Large Mouth Bass

[Rick]

Lets talk about bucket mouth here.

[Ice Hole]

Isn't "Largemouth" one word?

[Trucker Jim]

Caught and released a 19 incher yesterday while casting a black and silver hot-n-tot off the tip of an underwater point. She looked old. I was wondering if anyone knows how old a 19 inch fish would be. How about a 20 incher?

[Rick]

Open Water Is Coming Soon-Any bass Tips?

[Guest]

Ok here comes some info on the ol' bucketmouth.
Top 5 structures that hold bass:
1. Points-Underwater points make superb bass structures on natural lakes and impoundments. Points at the mouths of creek arms and bays often hold sizable prespawn largemouths before they move to shallow water. Secondary points within creeks and bays get hot once bass begin moving toward their spawning areas.
2.Creek Channels-Bass follow inundated creek channels to the backs of creek arms in the spring and fall. One key stopping place for bass is the outside bend of a creek channel in the middle of a flat, especially a bend adorned with stumps. Creek bends are good in the spring, but they are even better in the fall when bass are concerned only with feeding and not spawning.
3.Weed Edges-Any body of water with abundant aquatic vegetation is likely to harbor a strong bass population. And you can bet the majority of bass living in these waters perfers weeds to any other cover.Visible weed edges(like lily pads,reeds,bulrushes, and matted vegetation)are all good.
4.River-Channel Ledges-When torrid summer weather simmers large impoundments, many bass retreat to main-lake river channels. Due to the thermocline and lack of oxygen in deep water, they often move up on the tops of ledges 5 to 10 feet deep.
5.Boat Docks-Many natural lakes and impoundments have boat docks along their banks. These prime cover hold bass spring through fall. Isolated docks and those near deep water should be high on your hit list.

Top 10 Lures for Bass
1.Spinnerbait-This is easily the most important bass lure!
2.Plastic Worm
3.Soft-Plastic Jerkbait-example:Cabelas Livin' Eye Minnow.
4.Zara Spook-After nearly 75 years of topwater success, its still perhaps the best surface lure ever made.
5.Jig-and-Pig
6.Popping Plug-Examples-Hula popper, Megabass pop-x
7.Jitterbug
8.Floating Minnow Plug
9.Crankbait
10.The Tube(Tube bait for those of you that dont know!)

Now the top 5 techniques for catching largemouth.
1.Close-Quarters Jigging:this tech. is used primarly in waters that hold very large largemouth bass(florida,mexico,california)but will also work here in minnesota if you can find the right kind of structure. Which is dense cover.
2.Topwater Buzzing
3.Carolina-Rigging Soft plastics:The carolina rig requires a 3/4 or 1 ounce egg or bullet sinker that allows for distant casts, fast sink rates, and distinct bottom contact. Assemble a carolina rig by threading the main line through the sinker, followed by an 8mm glass bead, and tie off to a swivel.
4.Deep-Cranking Spinnerbaits
5.Twitching Floating worms

There ya go some helpfull info next time you want to catch yourself a nice largemouth!

[Ice Hole]

I can wait to be pitchin that jig and scummin that weedy mat!

[Ice Hole]

If any of you bass anglers are going to be around when this tournament takes place, you can win a lot of stuff, without even participating...I'm fishin it as an AM this summer. WOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

There's one on Leech, Gull Lake, Minnetonka, and Vermilion. Check the dates and see if you will be in town..if so...Be there to see me take first,(he he or so I hope) and to maybe win some stuff!

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 08-21-2001).]

[bassin]

I have a question regarding fishing for bass before the season. Say your fishing on the walleye/northern opener with cranbaits and worms. Can the DNR really say anything to you. I bet I can out-fish most of you for northern with a 4" worm if you are casting with typical "northern" lures. on most metro lakes anyway, where the population is large, but most of them are small.Come on, is there really just a "bass" lure. If so I would like to have one. If your up in 2 feet of water and pitching to a bass thats on a bed, then yes, thats a problem. But if your on a weed line and your catching just as many northerns as bass on "bass" lures can they really say anything?

[Guest]

The Basspastor says there is a fine line here between the sin'en and grin'en. I think fishing soft platic worms, big tubes, and bass jigs are a no no and yes you could get flaged by the DNR. These are plain and simply bass baits where a pike or walleye on them would be an incedental catch. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, walleye and crappie size grubs, beetle spins, and the like however can be primary baits for the other species. Which reminds me of a story from an openner a few years back. I was fishing weed flats with a spinner bait and floating Rap for pike. Naturally I was catching as many if not more bass then pike. The lake has a much larger bass population than pike pop. Anyway, I was working my way down the flat when some guy on a dock starts harassing me about how bass season doesn't begin for another couple of weeks. This guy wouldn't stop and was being a jerk. I proceeded down the way without saying anything back. Later that night while fishing another weed flat I caught a 10lb pike on the same floating rap that this guy was yelling at me about. On this same flat the same night I was throwing a muskie size spinnerbait and could not keep the bass off it. Go figure. I have seen and caught some big pike on openner or the week after using a bass sized spinnerbait or rapala. IN fact in the last few years I have caught a fair number of pike over 7lbs and the majority have all been on bass size lures (Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits)

[Guest]

My last post reminded me of another openner from a few years ago, but this time it was the bass openner. The weather was cool and cloudy and I was on a new lake. Naturally, I was after bass, primarily throwing bass soft plastics. What I found was Pike everywhere with a bass here and there. That day had I wanted I could have caught more than a hundred pike and I think I ended up catching more than 40 as it was. I ended up catching and releasing about ten bass. Go figure (Redux)

[Guest]

Isn't that the way it is supposed to happen? You catch the exact opposite species that you are fishing for. I totally understand what you're saying. I have been out fishing bass and all I catch is pike, so I go out and try for some pike and all I catch is bass. Go figure. At least I had something biting my lure.

