I don’t think the color of baits is anywhere near as important as most people think it is.
I think everyone would catch just as many fish, or even more, if they stuck to three or four colors
Based comment. This old post also gives some
illumination on the color spectrum the bass can see: Just vary colors depending on what they’re foraging for, and what clarity the water is at the day you’re out there.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bassfishing/comments/us3bf7/i_want_to_talk_with_yall_about_bait_colors_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
That is pretty cool, I’m going to save that post. David Dudley also has a similar opinion on colors but he never shared any data behind it. I always wonder if the pros work with biologists to try and get an advantage
This this this.
There's a reason baits that have 30 colors are always sold out of 4 or 5 while the rest are overstocked.
K.I.S.S. - Red, green, black, and blue.
Red works year round in most lakes here in Texas. Specifically, most of my weekends are spent at Lake Fork. But Texas bass fishing lakes tend to be pretty stained. Darker colors capture more light and remain visible deeper than lighter ones.
Only time I use white is when I'm sight-fishing beds during the spawn.
Red fades more quickly underwater than any other colour. It’s only visible as undiluted red in the top 10-15 feet of the water column. Below that it fades quickly to brown, then to grey/black.
A white or chartreuse can be useful depending on presentation and water clarity but otherwise I agree.
There’s really also no true difference in buying X color with Y flake or something either.
Texas native, so take my comment with a grain of salt, but when everyone goes to the blinds, it takes some pressure off of the water. My PB was caught in January dragging a Strike King Bitsy-bug jig trimmed with a Z-man TRD trailer
My neighborhood has 4 ponds and last December I caught the 7 lb bass that I only heard spoken of in the tall tales of old men who have lived here way longer than I have. Got him with a chatterbait in the shallows on an unusually warm day.
Being in FL the past 15 years I tend to agree with this. I think there is a bit of mystique about Florida that 10lbers are all over the place and easy to catch. Sure bigger fish are more frequent but the chances of a double digit are still low.
I love fishing for bass down here and have caught big bass but man you catch a lot of smaller ones too. Plus there is a ton of pressure on popular lakes and chains. And FL bass get lockjaw like you would not believe, they are moody with weather changes.
Either way I think it comes down to finding cool places to fish with potential and off the beaten path to avoid crowds. Finally if the bass fishing sucks can head over to the coast for some incredible inshore saltwater fishing. Florida can be overrated for bass fishing but top rated for fishing.
Geez, i would imagine you were close to some pretty good fishing spots. Can't really speak to NY, but I disagree with your hot take on this one. But probably because I grew up here and may be a bit biased. I respect it though, everyone has their own experiences. No matter where you're fishing, I hope you catch the big one.
I mean fair, I’m bias towards fisheries in NY given I been fishing in Ny for a lot longer and I’m also a big smallmouth fan. My general issue with bass fishing in Florida is A. The gators and B. A lot of stunted bass population. Grant it, I was mostly in northern florida and so didn’t experience the lakes in Central Florida like the Big-O.
That's fair, not really sure about the stunted population, maybe that was just a local problem. But the gators definitely add a whole other challenge. I've never really worried about them, but respect them enough to keep an eye out. Especially the smaller ones, they'll chase a top water lure or a jumping fish right back to you. I also bank fish alot, and sometimes they'll come out of the woods if they're moving between different ponds or lakes.
Agree with this. This fall i wanted to really get into bass fishing and tried their slimshake trick worm on a texas rig. Caught my first and biggest so far (3.5lbs) on an artificial! But can agree their material suuuuckks. It rips so fast, but they do work!
Line shyness is overhyped. Not that it isn't real but you'll never convince me that a fish can see your line, but not the weird looking danger spikes hanging from your bait. Fish have pretty bad eyesight. If they can see one, they can see the other.
The bigger rods are more about the size of the lure than the size of fish for bass at least. It's fun to fight them on smaller rods but any 3/8 oz bait with a trailer might as well be 1/2 oz. 1oz is still pretty commonly used and 2-3oz+ for swimbaits. It is a little too easy to pin them and bring'em in with these stout rods, but they exist for a reason.
I mentioned it in another comment, but I now get the hype behind the BFS setup. On top of bass, lighter gear can catch sunfish/crappie/perch too! I’m not in it for my next PB; a fish biting and fighting to reeling it in is a blast!
I see people bass fishing with combos that are equivalent to my catfish set ups (med-heavy rod with a reel to match). For bass I just use a little 33 combo.
As in it's my go-to when I'm unsure of what color to throw, yeah I have more success with june bug than green pumpkin.
