BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

If you know a excellent lake, can you tell me the best time to fish there, and what baits work best at that time. thanks alot.

I fish at lake lemon and monroe catch many of these just cant find the actual limit on size and bag! Thanks

I live near east central Indiana and i love fishing in the Mississinewa river…

Well today my dad showed me a huge lake about a mile behind our bacl field, there are deer tracks and stands, and above all i could throw tiny pebbles in the water and see a fish pop on it in seconds…..It was beautiful.

I love that spot and tomorrow im going fishing, probabely for bass. I would go hunting but fishing just seems funner around this time….

Well i am thinking of leaving at about 9:30-!0:00 a.M. and i wanna know if its a excellent time for fishing? Ill stay out there for a long time more than likely. but is that a excellent time, and what else should i fish for?

i would say if get out there by 7

Always seems like there are guys looking to join a club. if you are one of them, the following groups covering central Indiana on down to the Ohio R. area have posted as open to new members in 2011:

2011 Patoka Bass Club Open Spots – We have a local bass club that fishes Patoka and we have a few openings for new boats in 2011. We have a fantastic group of guys and emphasize sportsmanship. There are no membership dues and no meetings. We fish ten tourneys per year and a two day classic. Entry fees are $50 per team with optional $10 big Fish pot and $5 Progressive big Fish pot. if you are interested and would like details on the club and schedule email me at: uk2thdoc@gmail.com; thanks, Dan

White River Bass Masters - are accepting new members for the 2011 fishing season (boaters and non-boaters). We are IBF and IBFN affiliated. Check out our soon-to-be updated website at whiteriverbass.com. Contact us at: newmember@whiteriverbass.com for more information!

Johnson County Christian Bassmasters - are looking for new members for 2011. our 2011 fishing schedule will be voted on at the February meeting. Annual dues are just $20.00. Come check us out at jccbassmasters.com.

NBAA Tanners Creek 1 on 1 - Don't have a partner? no problem! join the 1 on 1 circuit today! just 1 person per boat. Cheap entry fees! and a classic! if you would like more info on the 1 on 1's visit the nbaa national web site: nbaa-bass.com; Director: Mike Powell – (513) 200-1883

P.O. Pluggers – out of Indpls. are also looking for non-boaters this year; we have several open positions. 8 tournaments starting with Patoka in April and ending with Morse in September. $40.00 for new members, $35.00 for FLW membership and we are a Top-8 club in the Geist/Morse district. Contact Josh McDermott for more information if you are interested.

Indy Bass Club (IBC) - is a non federated bass fishing club of approximately fourty members who share the common interest of bass fishing, friendly competition and preservation of our natural resources. the club is based mainly on southside of Indianapolis, Indiana. our members vary from the more experienced angler to newcomers looking to start their fishing career. We offer competition of tournaments, yet in friendly, honest and open environment where your competitors are also your friends.  our membership consist of husband/wife, father/son, friends and individuals. 

$50 per team for membership dues (One time yearly fee). $70 entry fee per boat – per tournament, Optional $10 daily big bass and $10 big bass roll over. 75% payout at the ramp and the other 25%to be paid out by cash and/or prizes at end of year. indybassclub.org the first club open meeting is January 29th at 11:30am at Honey Creek Tackle in Bargersville Indiana.

Also, be sure to check the IN Tx Links page for a growing list of many different tournament organizations in the state you might be intersted in either joining or following.

i am going to Daytona Beach Shores in Florida for spring break, and i want to fish in the ocean for the first time. I have absolutely no idea how to fish in the ocean and i have no idea what to bring. (the only fishing i have done is in the neighborhood lake catching bass.)
what i need to know is what line to buy, what lures and bait to use and buy (and the fish that it will catch), what kind of weights to buy, what kind of net to buy (prices and where to buy this stuff if possible (Indiana)), and maybe some tips and techniques if you have any.
I am plotting to just fish right on the beach, no boat.
i already have a "Masters" pole that is very thick that i think would work, i have been told that i can use regular freshwater hooks (if not please tell me), and i have a fishing knife.
PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU CAN!
Thanks

Just take your regular rod and reel and buy some heavier weights and some wire leaders and fish with shrimp, squid, or blood worms (all of which can usually be bought at the pier) and fish off of a pier or in the tide.

spend a couple hundred bucks with a buddy and hire a guide. they can teach you all you need to know and is money well spent.

inletharbor.com

It's farther south in Ponce Inlet (maybe a 10 minute drive) and they have all kinds of tours that go out for half days or full days.

i would get a heavy action surf rod and use crabs. they wil catch trout, redfish, snook, and possibly tarpon

does anyone know of any lakes/ponds that are excellent fishing spots in the south subs. or northwest indiana? small and huge mouth bass, carp, river cat etc.

