jwo1124

After taking al ook at some crude Topographical maps of a couple of the ponds I fish in, I have noticed that most areas youa re going to fish from shore, the deepest water you will be fishing in about 10'. On a long cast, plan on you lure being in 10' of water, based on fishing from shroe where the slope is gradual. Some spots in one pond, you can cast out over 20', these are good spots for the stocked salmon and trout. Anywaym when fishing in bass territory from shore, use lures that are made for shallower waters like topwaters, buzzbaits, spinenrbaits, jerkbaits, shallow cranks. Also try jigs and soft plastics for working the bottom.

I remember I was using a Slug Go this past season. I was fishing from shore, and in this pond ducks usually cruise the shallow peremeter of the pond in search of food. Well, whenever I would make a cast and there was a duck in the area, they would literally run across the water in an attempt to grab the slug go. I'm not sure if it is the fact that thi slure just looks very realistic or not, but I have never witnessed that before. I have never caught a bass on a slug go, but then again I have hardly fished with them.

I thought longer rods were the norm for Crappie fishing, especially when jigging. I heard they are weary and tend to spook easily, hence a longer rod let's you jig from a distance. I also saw Jimmy Houston catching a ton on light gear and a Road Runner...never done much crappie fishing. There are some in the local ponds I fish. I've only caught two though, mostly when fishing smaller lures.

If I were you, and money is tight, and I know how that feels, and you really only want to get one rod for about $100, I would get a 7' MH. You can find a really nice rod for $100. You may not get the best rod, but you'll get a real good one. My other suggestion would be, instead of getting a 100-120 dolalr rod, get a two 50-60 dollar rods. You will be able to get a decent mid range rod for the money, and you can get a 6'6" M power for T rigs and jigs in the medium weight range, and then get a 7'6" H power rod for working a C-Rig. This way you have two good rods and you don;t have to fiddle around retying. Plus you can use the H power rod for flipping/pitching and using frogs/toads. In the end the choice is yours, but like others said, it's always better to have a rod that is best for any application if you have the means for it. If I were you, and you don't want to 'down grade in order to get two rods, just get a C_Rig rod for now. You'll be able to use that rig, which is a great search tool for 'feeling" bottom structure and finding bottom hugging fish, plus you can use the same rod to flip/pitch up close cover/structure and use it as a frog/toad rod. I'd opt for a 7'6" H fast tip. You can always use an old M power spinning rod with braid or XT for texas rigging especially with bullets ranging from 1/8-3/8. Anything heavier I'd opt for a biatcaster and maybe a MH.

Thanks for the advice, but I really didn;t hear from anyone who made the choice not to go to college or to leave. I was hoping I would hear some stories like that, but I guess not. Personally, I know the value of a degree, both the tangible(the amount of money you'll earn) and the intangible(the respect you get from others for completing college) The thing is, I'm sick and tired of it. I'm sick of spending over $800 a year on books, sick of sitting in a crowded classroom, sick of being assigned text book reading. I woul dlike to get involved in something where I can learn a valueble skill or trade by hands on work, or an apprenticeship. I am thinking about trying to get into a trade since I feel I would be happier on my feet, moving around and being active during a work day, than sitting in a chair behind a desk. One of my friends got into the IBEW(electricina's union) out of high school and works during the day, gets paid, and gets an education while he is at it. He still goes to class one night a week for a few hours, but it's a single class a few hours a week. Compare this to having to juggle five different courses, five different books, fivwe different professors assigned papers, projects, readings, totaling to 15 hours a week in a class room and then more time outside of class. I have always found I retain a lot of the information from lectures be listeing and learning, but I do not do well at sitting and reading a book, that's just how I function. Sitting infront of someone and actively listening to them is much more stimualting to me than sitting quietly by myself with my face down at a book. I just think it is the lack of stimulation I feel which pushes me away from it. When I am working in a restaurant I feel the stimulation of what is going on around me, I am on my feet, constantly moving, thinking on my feet, and it gets me going, and that's what I need. School just doesn't provide me that. The only way I made it this far was drowing myself in coffee to stimulate myself enough to read the text and get by. I don;t know...the onyl reason I brought this up is because tomorrow is the last day to withdraw from courses and not get charged the $5,000+ for the semster. I took last January-May off, and I went back this past fall, and just felt complete apathy for school, and the same feeling is still there this semster. I knwo they say a college degree is worth about 1 million extra dollars over a lifetime, but I think it translates into motivation is worht the money. Some people channel their motivation into college and others channel it other places like work. Both, a college degree and four years of solid work experience in a field both take motivation, I think it comes down to what fits you better, working or reading and studying. I don't think either is the right or wrong path, just different roads to take. And like the Robert Frost poem says, soemtimes taking the Road not Taken can make all the difference in the world. Just think of how you learned to fish. Did you read how to cast, or how to tie a knot, or how to rig a plastic work? Or did you watch someone do it over and over, and then do it yourself over and over? And sure "supplemental" reading sure helped get people more knwoledgable abotu fishing, but so doesn;t fishing with someone more experienced than you and listening to and learning from them. I guess only time will tell. Thanks again for the advice and the concern.

