Pretty new to Bass fishing, having some problems!

[IowaBasser]

Nice Job!

When landing a fish, don't try to hoist him out of the water. Once you've got him reeled up close enough to shore, reach down and grab him by the lip. In the water, the fish's weight it supported by the water. Think of it this way: you can easily reel in a floating log that may weigh 20 pounds or more - because it is floating all you need to do is apply steady pressure and pull it closer to you. But try to lift that log out of the water and suddenly all of the weight is on your line and likely to snap.
You said, "The entire bottom of the lake is like a forest!" ...A rubber worm is a great bait. You just need a little practice getting a feel for it. Cast it out, and let it sink on tight line or a very slow retrieve. It is important to keep a relatively tight line. When you feel it touch the tops of the weeds, give the tip of your rod a little "pop" or short jerk. It should move your worm a foot or two closer to you and upward... then start your slow retrieve again. It might take some time to be able to feel the weeds - that will come with just a little experience. Another way to tell when your lure hits the tops of the weeds is to watch your line. If you are letting your worm slowly sink, when it reaches the weeds your line will go slack. (Though by the time you see your line go slack, you will probably already be caught up in them.) Again, give it a sharp, short jerk... you are trying to quickly pull your worm out of the weeds before it gets in too deep. You want to keep the worm just ABOVE the weeds so any bass IN the weeds can see it... your quick "pops" also can rip free of some weeds before you get too hung up. I like to this by keeping my rod-tip at about 10:00, or 30 degrees above horizontal. Your "pops" can bring your rod tip up to 11:00...

Another alternative is a slow twitching retrieve. I do this a lot - the object of my twitches are not so much to give the worm action, but to feel what (if anything) is on the worm. If I feel a weed, I give a sharp harder jerk - trying to rip through it. Again I keep my rod at about 10:00 - and if I feel what I think is a fish, I lower my rod-tip below horizontal WHILE reeling in a little slack …and then WHAM - set the hook! As Kevin (the proprietor of Bassfishin.com) says, hook-sets are free, and should be used accordingly! In other words, it's better to set a hook on a weed than to not set a hook on a fish.

The great thing about fishing with lures is the ability to feel the fish take your bait… it’s much more exciting than watching a bobber go down!

Keep up the good work!

[Bassboss]

Very nice bass! And yeah, like IB said, unless you've got 20lb line, I wouldn't hoist em up, just bring em close and grab em. If they've got a face full of trebles, belly em.

[johnsoft349]

thanks guys!

the only reason I tried to hoist him up was because I was fishing from somewhat of a platform, I couldn't quite reach him in the water. Will definitely try to grab them by the lip when I can.

[muskyboy]

very nice fish!!!

[joedog]

Great fish! These folks have forgotten more than I know but I too fish from shore now ( sold boat to pay for medical bills). Just an idea, try worms weightless or wacky, pick up some lippless cranks, they fish easier from shore than traditional cranks and fairly easy to rip off weeds and grass when you retrieve towards shore as opposed away from shore. Searching for fish is alot more enjoyable than waiting for fish!

[joedog]

Clarification, texas rig weightles and consider getting hip boots or chest waders, you will be amazed how much deeper you can fish just by wadding out 5 to ten feet. Trust me you are going to catch on and probably discover your own variations of tecniques. I look forward to learning from you!

[kennethdaysale]

Hey John...Welcome!.....Certainly lots of good info coming your way, don't get overwhelmed...just take what you can use and leave the rest. Here's my 2c....first don't hate weeds, think of them as fish magnets. As a matter of fact don't call them weeds, call it vegetation or green structure! However since you are having problems with it, theres nothing wrong with avoiding it. Are you fishing on the south end of the lake below Pineridge and Towson Golf courses ? Golf courses are wonderful but they dump tons of fertilizer in the lake. You might want to try fishing up on the north end off of Merrymans Rd. Good Luck
BTW its nice to see an 18 yr old focused on a such a worthwhile and character building endeavor like fishing rather than the useless and destructive. Proud-o-ya!!

[DVT Mike]

Nice catch. The difference in getting this bite didn't necessarily come from ythe switch to live bait, but rather the slower fall and subtle action of the wriggling worms. This can be duplicated by removing the bullet weight and texas rigging a 4" Yamamoto Senko on the 3-O hook. Throw it out, let it sink and retrieve by slowly dragging back. You can do the same with a Yamamoto Fat Ika (rig skirt forward). The slow retrieve is key. If you think back, you probably weren't letting the plastic worm sit at all. When you think you're fish too slow, slow down some more. Bank fishing will get more productive as the water cools and fish move shallow to fatten up for the winter. Good luck!