Neer chicago or clevend there is lake erire which is fantastic for fishing and is much fun for the whole family.

DALLAS — Two weeks ago, when the weather was pretty much ideal for shallow-water bass, I tied on an $8 spinner bait, turned the trolling motor on and started covering water. the fish responded even better than I expected.

Spinner baits were once my favorite bass lure, but these days I usually select a slow-moving plastic worm or lizard. Those require less effort than a spinner bait, which must be constantly retrieved.

Two weeks ago, I remembered how much fun a spinner bait can be. the fish slammed that high-dollar lure so hard that they managed to bend the stainless steel wire shaft, causing the lure to spin erratically on retrieve. That made me a small mad until I considered how many fish I’d already caught. then I clipped the banged-up lure off my line, tied on another one just like it and got the same result.

At one point, I’d pulled into a spot that always seems to produce fish and was plumbing the depths with a plastic lizard when I noticed schools of bass fry, fish that were hatched just weeks ago.

In schools numbering in the hundreds, the tiny fish were moving cautiously through dense cover right next to the bank. As I watched, a school of fry ventured too far from cover and immediately paid the price when a 3-pounder crashed through their midst.

I laid down the lizard, picked up the spinner bait and caught five bass in 10 casts. the shimmering fry and their nervous skittering resembled the flash of the spinner bait blades.

My first spinner bait certainly didn’t cost $8. it was an H&H. When I started buying them about 1962, $8 would buy 32 H&Hs, unless you caught them on sale. I usually bought them one at a time.

H&H Lure Co. is still in business in Baton Rouge, La., and still makes spinner baits. Why shouldn’t they? According to the company website, more than 200 million of these lures have been sold. they look a lot like the originals except they come in more colors, more sizes, and there’s even a twin spin model.

Spinner baits have been dubbed an “idiot lure” because they will catch fish for a novice who doesn’t know much more than casting and retrieving. they proved that in the 1960s when I became a self-taught angler by relying on the flash and vibration to tempt fish.

Here are some tips to improve your spinner bait fishing beyond the idiot realm:

• Use a lure with tandem blades for fishing in the shallows. Single spinner lures are generally used for slower retrieves in deeper water.
• Elongated, willow leaf blades work best around grassy cover because they don’t hang up as readily. A more oval Colorado or Indiana blade creates more vibration.
• The pulse of a good spinner bait can be felt through the rod. if the spinner becomes misaligned, it’s not effective. if you can’t feel the pulse, jerk on the lure to try to get it functioning again.
• Spinner baits come in a variety of weights, from a tiny 1/8-ounce model to a huge ¾-ounce model. Midsized lures like the 3/8- and ½-ounce are practical for most anglers.
• Vary your rate of retrieve. Fish that are following a lure often bite when the lure slows down or speeds up.
• If you’re getting bites without catching the fish, add a trailer hook for better hookups. Remember that the trailer hook makes the lure less weedless.

Copyright 2011 Columbia Tribune. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Got family coming to town for the fourth i mainly bass/walleye fish but they want to go catfishing, need some help on a spot.

Do you normally fish rivers or lakes? If you fish rivers, then there should be cats in them as well. try fishing around brush piles or any deep water areas. you need some stinkbait (dip or doughball) for channels and I suggest some chubs for the flatheads. Your family should be able to direct you to the right bait if they are cat fishermen (or ladies to be politically right).

I do not fish ponds or lakes much, but most of them will have channel cats or their cousins bullheads in them. Suggestions on where and how to fish cats in the lakes or ponds might have to come from others or your family.

I am from Iowa and when fishing the rivers, we use just about the same methods for cats as we do for walleyes. we normally start about an hour or so before sundown and fish for a couple hours after (or until the fish stop biting). In the mornings, we start shortly before sunrise and for couple hours after as well. Of course, weather conditions and several other factors will determine if the cats will bite.

Excellent luck and enjoy the 4th!!

