[Shimmon]

ok guys and gals heres the poop.

i live in a community that surrounds a lake. i drive by this tributary everyday on my way to my house. the last couple of days i have went to this spot and have seen bass break the surface. the spot looks like a good crappie hole so I brought by road runners and fished the area, caught only one. the crappie bite is starting to die out here in Ohio. But i have tried 2 times now to catch this fish. I have not been taking a crappie rod and a bass rod with me, no tackle bag. I have tried a few lures; Bomber A (white with black back), Another Bomber that is about 1/2 (or less) the size of the A, a jitterbug. I fished the area for a total of about an hour. I have not caught this fish yet. But i thought i would take 2 lures a night till i figure this fish out. I thought i would ask you what kind of lure your would throw?

Water is stained brown, water temp around 70 give or take 5 deg., depth 3-6 foot, their is numerous brush lay downs in the area. and a few limbs in the water. The bottom i bet is made of large slabs of concrete or rock. kinda blocked by the wind but there is some ripples on the water. Air temp is between 70-80 when i fish it around 5-8pm. I think the bass are in pre-spawn and starting to spawn.

tonight i have ready the throw a tiny torpedo and his big bro, and some sort of plastic (maybe a wacky rig?)


IF YOU WERE ME, WHAT WOULD YOU THROW AND HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT FISHING THIS SPOT.

 

[oldschool]

Sammy or Zara Spook should do the trick, in baby bass color. If the water is calm try a popper like Splash-it of Pop-R.
Tom

 

[Jared]

I would throw a zoom super fluke. Finesse it a bit and kill it off near any brush. Also try a faster retrieve keeping it closer to the surface. occasionally jumping it out of the water. For the color, I agree with Oldschool.. baby bass is hard to beat even with the fluke. If that doesnt work, try a slug-go. Quite often when a fluke wont work, a slug-go will clean up. Shhhh dont tell anyone that last tip.. its a secret lol

 

[Mike McKay]

SENK-OOOOO

even though i hate those dang things

 

[Shimmon]

sweet,

i got another hour left at work and am excited about my chances tonight. Although a cold front has moved in and this could affect my fishy. but will fish this area like it was my job. i will prolly start with a pop r and then go with a plastic for tonight, dont own a spook, but my torpedo is somewhat similar (close as i can get at least, for now). I'll let ya'll know how i do! Keep the suggestions comin!!!

 

[Jared]

by the way, the reason I suiggest the soft jerkbaits is because they can be fished so erratically and randomly that the chanes of the bass being conditioned to thier movements is slim. This is great in high pressured lakes where the bass have seen everything. Speaking of which, you may want to try a shakey head with a 4" worm on it fished VERY slow. That may do the trick too.

 

[Ouachita]

If the bass is jumping out of the water I doubt it is involved in spawning, and it's way too warm to consider pre-spawn. They start breaking when coming out of the post spawn recovery, and the water temp is about right for post-spawn. Locally we've had that situation here for about 2 weeks, and Ohio isn't that much behind the Arkansas schedule. I'd say the bass is chasing forage fish. Being stained brown I'd select a very dark or very light colored soft plastic worm and preferably either having an attractant built in like GULP! or smear on your favorite and keep it on to leave a scent trail to the worm. My natural colored camo worms are saved for clear water. If the water was clear I'd match the forage color, probably shad or the baby bass. Your worm needs to stick out among maybe 100 chased minnows. I wouldn't use a heavily salted worm that tends to hit bottom too fast since the bass is obviously feeding near the surface. Whacky rigged should be fine with a light hook. You want something that looks crippled and slowly drifting down, struggling to regain control, jerking up. An easy meal. The topwater suggestions above should appeal, but not if the bass is used to being fished. They get hard-bait shy pretty easy on ponds and small community lakes.

If the bass begins leaping then I'd go with the smallest topwater baits I could cast far enough out using a spinning combo and light line, no more than 8# there, and not a clear line, but smokey, red or camo fluorocarbon or hybrid. You would benefit seeing the line laying on the surface if the bass is shy on the bite or sucks it under.

Stay after him, you'll figure it out.

Jim

 

[Shannon]

Senko or a fluke for my suggestion.

 

[Guest]

Well since no one has suggested it let me suggest a lipless crankbait. Fish is chasing shad or other baitfish so something that mimics baitfish is a natural. When water is stained noice and vibration are key. Try a fire tiger color or a Gold color lipless. White with gray or brown backs are good choices also.

If that don't work then I would toss a spinnerbait. Hard to believe no one mentioned these two baits???? Chartreuse and white combo skirt with dual willow leaf blades should do nicely.

 

[oldschool]

Shimmon, You mentioned that you are fishing from shore, right? Start with the top water, then try a slip shot rigged 5 1/2" curl tail worm, any purple should the trick.
Both these presentations are easy from shore without loosing your lure. The bass is going to be active or neutral and you should have the water front covered.
Tom

 

[dkinder605]

I might throw a buzzbait or a spinner bait.

 

[Jared]

spinnerbait is a good call.

I know if we asked KVD this question Im sure thatd be his answer.

 

[Richard]

Stained water, OHIO,
hhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm
ultravibe speed craw, watermelon red,1/8 or 1/4 oz weight. reel it right back holdin rod tip high keepin it on top.if that don't work drag it back slowly giving it a good yank every 4 feet.
welcome to the site fellow buckeye!!!!!!!
I'm in galion ohio just between mansfield and bucyrus.
later
rich

 

[Shimmon]

Good ideas, all around! i was at k mart and was looking at their rather large fishing selection. Saw the Zara Spook, that lure would spook ALL the fish in the lake. I hope to catch bass that size. But i did buy the Zara Puppy, smaller version with some sweet action. WHAT TYPE OF ROD YOU USE ON THIS BAIT???, I USED A MEDIUM ACTION , SEEM TO WORK OK. But i have all the suggestions wrote down and will try them all. i'll let ya know how it turns out. May take to boat over there tonight after work... Will take me a good 20-30 minutes to get to this spot from the ramp with my 9.5, lol!

 

[Shannon]

Shimmon, the medium action will be perfect for the zara puppy, (8-10 lb. test clear mono). Just remember to try different retrieve speeds, different twitch cadences, and don't forget to dead stick it letting it sit for up too a minute or more then twitch it and let it sit again. Good luck!

 

[oldschool]

The smaller compact Zip 'n Ziggy made by Cultiva/Owner is a wonder dog walking lure that cast very well and is easy to walk. This is my go to smaller top water lure in #13 baby bass.
Tom
http://www.ownerhooks.com.au/topwaterbaits.html