(Un)official Hoosiers Thread

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

37 minutes ago, OddChase said:

Found an awesome retention pond not 5 minutes from my house. Managed to catch a nice bass on a black chatterbait and missed 3 others. The pond is very murky because it's fed by run-off water, what are some lures I should try there? 

Nice find!!  Try fishing a black/blue spinnerbait with a single colorado blade really slow along the bottom.  Also, a black or black w red flake senko will likely catch every bass in that pond.  

When I was younger I may or may not have snuck onto certain golf courses at night with some buddies to pond fish.  The only tackle I would need was a worm rod and black senkos, texas-rigged weightless on a straight shank 3/0.  It's crazy how many big bass are in those little ponds.

[tstraub]

I hit the lake for a few hours today.  Missed a few fish and did manage to get one to the boat.  Most people would probably not conciser that a real good day on the water but it was my first bass of the season and the first fish on my *** so I'll take it.  attached is a picture of my fish today and my oldest son's fish from yesterday.

[IndianaFinesse]

I have been busy fishing for the last three days, on Saturday I spent most of the day crappie fishing and trolling for white bass.  Ended up with only two crappie between 7 am. and 12 am. and after that trolled for white bass until 2:30. I caught a ton of white bass, so many I lost count.  Later on in the afternoon I switched to largemouth and caught thirty one, but only three over fifteen inches and all on the Ned.  

On Sunday I concentrated on catching bigger bass, only throwing jigs and swimbaits in deeper water.  I saw no increase in size whatsoever, only a severe decrease in numbers.  I only caught thirteen bass and zero over fifteen inches in three hours.  All of the fish are a jig skipped underneath docks.

Today I started with jigs again, but after four hours and only six bass in the 12-14 inch range and none over fifteen, I switched to the Ned rig.  Over the next two and a half hours I caught about 35-40 bass, with five over fifteen inches.  There goes my theory of catching bigger bass with jigs.  Most of the bass were caught under docks, but once the sun started setting they moved to the shoreline in one to eight feet if water.  The bigger bass came five to twenty feet of the shoreline while the more numerous smaller bass were closer in.  All of the bass ate the half of a zinkerz fished with a swim glide and shake retrieve.  

So I have came to the conclusion that I don't necessarily need to upside my baits to get a better size, I just need to cast a little farther off the shoreline and under deeper docks.

 

 

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

Will any of you please post a picture of your Ned rig presentation?  When I google ned rig and hit images the results are varied.  Is this deal catching more numbers than say a weightless wacky senko? 

I went out last evening and saw a couple bluegills on beds but most beds were empty.  I had success in main lake areas fishing paddle-tails over grass and back in coves flipping docks.

Anybody else hitting Geist tonight for the Tuesday nighter?

[IndianaFinesse]

1 hour ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

Will any of you please post a picture of your Ned rig presentation?  When I google ned rig and hit images the results are varied.  Is this deal catching more numbers than say a weightless wacky senko? 

I can't upload pics, but technically a Ned rig just means a soft plastic four inches and under on a tiny (usually 1/16 ounce) mushroom shaped jig head.  This could explain some of the variations you saw in he photos. All it is a small piece of plastic ( usually from z-man for the durability and buoyancy) threaded open hooked on a mushroom head.  What most people mean when they say the Ned rig, sometimes including myself, is either half of a zinkerz or a trd on a 1/16 ounce mushroom head with either a #4 or a #2 hook.  The finesse shroomz that was designed for the bait comes with a #4 hook, but since I started pouring my own because the shroomz are a dollar a piece I upsized the hook to a #2 and love it.  

The Ned rig catches way more fish than a wacky rigged senko, and instead of paying 7 bucks for a pack of senkos that will only last a fish or two, a pack of trds only costs 4$ and they usually last at least fifty to a hundred bass before tearing.  As far as actual numbers, last year when using a trd I averaged about a bass every 8 minutes, and so far this year I am averaging a bass in just under eight minutes when using the Ned rig.

[Team9nine]

2 hours ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

Will any of you please post a picture of your Ned rig presentation?  

A couple pics from Ned. The first is a variety of 1/2 ZinkerZ on Gopher mushroom heads. The second a variety of commonly used Z-Man baits paired with 1/32, 1/16 and 3/32 oz. Gopher jigheads.

