07/09/08-Nightime Spinnerbait Success

I went fishing in my boat today with my friend Kous and the wind was blowing us all over the place. I managed to catch two healthy dinks, but that was it. The wind was really too much to handle out there. I was planning on using a new topwater frog lure, but it didn't arrive in the mail in time for our fishing trip. We decided to head in after about an hour and a half on the water. We got a call from our buddy Tim around 8:30PM and we decided to head out to the pier for some night time fishing. I started out throwing my popper, Tim was throwing his Hula popper and Kous was throwing a bleeding olive minnow rap. Tim and I didn't have any success at this point, but Kous did manage to catch a small Crappie. There were quite a few people at the pier earlier and we couldn't really troll that much. When these people left are success started to mount. Kous continued trolling his Minnow rap and I decided to switch to a Strike King Premier Spinnerbait.

I was really screwing around with my spinnerbait, because to be honest I'd never caught anything on a large spinnerbait. I started running down the pier burning it on the surface I stopped for a second and a small rock bass picked it up. Technically speaking my first ever fish on a spinnerbait. Tim walked down to the start of the pier where I was and switched back to his Hula Popper after he briefly switched to a Zoom Brush Hog. He was popping at the beginning of the pier, and I decided to keep throwing my spinnerbait down there to keep him company. I started experimenting with it and fished it sort of like a jig, bouncing it off the rocks in the shallows and sporadically pulling the blades fast over portions of the rocks. It wasn't long before this strategy payed off, something creamed my spinnerbait and fortunately I set the hook and wasn't shell shocked. I reeled her in and pulled her over and it was one of my nicer Largemouth Bass of the year a nice 17incher that we estimated weighed 2lbs 6ounces. This turned out to be the big catch of the night, but not by much.

Tim continued to throw his Hula Popper and not long after I caught my bass he got an explosive top water strike. He set the hook and started reeling in the fish he had on put on quite a fight. I saw him battling it in the corner and he had it about a foot out of the water, when the fish flopped off. He said it was a huge Walleye that he estimated was in the 3 1/2 to 4lb a fish that would've easily won him the week. He said it faught harder than the Smallmouth bass he caught yesterday. I think that was part of the problem, the Smallmouth he caught yesterday bent his hooks and he didn't bend them back. I think this was the cause for his big Walleye getting off.

The Hula Popper gets another A+ it is really proving itself as a really good top water lure. I was extremely happy I got my first Spinnerbait catch ever, but I'd only rate the spinnerbait a B+ because the wires bent after the bass hit it. I don't know where I'll go fishing tommorrow a big storm is supposed to blow in.

Thanks for reading, Bass-Sniper

7/08/08-Big Bass in Shallow Water

Today my friends Kous and Tim went fishing with me, at the Grosse Pointe Park Windmille Point. I started out throwing a wacky rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog around the middle of the pier. It wasn't long before I got my first hit, it hit pretty hard and I got a nice hook set. It turned out it was just a 10inch dink that wasn't even close to counting in our tournament. I decided to move on so I started trolling with a Storm Hot-N-Tot in a gold color. I got nothing trolling the hole pier the first time. The second time I hooked into a very very small largemouth and I stupidly reached my hand into its mouth to lip it and it through the hook right into my thumb. It got me pretty good, but it wasn't too bad. That was the extent of my luck for the day.

Kous was throwing a Texas Rigged Yum Dinger and he lost one dink largemouth but did manage to catch a dink smallmouth. Making our day the "Dinkmaster Classic". Tim who was also throwing a Zoom Baby Brush Hog did manage to catch a dink largemouth right after I caught my first. Right as we were getting ready to leave we were screwing around near the shallows and Tim tied on a Hula Popper in frog color. He got a big hit and set the hook he managed to get it over and it was a huge Lake St. Claire Smallmouth that measured 19inches and weighed 3lbs 4ounces. After this fish he took a commanding lead on our weekly tournament.