[Flippin TN]

Keep in mind that there are many small creeks that are loaded with nice fish (Smallies to) that are a blast to hunt. When your out driving around and happen by a creek, pull over and get out and see what it looks like. The creeks can harbor some BIG fish and they are over looked a lot. You need waders and some felt soled wading shoes keeps you from trying to walk on water (you'll find out what that means if you fail to use the felt bottoms). Early morning rubber frogs or Hula poppers or T-Rigged 5" Yums or a creature bait. You'll find Smallies which will give you a fight you'll remember for a long time. The creeks also hold NICE bucket mouths to. I like a spinning rod, 6' or 6 1/2' and I use 15# braid and a 5' 12# Flourocarbon leader ( use the Albright knot to join them or a nail knot) #2 EWG Owner hooks. Ive caught many nice smallies and LM's in as little as 8" of water. Search the bedrock crevices, under the banks, tree roots. Your first trip down a new stream you walk into the holes (use caution) and chase the fish out, you'll see them run. Smallmouth will almost always return to the same hole. Ive caught the same fish many times over 5 years. You'll learn to know them and I have marked them by using a small scissor and notching (2x) the dorsel fine between the spines. They dont know it and it doesn't hurt them at all. Dont tell folks where you are catching (and you will catch many fish) and those fish will remain there a long time. If you let it out they disappear instantly as you see folks come and start taking them home.
I use lightweight waist waders and shoes (in the summer cutoff are really comfortable) in the winter I put on my long johns and waders, back pack with water and sandwiches and some cookies cause you'll work up a huge appetite.
Next step is the fly rod! Its only a matter of time and your fishin some fun fishin. I love the solitude of the creeks. I boat a lot too but if I didn't have a boat I'd still get my fix full time in the creeks. There is an Atlas called the Gazetteer for every state that shows the roads and all the rivers and streams for your state check it out if you really want to take the next step of boat free fishing.

Casting in a creek with a canopy can be a little frustrating because the trees love to jump out and grab that $6 Rapala so tune up your casting accuracy in the back yard when you not in the water. I have many more fish on soft bait and there is no comparison (cost wise). A tip on the rubber worm. Watch your line for it too creep you'll see it travel before you feel it usually and give them a moment but too long.
I also use a casting reel in the creeks. Im more accurate with it. Check it out its a lot different than bank fishing and I never bother with live or natural baits except crawdads.

I just google earthed the resorvoir.........WOW I had no idea. Its HUGE. Im thinking the population surrounding that area is pretty dense. How far do you have to drive to get to the country side where some of the feeder creeks and streams might be found? The gazetteer (any good bookstore has it) would really help target some great Smallie creeks.

Also a GPS lakes map would really help you target bottom contour for the banks on the reservoir. It would help you see where you would only be wasting your time. If you can find the drop off steps and bottom contour and around points you'll score.

Whats it like below the dam on Loch Raven dr to the 567 over to Cub Hill rd under the overpass, man I'd be lookin that over. Really. What kind of bottom below the dam? Whats it called maybe Loch Raven Creek? Any trout???

[joedog]

If your catching alot of grass and weed, which happens to me frequently, try texas rigging weightless, worms will float over or lay more on the top of the weeds as apposed to at the bottom of the weeds meaning less weed to pull thru and hopefully less back to you. If you feel weeds on the line when you are crawling it back, which you will feel easier weightless, snap the worm once or twice (hard), you will snap of alot of the weed off and then let it fall back with semi or slack line sort of like a person dose wacky fishing

[fishingprodigy]

Hey John, I lived in Maryland for 19 years of my life, (I'm 20 now, going to school in Philly) and I fished loch raven all the time. I'm not sure if U've caught them yet, but there are long skinny fish called pickeral in there that have teeth and can bite you. The best way to catch these is to throw a rattletrap and burn it in real fast.

For bass, I've had the most success fishing from the shore by using topwater baits in the morning, such as buzzbaits and working softplastics texas rigged like your doing in the afternoon. The key is to move around and look for good spots around the reservoir for inlets and laydowns or whatnot. If you're not catching fish at one spot, stay there 30 minutes max then move to another. I use to fish each spot about 15 minutes before moving to the next.

When the weeds are sparse, or you have an open body of water, my favorite lures to throw were the rattletrap and suspending jerkbaits. Loch Raven is heavily fished but with the right presentation you'll be catching double digits of bass in no time.

P.S. I don't know if you have money to spare, but Loch Raven rents out decent electric motor boats for only $26 a day, $52 if you want the bass boat (only differences are bass boats comes with seats for lazy fat guys and an extra battery).

To reiterate, the best way to catch fish in a huge body of water such as loch raven, is to move around and find locations where the fish actually are.

[bamabassman]

<<<lazy fat guy. hahahaha!!!