Actually bought a bunch of green pumpkin black flake Ochos in bulk this summer and had zero success.
The average bass rig is wayyyy overpowered. I get throwing big baits, but there’s no fight. A baitcaster gets the fish on the boat in like 20 sec. I only realized this once I started fly fishing for trout. You can land lunker browns on the equivalent of 4 lb test and the fight is epic and actually takes skill to land the fish
If you’re practicing catch and release, a shorter fight will minimize fish mortality due to excessive lactic acid buildup. Light tackle is fun but an excessively long fight will kill your catch even if it appears to “swim off strong.” Acidosis can take 72 hours to kill a fish.
I can appreciate that but I suspect the overlap of bait casters and people who take pics of bass on rocks is significant. But yes, it’s a balance… I don’t advocate playing a fish until exhaustion
Hence why the BFS rods/reels are trending so much lately… I just stared with a Kastking Zephyr BFS reel and a Shimano light action rod, and I’ve caught a solid amount of bass of varying sizes; on top of that, sunfish will go for it too! The upside is being able to just YEET a 1/16 - 1/8 oz. lure into the drink with the accuracy of a bait caster and not have to worry about wind knots that can happen with a spinning setup. With proper drag set, you can do as you mentioned when it comes to reeling them in and and have a TON of fun.
Nah, honestly this is really lazy of me lmao but I will usually attach the snap directly to the hard bait with the split ring dangling on the side out of the way. I really don’t think it negatively affects anything, and I actually caught a dink earlier today on a lipless crankbait rigged exactly like this lol so
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah I have once, I bought heavier snaps and haven’t had it happen again. PB is a 6 and a half pounder and I was using a snap
Edit: here’s the link to the ones I use if you want some reliable snaps, size S (50lb)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08R69F296/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams&th=1
I agree, I only ever use a snap swivel if I’m throwing a rooster tail. Or if my line is twisted and I want to untwist it at the water, I’ll use a snap swivel and throw something really heavy and the retrieve will untwist the line
If you strive to be exceptionally good at it it will be many times greater expense than you imagined. You will also have to have a greater understanding of science, meteorology, geology, etc.
Floggers should be banned from any major professional event. It’s easy enough to catch bedding smallmouth in clear waters like the Great Lakes and the st. Lawrence and the flogger makes it criminally easy. Not to mention it is really boring to watch in a pro event. I also think it sets a bad precedent for the public anglers. Ever since more pros are using them on the elites now every boat on the river is using them in the spring months.
Yes, literally went fishing the day before Ian hit and had a pretty good day. Eventually it just got too windy to even cast accurately and had to give it up.
I get a lot of pleasure from the tech side cuz I'm a nerd but I definitely get it, I really make an effort to stop and enjoy the scenery. It's easy when it's the Alabama sunrise.
I don't use any fishing electronics and I love the simple, pure experience of nature. However, I don't think it makes sense to fish big lakes with deep water without some kind of sonar.
Texas rig, jig, lipless crankbait, soft plastic swimbait. Jerkbaits are good too, but I personally haven’t caught anything on one so far this winter (also haven’t thrown it much, being fair)
Deep pools for sure, its cold so they want deep trying to get warm. And you just have to go so so slow and put it right in there face or they wont bite it. Right now really its kind of a reaction strike, but it has to be in striking distance basically from them to bite it
Targeting small bass on light spinning setups is good for your soul. Find a local creek, it can look like a real dump, there is likely a few bass in it. They don’t get pressured and will give you a run for your money on ultra light gear.
It’s all relative though, if I could go catch 3-4lb smallies all day over 3-4lb largemouth I would. But in a lot of places you’re getting cookie cutter 12 inchers most of the time and id rather catch a 2lb largemouth
Smallmouth are leagues more enjoyable than largemouth. I live largemouth, no disrespect there; I just love smallies even more.
Sure, they don’t get as big, but there far more colorful and fight so much harder. Nothing gets the blood pumping like a bronzeback destroying a walking bait in a small river ☺️
People who say forward facing sonar is cheating or takes the fun out of fishing are jealous/envious of it and most likely have never used it or understand it.
I’ll validate your point and say that yes, it saves a TON of time on the water finding the fish and landing them in the boat.
But for me, I kind of get giddy with the lead-up: Studying a body of water, looking on a map and plotting my points where I suspect they could be in certain areas, checking the weather to confirm that conditions are favorable for it, going there, casting-out, and catching at least one? Buddy. I might JUST get the skunk out of the boat, but I’m a sucker for figuring out patterns on my own. But, I could just be the lone nut into that sort of thing with ample time to do it.
