What I catch 'em on...

[WatterBoy]

This is what happens when we have an ice storm on a Sunday and there aren't any good sporting events to watch on Sunday afternoon. Below is a breakdown of what I've caught all my bass (LM & SM) on since we bought our cabin at the end of the 2008 season. 95% of my bass were caught on the lake where our cabin is located, and the remaining 5% were caught in Iowa. It's not real difficult to tell what I throw most of the time.

                         2012        2011        2010        2009   
                        #    %      #    %      #    %      #    %  
Zoomie                 284  62.1   243  54.6     0   0.0     0   0.0
Jig & Pig               48  10.5    46  10.3     0   0.0     0   0.0
Senko - wacky-rigged    39   8.5    39   8.8   112  40.6    78  42.2
Koppers Field Mouse     34   7.4     0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0
Rebel Pop-R              9   2.0    10   2.2    18   6.5    27  14.6
D-Shot (non-senko)       9   2.0     5   1.1     7   2.5    20  10.8
D-Shot (5" wacky senko)  8   1.8    67  15.1    89  32.2     4   2.2
Heddon Zara Spook        6   1.3     3   0.7     0   0.0     0   0.0
Swim Jig                 6   1.3     0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0
Marabou Crappie Jig      5   1.1     0   0.0     3   1.1     0   0.0
Spro Poppin' Frog        3   0.7     2   0.4    10   3.6    26  14.1
Crankbait                2   0.4    21   4.7    21   7.6     7   3.8
Night Crawler            1   0.2     2   0.4     6   2.2     0   0.0
Buzzbait                 1   0.2     1   0.2     2   0.7    11   5.9
Syclops spoon            1   0.2     0   0.0     0   0.0     1   0.5
10.5" MightEE worm       1   0.2     0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0
Spinnerbait              0   0.0     3   0.7     0   0.0     0   0.0
Super Spook Jr.          0   0.0     1   0.2     1   0.4     1   0.5
Floating Jointed Rapala  0   0.0     1   0.2     0   0.0     0   0.0
Senko - Texas-rigged     0   0.0     1   0.2     2   0.7     0   0.0
YUM Money Hound          0   0.0     0   0.0     5   1.8     0   0.0
Mann's Phat Rat          0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0     6   3.2
Tube                     0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0     3   1.6
Shakey head              0   0.0     0   0.0     0   0.0     1   0.5
                                                                    
      Yearly Totals:   457 100.0   445 100.0   276 100.0   185 100.0

We get pretty stoked when we hit a 3-pounder here (state record is 8-15 LM and 8-0 SM), so last year was a really good year for some decent sized bass for me, including 4-12, 4-5 and 4-4 Smallies that all beat my previous PB of 4-3.

Lb.oz range   2012   2011   2010   2009
 6.0 - 6.15     0      0      2      0 
 5.0 - 5.15     0      0      2      1 
 4.0 - 4.15    11      4      7      6 
 3.0 - 3.15    49     22     16     23

Yep, I know, I should seek professional help. This is where the above info gets pulled from.

[joedog]

Remember I'm not a good 'numbers' guy but if my maths correct,

Your biggest smallie last year would have been a 73% fish in the Bass Contest.
Not bad at all!

I really like how you track!
Plus 450 bass in a Northern Season and growing every year....ENCOURAGING!

I think you covered it before but do you track like the weather, time of day, etc. too?

Dean thanks for the share!

[bassboogieman]

I could NEVER do that. Nor would I want to, that's way too much trouble for me. I see how record keeping can be interesting, but that's way beyond me.

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by joedog

Remember I'm not a good 'numbers' guy but if my maths correct,

Your biggest smallie last year would have been a 73% fish in the Bass Contest.
Not bad at all!

My 4lb 12oz SM = 76oz, state record of 8lb 0oz = 128oz

76 / 128 = 0.59375 = 59.375%

[joedog]

Ya, I was to lazy to go back and see how MIKE showed me last year.
I knew something didn't seem right.
I did Wisconsin math (like Mike calls it),
128 / 76

Called my ten year old grandaughter for her help.
She said, "Papa I'm tired of doing your math for you!"

If you can't laugh at yourself, LAUGH at ME! Please!

