Intermediate bass fishing advice?

[Frank Castle]

A great post, but you do understand heavier tackle is safer for the fish, right? Playing a 10lb fish to exhaustion on 4 lb line IS fun, I agree and I love it, but when I realized how long it takes a fish to recover afterwards and how much it increases the possible mortality rate, I changed my tune.

Varying geographically, I can see you guys clearly have much different tactics for Ontario than here in PA and more so in FL......Imagine seeing that beautiful 24 inch Rainbow you just fought for 20 minutes and released only to be so exhausted that he doesn't notice the Osprey or Bald Eagle swooping on it until it is being carried away in it's talons. Been there , done that.

Imagine the same thing but releasing that big ol' bass and not realizing the splashing and commotion has attracted Alligators, hungry River Otters or in certain instances, Sharks. You think that bass is a decathlete? He's done for.....no energy left to escape.

In Ontario, have you ever had a 2 foot Pike on your line only to be bitten in half by a 4 or 5 foot Pike at boat-side, or a Musky or a huge Bass swallow your trophy-sized Crappie or Grayling or small to medium-sized Trout? Here in PA, our state record Smallmouth 8lbs, 8oz reached such a large size by eating the locally stocked trout by living under the spillway from the lake and gulping them down as they pass over the falls. it was almost not accepted as a record because they questioned if it was "natural" or if it only grew that big because of man-induced factors.

Use a little heavier tackle.....taking away a bit of the fish's chance on hook-and-line gives them a better chance for overall survival. Dude, I love UL fishing, but in the past 10 years a lot of studies have shown that it's not as good for the fish as it is for US. ......but hey, sometimes you catch stuff bigger than you planned, it DOES happen.

Here we don't even attempt to catch Flathead catfish on lighter or even medium tackle - they brutalize all forms of tackle....they straighten your hooks, snap off your weights, bend swivels, bust and loosen eyelets, break rods, strip your gears in your reels, mangle your line yards and yards at a time. Man, I have to replace my 20lb test at least 2x per year and I only fish Flatheads from May to September!!!

You use 10lb test for these monsters and they will Fish-slap you silly lol

 

[davenmandy]

I respect your opinion but can only agree with it to a point. I have access to 3 of the great Lakes within a 45 minute to 1 hour drive for me, and a little bit further I have lake Michigan and lake st clair, not to mention a plethora of rivers and creeks, plus inland lakes when I go camping up north stocked with the most amazing species. There has not been a single bass opener where I haven't caught less than 17 bass, that was my personal low in the last I'd say 10 years. Last year I stopped counting at 25. Right through my city I have the Thames river, second most amount of species of fish in Canada because it somehow some way attaches to all the great Lakes (through Niagara I believe). 8 am to 8 pm I was out on the canoe with my friend, I am not lying to you when I say we lost count at 80, at least 35 silver bass (which I know aren't actual bass).

You used to be able to go to Lake Huron and limit out on salmon in a half hour, now you get more days getting skunked than catching fish. As for trout, it seems the run gets a bit worse every year, though I had a great season this year compared to last year. One large factor in this is all the bass eating the trout eggs. It's nuts. People love to fish bass and travel hours to catch em, me I kinda get pissed when I get a 5 lb one on during salmon fishing, which happens a lot. Ministry here mails you a cool commemorative coin when you catch a bass over 10 lbs, I wanna say Canada or Ontario record is 12? Could be wrong, this is hearsay, I have seen the coin once and that's what the old guy told me. Fact is I have caught maybe a dozen over 7 lbs.

Now that I'm done with the back story, you can get the sense that it is probably good that the odd bass doesn't survive after a fight right? I mean poor fish true, but if a bald eagle (which are finally making a comeback here) catches it I would in fact think that is much better of an outcome. I liken it to our deer problem, without the hunters killing them we would be way way way too overrun, they already cause us tons of damage.

