Newbie Questions

[OregonNewb]

I used to fish as a kid and then it seems once a year I will go out and fish in the local ponds for trout. Last year I bought a basic Mitchell combo for cheap. Well I am really going to start fishing this summer and found out the Lake Selmac(southern Oregon) is suppose to be a real good bass lake. So I have a couple of questions.

I will be doing 90% of my fishing from the bank/docks. Any starter bait/lures ideas. I have always just used worms/eggs/powerbait and roostertails for my fishing(mostly trout). Will roostertails/blue fox lures have any luck?

I have read several post on hear about Senco worms without weights. Is this a good thing to use for a newbie?

Lake Selmac is a good lake as far as access. You can pretty much walk around the whole lake. What should I look for from the banks as far as good bass hot spots?

Well that is enough ? Any tips would be great. Thank in advance.

[youngbassman77]

Oregon,

Welcome to the forum...! I started out with the same questions as you. For startes, weighless senkos are a good choice. Lipless crankbaits like a Rat-L-Trap are also productive too. I mostly fish from the bank as well and have been successful using these two lures. Look for structure that bass could be holding in..(sunken trees, weeds, etc...) Hope this helps... I'm sure others will be chiming in with many other suggestions too.. Good Luck !!!

~YBM

[zooker]

welcome to the board.

the west coaster's are sure to kick in colors and baits.. i will ask around to some of the guys i know in that area to see if i can get anything..

oh yeah marathon jets ARE racing this year in grants pass..

zooker

[brushhog]

Oregon, Welcome to the board -These guys will fill you with great advice... They have taught me a ton! You can also use the search feature to look for specific info... Oh Yeah, and watch out for the bait monkey - if you don't know who he is... you will very soon!

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

A senko is a great bait period. There are a lot of different brands out there, and they are easy to fish. Most are fished like a weightless Texas rig or wacky rig. If you look at the How-to worm rigs at the top of the forum it will show you how to rig them.

Rather than throw out a lot of terms you may or may not be familiar with here is a great site for someone just getting into bass fishing:


http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

That site will answer a lot of questions and probably generate a lot more. Speaking of questions, don't hesitate to ask, even if you think it is dumb-the only dumb question is the one than isn't asked, so ask away!

Roostertails/Blue Fox lures will definitely work for bass.

[OregonNewb]

Thanks for the answers. I will plan on picking up some senko bait. This weekend I am going to the coast to visit some cousins and were are going out to the ocean to catch some ling cod and coppers. Then next week I will try and hit the lake a couple times and see if I could use some of my new found knowledge to drum up some Bass. Wow this is a great site with a lot of cool info. Thanks again. I will try and you know how it goes.

[Rebbasser]

Hey Oregon-let me give you a few color suggestions for the senko-type baits. You really can't go wrong with watermelon, watermelon red, and green pumpkin. Those colors will catch fish just about anywhere you fish. Junebug is another good color for dark conditions-early, late, cloudy. Red shad is another good color. They come in about every color of the rainbow-I've got most of them , but those colors will be a good starting point.

[kennybfm]

I've used smaller rooster tails quite a bit. Cought tons of fish with them but also missed a lot of fish as well. Have to be careful with them. I hooked into a largemouth with a small rooster tail had him coming in and my friend heading for the net. He popped out of the water and the rooster tail came out of his mouth. it was at least a 5 lber and thats citation for west virginia. So if you're fishing for something big use a bigger rooster tail with a bigger treb hook.

[Rebbasser]

And see my signature

[youngbassman77]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Hey Oregon-let me give you a few color suggestions for the senko-type baits. You really can't go wrong with watermelon, watermelon red, and green pumpkin. Those colors will catch fish just about anywhere you fish. Junebug is another good color for dark conditions-early, late, cloudy. Red shad is another good color. They come in about every color of the rainbow-I've got most of them , but those colors will be a good starting point.

Oregon,

Sorrie I didn't list any colors earlier. But I agree with Reb... Those are the colors I have plus many more, minus the junebug.. Maybe I should get a pack.. Hehehe... As for the Rat-L-Trap, Crawdad patterns work well and my most fav is the chrome with blue top. That color usually produces the most for me... Just be sure to change the hooks because the hooks that come with it are bad..... I've lost many fish before changing the hooks... Where did I learn that...Hmm...Right here...LOL... Well, good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

[OregonNewb]

Thanks again. I have since go out 4 times fishing from the banks. I have caught 2 bass and 3 trout. All fairly small but it has been fun. Just getting use to my equipment. The last time I went out I fished with some plastic worms(pumpkin). I caught 1 bass and had a few more nibbles, lost one bringing it in. Just wanted to say thanks for the responses and give you all an update.

[vagabond]

I fished at lake Selmac a couple of weeks ago and wasn't very impressed.

I talked to some guys there and they said a couple of years ago that lake got a lot of publicity as being a big bass lake. Since then the fishing has sucked.

When I was there, bank fishermen were literally about every 50 to 100 feet. I don't think I'll make that trip again...atleast not on a weekend.

If you get a chance, go down to Hyatt lake. A lot less crowded and skiers and jet skis all have to go to Howard Prarie.

[pbruessow@msn.com]

I'm in Florida, but I have fished Northern Michigan Burt Lake in my bass boat. My best luck was a #7 silver/black back shadrap. Caught all smallies and averaged 15-20 bass a day.

In southern Michigan, used Culprit 7" redshad worms very successfully, especially around stumps and weeds.

I still use both of these in Florida, but my favorite color here is purple/green fleck (junebug). I used to use a lot of ribbon tail types but have found that the Zoom trick worm is more productive. Good Luck!

[MSfisher]

YUM troutkrilla works very well...