Silly questions from a Newbie new question added

[Wizzlebiz]

Hey all. Im back with some questions that many will find rudimentary, puzzling or downright silly but I need to know your thoughs. 

 

Question 1

Do you believe bass are line shy

 

Question 2 

Snap swivels for quick change of lures? 

Personally I havent out of fear of losing a fish. But I want to know your thoughts. 

 

Question 3

I am just curious if anyone has tried chumming the water to draw bass to you then slipping a lure into the mix to catch them.....

 

Edit

Question 4

What exactly do you do with a trophy bass? Say I caught a 20lbs behemoth.  Is there someone I would call to confirm the weight? The measurements? Just put it back? Have it mounted? 

 

I have gone back and fourth on how stupid I am willing to look to have these questions answered.... Apparently im willing to go down for the answer. 

 

Thanks guys and remember be kind to your fellow fisherman. Some day they might have to save you from drowning. 

[EGbassing]

1. Not really, but it's hard to say for sure.

2. I actually think they probably spook fish more than any line but again, it's hard to say for sure, you could always experiment with it and find out better.

3. I think it's illegal in some places..? Am I right about that? If not, it could work. 

 

Good luck!

[Hammer 4]

1...Maybe, depends on a couple of things imho..If they are aggressively feeding, no. 

 

2...Always tie direct to the lure unless the maker includes a swivel, ect.

 

3...Never, not even when fishing saltwater. 

[Big Rick]

Search is your friend....

 

There are a ton of threads on bass being line shy, lure snaps and swivels, and even chumming. Probably more info than you could process in one setting. That said, I have mixed feelings on the line shyness of bass. I use Mustad Fastach Clips with great success. Even caught my new PB using it. 8lb 3 oz this spring. It's also available with a swivel. Pic attached. I know NOTHING about chumming.....

 

[Scott F]

1. No

2. Snaps, yes. Swivel, no.

3. No. Chumming will bring panfish in though. 

[Deleted account]

1. No.

2. snaps yes, snap swivels no for bass.

3. Yes.

[Wizzlebiz]

5 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

Search is your friend....

 

There are a ton of threads on bass being line shy, lure snaps and swivels, and even chumming. Probably more info than you could process in one setting. That said, I have mixed feelings on the line shyness of bass. I use Mustad Fastach Clips with great success. Even caught my new PB using it. 8lb 3 oz this spring. It's also available with a swivel. Pic attached. I know NOTHING about chumming.....

 

I understand there are old threads about such things however this is a forum as well as a library.  Updated info is always good stuff imho. 

 

Thank you for your feed back on the snap. Il take a closer look at those particular ones. 

[Timberwolf530]

1. The answer to this is yes and no.  Some are, some are not.  I'm erring on the side of caution and using the least visible line I can.  To me it's not a hassle to tie a leader.

2. Snaps only on crankbaits with split rings removed.  Snap swivels, no.  Swivels, yes on some things like flukes or floating worms.

3. No.

2 minutes ago, Timberwolf530 said:

 

 

[JustJames]

1 not sure

2 yes on snap, use it quite often even on weightless plastic

3 chumming, with what? A handful of worm or dozens of guppies? Never heard of chumming for bass.

[Wizzlebiz]

11 minutes ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

1 not sure

2 yes on snap, use it quite often even on weightless plastic

3 chumming, with what? A handful of worm or dozens of guppies? Never heard of chumming for bass.

Great question. I would assume a handful of worms or frozen anchovies in a nylon. I didnt really consider how to go about it much. More of a has anyone tried type of thing. 

[Black Hawk Basser]

1. My belief is no.  Do they see the line?  Maybe.  Does it hinder them from biting?  I don't think so, most of the time, in most of the waters we fish for them.

 

2. I almost always use fast lock snaps or the Fastach clips for crankbaits, and some topwaters with trebles.  I catch plenty of fish while using them, and that's enough to allow me to keep on with it.

 

3. I believe chumming is illegal in Iowa, so I've never attempted.  When I was a kid, our local lake had a tagged carp contest every year, and I remember tossing lots of sweet corn out as chum before I knew better than to follow regs.

[Hammer 4]

Update, just checked if chumming is legal in Calif..It is not permissible unless otherwise posted. This applies to freshwater.

[Wizzlebiz]

11 minutes ago, Hammer 4 said:

Update, just checked if chumming is legal in Calif..It is not permissible unless otherwise posted. This applies to freshwater.

Good to know. Thank you

[Daniel Abram]

To the first ? I was using stright braid not much luck at all. So i started tieing on leaders bite ibproved and caught much more fish. I cant say for sure if made a diff but i fish same places same bait with much better results 

[JediAmoeba]

1.  Yes.  But it depends on the lure and presentation as well as the fishery. Bass that are accustomed to seeing lures and lines all the time it's best to do what you can to hide said line, especially on finesse presentations.

 

2.  Yes and no.  On moving baits, usually.  On jerkbaits and soft plastics, no because it messes with the action.

 

3.  Are we catfishing?  

[WRB]

Swivel clips have thier place in fishing but not a common component used in bass fishing. Clips or snaps without a swivel are more common and used for easy changing of lures and enhancing some lures action. Swivels are also used separately to help reduce line twist for some lures that spin like adding a swivel to a split ring for some spoons and common component used with a Carolina rig.

