Got out to Mantua this afternoon. My daughter caught her first LM Bass. That was awesome.
Also met Maniac, thanks Man! We didn't find the 9lb'er, but we sure looked pretty hard. [cool]
The bite for us was slow, it picked up quite a bit after talking with Maniac, and towards dark. Wish we could have stayed a little longer.
Caught them on 4" Maniac worms, and 3" Maniac Reapers. I'm starting to figure out those Reapers. (Those things have to be like candy to small mouth). I can't wait to try them out in Pineview.
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That's great that your daughter got her first LMB. They are really fun to catch. I like the fight the bass can give you. Maniacs are pretty cool.
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Well we didn't get the Nine pounder either.The bite was slower than what it was two weeks ago, but the water is quite a bit cooler now. The temp went from the 60's to the 50's. The fishing was slower but still better than work, work at home, or just about anything else!
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I have been sick all week, but I got out today and decided to try mantua.
I need a little clarification on the regualtions though.
Is puking over the side of the boat considered chumming?
Anyways,
I might be able to help you out a bit.
I got there not know ing what to expect.
So I wasnt prepared for anything.
I fished around the ramp for a bit while I waited for the transducer to get an accurate water temp reading.
52 degrees.
Pretty warm weather the last couple days.
I wasnt seeing much in the way of tall milfoil so I figure is must have pretty well dropped.
That would turn down the crawfish bite, and with the gills moving deep, I figured the north end where the flat drops would be the place to be.
So I fired up the engine and ran up there.
The drop is probably 400 yds off the bank but its not hard to find.
With the warm weather we have had the past couple days I fogure a rattle bait would cover the water fast and get them too.
Man, two casts in and I was surprised at how agressive the hit was.
It was just a little 12 inch bugger, but look at how deep it creamed that lure.
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I kept fishing that for about an hour or so and got about 5-6 bass between 12 and 15 inches.
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I couldnt figure out why I had to reel the thing so fast to get them until the water warmed up one more degree.
Then I saw them. The bass were suspended just under the surface.
Actually I saw one "tail" about 15 feet off the side of the boat.
There was a ton of them in the area, all between 12 and 16 inches.
The reason I had to reel so fast was to keep the bait from going too low.
Well I know how to fix that.
So I pulled out a husky jerk.
If I pop it hard it will stay shallow.
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They were just slamming that husky jerk.
After a bit that color wore off so I switched up.
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The little buggers just kept going.
In 3 1/2 hrs I boated about 30 fish.
They were just hanging out up there sunning themselves right near the surface over about 10 ft of water.
I never even pulled a plastic out all day.
Looking back, I wish I would have pulled out a 6 ft crank. I bet there was some bigger girls down there near the bottom. Plastics would have taken to long to effectivly cover all that open water, but running a rootbeer float through there might just have got me a bigger fish or two.
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I did talk to a couple guys who were fishing the shallow water bank lines over there on the east side, they were having a tough day as well, so dont feel too put out. Just maybee a little different location and tactic.
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[size 1]Mike, nice report.[/size]
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[size 1]"I wish I would have pulled out a 6 ft crank. I bet there was some bigger girls down there near the bottom."[/size]
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[size 1]I trust you mean how deep that crank dives, rather than its length. If you meant length I want to see a picture of the fish that you catch with it![/size]
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[cool]I'm glad you guys caught fish. I realized there was no way in heck my dad in law would be able to get the cement work done without my help all day, so I cancelled the fishing trip.[
] Did you guys catch any perch or bluegills, or were you just targeting the bass with the big plastics?
Also, when fishing the plastics like reapers etc., to you kind of jig them, just real them in slow and steady, or do you just keep it on the bottom and lift slowly once in a while (like ice fishing)? Sorry for all of the questions. Rookie bass fisherman here, and I'm thinking of fishing Mantua next Saturday a.m.
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Ya Predator, you got to love the Fall reaction bite! Cranks and spinner baits will shure tear up the LMB in the fall. Those fish will come right up shallow and relate to any cover, structure, stick ups, rocks, weeds, etc. I would of put on a spinner bait or crank bait, but I didn't bring any with me. I was testing some new grubs, and four inch stick worm, and found that they work rather well! I would say that we caught somewhere around twentyfive Bass, wich probably wasn't bad for fishing pressured water.
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Awesome [
]. Now I can't wait to get back out there... [laugh]
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