The Dean : Fishing Forum Posts

Hey Mac, If you are dealing with post spawn condition I would look for the bigger fish in feeding areas. The male and bigger females are often found together during the pre-spawn and spawn phases. However, once the spawn is concluded the smaller males is all that are left behind to guard the fry. If its early in the pre-spawn the big fish can be scattered and hard to find. Look for areas that offer feeding opportunities for the bass and you will have your best chance at finding the bigger fish. Some common post spawn areas are, points, grass beds, current and other main lake or main river habitat

https://bassu.tv/bass-fishing-video/spinnerbaits-pete-gluszek. I discuss spinnerbiat blades in this seminar. My general rule has become this. I use all silver blades when fishing around shad and herring. I mix gold and silver blades in water that has some stain to it. I use gold blades in stained water and when I'm fishing around bream or yellow perch. We just filmed a seminar with spinnerbait specialist Wesley Strader. This will be launched soon. Don' t miss this one. Wes has a very simple and effective method for choosing a blade.

Hi Chuck, This is really a good bait. The long slender wake baits are excellent at triggering strikes, especially around schooling fish. They are also special at catching spotted bass for some reason. I think it does a great job at representing a shad or herring better than the compact wake baits.

He said he gets it from his local hardware store. I don't currently have a source for it. But I will notify you here when I find it.

Great question. Weather changes have the most impact to a bass in the spring of the year. As bass begin to move into the spawning phase, cold fronts will stop them in their tracks. Falling water temps in the early spring will also dramatically change the bite. The opposite is true when warm fronts happen in the spring. This can drive fish to the bank and really accelerate spawning activity.

In you situation, the water temps will be falling. 60 degrees to 50 degrees is not a major cold front so don't expect things to change radically. I would look for reaction baits to do well in this condition. Lippless cranks, crankbaits and jerkbaits. Good luck and keep us posted.

I love that technique. It can work in almost every condition. I feel like the absolute best condition for the senko is around the spawn and post spawn. I will use it all year long , but this is the time when it is the best lure in your tackle box.

Hey Worm, I answered this question over on the ask the pros. Check out my seminars on spinnerbaits and look for some great new spinnerbait content with Wesley Strader.

Yes I would. Any scent is better than none and the shad scent is a good one.

lures with exposed hooks like crankbaits and topwaters are excellent choices for a medium action rod. A drop shot is also a good choice. Not the best choice for jigs, texas rigs or other lures that require a strong backbone and hookset.

I have caught a few 10 pound bass over the years. I'm still looking for an 11 pounder. The baits were a lippless crankbait, swimbait, and flick shake. All were caught in Feb, March and April.

Breaking off is unacceptable in most situations. When you are fishing around mussles or heavy cover some breakoffs are bound to occur. However, this should not that common. The knot is the first place to look. Flouro carbon does not work well well with the polomar knot. The two knots to tie are the improved clinch knot and the Sandiago jam knot. This will solve most problems. It the problem persists, you have to look at your rods an reels to make sure there are not sharp edges here. Gamma line is the toughest line I have ever used. I highly recommend giving it a try.

I have seen sometimes where pickerel and northern pike can move bass around. This happens when there is a large amount of pickerel/pike in an area and they can out compete the bass. Its a rare situation. I most often have seen bass and pickerel co-exist. I have also seen largemouth and smallmouth feed in the same areas of northern pike. I think the bigger picture is that both pickerel and bass are predators and typically feed on the same forage. If you find pickerel in an area its because there is bait in the area and bass are likely to be somewhere near by.

Thanks for the insight John. We will put boat positioning on our short list of filming. I think this will be best accomplished on the water. A recent position video using ultrex and gps by Carl Jocumsen was outstanding. Copy and paste the link below to check it out.

https://bassu.tv/bass-fishing-video/jocumsen-2-hour-5-bass-challenge-chatterbaits-electronics

Bass do often pull back after a drop in temps when the water is in the 50's. Hard cover like rock and wood is a great place to start looking. Hope your tournament went well.

Smallies will feed and live in dirty water if that where they live or that's where the bait is. One of my favorite baits in muddy water is a chatterbait and squarebill. Something that has a big presence in the water and the smallies can find. They love to bite a chatterbait.

The wacky rig is a great tool to get started with. If I have to pick the next three techniques to add to your arsenal are as follows; jig, chatterbait then squarebill crankbait. You can fish a jig in the same types of places the wacky rig works. It also is fished on the bottom. The jig has a reputation for catching bigger fish. When your ready its time to get into the moving bait catagory. Chatterbait and squarebills are a great place to start.

"if you google the term "craft flexible tubing" there are several options". Hope Tacklewarehouse carries it sometime soon.

It is confusing MattA, and there is not automatic answer. Generally speaking I agree with Jason above. Natural colors in clear water. Translucent/natural colors can be very effective in triggering strikes in the clear stuff. In muddy water its all about visibility. I want to use something they can see better. Blacks and browns are often my first choice. I use bright chartuese and white when I see bait fish around. Bluegills and perch have chartreuse and bright colors. If I see them, then I add chartreuse to my baits. If shad are all around, then white is important to me.

I don't know the answer to this Shannah5. I've reached out TH Marine for some info on this topic and let you know my results.

This is a great question and one we are very interested in too. We recently had Brandon Cobb on Bass U live to discuss Herring. Copy and paste this link. https://bassu.tv/bass-fishing-video/blueback-herring-spawn-brandon-cobb-live.

My experience has been that herring move off shore in the upper part of the water column. A little different than shad which ten to move deep during the day. It makes it hard to bass down. Topwater and swim baits have been my best weapons.

I do use colored blades too. Especially recently. I'm constantly evolving my blade combinations. I have used blades that have green glitter and blue glitter to great success. Orange, white and chartreuse blades are also in my arsenal.

Hot water discharges are tricky when the water temp gets that high. The fish get so hard to trigger when the water temp gets that high. If the bait stays in the discharge, the bass will stay too. Use super fast retrieves and topwater.

Mostly, the bait leaves when the discharge gets too high and bass follow. Fish in the summer are mostly deep. Find the bait depth using you your sonar and target cover in that depth zone. If your a shallow water guy, you can always find some fish shallow. Incoming creeks can often run a little cooler and I like to fish the backs of these creeks in the summer months.

"if you google the term "craft flexible tubing" there are several options". Hope Tacklewarehouse carries it sometime soon.

"In waters with a high salt content, it is possibly for a substance similar to chlorine to be produced during the chemical reaction of the Oxygenator that creates oxygen molecules. We recommend using our G-Juice product at all times, but especially in saltwater, as the G-Juice will neutralize toxins such as chlorine in the livewell. Please let me know if you have more questions. " - This is TH Marine's response.

Looks like you are fine so long as you are using G-juice. I always use it in my livewell to help my fish. It also eliminates chlorine that is present in the ice I use to keep the water cool.

My first competitive boat was a used Nitro. It served me well. One of the great things about buying used is that the boats come fully rigged. The cost of new sonar, power poles and other accessories significantly increase the cost of a new boat. Most used boats have warranty left of the boat and motor, depending on how old they are. If your budget is tight, I like buying used. You don't want to be boat poor because you can't get the tackle and travel expenses covered. Thank you for your service and good luck!