QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!

HAVE A QUESTION? If anyone has a question or topic they would like for me to cover, just drop me an e-mail. I will respond back to you.

Your question along with my response might be posted on the site for all to read.

Question: I live on a series of ponds in MN. They are all man made and have a very consistent depth of 12 to 15 feet. The shoreline is a shelf about 4 feet then drops to 12. There is no real structure other than the drop from the initial shelf otherwise it is flat. I am trying to locate he bass when they are not in the shallows. They don’t seem to be on the first break either. Any thoughts.

Answer: Most of the time they are probably suspended on the break, depending on the water temp, sun, wind, etc..etc..
Use a series of baits to figure out where they are in the water column. Depending on the size of the ponds, general fish size, fishing pressure, and forage (which in ponds is usually brim or small bait fish) will generally dictate the size and color lure to use for consistency. Usually smaller profile baits work better on ponds.

If you get bit on a worm/jig they are holding on the bottom or close to it, that will also help you find any wood or rock on the bottom. Try a suspending jerkbait or spinnerbait if you think they are suspended.

No matter if it's man made, there is probably some sort of ditch (creek channel) running somewhere in the pond, unless it's a fairly new body of water. Even if it's only a foot deeper it makes a difference sometimes, a crankbait is an excellent search tool near a ditch.

Another search tool for me believe it or not is a sink and catch (senko), throw it out and count down, depending on when you consistently get bit will tell you how deep the fish are located.

Since you are located in MN, they should be just getting off beds and going into the post spawn/summer mode which can be tough sometimes until they recoup from the spawn, after that they will usually bunch up and start roaming looking for something to eat.

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Question: Thanks for providing such a user-friendly site to help us amateurs out! Please explain to me why baitcasting reels seem to dominate in the bass fishing scene when everyone gets overruns. What is a baitcaster supposed to be able to do that spinning gear can not duplicate, besides killer overruns?
........Mike McKeon in NC

Answer: Baitcasters VS Spinning reels.
I for one use both on a steady basis. I basically use the spinning reels for throwing light weight lures, and plastics because I can get a lot more distance in my cast.

Today’s technology the spinning reels are more advanced than 5-10 years ago. Most at that time couldn’t handle anything past maybe 15 pound test line unless you went with a bigger saltwater version; hence the reason baitcasters dominated most of the time. Another reason I believe is because of different ratio’s that baitcasters can provide.

The introduction of better, smaller diameter line, especially braid and fluorocarbon has put the spinning reel back in the limelight. I believe the biggest reason some don’t use a spinning reel is because of the dreaded line twist and loops that can cause havoc on a day of fishing. One way I prevent this is after I spool the reel, I lay it down and walk the line back off the reel across the yard. Then I use some reel magic on the spool while reeling the line back, this does 2 things. One it gets the memory out of the line and the other is it softens the line to make it manageable. You might see folks doing this on the lake (stripping line off the reel and letting it drift behind the boat for a bit and reeling it back in.) I also sometimes use 10-15 pound braid with a mono or fluorocarbon leader. More and more people are finesse fishing these days instead of power fishing, with the introduction of drop shots, and shaky heads (which have been around forever, but not too many people let that out).

Baitcaster are far more advanced than 10 years ago also, with the advanced braking systems for wind, better and more bearings making it smoother, both of those improvements have drastically reduced backlashes (overruns), I generally don’t get backlashes, but when I do I can get it out quickly, because of the tape backing on the spool (see tips page on website for backlashes, it really works).

The majority of can’t throw those lightweight lures on a baitcaster (for the most part, some have mastered throwing light lures with a baitcaster.) Most baitcasters don’t handle the light line that well either, basically anything under 10 pounds your better off throwing it on spinning gear because of backlash issues (overruns) and distance.

It all boils down to personal preference and style of fishing. If you’re basically a power fisherman, flipping cover, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, big worms you will own and use baitcasters the majority of the time. If you are a finesse fisherman you will definitely have and use spinning reels the majority of the time. If you’re versatile then you will own and use both.

The majority of bass fishermen are power fishing, and the reason you see more baitcasters on the deck than spinning gear, but I guarantee you there are more spinning reels in use then you might think!

