A Day On The Res With Nitro!!

[Zoff]

Did you guys try spoons, NF? That would have been the tops on SML that day we were out.

[Nitrofreak]

Any sort of break/structure that leads to deep (greater than 10 feet) water.

Talking about the Rez, you will have little trouble finding water that deep! Many spots you are in 15 fow (or more) only 1 cast from shore.

And are we talking about numbers of bass or lunker bass? I think the process changes depending on what you are targeting, especially on this body of water.

If your electronics are working, then look for something like this (a favorite spot of mine on the Rez)

The homework I did or the point I was going to make was that since this was a winter pattern, I am looking for shallow waterways leading to a main body of water, the point that Quan and I fished was not far off from where I had originally thought about fishing, or wanted to fish with him, warm water will draw bait fish such as shad since they can not survive the cold, a period of warm days will heat up narrow shallow waterways and since I went back two weeks and tracked the weather, the area he caught fish in was close to where I would have suggested, this particular area also had 2 contributaries with a Y shaped entry to the spot we fished, current was also a deciding factor as to where I would have started my search, we all know how much shad love current, this particular point had everything a bait fish could want, including some really great cover, and for a winter pattern it had everything I would want.

There is no doubt that electronics play a huge roll in aiding the ability to find fish, but what if you had none how would you know where to look?

To me this would have been my first option or a great starting point from an outside perspective having never been there before.

[Nitrofreak]

Did you guys try spoons, NF? That would have been the tops on SML that day we were out.

No, I pulled the same trick as I did with you, I got so excited about the trip I forgot to double check my tackle LOL !!!

[Zoff]

You gonna learn this time? lol

[Nitrofreak]

if I have offended anyone, I offer my sincerest apologies, I am only offering my approach to fishing the Res had I not fished with Quanjig, a different look at some things may help you with some of your waters.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[Nitrofreak]

You gonna learn this time? lol

Already did, I bought a new tackle box that will hold almost everything....yes they are already packed lol !!!

[Traveler2586]

Already did, I bought a new tackle box that will hold almost everything....yes they are already packed lol !!!

Don't you know it's not how much you have, it's all about how you use what you have......

[Zoff]

Don't you know it's not how much you have, it's all about how you use what you have......

That sounds vaguely familiar. Tackle ***? Wonder what Freud would say?

[Nitrofreak]

There is so much truth to that...oh wise one !!!

I did use what I had and worked it pretty hard, the fact is the fish there did not want movement of any kind or at least very little, very long pauses were the key or very slow movement, had I had the pointers and my spoons I possibly could have kept up, even the top water got a couple of near takes on really long pause times but still I think the 5 1/2 spoon would have performed very well, jigs for some reason on a very long pause and a host of slow presentations did not cut the mustard either, they were keyed on the shad.

However now that you mention it, one other thing comes to mind, I did have a swim jig, but I did not present it at the right time, instead I focused on getting the JB to work that Quan offered and lost all other focus on other techniques and presentations I had left, hopping a swim bait off the bottom may have produced results but I still think the fall rate would have been to fast for what they wanted.

[Traveler2586]

Don't know about the Res. but when it's cold and I'm fishing slow & deep, I'll tie on a Shad or other style lip-less, or shallow diving crank, that matches the hatch on a Carolina rig; I'll start with a 24" leader and adjust down to a 18" and then 12". You'll need a weight that will take the lure down to depth; it doesn't take much to put some life into the lure and it will stay in the strike zone as long as you want. ( I think it looks like a bait fish looking at forage crawling in the bottom )

As far as the body of water, I'll find a good topo map, use Google Earth, and search the web for any postings; then when I get there I'll consider the other factors, i.e. sky, air temp, water temp, light, water color, etc. Then,,, I'll start out on the water and see a spot that looks "fishy",,, and all my plans go out the window....... Some will tell you I have A.D.D. but I call it F.S.D. ( Fishing Spot Disorder )...

( Santa knows where all the naughty girls live )

[CPBassFishing]

I really need to fish with you guys come to ashburn and I'll show you my little jewel of a golf course pond.

[Nitrofreak]

CP, Will you be able to join us for the Meet and Greet?

You will have a chance to fish with any one of the fellers !!!