I preferred Berkley cross lock snaps for decades and now like Owners hyper weld snaps, they are strong and light weight. I use snaps or clips on deep diving crankbaits, aviod tieing direct to split rings.

Are bass line shy; no. Line can impact a lures action or live bait negatively.

Chumming is a common practice for salt water fish, illegal in California for most fresh water fishing.

The current world record 22.35 lb LMB caught in Japan was chummed using live bluegill, it's legal in Japan and illegal to release a bass alive there.

Tom

[Wizzlebiz]

14 minutes ago, WRB said:

Swivel clips have thier place in fishing but not a common component used in bass fishing. Clips or snaps without a swivel are more common and used for easy changing of lures and enhancing some lures action. Swivels are also used separately to help reduce line twist for some lures that spin like adding a swivel to a split ring for some spoons and common component used with a Carolina rig.

I preferred Berkley cross lock snaps for decades and now like Owners hyper weld snaps, they are strong and light weight. I use snaps or clips on deep diving crankbaits, aviod tieing direct to split rings.

Are bass line shy; no. Line can impact a lures action or live bait negatively.

Chumming is a common practice for salt water fish, illegal in California for most fresh water fishing.

The current world record 22.35 lb LMB caught in Japan was chummed using live bluegill, it's legal in Japan and illegal to release a bass alive there.

Tom

Some solid trivia points here. I assume they feel it an invasive species in japan I take it?

[Hammer 4]

1 minute ago, Wizzlebiz said:

Some solid trivia points here. I assume they feel it an invasive species in japan I take it?

Yes.

[813basstard]

I hope I get to see someone chum with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or a jitterbug. I’d go have lunch with that man. 

 

He he has it figured out. 

[N Florida Mike]

I don’t think these questions are silly at all. Especially compared to some that people post?.

1. I think bass are somewhat line shy, especially the clearer the water. The murkier it gets the less it matters

2. I don’t use snap swivels. 

3. I keep fish chummed at my dock. When I had more time I did it at various spots all over the lake. I mostly use stale bread. It gets the bream concentrated , then the bass come for the bream. It doesn’t work as good just to go to a random spot and chum that way , and expect fish to immediately show up.Sometimes it takes days and even a couple weeks to get a good concentration of fish. But it does draw in bass that can be caught in a variety of ways, including using live bream !

4. Just get the local fish and game dept. number and a back up number for them. But they may not answer on the weekend or after hours, so it’s good to know a local warden you can call just in case.

[billmac]

I've always thought it was unlikely that bass would spook at line but big honking hooks don't bother them.

 

In direct contrast to what I just said above, I've never liked to tie on more hardware than necessary, just in case it spooked them.  I've been known to cut the swivels off and just use a straight snap.

 

Chumming.  It probably isn't a good idea, even if you can do it legally.  Nothing wrong with using live bait, but just put a hook on it.

[JediAmoeba]

After reading a few comments I realized I said yes to snap swivels.  I use snaps, but not swivels.  The only time I use swivels is on some worm rigs and a donkey rig.  Otherwise, I just use quick change snaps.  

[scaleface]

I think bass can become line shy .  

[MassYak85]

1. I believe they can be at times. I've fished before where seemingly the only difference in bites was the line, plus I fish some pretty clear water and it just gives me more confidence. 

 

2. Snaps, yes...swivels...yes....never snap swivels though. I've had them straighten out on fish or just straight break. Practice tying knots and any speed you might save is negligible and in the end not worth the added weakness of the snap swivel. It's also awful for baits like spinnerbaits where they can slide up the wire arm and foul a cast. 

 

3. If I was going to chum I'd just go straight to using live bait but that's just me. I don't see a reason it wouldn't work though. 

 

4. Check with your local tackle shops, most should have certified scales they will be able to verify fish with. The issue is transporting the fish. If you intend to skin mount it, doesn't matter, if you intend to release it just realize the likelihood of the fish dying while trying to get it somewhere to be verified is pretty high. But I believe like others said, in your area there are probably game wardens that can come and verify a catch at the lake. 

[islandbass]

6 hours ago, Wizzlebiz said:

Hey all. Im back with some questions that many will find rudimentary, puzzling or downright silly but I need to know your thoughs. 

 

Question 1

Do you believe bass are line shy — They can be but also not.

 

Quote

 

Question 2 

Snap swivels for quick change of lures? 

Mostly no. They are not as sturdy as I’d like. They can and have come apart on me. Use a duo lock snap if you have to. 

The only exception I make is if I’m using inline spinners or spoons for small stocked trout. If I lose them, no big deal. 

 

 

Question 3

I am just curious if anyone has tried chumming the water to draw bass to you then slipping a lure into the mix to catch them.....

No. Seems like a lot of waste of time that I could be fishing and I don’t want to carry anything that could be really smelly to spill on me or in my car. Even more as to no for me is for bass, imho, it is not sporting.

 

Quote

 

Edit

Question 4

What exactly do you do with a trophy bass? Say I caught a 20lbs behemoth.  Is there someone I would call to confirm the weight? The measurements? Just put it back? Have it mounted? 

Moot point. I live WA state so it’s not going to happen, lol  If I were to truly target bass in a lake known for trophy bass, I would make sure I’d be prepared to keep it alive and make that call. I believe you call your game warden. I’d also let it go but I would take measurements.