[OddChase]

42 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

I can't upload pics, but technically a Ned rig just means a soft plastic four inches and under on a tiny (usually 1/16 ounce) mushroom shaped jig head.  This could explain some of the variations you saw in he photos. All it is a small piece of plastic ( usually from z-man for the durability and buoyancy) threaded open hooked on a mushroom head.  What most people mean when they say the Ned rig, sometimes including myself, is either half of a zinkerz or a trd on a 1/16 ounce mushroom head with either a #4 or a #2 hook.  The finesse shroomz that was designed for the bait comes with a #4 hook, but since I started pouring my own because the shroomz are a dollar a piece I upsized the hook to a #2 and love it.  

The Ned rig catches way more fish than a wacky rigged senko, and instead of paying 7 bucks for a pack of senkos that will only last a fish or two, a pack of trds only costs 4$ and they usually last at least fifty to a hundred bass before tearing.  As far as actual numbers, last year when using a trd I averaged about a bass every 8 minutes, and so far this year I am averaging a bass in just under eight minutes when using the Ned rig.

Are you going to be selling these jig heads? 

[Team9nine]

3 minutes ago, OddChase said:

Are you going to be selling these jig heads? 

Gopher's are available online from Gopher Tackle Co. in most any color you could want. It's where I buy all mine direct. The other commonly used head (not pictured) is the Z-Man ShroomZ which is available at most online tackle retailers and in quite a few local stores.

-T9

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

do these get hit on the fall, on a tap tap tap, or while still on the bottom? thnx

So these half moon jigs by VMC with say a 5" senko would be an upsized Ned presentation?

[Team9nine]

Yes  

Fish them shallow on open banks. Often times fish will hit it on the initial fall, but if not, you can swim them, hop them, drag them or just dead stick them. Fish eat 'em all those ways depending upon their activity level.

-T9

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

ok.  thanks for the info!!

In other news are you guys ready for the free comedy shows live from your local boat ramps this weekend??  Should at least make the long lines bearable  

[Team9nine]

VMC half-moon jig heads are more like a shakey-head with a larger hook. Notice how much smaller the Gopher hooks are, usually nothing bigger than a size 2. Also, the VMCs come in nothing lighter than 3/32 oz. Most Ned riggers never go that heavy, preferrig to use 1/16 or 1/32 oz. heads most of the time. Not that you couldn't catch fish with them, but they wouldn't be considered part of the Midwest finesse (Ned rig) system. 

As for the weekend comedy of errors, Sometimes I fight it, sometimes I don't, but I've learned to give myself options that avoid the worst of it  Maybe the rain threat will keep some of the traffic away.

-T9  

[Alan Reed]

Wife and I went out last night at Cypress lake. It was a peaceful night on the kayaks but not much happening with the fish. This lake has been a challenge so I brought the depth finder and tried dropping my lure down on the little humps and bush piles on the bottom. I hooked one that was under a downed tree on a TX rigged worm and this fish took me for a ride. It was everything I could do to keep the pole in my hands. After a bitI had enough and tried to reverse the the direction of the fish so I could start reeling and broke my 30 lbs braid. 

Not sureit was a bass likely a Cat but it was fun while it lasted. But that was it for the night.

One highlight of the day was that I won the ZMan and Bassin YouTube give away.

[IndianaFinesse]

Fished last night for an hour and a half.  Caught 22 bass, half on he Ned rig and the other half on a Texas rigged grass pig.  They were still in the same areas as yesterday, but I fished in the weeds with the grass pig instead of avoiding them.  

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

fished the tuesday night tournament on Geist last night with a buddy.  The bite was tougher than it's been.  We barely got a limit, biggest was a 4, others were 2 or less.  I think the winning bag was just under 14.  Big bass was 5.73.  We went to locations that have been producing but nobody was home.  All of our fish came from locations we tried for the first time.  I was catching them on a frog and a paddle-tail, my buddy caught his swimming a chigger craw.

47 minutes ago, Alan Reed said:

Wife and I went out last night at Cypress lake. It was a peaceful night on the kayaks but not much happening with the fish. This lake has been a challenge so I brought the depth finder and tried dropping my lure down on the little humps and bush piles on the bottom. I hooked one that was under a downed tree on a TX rigged worm and this fish took me for a ride. It was everything I could do to keep the pole in my hands. After a bitI had enough and tried to reverse the the direction of the fish so I could start reeling and broke my 30 lbs braid. 

Not sureit was a bass likely a Cat but it was fun while it lasted. But that was it for the night.

One highlight of the day was that I won the ZMan and Bassin YouTube give away.

sounds like he broke you off under that tree.  30# braid is not easy to break unless you have a leader tied on.  Might have been a giant!