Steelhead are known for some of the best and longest fights. Picture running a marathon and then someone puts their hand over your mouth, that's exactly what it's like when they're out of water you are right. This is where proper handling and revival are a huge part, I've had 2 in all my years of fishing go belly up (not to say more haven't died later), and I immediately go in and take em out and bring em home to the smoker. If the hook is way too deep or it was a 15+ minute fight and the fishes eyes are rolling back I keep it plain and simple, and if my party limits out well unfortunately our day is cut short. I release way more than I keep, most down here keep all they can get, and the population is still doing "okay" allegedly.

I guess my point is with the bass I really don't care, in fact I think it's better overall for some not to make it as sad as it is for the fish, and this is coming from the guy that catches spiders and throw's then outside while the girls are screaming to kill it. I say have your fun, and if you care that much research proper handling and revival and the difference is negligible.

And for the pike, tons of times I've had bigger pike attack the smaller ones, sometimes right before you stick your hand in because they are last second strikers. It is thought that the next world record pike is going to come out of Canada, and anyone that knows lake st Claire thinks muskie immediately. No way you are catching muskie on an ultra light even though jeremy wade did it by some miracle lol, so in some aspects you're absolutely right go heavier, and I have tons of heavier rigs, but for someone that wants to go enjoy bass fishing I still stand by my opinion of ultra light being the way to go, unless you are at some amazing hot spots that constantly produce 7 lbers, then I defer to your opinion as you don't want the trophy bloodlines dying out.

 

[Frank Castle]

lol Dude, I can tell you know your stuff, but I have had the line snap on the HOOKSET using UL tackle and 4 lb line, just trying to set a weedless rigged plastic worm in a 2lb largemouth.....4x in a row. Yes, I lost 4 fish in a row due to line-failure cuz I had to exert more than 4lbs of pressure to get the hook to go through the plastic worm, and into the fish's mouth. That wasn't my idea of fun
As far as population, it would be hard for me to imagine the Land of 10,000 Lakes hving a fish shortage, but here in SE PA, our waterways have all kinds of problems ranging from overfishing, pollution, run-off sterilizing fish eggs, .....but mainly over-harvesting fish that can't replenish their numbers as fast as people remove them.

When I was growing up, all the way up until maybe 10 years ago, I could go to numerous places and catch and release Large and Smallmouths for hours - I would just quit cuz I got tired of catching so many damn fish. Nowadays finding a good bass hole in SE PA public waterways is like catching a Brown Trout in the Atlantic Ocean.....yea, they're out there somewhere, but who knows where to find them? (And that's one fish I'd love to catch.....a Sea-run Brownie?!!. Forget the Steelhead, those Browns are probably the size of Stripers)

 

[davenmandy]

I hear you, conclusion: it depends where you are fishing.

IMHO you shouldn't use 4 lb line, 6 lb is my go-to because it is strong enough and light enough. I really think that there is no need for lighter line unless fishing for bluegill or crappie, and for majority of applications you don't need more than 6lb. 8-10 is fine for the bigger guys for sure though, most bigger fish tend not to be smart enough to care about seeing the line. I have all the old guys trying to tell me 4 lb line catches more trout, then they shut up real quick when I catch one on my 2nd or 3rd drift right beside them when they have been there trying for hours.

My favourite saying, which can apply to a lot of tackle now that I think about it: lures are meant to attract fisherman and not fish. We do a whole lot of overthinking in this sport, I think it comes down to total time your line is in the water over many years. That's why it takes people multiple seasons to catch their first trout, one of the biggest rookie mistakes is not continuing to adjust until you get to the strike zone. Anyone ever hear of the WD40 and cigarette butt or piece of baloney to catch bass? Look it up, not that I have done it, but tons of people claim it works lmao.

 

[Frank Castle]

I hear you, conclusion: it depends where you are fishing.

IMHO you shouldn't use 4 lb line, 6 lb is my go-to because it is strong enough and light enough. I really think that there is no need for lighter line unless fishing for bluegill or crappie, and for majority of applications you don't need more than 6lb. 8-10 is fine for the bigger guys for sure though, most bigger fish tend not to be smart enough to care about seeing the line. I have all the old guys trying to tell me 4 lb line catches more trout, then they shut up real quick when I catch one on my 2nd or 3rd drift right beside them when they have been there trying for hours.

