What's Working For You?

[Red]

nothing!!  it has been hit and miss for me.  i will catch one on a spinnerbait, and thats it, just one.  then maybe one on a jig and my buddy gets one on a worm.  and occasionally one on a live magic shad.  cranks havent produced anything but i havent thrown them alot either.  if i went right now i would have the most confidence in a jig or spinnerbait.

now if you were talking hybrids and whites.  nailed hybrids early sunday morning in about 48 foot of water.  stray from that depth and nothing.  caught them on home made slabs, plain lead color, white or chart/orange.  whites on the same bait but in about 27-32 foot of water.  once the sun gets up you might as well pack it up and go home.  or move a bit shallower and try to nail some blacks

thats my report!!   ;D

Cliff

[Fishing Doug]

Trick worm on a split shot. Doesn't seem to matter what color. Started fishing this around the middle of the season last year and it is becoming one of my favorite and most effective ways to fish. Have NOT had luck on lipless cranks this year, which is usually what puts them in the boat for me.

[LCpointerKILLA]

What has worked for me so far this year:

1)     5 inch Senko

2)     Lucky Craft pointer 78

3)     Lucky Craft Rick Clunn 1.5

5)     Rage Tail Frog

6)     Gun Fish

[Big-O]

Can only fish nights and in the order of most productive baits are as follows:

For big Fish-

3/8 or 1/2 oz Oldham Jig and New large Rage Tail Craw trailer

New Rage Tail 10" worm Tx rigged 3/8 oz in wind and 1/4 still.

For shear numbers and client excitement, Black Flake Rage Tail Shad on points and over the moss beds and a black 3/8 oz spinnerbait w/ single #6 copper Colorado. This past week, our topwater and spinnerbait fish were a bit bigger than last months average.

Should be even better this week cause the moon is getting better as we go. From new to full seems to be the best timing for'em.

Big O

[Redtail]

1) Fat Ika (Green pumkin w/ black)

2) Fat Ika (Black w/ blue)

3) Fat Ika (Any other color)

[Davis]

LC Gunfish 95

My goodness.........this lure killed them last night for me. First time I have ever used a walking lure like this. Didn't take me long to get it down and I was smackin em. Also fished it like a popper. Very very versatile lure.

In fact this year I'm having so much fun fishing a ton of different baits. Last year I was stuck in the senko craze and really didn't try anything else until late summer. Amazing at how much more productive I have been this year by opening up my whole aresanel of lures. Very fun. 8-)

[senile1]

RW stated:

May was my best bass month in years, for both size and numbers.

RW, you and I are inhabiting alternate universes this year.  This has been my worst Spring in a long time, mainly due to weather, my work schedule, and fishing the lake from hell, Smithville Lake.  I have been lucky to get out once a week, and usually I can't put together more than two or three hours.  You fish when you can and it seems every time I can get out the weather isn't cooperating.  In March and April we had nothing but cold, muddy water and I was skunked three of my first five trips.  

I have fished muddy water in all but one of my trips I've taken this Spring but I haven't had success with the lures I usually use in muddy water.  Spinnerbaits, traps, cranks, and dark jigs with rattles have been very hit and miss.  Of course, when you are limited to two or three hours you are generally just figuring them out when you have to leave.  Fish have been very tight to cover and very tight-lipped.  Sight fishing has been out of the question.  My go-to lures in the mud have been some older Strike King KVD tubes in Watermelon with chartreuse skirt and t-rigged.  Go figure.  Watermelon has never been a great color for me in the mud but I guess the fish can see the lively chartreuse skirt.  I have to be spot on with my pitching to get a bite.  But things have improved the last few trips, so hopefully the post-spawn bite will be good.  Our bass spawned a month late this year, due to the weather, and the spawn is just finishing up.  Or maybe I should say there could be a couple of more weeks of spawning left.  Temperatures weren't close to right for spawning until mid-May.

[roadwarrior]

My folks live in Raytown. I have fished Smithville a few times and have done fairly well on 6" Senko. The biggest problem with that little lake is fishing pressure, but I'm sure the muddy water has been the worst factor this year.

I hope things improve for you.

8-)

[senile1]

My folks live in Raytown. I have fished Smithville a few times and have done fairly well on 6" Senko. The biggest problem with that little lake is fishing pressure, but I'm sure the muddy water has been the worst factor this year.

I hope things improve for you.

8-)

I've had some luck at Smithville with Senko-type worms, but I usually don't use them when the water is muddy.  You're right about Smithville.  It gets tremendous pressure.  Usually, if you can put together 7 or 8 hours on the lake, you'll catch a few though.  There's still some 6 - 8 lb'ers caught there every year.

