(Un)official Hoosiers Thread

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

you could hit Summit at first light to take advantage of the low light conditions, then once the sun is up drive to Prairie Creek to fish around the boat docks.

[tstraub]

I watched the lake change colors, surface temperature is dropping, and organic matter is floating to the top.  I believe we're experiencing spring turnover.  The fish have all but quit biting.  My son did get one real nice 14 inch crappie early this morning but only a few small fish since.

[IndianaFinesse]

I spent about five hours this morning trying to get some fishing time in before the dreaded pleasure boaters came out.  I left everything home except the savage gear 6 inch swimbait, and ended up catching four bass on it.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of fifteen to sixteen inch fish it catches, the smallest fish was only 15.5 inches and still choked the swimbait.  It was a big change going from catching ~ten bass an hour to only four in five, but they were of a much better quality and the largest weighed 3.4.  The bass were for the most part on points and sharp dropping shorelines near the channel, but one was in the back of a cove.  

I swapped the baitcasting reel on one of my spider rigging poles out for the one on my baitcasting rod that i use for bass, and that actually worked ok and was much lighter and easier to palm. 

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, IndianaFinesse said:

I spent about five hours this morning trying to get some fishing time in before the dreaded pleasure boaters came out.  I left everything home except the savage gear 6 inch swimbait, and ended up catching four bass on it.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of fifteen to sixteen inch fish it catches, the smallest fish was only 15.5 inches and still choked the swimbait.  It was a big change going from catching ~ten bass an hour to only four in five, but they were of a much better quality and the largest weighed 3.4.  The bass were for the most part on points and sharp dropping shorelines near the channel, but one was in the back of a cove.  

I swapped the baitcasting reel on one of my spider rigging poles out for the one on my baitcasting rod that i use for bass, and that actually worked ok and was much lighter and easier to palm. 

That's been my experience throwing swimbaits on this lake - average 1 bass per hour. It's just enough to keep me entertained for a trip or two, but I could never live with that catch rate over an entire season 

-T9

[BassassinX]

Do you rig your swim bait with a weighted hook up top? Or line through with a treble on bottom?

[OddChase]

Been using the Ned rig for a few days now, and it is absolutely crushing all other lures in my box. Some of the biggest fish I've seen come out of a pond I've caught on a Ned. Even caught my very first smallie on it while doing a glide shake retrieve in 1 foot of water in a river. For anyone who hasn't tried the Ned or doesn't believe in it, I will personally reimburse you if you don't catch a fish on it. 

[rfplaw]

Hoosier 2016 update. Caught 2 big largemouth this season in northwest Indiana. 

[tstraub]

OK all this talk about ned rigs has finally got to me.  I have a $25 gift card for Bass Pro Shop.  I figure that should be enough to get a few jig heads and a couple different colors of TRDs to get started.  How castable are these things?  Can I do it on a baitcaster?  I do have spinning gear but I have a family of 6 and if these things catch fish as well as everyone says, everybody is going to want one and I would rather not keep changing rods back and forth between bobbers and ned rigs every time they decide they want to fish the other bait.  So I might run short on spinning rods for myself.  I have an old daiwa ML pistol grip rod with an H2O Xpress mettle that I currently use to toss 1/8 oz beetle spins and road runner jigs for crappie.  It works fine for me on those lures granted it will throw a 1/4 Mepps a lot further but if I have an 1/8 oz I can get a good fishable distance and there is no need to move the boat closer for me to reach the fish.  So do you guys think the ned is any harder to cast than these lures?

[BassassinX]

I just recently tried the ned rig,  and i throw it on a baitcaster.  Definitely takes some discipline but is do able. I throw it on a lews tourney mb reel with a 6'8" lews tournament pro tp1 top water rod.

[OddChase]

5 hours ago, tstraub said:

OK all this talk about ned rigs has finally got to me.  I have a $25 gift card for Bass Pro Shop.  I figure that should be enough to get a few jig heads and a couple different colors of TRDs to get started.  How castable are these things?  Can I do it on a baitcaster?  I do have spinning gear but I have a family of 6 and if these things catch fish as well as everyone says, everybody is going to want one and I would rather not keep changing rods back and forth between bobbers and ned rigs every time they decide they want to fish the other bait.  So I might run short on spinning rods for myself.  I have an old daiwa ML pistol grip rod with an H2O Xpress mettle that I currently use to toss 1/8 oz beetle spins and road runner jigs for crappie.  It works fine for me on those lures granted it will throw a 1/4 Mepps a lot further but if I have an 1/8 oz I can get a good fishable distance and there is no need to move the boat closer for me to reach the fish.  So do you guys think the ned is any harder to cast than these lures?

I'm very new to the Ned but I use 1 rod/spinning reel for everything and I don't have any issues. I fish it on a 1/16oz jig head. I use a 6'6" Ugly Stik that is Med-Fast and have no issues tossing the TRD 20 to 25 yards on 6lb flouro (switching to mono soon). Not sure if I would try it on a baitcaster, the bait is nearly weightless in the water. Hope this helps

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

If catching lots and lots of 11" to 13" bass is your thing then you should hit Morse.  Fished it Sunday morning and caught 25 to 30 of them, but not one keeper. lol

The best part of the day was when caught a 14# channel cat on a spinner-bait!  