My favourite saying, which can apply to a lot of tackle now that I think about it: lures are meant to attract fisherman and not fish. We do a whole lot of overthinking in this sport, I think it comes down to total time your line is in the water over many years. That's why it takes people multiple seasons to catch their first trout, one of the biggest rookie mistakes is not continuing to adjust until you get to the strike zone. Anyone ever hear of the WD40 and cigarette butt or piece of baloney to catch bass? Look it up, not that I have done it, but tons of people claim it works lmao.

I know Preparation-H is a secret bait to catch Crappie (no pun intended)

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Sorry I didn't read the whole thread, I couldn't wait to share my opinion

Disclaimer: this comes from a guy that owns 17 rod and reel combos and fishes every single weekend most times regardless of weather.

Fishing is about fun. If you buy braid and a heavy duty rod and keep horsing them in, what fun will that be? My fun comes from losing some, you get that much hungrier for more. With that said, I NEVER fish with anything more than 8 lb for bass, most times I use 6 lb. I am a fan of mono because of the stretch to it, in my opinion you only need fluorocarbon if you target picky fish because it's supposed to be most invisible in water, and bass will hit absolutely anything so don't worry. If you don't like the stretch and memory of mono try nanofil. Mono is cheap, strip the stretched line and get more, that just means you are fishing and catching fish. Hell I fish for salmon with 10 lb mono, pisses people off when it takes me 15 minutes to land a fish, but screw em I'm there for fun, and that's the fight. Just set your drag right and don't fight against em when they run, that's where you acquire proper fighting skill.

Reels do not very much matter. Go to Walmart and get a shimano Sierra or sienna or whatever the $25 one is. Most drags nowadays are good enough that the difference of losing fish is negligible if at all. My one $500 rod has a $20 used classifieds reel on it, an old Mitchell, I catch tons of trout on it. Spend the extra money on a nice rod or tackle.

Bass starter kit: couple jointed rapalas, vary the colour for dirty or clean water. #1-3 mepps or blue fox spinner (#1 black fury for low clear water and a #3 Vibrimax chartreuse for opposite), 1 spinner bait, 1 5 of diamond's spoon, split shots, egg or bell sinkers for a Carolina rig, and most importantly jig heads with twister tails. Then you can supplement with some senko worms, cray fish, and frog plastics. A couple Wooley buggers or egg sucking leech flies won't hurt for under your bobber, which should be a slip bobber for those down deep basstards (see what I did there?)

And now on to my favourite part, the rod. Back to my fishing is all about fun comment: buy an ultra light rod. I will tell you there is nothing like pulling out fish on an ultra light with 6 lb test line. A 2 lb bass feels like a 5 lber, and a 5 lber will give you the fight of your life. Make sure your drag is loose and get ready for a 10 minute fight on the big ones, and let them run as long as they want like a trout. Most ultra light are medium action, which means your rod will bend like a U which is not only cool but absorbs a good amount of head shakes and get's you added sensitivity, plus protect's your line for those panicked crazy hook sets. Sure you can buy a 7 - 9 foot salmon rod with a bait caster full of braid and bring in everyone, but I find you will learn less this way. I have never in my life owned a bait caster, spinning is way way more versatile, I have no problem throwing things accurately with a spinning reel. Bonus, ultra light rods are cheap. I caught 10+ lb catfish on an ultra light from my canoe, best fights of my life, then I flipped the canoe in the river and lost the rod. It was an old Abu Garcia, next day I went and bought a st Croix 7 foot 1 piece ultra light, $150 and 5 year warranty, I choose that rod first anytime I don't need a rod that's 10' plus.

If you don't want an ultra light, and I understand, go with a shimano if you want, or spend the extra money and go with a st. Croix, best medium priced rod mainly due to the warranty, break it in anyway and they will replace it. Can't tell you how many times I've had a rod replaced under warranty.

Jeeze I can go all night, I am going to stop here. Chances are some of this was covered already but whatever, I just like to talk fishing.

I don't like losing haha. 10-20pd braid all day. Love being able to tear a jig through thick cover with no worries. Or pad crash a swimbait.