New to site, new love for bassin with alot of questions

[wallywallace]

i am catfisherman, always have been and it is the best to me, wich go me into ultralite fishing for bait, which landed me catching a big bass and having a heck of a fight. Now i am getting into bassin, when i was 13-15 use to bass fish with my uncles and catch ones like we was pros on tv.

Now i try to use stuff i did long ago and fail to catch them, so here comes the boat load of questions

1. fishing a tiny fluke, wht size hook, also i see people mostly use wide gap,. on flukes best way to fish is.. weightless, let the fall like a dead fish and twitch them, fish fast near surface or fish with a weighted hook and slow retreve.

2. will the pre-made carolina rigs work, i usally use tesas (i guess with just letting weight slide)

3. 90% of the time i am stuck to the shore, so do i fish the dock then walk and fish around it.

4. on fishing buzz baits, do i start reeling as it hits the water, maybe i am using a lighter pole for it( 6 ft. lightning rod) and it seems to take half the cast to get it to the top, or do i reel it real fast.

5. i have all the bask worm colors (pumpkin-chartrouse-motor oil-red bug-june bug) so my question i get confused on for clear water, dark colors? and stained/muddy it is bright colors???

I have some more but they can be adressed later, this site is great. thank you

[Mumpy]

When I fish a Fluke I use a Wide Gap Hook and I also fish it weightless. Throw it out, let it sink while watching the line for any movement. After I feel it has sunk a few feet, I’ll twitch it, reel in some slack and let it sink again. I rinse and repeat.

The Pre-Made C-Rigs work but I tend to think that I can rig it better than pre-made so instead of purchasing it pre-made, I tie my own. This allows me to use better beads, better line, better hooks.

I think if you start fishing around the dock first you will have better success.

I go with the more translucent colors in clear water and darker colors for darker water. I’ll fish a June-Bug Worm in a Clear Lake if I’m fishing deep where it’s dark.

I found one of the best investments I made when it comes to fishing Buzzbaits was purchase a Reel with a 6:5:1 Ratio and you will see that when that bait hits the water and you start reeling it’s going to get on the surface fast. Also, yes, when it hits the water, start reeling. If you’re fishing with a low gear ratio reel then it’s going to take it forever to get up on top where it needs to be.

Hope this answers some of your questions

[wallywallace]

thank you, to all the questions.. i am still a novice bait caster and only own a few, i need to check the ratio on them, most of the time I usally use a 33 platnium when bank fishing, since most of the bass i catch are aroun 2 lbs.

[DaveW731]

1. fishing a tiny fluke, wht size hook, also i see people mostly use wide gap,. on flukes best way to fish is.. weightless, let the fall like a dead fish and twitch them, fish fast near surface or fish with a weighted hook and slow retreve.
For a 4" fluke, I use a 2/0 wide gap, 6" = 3/0. Best way to fish is....all the above. Each approach works at different times. I usually try them in exactly the sequence you described.
2. will the pre-made carolina rigs work, i usally use tesas (i guess with just letting weight slide)
Never fish Carolina rigs. Just don't like em, no real reason why.
3. 90% of the time i am stuck to the shore, so do i fish the dock then walk and fish around it.
Mumpy is right.
4. on fishing buzz baits, do i start reeling as it hits the water, maybe i am using a lighter pole for it( 6 ft. lightning rod) and it seems to take half the cast to get it to the top, or do i reel it real fast.
Mumpy is right again. To add a couple other ideas: yes you are WAY light AND short on the pole, assuming a 3/8 oz or bigger bait. Try at least 6' 6" and M action. I use MH. A little trick I have learned on the retrieve is to not only start reeling as soon as it hits the water, but to end the cast with the rod tip pointing at the lure, then lift the tip to about 12 o'clock while reeling as fast as I can till the bait breaks the surface then lower the tip back to about 10 o'clock. My reel also has a 6.5:1 ratio.
5. i have all the bask worm colors (pumpkin-chartrouse-motor oil-red bug-june bug) so my question i get confused on for clear water, dark colors? and stained/muddy it is bright colors???
My life got much simpler when I switched to 3 colors; one each for clear, stained and muddy (motor oil, pumpkin and green with red sparkles, respectively)
Final point: NEVER stop experimenting: that is half the fun!
[/QUOTE]

[Mumpy]

Originally Posted by DaveW731

A little trick I have learned on the retrieve is to not only start reeling as soon as it hits the water, but to end the cast with the rod tip pointing at the lure, then lift the tip to about 12 o'clock while reeling as fast as I can till the bait breaks the surface then lower the tip back to about 10 o'clock

ohhhhhhh I LIKE That Tip!