[CPBassFishing]

CP, Will you be able to join us for the Meet and Greet?

You will have a chance to fish with any one of the fellers !!!

working on it. Has the location been decided on? I have not been following the thread.

[Nitrofreak]

Not yet, it will be on Jan 1st.

[Nitrofreak]

Don't know about the Res. but when it's cold and I'm fishing slow & deep, I'll tie on a Shad or other style lip-less, or shallow diving crank, that matches the hatch on a Carolina rig; I'll start with a 24" leader and adjust down to a 18" and then 12". You'll need a weight that will take the lure down to depth; it doesn't take much to put some life into the lure and it will stay in the strike zone as long as you want. ( I think it looks like a bait fish looking at forage crawling in the bottom )

As far as the body of water, I'll find a good topo map, use Google Earth, and search the web for any postings; then when I get there I'll consider the other factors, i.e. sky, air temp, water temp, light, water color, etc. Then,,, I'll start out on the water and see a spot that looks "fishy",,, and all my plans go out the window....... Some will tell you I have A.D.D. but I call it F.S.D. ( Fishing Spot Disorder )...

Why do you do that?

If you stop at a spot that "LOOKS FISHY" why dont you instead find a spot that "IS" fishy, then you won't have to throw all those well laid plans out the window.

[Traveler2586]

Why do you do that?

If you stop at a spot that "LOOKS FISHY" why dont you instead find a spot that "IS" fishy, then you won't have to throw all those well laid plans out the window.

Can't help myself, I have FSD

[Nitrofreak]

Can't help myself, I have FSD

Well we have something to work on then don't we !!

[Nitrofreak]

How many times have we been on locations that have had fish fill our screens only to come up empty handed?

Why do you think that is and what have you done to try and figure that out?

I know I have been on Anna so many times when this has happened and came away empty handed, there were a couple of times that the fish were breaking the surface and it keyed me into something.

Wayne P. posted something way, way back that got me thinking, "Patterns" these fish were chasing fish near and on the surface so these fish were the most active and I keyed in on the most active fish by throwing a surface bait, that bait at the time was a buzz bait I had already tied on, it was not the most productive bait for large fish but it did land me a couple of fish, actually 7 to be exact, ranging in 2 to 2 1/2 lbs.

This got me to thinking again, where were the bigger fish in the school?

After doing this on a couple of trips, I watched my sonar as fish broke the surface all around me, the bigger fish were still under these groups of bait fish, this time I had a super fluke tied on, I had it on a keel weighted hook to get down under the group of bait fish, and wham!! I had two nice fish to show for my efforts, one four pounder and one three pounder, since then I have done quite a bit of this type of fishing when I get into situations just like this one, since then I have learned that a large flutter spoon works even better in most cases by ripping it upward as the spoon reaches the bottom of the bait fish, I have found that this causes the bait fish to scatter and the spoon falling down under the bait will trigger a strike.

Since then I still do not have "Pattern" fishing down pact but I have found that if you take the time to think you can be more successful on the water taking advantage of things like this.

When you choose a bait, even if it's an expencive bait, your going to find that it does not work all the time, but what you will find is that it will work when the time is right if you keep trying, fishing "Patterns" will help you choose the right bait, it's up to you to use patience and excersize that brain you have to figure out these things.

Fish move slow in the winter, we all know that, bait presentations must match the bait fish and their speed, if you have ever been cold yourself, you know how hard it gets to move around, think about the bait fish in cold water, shad for example start to die in 40 degree water, their movements are so lathargic, thats why suspending jerk baits are so vital in cold weather, as long as you can get them where the bass are you will/can be successful, jigs are awesome cold water bass baits, but you really have to get them where the bass are so if they are on the bottom then you need a bottom presentation, or something they can easily access, for me, thats a jig, if they are up in the water under the bait fish or getting ready for spawn, then a slow moving bait or suspending bait, match the bait fish as close as you can, "Pattern" yourself as if you would pattern a fish, allow yourself to be open minded and willing to adapt to changes.

The time you spend patterning the fish will be worth it to you in the long run, experiment, explore, ask questions, but most of all, take the time on the water to find the fish first and see what they are doing and use your baits accordingly.

Good luck and be safe !!!