everyone has them: that bait that everyone else cracks 'em on but you can't buy a bite.
for me, that's the spinnerbait. maybe upstaged only by the 'chatterbait'. if I'm tossing it, it's a guaranteed 'haul water' moment, hour, DAY.
what's yours?
anyway, for the day, wandered down to the tailrace at Nickajack dam (headwaters of Guntersville) saturday to look for current seams, maybe a smallmouth. they were spilling 60K-70K cfs, so a pretty hard current was working.
no fish, then again, I wasn't pushing too hard to put the boat and myself in places I needed, water was a bit rough for me and my sense of personal safety.
overcast, rainy day. water temp was 51.4°F. nice clear, green.
tossed a-rig, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, crankbaits. jigs. tube jigs. only bites came on tube jigs and those were further down the river on rocky banks in the small eddies. 7 spots. one went 2 pounds. one smallmouth. all fish were pale, silver. ghosts.
CF, tks for sharing the trip with us and congrats on the catch.
Jigs. Of the flippin and football head variety. Swim jigs are in a different category and I love them
I've caught a couple nice fish on them but it's rare. I have more luck with more subtle presentations in shallow cover like weightless plastics. I also have more luck with plastics when fishing deeper.
I think a big part of the reason i have difficulty with jigs is the difficulty in flipping and pitching from a kayak. Much easier to skip weightless plastics from such a low angle.
Swim Jigs. I just don't have any luck and give up for something I have confidence in. That's probably the reason I struggle with them right there.
Drop shot. I've got all of the correct gear. I suspect water clarity might have something to do with it.
Not giving up on either though. Us bohunks are known for our stubbornness.
Chartreuse Hand Grenades. I can't seem to get the depth right...
Quote from: D.W. Verts on December 02, 2018, 08:06:13 PM
Chartreuse Hand Grenades. I can't seem to get the depth right...
might be the quote of the year! as I was writing the opening remarks, DW, I was thinking about your 'the twirl is the thing' comment about fall fishing. sure it is. just NOT for me.
If spinnerbaits are idiot-proof baits, i am the proof!
ICP: try a 3" senko, black, rigged wacky style on that dropshot set up. work it off the boat dock at Zorinsky. off the ends.
most of the time folks do not get that "baits", "lures"ect. are not looked at and used correctly, and there in lies the problem. in all actuality, what we catch fish are are tools. one needs to understand the uses and purposes of each fishing "tool". so, those fishing "tools" that seem to be your bugaboo, maybe you simply are never using that tool for the right job.
example, would be the person that mention that fishing from a kayak has issue with pitching and flipping. being at the low angle of trajectory should allow for very low and quiet presentations, which is what flipping and pitching is all about. a jig is a jig is a jig, but a jig can be used in countless ways. spinners and bladed jigs are also fishing tools that can be fished from top to bottom and in a variety of ways. learning how to use a variety of fishing tools allows anyone to become a more consistent fish catcher.
bo
I've been a grub man most of my fishing life. About a decade ago, I run across Denny Brauer fishing the reef by my condo as I'm coming in from catching a few. I trolled over to see how his back was doing and he pulls a 5 lb. bass from the reef. At first, I thought it was a grub on his line. On closer inspection, it looked like a huge Sassy Shad. Of course, it was a swim bait. Denny said he had been crushing bass for weeks on the lure and I should try it. He gave me a couple of baits and heads to try. They were about 5 inches long and looked easy to fish. I tried them periodically all season and never caught a bass. They were great for Drum and Gar but I never caught a bass. I threw them in a box and haven't fished them again.
I know many on the site swear by the lure but for me, it is toxic.
Wizard
Quote from: merc1997 on December 03, 2018, 01:13:17 AM
so, those fishing "tools" that seem to be your bugaboo, maybe you simply are never using that tool for the right job.
clearly! ;D
I am on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to spinnerbaits as KVD. apparently I am the anti-KVD
lo
mine is more of a where than a what... I'm not too keen on off shore structure fishing, and it doesn't help that I don't do it much. Also I have yet to outfit the ol Yak with any electronics ( if that can be included in any excuse).
