Thanks Bass Resource Community

[Tim Cox]

Hey Folks,

   I just wanted to reach out to say thank you all for all the contributions to this site.  I just started bass fishing this year, and it has been a slow, painful start.  None of my friends or family are fishermen, so I've been learning by the knowledge shared here, and a few helpful YouTube channels.

 

   At the beginning of spring, I would fish for 2-3 hours sometimes, and literally not even get a bite.  I couldn't find the fish, and even if I did, I wasn't even enticing them to bite.  My luck has changed big time due a a drought in Texas- I have a creek not 5 minutes from my house and the water is quite low.  This has created a few pools that have 3 pound bass isolated.  This has been especially fruitful because they are HUNGRY!!!

 

   I've now caught them on texas, wacky, splitshot, shakeyheads, and dropshot rigs.  Crankbaits (both lipless and squarebills), frogs, poppers, and the infamous whopper plopper.  I was even able to get my wife interested by setting her up with a dropshot rig and she caught a 3 pounder on her first cast!!!   I still have a hard time catching on spinnerbaits and jigs, which is weird because I've read that they should be solid baits no matter the time of year.

 

   I haven't found it easy to learn being bank bound in high pressure areas (I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area).  To make all this even better, my wife WANTS to get a boat!  Next up, take our skills to Lake Fork!

 

Again, to the entire Bass Resource community- thank you for all the tips and expertise.  

[roadwarrior]

Save some extra money and hire a guide at Lake Fork in late February or March. You will catch

a ton of bass and learn a lot from your guided trip. Several members can recommend guides,

but you will need to make arrangements now for Prime Time.

 

 

[kenmitch]

Never argue with the wife when she wants to buy a boat....You lucky devil.

 

Good luck on your future adventures!

 

Now back to the stranded bass....Do you think the pools will shrivel up and they'll die? Is it possible to catch in smaller pools and release in larger ones? Bass gods will reward you for saving them.

[Tim Cox]

I've been concerned with that as well.  However, the creek I'm fishing has a "low water" crossing, but it's almost like a 8 ft tall dam.  The water on the other side of the road is still plenty high enough, so if the pools really start getting small, I'll just take them over and release where there's more water.

 

Slight change from previous status, I got a few to catch on a $1 Walmart spinner.  I've also found that there is a big one in this creek.  I caught a 3 pound LMB on a Whopper Plopper, put him back in and caught another on the next cast. I didn't change a thing, but my drag wasn't getting reeling him in at all.  By the time I fixed that, he wrapped my line and WP around a laydown.  Not only did I lose what would have been my PB for sure, I also lost my $15 Whopper Plopper.

 

I've got to catch this fish..

[J Francho]

18 minutes ago, Tim Cox said:

I've got to catch this fish..

I know that feeling.  There was a large pond near my workplace a few years ago.  I caught a 6-3 on a frog.  While I was reeling it in, a much larger fish attacked it, much like I see smallmouth do.  I'm haunted by that fish.  Pretty sure it beat my PB NY largemouth, which is 7-2.

[Catt]

Excellent results ?

 

Sometimes I think fishing small waters from the bank can teach us more than starting on a big body of water in a boat.

 

I know it can humble ya!

 

[MichaelCopeland]

Congratulations on all your success thus far! Keep it up! Another congrats on the wife getting involved with bass fishing and wanting a boat! I can't talk my girlfriend into bass fishing to save my life. She'd rather fish for catfish...lol! The bass being as hungry as they are in the shallow pools tells me there probably isn't sufficient forage for them there. To be on the safe side I would start letting them go on the other side of the 8' dam that has the deeper water. That will at least increase their chances of survival a little more if not substantially more. Take care, good luck and if I haven't already, Welcome to our fishing family, @Tim Cox! ?

[LionHeart]

Lakes IMO are much harder to fish than a small body of water.  You spend half the time thinking you're doing something wrong, when in reality, there may just not be any fish where you are.

 

Also, I find lake fish tougher to catch in general, while pond fish.....well.