Sorry to bring a somber energy to one of my favorite places on the web, but I need some serious advice. I am thinking about dropping out of college for the main reason of I never wanted to go in the first place. In my senior year of high school, 2003, I wasn't planning on going to college. I enlisted in the Army at 17 and headed down to georgia for basic training. Well, I had a pre existing neurological disorder(tourette's) not the funny I swear out of the blue kind, but just a nervous twitchy habit that really only appears during stress. Anyway, my recruiter told me to hide it, but at basic people started noticing it, and I brought it to the attention of a doctor at sick call and told them my recruiter told me not to tell anyone...long story short they didn;t keep me their and home I came. I think it was for the best, since having a nervous or stress disorder in the army isn;t the best thing. Since I never applied to any colleges or took my SATs since I wasn;t planning on going to college, I enrolled in a Community(2yr.) college. I got good grades becasue I applied myself on the coutn that I thought I "needed" to get into a four year schooo. Well a few years later I am at a local 4yr. State College. I HATE it. I have never been studious, and got through high school on my relatively natural intelligence. I never studied hard and got by with B's and C's since high school really isn;t that difficult. I think the only reason I did good in junior college was because I was motivated to get into a four year school. Now that I am there, nothing truly appeals to me, and I am just going through the motions. I enrolled into the Social Work program, thinking I would like it, not DESIRING to do it. I feel that unless you are motivated my passion or interest in something, you will never succeed. I'm 22, and I feel in my heart of hearts that college just isn;t for me. I don't like to read, especially not text books. Thee is no Major that truly appelas to me enough to go through college for, and I am just aimlessly, and half heartedly(if that) going through the motions because everyone is telling me that I should, or you need college to make it in life, you know the speal. Anyway, most family emmbers say stick with it, becasue they just want me to graduate and make a good living, I know they have my best interest at heart, but there are other ways of making a living. I have experience in the restaurant biz, and could fall into that and start supervising/managing and go from there. Managers make a decent living 45-55k after 2-5 years experience. If I can land a job at a corporate place or better yet a high end restaurant I can make a decent living. As I said to my brother today, all I am looking for is to make a living, not change the world, or pursue any sort of specific field. I think I could esily get into the business since I am close with my boss(the owner of the place) and he thinks highly of me. My true passions, where my heart has always been and probably will be) are fishing and exercise. I have always pursued these since my younger years. There are two types of people in this world, those driven my passion and emotion, and those driven by reasoning. Alot of people who are reasoning say, Hey, you go to college, get a job, and live life. But me, who are very passionate and emotionally invested in things, have a hard time focusing on things other than their passions. I figure if I can get a job managing in a resturant I can make a living, then on my off time I can pursue my passions. I would love to try to get into competitive bass fishing, as well as amateur bodybuilding/powerlifting. I think with enough passion and determination, anything within reason are attainable. I just don't see college doing anything for me in the future when I can get a job that I know a lot about, and have connections in without school. I just can;t do school anymore. I'm not motivated, I'm burnt out, I have a very hard time sitting with my face inside a book studying. I am looking for a route where I can make a decent working class living(not looking to live the life or a fat cat) that doesn;t involve reading enless pages of text books. I learn much better by observing and doing than I do at reading, that's just how I am. I think that's why I got into fishing. I oberved these guys on TV doing what they do, and by watching them and listening to them I learned a lot. I then mastered it by actually doing it myself. This just isn;t they way of college. It's read this, write this, take this test. There is no action, no hands on... I just need some advice, hopefully some positive stuff and not just the stay in school stuff. I'm really at my wick's end with school, and I think I'm just looking for some unbiased support from other guys that didn;t go the college route and still make ends meet and then some. I am an intelligent, motivated, and creative person, and I think I'm intelligent enough to know when something isn;t working for me, and that's how I see college. I have several friends and a cousin that either didn;t go to school or dropped out and found good work in the electrical field or construction fields.