33 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Fished last night for an hour and a half.  Caught 22 bass, half on he Ned rig and the other half on a Texas rigged grass pig.  They were still in the same areas as yesterday, but I fished in the weeds with the grass pig instead of avoiding them.  

22 bass in 90 minutes?  So when are you taking me fishing???  

[OddChase]

46 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Fished last night for an hour and a half.  Caught 22 bass, half on he Ned rig and the other half on a Texas rigged grass pig.  They were still in the same areas as yesterday, but I fished in the weeds with the grass pig instead of avoiding them.  

Finally got my Ned gear together, plan on trying it out soon. Junebug or coppertruese after the rains ? 

[IndianaFinesse]

18 minutes ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

 

18 minutes ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

22 bass in 90 minutes?  So when are you taking me fishing???  

Most of them were just little 12-14 inch bass, and only two were over fifteen inches.  Even though most of them are small, it's still fun to catch a lot of bass with the occasional better sized fish mixed in.

4 minutes ago, OddChase said:

Finally got my Ned gear together, plan on trying it out soon. Junebug or coppertruese after the rains ? 

I usually use coppertruse when the water gets muddy, but the only way to find out for sure is to try them both out and let the fish decide.

[Alan Reed]

1 hour ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

fished the tuesday night tournament on Geist last night with a buddy.  The bite was tougher than it's been.  We barely got a limit, biggest was a 4, others were 2 or less.  I think the winning bag was just under 14.  Big bass was 5.73.  We went to locations that have been producing but nobody was home.  All of our fish came from locations we tried for the first time.  I was catching them on a frog and a paddle-tail, my buddy caught his swimming a chigger craw.

sounds like he broke you off under that tree.  30# braid is not easy to break unless you have a leader tied on.  Might have been a giant!

22 bass in 90 minutes?  So when are you taking me fishing???  

He had already pulled me and the kayak a long ways from the tree

[OddChase]

Two part post

1) I once heard a man say "If you can catch fish in Indiana, you can catch them anywhere." For those of you lucky enough to fish non-Hoosier waters, did you find it easier?

2) What are the best tactics to fish a lake that has better than average visibility (Lake Summit for example) without a boat? I was told it is better to fish it before the sun comes up or go on days that are cloudy. Just looking for some suggestions/opinions/expertise. 

Thanks, Chase

[IndianaFinesse]

12 hours ago, OddChase said:

 

2) What are the best tactics to fish a lake that has better than average visibility (Lake Summit for example) without a boat? I was told it is better to fish it before the sun comes up or go on days that are cloudy. Just looking for some suggestions/opinions/expertise. 

Thanks, Chase

Can't answer the first question, but I learned how to bass fish in a clear water gravel pit with 15'+ visibility.  The fishing is far better at dusk, dawn, and night.  Another great condition is rain or wind, the more the better as it limits the amount of light penetration.  The biggest bass that I have seen was caught in the middle of a rain storm during the middle of summer.  Good lure choices are baits with a lot of action, like swimbaits, 10" ribbon tail worms, jerkbaits, Topwaters, etc. all work well.  The bass usually (but not always) are a little deeper than normal because of the amount of light penetration and the weeds grow much deeper, which helps keep the oxygen level up in the deeper areas.  Another thing is that you should always keep a sight fishing lure tied on in clear water, at least in gravel pits you can sight fish in fifteen feet of water.  I usually use a trd as you can deadstick it in front of there faces till they bite, and it can do just about anything to match the fishes mood.

 Anyway, I fished this morning before the storms came in for about five and a half hours.  For the first three and a half hours I threw a pop-r at rip rap banks working it very quickly for the active bass because of the approaching storm.  It caught 38 bass, most were again just little 13-14 inch bass but it was till fun seeing them blow up on the bait.  Only six bass were over fifteen inches.  

Then for the remainder of the time I forced myself to put down the pop-r and just use a savage gear line thru trout.  I hooked three bass and had five followers.  I only landed one nice ~20 inch fish because the drag on my reel decided it couldn't tighten past about three pounds of pressure, so I had to thumb the spool to make up for it.  Even with that it was extremely hard to get a good hook set though, so I guess I am going to have to find the cash to get another reel.  I have no idea how that could happen, It used to get tighter than that but it is an old reel.  I still figured if the drag was going to go it would altogether lock down or be on permanent free spool.  