Tommorrow Kous and I will be heading to my Honey Hole out in my boat the Captain Kurtz hopefully we can manage some big bass. The ruling on the day is an A++ for the Hula Popper. It makes a very big splash, but that makes it a good top water popper for when the water isn't perfectly still. And it was pretty interesting that that big Smallmouth was hanging out in very shallow water and hit top water during the heat of the day.

Thanks for reading Bass-Sniper

6/26/08-Scouting Fish in the Woods Park

I had never fished in the Grosse Pointe Woods park before yesterday, and all I had heard about it was that it was terrible fishing. My friend Kous said he caught one largemouth there while only given a 10 minute oppurtunity. So we decided to head over there and try to catch some bass. It looked like I was going to get skunked again as I was having trouble figuring out the patterns of the park. I was casting a Zoom Baby Brush Hog while Kous was casting a Yum Dinger in Watermelon color like always. He got the first fish of the day a Largemouth that was around 12 inches. I got pretty frustrated where I started fishing so I moved all the way down to the end of the park to fish some boat wells.

I got one hit at the very end of the boatwells from a dink. Kous said he caught another Largemouth and showed me a picture, but I was reluctant to count it because he said it would've been close and we didn't have an exact weight on the fish. The very reason I bought a scale was to eliminate guessing from our tournamnet. Anyway I continued to cast in boatwells. I threw the bait right at the wall and pulled it over some weeds fast and a big bass nailed it. I didn't set the hook and pulled the hook right out of its mouth. I cast back in there thinking maybe he'd hit it again and sure enough he did. This time I got a good hook set, he tail danced two times and shot right under the dock that I was fishing from. I managed to pull him out but as soon as I did he shot the other way shaking the hook. It was a Bass that would've got me right back into the thick of things in the tournament.

I was bummed for awhile but decided to keep fishing. It wasn't long after I missed that fish that the pattern of the park started to make sense to me. I fished some more boatwells and managed to pull up a largemouth that was over 14 inches and weighed 1lb 4ounces pictured. It pretty much gave me a good lead for second, but the one that got away was the story of the day as I missed my chance for coming back for first. The ruling on the day was that the Woods Park had decent fishing, all the bass there seemed to be healthy. The Zoom Baby Brush Hog did good work again. I'm not sure where I'll fish today.

Thanks for reading, Bass-Sniper

6/23/08-Late Night Success on St. Clair

The water was pretty calm today as Tim, Kous and I headed down to Windmille Pointe to try some night fishing. A lot of people were at the pier, because of the fireworks downtown most were spectating but a few were fishing. I got really tired of fishing quickly (there was a time where I'd pull a 3.5lb Smallie out of there a night) because I haven't gotten anything there in what feels like weeks. I started out throwing my Rat-L-Trap trying to unskunk it. Had no luck what so ever and switched to a white tube that I bounced up in down in the current...still nothing. I switched to my walleye colored shad rap and zilch. Tim started out throwing a Jointed Shad Rap in a brown crawdad. He pulled out the first fish of the night a 13 and 1/2 smallmouth that barely missed the cutoff for our tournament.

I couldn't buy a bite so I started screwing around and trolled my Heddon Tiny Torpedo around I almost caught a Gar Pike on it, but fornutately I didn't. Right when I was ready to go I headed up the pier to tell my friends the news. I was watching them troll and Kous hooked into a 20inch 2lb 12oz Walleye on a bleeding olive minnow rap. This fish put him in a commanding lead for the tournament this week, because of our doubling system. He now is winning 4lbs 4oz to 1lb. We took the fish home and filleted it, currently its in the freezer getting ready to be cooked up tommorrow. I'm pretty sure I will pan fry it with for either my secret Walleye nuggets or try a new recepie with an Italian spice to it.