I just purchased the Daiwa Megaforce Casting Reel with a 7:1:1 Ratio and With that tip I bet that Buzzbait will be on top immediately!!!!!!

Thanks Dave!

[wallywallace]

thank you, at moment in collage and can't afford the nicer croix rod and other, but i just purchased a 7 foot field and stream MH casting rod at Dicks and asked if they carried a H rod for frogging,( The Dicks at me is full of people with NO clue) no bass pro or Gander near me, well about hour away, anyway could you use a spinning rod with braid for a froggin rod,

also on braid, if i am spooling it, i heard people need a backing line like mono or the drag won't set or something, never used braid , so is that true, sorry for all the questions but i don't wanna flood the board with threads that have simple answers. thank you again this is the best bass site i have ever been on.

[Mumpy]

I quit buying items from Dicks. When Tackle Warehouse gives you 2nd Day Shipping for $5.00 you can't go wrong. I ordered some Frogs to take fishing this coming Saturday morning, they'll be at my Doorstep on Thursday.

It costs me more than $5.00 to DRIVE to Dicks.

[oglejust]

90% of the time im fishing a weedless worm, normally a senko or a 4inch grub, i do this on an offset 1/0 hook and catch 2-3lb bass (biggest being 5lb ish). as for the buzzbait i like to be reeling when the lure hits the water and my reel is 6.2 to 1 ratio so it makes it easier than when i used to use the zebco 33 lol, u really have to crank the 33 to get the buzzbait on top. good luck

[DaveW731]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

ohhhhhhh I LIKE That Tip!

I just purchased the Daiwa Megaforce Casting Reel with a 7:1:1 Ratio and With that tip I bet that Buzzbait will be on top immediately!!!!!!

Thanks Dave!

You're welcome. Combine that with your 7.1:1 ratio and you may end up changing your buzzbait into a helicopter!


thank you, at moment in collage and can't afford the nicer croix rod and other, but i just purchased a 7 foot field and stream MH casting rod at Dicks and asked if they carried a H rod for frogging,( The Dicks at me is full of people with NO clue) no bass pro or Gander near me, well about hour away, anyway could you use a spinning rod with braid for a froggin rod,

also on braid, if i am spooling it, i heard people need a backing line like mono or the drag won't set or something, never used braid , so is that true, sorry for all the questions but i don't wanna flood the board with threads that have simple answers. thank you again this is the best bass site i have ever been on.

You can use a spinning pole for frogging, but it will require a heavy action, plus a reel with enough guts to use at least 20# line with the drag clamped down tight enough so you can horse the fish by a combination of pumping and reeling, without the fish and weeds pulling out line. Obviously puts lots of strain on the reel, so I would advise using one that you can live with yourself if you damage it. Just to let you know, my frogging pole is a MH baitcaster and it has worked just fine for me. Personal best bass while frogging was 4.2#.
As to braid, yes it DOES require mono backing because the line is slippery and will spin on the spool without the mono. The upside of that is you can use less braid per reel. I typically put on 75 yards on my reels and use enough mono to fill the spool to capacity. That provides two reels from one 150yd spool and by reversing the lines every couple of years I can get 4 years or more use out of one spool of braid. Ends up costing the same in the long run as mono or flouro. IMO braid is the ONLY line to use for frogging, btw.

[wallywallace]

alright, thanx so i will use my abu with the braid for frogging, will have to be the MH rod till i can get down to gander or BP to get a cheaper H rod, alright at my local dicks they got a okuma spinning for resonable price with what i believe to be the 6:5:1 ratio will this work for buzzbaits, i can take my cheaper daiwa off my medium 8 foot adu rod and pair it with it.

on to the dumb ???, so do i just tie the mono together with the braid, reel the mono first then pick up on the braid. so if all goes well, this will be my set up.

abu bait caster on the Field and stream MH rod till i geta H rod-frog/jig rod, need to learn baitcasters better.
if it is right the okuma with high the 6:5:1 ratio on the 8ft abu pole- for the buzzbaits
i will put my daiwa back on pole it came with and that will be my worm pole
.33 will be on the lightning rod
and i have a cheaper matzou spinning reel for plastics and to let people borrow.

added: i missed the part were you said you use MH for your frog, if it works for you, it will prboably work for me. thank you

[carolina-rig-01]

Welcome to the site...........and to bass fishing as well. I will answer each of your questions below based on my experiences, as always though there is no absolutes in fishing so my opinions and experiences may differ from other members, that doesn't mean anyone is 100% right or 100% wrong so take it for what it is...........advice that will always work, sometimes lol.