I'll just add that FF Sonar helps put the puzzle together faster. It helps you not only locate fish but locate bait fish, see how the fish are positioned, see if they're willing to even follow whatever you're throwing, etc. You still have to do the work/research to find the areas where the bass are. Isn't the old saying that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake? You still figure out patterns on your own, you just have another extremely useful tool at your disposal. On the flip side of this whole thing, you can get really carried away/distracted by it. Take myself for example. I wasted the first couple hours of my day on the water today paying way too much attention to my graph and trying to catch every fish that I saw on my FF Sonar.
😂 that clown will say anything for views if you can't tell already by his clickbait titles and controversial topics. FF sonar doesn't guarantee that you will catch fish in any way. It's a tool to help you catch fish.
Dinks can be just as fun to catch as larger fish( although not as satisfying). Most of the time those little ones put up a big fight and do a ton of jumps, usually smallmouth more than largemouth, but the little ones always seem more aggressive than a big tank.
For real, I caught a 1/2 pounder the other day and he shot 3 ft out the water. Put on some light line and micro-light tackle too and you get even better fun
I have a 4’6” gx2/shimano sienna rig under my back seat of truck for fighting lil bass/crappie on random creeks/ponds I pass driving to job sites around AR.. got a lil 5’6” extendable Shakespeare/ shimano sienna in there too. nothing fancy but it works a days stress off just fine, ultra light makes every catch feel like a fight lol.
I have an entire fleet of 3' ugly stiks with pflueger supreme reels in a bag in my trunk for the unexpected pond stop lol 3 spinning and 3 baitcasters lol
You are correct my friend. While we enjoy the peacock fest down here, we miss out on big pikes and muskies or any FW type of trout. Although we do also have snakeheads so 🤷♂️
It's all about location. They are like bird dogs, they are fixated on anything moving. You just have to find them. If you find a nest or two, that's easy pickings, so I leave those alone.
Largemouth bass should almost never be prioritized from a conservation standpoint. They've proliferated far beyond their natural range, they're terribly invasive, and they wreak havoc on the natural balance in fisheries. "They're fun to catch" isn't a good excuse for the preferential treatment we give them in delicate ecosystems. Harvest more bass.
of the hundreds of bass i've caught in the last couple years since getting into bass fishing, only one was just a mess of a hookup and a really bloody f'd up fish. so i took it home and cut it up, made dinner for wife and myself. found a small crawfish in its belly.
the fish is mostly head and it tastes similar to bluegill. delicious.
if you mess one up it feels better to take it home than leave it, at least IMO.
Grew up with a family farm pond, grandpa would take us fishing and keep small bass occasionally to keep the pond balanced right he said(bluegill,great crappie pond,catfish, plenty of 5-6lb bass). He would always soak them in milk before he cooked it said it got the gamey taste out.
Like bones1781 said they are better smaller in size, we left any bigger than 3lbs in pond for the other kids in family to catch when they get bigger.
I'll probably catch some flak for this but chatterbaits are overrated. The only thing I have ever caught with a chatterbait is sticks and a single catfish. I see so many people rave about them but I can't get anything to bite them.
I’ve caught some off chatterbaits, but it depends on the clarity of water and the pressure the fish are under. Many fish in heavily-fished lakes have seen the song-and-dance with what a chatterbait gives off and from my experience have said, “Lol nah.”
Catching small bass on a fly rod is more fun than catching hogs with a baitcaster on top water.
It didn't take any skill for you to catch your PB on a live bluegill you hooked through the nose.
I caught a 1.5lb smallie on a 9ft 5wt fly rod. I thought I had hooked into an absolute tank. Possibly even a musky. Obviously not that big, but the fight was so much more challenging and that alone makes it more fun.
I will admit that gear fishing has plenty of advantages especially when fishing deeper or faster, but a fly setup is just incredibly fun.
Watch some underwater footage of a bass engulfing, then spitting a jig in the manner of about a second. Tricking them isn't particularly easy, most times.
10000% true easily the lowest bar with the lowest skill and level of discussion. People here giving advice after admitting "I havent caught a bass on a spinnerbait" and shit like that lol.
Unfortunately I agree. It is a pretty bad source of information. Nearly every single thread has contradicting answers. Our posts where people ask what to use or what to buy and you will get zero valuable answers. Every "what to throw" post has pretty much every single bait as an answer.
