Crankbaits

I am posting a picture of various types of crankbait bills so that you will have an idea of what I am referring to when I talk about different lures. This is the quickest way to identify your crankbaits and figure which one to use.
I like numerous brands, including Norman Lures, Rapala, as well as the store brands sold by Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops. Be sure to have an array of styles and colors in your tackle box so you can figure out what those wiley bass are looking for.

My boat

I finally got around to getting some pictures of my boat. It is an 8' Gamefisher which will hold 2 people and plenty of gear. This is a great little boat and will get you into very shallow water and is perfect for pond fishing. I would not however suggest that you take this boat in larger lakes or rivers as it sits very low in the water and really is made as a pond boat. There is enough room to carry several fishing rods and tackle boxes with no problem.

Spinnerbaits revisited...

I would like to continue my discussion about the great spinnerbait. I already mentioned how great these baits are for catching largemouth bass, this is because of their great versatility. I would suggest fishing these using a baitcasting reel, which have a faster retrieve than other reels.
Using a baitcaster you can burn your spinnerbaits up near the surface of the water, just hold on when lunker fish blast your bait from below! You can also slow down your retrieve and "slow roll" the bait. Using this technique you slow down and let the bait sink deep, many times bass will attack the bait as it bounces off logs and other submerged structure. Vary your retrieve to see what works best, sometimes while slow rolling I will give the bait a jerk when I feel it hit submerged obstacles. This will often get a reaction strike from bass as they see the bait flash.
Spinnerbaits are a lot of fun and will probably become one of your favorites too.

I am a big fan of spinner baits, as a matter of fact, it is probably my first choice in baits. I usually carry 3 or 4 fishing rods with me, and there is almost always a spinner bait tied on 1 of them. There are many different brands and most of them are good, I like Strike King and Boo Yah baits the best. They are nearly weedless lures and can be cast into almost any place without snagging. I have had great success with chartreuse colors and white with willow leaf style blades. If all else fails a spinner bait will usually get 'em! You also need to consider sizes, a normal bait is 3/8 or 1/2 ounce, these are awesome, but sometimes fish don't bite. If this is the case you may need to downsize to a 1/8 ounce spinnerbait. I have done this numerous times when the bites slack off, and sometimes the bass just are looking for something smaller.

In my last post I talked about the Laser Lure, I am now reporting that it is a very effective lure. I went fishing at a small local pond and it was great, I caught 2 nice bass around 3 pounds each within 35 or 40 minutes. After a lull in the action I switched to the Yum dancin' eel in chartreuse color and caught several more nice largemouth bass from 1.5 to 3 pounds. I only had about an hour and a half to fish, so I thought it was a pretty good fishing trip. Both of these lures work great and I strongly recommend them to anyone interested in bass fishing.

Laser Lure

As I mentioned in the last post, it's fall fishing time and I'm ready to try something new. I am getting my first Laser Lure the "spicy shad" in white. I have had a lot of good luck with white shallow diving crankbaits and have heard that the addition of the laser in laser lures is great. We shall see, it sounds like a great lure so I'm really excited about the possibilities. I have used the Norman lures "little-n" lure in white many times and love it, so this should be a lot of fun. I plan to cast this lure in toward the shore and work it aroung submerged logs and rocks where the bass should be feeding getting fattened up for the winter. Can't Wait!

Fall Fishing is Here!

Now is a great time to go bass fishing. The bass are getting ready for winter and feeding at every chance they get. They can be caught in shallow water as they chase baitfish in a feeding frenzy. Shallow baits are perfect at this time of year, shallow diving crankbaits, lipless baits like the rat-l-trap, spinnerbaits and topwater baits are awesome cast into shallow water and the bass will wear 'em out. I like to get in position with my boat where I can cast as close to the shore as possible, the hungry bass are instinctively chasing bait to fatten up for winter and are fun to catch. Be sure to take a kid fishing and carry your safety gear.

Fishing Boats

You will have to determine what you will need for your style of fishing. If you fish in smaller ponds you can get a small jon boat or pontoon boat like mine. I would suggest a 8 or 10' boat for this kind of fishing.
A larger jon boat or bass boat is needed for fishing in larger lakes and rivers. You can look on craigslist or in your local classifieds for great deals, that's how I found my boat.
Always carry safety equipment like life jackets and fire extinguishers.

Fishing lures

One of my favorite lures is the artificial plastic soft swimbait. They can be rigged to be weedless, so they can be used in heavy cover. They can be fished topwater or count them down to swim deeper, or let them sink to the bottom and bounce them off underwater cover.
Luck-E-Strike makes a great swimbait, others such as the Yum Money-minnow are great as well. Follow the instructions on the package to rig the bait, most come with a special swimbait hook. They can be ordered form Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop or picked up at your local Dick's Sporting Goods.

My Bass Rig

This a picture of a boat like mine, an 8' Pelican style pontoon. These are great for small ponds, mine has a minn kota trolling motor. It can get right up to the shore in very shallow water, but has plenty of room for fishing rods and tackle. Be sure to carry life jackets with you.