I might have figured something out!

[bc106111]

Made it to the local park today, a place where I’ve caught decent bass in the pst but have had no luck this year. Made several casts in several places with no luck so I moved to a spot where I have caught hundreds of bluegills in the past thinking well that’s where the bait is surely the bass are close by. 

 

This spot is right next to the big fountain fountain so I tied on a bluegill colored lipless and flung it out into the lake. Retrieved it at a steady pace and only a few cranks in WHAM fish on!

 

I knew it was decent because it was staying deep. When I finally got it landed I was stoked. Weighed at 1.85lbs which may not seem huge to some of you guys but most bass I catch are probably less than a pound and about 12” long so I was super pumped. 

 

Next cast a few cranks in again WHAM! This one felt huge. I start reeling it in and everything went limp. I realized my leader had pulled from my mainline ? this leads me to my first question. What is the best knot for tying fluorocarbon to braid? I usually use a double uni and it has worked fine when tying leaders on my fly line but I haven’t hooked anything larger and that is always mono-mono. 

 

So anyways I tied another lipless onto my braid made another cast into the same area and got hit again! Set the hook and the fish shortly threw it. After a few more casts I hooked into something HUGE it went limp shortly and I reeled in a huge carp scale. 

 

After several more casts and no bites I decided to change colors so I put on a big shad colored Clackin Rap and after a couple casts another Fish on!

 

Reeled this one in and it was a bit smaller probably just under a pound and a half but I was still excited. Unfortunately I had to leave then but now that I have something figured out I will be back with a vengeance. 

 

 

[Brandon O'tinger]

Nicely done. Yeah I get excited over any bass that is over a lb or is 15 inches in length. In tournaments those 1.5-2.0 lb bass very often make or break it for the anglers. Losing a fish like that can cost them 3+ spots. So I consider 1.5+ to be a solid catch.

[FishOn!GetTheNet]

Nice job. to bad about the lost leader I suggest you try the FG knot I switched to it 2 years ago and haven’t ever had a problem with it.as long as it’s tight when you tie it. I use 20lb braid and 20-15lb  floro and the knot always holds. if anything brakes it’s the leader.YouTube has videos on how to tie it.I think it’s faster and easier then the double uni and definitely stronger. I bet if you try it you’re going love it. have a great season 

[bc106111]

I will look it up, I may not have used enough wraps when tying my double uni honestly. 

 

Ill look that knot up for sure though thanks!

[lonnie g]

some Tims the funnest part of fishing is when you feel like you have over come the hunt and know you have made the correct choices. and yes when you feel that confidence, you just can't wait to get back and go after them. best of luck have a great year

[Coldbasser]

Great story , the improved Alberto knot has not failed me.

cheers

[Smokinal]

Thanks for sharing; nice story.

And congrats on putting together a pattern; that's what it's all about!

 

An Albright (or improved Alberto) will work, if tied right, 100% of the time.

Here's a nice site that's easy to follow. Click on Albright; I've used a blood knot with good success as well but the Albright is a slimmer knot.

 

https://www.animatedknots.com/knotlist.php

 

[J.Vincent]

This is a perfect example of good Angler Awareness....call it a hunch combined with experience ....well done !  Also, I would recommend trying Monofilament when fishing Lipless Crankbaits, the added stretch will work to your advantage . 

[bc106111]

1 hour ago, J.Vincent said:

This is a perfect example of good Angler Awareness....call it a hunch combined with experience ....well done !  Also, I would recommend trying Monofilament when fishing Lipless Crankbaits, the added stretch will work to your advantage . 

Shortly after the first couple fish I managed to cast over a branch and ended up severing my braid and lost about 1/2 my spool. Luckily I didn’t lose it in the water but still, so I was gonna respool that reel with mono. 

 

1 hour ago, Smokinal said:

Thanks for sharing; nice story.

And congrats on putting together a pattern; that's what it's all about!

 

An Albright (or improved Alberto) will work, if tied right, 100% of the time.

Here's a nice site that's easy to follow. Click on Albright; I've used a blood knot with good success as well but the Albright is a slimmer knot.

 

https://www.animatedknots.com/knotlist.php

 

 

I have used that site for most of my knot tying. I will look into the Albright for sure. Thanks!

[Oregon Native]

Keep my knots very simple:

Improved trilene

Palomar

Double Uni

Have caught fish from ounces to monster sturgeon....no need to change....or maybe I'm getting to old and one way to change!!!

[SWVABass]

Another vote for the Alberto knot here. I haven’t had it break on me yet. Nice job on the fish too!

[Hower08]

Alberto knot and even the blood knot. I used use a uni to uni knot and it would constantly fail 

[Paul Roberts]

Awesome fishing! We'll done.

 

Even better, yes, you are onto something. You found the prey your bass are using. That is a huge step.

 

As to knots, I like the FG Knot. Second, the Alberto.

 

Congrats. The grade ahead just got a bit more level.