Bass Fishing 2016

[Deleted]

So it appears as if Bass Fishing 2016 is coming to an end. I'm not sure if I'll get out any more or not but regardless it's been an excellent season (actually my best season yet). I've tried to learn a new lake this year (Blue Marsh) and fished my old standbys (Chambers and Hopewell). I switched to all new techniques this season (except for one) and my new "finesse fishing only" concept paid huge dividends. I caught and released just shy of 450 bass this season with almost 250 alone coming from Blue Marsh. I've learned a lot this season through trial and error but in the end it turned out quite well. I caught a few nice sized bass this season along with many others in the 2-3 lb. range. I found also that the average size of the bass increased this season as well (not just a bunch of little guys like a couple of past seasons). For next season my hopes are to do even better; purchase a new bass boat and also start fishing the Tuesday Night Tourneys at Blue Marsh. But now is the time to start studying and researching for Bass Fishing 2017.

[wader105]

frogman
good stuff and a good time for reflection on 2016, although I'm not quite done yet, but soon I'm sure. my april, may, and june were outstanding. we've chatted about this before and both agree our success has come mostly from downsizing both in size of bait and selection. btw, i have found when you do fewer things, you tend to get better at them (jack of all trades, master of none). that said, i also expanded my methods to drop shot and was pleasantly rewarded with lots of practice, practice, practice - especially in june with the post spawn, but i need to find more areas that make it more conducive to drop shotting from the shore. my panfishing got better by adding some new fav baits and getting better at slip sinking. i think the most fun this season came from trying out these new techniques - MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO WERE SO FREE TO SHARE TIP/TRICKS!!!

also i got out of my marsh creek rut and tried a couple new lakes - some with good results, some not so much. but that makes me eager to get out next season and try to be more successful on those new lakes - best day of the season was on chambers.

speaking of marsh creek, it was my best season since the draw down. that said, until late june and july when the weeds just took over and there are still large mats even now in November. remember when we all said, "where are the weeds? we need the weeds to come back" - me included. while i think it's a sign of the overall health of the lake coming back, it has driven me nuts and all but killed my pan fishing. sounds like a new challenge for me next year - AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!

thanks for all the excellent shares and tight lines to all...

[Deleted]

Sadly Wader; I was so excited back in March and really wanted to delve much more into Drop-shotting this past season; but to be honest I think I may have only used a drop shot one or two times. But on a positive note; the other finesse techniques I chose to use throughout the season produced a whole lot of bass for me. I honestly never liked throwing a drop shot; but it did well for me back in 2015 so I thought it was something I planned to learn even more; but I just couldn't do it. I love fishing finesse baits and working them VERY slowly and methodically; but I realized the drop shot just isn't for me any longer. Maybe if I start hitting the main lake on Blue Marsh next season it might come back into play for me when fishing for Smallies; but that's only if my other baits would start to not produce.

You did hit the nail on the head though when you stated about NOT being a jack of all trades. I used to try to be that person; no longer. I realized I do not need all of those baits in my tackle bag. If I were to go into my tackle bag right now you would see that I ONLY carry five different baits (actually; that's all I own). And of course they are all finesse baits. I carry several colors in each type of bait but 5 is all I need. So I have chosen to try and master just 5. This season it has paid off big and I honestly cannot think of another bait I would even want to add to my arsenal (I have absolutely -0- drop shot baits). But even with just those 5 baits I can cover the water column all the way down to about 30' or better (and everywhere in-between).

My 5 baits are very carefully chosen and tested before they earn a permanent spot in my arsenal; I spent this past season trying to perfect my selection of finesse baits and at this moment I am very confident in what I carry. Also I think the key is throwing those baits on good quality spinning combos. There's a world of difference between a $100 combo and a $250 combo; ESPECIALLY when throwing finesse baits. I have also discovered (or should I say re-discovered) Dupont Stren Mono line. In my early days I always used Stren; but then I got caught up with all of the "better" lines over the years. I've tried braid, fluoro, co-polymer etc. and actually became frustrated with most of them. So from here on out for me; it's good old 6 lb. test Dupont Stren Mono in clear-blue flourescent. For me there is no reason to ever use any other line again. To me it's the perfect finesse line to be using on all of my ML spinning combos. And I would like to say that I have landed some pretty nice fish on that 6 lb line without issue.

[flyflinger]

Good stuff guys.

