Bass fishing dead?

[Ufatz]

Okay fellas, somebody's gotta have an idea or two. We have had some pretty poor bass fishing in our corner of Tumuli. We do not fish at thirty feet with shiners. We fish shallow runners and top water because that is what we enjoy. But things are tough.

Is it just us? Are we totally inept? Can it be we are clueless, fumbling and clumsy too? Or are we just old and slow. We should be old enough to be smart by now.

Thanks.

[CASTnBLAST]

By dead are you talking Dead lake? We were out there today and caught enough smaller fish but took most the day to crack the code on bigger 3-4lb + fish. Bass fishing in general has gotten great in my opinion as they have moved into their summer patterns allowing you to catch them however you prefer,shallow,deep or somewhere in between.

[Ufatz]

Great news my friend! That means even I might be able to nail one now and then. Been really tough where I hang out, but I have high hopes now that we have some warm sunny days and high pressure systems for a while.

I like to fish with some 1930's Heddon Bass-O-Renos (red and white) and some 30's and 40's vintage Injured Minnows.

Call me old. Call me eccentric. Call me too lazy to learn new stuff. Or you could say I've caught enough fish already to last three life times. Ha Ha Ha.

Thanks.

[mainbutter]

There's nothing to learn about the "new" stuff, it looks a little prettier to human eyes perhaps, but still pretty much the same kind of movement, vibrations, sound, and colors that have caught fish for over a hundred years.

[Thunderstick]

Ufatz, you fish the same way we do. We didn't use the 1930's vintage but typically use 1960s vintage hula poppers. We spent last week at Star Lake and didn't have as much luck this year as we normally do. We only caught 2 that were close to 3 lbs and ironically, they were caught on different nights in the same location. But the were different fish. We caught a dozen or so in the under 1.5 lb range when we were jigging for perch.

We believe the problem on Star was the growth of the foilage in the water. Since there is so much growth, there are way too many places for the fish to be......couple that with the inability to clean get a lure through most of that foilage.

FYI, I tied on my 1930s style bass-o-reno only to cast a few times to an straighten up my reel...and a northern hamered it.

[Ufatz]

Ha Ha Ha! That's right! The old red headed Bass O Reno was also deadly on big ol' pike. Caught my first bass when I was 7 casting a red n' white on a square steel rod with a Pflueger Supreme reel. I suspect it was before your time. Ha!!

The Creek Chub Injured Minnow was a big killer way back when and still is. Same with Hula Popper, Crazy Crawler and the Jitterbug. My brothers favorite lure is a black Jitterbug.

Anybody can catch bass in 20' of water with a shiner minnow or plastic lizard. It takes an artiste to fool 'em with old wooden stuff.

Keep it up. Have fun.