days. 3xd's + 5xd's: I like Sexy Ghost Minnow in clear water, Chart. sexy shad in stained water on sunny days, Chart. belly craw on dark days in stained water, and Rootbeer any time smallmouth come out to play. That's my K.I.S.S. approach to cranking from the inside grass line (usually 4-6 feet) through the grass, and then the out side edge (usually 8-12' feet)

The story I have heard behind green pumpkin was: Some one at zoom made a mistake, and mixed pumpkin seed die with watermelon die when they were making a batch of baits.

I haven't been falling behind in my reports, I just haven't been going fishing much because of this awful early March like weather. I get out of work around 5pm at my new job, some days a little earlier, some later, and am off all day on Thursday's, Sat. Afternoons, and all day Sunday. So I have had plenty of time, but I have had no ambition to go after work, or on any of my days off............because of weather. Well I did go out for a few hours mid day today, and it was NOT on fire. 10+ degree drop in water temps since Ben and I fished. I managed a handful of pike, and 3 largemouth in my 3-4 hour jaunt today. Looks like I am going to skip this weekend too. I have seen this TV show before, and know this lake will NOT turn around,or turn on until a steady warming spell.

I have used the Trilene knot on mono or fluoro. to my baits my whole life. On everything from 2lb ice fishing line, to 20lb big game. Never had an issue. Only time I use a palomar knot is when I tie baits direct to braid. My leader knot has been the Alberto for as long as I can remember. I did used to use a palomar knot when tying dropshots on fluoro, but since I switched to VMC spinshot hooks a few years ago, I quit doing that.

Live Target baits are the best thing I have ever seen at catching...................fisherman. Meanwhile some where else today, the 15th billion bass was just caught on a plain old boring chart. w/ black back squarebill that cost $5.

10 or so years ago I used to get bent out of shape about a lot of things. Not so much anymore. I can tolerate the wake boats, the jet skiers, the idiots at the launch ramp who take forever, etc.....They are just ignorant to the discomfort they might be causing, and often a calm word with them or some helpful advise will go a lot farther than acting like an unhinged lunatic. The one thing that still turns the keys for the nuclear launch codes is other bass fisherman who act a fool. They should know better. I don't do any of the stuff to other people that would cause me to get bent, and I expect the same in return. If you get out of your lane towards me though, your going to get an earful.........and I mean an earful.

My new job has me out and about in public in big trucks. I have always wondered why the DOT has never made it mandatory to festoon the sides of these big trucks with warnings to the idiot drivers of the world. Something like: "WARNING: THIS TRUCK IS 10x's BIGGER THAN YOUR CAR AND WON'T HARDLY BEND THE BUMPER IF IT RUNS OVER YOU, BUT IT WILL TOTALLY DESTROY YOUR VEHICLE!!!!"

More important things in life to get bent about. My thoughts............., if this is real, is you both look like fools. You for complaining about it in public like a child, and him for pulling a move like that. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Pit Boss and Bottom Hopper are the only ones I use. I don't care if they move them to the power bait line. I would still buy them.

My reason for life.

I am a few days into the new gig, and so far so good. I am picking it up pretty well I think, and I am not getting sworn or yelled at hourly. Either of which by itself would be good. Together seems dreamy.

Trolling dropshot rigs doesn't work for smallmouth...EVER.....Nope, I have never caught multiple 5lbers doing it, or had lights out days doing it. Move along, nothing to see, hear, or talk about. You NEVER want to use a 1/2 -3/4 oz sinker about 18" below the bait, long lined behind the boat, and use the trolling motor to move you at about 1 mph or so over smallmouth holding areas. It just doesn't work.

The way I see it..........come to my backyard and try to beat me with my stuff...........BUT, you'll die on that sword. I know how to angle the dangle, and the masses are..........well it rhymes with masses minus the M.

Same here. But I do have a "go-to" rotation of bait's that I like to use on the rig, and those are: Yum warning shots Yum 4" + 6" sharpshooters 3"+ 4" yum dingers And 3" Havoc pit bosses

Fished Sat. afternoon for a couple hours poking around in spots I wanted to take @bclark7b to on our trip today. It was kind of a grind but I managed to put about 8 good fish (all largemouth) in the boat. Only hung one on the scale that went 5-4, a couple more were 4+, and the rest were solid 2.5 3lb fish. Met @bclark7b at 6:30 AM this morning and froze our butts off in a stiff north wind, sleety rain, and 40 degree temps. I told him to not expect much today from the get go....past exp. on Silver in conditions like this and a gut feeling told me it would be a grind today. We made one pass in the area I caught some good ones in yesterday and did OK. We each caught a handful of bass on the first pass, and Ben caught a pike, and nothing much after that. I checked on some more stuff and it was dead. So we went looking for smallmouth. That was dead. Being cold, and wet we headed in for a bite to eat and to warm up a little. After that we looked for some more smallmouth, and once again, found nothing but a pike willing to bite. We headed back to the area we caught them on the first pass in the morning, and we each caught a few more decent ones. No hogs, but Ben got a solid mid to upper 3lber. Instead of making a 2nd pass in that area, we left , and went to another similar area a mile or so away. Right off the bat in there I stick a mid to upper 3lb fish, and then we go a long long time without a bite. We decided to grind it out in this area for a good while as the weather was warming, it's a little bit of a chore getting in there and I usually don't like to leave, and come back, and repeat the hassle of going back there if I can avoid it. Pass #2 was pretty decent, I got an upper 4lb fish pushing 5lbs, another solid upper 3 to 4lber, and one more 2.75lber. On pass #3 Ben got a solid 3+lber. We make several more pass, but nothing happens. They are just slow and not in the mood today. We leave this area and head to the area that was dead this morning, and it seemed dead again. Just as I was about to bail on it, I stick a 5-10. So that keeps us glued to that spot for another little while, but that was it. We ended the day where we started in the morning, but other than one more 2lber it was pretty uneventful. While some decent size was put in the boat today...this was by far the slowest outing @bclark7b have had in our 3-4 years now of doing this. At least I had a camera man for once to take a picture of the daily hog......the fish...not me LOL

WHY ARE YOU YELLING??!?!?!?!?

Fell behind on my reports due to job hunting but here is the jist of them.....or at least what I remember. Fished yesterday afternoon and it was terrible. 3 small keeper largemouth were all I could put in the boat. Fished this afternoon and it was pretty good. I fished from noon-4:30 or so, and caught 15. One lone 14" smallmouth while looking for them, and bailed on that after an hour or so. Hit largemouth spots for the next couple hours and kinda grinded my way to a hog fest. I only caught 14 largemouth, but my best 5 were a 5-11, 5-4, 5-1, 4-13, and a 4-4. Then promptly at 3:45 or so they shut down. I made several more passes, and several presentation changes...but that was all she wrote. My next trip will be Sunday with @bclark7b for our annual trip, and then early next week I have an evening after work trip with @nosdog2

I am fishing the same body of water I grew up fishing. My grandpa used to take me there all the time when I was a kid, and we'd bank fish a couple times a week. Then we'd rent small aluminum boats with little tiller outboards from one of the handful of places around the lake back then on weekends and his days off. We swapped roles 20 years later....and I took him with me all the time, until he had a stroke about 8 years or so ago and he was no longer stable enough or it was safe enough for him to be in a boat. He passed away last summer. So that's what I'd bring back.....