Walcrabass

All kidding aside. If you had one of those "Pens" that have a Chartreuse marker on one end and a Red on the other like I always carry with me...... Put a stripe on your minnows. Especially if you are slow reeling them hooked through the lips. I have never tried it but it can't be any different than putting a stripe on a crankbait can it???? We might all be laughing but it might be a great idea. Bass Pro sells the pens. I use them on my plastics. If it works let me know.

I fished solo at Stockton Sunday. My partner opted out. Launched at State Park. Didn't start until about 10:00 A.M. Tried the Crankbaits for about three hours on Bluffs, and steep broken rock banks. Caught one. Began fishing with Finesse Stand Up Jigs. Green Pumpkin with Chartreuse and Orange. Caught a couple. Too many "Flip" Bites where they did not hold on. Used some Paca Chunks and Zoom Craws in Okeechobee and Green Pumpkin. Caught a few more. Used a Stand up Jig Head with Green Pumpkin Zoom Craw. Caught a few more. They still were not really chomping it. I had been using the Jigs in 1/4 and 3/8 oz. Changed to 1/2oz. Bluegill Bandit color that has an Orange tracer in the belly with a Big Green Pumpkin Zoom Craw. Caught some more that bit better and they were bigger. Had a brain storm. Dipped about half of the Claws in Chartreuse Garlic flavored dye. WHAMMO!!! Caught several fish with only about two hours of fishing time left. Ended up catching six(seven?) fish that didn't need to be measured and several that were just under 15". Great way to end the day. Saw several Bald Eagles and Loons ( not the ones in Bass boats that come in to fish on top of you.)Only saw four boats. Wonder why???

I am planning a trip to Stockton about Sunday. If anybody fishes Saturday please post some advice on the situation. I will probably go to the Cedar Ridge area and fish clear up to the big islands. Any help would be appreciated as the weather report does not look too good. I love fishing but I am not real wild about freezing and just flailing water.

Thanks for the info but can we get more???? Water temp?? Water Clarity?? Lure Color and Size??? I haven't been to CC all year and won't make it before years end but would like to apply this info elsewhere. Did you try Spinnerbaits or Jigs??

Glad to hear you did well. We went the other way and did not do so well. Fished with Suspending Rogues and Jigs. Caught a few on skirted Jigs and Craws and a few with Bare Heads and Craws. Did not get a hit on the Rogues. Tried twitching, pulling, and slow retrieve. Had white bellies but must have been too big. Wanted to fish the timber under 245 bridge but the wind was too much for us. All our fish were on wood. Congratulations on your trip, sorry you had to deal with BOZO BASSER!!!!

We have Hunter Harrassment Laws. I guess we will need Fishing Harrassment Laws as well. I fished about a hundred yards behind a guy at Stockton several years ago that was not catching any Bass. We started catching 2 to 4 Pounders. He got mad and fired up his boat and came by me about 3 feet from my boat and waked my boat onto the bank. It was all we could do to get the prop out of the mud and rock and get it back in the water. I guess more people than I ever knew did not learn the proper things in Kindergarten like Respect, Fairness, Sharing, and learning to accept the fact that someone else beat you to a spot or might know something that you don't know. Next time get a boat number or a vehicle license number and call a Game warden. I think they might go see them or give them a call.

I haven't been myself but I can pretty well guess that Plastic Craws (even if you need to go to smaller ones) on a jig with a drop of Crawdad Oil will get those bass on the fish finder to bite. Maybe with a skirt or maybe without.Keep in mind that as the water cools it makes a big change in cold blooded creatures. I am convinced that their vision changes because they always start biting weird colors. Candy and Flashy colors seem to work well until the water really gets cold and then I go back to the normal Blacks, Blues, and Greens.When the water is cooling they start getting ready for winter. I am right there with Denny when he said, I have won a lot of money Bass Fishing and 90% of it with Jigs. Happy Jig Fishing Guys

Fellow Bassers, All this talk about the lake level is making me want to Bass Fish. I haven't seen a Bass report for a while. If anybody is going I would like to hear about it. I have been taking care of a wounded Football Player and started Bow Hunting so I haven't been myself. Might get to go this weekend so send in a report if you have one. Thanks

