New User - Need Bass Advice

[Silver Trace]

Kayak tourneys are done via pictures of the length with an identifier for the day needing to be in the picture. Get you a Hawg Trough and then you are good to go. The guy that runs the trail is named Vinny and is a good dude, even if he is from NY and a Jets fan . He's having a rookie event coming up I think just for people like you to get their toes wet in tourney fishing. You can check them out on Facebook or I think he still has the website up and running. I know and have fished with a lot of those guys when I lived down there and remember when he started it up just a few years ago. Trying to get him to have a tourney up here in the mountains.

I got in touch with the group, thanks for the tip! Now I just need to up my fishing game before trying one of those tournaments!

 

[Panthera]

Good job! Now get yourself a bag of Zoom Ultravibe Speedcraws in green pumpkin. Throw it on points and you'll catch fish. Let me know how you do! If you have never used a Carolina rig I will tell you how to. It's a good way to catch finicky fish.

 

[oldest school]

well Silver Trace one just aint gonna cut it with the Ned rig. You are looking for 50.
Try it 'around" docks, With the right bait and head it is the best skipping bait known to man.
Fish it in around and thru any baitfish activity.
Any natural rock veins, rip rap or sea wall reinforcement.
Look for underwater "points" those places that run out into the lake. Piddle around at all depths on those points with the rig.
A lot of spots will relate to bait or structure "off the bank" I dont suggest you target those.

I think at this point you need to also look for the "bent pole pattern" Those pesky tournament boats and other fishermen can perhaps clue you in on the type places where you are likely to get bit.

panthera and i may be fishing in a ned rig comparison event on badin.
I am about to suggest to him that if we do we do it like a kayak tourney and measure photo and release the fish. Both of us in seperate boats to allow full utilization of our respective methods.
If he agrees I doubt he would care if you ride in my boat and i can show you how to use the Ned rig. and you can fish as well of course.

 

[Panthera]

And forget the old "Big Bait, Big Fish " mantra. Both the Speedcraw and Ned rig are small baits, yet both get bitten by big fish. I once caught five fish over seven pounds on one hump at Randleman on the speedcraw.

That would be fine if you go with him. I got a friend that is fishing a tourney next month and I am going with him to practice. Will let you guys know, we can meet at the dock. Probably put in at Shoreline drive.

 

[Panthera]

Here you go Silvertrace.

The Carolina Rig: Tricks, Tips and Tactics to Catch More Fish

A Carolina rig is a bass fishing basic. It's one of our most efficient tools and it's a tool that each and every one of us ought to use regularly. Simply stated, a Carolina rig catches fish when other methods fail. Dragging a rig around all day doesn't sound like much fun -- and at times it's...

www.berkley-fishing.com

 

[Silver Trace]

well Silver Trace one just aint gonna cut it with the Ned rig. You are looking for 50.
Try it 'around" docks, With the right bait and head it is the best skipping bait known to man.
Fish it in around and thru any baitfish activity.
Any natural rock veins, rip rap or sea wall reinforcement.
Look for underwater "points" those places that run out into the lake. Piddle around at all depths on those points with the rig.
A lot of spots will relate to bait or structure "off the bank" I dont suggest you target those.

I think at this point you need to also look for the "bent pole pattern" Those pesky tournament boats and other fishermen can perhaps clue you in on the type places where you are likely to get bit.

panthera and i may be fishing in a ned rig comparison event on badin.
I am about to suggest to him that if we do we do it like a kayak tourney and measure photo and release the fish. Both of us in seperate boats to allow full utilization of our respective methods.
If he agrees I doubt he would care if you ride in my boat and i can show you how to use the Ned rig. and you can fish as well of course.

I agree, one fish is depressing! They were obviously out there, I just need to improve on finding them. I really think I could have caught more if the wind hadn't kicked up. I was trying to focus on the end of the point, but the wind kept blowing me where I didn't want to be. I need an anchor and a fish finder!

I'm interested to see the results of the competition between you and Panthera! When are you thinking about going? I work some weekends, so it just depends on my schedule. I also have some weekdays off. I can only watch so many YouTube videos, so it would be really great to have someone show me the ropes. If you're serious about letting me tag along, just shoot me a message.

I have a question for you experienced bass fishermen. Are you seeing any signs of the bass going into a Fall pattern yet, or are they still running late summer behavior? The reason I ask is that I saw a school of shad being herded around and fed upon. I ran a lipless shad and a spinner through them since they were on the surface, but no bite. It was almost 90 degrees, so I'm confused as to why I was seeing Fall-like shad herding. What do y'all think?

Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge. I've discovered some are tight-lipped about their success. I'm not out to win anything, I just want to catch more and bigger bass!!

-Mike

 

[oldest school]

They school on the surface all seasons of the year.
use this as a primer for your morman fall fishing. Mr. Cherry is local to you.

Fishing the fall drawdown - Bassmaster

Summer is darn near over, for the most part anyway. That means most of the reservoirs around the country have falling water levels as the managers draw them down towards...

www.bassmaster.com

one brillant line in this article. fish where you can catch them. dont worry about all those roaming that are harder to locate and catch.

