If that was cold front conditions......

[Neighbor_guy]

No one told the bass. No one else on the lake yesterday with the big wind and threat of rain. No lake specifics because it was a small lake, but it was crazy.

Everything was working, if I tied it on it got hit. Baby 1- worked threw the weeds put the most fish in the boat. Biggest fish came off of Jawbreaker spoons and Rage Tail shads at pad - grass transitions.

It was nuts, jigs and docks, swim jigs, swim baits, frogs, spinnerbaits, sluggs, name it, it was working. I even caught fish spooning weedlines on sunken islands.

I guess what I am saying is get out and fish!!!!

[Neighbor_guy]

OK after a 20 min harrassing phone call, here is a bone.

It was an isanti county lake with one of the trickiest landings you will ever back down.

[river rat316]

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[bucketmouth64]

I know where you were. . I was on a lake in Isanti, not as far as you were, on Friday and slaughtered the bass in less than 3 feet of water. This is a lake that I have not done well in the past and decided to give the lake another try. Found where they were and just went around the lake and duplicated the pattern. If I was in a tourny I would have come in with a respectable bag. Fish were really aggressive and were slamming the lures.

[Tim_Anderson]

That's why I like bass so much! They like to bite, and seem least affected by the cold fronts of all the stuff I fish. Good call to go after them.

[Ray Esboldt]

Agreed. I thought Saturday morning would be marginal, but it was pretty darn good. I threw Mr. Twister Comida's, Mr. Twister Finesse Worms, curly tailed worms, and a couple different brands of fluke style baits texas rigged in 14 feet of water and just lit them up for a couple of hours.

Sunday was twice as good, but the fish were a little more fickle. The only thing I could get them to eat was a Comida on an 1/8 oz. mushroomhead. And, that bait was quite a bit better if I bit off about an inch. Couldn't get them to eat a regular worm, a jig-n-pig, just a stickbait. The fish typically picked it up while it was sitting still.

I like this time of year when the fish make a run to the deeper water. They're pretty enthusiastic about eating.

[Juan Grande]

I fished last Thursday when it was 80 degrees, sunny with no wind and the bass were in shallow feeding on the sunfish. I pulled 6 fish from a small section of weedline in about 8 feet of water with a pumpkin colored senko. Nice fish, most in the 2-3 lb range. Two of them spit up small sunfish when I got them in the boat.

This weekend I fished the same spots and the fish were no where to be found. Must have pulled out to deeper water with the drop in temp.

Ray, what's the advantage of fishing a mushroom head over a T-Rig? Is it a different action? Seems like t-rig would be easier if you were fishing weed edges.

[Ray Esboldt]

Juan,

You do get lots of the same action between the two. You get a little more "nose down" sink action with a jig-worm. However, I want the bait to hang up on the weeds a little bit. I think a big trigger of that rig is ripping it free (and clean) from the weeds. Texas rigs can accomplish the same, but doesn't seem to hold the same trigger action. Initial hookups are more consistent with a jig-worm. However, that doesn't always translate to high landing percentage. Yesterday, I had two 3lbers and a 5+ throw the bait when they jumped. Finally, I have some bad tendinitis in my left arm right now. I hold a baitcaster with my left and spinning with my right. It was far more comfortable fishing with a spinning rod this weekend. I don't think I can hook fish as well on a spinning rod t-rig outfit.

[Juan Grande]

I just got a new baitcasting combo this spring and I actually got a left handed reel. I'm so used to setting the hook with my righ arm and reeling with my left (from spinning gear) that I had a hard time switching to a right handed baitcaster.

The first time I set the hook hard with my left arm I almost fell out of the boat

I'll have to give the mushroom jig a try. I tried tying on a shakey head this past weekend for the first time and got hung up in weeds every cast. Are those more for fishing rock or sandy area's?

[Ray Esboldt]

Yes/No/Maybe. The key differentiator between a bait that rips clean and one that doesn't is usually the thickness of the hook. Lighter wire hooks tear clean better. Do hooks have a gauge measurement associated with them? The lighter the gauge the more likely it will come clean. However, the lighter the gauge, the more likely a hook failure is to occur (i.e. straighten a hook), and the more likely it is for a fish to tear the hook free. I use mono only with light wire hooks. I want some stretch on hookset and while I am fighting them.