Hunting. Spring turkey hunting weekend, featuring Wayne Carlton and Jodi and Weston Clark; free seminars, beginning to advanced strategies and techniques, turkey habits and habitat, calling demonstrations and more, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

Fishing. Workshop on trout fishing in the Rocky Mountains, 6 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

• Workshop on using fish finders, 6:30 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

Glide-fishing. Ladies-only clinic, presented by Al Noraker of Wright and McGill, attend three of the four classes and you can attend the “on the water” session. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

Fishing. Workshop on fishing for walleyes, 6 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

• Workshop on learning to use GPS, 6:30 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600.

Glide-tying. Mark McMillan demonstration, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Charlie’s FlyBox, 7513 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 303-403-8880 or charliesflyboxinc.com.

Glide-fishing. Beginners glide-casting clinic, 9-10 a.m. Orvis Park Meadows, 8433 Park Meadows Center Drive, Unit 149, signup required, 303-768-9600.

Hunting. Hunters education clinic, Colorado Division of Wildlife curriculum, 6-10 p.m. Reservations only. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-385-3600 or 303-482-5723.

Hunting. Basics of shotgunning, Warren Watson instructor, 6-7 p.m. Bass Pro Shops, 7970 Northfield Blvd., 720-284-4799.

Glide-fishing. West Denver Chapter of Trout Unlimited chapter meeting featuring John Harcourt presentation on RV’ing and fishing across Alaska, 6:30 p.m. Jeffco Fairgrounds, Sixth Avenue and Indiana, 303-278-2282.

Glide-tying. Charlie Vestal demonstration, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Charlie’s FlyBox, 7513 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 303-403-8880 or charliesflyboxinc.com.

Glide-fishing. Glide-casting and glide-tying by Frank Smethurst, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Rocky Mountain Anglers, 1904 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-447-2400.

• Free beginners glide-casting clinic, 9-10 a.m. Orvis Park Meadows, 8433 Park Meadows Center Drive, Unit 149, signup required, 303-768-9600.

• “Glide Fishing Small Streams,” 11 a.m. Orvis Park Meadows, 8433 Park Meadows Center Drive, Unit 149, 303-768-9600.

Glide-tying. Steve Johnson demonstration, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Charlie’s FlyBox, 7513 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 303-403-8880 or charliesflyboxinc.com.

Glide-fishing. Presentation by Landon Meyer, noon-1:30 p.m. Hook Flyfishing, 2030 E. County Line Road, Highlands Ranch, hookflyfishing.com, 720-920-9780 or e-mail .

I am fishing a small 20-30 acer lake in northwest Indiana. I have fished it before but I am running into a problem. we have had fantastic weather and have so for the last 6 days. It has been in the seventies. Now, the water is still cold, maybe around the low 40's. I was out yesterday and fishing from the bank (this lake is small enough to fish effectivly from shore- I make long casts so I can go to where ther fish are) The water clarity is stained to a small murky, viz is about 3-4 four feet. In the moring I was fishing a football jig along point's and dropoff's. nothing as I was making my way down the shore line, I saw a bass roll on a shad about 4 feet from the bank and I imediatley through a 1/2 ounce red eye shad beyond where I saw the bass and began to reel it in giving it a tight yo-yo retrieve. I caught three in as many casts. after that I lost tack of the shad as the sun got brighter ae the day progressed. I know where they went and that is deeper. I tried every lure I had from jigs to crankbaits and even a swimbait hard and soft. nothing happend. As the day got warmer I fished slower baits, finesse worms, shaky, wacky, drop shot, everything. In the early afternoon I noticed the bass coming up to the bank to sun themselves. Still could not get a strike. Points during this time of year work well in other lakes but this lake is a different animal. The day that I caught those three bass I was the only angler to catch fish of any species. Those with live bait where not producing. The lake is deep around thirty feet at the most. I can usually work througth this problem but not these last two days. So any help would be appriciated. I have ideas on how to catch these fish and there is alot of them in this lake too. But I just want to make sure I am not missing something stupid.

Sounds like you've tried just about everthing. Bass are just hard to catch in that cold of water. I've heard and read a lot over the past couple years about using suspending jerk baits in cold water. It sounds like most pros will pick one of these up first when the water is in the 40's/low 50's. I mainly use Smithwick Suspending Rogues, but there are a lot out there. Rapala X-raps have fantastic action and you can pause them and suspend them or quite some period of time. Rebel Minnows and Strike King Wild Eye Shiners are two other excellent jerk baits. Just vary your retrieve. Just a thought of something different if you haven't tried it yet. I live in Northern Illinois so I'm dealing with the cold water too. Excellent Luck!

