help with off-season prep for 2012

[bassdude]

Hey Guys

I have really enjoyed being tied into GLB's website this past year. The advice/sharing has been very helpful. I dedicated the summer to spending time with dad and bass fishing. He grew up fishing smallies and took my brother and i on multiple fishing trips as kids. This summer we got out 20+ times-mostly on Spring Lake, where he lives, and on a trip up to Douglass lake in September. We did fairly well catching our share of bass, but in no way did we ever feel like we had things figured out. Starting with getting pretty much "shut out" up at Douglass, we fished through October and ended getting out yesterday with minimal to show for it. As always, the time on the lake, and being together, was great but we came away from the experience knowing that we had much to learn.

So.........I/we need your help. I want to spend the off-season getting ready to "kill it" next spring. Starting at the basics-assuming that we know nothing , what should our tackle boxes be filled with-please be specific on size, color, etc. I want to surprise Dad with some gear at Christmas.

We are already planning another trip up to Douglass Lake(Dad spent summers up there as a kid), and based on what I have been reading, will get to Mullet and Burt lake as well.

Thanks again for your willingness to help a couple of "bass novices" out!

Scott(Bassdude)         

[YpsiBass]

I think size and color depends on where/when you're fishing.  I feel like I'm in a similar boat here having fished a few tournaments for the first time this year and wanting to be prepared for next year.  The things that I learned the most this year were how many different techniques are employed fishing a tournament.  In the past I think I fished just to enjoy the fishing and being outdoors etc, but when I'm investing my own hard earned cash and then giving it away week after week, it pays to know more than one or two techniques.

Offseason I'll be doing a lot of reading.  I need to perfect a good drop shot knot for the hook so it doesn't take me 5 minutes to tie it only to have the hook oriented the wrong way.  I feel like I could have been more successful with a jig or a tube, but not sure what the best way to fish them is.  Lots more reading.

Don't be afraid to some shopping online as well.  The local tackle store might seem like it has a lot to offer, but I think the online shops have more selection.  Speaking of the local tackle store, stop by one before you hit that new lake.  The guys that work there have probably fished the lake you're headed to and can offer some tips (but don't expect them to reveal their secret spots hehe).

[Dan]

Topwater rod on deck: rigged with a sammy or a rico

Spinnerbait rod on deck: I like Nichols painted blades but that varies. I also like a 1/2 oz. spinnerbait.

Crankbait rod on deck: square bills and a few to get you down to bump the bottom.

Drop shot rod on deck: Buy Seth Burrill's drop shot DVDs. You won't be disappointed http://s21030.gridserver.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=26_166&products_id=983&osCsid=27c073d9b0a5e5d1c059e4eb3c47a4fd

Soft plastic rod on deck: The choices here are virtually limitless but power worms, tubes, senko style baits, jigs, creatures

Froggin rod: Some guys live in the pads and gigglies.

And if you need a specialty rod this is the latest and I'm sure is going to storm the market like the alabama rig has. It's called the A-Rod  http://www.bassfan.com/docktalk.asp?id=8506#8506

[motocross269]

The best advice I can give is "Keep it Simple"......
When I got back into this sport a few years ago I fell into the "Gotta have the latest and greatest" mentallity....
Pick 4 or 5 techniques  that cover the water column, water clarity, and different species and work on perfecting those..Obviously you can spend a fortune on lures, Rods and Reels to cover those 4 techniques but if you work on what lures you have the most confidence in and build from there you will be more successful....
Look how quickly the trends swing back and forth but the tried and true techniques have longevity....Why?? becuase they work.....

As far as tackle boxes...Keep that simple and stick with a 3700 Plano system and build off from that....

Douglas lake is a great fishing lake....I didn't do so well on my last tournament up there but some guys in the club wacked them...

[bassdude]

Wow...lots of great replies/advice already. Both Dad and I have rod/reel rigs that we are comfortable with. We are fishing mainly Spring Lake which appears to not be such a clear lake. I guess what I am really asking for is maybe your top 10 lures/baits for these type of conditions? Please be specific on size, color, who makes them, and best places to shop. Don't assume that I know what you are necessarily talking about when you use the "fishing talk" to describe the lures! Thanks for all who are giving their input! I am guessing that Dad and I aren't the only ones needing the help!         

[Waterfoul]

I think I told you this before but get off Spring Lake once in a while.  There are MUCH better places to fish less than an hour away. Mona, White and Muskegon Lakes just to mention a couple.  Take a day trip to some of the lakes north of you... Just about any of the decently sized inland lakes fish better than Spring Lake most days of the week. 

I'm not trying to dis Spring Lake entirely... but there are much better places to learn new techinques and baits.

Also, study maps, scour the internet for information, get yourself a good GPS chartplotter if you don't have one.  Humminbird is a GLB favorite and many of us are running them on our boats.

Go fishing with some of the members here if you get a chance.  I've taken many GLB members out for a day.  There are many others willing to do so as well.

Do you ever venture up the river to some of the bayous?  Sterns and Pottawatame fish well on a good day.  The river itself can offer up some decent small mouth fishing at times as well.

Join a bass club or try your hand at a local tournament or two.  You may not win any money but you will learn a LOT from the guys at these events.

Hope this helps a little... I don't even know where Douglass Lake is so I can't help you there.  But I do a lot of "alone" fishing in the spring and you're welcome to join me some time.