Are we talking about the first week of ice out when the water turns over and the whole column is around 39-40*F and the water is supersaturaeted with Oxygen, or are we talking about early and mid spring lures and patters? I hear a lot of guys talking about jerkbaits, but I learned that during the early months when the water is still chilly bass will come into the shallows to feed, but they will spend most of their times back in deeper water. Is this ture, or once ice out comes bass will start moving up into the shallows for good until post spawn when they will shift a little more off the shoreline? I was going to say as far as lures go; suspending cranks, jigs, and tubes should work great. The tubes and jigs immitate crawfish coming out of hibernation, and the suspending cranks can be worked and kept right in the strike zone to trigger lethargic bass into eating a "dying or injured baitfish".

Thanks Shad Crank, that was a really informative post. When looking through catalogs or web sites at lures, I see that dozens of each type of bait in dozens of colors, and it's overwhelming think you need all that stuff. Now I don;t fish tournaments as of yet, although I have been in contanct with a local bass angling club, and I they are involved in Mass Bass which is a congregation of local clubs, and I'm sure a lot of the guys fish tournaments around the state, so I may end up doing the same as a ride a long or a "back of the boater". But, for the most part, fishing is just a recreational activity, but as with anything, I would like have fun doing it, and when it coems to fishing, the fun comes from having a fish tug at the end of your line. And that is pretty much dependent on getting them to bite your lure. So, I want to have enough of the right stuff to go out and catch my fair share of bass, but I'm not out looking to catch every bass in the water, hence I feel foolish stocking up on hundreds and hundres of dollars worth or gear.

Thanks for the replies guys. To be more specific I was sort of talking about specific lures and not brands. I know three of the most important lures(tools) will be soft plastics and spinnerbaits since Proabbly more bass are caught on these than any other two baits combined. They are both versitle, meaning they work under a variety of conditions including season, weather, water clarity, depth, as well as in open water or in/around cover. I think next would probably be jigs, topwater frogs, and buzzbaits. I can get to most fish in shallow and medium depths with these selected lures. The versatily of these lures make them stand out to me, plus they are all very, or at least fairly weedless and are good around cover.

Thanks for those links RW, I checked a couple out already and they seem like they will be useful. I just thoughtof this and I think the best way to choose lures is not by random choice or confidence, but it is dependent on location and fish behavior. A few things to think about when looking at location: 1.)What depth are you fishing 2.)Where are the fish holding in the specific area-i.e. suspending, hugging bottom, cruising around off the bottom, surface feeding 3.)Type of cover or structure-are you fishing deep open water, a open flat with sparce cover, or a flat with heavy cover, Are you banging the bank with a chuck and wind mentality... I think these three things will most likely help me, and others how to choose the lures they should purchases, stock up on, and tie on or have tied on during or before a trip. I think this is where doing your homework comes into play. Think of the situations and locations you normally fish, and choose lures that fit the bill. Then think about likely situations and locations you may encounter and purchase a couple lures that fit that bill. I think the best way to do this in my case, is to pick the lures that can be used in the most locations on any given day. I guess in a graph, or illustrated it would look something like this: Surface l l I'm sure many anglers have heard that Shallow Water 5' the key to catching fish is location and presentation l So, I guess a way to put it that applies to my l problem would be that location dictates presentation. Medium Deep 10' Further, l should choose the most productive lures l that can be fished in the most locations, thus 15' eliminating excess tackle, but still maintaining l productivity while fishing. The only down fall is that l since there seems to be a correlation between lure and Bottom fishable location, limiting some lures may limit fishable locations. i.e. Crankbaits - very productive, but a specialized lure for fishing open water, and probing certain depths for fish. If I did not involve them in my arsenal, I could miss a whole lot of area that may hold fish during a specific time. I'm sure this just looks liek a rant to some, but I hope everyone doesn;t think so. I think this theorizing and contemplation could help some more novice anglers understand why and when to pick lures, and also to understand the importance of undestanding the correlation between fishing location and lure choice, or better put; the "need" for a certain lure. Surface and Shallow running lures-good for fishing close to or targeting the the bank/shoreline or shoreline structure like lay down, lily pads, docks, etc. Medium running lures-good for fishing off the bank in more open water, or deeper water next to the bank like steep drop offs or ledges or points. Deep Running Lures-good for fishing far off the shore targeting deep water structure like boulders, brush piles, deep channel beds, etc. Now, some lures may be able to be used in various situations, and those are the best lures to have seeing how they can be utilized in more than one way. Always take into account that a weedless lure is more valuable than a non-weedless lure since it can be used in more places. This idea really got my brain going...as you can tell. I hope I made a few good points there. I'm sure I rattled off a bunch of material a lot of guys already know and utilize while out fishing, but hopefully I brought some new thoughts to some more inexperienced anglers to think about.