The results for today are that the Minnow Rap produces as usual and its another big fish. Its a great buy for anyone looking for a solid big fish crankbait. My impatience definitely got a hold of me today. The fishing at the pier since the thermocline has been terrible and this definitely had an effect on me. I'm really want to catch some big bass and I think I found an area where they may be. I just need to use my raft to get there. I'll probably hit the Milky River tommorrow after I cook Kous' Walleye for him.

Thanks for reading, Bass-Sniper

6/20/08-Brutal Last Couple of Days

Hey everyone sorry I haven't posted in a while I've been camping the last few days. I was in Jackson Michigan, camping and fishing and boy did I get drilled out there. The two lakes I mainly fished were Wampler's Lake and Round Lake. I litterally threw my entire tackle box at the fish and number one I couldn't find them number two they wouldn't bite. It was mostly heavy cover and shallow water. I started out throwing jigs into the cover and got nothing, I through my Rat-L-Trap...nothing. Even my senko worm was useless. My friend did catch one Bass around 14inches that weighed 1lbs 6ounces. We rented a boat but alas the motor broke and we just ended floating into shallower water. In the actual time we got to fish in the boat we ended up trying to find new water and only fished for maybe 20 casts a piece. I did manage to get a hit from a small smallmouth while trolling.

The week was not a total failure as I made two major break throughs in my fishing life. I finally got a handle on using my bait casting reel. I discovered a couple nuances with casting, which was extremely helpful, because I wasn't fighting backlashes nearly as much as I've been used to in the past. I also discovered a trick to undoing backlashes.

The real major break through I discovered has to do with new areas to fish more effectively. For those of you who don't know I mainly fish a pier off of Lake St. Clair, the pier forms a harbor that is filled with boatwells and weedbeds that contain many bass. However the rules of the park are that fishing on this side is forbidden. I recently discovered a law that allows me to lawfully fish these waters. This is the exact passage I discovered in the Michigan Constitution.

"If public access to navigable water has been established, the public user enjoys the same use rights and privileges of the private littoral owners. Thus, the right to fish a public lake extends to the whole lake. In fact, a lawful user of any lake, be it by public access or permission, has the right to any reasonable use of the lake.

It is the enforcement rule of the DNR, based on many Michigan Supreme Court opinions, that state regulations regarding the taking of fish apply to both navigable (public) and non-navigable (private) waters. People v Collision, 85 Mich. 105; 48 NW 292 (1891).

It is only where a private body of water is entirely unconnected with other bodies of water that the fishing regulations do not apply. People v Conrad, 125 Mich. 1; 83 NW 1012 (1900). The theory behind this rule is that where fish are free to swim from place to place and to and from public waters, publicly stocked waters also, the public through the State has a substantial interest in the fish."-Public Rights on Michigan Waters Law Enforcement Division

Basically what this law constitutes is that if I am in a small craft propelled by oars or motor I can legally fish in any water directly connected to Lake St. Clair. In fact if the park guards try to interfere with my lawful taking of fish, I can file a complaint against the park that results in a misdemeanor offense punishable by jail time. This is great news as it widely expands my fishing areas.

It just so happens that my small oar propelled craft came in the mail yesterday! So I can now fish practically wherever I want whenever I want. Today I took it down the Milk River in Michigan, pretty much as just a scouting trip. I once again was skunked, but that was okay because I was navigating the boat most of the time and finding potential bass holding areas. I started throwing a popper and then switched to a jig followed by a spinnerbait. I got a few hits on the jig that I just wasn't prepared for. My buddy caught a baby Bass on a wacky rigged senko, and caught a nice pumpkin seed on a Beetle Spin. My new raft is a Sevylor Fish Hunter 280 HF Series pictured. It controls very nicely and I liked the way it preformed in its maiden voyage. I still haven't decided on a name yet, but right now its the Nefertiti. I got some catching up to do before Saturday's 12:00AM deadline. I currently am sitting in third for the week and need to make up four ounces.