The Shad are definitely in the creek arms and at the back of the coves with creeks. MILLIONS of them. The Bass are literaly shooting out of the water after them. I saw a couple of them doing summersaults in the air. The problem is that most of them are small. I talked to some guys Saturday evening and they had been catching them all day and all were small. I saw other guys fishing and the same was true with them. All these guys were fishing with Spinnerbaits in Shad or White color. I fished with Chartreuse and Black but no hits. Put on a white and third cast caught one. A small one. Fished with plastic Worms, Shad Colored Cranks, and Top Water and still nothing. I do not continue to fish for the small ones as I do not like the chance of injuring them. That is why I did not continue to fish with the Spinnerbaits. Started using Stand Up Jigs with Zoom Craws and caught several. Most of them were almost 15" and several were over. Biggest was a little over 3 Pounds. Fished with Black Neon 1/2 oz. after dark with Bass Pro Black Neon Crack Craws. Quit about 10:00 P.M. because of family stuff on Sunday. The bite was getting better and better and I really hated to quit. Black Lights and Night Bites, It doesn't get any better

Skeeter, Did you try any "Bottom" Fishing under those 14 inchers??? Jig, Worm, Drop Shot, Carolina with Lizards etc??? It seems like to me when the weather changes (Lake Cooling etc.)that the small ones always react first and the bigger ones are close by but not on the same pattern. Just curious. Sounds like the dam area has been pretty good for the last couple of weeks. I would also like to know what a Zell Pop is because I top water fish a lot using Rebel Poppers up to 1 oz. The 1 oz. are a special order now and only from one place that has an exclusive. The cool thing is that they are hand painted and the guy does a great job.

Went Friday night for some fishing in the dark. We could not catch them on Worms, Spinnerbaits,Buzzbaits, or Stand Up Jigs. The first two "Hot Spots" produced nothing. The next spot produced some fish swimming at the boat at warp speed. Couldn't get the hook set. Finally got one to swim a little slower and set the hook. Just about got a broken arm!!!!! He went down and I was trying to pull him out of the brush. Pulled him up a little bit and he was actually hurting my left wrist as he went back down. My 17 pound Trilene XL had not been re-tied in some time as we were not catching any and the line broke. Ended up catching one fish around 11:00 p.m. and then called it quits. We had one hit on a 10" worm and the rest were on 1/2 oz.Stand Up Black Neon Jigs and Black Neon Bass Pro Crack Craws in 4.5 inch. I really wish I would've landed the Big One as I am pretty sure it was a Bass and not a Flathead. Sorry the report isn't any better but the truth really hurts sometimes. Good Luck Fishin!!!

Straw Hat, You have some cool articles again. A couple in particular interested me. Concerning fishing around tournament release sites I believe it should not be allowed for people in tournaments to fish a tournament in a common release area. Some tournaments reflect my position on this matter. It goes along with "Stocking up" an area and also the article on the more catchable fish. Fish have tendencies just like us. If they have been caught once it is highly likely it will happen again. As far as the logs and Largemouth go I must say that the "Brush Piles" I put in for Largemouth are actually Log Piles. They just work better for Largemouth. For all you "Bass Tournament Anglers" get this one. I used to have friends that tournament fished a lot. One of their secret practices was to "Stock" certain brush piles. They actually had it down to a science as to how to release the fish so he would go to the brush pile and not swim off to another location. I have had lessons from them on this very thing. What I am saying is that it is very hard to beat a local angler that lives close enough to the lake to fish several times a week that catches fish in many places and then "Stocks" them in one concentrated spot.This all goes along with Straw Hat's articles on fish that are catchable and fishing in a known release area. Where the Kentuckies are concerned if you talk to Table Rock Guides you will find out that the Kentuckies definitely like the trees. That is one of their "catching places" for their clients from what some of them have told me. Smallmouth absolutely like Big Rock. Is it no wonder that they feed hugely on Crawdads since this is a great place for the Crawdads to hide???? The article was on target again. I don't know where Straw Hat gets all these Articles from but I am truly grateful to him for posting them as they are a wealth of knowledge.