1. fishing a tiny fluke, wht size hook, also i see people mostly use wide gap,. on flukes best way to fish is.. weightless, let the fall like a dead fish and twitch them, fish fast near surface or fish with a weighted hook and slow retreve. I always use the biggest hook I can get away with. In the past I have always liked EWG hooks but if you are having trouble with missing fish don't be afraid to try a regular offset hook, sometimes for some reason this can make a difference in hook up percentage depending on how the fish are eating the bait.

2. will the pre-made carolina rigs work, i usally use tesas (i guess with just letting weight slide) Absolutley premade carolina rigs will work, however I don't use them. I like being able to change all the components of the carolina rig depending on the conditions. I may want a heavier weight today than I will want tomorrow, maybe I am fishing muddy water today and I want a clacker and a glass bead for more noise but tomorrow the area I am fishing may be clear and I don't want the clacker and I will use a plastic bead for a quieter presentation, or maybe I am fishing muddy water today so I can get away with heavier line for a leader but if I fish clear water tomorrow I may want to go to a lighter line on my leader. If you are looking to save time with pre-made carolina rigs you can make your own in your spare time and use a section of a foam pool noodle to wrap the leaders around and stick your hooks into a noodle so they are pre made but you still get to pick and choose what components you use. I am guessing that they are also cheaper than buying pre-made rigs. Sometimes a Lindy rig weight will come through rocks better without getting hung up also, just a tip I thought I would share.

3. 90% of the time i am stuck to the shore, so do i fish the dock then walk and fish around it. I would start down the bank for the dock, far enough away that you are fishing water you couldn't reach by casting from the dock this way you won't spook any shallow fish that you may have caught from the dock. I would work my way towards the dock hitting every piece of cover or structure. Once you get to the dock I would fish every inch of it that you can from the bank. The you can get on the dock and hit a lot of the same cover and structure from different angles, as well as reach some deeper water that you might not be able to hit from the bank.

4. on fishing buzz baits, do i start reeling as it hits the water, maybe i am using a lighter pole for it( 6 ft. lightning rod) and it seems to take half the cast to get it to the top, or do i reel it real fast. Start reeling as soon as it hits the water and hold your rod tip high, this will help you get the buzzbait on top as soon as possible. A lot of factors come into play when you are talking about how fast a buzzbait reaches the surface. Gear ratio of the reel can play a huge role, and so can rod length (the longer the rod the sooner it will come to the surface if you are pointing your rod tip up high). Also different brands of buzzbaits will surface sooner than other brands. I would bet that if you play around with different brands of buzzbaits you can find one that will surface faster than the one you are using now.

5. i have all the bask worm colors (pumpkin-chartrouse-motor oil-red bug-june bug) so my question i get confused on for clear water, dark colors? and stained/muddy it is bright colors???As a general rule you want to use natural colors like greens and browns in clear water and either dark or bright colors in muddy water. However like I said there are no absolutes in fishing so don't get stuck in a rut with your color selection. A lot of the time what should work won't so you will need to step outside the box from time to time.

[wallywallace]

thank you, i am learning so much

[keithdog]

Good advice above and C-Rig tied it up nicely. Have just a couple things to add. I like Daves answer when he said "all of the above. I often fish flukes with a weighted EWG hook with the little screw in attachment. The 1/8 size usually works. I use this when I can't seem to get the bass to rise towards the surface. I'll cast it out, let it sink to the desired depth and then start a twitch twitch pause retrieve. Another thing I like to do especially if bass are busting shad is to fish the fluke weightless on an EWG hook. Cast it out, and imediately start a quick jerk jerk retrieve. This will cause the fluke to stay near the surface and literally jump from the water. This can drive feeding bass insane!!! A 3/0 EWG would be my choice in hooks for a 4 inch Fluke. Try a larger 5 inch Strike King Caffiene shad in baby bass color on a 4/0 - 5/0 EWG hook. It's been an awsome fluke style bait for me. Lastly, I agree with C-Rig when it comes to color choices in worms. But I also want to add something. The color black or black/blue fleck still is my number one color for all water conditions. For some reason, that one always seems to work.

