06-22-2009, 06:05 PM
Hello fellow BFTers. Thought I would give a quick report on my success at Pelican on Saturday and also ask a question or two (or three).
I hit the water at approximately 6 a.m. I launched my float tube and began casting a Rapala crankbait on one rod while suspending/dragging a small jig tipped with a crawler about four feet below a bobber on the other.
I had heard that bigger bass were out in deeper water instead of close to the reeds, so I primarily targeted the middle of the lake. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, several pan-sized largies hit the crank, while respectable 'gills would dunk the bobber under the water. By noon, I had caught well over 25 fish.
My focus was the bass, especially decent sized ones, but I never connected with anything bigger than individuals barely over a foot.
Just after 1 p.m., I watched a couple of bass anglers in a fine bass boat with electric motor pass close to shoreline reeds (where I had earlier thought there wouldn't be larger bass) and pull a couple bass far bigger than anything I had caught out of the thick reeds. They happened to pass next to me rather closely, and they asked how I was fairing. I shared with them what information I could, and they graciously told me that all their larger bass had come off grubs.
I have caught a lot of bass out of Pelican over the years on Senkos, wacky rigged. I guess I could have switched to that approach to attempt to find larger bass, but after kicking for over seven hours in my tube, I wasn't sure I wanted to patrol a great deal more shoreline under the power of my own legs. I know how to rig a Senko weedless, to get into the places where the bass anglers were picking up larger fish, but, again, my body was pretty wore out by this point.
Now, here are my questions: For future trips, how would those of you "in the know" rig a grub, especially if the aim was to cast said grub into thick reeds and have it sink down to the fish? I know how to Carolina rig a grub, but how far away should I place the swivel and weight from the grub? Is that even the approach I should use? I recently saw some weighted offset Gamagatsu hooks that looked promising. Those work? I know Bassrods prefers dropshotting. Should I take such an approach with a grub on my next trip? Any tips on how to effectively fish a grub with weight, in any fashion, the approaches used, and any further tips I would greatly appreciate. And finally, what are your thoughts about big fish in comparitevely shallower water in among the reeds? What times of day and during what seasons of the year do you all target shorelines versus deeper water?
I know, a lot of questions, but if any of you seasoned bass anglers want to enlighten, I would appreciate. I have a very, VERY hot color crankbait for catching fish out into the middle of Pelican that I will share with anyone in a PM who chooses to impart tried and true advice to me.
Thanks.
[signature]
I hit the water at approximately 6 a.m. I launched my float tube and began casting a Rapala crankbait on one rod while suspending/dragging a small jig tipped with a crawler about four feet below a bobber on the other.
I had heard that bigger bass were out in deeper water instead of close to the reeds, so I primarily targeted the middle of the lake. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, several pan-sized largies hit the crank, while respectable 'gills would dunk the bobber under the water. By noon, I had caught well over 25 fish.
My focus was the bass, especially decent sized ones, but I never connected with anything bigger than individuals barely over a foot.
Just after 1 p.m., I watched a couple of bass anglers in a fine bass boat with electric motor pass close to shoreline reeds (where I had earlier thought there wouldn't be larger bass) and pull a couple bass far bigger than anything I had caught out of the thick reeds. They happened to pass next to me rather closely, and they asked how I was fairing. I shared with them what information I could, and they graciously told me that all their larger bass had come off grubs.
I have caught a lot of bass out of Pelican over the years on Senkos, wacky rigged. I guess I could have switched to that approach to attempt to find larger bass, but after kicking for over seven hours in my tube, I wasn't sure I wanted to patrol a great deal more shoreline under the power of my own legs. I know how to rig a Senko weedless, to get into the places where the bass anglers were picking up larger fish, but, again, my body was pretty wore out by this point.
Now, here are my questions: For future trips, how would those of you "in the know" rig a grub, especially if the aim was to cast said grub into thick reeds and have it sink down to the fish? I know how to Carolina rig a grub, but how far away should I place the swivel and weight from the grub? Is that even the approach I should use? I recently saw some weighted offset Gamagatsu hooks that looked promising. Those work? I know Bassrods prefers dropshotting. Should I take such an approach with a grub on my next trip? Any tips on how to effectively fish a grub with weight, in any fashion, the approaches used, and any further tips I would greatly appreciate. And finally, what are your thoughts about big fish in comparitevely shallower water in among the reeds? What times of day and during what seasons of the year do you all target shorelines versus deeper water?
I know, a lot of questions, but if any of you seasoned bass anglers want to enlighten, I would appreciate. I have a very, VERY hot color crankbait for catching fish out into the middle of Pelican that I will share with anyone in a PM who chooses to impart tried and true advice to me.
Thanks.
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