[Mac2]

Dean, Thanks for "publishing" your results. Just have to ask, are all the zoomie catches on the watermelon/red color? Thanks, and Good Fishing, Mac

[kennethdaysale]

I've been tracking my #'s for years. It really doesn't take much time or effort at all once you get in the habit. I can't imagine planning a trip without consulting my log the night before to see the trends for that BOW.

What jumps out at me looking at the #'s above is a man that needs to gain some confidence in crankbaits.

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by Mac2

Dean, Thanks for "publishing" your results. Just have to ask, are all the zoomie catches on the watermelon/red color? Thanks, and Good Fishing, Mac

Hey Mac, good to see you around! Yes, EVERY LAST ONE of them is on the watermelon/red color because that's all I buy.

19 of my 49 bass in the 3 pound range came on the zoomie (inuding EIGHT of them between 3.9-3.15). And FOUR of my 11 that were over 4 pounds were caught using a zoomie.

It goes without saying, but man, I love that thing!

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

I've been tracking my #'s for years. It really doesn't take much time or effort at all once you get in the habit. I can't imagine planning a trip without consulting my log the night before to see the trends for that BOW.

What jumps out at me looking at the #'s above is a man that needs to gain some confidence in crankbaits.

Without a doubt. I'm pretty clueless about using them and really should try harder to get better at it, but I just enjoy fishing plastics, jigs & topwater stuff so much that when I'm not busy "guiding", I usually like to just toss what I enjoy. Maybe this year will be different??? Doubtful....

[Bassboss]

Man I could never do that! hahaha!

You're one organized person Dean! I've got a hard enough time writing down my homework assignments! lol Anymore writing down than that I think my head would explode!

Gonna have to try that zoomie. Just a Speed Worm (or ultravibe speed worm?) with the tail pinched off right?

[lilmule]

Rather than notice what pds of bass I noticed the difference per year as to what you caught them on each year more into power angling now than finesse.

[bamabassman]

dean...are your ZOOMIES worms or lizzies? and i would think oyu are in crank bait heaven for real. i "plan" on using more cranks this coming year....weiss is known as a crank bait lake for the big bass. maybe that is what my problem has been there. we'll see......

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

dean...are your ZOOMIES worms or lizzies? and i would think oyu are in crank bait heaven for real. i "plan" on using more cranks this coming year....weiss is known as a crank bait lake for the big bass. maybe that is what my problem has been there. we'll see......

John read this explanation that Dean has linked to whenever he's asked about them...def not a lizard http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ad.php?t=18583

[lilmule]

Naw its a politically correct conservative term for zombie worms.
I havnt used any either lol

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

Gonna have to try that zoomie. Just a Speed Worm (or ultravibe speed worm?) with the tail pinched off right?

Yep, see details at the link Ken shared below. I don't fish them as slowly as Mac or his wife do, but they are still what I would call finesse fishing.

Originally Posted by lilmule

Rather than notice what pds of bass I noticed the difference per year as to what you caught them on each year more into power angling now than finesse.

The Zoomie, as Mac calls it, is just a T-rigged 4" Zoom Speed Worm, so I'd say I still do finesse fishing a vast majority of the time.

Originally Posted by bamabassman

dean...are your ZOOMIES worms or lizzies? and i would think oyu are in crank bait heaven for real. i "plan" on using more cranks this coming year....weiss is known as a crank bait lake for the big bass. maybe that is what my problem has been there. we'll see......

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

John read this explanation that Dean has linked to whenever he's asked about them...def not a lizard http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ad.php?t=18583

Thanks for posting the Zoomie link, Ken!

[lilmule]

To me swimming a worm is a lot more movement than say T rig so not finesse ,drop shot skakeyhead can be but not a swimworm,but maybe im alone in that thinking.

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by lilmule

To me swimming a worm is a lot more movement than say T rig so not finesse ,drop shot skakeyhead can be but not a swimworm,but maybe im alone in that thinking.

Not sure where you're getting the "swimming a worm" part. I'm just casting out a 4" T-rigged zoom speed worm and letting it reach the bottom. Maybe lift and drop once if nothing on the original fall. If still nothing, then just speed reel it back in and try again. I've always considered that finesse fishing, but maybe my definition is off.