[OddChase]

8 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Can't answer the first question, but I learned how to bass fish in a clear water gravel pit with 15'+ visibility.  The fishing is far better at dusk, dawn, and night.  Another great condition is rain or wind, the more the better as it limits the amount of light penetration.  The biggest bass that I have seen was caught in the middle of a rain storm during the middle of summer.  Good lure choices are baits with a lot of action, like swimbaits, 10" ribbon tail worms, jerkbaits, Topwaters, etc. all work well.  The bass usually (but not always) are a little deeper than normal because of the amount of light penetration and the weeds grow much deeper, which helps keep the oxygen level up in the deeper areas.  Another thing is that you should always keep a sight fishing lure tied on in clear water, at least in gravel pits you can sight fish in fifteen feet of water.  I usually use a trd as you can deadstick it in front of there faces till they bite, and it can do just about anything to match the fishes mood.

Thank you for the suggestions! I was able to sight fish for a few bass using the TRD as you said. Caught 2 nice ones but spooked the rest due to the clarity. I have a KVD Sexy Dawg Jr I might try this evening over the weed beds. Also, sorry about your reel, hopefully it gets fixed!

Not sure where you live, but starting Tuesday, May 31, the U.S. 40 garage sale is starting. I plan on going out and hunting for a baitcaster or two and you can usually get some good deals. Here's a little info on the garage sale: http://fleamarket.about.com/od/multimileyardsaleevents/p/historicnationalroadyardsale.htm

[BassassinX]

I have a large selection I'm selling for good prices. In Greenwood

1 hour ago, OddChase said:

 

Not sure where you live, but starting Tuesday, May 31, the U.S. 40 garage sale is starting. I plan on going out and hunting for a baitcaster or two and you can usually get some good deals. Here's a little info 

[OddChase]

24 minutes ago, BassassinX said:

I have a large selection I'm selling for good prices. In Greenwood

Feel free to send me a private message with what you have for sale and the prices (Nothing more than $100 as this is my first baitcaster). Greenwood is a bit of a drive but I'd be willing if your prices are in my range, thanks. 

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

On 5/26/2016 at 9:58 AM, OddChase said:

Two part post

1) I once heard a man say "If you can catch fish in Indiana, you can catch them anywhere." For those of you lucky enough to fish non-Hoosier waters, did you find it easier?

Thanks, Chase

That man you heard talking knows his stuff!  I'm originally from Winter Haven, FL but have lived in central IN for the past 20 years.  Now when I go home to fish with family and friends on Toho or the stick marsh, I almost always out-catch them and I do find it easier than fishing here in IN.   The obvious reasons are the consistent shallow depths in FL lakes, and the presentation and technique diversity that I've had to learn for fishing all conditions in 4 seasons here in IN.  

There are so many fishing techniques one can learn here in IN based on lake structure/conditions that can also be used in other states.  For example, you will learn how to fish timber if you're on Patoka.  You can also use that technique in Texas on Lake Falcon.  If you fish Geist, you'll learn how to fish offshore over grass, which is a technique I excel with in FL on the Winter Haven Chain.  

On 5/26/2016 at 9:58 AM, OddChase said:

2) What are the best tactics to fish a lake that has better than average visibility (Lake Summit for example) without a boat? I was told it is better to fish it before the sun comes up or go on days that are cloudy. Just looking for some suggestions/opinions/expertise. 

I've never fished Summit, but I live on a 200 acre gravel pit that has 15' clarity.  Fishing from shore, low light conditions are best.  You can also fish clear water during sunny days, as fish will be stacked under docks and bridges.  Make sure your approach is stealthy, and make your casts from as far away as possible.  Fish slowly and try and match your presentation to natural baitfish/shad.  Looking at Summit Lake on google maps, there are just a couple docks and only one bridge.  Maybe another lake (like Prairie Creek Reservoir which is North of Summit and has plenty of docks) might be a better choice for shore fishing during sunny conditions.

[OddChase]

2 minutes ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

I've never fished Summit, but I live on a 200 acre gravel pit that has 15' clarity.  Fishing from shore, low light conditions are best.  You can also fish clear water during sunny days, as fish will be stacked under docks and bridges.  Make sure your approach is stealthy, and make your casts from as far away as possible.  Fish slowly and try and match your presentation to natural baitfish/shad.  Looking at Summit Lake on google maps, there are just a couple docks and only one bridge.  Maybe another lake (like Prairie Creek Reservoir which is North of Summit) might be a better choice for shore fishing.

Thanks for your input. I need to make a trip to Prairie Creek soon, I just happen to have a season pass to fish Summit. Hopefully next week I'll hit up some new water.