Kevin, Here is some food for thought. If you were a creature that could hide under a rock or burrow into the bottom to save your hind end I am thinking you probably would take advantage of that ability. The bait fish don't really have that option. When the water is muddier the crawdads are out in full force because they feel safe and less noticable. It is kind of like when it is dark. They are out in full force. If the refrigerater is locked and you don't have the key then you don't eat. If the crawdads are "Locked Up" then the Bass can't eat them either. All predators take advantage of using something to help them ambush their prey. Stained water and darkness are just tools for them to utilize.

Mold my own. Send me a P.M. and I will try to answer.

I can see where they were wanting the Finesse because there was a storm rolling around in the area according to the weather. As you know that has a tendency to lighten the bite sometimes. I used Arkie style Jigs and others for years and they are much better about not getting hung up than a ball or football head. I do believe although that the Stand Up Jigs in the right variety are better yet about not getting hung up. I have watched the fish pick up Stand up Jigs and other types of heads in clear water. In the winter especially I have noticed that they can kind of "Pluck" the Stand Ups but they have to scoop or inhale the others. It is just my personal opinion that they can get a hold of the Stand Up Jigs easier. My two cents worth again.

I am always glad to hear people are catching them on Jigs. Sounds like you did pretty well. One thing that confuses me is a "HEAVY" Finesse jig. Sounds like an oxymoron kind of thing. I like the finesse Jigs when they are shallow but I use light weights and maybe a craw or chunk to soften the landing in the water. I have also found that if they are biting well the finesse is not necessary. This lets me use a full size skirt and also softens the landing even further. I also prefer the Stand Up Jigs as I have found they are much more visible to the fish and easier for them to pick up. Keep up the good work. I believe in the next two weeks we will be on fire with the Jig Bite at Stockton. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Hammertime, Glad to see you back on the site. We went Friday night too but the opposite direction. Caught several but the bite was really light early on. Things picked up about dark and got better after dark. Only caught 2 that were a little over 15" and one that was 22". Tried the Blade and the Crankbait but caught none. Found the fish shallow just like you only we caught some on gravel if there was brush down there. Dirty Pumpkin Stand Up Jigs before dark and Black Neon after dark. Both utilized matching trailers and Crawdad Oil. You are definitely right about the fishing getting better. In around two weeks we will see a lot of fish move up shallow.....and some big ones too. Glad to hear you caught some on the big worm. That tells me that their appetites are improving. We left about 10:30 P.M. as I had a Football game to attend the next evening. Wish I could have fished all night as things were certainly getting better and better. That is my 2 cents worth guys. See Ya

Straw Hat, Stay connected to the site. I am sure it is a whole lot better than the fishing magazines you bought. Truth is always funnier than fiction you know.

Mr. Wagner, Straw Hat, and other Fish story Guys, We won our Football Game and I made it back in town in time to go Sunday night. Stockton was windy and most people were getting off the lake by 6:30 P.M. I went to a cove with the wind blowing straight into it and fished a point on the protected side. The fish were on the graph but not on my hook. I followed the wind into the cove and found a protected bank that the wind was blowing straight into and Bingo I was in the fish. They were slurping shad but I couldn't catch but one on a Shad crankbait. Tried a Spinnerbait and no luck. Pulled out the Stand Up Jigs in a Dirty Pumpkin color and started catching them. About dark they slowed down so I switched to a 1/2 oz. Black Neon Stand Up Jig with a Bass Pro 4.5" Black Neon Crack Craw. Added a little bit of Crawdad oil and started catching them again. They shut completely off about 1/2 hour after dark. I wish I had went to spot number two when I first arrived. I think I would have slaughtered them. I only caught 12 or 13 fish but all were good size. No little ones. No Kentuckies. Four "would be" keepers. Two 16 inches, one almost 17", and one that would have been 5.5 to 6 pounds. If Mr. Wagner can P.M. me I will try to get the information about the Jigs to him. Never say die, If you wanna fish, You gotta try

Straw Hat, You are right!!! Priorities are foremost. My son is playing in college at the Receiver position. Don't miss his games unless I absolutely HAVE to miss them. You are right........ Fall fishing is almost here and I dearly love to catch them on Jigs. I will put in all the hours I can fishing!!!!Might get to go tonight!! See You Guys at the Lake