I have yet to catch a bass on a whopper plopper or an A rig. In my defense, I have been living in states that have banned the A rig since it hit the big scene and I haven't really thrown a whopper plopper much.
Quote from: Steve81 on December 03, 2018, 04:00:18 PM
I have yet to catch a bass on a whopper plopper or an A rig. In my defense, I have been living in states that have banned the A rig since it hit the big scene and I haven't really thrown a whopper plopper much.
get the black 90. work it arouind rocks at Standing Bear.
There are a couple in my case, jigs and deep crankbaits, with the latter being the strong of the two kryptonites.
Quote from: coldfront on December 03, 2018, 09:59:51 PM
get the black 90. work it arouind rocks at Standing Bear.
I have yet to go to that lake but I honestly haven't hit many lakes in the metro. Especially in 2018. I found myself going to Okoboji every chance I could.
Quote from: Steve81 on December 04, 2018, 04:11:42 PM
I have yet to go to that lake but I honestly haven't hit many lakes in the metro. Especially in 2018. I found myself going to Okoboji every chance I could.
it can be pretty tough, but can also show off pretty well.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NUlgY4FmBYgt5_cp3LRHs5HuOPN7ylbBADZoHDOJgjHBBW_aFir7onm3MB4qKwKJpfGdJDicP2DZmjNMYjgHfXYxgGPcyhXt9jbBkg6EalrSvucSfF9xorp-3p3XF_TdIhF4u7OTVC0fwAJ3O8vlL8EDVumZZeTBDrcP_pOuJd8HrzyWcvduB6TwuM4ns2LQr6hkmN5HIkzIW6yYcABYDjinfMOBrntLXa6FbCwfbLLxLc3ERt7_ikrLg1z2gmURI4h-wNC-fxyKwtT-e9DUuvGaSM0dWicPBtUwYQEm35ZVTK0fR6Gkib2K0Zsl8KgbGOD7MhW9byt1OBsqJi3jUeb8D4nwiKfbYAugSDzzNGgPm0mheWRwL1v-CsOYYPiOCvWOAmfOGYkRtkgiEsTjzRxMToB8nnt9BACvqK-6IBTJtXs_04hV9keTa_7HvIELMid403BAq4Ds5VAVQND4p8ar9ibqnipGFwRs-LvZymo8ZwMEYkRLX0q6CHGhKS47aFmq_R6qUerKW3Vv3UGzq5wSrOE62ji7dFB05RP3XrCjgiuGMcPnYpEZDbRGhn5RdmNznFIWqIHuZ7ydkc0UQTfxrWjrIRJ08g62TKkjb6lsFAMyFXn-ETuwoVOAZCXfT1wvbbHkX9gx6A6NzCEYzEDM=w1712-h925-no)
I'd have to say Magnum Deep Diving Crankbaits those that dive down to 20ft there about. Those you'd used for fishing off shore structure. Some of the problem is I just don't fish off shore much at all.
Quote from: Steve81 on December 04, 2018, 04:11:42 PM
I have yet to go to that lake but I honestly haven't hit many lakes in the metro. Especially in 2018. I found myself going to Okoboji every chance I could.
Love Okoboji. A monster is always a possibility.
In all honesty I'd have to say it's myself, I don't fish tournaments anymore and with my physical problems when I'm able to hit the water(I do all I can) it's just so nice to be out there it's become a no think deal just enjoy the being on the water. If I'm able I'll be fishing IBASS forcing myself to work at it.
Rodney
I cannot fish a drop shot, I'm sorry to say
Lipless cranks and drop shotting are my El Guapo
Crankbaits, shallow/deep doesn't matter, I'm just hella lousy with those.
I'm CERTAIN it's me.
Raps I do fine with, cranks? Nope....
Maybe if I REALLY put in the effort, and matched the local prey better I wouldn't be so horrible...
"Worm going back on" hahaha