This year was my first year really targeting bass. I've fished almost all my life and up until about 13-14 years ago I fished for whatever was biting. I never really targeted one fish species. 13-14 years ago I really got into fly fishing. I fished for trout, and pretty much only trout, for 8-9 years. Then my buddy talked me into going after carp. I'm really glad he did because it gives me something to do when it was too hot in the summer to trout fish. In the past 4-5 years I've landed close to 100 carp with my largest going 25 pounds.  They are an absolute blast to catch, especially on a fly rod. Anyway, I would occasionally target bass while carp fishing but carp were my main focus. 2 Octobers ago while fishing at Marsh with a buddy, he had a musky blow up on his lure at the boat but he didn't land it. That experience, seeing that fish appear out of nowhere and attack with that ferocity, changed everything for me. My "heavy" rod was an 8wt fly rod at the time. I started to read everything I could about them. It's the reason I found this forum, which I'm so happy for. So last year I got into chasing muskies. I got a heavier rod, started lashing half chickens to hooks with a little deer hair thrown in for "real" fish size flies, started paying attention to the moon phases, etc. I do not have a boat so I was only wading but I put in a ton of hours, saw a few fish, has a few follows but couldn't get them to eat. In January this year my buddy bought a little flat bottom jon boat. On our 3rd time out in his new boat I caught the musky I posted a photo of a few weeks ago. I was lucky to go on a 40th birthday trip to Wisconsin in June. 3 buddies and I fished the Driftless Area for trout for several days and also booked a guide by the name of Brad Bohen for musky in northern WI. We fished for 2 days on a river, caught muskies, walleye and bass and that was a real learning experience. I now fish our local rivers differently which brings me to this years bass season. Since it got too hot to fish for muskies in about mid-June, my friend and I started going for smallies in the rivers.  We didn't fish the lakes too much this summer but the couple times we did we caught bass and usually a good one over 15" was in the mix. Since I have never targeted bass I can't really comment on the populations in the past years but this year seemed to be pretty good. It wasn't unusual for us to catch 20-25 bass in a 4-5 hour session. Most would be small( under 10") but some were larger. After the fun I had fishing for bass this year, I'm excited to tie some new fly patterns over the winter for next year and really put some time in chasing these great fish.  

Here are a few photos of some of the bigger bass we caught this year. The smallie was caught in the Skuke but the other 2 were from Lake Nockomixon.(Both ate the same MUSKY fly)

 

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[zigtherat]

Sounds like you guys had some great fishing seasons. I've still got a few trips left in me but so far it's been a fun and very educational year of fishing. Trying out some new techniques as well but choosing to upsize instead of go more finesse. Things like big swimbaits that are more than 6 inches, 7 inch topwater wake baits, huge frogs and big profile jigs/chatterbaits. Sometimes the bites are few and far between but all the fish caught on those baits, with the exception of one, were over 3 pounds and include a new personal best. Can't wait to see what happens next year!

[Deleted]

Good input Zig and Flinger; I love this forum and I enjoy reading what others have to say. I'd like to say I'll get out a few more times this season but we'll see. My weekends are pretty busy this time of year with PSU home games and such. But if I can squeak another trip in I will. Interesting how you made the change-up and upsized this season Zig; good stuff. Glad to hear you're catching some big ones. I was pretty amazed with the size of the fish I've been catching this season on the smaller baits; but those Blue Marsh Bass have seen so many of the "standard" baits I guess it shouldn't surprise me. And Flinger......sounds like your fishing is progressing well. I have yet to catch my first Musky; I've had a few on the line but never seem to get them in to the boat. The closest I got was about 2 years ago; I had a decent one hooked and to the side of the boat for what seemed like forever. I went to grab him and that's when he got ticked off and shook and cut the line. A few others cut the line on me further out from the boat. But I have landed a 22" and a 25" pickerel on the 6 lb. line this season so I still feel like if I hook a Musky I can get it in (I have a net and boga grip on the boat now). As far as fly fishing; I tried it a few years back; I bought a nice set-up from Cabelas and messed around with it for about half a season. After becoming totally frustrated I posted everything on Ebay and sold it for almost what I paid for it; at that point I vowed never to try fly fishing again, haha. But kudos to you folks that have stick with it; it certainly is an art form.....just one I lost interest in very quickly. Awesome PSU fly fishing cap by the way..........

[flyflinger]

Fly fishing isn't for everyone and I'd guess more quit every year than actually stick with it. It is tough to get the hang of casting but once you do, it's adds another level to the challenge of fishing.

You mention the boga grip- everything I read says not to use them on a musky, unless of course you plan on keeping it. My guide in WI and what I have read all say to get the fish in the net, remove the hook while still in the net, a couple photos and release. For as crazy as they can be when you first hook them, they really do calm down when in the net and while holding. Good luck on getting one. It'll happen. Likely when you're reeling in a nice bass but it will happen.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the info Flinger; I didn't realize a boga grip was a poor choice; but at least I have the net JUST IN CASE : )

[zigtherat]

This forum can definitely be very informative and sort of showcases the diversity of fishing. Panfishing, fly fishing, musky, carp, rivers, streams the list can go on and on and its all covered here.

I was pretty amazed at the size of some of the fish I caught on big baits this year as well but more surprised at how small some of the fish were that went after these bigger baits. Those finesse baits are certainly fish catchers and have had my fair share of surprises caught on them as well. Blue Marsh is always tough for me and that's with all different types of baits.

[Deleted]

Nov 4, 2016 13:13:00 GMT -5 zigtherat said:

"but more surprised at how small some of the fish were that went after these bigger baits."

That's funny you say that; very early last season I went out one day armed with 6" Yum Dingers and 6" Slug-go's to try and keep the little guys away. All I caught that day were about 10 Bass and they were all under 12", haha. So my plan foiled that day hoping to get a bigger bite with the bigger baits. So I know exactly what you mean : )