 

[Panthera]

Evidence shows that bass relate to the sun's position in the sky, rather than temps. I saw bass schooling shad at HP City Lake today. My nephew got a six pounder on a Texas rigged uv speedcraw too. We got 12 altogether. My biggest was four pounds, on a c rigged speedcraw.
But like your experience, these fish would not hit anything that resembled bait fish.

 

[Silver Trace]

They school on the surface all seasons of the year.
use this as a primer for your morman fall fishing. Mr. Cherry is local to you.

Fishing the fall drawdown - Bassmaster

Summer is darn near over, for the most part anyway. That means most of the reservoirs around the country have falling water levels as the managers draw them down towards...

www.bassmaster.com

one brillant line in this article. fish where you can catch them. dont worry about all those roaming that are harder to locate and catch.

GREAT article! I do need to work more on fishing docks.

 

[oldest school]

GREAT article! I do need to work more on fishing docks.

indeed you do if norman is in play for you.

 

[Silver Trace]

Ok, so now I'm a Ned Rig believer! It's definitely a go-to setup if you're not getting any bites! That thing gets bit on the way down most of the time. It was very rare for me to NOT get a bite! I ended up getting the TRD gear from Z-man.



Also, I got the answer to my original question from this thread. I was asking about visible bass I saw swimming in very shallow water at the mouth of a creek. There are "holes" and dips in this cove with docks. Well, I finally got my answer...they are very large spots!

I threw the trusty Ned Rig into one of the "holes" in the shallow cove, and it immediately got a hard bite and the fight was on! I was on a medium-heavy spinning reel with 8lb fluorocarbon. I had to quickly tighten up the drag because it was running away with it. This was the first fish I've caught that has pulled my kayak along!

I got it right up to the surface at the kayak and was about to pull him in. That big guy took one look at me and said "nope"...just as I was reaching for him, he snapped my line. This would have easily been my personal best bass catches! He was easily over 5 lbs, but he may have been closer to 8 or 9.

The moral of the story is that the Ned Rig is what I needed to get a bite from these monsters! I'm going to head out tomorrow to try again. Even though I didn't catch him, that was the most fun fight I've had all year.

So yeah, the Ned Rig is for real...it works!

 

[Panthera]

I still say, reserve judgement til you try the Carolina rigged uv speedcraw. Be good to have both in your arsenal anyway. Glad you got on the Alabama bass, way to go.

 

[Silver Trace]

I still say, reserve judgement til you try the Carolina rigged uv speedcraw. Be good to have both in your arsenal anyway. Glad you got on the Alabama bass, way to go.

I'd like to try that too. Can you give advice on the setup and how to fish it?

 

[Panthera]

I use 14 pound test flourocarbon for the main line, 12 pound mono leader. 3/0 worm hook, wide gap. Two plastic beads, barrel swivel, 3/4 ounce weight. Place a bead on main line, then weight, then the other bead. Tie on swivel. Then attach leader to other end of swivel. Add hook and speedcraw..

 

[Silver Trace]

I use 14 pound test flourocarbon for the main line, 12 pound mono leader. 3/0 worm hook, wide gap. Two plastic beads, barrel swivel, 3/4 ounce weight. Place a bead on main line, then weight, then the other bead. Tie on swivel. Then attach leader to other end of swivel. Add hook and speedcraw..

Thanks for the info, Panthera! I will give it a go! For this time of year, would you fish this deep, shallow, off a point, etc? Do you fish it similar to a Ned Rig with finesse? Also, do you prefer spinning reel or bait caster for this setup?

 

[Silver Trace]

indeed you do if norman is in play for you.

OS, I have a quick question about the Ned Rig. What kind of line do you use? I have 8 lb fluorocarbon, and my line has been snapped by a bass, a catfish, and a couple of snags. I'm thinking I bought some cheap-a$$ line because it even snapped while I was tying a knot...

 

[Panthera]

Fluorocarbon will snap unless you wet it before you cinch it up.

 

[oldest school]

OS, I have a quick question about the Ned Rig. What kind of line do you use? I have 8 lb fluorocarbon, and my line has been snapped by a bass, a catfish, and a couple of snags. I'm thinking I bought some cheap-a$$ line because it even snapped while I was tying a knot...

statndard set up is 10-12 lb braid iwth a 8-12 lb fluro leader. Eliminates all the negatives of casting fluro on a spinning reel : but allows the no see-um advantages of fluro. We have played with this a lot and you will get bit more with a fluro leader, the bait falls "better"than with straight braid.


In the lines I really like nanofil but it wont last as long as others I use suffix 832 alot.. I recommend a high viz color, blue camo, yellow and white work in that you can see it. Those small braids are tough in green to see ime.

 

[Silver Trace]

Fall fishing is a blast! I caught the bass on a rooster tail spinner and the bream on the ned rig. Those bream sure do fight hard! I caught a lot that day...it sucks going in when the bite's still good! But you know, adult life and such..

I've been seeing schools of shad being herded around. It's a blast casting all around them and getting bit! I'm hoping to head back out this weekend...