Do you find youself purchasing every type of bass fishing lure there is, or do you seem to have a few "favorite" or "confidence" baits that are used in most situtations? I find it very stressful thinking I have to own every type of lure there is for any given situation, and also find it virtually impossible to financially afford such things. I love to fish for bass, and would never give it up, but I just don't have the means spend a small fortune on a hobby right now. Being in school makes it difficult to budget between mandatory bills such as a cell phone, gas, car insurance, as well as ever day expenses like buying a cup of coffee or a sub when I'm out of the hosue and on the run. Everyone here knows how expensive it is to be an angler. I have found myself browsing tackle web sites over and over thinking about how many lures I "NEED", and I stress myself out. Don't get me wrong, if I had the money I would like to purchase everything on the wall at Dick's, but that's not reality. The reality is, I want to make the most out of bass fishing that my wallet allows me to. I'm kind of reaching out for advice to find out, being on a small budget, but wanting to get the best bang for my buck, literally, could you veteran guys name a handful of lures you would concentrate on to catch the most bass given limited equiptment. I would like to be one of the guys who goes out and busy the new LC bait in 5 different colors in 2 or 3 different sizes, but I just can;t do that. In the past I have had a lot of luck on plastics, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. I figured with this small arsenal I can fish the surface all the way to the bottom. Plastics are pretty cheap, and work just about anywhere in a Bass's environment. Plus for the price of one hard bodied lure, you get anywhere from 6-20 lures. Match this with a pack of worm hooks and a few sinkers and you can catch bass all season. I am not looking to limit myself that much though, just trying to get the bait monkey back in it's cage while still having an enjoyable and productive fishing season.

I think the biggest attribute for me, as someone already pointed out, they have to have the same if not a bigger passion for fishing as you. I mostly fish by myself from shore since no one I know really likes fishing as much as I do. Then there are times I'll take my younger bro, when he has nothing better to do, and he enjoys catching fish, but he doesn't enjoy fishing for them. If we are out there for an hour and don;t get a bite he wants to call it a day. I actually prefer fishing by myself. To me, fishing is the least social activity there is. I like getting out there with just me and nature and seeing how many fishing I can coax onto my hook. I think the more I make it a social activity, the less focused I am on the fishing, and to me the day is measured by how successful I was. To an extent, just being outside under the sky enjoying nature is a success in it's own...but let's not kid ourselves. We don't drop a grand each season on new gear and spend hours reading articles to go outside and watch the ducks and the swans paddle around...

OH $H!T, they were called Escalade...not Cadillac. I guess my sub conscious F'D me on that one.

I have been told Shimano rods are great quallity and have been recommended them. I was actually looking to purchjase that same rod except I think I am going to go with a BPS Crankin' Stick because they are on sale for 26.50 on the BPS web site. Check them out. Even if you don;t like it its only $26 and you could probably sell it to some one or have it as a back up.

Oh Well. A guy can dream can't he? I can't wait until April. I don't hate ice fishing, but I like actively casting...it keeps me attentive and focused. Ice fishing is too much like sitting around doing nothing for me. I'll probably get out there a few times though on the weekends and try my luck. I have to get a new fishing license though. I suggest everyone do the same too. Don't forget, it is a new year.