[hawgchaser]

Spring had a slow start but the past month has caught fire for me. I haven't been to my usual big bass lakes so no size. I believe my biggest has been a little over 5. I lost an 8-10lber at the boat >

Anyway my top producers are ones that I have rarely thrown!

1. Watermelon Magnum Arkansas Warthawg (biggest surprise bait ever for me) Smallies pound this thing

2. Olive X Rap

3. *** Bait (watermelon)

4. Gamblers giggyhead and sweebo worm

Disappointments:

1. Fat Ika-It obviously works but I haven't gotten bit once on this bait even at a stocked reservoir.

2. YUM Money minnow- haven't had a fish even look at this bait

3. Original Chatterbait

[TournyFish001]

megabass deep x 200t

Luhr Jensen baby hotlips

RC 1.5

Yozuri Vibe

3/16oz shakey head with a smallie beaver

drop shot with roboworms

Eakins 5/16oz jig

No particular order all have worked well.

[Ballpark Frank]

#1 Booyah Counterstrike Buzzbait red/brown: I just started fishing buzzbaits in the past week and have had alot of fish much larger than I normally catch.

#2 Jackall Aragon SSR Tennessee Shad: This has to be one of my newest favorite lures, great for shallow flats and running on top of grass.

#3 Jackall Giron Ghost Crappie: Excellent small swimbait that can be used with normal everyday bass rods.

Last year was dinkdom for me, I rarely caught anything above 2lbs( with one exception). This year I have changed my techniques, and started targeting the bigger bass. Most of the fish I am catching with these three baits are in the 4-6Lb range. My local waters are also alot different than last year; higher water level, more vegetation, and more forage fish. I think that those have affected the size of fish I am catching, but the lures are adding alot too. The fact that I am now fishing from a boat(my little 12') most of the time and not the kayak or bank, has alot to do with this also. ;D

[Willzx225]

My most productive baits lately have been as follows.

4.25 Vibra King Tube Green Pumpkin for Size and Quantity

1/4oz Speed Trap- Delta Craw and Texas Shad

Berkley Hollow Belly- Tennessee Shad

[Bankbeater]

Earlier this year it was they were tearing up brush hogs. Lately its been jigs, tubes, and plastic worms.

[Alpster]

I have caught a few on 1/2 oz Reaction Innovation stand up jigs with a Robo sour puss trailer. Also getting bit on my 'go to' stand by T-rigged Culprit worms. The water is finally warming up here and the top water bite will be on now. I will report back soon!

Ronnie

[The_Natural]

I've been fishing points (secondary and main lake) with a Zoom Tapp, and C-rigging them also with a classic Zoom french fry (4-5ft leader).  I had numbers but no bigguns this past weekend while on Eagle Mountain; the fish just wouldn't leave alone my BPS Beaver Bug in Roadkill (I highlyrecommend you pick some of these up...it's a cross between a Sweet Beaver and Fat Ika).  

[EastTexasBassin]

Cavitron buzzbait, Fat Ika, and a 6 inch black senko did me well on my last trip.

[rondef]

Swim Senkos

Manns -1

Gitzit Tubes

[basspimple]

<<buzzbaits(biggest fish of year came off of this, fish in avvy)

5 in. senkos

baby boo jigs

small x-raps

have had AWSOME luck on all these baits this year so far. im guessing since the weather around here latley has been really stable, fish seem to always bite.

[fishfordollars]

I my be stubborn & hardheaded but I aint stupid they were free

Sweet!  I went to BPS yesterday and bought seven packs of them and it was 33.42. Sad fact is each bag only had from 3-5 weights.  

[suede55bowtie]

1.) Zoom Flukes and Bass Assassins in all sizes as long as its shad/natural colors

2.) Strike King 1/8oz buzzbaits, black

3.) Scumfrogs/Ragetail Toads in dark colors, blacks browns and greens

4.) Pop-R's in all sizes in baby bass and shad colors

5.) Spittin' Image, again in shad colors

6.) Broken Back Rapalas

[Countryjoe07]

So far this year I have caught them on so many different lures but I would say I've been getting most of them on a 6 in plastic worm tequila sunrise, followed by a fin s fish or banjo minnow.....

[Davis]

Going off Deneas success on the Catt Creek in our hometown.....I threw a grub last night to the smallies.

Not just any grub though....a nice fat 5" Yamamoto super grub in Green Pumpking color.

14 smallies in 45 minutes while waiting for my son to finish his swimming at the high school. Nothing of massive size. But plenty of 2 lbers.

Bad thing was I went through 9 grubs in the process. Very very brittle. They ripped up very fast. On the bigger fish it was one and done.