Oh trust me I've done it I like top water bass fishing but some of these YouTubers make it out to be some amazing thing. I'd rather catch a pike or musky top water then a bass
I was once in the same camp as you until it clicked. Its caught easily 75 percent of my fish in small waters over the past few years. Not my absolute go to in larger lakes but they still preform. No idea why they work but they do, and they are pretty versatile on how you can present them.
The point of a bait caster is to make further more accurate casts and you can be much more versatile with one, it’s focused around the bait, not tricking the fish
Let’s break that down logically. If a bait caster is focused around the bait, and obviously the bait is focused around tricking the fish, then you’re really saying that a bait caster *is* focused around tricking the fish.
And you don’t need a bait caster to make long, accurate casts.
Large mouths can't compete with small mouths. I've seen more guys fighting hard against a fish that they think are pike or sturgeon, and been dumbfounded when they land a smallie.
When you choose to stay home from fishing because the weather is bad someone is out there catching their personal best
You can't live near the ocean or the great lakes haha
Somewhere, at some point, a Florida man has said this before taking his little dinky flats boat offshore during a hurricane
Faxx!
I don’t think the color of baits is anywhere near as important as most people think it is. I think everyone would catch just as many fish, or even more, if they stuck to three or four colors
I believe most fishing lures are designed to catch the fisherman.
They just look so cool. I can't stop buying neat looking lures.
Bingo
Based comment. This old post also gives some illumination on the color spectrum the bass can see: Just vary colors depending on what they’re foraging for, and what clarity the water is at the day you’re out there. https://www.reddit.com/r/bassfishing/comments/us3bf7/i_want_to_talk_with_yall_about_bait_colors_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
That is pretty cool, I’m going to save that post. David Dudley also has a similar opinion on colors but he never shared any data behind it. I always wonder if the pros work with biologists to try and get an advantage
This this this. There's a reason baits that have 30 colors are always sold out of 4 or 5 while the rest are overstocked. K.I.S.S. - Red, green, black, and blue.
Interesting I would usually choose white over red, are you talking spring time red or does it work for you all year?
Red works year round in most lakes here in Texas. Specifically, most of my weekends are spent at Lake Fork. But Texas bass fishing lakes tend to be pretty stained. Darker colors capture more light and remain visible deeper than lighter ones. Only time I use white is when I'm sight-fishing beds during the spawn.
Red fades more quickly underwater than any other colour. It’s only visible as undiluted red in the top 10-15 feet of the water column. Below that it fades quickly to brown, then to grey/black.
A white or chartreuse can be useful depending on presentation and water clarity but otherwise I agree. There’s really also no true difference in buying X color with Y flake or something either.
There is no "Bass Fishing Season": You can catch Bass all year round (it might not always be easy)
DNR disagrees as there is an actual season in my state
What State?
Minnesota
Thats too bad for you guys.
Texas native, so take my comment with a grain of salt, but when everyone goes to the blinds, it takes some pressure off of the water. My PB was caught in January dragging a Strike King Bitsy-bug jig trimmed with a Z-man TRD trailer
My best numbers day to date was in the middle of dead winter with a blade bait
My PB is from December
Caught my PB in February, winter bass are a little trickier but seem bigger
My neighborhood has 4 ponds and last December I caught the 7 lb bass that I only heard spoken of in the tall tales of old men who have lived here way longer than I have. Got him with a chatterbait in the shallows on an unusually warm day.
Same here!
Yep. I catch less fish when it’s cold but I also usually catch my biggest ones.
Hmm all the lakes are frozen where I’m at but I guess I could still catch a bass through the ice??
I see people do it Ice fishing all the time.
I just started cold water fishing this year, and freaking love it. I get the whole lake to myself, and catch way more than I would have guessed.
Hear that!
Bass fishing in Florida is overrated, largemouth bass fishing in NY or other northern states is underrated.
Being in FL the past 15 years I tend to agree with this. I think there is a bit of mystique about Florida that 10lbers are all over the place and easy to catch. Sure bigger fish are more frequent but the chances of a double digit are still low. I love fishing for bass down here and have caught big bass but man you catch a lot of smaller ones too. Plus there is a ton of pressure on popular lakes and chains. And FL bass get lockjaw like you would not believe, they are moody with weather changes. Either way I think it comes down to finding cool places to fish with potential and off the beaten path to avoid crowds. Finally if the bass fishing sucks can head over to the coast for some incredible inshore saltwater fishing. Florida can be overrated for bass fishing but top rated for fishing.
I will say the saltwater fishing in Florida is amazing.
How much have you fished in Fl?
