JPP 7-18: mixed bag

[TNBronzeback]

I pulled an all dayer yesterday, sun up to sun down....wont be doing THAT again till cooler weather! lol.
Trying to replenish my crappie filet stock in my usual haunt has disapointed me this year. The numbers just didnt show up. Plenty of bait and them stupid little 4" yellow bass, some smaller crappies but not near the numbers of years past. I ended up with 5 really nice keepers and a pretty nice channel cat!. Ofcourse, new boat with a livewell, i opted to use the livewell, had it set on auto so it would keep fresh water flowing on a set time, but i still ended up with boiled crappies! In the back of my mind i was worried about that, but was hoping it would be ok. sooooooo In the hot months, i will use that livewell as a cooler with ice!
The whites and small hybrid were INSANE though.....i caught dozens of them on top water, biggest about 12" but man thats a riot! you hook one, fight it to the boat and 3-4 more are following it in! so that was some good action! after suffering defeat from crappies i figured i would go deep for some bass and that was memorable fellas! big flat in 20 ft, i found some timber, worm: nothing, jig: nothing, tied on a jigging blade and all hell broke loose! first 7 snaps on that thing, 6 pounder came about 3ft off the bottom and about ripped the rod outta my hands! big, big bass! i worked that timber for another 30 minutes and boated 5 more no less than 3 pounds, the the bouy got tangled in the motor as a drifted and i lost the spot as i drifted with the wind and moved around.
awesome day on the water! sorry no pics of the bass, my phone was in the sun and "overheated" and shut itself off.
You bass guys should consider jigging blades deep if you dont already, they match the baitfish size perfectly and they dont play around with it when they hit, the crush it!

[XxthejuicexX]

Sounds like a great day! Are you vertical jigging over the structure with the blade, what blade bait? I have a couple I have used but they just don't seem to jig very well. I will take some extra cash, I know you had to rob a bank with that get up on I know a few guys that fish with the buff's I just can't imagine it being cooler that just sun screen, hat and beard.

[TNBronzeback]

Yup, the more vertical, the harder they thump! most come with 3 holes. Its usually the middle hole for jigging.
Actually, its not a buff, its a shirt with a sewn in mask, its made by Breath Like A Fish. I didnt buy it, my "dogs" got it for me for fathers day! lol. I cant stand sunscreen. Maybe that Columbia stuff keeps you cool, but i just use the SPF rated shirts. I like it and it really does keep ya from getting burnt. I have a few long sleeve SPF shirts from academy sports i wear too.
Those jigging blades are a love/hate with me. They can fould up easy but man they work for everything. Drums in the river love them things. The one i was using yesterday was a 3/4 oz unpainted from Po Boys. Its got the flashy back treble. I saw 2 fish come off bottom on my sonar and watched em hit it.

[XxthejuicexX]

I love watching the fish come up and hit the bait on sonar. I tried a drop shot yesterday on Normandy and all I caught was a catfish. I did miss a few fish too. I think most of the fish I was seeing were smaller fish, maybe crappie or whitebass. I have a few of the Columbia PFG shirts that I love. I don't mind sun screen so I slayer it on and go with a cut off shirt or dry fit and shorts and flip flops. I will have to try the blade bait some more, I had it tied to the front hole last time I used it, I love vertical jigging.

[TNBronzeback]

Ive tried drop shotting on several occasions, i just dont have confidence in it. It has the advantage over jigging blades in a lake cause you dont have to maintain a perfect vertical while fishing it, but fish have a hard time resisting the hard thump of a jigging a blade. It a lake, the cicada blades work great and so do the cotton cordell jigging blades, but those 2 dont work well in moving water due to thier profile.
Last year on Melton Hill the 3/4 Oz blade bait out fished live bait for stripers by a long shot during super slow generation. Now they werent the big big stripers, maybe up to 12-15lbs, but i will always take quantity over quality when C & R fishing like that.
Ive youve got some good deep water structure man, give it a shot.
I would suggest using braid with a leader so you can feel what the blade is doing. Its an instinct/anger method of triggering hits so little twitches and such wont get the blade thumping, give it some action, make them fish work for it, the hits are so much more rewarding when Mr. Fins is pissed off. Lol

[Heiny57]

I like jigging spoons deep, I too have some blades but my confidence is in spoons.


Great day of catching.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by Heiny57

I like jigging spoons deep, I too have some blades but my confidence is in spoons.


Great day of catching.

Which jigging spoons do you use? Like a KVD Sexy spoon? Or something different ive only used jigging spoons for snagging! lol

[Heiny57]

Cotton Cordel is my fav, also Kastmaster works.

[brewer88]

Have you guys ever heard of Hopkins spoons? i havnt been able to find any in here in TN, but those are my fave. I just bought some jiggin blades this year for the first time, havnt even used em yet.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by brewer88

Have you guys ever heard of Hopkins spoons? i havnt been able to find any in here in TN, but those are my fave. I just bought some jiggin blades this year for the first time, havnt even used em yet.

I have heard of those spoons. Never used em though. Ive seen alot of copycats of those spoons, some even at Bass Pro, fishing shows, Academy Sports, ect. i dont recall if any of those places carry the actual Hopkins, but they are certainly look-a-likes.