Bazoo

Absolutely @Fishlegs. Thank you for the suggestions. I am grateful, and I think they can tell. I also am very polite most of the time. When we had our first conversation the only thing asked of me was to not to leave any trash/make a mess. Their property is nicely kept, so I assume that not making a mess would include stuff like, not leaving logs/sticks/rocks in the are that gets mowed. Along with not leaving trash, I volunteered that I would: • pick up any trash I find (I've removed minor trash all 3 times) • not bring anyone other than my family without permission • not be there half the night (I did say that if I happened to be there in the evening the latest I might fish would be 30 minutes past dark) • that I was primarily catch and release He said all that was fine. I also asked if there were any specific things he'd like for me to do or not do, which there wasn't any at that time. Funny you mention bringing a token of appreciation, I did just that the last time I was there, when I met the Mrs. I took a wooden bowl I'd made that I thought might match their decor, judging by the outside of their home and general style. She seemed to like it pretty well.

Thanks for all the advice. Next time I go near good internet I'll upload some pictures. (I use my phone's hotspot most of the time.) Not wearing out my welcome is something that I am concerned about. I also think that they are genuinely nice folks and won't mind. The fact that I sometimes take my young'un doesn't hurt. Yesterday I got explicit permission to walk all the way around it. I asked to make sure they owned the whole thing, which they do.

I appreciate all the advice. Some of which I'd already thought of some I had not. I got more intel today. I talked to the owners wife, she informed me of some of the other people that fish, mostly their immediate kids/grandkids. It doesn't sound like much. I also walked around it some. There is some canoes next to a small dock, that look like they haven't seen the water in a couple of years. I saw someone else fishing the dam area, and mosied on over. He's the neighbor. He said his family (mostly kids) fish it. He fishes it all the time he said. He was fishing with worms on the bottom for "whatever i can get". He said he'd caught some, what he described as 4-5 pound bass out of there... which were good eating, he also relayed. He doesn't do much with artificial lures he said. He also said there was some springs in it and pointed to the spot. Said it doesn't get low when other places do in summer. That was well worth the conversation right there. He said, it was 40-50 feet deep at the dam. I can't see it being that deep, but maybe. It is right about 2 acres. I got a good look at the dam end, and caught some more bass and a few bluegill at the previous spot which is in the middle on a cove, and over at the dam end. The bluegill aren't colored quite right and hit bass lures. The neighbor said it was hybrid bluegill. I caught several on a popper and one on a crankbait, a normal sized crankbait! Them are some aggressive bluegill right there. There is a moderate amount of stringy, long brown moss stuff that collets on your crankbaits, at least along the banks I fished. Water is not clear, but not muddy. I got a few fish on a fluke which is new to me. They refused the chartreuse spinnerbait, though all my crankbait bites have been on a that color (I ain't tried another color yet). I did get some pics, but I haven't gotten them to where I can share yet.

I have been blessed to find a great fishing spot and be granted access to fish. It all started last fall on the church hayride when I spotted a nice lake. I was told then the owner doesn't let anyone fish. Well, fast-forward to now, I ended up asking a friend about this lake and she said "maybe, it won't hurt to ask." So Sunday after service I was talking about it to the preacher and I asked him to say a prayer over me, which he did, asking for God's favor. The lake is behind a big hill and just barely visible from the road, very close to the church I attend. I stopped on my way home and asked the owner, and I was granted permission to fish; Praise God! By all accounts, there are very few outsiders that have permission. His son stopped while I was getting ready to walk to the water and questioned me. He was surprised I got permission. Someone else stopped and asked my wife (who waited in the van) and she was surprised as well. Another friend that knows of them was surprised. That Sunday afternoon, in about an hour I had 5 strikes and 3 lands, all smaller with the largest being 1.5 pounds. I went back Wednesday, on my way to bible study, with only 45 minutes to fish. I landed 7 and had 2 other strikes, one shook it, one didn't hook up. So far, they are hitting crankbaits, and then a senko and a fluke, with unsuccessful strikes on a popper and plopper. I'd say they are in the middle of the spawn (according to the research I've done on my area) and the small cove I was fishing is probably prime bedding. Some of the strikes were outside of the mouth, some in, and the senko and fluke were in obvously. Here's the question, other than enjoying a spot with little/no pressure, how can I best utilize it to further my bass fishing skills? Sure, cranking in bass every 5 minutes is fun, but it doesn't help me build my skills to then be applied to more wary bass (at least I don't think it does).

Wow that's awesome, thank you for sharing, and congratulations!

He had a lots of pretty blue spots and bright orange fringe. Hungry little guy.

Been coaxing a few here and there, even got a few pictures.