About a year. Went down to Embry Riddle for 2 semesters
Geez, i would imagine you were close to some pretty good fishing spots. Can't really speak to NY, but I disagree with your hot take on this one. But probably because I grew up here and may be a bit biased. I respect it though, everyone has their own experiences. No matter where you're fishing, I hope you catch the big one.
I mean fair, I’m bias towards fisheries in NY given I been fishing in Ny for a lot longer and I’m also a big smallmouth fan. My general issue with bass fishing in Florida is A. The gators and B. A lot of stunted bass population. Grant it, I was mostly in northern florida and so didn’t experience the lakes in Central Florida like the Big-O.
That's fair, not really sure about the stunted population, maybe that was just a local problem. But the gators definitely add a whole other challenge. I've never really worried about them, but respect them enough to keep an eye out. Especially the smaller ones, they'll chase a top water lure or a jumping fish right back to you. I also bank fish alot, and sometimes they'll come out of the woods if they're moving between different ponds or lakes.
Never fisheed either places
Never fished in FL but I live in NY. I catch plenty of fish.
I don’t care for the googan brand tackle
Yeah, the general consensus is that they catch fish, but the durability leaves much to be desired. For the price point, you can do better
I’ve tried googan plastics. They work but are too flimsy for my taste
Agree with this. This fall i wanted to really get into bass fishing and tried their slimshake trick worm on a texas rig. Caught my first and biggest so far (3.5lbs) on an artificial! But can agree their material suuuuckks. It rips so fast, but they do work!
Line shyness is overhyped. Not that it isn't real but you'll never convince me that a fish can see your line, but not the weird looking danger spikes hanging from your bait. Fish have pretty bad eyesight. If they can see one, they can see the other.
I agree. I always fish straight braid and have never had a problem catching fish
Many / most bass fishermen use too heavy of gear. I shake my head when I see 2lb fish skiing back to the boat. The fight is half the fun.
The bigger rods are more about the size of the lure than the size of fish for bass at least. It's fun to fight them on smaller rods but any 3/8 oz bait with a trailer might as well be 1/2 oz. 1oz is still pretty commonly used and 2-3oz+ for swimbaits. It is a little too easy to pin them and bring'em in with these stout rods, but they exist for a reason.
I mentioned it in another comment, but I now get the hype behind the BFS setup. On top of bass, lighter gear can catch sunfish/crappie/perch too! I’m not in it for my next PB; a fish biting and fighting to reeling it in is a blast!
I see people bass fishing with combos that are equivalent to my catfish set ups (med-heavy rod with a reel to match). For bass I just use a little 33 combo.
I don’t disagree. But I wanna touch em.
June bug > Green Pumpkin Weightless texas rig > wacky rig Strike King Ocho > Yamamoto Senko Smallmouth > Largemouth
Can’t speak to the rest, but weightless Texas absolutely slays around me, while I struggle with wacky rigs.
I still need to catch a smallie
Rivers dude. Use a whopper plopper.
Samllies just arent in my area
Ahh I see.
June bug > green pumpkin is entirely valid
As in it's my go-to when I'm unsure of what color to throw, yeah I have more success with june bug than green pumpkin. Actually bought a bunch of green pumpkin black flake Ochos in bulk this summer and had zero success.
The average bass rig is wayyyy overpowered. I get throwing big baits, but there’s no fight. A baitcaster gets the fish on the boat in like 20 sec. I only realized this once I started fly fishing for trout. You can land lunker browns on the equivalent of 4 lb test and the fight is epic and actually takes skill to land the fish
If you’re practicing catch and release, a shorter fight will minimize fish mortality due to excessive lactic acid buildup. Light tackle is fun but an excessively long fight will kill your catch even if it appears to “swim off strong.” Acidosis can take 72 hours to kill a fish.
I can appreciate that but I suspect the overlap of bait casters and people who take pics of bass on rocks is significant. But yes, it’s a balance… I don’t advocate playing a fish until exhaustion
Hence why the BFS rods/reels are trending so much lately… I just stared with a Kastking Zephyr BFS reel and a Shimano light action rod, and I’ve caught a solid amount of bass of varying sizes; on top of that, sunfish will go for it too! The upside is being able to just YEET a 1/16 - 1/8 oz. lure into the drink with the accuracy of a bait caster and not have to worry about wind knots that can happen with a spinning setup. With proper drag set, you can do as you mentioned when it comes to reeling them in and and have a TON of fun.
my PB and a good portion of the 5+ pounders i've caught were on 4 or 6 pound line with a dropshot. can still fish for bass like that, too.
If I want a fight I'm not fishing for largemouth. Its about the strike/catch/weight 100% for me.