Thats all I have for now. Thanks for reading, Bass-Sniper

6/15/08-Father's Day Fishing

Today I headed up to Misch Lake in Michigan to fish with my Dad for Father's day. As soon as we got up there I noticed a little bit of chop on a lake that is usually calm. Unfortunately I left all my tackle in my buddies car so I only had a few supplies including culprit curly tail worms, a Hula Popper, Rat-L-Trap and grubs with jig heads. I headed over to an inlet on the lake and pitched the popper in some softer patches of water under overhanging tree branches and around tree falldowns. I got a hit and I set the hook feels like I missed him. I keep trying to pop, but my popper kept sinking so I reeled in. Turned out to be a little bluegill was hooked on, which was a pleasent little suprise. I kept popping with no success so I thought I would reach into my limited bag of supplies.

I pulled out the curly tail worm in an earthy color and tied it on. I had no luck when I was casting it around, but as I had the boat drifting I noticed a fairly large hole in the ground where a tree had uprooted. I dropped the curly tail down into it and BAM! Got a decent hit I set the hook and pulled up this fella which I'd guess was 16inches and maybe a lb and 4 ounces. I kept casting my curly tail worm the rest of the time out there, but the wind actually pushed our boat into some reeds and then the battery on our trolling motor died.

The spot where we got pushed was so filled with weeds I couldn't even drop the curly tail down. After this we had to have someone else come and help us out of the irons. Once we got out we decided we had enough fishing for the day. The verdict on the day was pretty good I liked the earthy colored curly tail I was using and I really liked the popping action of the Hula Popper I had. I never got to break the Rat-L-Trap out, because I forgot it was in my shirt pocket, but I'll be sure to use it next time I'm out there.

It was a good day all in all, because I got to spend some qualtiy time with my Dad. Even though half the day was spent trying to get out of the wind. I hope you enjoyed the first installment of my fishing reports and I might get out Walleye and smallmouth fishing tonight if I'm not too preoccupied with the NBA finals.


Good Fishing everyone, Bass Sniper A.K.A. Walleye Assassin

The Rapala Shad Rap

Of all of the fishing lures available there are none more classic than those made by the Rapala Company they started making in lures in 1936 in Finland out of Balsa wood and they have been a consistently good company for lures ever since. One of their most successful lures for any species of fish is the Shad Rap. They come in a variety of colors from the original silver and black to the new yellow perch color.

This lure is one of my favorite lures for walleye fishing it has a running depth anywhere from four to 15' feet. The side to side and up and down shaking motion of this bait is an impossible temptation for bass and walleye to resist. This bait is incredibly succesful for walleye when it is bounced off the bottom trolled at around two to three miles per hour or walking speed. Bass prefer the bait if it is in a higher water column than the one the Walleye prefer. I caught one of my larger bass this summer on a walleye colored shad rap at night time.

Dusk and night are the most productive times for this lure, because the darkness of night hides the imperfections in presentation. I have caught a variety of fish from smallmouth, muskie to largemouth bass all on this lure. The most important thing to do with this lure is to find the different water columns the fish are hanging out in, and reel it through. This bait can be fished in anyway possible from fast to slow.

The walleye color is the best in my area, which is stained and heavy in current, but I plan on purchasing at least the classic silver and black and a baby bass color for next summer. The baby bass should be good in anywhere from stained to clear water. The lure comes in a two inch size, two and three quarters inch, three and one eigth inch and three and a half inch sizes. The bait because of its treble hooks is not very good for heavy weed cover, but fishing it in open water and in or around rocks is a great way to catch any kind of fish. Next week I plan to do a write up of Storm's Wildeye Walleye.

The Wacky Rig

The Wacky Rig is possibly the most overlooked Bass fishing rig there is. It is overshadowed by the likes of the Texas and Carolina Rigs. However, it is just as effective if not more effective than it's counterparts. The Wacky Rig consists of a Bass hook and soft plastic bait no weighting system is used. The plastic bait is folded in half and the bass hook is pulled straight through the middle of the bait, leaving the hook exposed (as pictured).