[bassdude]

Thanks for the kind offer and I will take you up on it next spring! We only stick to Spring Lake because that is where dad lives and has his boat there. It's just easier on him to stay there, but I will encourage him to get the boat on the trailor and get to some other lakes. Thanks for the advice on the other things!

[bigjc]

I think I told you this before but get off Spring Lake once in a while.  There are MUCH better places to fish...

I'm not trying to dis Spring Lake entirely... but there are much better places to learn new techinques and baits.

Sometimes fishing those tough lakes makes you a better angler.  I fished Belleville lake every week for many years, and I believe that I am a better angler for it.  Belleville does SUCK for the record though!!!

[djkimmel]

I like Spring Lake in the early part of the season. I like Petty's a lot and the smaller bayous. I haven't fished them recently but it was always fun around bedding season with bass moving shallow. I used to like fishing it during the fall too though I liked some of the river bayous even better in the fall. I mostly fished spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits / trap-types - been using Redeyes for that lately along with bargain bin spots - and pitching Texas-rigged worm and creature baits. Once in a while a popper or buzzbait early in the day can be real good.

If you can find any green weeds at all anywhere in Spring, fish them. Otherwise, docks are fun to fish even on days the bass aren't biting real good. Because the next post could have a good one on it! There is offshore cover out there to find that can be good too. When you have off-colored water, largemouth bass tend to look for something to sit next too when they aren't out chasing minners. So fishing things you see or can find. There's manmade junk, shipwrecks, pilings/trees.

As far as Douglas Lake, fishing it early should help you find where they spawn and then that should help you know where to concentrate looking for a progression of structure (breaks) and cover nearby to follow them out, and then back in somewhat during the fall.

[djkimmel]

Don't be afraid to some shopping online as well.  The local tackle store might seem like it has a lot to offer, but I think the online shops have more selection.  Speaking of the local tackle store, stop by one before you hit that new lake.  The guys that work there have probably fished the lake you're headed to and can offer some tips (but don't expect them to reveal their secret spots hehe).

I've always found that the amount of help you get from the local tackle shop is often in some proportion to how much you look like a customer verses a 'freeloader' When I planned on asking questions, I was very polite (maybe complimentary) and came to the counter with some items I planned to purchase. Some of those shops have old, hard to find hot lures of the past under that dust in the dark corners! I also asked if there was something they sold that was real popular locally. Not saying I would fall for the 'Earl's hot lure of the week' pitch necessarily but sometimes there are real nuggets mixed in with the pyrite (fool's gold). I've been surprised over the years how far some people go sometimes to help.

[bigmojet]

I have always considered myself a finesse fisherman and for the past year or so I have been forcing myself to fish with more baits that cover water to expand my skills. I have gained a lot of confidence in swim baits and red eye shads this past spring. I have also experimented alot with the weighted wacky jigs/hooks from Jackall, Owner and others and can't wait to use them again on the clear deep lakes that I live near next spring.

Besides the great info you will get on this site and others, try to get outside your comfort level to develop new techniques and you will be suprised at how you comfortable you become and the confidence you gain in some baits.

I've never fished tournaments but hope to hook up next year with some of the weekday evening outings a group out of Traverse City fish.

[LAPORTE]

     I fished Belleville lake every week for many years, and I believe that I am a better angler for it.  Belleville does SUCK for the record though!!!

Tell us how you really feel about Belleville John ...lol

[bob o]

Belleville SUCKS hahaha, yea well back to the off season.

during the off season i go through my tackle and pick out the stuff that didn't produce like i thought it shoud have, that said i'll try and figure out why it didn't produce for me. example wacky rigged soft stickbaits don't work for me, but texas rigged i catch fish no problem, i haven't figured that one out yet. i'll go thru all my spinnerbaits and change skirt colors blades as needed, crankbaits will be gone thru and weed out the ones that didn't get used, or send them to Cheetam for a repaint. the line i used the past year gets the thumbs up or down for next year, i'm sold on the flouro carbon stuff but the manufactures keep comming up with new stuff to try, but i do need two rods rigged with mono for topwater stuff.
The internet sites get a good going thru too from auction sites to regular tackle sites looking for deals on everything from crankbaits to better rain gear.

[Waterfoul]

While I do not disagree that fishing a notoriously "tough" lake can make you a better angler (ask anyone in my Wed. night bass club on Wabasis Lake... we limit every week while many  others only catch one or two) I do believe that fishing a lake known to give up more and higher quality fish builds CONFIDENCE in baits and ability that can be priceless.

[djkimmel]

Which is why Michigan is a bass fishing paradise!!

[bigmojet]

Amen to that.

[bigjc]

     I fished Belleville lake every week for many years, and I believe that I am a better angler for it.  Belleville does SUCK for the record though!!!

Tell us how you really feel about Belleville John ...lol

Sorry bro, no offense, but you know it as well as I do!!!   

[Firefighter Jeff]

Which is why Michigan is a bass fishing paradise!!

   Yea Michigan  !!!!!  ...............from one of the hoosier members.   

[djkimmel]

We do make lots of people happy often!

[bigjc]

Bob, maybe you are over working the Wacky rig.  The TX rigged stickbait reacts better to the angler imparting some movement, while the wacky rigged sticbait's secret to success is in the angler doing nothing at all.