[Z-Man]

Originally Posted by wallywallace

on to the dumb ???, so do i just tie the mono together with the braid, reel the mono first then pick up on the braid. so if all goes well, this will be my set up.

Not a dumb question. I was wondering that myself. I got the same advice you did and am wondering how to properly set up this rig

[bamabassman]

no such thing as a dumb question here fellas. only dumb answers ok?


now to answer the question. YES, uni to uni works best when tieing mono to braid (at least in my opion). fill spool whalway with mono, the tie on the braid or tape it if oyu perfer, reel up the braid. works for me.

[Z-Man]

Can you use a copoly if you have that laying around or is mono better? Does the lb. test matter? Sorry for the threadjack Wally!

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Z-Man

Can you use a copoly if you have that laying around or is mono better? Does the lb. test matter? Sorry for the threadjack Wally!

You can use copoly but the main reason for mono is two fold. First of all it's cheaper which is good because all you are using it for is filler. The second reason is because you can get it in larger diameters than you can flourocarbon or copoly, and the larger diameter helps prevent the braid from digging in when you set the hook on a fish.

[Z-Man]

So you do want a higher test (larger diameter)? That makes since. First day and Im already getting my bassin' edumacation.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Z-Man

So you do want a higher test (larger diameter)? That makes since. First day and Im already getting my bassin' edumacation.

Generally speaking, yes. But don't go through any great expense to get higher lb. test line to use for backing. Just buy whatever you can find in a bargain bin for a good price because strength or line memory means absolutley nothing in this case. Trilene Big Game is a great line for backing because it's usually found in large spools at a good price, it's also a good line for fishing too.

[wallywallace]

no problem, this is all great info, went tonite before the cattin begain and caught, jeez probably a 1/2 pound bass on a swimmin tiny fluke. did the "fish the dock thing..

also i asked above and it might have got over looked, if i can find the 6:5:1 gear ratio in a spinning reel, will it be good for the buzz baits.. i am about 98% sure that the okuma i saw was that., never owned anything by them, so not sure if it is the greatest brand.. happy i got a decent frog set up now, my friend just invited me to fish this big pond that half is lilly pads so hoping to get some frog action

[carolina-rig-01]

I personally have never owned anything made my Okuma, nothing against them at all I just never bought that brand for whatever reason. My grandpa has a spinning reel or two made by them and they seem pretty nice. I should say first of all that a spinning reel isn't exactly ideal for buzzbaits but making do with what you have is the name of the game and you can certainly get by with a spinning reel if that is your only option, I have a buddy who fishes spinning reels for techniques I would never dream of and gets by ok. The 6.5:1 would be a pretty good gear ratio for buzzbaits on a spinning reel. The faster the gear ratio the better I like it for all topwater fishing because when a fish blows up on a topwater bait there is no telling what direction they will swim and they generally are swimming pretty fast so if they swim at me I want a reel that can catch up to them quick to set the hook.

Hopefully others who have more experience with Okuma or fishing buzzbaits on spinning gear will chime in with some first hand advice.

[Mumpy]

Wally, I have the Okuma Reel you are talking about and Yes I can tell you from experience it fishes Buzzbaits really well.

[wallywallace]

thanl you both, as said i have a few baitcasters but still dont feel right using them, i have made an effort t practice more, i use them in catfish but i throw out and wait vs. constant reeling.

[Mumpy]

I keep telling my Son-in-Law over and over, the better caster you are the better fisherman you will become.

There is a large gap in how good of a fisherman a person is between the fisherman that can cast precisely and one that can't. Also, when I speak about casting precisely I am also talking about the amount of effort you used to get the lure to the point you need it to be. There's a big difference in being able to cast to a point and the lure land softly because you put just the right amount of effort into it, than the person that casts and needs to stop the lure from over shooting and it making a disturbance when it hits the water.

[wallywallace]

Great words and I will practice till perfect