The 2nd best part of the day was when I went back to the marina to trailer at 11am.  I had just tied down to a dock, and this dude on a jet ski comes at high idle and slams right into the dock next to me, putting a hole in the front of his ski.  When I asked him if he was ok, he said "yeah I'm ok, but I don't know why my brakes didn't work."  Trying really really really hard not to laugh, I told him to pop it in reverse then told him his brakes seem ok to me.  Poor guy.  The crazies were definitely out this weekend. 

11 hours ago, OddChase said:

I'm very new to the Ned but I use 1 rod/spinning reel for everything and I don't have any issues. I fish it on a 1/16oz jig head. I use a 6'6" Ugly Stik that is Med-Fast and have no issues tossing the TRD 20 to 25 yards on 6lb flouro (switching to mono soon). Not sure if I would try it on a baitcaster, the bait is nearly weightless in the water. Hope this helps

Why switch to mono from flouro?  

[Crutch]

Northern Indiana here, up in Bristol/Middlebury.

I don't know about you guys but I'm real tired of the poor bass fishing up here. Mainly fish out of a Kayak/Canoe but it seems as though if I really want to catch any fish I need to make the trip into Michigan waters.

Very rarely catch bass more than 10" in length on the lakes I go to, if anything at all.

[OddChase]

2 hours ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

Why switch to mono from flouro?  

Not sure if it's the brand I use, but the flouro on my reel tends to fray if it rubs against a log, rock, etc. Especially if I get snagged up (happens quite often with the TRD) and I have to pull the line by hand in hopes of bending a hook, my line ALWAYS frays where I grab it. No way to prevent the fray and I end up cutting 10 yards of line every time I have to do it. I have never had that problem with monofilament. I'm using Spiderwire Flouro right now (was on sale).  

[Alan Reed]

4 hours ago, BigBassLoveSenkos said:

If catching lots and lots of 11" to 13" bass is your thing then you should hit Morse.  Fished it Sunday morning and caught 25 to 30 of them, but not one keeper. lol

The best part of the day was when caught a 14# channel cat on a spinner-bait!  

The 2nd best part of the day was when I went back to the marina to trailer at 11am.  I had just tied down to a dock, and this dude on a jet ski comes at high idle and slams right into the dock next to me, putting a hole in the front of his ski.  When I asked him if he was ok, he said "yeah I'm ok, but I don't know why my brakes didn't work."  Trying really really really hard not to laugh, I told him to pop it in reverse then told him his brakes seem ok to me.  Poor guy.  The crazies were definitely out this weekend. 

Why switch to mono from flouro?  

Stayed away from all the lakes and enjoyed some time on the rivers for that very reason.

[frosty]

Fellow Hoosiers!!! Howdy gents!

[BassassinX]

Switch to seaguar red label for better fray resistance.

 

 

Welcome frosty where do you hale from?  Where you like to fish?

[frosty]

2 minutes ago, BassassinX said:

Switch to seaguar red label for better fray resistance.

 

 

Welcome frosty where do you hale from?  Where you like to fish?

Thank you. I'm in Greencastle, been out and fished deer creek fwa a few times this year, I try to get out to the strip pits in clay county to, good shore fishing if you don't mind the ticks and snakes!

[frosty]

So this ned rig looks interesting, normally I don't have much luck with lures, I have caught all my bass with a crawler, double hooked with no weight. It's a very natural presentation that works well when the fish are aggressive or when they need to be finessed. So can you guys recommend something to start with (color, style) I checked the website out but I'm don't know what people are having success with. 

[OddChase]

2 hours ago, frosty said:

So this ned rig looks interesting, normally I don't have much luck with lures, I have caught all my bass with a crawler, double hooked with no weight. It's a very natural presentation that works well when the fish are aggressive or when they need to be finessed. So can you guys recommend something to start with (color, style) I checked the website out but I'm don't know what people are having success with. 

If you got a local tackle shop that carries Z-man I'd give them a visit. Otherwise, I have learned everything I know from the good people here. 3 colors for the TRD I would recommend are the green pumpkin for clear water, coppertreuse ( Suggested by @IndianaFinesse) and Junebug color (Ned Kehde's favorite) for stained and dirty water. Fished on the lightest Z-man finesse shroomZ you can find (typically a 1/15). 

Some info from Z-man regarding the rig: http://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/nedrig.html

A video from our good friend (and BR Admin) Glenn May: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/ned-rig.html

The best advice I can give you regarding the rig is to just try it and learn it. There are nearly endless ways to fish it which is what I love about it and I haven't been skunked since using it. 

Tight lines. 

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

14 hours ago, OddChase said:

Not sure if it's the brand I use, but the flouro on my reel tends to fray if it rubs against a log, rock, etc. Especially if I get snagged up (happens quite often with the TRD) and I have to pull the line by hand in hopes of bending a hook, my line ALWAYS frays where I grab it. No way to prevent the fray and I end up cutting 10 yards of line every time I have to do it. I have never had that problem with monofilament. I'm using Spiderwire Flouro right now (was on sale).  

