Forum | skunked but now with a plan!

The answer to your 64 dollar question -do they move-yes

Which creates another ? where- answer not far.first available cover or deep water( deep meaning deeper),can be alil as a shallow ditch line.

Creating another ? how does one catch them?Other than thumping one on the nose with a worm havnt a clue as seldom get more than one or two  under those conditions that actually measures.

That scenario here comes with a north wind that just plain shuts them down even on a 2o ft deep ledge.And here with a rise or fall of the water it often changes which way they go as well,sometimes in and hug,sometimes out and hug,bottom line they are hugging something.

Rather off feed a bit as well,desert works better than a meal.I switch from a 12 or 14 in worm to a 4 in ,like going from a dd22 to a cr-1.5 (both work here),but not for the same reasons.

The lil 1.5 mimics the lil butterbean shad nicely,and at times they the fish can be size oriented,ignoring baits larger than what they are eating.

You could always take up golf and take your frustration on the ball.

Welll… uhhh… I ain't c'riggin' a buzz bait! And if you'll admit that I can't even begin to imagine what you won't admit! :>)

Late breaking news… While I was on Conroe getting skunked there was a tournament there as well – a tad over 24#s won. Word is crankbaits in 4-6 foot of water but… the water had to be in the 58 degree range. I know exactly where that water is and may give it a shot during the tournament. The water hit those temps in the backs of creeks where the depth was also 4-6'. But those temps were only available later in the day. The question is… when the temps drop over night how far do the bass move or do they move at all? Do they just hunker down and stop biting and wait for the temps to warm up? Do they move out of the back of the creek to the closest deep water then move back in as the temps rise?

As for getting skunked. I will say I didn't spend much time doing anything anywhere and was mostly looking – and not finding. I did work two areas pretty hard with crankbait and a jig without success. The other places I went I'd try a several crankbaits, 3/4oz. jig, c'rig for only 10 mins or so then pack up and look for another spot.

I still believe a lot of fish have to be deep and suspended. One thing about last Sunday was I did not mark a lot of fish in the 10-20' range on my sonar. Usually I can see them even if I can't get'em to bite. I'm thinkin' I wasn't looking deep enough but willl find out for sure come tournament day on Saturday.

As for casting a 12' drop-shot. You got it! Whirl that thing around like I'm trying to lasso a calf n' let it fly! Or… I could have a non-boater and let him pull back on the weight n' load the rod then let it go flying just like a bow n' arrow! Or… I suppose I could just chunk the weight over the side n' 'vertical fish… Desperate folks do desperate things!

Well… fact 'o tha' matter is I don't own a recoil rig so it's gonna have to be a drop-shot… Boy, I sho' do hope I don't draw a partner #1 he'll think I've lost my mind for sure when I have a 12' tag end of a drop-shot rig on a 7'6″ rod. #2 He'll want to give up before we even get goin' good with it spooning or drop-shotting. I believe there's got to be something basically wrong with your mind to go spooning and… well…. it appears I just may have a few lose wires 'cause I'm going to giv'er a try!

Actually while i havnt used it the drop shot rig much let alone the recoil,on bull shoals they are used to catch spots suspended in 60 ft of water,and when bottom bouncing see it no different than a crig.

As for water depth we all by nature tend to fish what we like,not always what the fish like.

80 percent of what I fish I can stick a rod down in the water and touch bottom with it.

I skinnydip a lot getting into such places and other than running in large waves when on the main a flats boat would suit me well.

A full ten percent while the front of the boat is 3 ft of water ,less than a boat length away is water about 20 ft deep,or more.

That leaves 10 percent im in that 20 and five percent of that im casting to that 3 ft water,that leaves 5 percent of fishing deep.Meaining im comfortable on the water 95 percent of the time.

Yes the silver buddy will catch fish here its considered a winter pattern.Hopkins spoons work as well,on sauger,drum and stripers with an occasional bass.

But if im digging down that deep into my bag I m not on much,normally.

I use  spoon all the time,chili,vegetable soup,beans etc.

If I  want to see fish in the boat just have to look at the other end where Steve is at.

Besides hes more photogenic.

Went to Lake Conroe last weekend. Other than somewhere along the way ripping a brake line off the trailer and shearing 6 bolts on the compressor pully on the XS – I managed to get skunked as well. I mean not even a sniff – much less a bite. Due to engine problems my fishing day was pretty much over at 2pm. But got to do a lot of thinking on the way home and the time since I came off the water.

What I saw while on the lake were folks fishing shallow, cranking deep, and c'riggin' deep on points and around the mouths of major coves. What I didn't see was anyone setting the hook. So what's the plan?

Well…. it's been a long time and I've never been sucessful at this but I'm gonna give it a try come either Friday if I go to the lake a day early or durning the tournament. In Georgia when it got really cold guys would win tournaments sittin' in the middle of the lake – spooning. Yup, I'm gonna try spooing me up some bass. This winter has been much colder much longer that is anywhere near normal for this area. For this reason I suspect the fish have gone deeper than folks normally catch them. So… I've mapped out a few deep water areas that either have road beds, are well off main lake points or where the contour lines go from 16' to around 30' in a hurry.

Shouldn't take long to find out if this stratagey is going to work or not but – at least I have a plan!