Bass Box Revisited

[JohnF]

So here's the short list of fake minnows

 

 

and here's the other hard lures. Plastics and inline spinners I'm already pretty well settled with.

 

 

I know I've left out some obvious ones but I'm trying to move on.

 

Any thoughts on the above? Some have already been mentioned and I'm sure some will have been a total bust for a few of you. What say?

 

My deal is that most of the water I fish is shallow - like 2 - 3' max. Lotsa bowling ball rocks on the bottom so bottom bouncing is problematic. A lipless bait will as likely get wedged between two rocks as catch a fish, and that gets costly. I can generally walk to the snag but then I spook the pool. There are a few pools that hold pike but generally it's just smb's and the carp or suckers. I can deal with the odd biteoff to avoid using leaders. I feel kinda bad for the hammerhandles who swim away with a faceful of hooks but I guess that's the price of greed these days. WGSF are a bonus and ubiquitous so I don't count them. I know if all else fails a gold grub will suck them in any time.

 

JF

[shane]

Those mice are cute. Probably be good for catfish.

[JohnF]

Those mice are cute. Probably be good for catfish.

 

I figured them for dragging over dense weeds.

 

JF

[dave524]

My deal is that most of the water I fish is shallow - like 2 - 3' max. Lotsa bowling ball rocks on the bottom so bottom bouncing is problematic. A lipless bait will as likely get wedged between two rocks as catch a fish, and that gets costly.

JF

 

 

faced with these conditions I would grab a flyrod and a box of woolybuggers, that kind of water is custom made for fly fishing.

[JohnF]

faced with these conditions I would grab a flyrod and a box of woolybuggers, that kind of water is custom made for fly fishing.

 

I'll get to that. I have a nice selection of bass flies sent to me by SingingDog. But that's another style of fishing that I still need to master. So many rods, so little time.

 

The flies are for my zennier days. Methinks I haven't quite reached the proper level of maturity for them yet but I'm trying.

 

JF

[aniceguy]

Im guessing your in a river environment, mentioning pools and such, so mini tubes, and some berkley 4 and 5 inch trout worms should work, be brazen in a zen like manner and run a leach pattern or such under a float...

 

if your in a lake and are on a boat, its more trying to figure out if they are in 2-4 or 5-8 feet on those boulders, in which case cranks banging off the rock DT4 and 6 would be my choice line up in line with the shore and find the depth those bass are in, a tube should work well, but in that depth I would flip a jig all day long personally

[Garry2Rs]

Hi John;

I'm not sure that I understand the question...

You have a nice selection/collection of surface and shallow baits. You indicated that you aren't looking for soft plastics, I suspect that means worms...or in-line spinners. Spinnerbaits are much more snag proof than in-line spinners, you could also try BoB Izumi's little Rocket Shad. It casts like a bullet, and works very well in rivers, but is a little less snag resistent than any spinnerbait because it uses a double (aka. frog) hook.

Beyond that there is this whole new world of "Swimbaits." The ones that might interest you are soft plastic minnows, with "boot" type tails, that are fished on a weighted hook. You are probably acquainted with the older style that have hooks mounted on them and those that have lead jigs cast in. The new flavour are hollow bodies or have a slit belly like a Fluke. They are the new hot set-up on the Pro Bass Tour whenever the boys are fishing "Clear water." The Yankee definition of clear water seem to be 2 feet of visibility...In other words you have to stake the tomato plants...HAHAHA.

[JohnF]

Hi John;

I'm not sure that I understand the question...

You have a nice selection/collection of surface and shallow baits. You indicated that you aren't looking for soft plastics, I suspect that means worms...or in-line spinners. Spinnerbaits are much more snag proof than in-line spinners, you could also try BoB Izumi's little Rocket Shad. It casts like a bullet, and works very well in rivers, but is a little less snag resistent than any spinnerbait because it uses a double (aka. frog) hook.

Beyond that there is this whole new world of "Swimbaits." The ones that might interest you are soft plastic minnows, with "boot" type tails, that are fished on a weighted hook. You are probably acquainted with the older style that have hooks mounted on them and those that have lead jigs cast in. The new flavour are hollow bodies or have a slit belly like a Fluke. They are the new hot set-up on the Pro Bass Tour whenever the boys are fishing "Clear water." The Yankee definition of clear water seem to be 2 feet of visibility...In other words you have to stake the tomato plants...HAHAHA.

 

The lures in the pics are what I've whittled my list down to so far. Now I'm looking for input on those ones for goods and bads. I've got a lot of others but not necessarily good for the 1 - 3' water I wade in.

 

Snags are an issue in my creek. The bottom is almost consistently softball sized rocks crowded together so trying to bounce off the bottom generally is a surefire way to wedge the lure between two rocks. I usually get it back but by the time I do the pool is spooked.

 

As for spinners and plastics I'll work on them separately. My experience has been that the pictured baits are consistently my best bets but catch smaller bass. A white tube or a weightless worm are my best shot at getting the biggest smb but for numbers the minnows are the trick in our water. The Rapala minnows also seem to attract pike in the spots where pike reside.

 

Mostly I just like trying different things and having fun. Once I find a model that works, then I like trying different colours and presentations. It's part of the fun.

 

JF

[JohnF]

Those mice are cute. Probably be good for catfish.

 

Spray 'em with something stinky?

 

JF