Okay boys, time to spill your guts! Lets start

[BigUn]

a thread on each type of fishing that gives us the most trouble. We can all talk it over here and all can LEARN to be better fishermen. Share information and learn from each other. Deep water bass and bass in really big weed beds give me fits. The deep stuff really gives me a hard time. I'm an Ohio River fisherman. Shallow water, lots of cover, logs, blow downs, rocks, and current. When I go to a lake and wind up 25 feet off the shore line and am in 30 feet of water I have real trouble. Little or no visable cover to cast to is really tough for us shallow water guys. How do ya'll cope with this type of bass fishing? There is a lake here in West Virginia called Stonewall Jackson that is big time deep and pretty clear most of the time. There are some real giants there and dang if I can catch em. HELP! Thanks for your time guys.

 

[Waterwings]

I'm usually in shallow water also 1' to 6', and up 15' to 23' if I fish one trench in the resevoir here. Very deep water is a problem. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that.

 

[shortfish]

Try using a drop shot. the key to the success of the drop shot is really good electronics. pull up to a point or what ever it is you may be fishing and search for fish with your graph and turn the sensitivity way up so you can see your lure and just wiggle it right in front of the fish. and if you dont have really good electronics then that means you and i are in the same boat, my elctronics suck so what i do is just pull up to a point that either has a drop a ditch or brush on it something to hold fish, and just throw carolina rigs, shakey heads, and crankbaits. the best points to start on are usually wind blown points. Hope that helps.

 

[slabmaster]

for fishing weed bedds and moss cover bill norman lures makes a bait called a weed walker. it is an outstanding bait.

 

[slabmaster]

i fish beaver lake in arkansas. it is clear to gin clear. in the spring i fish deep diveing crank baits acxross points and along channel edges. i only use crawdad colored cranks. i also fish teaxas rigged zoom finess worms on slopeing gravel banks. in rocky clear lakes there will be a transition zone where bluff and boulders turns to gravel. there should be chunk rock in the transition. these rocks will be baseball to basketball in size. this is an area to key on. i throw crank baits , texas rigged worms and jigs in the transition area's. another good place to locate fish is on rock slides. usually if you have a lake with large bluffs you can find areas where sections of bluff have fallen away and slid into the water.these are good areas to locate good numbers of fish,especially if the slide is on a channel edge. smoke colored hula grubs fished on 3/8 and 1/2 oz ball type jig heads work good for bottom bounceing on gravel slopes and around boulders. they also work good as a swim bait parallel to bluff lines. in the summer as the water temps rise we fish 90% of the time at night. at night i like to flip lighted boat docks and fish pockets along bluff lines. i only use black or blueberry colors at night. a blueberry zoom craw texas rigged is a hot night time bait here. i also like to fish underwater humps and along channel edges day and night. slowrolling a big spinner bait (1oz.) along channel edges is a good way to get your string stretched. best colors in our clear waters are; watermellon, pumpkin pepper, smoke . green scuppernog (brown motor oil) , black, black and blue, blueberry and tomato red. this is a start hope it helps

 

[slabmaster]

1 more post. one of the best clear water techniques is catching suspeded fis around bait balls (large schools of suspended shad) . this technique was also the hardest for me to learn. not all schools of shad have fish around them . good electronics is a must when locateing open water bass. if you cruse the main channels you will find some huge schools of baitfish. there are times when you can find the biggest bass in a clear water lake schooling around these bait balls. beaver lake arkansas is a premier stripper fishery. there are times when the stripper guides were come up with 7-10lb black bass while trolling main channels . after thinking about it for a while i started learning to locate these suspended fish around the bait. i have not caught fish in 7-10 lb range. i have however found bait that has schools of 3-5 lb bass around them. i fish deep diveing cranks and spoons around bait balls. hope this helps

 

[Jim]

I'm usually in shallow water also 1' to 6', and up 15' to 23' if I fish one trench in the resevoir here. Very deep water is a problem. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that.

Same here, I feel more confident in shallows 8 feet or less. I have to get over that deep water "fear"

 

[Waterwings]

I'm usually in shallow water also 1' to 6', and up 15' to 23' if I fish one trench in the resevoir here. Very deep water is a problem. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that.

Same here, I feel more confident in shallows 8 feet or less. I have to get over that deep water "fear"

Yesterday we were creeping along with 6" of water below the tm transducer, with the prop only about 3" below the surface. We were still about 25'-30' off the bank. Stealth mode in the Lowe, lol.