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[bassin]

Does that mean I can't use my Nitro "Bass" boat now because it's designed to fish for bass? If you can't fish for northern with "Bass" lures then you surely can't fish for Northern or crappie using a "Bass" boat.

just kidding!

[Guest]

I opened my bass fishing in WI this past weekend. Wouldn't you know us bass guys did as well or better on the walleye's as the walleye guys did. I got the eye out of a group of about 20 while fishing for bass. The high winds and murky water had the two in 5 to 10 feet of water. Both like crankbaits and both made me a happy camper. Now, my mind is thinking, hmmm crankbaits on weed flats for walleye on openner. Might be and option that will pay off with the "colateral" bass or 30.

[This message has been edited by Basspastor (edited 05-08-2001).]

[Rick]

Who's fishing for bucket mouth?

[basser]

We are! Its been atough bite so far this year. Usually have to spend half the time just trying to find them- seems like all of last years good spots are gone- whats up with that? We did take third in a tourney a couple weeks ago with - get this - a 6# 3 fish bag, on a lake where past years its taken at least 15# to even crack the top three. how's everyone elese doing? Maybe with the warmer weather things will pick up again- get rid of the lockjaw.

[cluelessfisherman]

Bass are crazy here on my little lake. I see lots of small ones around the docks that are fun to catch with a jig and a leech. Otherwise the larger ones are starting to turn on. I caught a 4 pounder this last weekend in the cabbage in about 9 feet of water. There were lots of bass out there, saw one that followed my spinner that was 5 lbs + !! That was one nice looking bass, couldnt convince it to bite on anything though.
Good luck everyone

Clueless - -

[HellaBass]

Its been a funny year so far for bass fishing. I found the fish to be scattered. Catching most of my fish on inside weedlines. Fishing small baits ( noodles and tubes) deadsticking them. When in doubt fish slower!

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Rather Be Fishing!!!

[basser]

How important do you guys feel that color is for topwater? I never really noticed much of a difference until this past weekend.I was using a blck scumfrog and a sunburst with no hits. Once I switched to a green one they were pounding it. Unfortunately the northerns liked it to much and I lost the one green one I had, couldnt buy another hit on any other color. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Does water color and clarity have anything to do with it?>

[Guest]

I have had the same thing happen. I feel that color is very important even for topwaters. Last year in a tournament, it was a dark and cloudy day, I was using a black scumfrog and my partner was using a white with red scumfrog. I was getting everything and he had nothing. When he switched colors, he started getting hits.
Water clarity, weather, even water depth can all affect what colors to use. I try to start by matching the forage base of the lake. Then I look at water clarity and go with a more natural color for clear water and a brighter color for dark water. Finally I look at weather, dark color on dark days, light color on light days. That's what works for me.
Good luck!

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[basser]

Thanks Adam, I was kinda bewildered for a while. Its tough to place high when you dont get the first fish in the boat until 10:30 and weigh in is at noon. Give me some advise- The next tourney were fishing is on a shallow,featureless bowl of a lake- what do you look for? Weedlines? The fish this year have been very hard to pattern it seems. Tough luck for you in the last Pro/Am hope it gets better, I wouldnt mind fishing as an amatuer in some of those events- is it tough to get in? Thanks Adam for the info

[Guest]

Basser,
What I would look for is a weedflat that is near the sharpest breakline in the lake. I would fish the flat and the deep weedline. Other things to look for are any tiny changes in depth, weedcover, points in the weedlines, holes in the weeds, and any visible shoreline cover (even if it seems too shallow).
No, it is not hard to get into the Pro/Am. You can get info on www.mnbasstour.com, or www.classicbass.com. Sometimes it is hard for am's to get in but they will put you on a waiting list in case more pro's sign up.
Good luck!

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[basser]

Thanks Adam, I will give it a try.

[Guest]

Hey basser,
what tourney was that? I fished the MN Pro/Am on Sunday and I heard a lot of people caught eye's. I caught three the biggest was 7 lbs. All caught on cranks. By the way, I did also get a few bass. I don't know how I ended up but when I left, 40 out of about 97 boats weighed in and I was 14th.
I don't think too many big fish were caught. The tourney was on the L'Homme Dieu chain in Alexandria.

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[basser]

The Bass are definitely hot on the deep weedlines now. Fished a tourney Sunday and a 4.8,4.3, and 3.8 all came in 13ft of water off the weed edge ,nothing over 2# out of the shallow pads and rushes. Did hook up a nice 3# walleye on a rattle trap in 6ft of water though, go figure.

[This message has been edited by basser (edited 07-30-2001).]

[basser]

Adam, it is a 12 boat local club tourney we fish. This one was on Fish lake in Harris. It is a good time,plus you can win a little cash. A little less pressure than the tourney you fish. I look at it as a stepping stone to the larger tournaments- if I can get in.