Look up Sunline FC Sniper on Am@zon. It's a little pricey but well worth it.  Great knot strength, virtually no memory, and in 2 years using it haven't noticed fraying (i do tend to trim a few inches on each retie however).

[BassassinX]

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11:18 AM, Crutch said:

Northern Indiana here, up in Bristol/Middlebury.

I don't know about you guys but I'm real tired of the poor bass fishing up here. Mainly fish out of a Kayak/Canoe but it seems as though if I really want to catch any fish I need to make the trip into Michigan waters.

Very rarely catch bass more than 10" in length on the lakes I go to, if anything at all.

Not quite sure where that's at,  but if it's close to lake James/snow/big and little otter then give them a try,  my brother lives up there, crystal clear water, but still some nice bass.  They tend to hang in the connecting channels fyi.

[dsqui]

On 5/31/2016 at 11:18 AM, Crutch said:

Northern Indiana here, up in Bristol/Middlebury.

I don't know about you guys but I'm real tired of the poor bass fishing up here. Mainly fish out of a Kayak/Canoe but it seems as though if I really want to catch any fish I need to make the trip into Michigan waters.

Very rarely catch bass more than 10" in length on the lakes I go to, if anything at all.

some of the best bass fishing in the state is up here in this area or within a short drive try crusing down to webster or wawasee.. or over to lagrange area to hit the twin lakes or come more my way there are 101 lakes over here in steuben you got big turkey james crooked clear hamilton sylvan just to name a few of the bigger waters.  the problem you are having or atleast my guess on it is you are too close to all the amish man those guys keep everything.  nothing against that but man they will clean out a lake real fast during bedding season especially the smaller lakes and with 20 kids they can really get some numbers too.

[Crutch]

2 hours ago, dsqui said:

some of the best bass fishing in the state is up here in this area or within a short drive try crusing down to webster or wawasee.. or over to lagrange area to hit the twin lakes or come more my way there are 101 lakes over here in steuben you got big turkey james crooked clear hamilton sylvan just to name a few of the bigger waters.  the problem you are having or atleast my guess on it is you are too close to all the amish man those guys keep everything.  nothing against that but man they will clean out a lake real fast during bedding season especially the smaller lakes and with 20 kids they can really get some numbers too.

I'll have to take a trip to some different waters then. But yeah, I'm really close to the Amish and when I go to the lakes and I see them back their gas powered boat into the water (keep in mind, with their horse and buggy tethered up ) with buckets ready to catch and keep anything and everything it is disappointing that our local DNR isn't more active in this area. It's mostly Bluegill they are going after, but taking all the forage is a big deal too. Also, checked into how far away Stueben was and it's about a 3 hour drive from me. A little bit of a reach for now. I did look into Twin Lakes and it's not far from me at all, in fact I think I'm going to make the drive out there this Saturday morning and spend some time out there. Only 30 minutes East.

Quote

Not quite sure where that's at,  but if it's close to lake James/snow/big and little otter then give them a try,  my brother lives up there, crystal clear water, but still some nice bass.  They tend to hang in the connecting channels fyi.

These lakes are only an hour drive away so definitely going to check them out at some point.

I'll update this weekend on my catch!

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions, it's much appreciated!

Edited June 3, 2016 by Crutch

[dsqui]

6 hours ago, Crutch said:

I'll have to take a trip to some different waters then. But yeah, I'm really close to the Amish and when I go to the lakes and I see them back their gas powered boat into the water (keep in mind, with their horse and buggy tethered up ) with buckets ready to catch and keep anything and everything it is disappointing that our local DNR isn't more active in this area. It's mostly Bluegill they are going after, but taking all the forage is a big deal too. Also, checked into how far away Stueben was and it's about a 3 hour drive from me. A little bit of a reach for now. I did look into Twin Lakes and it's not far from me at all, in fact I think I'm going to make the drive out there this Saturday morning and spend some time out there. Only 30 minutes East.

These lakes are only an hour drive away so definitely going to check them out at some point.

I'll update this weekend on my catch!

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions, it's much appreciated!

those are the lakes i was talkin about if u are in middleberry steuben is only about an hour tops depending on buggy traffic all the lakes in steuben are by angola or close to that is (10-15 min drive time) and big turkey is the closest of all of em.  bass have kinda went down in numbers over there but u have good odds of catching a few bonus walleye which make for a great dinner after a long day on the water

[Crutch]

6 hours ago, dsqui said:

those are the lakes i was talkin about if u are in middleberry steuben is only about an hour tops depending on buggy traffic all the lakes in steuben are by angola or close to that is (10-15 min drive time) and big turkey is the closest of all of em.  bass have kinda went down in numbers over there but u have good odds of catching a few bonus walleye which make for a great dinner after a long day on the water

Oh, first thing I saw was Steuben Township. My mistake, didn't make the connection either.