Sounds like a rough day of fishing. One problem is the water temperature. The water temperature will turn fish off very quickly. As you said, temperatures in the 70's but only 40 degree water. Look for the water to warm up tremendously, and see many more bass sun bathing in the shallows, and eating aggressively. Since it's cold, try smaller, compact baits. Such as these –

#1 1/8 oz. spinnerbait – basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores…

#2 Mini buzz-bait – basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores…

#3 1/4 oz. rat-l-trap – basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores…

If those don't work, go for a jerk-bait. Such as a Slug-O. Natural colors followed by an orange belly will work.

Pleased fishing.

You know sometimes, you fish and fish and fish, and nothing bites. It's the nature of the beast. be pleased with the three that you did catch. If you want to try something else now is a excellent time to switch to salamanders just before the spawning starts.

We catch bass in water a lot colder than that all the time.

Even through the ice! keep it up, you will eventually figure them out!

Check out cold water and blizzard bass pics here:

seams to me like your doing everythng rite and that you can do but its not always p to u especialy this time of year

Early spring is prime time for catching giant bass, but you must have the right tools for the task especially if the water is cold. Here are a few recommendations for this time of year along with fishing tips for each (full disclosure, I work for PRADCO Outdoor Brands who own Lurenet.com)… Excellent fishing!

1) Smithwick 5 ½-inch Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue – Clown

The suspending jerkbait that put suspending jerkbaits on the map, a Rogue is the bait of choice for giant smallies when they stage just off spawning flats. Pause it as long as you can stand between jerks – and maybe a small longer – and remain ready.

2) 7-inch YUM Dinger – Watermelon Pearl Laminate

Huge, bold offerings often trigger heavyweight spawning fish into committing, and nothing will do that job quite like a 7-inch YUM Dinger. Huge Dingers’ also produce hoards of hawgs when pitched around shallow cover throughout the spring.

3) BOOYAH 3/4-ounce Football Jigheads – Brown

During early spring many huge fish remain in or very near their winter areas, which dictates hitting deeper structure. A BOOYAH Football Head allows you to keep soft-plastic offerings close to prime structure and comes equipped with a 4/O Gamakatsu hook for putting those huge fish in the boat.

4) YUM 5-inch Gonzo Grub – Green Pumpkin/Orange Flake

A perfect match for the Football Jighead, a Gonzo Grub has a fluttering skirt and twin tails that provide an incredible amount of action. The 5-inch Gonzo provides the necessary bulk to get a lunker to commit.

5) Bomber Stout Free Shad – Dance’s Citrus Shad

If you ever travel to Mexico without a stock of Stout Free Shads you’ll buy some before the trip is over, and if you fish anywhere bass grow huge without ‘em, you’re leaving something significant on the table. Stout Frees dig deep to get down among ‘em and have just the right profile and wag.

6) 1-ounce Double Willow BOOYAH Blade – White Chartreuse

Another trophy bass gem for when the lunkers are laying low in the water column, a huge Double Willow BOOYAH Blade offers a large profile to suggest a serious meal. Let it fall to the bottom and slow roll it across the deepest edges of flats and the ends of points

7) ¾-ounce Single Colorado BOOYAH Blade – Coleslaw

When early-spring storms stain huge bass waters, it’s time to pull out a thumping single Colorado. The fish will go tight to shallow cover, and they will dart out of bush to ambush something that’s creating huge vibes. Work close and make small accurate casts, working the bait tight to the thick stuff.

BOMBER Deep Flat A – Apple Red Crawfish

The Flat A’s extra-tight wiggle suggests an simple meal, which is something bass cannot resist while their metabolism levels remain low. Use a steady medium-slow retrieve and kick it off rocks and the bottom whenever possible.

9) Cotton Cordell Super Spot – Tomato Red

A first-season classic on grass lakes, the Tomato Red Super Spot accounts for a tremendous amount of hawgs this time of year. Let it fall into patches of submerged vegetation, rip it out of the grass and hold on tight!

Sounds to me like you are a pretty experience bass fisherperson who has done the homework and spent the time on the water . If I were going to suggest anything , it would prabably be to try to find weeds or structure and fish in the middle of it , crashing it if you have to .Lastly , the fish probably are suspended thus the excellent luck between the shore and the deep water . If that is the case , try a carolina Rigged centipede, lizark , or something of that nature . Excellent Luck and tight lines

Try a *very* slow retrieve. slow roll a tube jig or rubber worm along the bottom stopping every few cranks of the reel to keep it down deep. The slower the bait moves in cold water, the better it works.