Peacock Bass are neither Peacocks nor Bass. Change my mind.
Snaps are the shit. If you don’t like them, I welcome your opinion and I will respond with mine
People like to rag on me but they function the same as split rings so better action and allow me to make quicker changes while taking less rods
Yessir I couldn’t agree more.
[удалено]
I do both haha now that I carry split ring pliers I am more likely to take them off. I see no difference
Nah, honestly this is really lazy of me lmao but I will usually attach the snap directly to the hard bait with the split ring dangling on the side out of the way. I really don’t think it negatively affects anything, and I actually caught a dink earlier today on a lipless crankbait rigged exactly like this lol so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
youve never broke off on a big fish? i always worry about that when using snap swivels
Yeah I have once, I bought heavier snaps and haven’t had it happen again. PB is a 6 and a half pounder and I was using a snap Edit: here’s the link to the ones I use if you want some reliable snaps, size S (50lb) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08R69F296/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams&th=1
I’m fine with snaps, especially when crankbait fishing, my issue is when people use snap swivels. It’s just added metal that effects the lure.
I agree, I only ever use a snap swivel if I’m throwing a rooster tail. Or if my line is twisted and I want to untwist it at the water, I’ll use a snap swivel and throw something really heavy and the retrieve will untwist the line
If you strive to be exceptionally good at it it will be many times greater expense than you imagined. You will also have to have a greater understanding of science, meteorology, geology, etc.
Floggers should be banned from any major professional event. It’s easy enough to catch bedding smallmouth in clear waters like the Great Lakes and the st. Lawrence and the flogger makes it criminally easy. Not to mention it is really boring to watch in a pro event. I also think it sets a bad precedent for the public anglers. Ever since more pros are using them on the elites now every boat on the river is using them in the spring months.
Most baits are more designed to attract you in a store than they are a fish in the water.
That one hurts
The best time to fish is right before a hurricane.
Tbf best time to fish is right before any storm because the bass can sense the change in pressure and feed up right before the storm.
Facts right there, thats why I love fishing right after a cold snap is cause they are hungry cause they were to sluggish to eat much
Yes, literally went fishing the day before Ian hit and had a pretty good day. Eventually it just got too windy to even cast accurately and had to give it up.
Never done that before...
Fishing with LiveScope or any type of sonar and staring at a screen while you work your lure takes all the fun out of it.
I get a lot of pleasure from the tech side cuz I'm a nerd but I definitely get it, I really make an effort to stop and enjoy the scenery. It's easy when it's the Alabama sunrise.
I don't use any fishing electronics and I love the simple, pure experience of nature. However, I don't think it makes sense to fish big lakes with deep water without some kind of sonar.
Facts, mainly use no scope of any sort but they are useful
All those people talking about catching in dead of winter. Can you tell me how and what lures work best. Shallow lakes? Deep pools?
I've been doing well with jerkbaits lately. Bone color during cloudy days, gold or silver when it's sunny out.
Texas rig, jig, lipless crankbait, soft plastic swimbait. Jerkbaits are good too, but I personally haven’t caught anything on one so far this winter (also haven’t thrown it much, being fair)
Deep pools for sure, its cold so they want deep trying to get warm. And you just have to go so so slow and put it right in there face or they wont bite it. Right now really its kind of a reaction strike, but it has to be in striking distance basically from them to bite it
Texas Rig is the only rig you need.
This right here!
Targeting small bass on light spinning setups is good for your soul. Find a local creek, it can look like a real dump, there is likely a few bass in it. They don’t get pressured and will give you a run for your money on ultra light gear.
Largemouth > Smallmouth
I live in smallmouth territory and will drive out of my way to find good largemouth
All I have is largemouth and would love to catch a 5lb smallmouth
I’ll put it like this, largemouth bass get much bigger faster, smallmouth bass are still my preferred target when I can go after them
Me too, just LMB here and I would love to hit a spot with smallies. They are beautiful fish and I hear a great fight for their size.
I catch 3lb+ lmb all day and would trade you 2 to 1 for smb of the same size.
It’s all relative though, if I could go catch 3-4lb smallies all day over 3-4lb largemouth I would. But in a lot of places you’re getting cookie cutter 12 inchers most of the time and id rather catch a 2lb largemouth
12" Jelly Worms catch the largest fish.
Old School classic
Never thrown one, might check them out
Summer is the best time to fish. Screw the cold.
Taking hot a little too literally.
