Advice: Am I Just Bass Fishing Wrong?

[waterdogMP]

Spinnerbaits, spinnerbaits, spinnerbaits. Always works for me. Rocky banks, timber, bushes, ledges, bluff walls, never seem to have trouble getting bites on them. I fish a lot later at night than you it sounds like though.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Cut Zinker Z's in half and you get 12 baits instead of the 8 in the TRD package.  Let it soak like live bait for 30 second or so before you give it a twitch. 

[Skeeter ZX190]

Lots to cover here. 

I am notorious for fishing the ned too fast.  Dave Reeves (dtrs5keepers) is probably the Ozark Anglers leading expert.  He pretty much dead sticks it.  But in order to do that, you have to be VERY confident that there is fish in close proximity to where you're casting.  That's where I struggle.  I don't  get on the lake on a consistent basis so much of my time is searching for where the fish are staging on that particular day.  If I get it figured out, then I will slow down and concentrate on where the fish are.  

I tend to hop the ned. I think that reduces the chance to get hung up.  I want to pop it off the bottom rather than drag it.  But I only pop it a few inches.

TRD's work, but I prefer the ZinkerZ's or Zeros.   There is a difference, they get spongier.  You have to cut them in half which requires either scissors or a knife. I use either the Z-Man shroomz jig head or the one produced by Dave Reeves, Ozark Finesse.  I use pliers to remove the wire keeper on the hook of the Shroomz head. I glue the ZinkerZ on with super glue.  I find that by gluing it the body of the bait stays in more of a straight line reducing the chance for the bait to corkscrew during the retrieve and twist your line.  The little wire keeper on the Shroomz works by itself, but after a fish or two, the ZinkerZ can get twisted on the hook and cause the bait to corkscrew.  That's why I remove it and use glue.

As far as long tapering points, there is one on the main lake close to the dam.  I spend 95% of my time on Stockton between the dam and State Park on the east, or Hawker on the west. It's on the east side of the lake and extends to the north toward the dam.  It's the point that separates the main lake from the cove that goes back to the north quarry entrance.  I position my boat to where I am paralleling the point. Put the boat in 20 to 25 feet of water but cast up to 8 to 10 feet of water.  With the ned, even though I work it fairly fast, I am still inching my way along and so you have to be very patient. 

My experience has been that the ned really shines during the post spawn.    However, I have caught a lot of fish on it in the fall and winter.  Summer is a struggle.