Ok, well we are having a freakish heat wave for this time of year. Earlier today I drove past a digital thermometer and it read 66*, last week we had a day in the teens. Today's high is suppose to be 70, all week highs are about 45, and lows are all above freezing. DO you think this could be warm enough to melt the ice?

I was in Dicks today, and I just stopped in to "look" before I knew it I had over $55 of lures in my hand. I finally took control and only bought 4 new ones. I really like the Xcalibur baits, and the Excalibur cranks. I'm not sure, but are these company's together? I got a Mann's 1-Minus, and these things look great. Larger than mos tother cranks I'm used to, but will hiopefulyl look like a nice big meal for a hungry Largemouth

So Reel Mech, you are saying they are worth buying and will most likely be a quality reel???

Not Sure...but why don't you try to introduce him to bass fishing. Maybe he'll take to it, and you guys can go on a double date to Dick's or Bsss Pro Shops with your bait monkeys ;D But seriously...bass fishing is probably the best freshwater fishing, try to make him like it. Get him a Bassin' Mag or something. But if he still doesn;t bite...(see what I did, it's a fishing joke) Try drop shotting, or cranking for some suspending bass

I was in Dick's about a few hours ago, picked up siome new baits, and I saw these reels named Cadillac that are put out by Quantum. I'm just wondering if anyone has tried these? I am in the market for a couple new reels, and at $70, they are priced well for my budget, Probably pick up 2-4 of them by the spring if they are worth it. They are 6.3:1, I'm not really a gear head, so can someone explain if this is a good ratio for worms, plastics, jig, and spinners, buzz, topwater, jerkbaits? I heard that you want a 5.1:1 for cranks...but the whole ratio thing is still new and unfamiliar to me.

I fish a pond that is almost parrallel to the one you described. In the summer the algae mats make it impossible to throw most lures. I have had lots of luck with topwaters and buzzbaits, I have had some come up on a floating frog, and also a worm pitched into or around cover usually works. I was sick of picking off wet, green hairlike algae from my lures every cast, so I throw the lures I mentioned and they don;t give me problems and they are productive. The worst it trying to get the stuff out of the skirt of your spinnerbait or the bearing swivel near the blades... >

Hey I'm sorry to hear about that. That really blows. If the town where I fish polluted the ponds and killed all the fish, I would go Ape Sh!t. Its awful how a whole ecosystem was destroyed because some dumb@$$ F'D up >

Thanks Bass. That was a lot of help. I just emailed a guy about joining a local club about 20-30 minutes away from me.

I live on the North Shore of MA, north of boston, and I was wondering if there are any Bass fishing clubs close to me, or even around MA in general. If so, Post or PM me. I'd love to get involved with one.

I'm with RW, but I would have said profile and action But really I just heard them talking about this on a fishing show. If you think about it, vision underwater isn't like vision above the water. Underwater, you have the water, sediments, algae, and plankton that compete with a basses vision. If you watch an underwate video you will see what I mean. It looks liek you are looking through sunglasses with green lenses. I'm sure in clearer water coloration differences and small details may play a roll, but as long as something looks like food, and acts like food: to a fish it is going to be food. I think the only importance in choosing a lure's color, is choosing a color that will be visible to a bass depending on the water clarity. The fish must see it before it eats it. This is why contrasts works so well. If you are fishing crystal clear water, any natural color will show up in a fish's view, since when the fish looks at it against the background of clear water, the profile of the lure will show up well. But if you took a natural patterned lure that is not gawdy, bright or flashy, and through it into highly fertile bass water with lots of algae and some suspending sediment, a bass would not be able to pick it up against the murky backdrop as well as a bright chartruese lure. Seeing how natural fish patterns are suspossed to help them camo into their surroundings. I also theorize that bass it stained and dirtier waters may be less choosy of food since they see less of it than bass in clear waters. Just as if you were near sighted and had to go through life with diminished vision, when you were hungry, anything that came by you and looked the slightest bit like food, chances are you are going to ****** at it without thinking to much about it, whereas a bass in clearer water may be more weary of an unnatural colored lure since they are able to get a better look at their food, and can tell the difference in slight details.