 

[BigUn]

I hope to get a chance to put it to the stress test Thurs & Fri of this week. Does anyone else have any issues like mine or a bait that they are having trouble learning to make work for you. This might be good thread to keep going. I can sure use all the help I can get. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Jim]

I hope to get a chance to put it to the stress test Thurs & Fri of this week. Does anyone else have any issues like mine or a bait that they are having trouble learning to make work for you. This might be good thread to keep going. I can sure use all the help I can get. Thanks again for the help.

I am having trouble with the Jig and Pig. I have not learned "That Tick" everyone talks about. I plan to use it allot this year.

 

[whj812]

I fish deep in Summer and Winter. We dont have weeds around here. BUT when i fish deep i am always either using a texas rig, or jig and pig. I usually watch my depth finder and locate a under water piece of structure....like a drop off, rock...any slight change. Ill find a reference point on the bank and fish the area thoroughly, using the methods that I just listed. Ill play with lure drop speeds and retrieves. If I want a slow fall ill use a jig and pig with a buoyant trailer. Fast fall smaller trailer or texas worm or other lure. Im not the best fisherman but I hope this helps......

 

[BigUn]

Jig & Pig. But since I did, I've caught TONS of bass on them and many times they are my "Go To" bait. Best thing I can tell you is that many times you won't feel a hit at all. Learn to be a line watcher. Sometimes it will just begin to swim the wrong direction. Set the hook! Hook sets are free. Other times as you lift your jig, it will feel a little "mushy" for lack of a better term. Set the hook! If fishing around heavy cover check your line OFTEN for nicks and abrasions. Re-tie often. I use All Star and BPS graphite rods and there are simply times when I don't feel the strick but just know by that mushy feeling that one is there. SET THE HOOK when ANYTHING just doesn't feel RIGHT! Everyone used to tell me that the strick on a jig is much like that of the strick on a worm. For me that is right about once out of 10 or 15 hits. Wish I could tell you more. Don't give up on it is deadly.

 

[Jim]

Sounds like a plan....I have heard many time you have to be a line watcher...Now its time to just watch it.

 

[whj812]

Sounds like a plan....I have heard many time you have to be a line watcher...Now its time to just watch it.

The other day i was fishing and was tossing a Jig, and found out how valuable line watching is. I threw it out and was letting the jig fall to the bottom, which was probably only 4-6 feet deep. It fell for a second and looked like the line stopped......I set the hook cause Im crazy like that(set the hook on everything I feel) Landed the 4lber that I posted the other day!!! Needless to say Ill be paying close attention to the line from now on!!!

 

[little anth]

i was rased fishing shallow in ohio where i was born. i am not that good in real deep water. i usually fish shallow most of the time.i have an allstar flippin stick to :roll:
you really need to set on anything and everything. i like that hooksets are free :wink: its true if something doesent feel right set it.

 

[FishingBuds]

Sounds like a plan....I have heard many time you have to be a line watcher...Now its time to just watch it.

Yep, I bought some of the fireline this year, been happy with most results except the line wacthing. Darn stuff disappears on me, or I need glasses.

I'm good at deep carolina rigging, but suck at crank baits :roll:

 

[caddyjosh]

I fish alot of lakes but when I go the river and fish the current is alwys way to fast that is my weekness.

 

[slim357]

I fish a few creek mouths and have to deal with current all day, some baits you can cast against the current and let it come back to you, others you cant. For crankbaits, and spinnerbaits you almost have to throw with the current and pull them back against it, its hard to get them to run true if the current is pushing them back at you. One bait I esp like in current is a rat-l-trap, the current will allow you to fish the yo-yo style retrive very well, also you can pound the holes where you think theres a fish by just pulling the line with the rod and letting it go back with the current. Some baits I like to fish drifting back to me in the current are soft plastics and small jigs. I like to just bounce the tip of my rod and reel up slack, Ive gotten a lot of hits just reeling up the slack from the cast as my baits drifts. Hope this helps a little

 

[CTAngler481]

I am a horrible power fisherman. I grew up fishing pressured lakes, so I was always resorting to finesse fishing. Deep diving crankbaits,buzzbaits, and jigs, forget it. :roll:

 

[Nickk]

wind kills me, like stiff wind. I can't feel my rig so I will typically go to a moving bait like a crank or spinnerbait. I think I need to go heavier with a c-rig or something.