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Question: I really like the info on your site.  It has helped me quite a bit. I fish Harris Lake a lot.  Some days I am all over it and sometimes not. My question is about barometric pressure changes. I fished Harris Wed morn (3/26) and Thur morn (3/27).  Weather was similar each day with a few more clouds Thur.  A little windy each day, water and air temp about the same each day.  Wed. I did well in the morning next to the grass near deeper water or creek channels (best five went 13 lbs 12 oz http://packfan.net/3262008.htm ),  Thur did the same thing and almost nothing (one dink 1st thing on the grass and that was it). The only difference (I could see) was the barometer.  Wednesday was steady or rising slightly about 30.18, Thursday was steady/falling to about 30.08.  I did finally find the fish in deeper water (about 15-20 ft) in the creek channels.
So here are my questions:
1: Does the barometer falling drive them deep?
2: What is the best method when fish seem more lethargic and have moved down like this?
I threw everything in the creek channels… Shakey, Tex Rig crawfish, bushhog,  spinnerbaits of all colors.  I even found a 3-4 inch live shad flopping on the surface (he had been hit and got away from the looks of the scales on him) and I got nothing on any of it….  
Thanks again for any advice and keep moving up in the points… some of us are watching!!!!! ..... Mark

Answer: Mark, Thanks for the questions.
1) Barometric pressure changes effect fish greatly, even those "little fronts". That is why on the day before a front blows through is usually one of the best days to fish. The day after a front in usually the worst. Most of the time the fish are still there just not eating, so you basically have to hit them on the head to make them bite. Fish will sit on the bottom of the lake with their belly touching the bottom,  stack up around a point or, I've seen them stacked up on a single stump in 8-10 foot of water. They won't move for anything short of a stick of dynamite it seems. Chances are the deeper fish were there already, and been hanging around the creek channel. Deeper fish are not as effected by a change in weather or pressure as much. That is why most professional anglers have a back up plan when the shallow bite goes south.

2) Your fishing the right baits. When the fish slow down, you have to slow down also. I usually throw a shaky head, jig, senko or even a suspending jerkbait..I can't stress enough to fish slow!!! They are still there but not chasing anything, the longer you can keep a lure in their face the better your chances of making them bite.
Let me touch basis on one of the most overlooked subjects in the fishing world today, the Moon phase!! This time of year the moon phase plays an extremely important role in moving fish around the lake. Fish will feed on a full moon during the night, especially if they are on the move to shallow water to stake out a spawning spot. So if they are feeding during the night on a full moon, chances are after the sun gets up they are going to become less aggressive. You will notice during Apr when the fish make the major move to the shallows, one day there will be a few making beds, the next day the pockets will be packed with fish making beds, all because of the water temp and moon phase.

Sometimes you just can't get them to bite, no matter what you throw. I believe thats what keeps us anglers comming back for more, trying to figure them out. Loading the boat one day and left scratching your head the next..I fished the Pine State Open last Sat at Harris. I went out Friday, and threw a jig and soft plastics in the grass and must have shaken off over 20 fish. I went looking shallow just to see if I could spot any beds or crusing fish. The first pocket I came to I spooked 3-4 bass, so I backed off and made my approach a little slower, sure enough there were some males making beds, ended up catching 2 males on Friday off beds. Come Sat nothing!!!! I hit every spot, every grass line that I did the day before and like you only picked up one dink. Everything was the same as the day before, but they just didn't want to bite. I knew the fish were still around so I picked up a shaky head and senko, they were on the bank, caught mostly slots, but they were there... Again thanks for the questions, and I appreciate the possitive feedback on the site.

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Question: Do you recommend a specific color that tends to work well at harris?? Specifically for a crankbait or jig...... Joshua Brown, Kinston NC

Answer: Josh, Thanks for the question. When I use a jig at Harris, I am usually throwing the old tried and true black/blue jig, but I use a slightly different color trailer, usually a saphire blue. In the summertime I will usually throw a green pumpkin type color with a matching trailer. Thats pretty much the 2 colors I throw year round anywhere I go. 

I throw alot of cranks on Harris. I am a big fan of Lucky Craft lures. I generally throw the American Shad pattern when the sun is out because of the flash it gives off, and the realistic pattern it provides. When it's cloudy or windy out I usually opt for a Secret Weapons spinnerbait in Blue Avenger or citrus shad, I can change blades quickly to adapt to water depth. If I do opt to throw a crankbait on cloudy windy days I'll throw a bull brim color or something similar with some color to it and not so much flash.

As far as the depth for cranking Harris, I usually don't get past 10-12 foot, If I am fishing over 10-12 foot at Harris I am throwing a Carolina rig, jig, or texas rig worm.