Okay, polarized glasses suggestion taken to heart. I haven't heard of cocoons, I'll have to look at them. I'll see what I can find. What I want is clam shell type that will go around my spectacles. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone else fishing my lake that wore polarized glasses or sunglasses. I'm sure there is, but... it's not the norm for sure. That might just give me a significant edge.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, I know I need a deep cycle marine battery and not a starting battery. I didn't even think to see what minn kota recommended, and I forgot about lithium batteries. I don't have an issue moving a battery... except I'm going to launch by hand, and then have to move everything into the boat, and one of the spots I've previously launched the boat, I had to move it 100 yards. So... lighter is better in those instances. Money isn't an issue between $85 and $99, but man... $200+ starts to be a horse of a different color.

I have a Buster Boat by Splash marine, which is a plastic bass raider type. I have purchased a 55 lb thrust Endura Max trolling motor, after reading a lot here on the bass raider thread about which trolling motor would be best for this type of boat. I plan to mostly just fish small bodies of water, and only half days mostly. But I will eventually put it in the river or fish all day somewhere. What battery should I get? I am looking at Walmart, and they have group 27 for $85 and a group 29 for $99. My main concern is the size and weight. Is there any reason to get the larger battery?

Honestly, I can only guess as to if they are in spawn or post spawn. My guess is they are spawning. I haven't seen any beds. I don't have polarized glasses, and the water is often not clear to see much. I wear spectacles, and I want to find polarized clipons that fit the frames I have, but I haven't found any thus far.

I appreciate all the suggestions. Thank you all. That gives me something to chew on, and some techniques I've not tried. I have tried flukes some with no luck so far. I've even tried rigging up dead shad that was floating, but not having much idea how to rig them, I had no luck there either. Today my buddy and I were fishing, He was using a 1/4oz rat-l-trap. I was using a cotton cordell super spot in 1/2oz. I got bit twice, landed 1. My first on a lipless! Never had success with them previously. My buddy has in the past caught with his preferred 1/4oz traps. But... I certainly think that the cordell is not as popular here. Another thing is that I was using gold colored... and I've had a lot of luck with gold colored cranks, whereas everyone else uses redcraw or sexy shad colored.

I have been having mild success with square bill crankbaits at my heavily pressured local city lake. This has happened several times, whereby, I try a spot and I get bit. After I catch 1 fish, I have no more luck, not with the lure that was originally used, nor any other color or type crank. And I also do not have luck with any other type of lure. This is sort of a pattern there, I've gotten multiple fish with texas rigs or square bill cranks. It's quite rare to catch more than 1 fish from the same spot though, and by that, I mean, after I cast to the same spot I think I got bit for a dozen more casts, I resume fan casting and have nothing else regardless of what I throw. Once in a while, I'll catch one, then closely after, catch another. Sometimes I persist and fish another half an hour before changing lures, and usually an hour before changing spots. The best myself and my buddy has ever done was 3 bass and 3 crappie together on crankbaits. That happened 1 time, earlier this year during late winter. The pressure this lake sees, at least in the spots that I fish; every nice day from about 4:00 until about dusk, probably 30 people fishing in that time and more on the weekends. Now... not everyone is bass fishing, and not everyone is dedicated. Some people walk the bank and make a few casts as they walk, others, like me, pick a spot and fish it an hour before moving. There is 1 corner, which looks really good with lots of stickups and brush that happens to be the first spot off the parking lot, it sees a tremendous amount of pressure. Everyone that passes by tries it. I have caught 1 fish on it, right after a rain (I surmise the fish know that people go in during a rain and they figured the pressure was off). I've never seen anyone else catch a bass there. Last year I focused on learning this lake, and fished it 2 or 3 times a week. I tried a lot of different stuff, paid attention to what others used, and what I found, and generally tried to learn where the fish hang out and what might work for them. I caught bass on, or had solid strikes on: cranbaits, square bills texas rigs using lizards, senko, 4" grub (most in green pumpkin) spinnerbaits whopper plopper soft body topwater frog beetle spin spit'n image buzzbait 4" hard swimbait I have seen others occasionally catch bass on: rooster tails jerkbait ned rigs swim jig chatterbait lipless crankbaits popper I fish all those things, though some not as much, like I rarely fish a ned rig, but I fish lipless some, and chatterbait some, and fish a WP pretty often. I've fished a jig a lot, never with a bite though. I've tried a bit of everything, lots of colors, lots of varieties. Some things that I was sure would work, like the spit'n image (only caught 1 fish) didn't work (fished it a LOT). That lure isn't available in the stores here, nor at cabelas 50 miles north, so it's less common I'm sure. Another thing I'd thought of that I was sure would work, was a lipless crank with a blade on the tail in place of the hook. I doubt they see many or any of those... I fished a red eyed shad so modified for a good stretch and never a nibble. Some things that you'd think wouldn't work, seem to be the best producers. All of the soft plastics I've had success on were green pumpkin color. Lizards rigged weightless Texas rigged worked the best so far. Changing color of the lizard failed to produce anything other than 1 nibble on a black/blue. My buddy has good success on rattle traps... but I do not. I've thrown some traps, some super spots, and some red eyes, and never had a bite on them. Lost a few though. I have good success on square bills, and he does too, which surprises me because they are quite popular. I choose colors that might not be as popular such as gold, or American shad, but never sexy shad. Though a friend caught a bass on a sexy shad colored square bill one day while I was there. The main reason I fish this lake is because when I go to town with my wife and kids, it's convenient for us to swing by there a few hours. My wife likes it; porta potties, walking trails, mowed grass. Now, sure I'd like to find a "better" spot, and I have a few other spots with less pressure, but that aren't as convenient, and often it's either fish this a few hours or not fish. I figured last year I'd use the opportunity to better my skillset. I started learning more about what fish/bass like; structure, wind, water temperature, lure selection and color for the conditions. And... I did get bit some. Now.. I ain't having 5 and 10 fish days (half days). But others I talk to, some at least, say they don't ever catch anything, or they only catch very rarely. I find that about every other to every third time I go for 2-4 hours, I do get one. I have put my boat in there a couple times, and it seems the bass are more apt to bite along the shorelines that don't have bank fishing access. That said... I still want to focus on getting bit in the regular bank spots as I can't put my boat in as often as I'd like. There is no night fishing at this lake, so I suspect the bass have learned that and adapted. I talked to several people that said the fishing is better in the mornings IE: very little pressure. I have fished it in the mornings only a few times and I didn't see any difference (I realize a few times isn't enough to make a determination). I suppose my point in this post is that I'm asking for advice on how to approach these waters... something that'll give me a bit of an edge. Advice of any kind is appreciated.