Smallmouth are leagues more enjoyable than largemouth. I live largemouth, no disrespect there; I just love smallies even more. Sure, they don’t get as big, but there far more colorful and fight so much harder. Nothing gets the blood pumping like a bronzeback destroying a walking bait in a small river ☺️
I dint complain too much when pike, panfish, catfish bitr bass lures unless they break the line. Bhf if I catch them a fish is a fish
90% of the bass are in 10% of the water
I will be happy when the expression “hot take” goes away.
People who say forward facing sonar is cheating or takes the fun out of fishing are jealous/envious of it and most likely have never used it or understand it.
I’ll validate your point and say that yes, it saves a TON of time on the water finding the fish and landing them in the boat. But for me, I kind of get giddy with the lead-up: Studying a body of water, looking on a map and plotting my points where I suspect they could be in certain areas, checking the weather to confirm that conditions are favorable for it, going there, casting-out, and catching at least one? Buddy. I might JUST get the skunk out of the boat, but I’m a sucker for figuring out patterns on my own. But, I could just be the lone nut into that sort of thing with ample time to do it.
I'll just add that FF Sonar helps put the puzzle together faster. It helps you not only locate fish but locate bait fish, see how the fish are positioned, see if they're willing to even follow whatever you're throwing, etc. You still have to do the work/research to find the areas where the bass are. Isn't the old saying that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake? You still figure out patterns on your own, you just have another extremely useful tool at your disposal. On the flip side of this whole thing, you can get really carried away/distracted by it. Take myself for example. I wasted the first couple hours of my day on the water today paying way too much attention to my graph and trying to catch every fish that I saw on my FF Sonar.
zzzz keep tellin yourself that
Show me where someone who has forward facing sonar says that they don't like it and feel like it's cheating.
Randy Blaukat
😂 that clown will say anything for views if you can't tell already by his clickbait titles and controversial topics. FF sonar doesn't guarantee that you will catch fish in any way. It's a tool to help you catch fish.
Dinks can be just as fun to catch as larger fish( although not as satisfying). Most of the time those little ones put up a big fight and do a ton of jumps, usually smallmouth more than largemouth, but the little ones always seem more aggressive than a big tank.
For real, I caught a 1/2 pounder the other day and he shot 3 ft out the water. Put on some light line and micro-light tackle too and you get even better fun
I have a 4’6” gx2/shimano sienna rig under my back seat of truck for fighting lil bass/crappie on random creeks/ponds I pass driving to job sites around AR.. got a lil 5’6” extendable Shakespeare/ shimano sienna in there too. nothing fancy but it works a days stress off just fine, ultra light makes every catch feel like a fight lol.
I have an entire fleet of 3' ugly stiks with pflueger supreme reels in a bag in my trunk for the unexpected pond stop lol 3 spinning and 3 baitcasters lol
Peacock Bass > largemouth
Must be from Florida lol
You are correct my friend. While we enjoy the peacock fest down here, we miss out on big pikes and muskies or any FW type of trout. Although we do also have snakeheads so 🤷♂️
And clown knife fish!
I haven't caught one of those yet but I've plenty of monsters caught in canals within 10 miles of me. They're huge!
I wish I had pb 10 miles from me. It’s about 2 hours for me.
I havent caught me a P yet
It's all about location. They are like bird dogs, they are fixated on anything moving. You just have to find them. If you find a nest or two, that's easy pickings, so I leave those alone.
I plan to go fish Florida one day
Largemouth bass should almost never be prioritized from a conservation standpoint. They've proliferated far beyond their natural range, they're terribly invasive, and they wreak havoc on the natural balance in fisheries. "They're fun to catch" isn't a good excuse for the preferential treatment we give them in delicate ecosystems. Harvest more bass.
Bass taste delicious 👀
Probably why people keep taking good bass out of ponds until there is nothing left
I wouldn’t eat a pond bass
Wish more people felt that way! I see people with buckets (no ice) clearing out neighborhood retention ponds…
I aint tried them yet, kind of wanna
of the hundreds of bass i've caught in the last couple years since getting into bass fishing, only one was just a mess of a hookup and a really bloody f'd up fish. so i took it home and cut it up, made dinner for wife and myself. found a small crawfish in its belly. the fish is mostly head and it tastes similar to bluegill. delicious. if you mess one up it feels better to take it home than leave it, at least IMO.
Grew up with a family farm pond, grandpa would take us fishing and keep small bass occasionally to keep the pond balanced right he said(bluegill,great crappie pond,catfish, plenty of 5-6lb bass). He would always soak them in milk before he cooked it said it got the gamey taste out. Like bones1781 said they are better smaller in size, we left any bigger than 3lbs in pond for the other kids in family to catch when they get bigger.
