Advice for newbie on presentations/lures

[Shorelunch]

Howdy. I've posted here a couple of times now and have gotten some great advice. My 10 yr old son is super excited about bass fishing this year. We're up in Bemidji and I'm looking for some advice for northern MN lakes. I'm a walleye guy and don't have much tackle (or knowledge!) for bass.

What are say, your best four or five presentations for smallies/large mouth? When and how do you use the presentations? And top one or two color/size/weight choices for each?

THANK YOU!

[thatoneguy]

What lakes do you plan on fishing? White spinners, gold Jawbreakers, and white, blue or black jigs with a craw or worm trailer make up 90% of my casts on Leech and smaller lakes in the area. I fish mostly shallow water, so shallow running cranks in craw, perch or bluegill pattens produce some fish too.

I'd be happy to take you and your son out sometime and show you what I've learned - PM me if you're interested.

[mainbutter]

My top presentations:

1) senkos, wacky rigged. Jig, let it fall, repeat.

2) grub on a jig head, mostly straight swimming back to the boat

3) small floating jointed rapala. Either straight swim, or swim and let it float to the surface with a long pause

I've found all 3 to be just as effective for smallmouth as largemouth, particularly up north and in cold water. I would have to try different tactics if I targeted deeper water fish, but I don't do that often. The only thing I use to target deeper water fish is shad raps or other crankbaits that can dive below 10 feet.

[slopmaster]

Im located and fish more central MN lakes but this is what i've found to work best for me.

1) Jigs- These are a must have in my opinion. In the past three years i've started using them and now i find it hard to put them down. (both regular and swim jigs) I pitch and flip them into heavy grass, sparse grass, bullrushes, rocks, wood, and under docks. They are known for catching big fish and they will, but you'll also catch plenty of 12-14 inchers as well. For colors i mainly use black and blue, blue, greens, browns, black and red. Once you fish a lake a couple times you start to figure out what they prefer.

2) texas rigged plastics- I use this for shallow and deep water. when i'm working shallow i'll usually peg the weight with a bobber stop but if i'm deeper i wont. let it sink to the bottom and work it slow by dragging and hoping it off the bottom. Let the fish tell you what they want on each particular day. I use shades of greens and browns most of the time. Usually its 7-10 inch power worms for deeper water and creatures, tubes, craws for shallower.

3)Crankbaits- match the hatch and you will put fish in the boat!

4) Senko's/Flukes- I usually use white or pink for these because their easy to see and I utilize these for a lot of shallow water presentations. A lot of guys work them slow and methodically which works well, but i find myself fishing them fast and high in the water column to produce reaction strikes.

5)topwater- I love fishing a frog in thick cover. It is probably the most exciting way to fish in my opinion and will produce some dandy bass. I use scum frogs in black or white color.

Hope this helps you out a little bit and i'm sure you'll get lots of good advice on this topic.

[Superduty]

Stick with presentations that have an exposed hook as opposed to texas rigs and other weedless baits. It will make it so much easier for your son to get a hook into a fish. While it might be fun to throw scumfrogs or other weedless baits in the slop, not many kids have the ability to actually hook and land a fish in that type of situation. I find myself looking for a pattern that will work for the kids vs. what pattern is the best way to catch them that day. Of course you have to still catch fish or they will lose interest. It can be a fine line. Small hooks are also a lot easier to drive into a fish than a large hook. My 9 year old has the most success using a grub on a jig head or a wacky rigged senko. If you trust your son to throw treble hooks by your head all day, crankbaits are another option since the fish often set the hook for you. Not for the faint of heart though, only you will know if your son is ready for all the treble hooks.

[BassNut33]

I would recommend keeping it simple, spinner baits in a variety of colors. They will catch all species and he may have a chance at a big pike as well. My favorite color is golden shiner. Grab a few different colors chartreuse, black and white. These are easy baits for a kid to throw and catch fish. Have him use a steady retrieve with a few pauses mixed in. If you’re not fishing in really heavy vegetation set him up with a jig head and a mister twister, try a black and white color.

[Comit 2]

Spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. Throw them at cover and to the base of drop offs.

Flukes, there is no way to fish them wrong, walk the dog to do nothing it works. Just get them to sink slowly.....

[Shorelunch]

Thanks for the replies so far. It helps to get pointed in a couple directions instead of spinning in 360's like I've been doing!

OK . . . this is kinda of embarrassing to ask . . . are there basic movements bass make throughout the year? What structure do you look for throughout the year? (No millfoil up here).

Thanks.

[BassNut33]

Thanks for the replies so far. It helps to get pointed in a couple directions instead of spinning in 360's like I've been doing!

OK . . . this is kinda of embarrassing to ask . . . are there basic movements bass make throughout the year? What structure do you look for throughout the year? (No millfoil up here).

Thanks.

In general you will find Bass in the spring in shallow areas of the lake. A lot of what they do is dependent on water temp, any where from 55 into the 60's they will be spawning. Once they are done spawning they will start to transition to deeper water, this year with the weather we are having I would guess this would be in mid to late june. Once they transition to deeper water they can be found on wed lines and deeper drops in anywhere from 10 to 25 feet of water. This does not mean in teh summer months that you can't catch Bass shallow, I beleive that the some smaller fish stay shallow and there are some fish that spend their whole lives in shallow water. Docks, lillys, wood, and rock are great places to look for fish shallow. Anything that provides shade and cover.

[thatoneguy]

Thanks for the replies so far. It helps to get pointed in a couple directions instead of spinning in 360's like I've been doing!

OK . . . this is kinda of embarrassing to ask . . . are there basic movements bass make throughout the year? What structure do you look for throughout the year? (No millfoil up here).

Thanks.

Bassnut gave a pretty good summary. It depends a little on the lake - on Leech, many bass (including some big pigs) stay shallow all year long. Rice beds, bulrushes, pads...they just love shallow cover.

[ducksnbucks]

I lived in Bemidji for 8 years during school and one of my most productive techniques up there was fishing docks with a wacky rigged senko. Pretty much from bass opener all through the year you will some fish under docks. They may not alway be the biggest fish in the lake but will surely keep you entertained, with that being said, I have pulled many 5+ pound bass out from under docks too!! With most Bemidji lakes being so clear, I alsways made sure to stay a fair distance from the docks so as to not spook the fish.

Also found some great bites using jig heads w/ plastic worms on steep rocky/sand drop offs as well as great topwater bites early in the mornings. Sure wish I didn't have to move out of Bemidji, the greatest fishing I have ever had and likely will ever have!

[Deitz Dittrich]

not only that, but the bemidji area has a lot of fantastic slop fishing..

[thatoneguy]

DD - i spent most of last summer learning Leech and the surrounding lakes, since that's where I live. what are afew good lakes around Bemidji - especially for slop fishing since that's just plain fun - that I should give a look at if I feel like expanding my horizons?

[Deitz Dittrich]

I would rather not mention small lakes on the net.. But to be real honest, there are not very many bad bass lakes up there.

Big Lake can be a fantastic slop fishing dream lake.

[thatoneguy]

I understand. I'm 100% CPR with bass, but that doesn't mean other people reading the post are I wasn't necessarily thinking of just little sweet spots, either...just a general idea of places to try. That's OK, though - exploring is part of the fun!