Oops, I said I bought it from Cabelas, but just remembered that I bought it from Walmart. I had looked at them in Cabelas and got my memories crossed. I am sure that it wasn't like that when I purchased it as I inspected it and another thoroughly, and chose the best one.

My Bass Buster has the foam saturated with water, I got a plan there. I am wondering what the difference in stability will be like between the boat now with 100+ pounds of water in the foam, vs how it'll be when I replace it? Will I notice a difference? Right now the boat is "stable" but it does feel somewhat tippy, though it's not tippy, just feels like it when leaning to the sides. I'm on page 117 now.

Thank you, exactly the info I was looking for.

That's a good idea, thanks.

Yes, I can get a good photo. I just haven't yet I will tomorrow, and post for everyone. I certainly wasn't using a death grip, the rods I have been using together are: 1. Berkley Lightning casting rod in question 2. Berkley Lightning Spinning rod 3. Zebco from the 80s. I've used #2 and #3 together with other rods, an Abu Black Max and a Bass Pro Crankin' Stick, and none of them have the same damage. Originally I just assumed that I had done it by carrying them together, but then I inspected the Berkley Lightning spinning rod and realized, it didn't have the same issue, which got me to thinking that perhaps there is an issue with the Berkley Lightning casting rod.

I bought a Berkley Lightning Rod, casting configuration recently from Walmart. I grabbed a couple of rods together, gently, but still I know that isn't best practice, for a short trek overland to a fishing spot. After I got back I noticed there was some chipping out of the clear topcoat on the rod. It appears to be from the eyes of the other rods rubbing against it. One of the other rods (3 in total) was a Berkley Lightning Rod that a member here gifted me. I've used it in the same manner since I started using it constantly, and it doesn't show the same type of wear. So I think that the new rod has a sub-standard top coat. Should the top coat resist rubbing against other rod's guides? Is it just normal and I have gotten lucky with the rod's I have that don't exhibit this? Should I contact Berkley over it? I don't have pictures right now, but I can get some tomorrow in the daylight. Thanks for the thoughts.

I lost track of where I was, glad that I posted what page I was on up there. Lots of information and ideas to sort through. I have a question. In the past I used 2 anchors, one on the bow and one on the stern, which was needed to keep the boat from drifting in the wind. I just tied the anchor line to the handle... I am thinking about adding an anchor mount to my Buster Boat. I have actually made one for the bow, but haven't installed it yet, since boat building was on hold for some other things. I did NOT have a rudder. My question is: Once I do have a rudder, will I still need 2 anchors, or will a bow anchor be enough?

Thanks for this explanation.

Interesting comments, thanks all. My boy caught a bass right at shoreline; it was about 2 pounds, and it was angry; it continued to fight even when lipped. It appeared to have an angry look in its eye - odd as that sounds.

I like his videos. While I don't watch a huge amount of youtube, I do watch a few, and his are at the top of the list.

A good video all the way around, but the interesting part of this video is at 12:30; The yakangler catches and releases a bass, and it turns and seems to attack the kayak. Very interesting behavior. I've caught bass myself that seemed to be nearly loathing with anger, wriggling and twisting. Anyone ever seen anything like this before or have additional thoughts.