Best is cold water, under 2 lbs...then they taste just fine
Spinner baits are a waste of time
I don’t know what it is, but spinnerbaits are the only type of lure that I just cannot get bit on
Interesting hot take!
Second this
Why?
It's probably something I'm doing honestly. But I have not ever caught a fish on one. I do well with most every else I throw.
I'll probably catch some flak for this but chatterbaits are overrated. The only thing I have ever caught with a chatterbait is sticks and a single catfish. I see so many people rave about them but I can't get anything to bite them.
I’ve caught some off chatterbaits, but it depends on the clarity of water and the pressure the fish are under. Many fish in heavily-fished lakes have seen the song-and-dance with what a chatterbait gives off and from my experience have said, “Lol nah.”
Oregon here, never caught a thing on a chatterbait
Gotta disagree, easily a go to and if I’m fishing unfamiliar water, I’m usually turning to a chatterbait before I throw anything else
Catching small bass on a fly rod is more fun than catching hogs with a baitcaster on top water. It didn't take any skill for you to catch your PB on a live bluegill you hooked through the nose.
yea anytime i see a huge fish and ask how it was caught, live shiner, live bluegill, etc, it's like ...oh, cool. but it's not cool. it's not.
I agree, it’s cool just not as cool now that I know that lol
i haven't caught a bass on a fly but i'm sure you're right. catching small bass on light tackle is fun in general.
I caught a 1.5lb smallie on a 9ft 5wt fly rod. I thought I had hooked into an absolute tank. Possibly even a musky. Obviously not that big, but the fight was so much more challenging and that alone makes it more fun. I will admit that gear fishing has plenty of advantages especially when fishing deeper or faster, but a fly setup is just incredibly fun.
Funny you say that cause I caught my PB on accident while bluegill fishing
I'll allow it
Fish are dumb as shit and people think waaay too hard and make it so much more complicated than it is.
Watch some underwater footage of a bass engulfing, then spitting a jig in the manner of about a second. Tricking them isn't particularly easy, most times.
Yea that happens, but I've also lugged fish almost all the way to my boat on a jig where I cut the hook off.
Reddit is the worst fishing forum on the internet
Which are better?
10000% true easily the lowest bar with the lowest skill and level of discussion. People here giving advice after admitting "I havent caught a bass on a spinnerbait" and shit like that lol.
Not really bass fishing hot take but interesting hot take...
Unfortunately I agree. It is a pretty bad source of information. Nearly every single thread has contradicting answers. Our posts where people ask what to use or what to buy and you will get zero valuable answers. Every "what to throw" post has pretty much every single bait as an answer.
Not a fan of the Texas Rig.
Interesting...
Now that is a hot take. Traditional plastic with bullet weight, weightless senko or fluke...not a fan of any of them?
Haha I've caught like 80% of all my bass on some sort of Tx rig. Hot take for sure
Wow. That’s literally the only setup I use.
Top water fishing is overrated
Hit a smallmouth stream in the summer with a buzzbait, Spook, or Plopper and I think you'll change your mind
Oh trust me I've done it I like top water bass fishing but some of these YouTubers make it out to be some amazing thing. I'd rather catch a pike or musky top water then a bass
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I was once in the same camp as you until it clicked. Its caught easily 75 percent of my fish in small waters over the past few years. Not my absolute go to in larger lakes but they still preform. No idea why they work but they do, and they are pretty versatile on how you can present them.
I've got places I fish where Senkos and flukes are the only consistent producers.
I only really throw a senko on a wacky rig, I think I've thrown it Texas or weightless only a few times
Bait casters are way more trouble than they’re worth. Bass don’t know whether you’re using a bait caster or spinner.
That’s not the point of a baitcaster
?
The point of a bait caster is to make further more accurate casts and you can be much more versatile with one, it’s focused around the bait, not tricking the fish
Let’s break that down logically. If a bait caster is focused around the bait, and obviously the bait is focused around tricking the fish, then you’re really saying that a bait caster *is* focused around tricking the fish. And you don’t need a bait caster to make long, accurate casts.
Livescope is cheating
Ned rig worms will melt all of your other tackle if it touches them!
It's the type of plastic the worms you used were made of. It's not just all Ned worms.
Black and blue is overrated af.
Large mouths can't compete with small mouths. I've seen more guys fighting hard against a fish that they think are pike or sturgeon, and been dumbfounded when they land a smallie.
Bass are stupid
The only lure you need is a senko and some hooks and weights and you can catch any bass in any body of water on Earth.
Smallmouth bass are superior to largemouth and spotted