[bamabassman]

ok....i see now....THANKS!!! as ya'll know, i LOVE the lizzard, haha. but i NEED to get away form them some. i htink if i was to go to my BIGGER WORMS (on g'ville) i may do better. but big worms don't work on weiss, maybe this trick dean, mac and his wife use will work on weiss. i GOT to write this stuff down. lol. i will try to do this when i am out of town? and maybe...JUST MAYBE...i can get the dink stink off of me? nnaaaa, like that will ever happen. at least i have a title...who else can claim a title like mine? BWAHAAHAHAHAHHA!!!

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

ok....i see now....THANKS!!! as ya'll know, i LOVE the lizzard, haha. but i NEED to get away form them some. i htink if i was to go to my BIGGER WORMS (on g'ville) i may do better. but big worms don't work on weiss, maybe this trick dean, mac and his wife use will work on weiss. i GOT to write this stuff down. lol. i will try to do this when i am out of town? and maybe...JUST MAYBE...i can get the dink stink off of me? nnaaaa, like that will ever happen. at least i have a title...who else can claim a title like mine? BWAHAAHAHAHAHHA!!!

John, if there are fish in the area, it will work. Obviously, it's not magic, so not all the time, but more often than not it will catch fish. The worms are WAY more durable than senkos, plus they cost less and more of them come in a pack as compared to senkos. You just have to make sure you keep an eye on your line and that you are patient enough to let it fall all the way to the bottom. Once it starts to wear out on one end, flip it around a rig it from the other end. When both ends are shot, use it on a wacky rig instead.

Here is what it looks like before and after rigging...



I was using a "regular Zoomie" and my new-to-bass-fishing buddy was using a wacky-rigged Zoomie on a dropshot this past July and we just killed 'em (for this lake anyway)! Our best 10, shown here, ranged from 2lb 10oz to 4lb 2oz and totaled 31lb 11oz.



And I could go on and on with stories and pictures of many nephews, nieces, and other family members who were complete fishing newbies that caught good-sized bass on a Zoomie their first time out.

[bamabassman]

once agian dean....YOU DA MAN!!!!! thanks for the pics showing the riggin.


and one of these days.....hopefully I can post up a picture like that,lol.

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by joedog

I really like how you track!
Plus 450 bass in a Northern Season and growing every year....ENCOURAGING!

I think you covered it before but do you track like the weather, time of day, etc. too?

I track the following, most of which is probably meaningless, but is easy for me to track:

Body of water, day of week, calendar date, species, lure (including color/size/etc. and other details like trailer/brand/etc.), time of day, location on lake, and just last year I started tracking water surface temp also. Depending on the size of fish or whose fish it is, I obviously also track weight, length and girth. I also have a "comments" column on the paper forms I use to write stuff on in the boat, and I put dumb stuff there like fish caught on back-to-back casts or doubleheader catches with someone else or just anything I feel like noting. Most often there isn't a comment filled in though. Oh, and I also track the start and end time of each outing. At some point after I get back to dry land, I transfer everything from my written notes to one big Excel spreadsheet. I have gone nuts and set up all sorts of tabs to track goofy stuff. For instance, I track the top 10 fish (by weight) ever caught by someone staying at our cabin for 8 different species of fish. And another tab has the top 25 fish all-time regardless of species. This off-season I am in the process of adding a tab to show the PB fish by species for each of the 49 people who have ever caught a fish at our cabin. I could go on and on with all kinds of stuff I track or want to add tracking of, but you get the point.

I know, it's all pure craziness, but I really do enjoy it. And like I always tell Kaye, once it stops being fun, that's no problem, I will just quit doing it!

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

once agian dean....YOU DA MAN!!!!! thanks for the pics showing the riggin.


and one of these days.....hopefully I can post up a picture like that,lol.

Hey, no problem. I already had the pics up on my Flickr account from a couple years ago because several guys from work wanted to see what it looked like.

Praying that you and Lisa both are feeling back to 100% real soon!

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I am an Excel nut also, I should utilize it better. Always enjoy the AquaMan's post and I am going to give the "Zoomie" a try once and for all.