The Wacky Rig primarily catches Largemouth Bass but because of the bending action of the lure, smaller fish can also hit the rig. Sized 3 Bass hooks rigged with a Senko worm got me Largemouth Bass and Rock Bass. Perch were intrigued by the rig and would often bite and nibble at it, with this being the case using a smaller hook and small grub could easily produce Perch. The exposed hook makes setting the fish much easier although it sacrifices the ability for the rig to go weedless.

I fell in love with the Wacky Rig while fishing it. I knew it was an alternative to the Texas Rig, but little did I know that it would produce big Bass after big Bass in areas that are extremely over fished. I pulled three of my biggest four Bass out of the water with this rig and that's why I highly recommend it. It's good around the exterior of weed beds and in thin weed beds. This is another excellent rig for structure fishing. During the dog days of summer this rig is best used with slow presentation. It's a great rig for the shallows in still water, although I caught a Bass on it in deep water with heavy current.

The discredits I have for this rigging system are few. The three main features that are problematic with the rig are it's inability to go weedless, it's weightless system and the fact that it loses a lot of Senko worms. Because the hook in straight through the middle of the rig, not much is holding the worm in place. So when larger fish hit, the worm is shredded and eventually thrown off the rig. When fishing in areas of high weed concentration I found myself taking more clumps of seaweed off the hook than fish. Using a weightless system allows you to bring your line in right above the weeds, but it limits your presentation by keeping it above holes in the weeds.

Although the rig is supposed to be weightless I applied a split shot weight 10-12 inches above the hook and found that it let me reach those hard to reach places without negatively effecting the action of the lure. I recommend using dressed grubs, minnows and Senko worms. On this rig I caught a 20 inch 4lb Largemouth, 17 inch 4lb Largemouth, and 16 inch 3.5lb Largemouth. This rig is highly recommended. Tune in next week for the Shad Rap lure.

Basic Texas Rig

The Texas Rig is one of the simplest, yet most effective rigs out there. The rig is set up by simply taking a soft plastic bait (worm, crayfish, minnow) and Bass hook. Use the Bass hook to make a small incision in the beginning of the lure, and carry the hook through and embed it into the middle of the lure (as pictured).

This rig is limited in the type of fish that it produces, but it should be a mainstay in any serious Bass fisherman's repertoire. It is most effective, when fishing for Large Mouth Bass although smaller fish will chase it. The embedded hook makes the rig weedless, allowing your plastic bait to cover area that baits with exposed hooks can not cover, due to foliage. These areas are often, where the larger Bass hide and feed.

Personally, I enjoy fishing the Texas Rig and it is often the first rig I use, when Bass fishing. This rig has produced Bass for me in areas that were considered to have poor Bass fishing conditions. I recommend fishing this rig in areas with high seaweed concentrations, in or around boat wells, and in areas of high underground structure in your favorite local fishing spot. Try to use crayfish plastic lures or the generic Senco Worm, also use colors that match the water color.

My only qualms about the rig are that bigger fish will often ignore this setup, Bass will generally lose interest after a reaction strike, it loses quite a few fish if you don't set the hook hard, the rig loses effectiveness with current. However, to counter current you can apply a split shot weight 6-12 inches away from the hook. The application of this weight system will catch onto weeds, but I use this to get deeper into weed beds (remember to clean off before your next cast). The more conventional way to apply weight to the rig is add a bullet weight to the beginning of your bass hook. This keeps the rig clear of weeds, though personally I don't use this weighting system.

In the past week this rig has gotten me a 17inch 4lb Large Mouth. I go fishing generally once a day in the summer and will use the rigs and lures in my post for a week at a time and post my analysis of the lures here. Tune in next week for the Wacky Rig, another personal favorite of mine.