Charlie, whereabouts is Pickwick? I'm in SW Illinois & we're always looking for more lakes to throw in. About 3 or 5 of us would be up for a weekend tournament...

Anyone wanting to go fishing in the central Illinois area shoot me an email. I do tournaments locally looking to branch out also looking at colleges fishing teams. I do tournaments on pickwick lake let me know if you have tips or could help me out down there.

Jitterbugs and Berkeley fake worms

Down here in Maine, we catch a ton of largies off jitterbugs, especially the green frog pattern. Just look at the new Maine state record!

The best farm pond bait I've found for bigger Largemouth in KY has been a Zoom Pumpkinseed/Chartruese Tail Lizard. You may not catch quite as many if there are alot of smaller ones but the dividend is worth it. The only 2 I've caught worth mounting have come off that lure. Happy Fishing!!!

I catch a lot of bass and the best lure i think there is is a white Buzzbait.It slays large mouth in ponds and where ever else u fish.The Original Chatter Buzz!!

i found the best thing to use for a large mouth bass is to take the bobber off the line and about 12 inches from the hook use a small weight, doesnt really matter as long as the baite will stay above it while in water. as for baite i like to use a night crawler like artificial worms. i have used berkly power baite and other fake baite and found cranking live baite works the best

Softbait worms are usually the best thing to use during the spawning season. Tube lures also work good to. Cast to the far side of a spawning bed, and then, move it over the bed. Agressive bass will grab your lure as fast as they can.

Look i have read all these tips and no one has even hinted at the shaky head jig system..totally great and a straight 6 inch bama bug have fun

when fishing for bass/crappie fish lures around rocks,branches,weeds,ect.

use small live brim

i always use rubber worms they seem to work the best for me. look for ponds or lakes that rarely get fished because the fish in those ponds or lakes are more likely to be unsure about the bait and bite it to see what it is. try retrieving it in different ways just as pausing,jerking, jigging, etc. find something that works and stick with that

I personally like top water baits like frogs in or around weed beds.The berkley 'Rage Toad ' on a weightless 4 to 5 number offset hook works well.

one of the easiest ways to catch largemouth bass is with a trick worm or a strait worm.

The Gary Yamamoto Senko or Swimsenko really gets the large bass in northwest iowa. I have personally landed at least 8 over six pounds within the last 2 years using one of these.

whites the magic lure color

white is the magic color for lure fishing

use white twintail or twist tail jigs,remember white is the magic color

Fish around heavy cover that has lots of baitfish with the color and size of those baitfish the best choise would be an xcalibur of lucky craft your choice they both work except lucky crafts are more expensive

In a medium size pond use a solid white spinner bait..if you want to catch a huge bass cast out to the middle let it sink to the bottom and begin reeling slowlythen pick up speed ...doing this i caught a 8.5 pounder the other day and if that doesnt work work the bank under the moss they love the spinner slowly coming up into the moss

try red spinnerbaits, they work great for clear water in the summer

I like a lizard for many reasons .Mostly because i get the results i want.A real versital bait in any brand.

in the fall and winter, bass seem to love a 2" or 3" chart/silver glitter grub, in small ponds.

Bass love grass. Whether on the edge of a pond, or floating patches in the deep water, you will find bass lurking around the green stuff. The best way I have found to get them out is to run a worm (my fav: a Yum Rib Worm) or frog (my favs: a Yum Buzz Frog or Zoom Horney Toad), weedless and weightless. Cast and let 'em land and settle in the grass. Retrieve with a slow pull, and reel the slack...slow pull, and reel the slack. All of the lures mentioned have an excellent action in the water and require little effort to fish through grass, and the vibrations they let out drive the big bass crazy. I prefer working this method at night, a few days before and after a full moon/new moon, and early morning/late afternoon. Go in with a heavy line, and expect to pull out some big ones... J.S.

The best way to catch these beautiful fish is with chuggers. Usually you get a hit when the lure hasn't been in the water long. To make the shy one come out, I always use chuggers with rattles in them. The second best lure that I have used to catch not only bass, but pike and pickeral to is to tie on those STORM WILDEYE SWIM SHAD. A 4" Blue Gill Colored works the best for me. Use those things like you would a jig, they sink pretty fast so you gotta be quick about it. When you use them in areas prone to be pike, musky, or pikeral inhabited, don't worry... I swear on the good lord those things sure can take a lot of abuse from those teeth. Be sure to use a wire leader though.

mail me to give me tips on where to catch these fuckers in the summer time. Names Richie

some people love man made bait but i just toss on a whole nightcrawler which works just fine

I catch the big ones near lillypads and weeds with a berkleys powerbait(texas rigged)(black/purple) and/or a frog-like jitterbug Enjoy

use pink senkos to catch big bass on beds

Use Yum Tequilla Sunrise worms with a bass hook and a little split shot.

Jig and Pig... the bigger the bait the slower you jig it. It take extra time but the reward is BIG BASS

i will not give up any info but i will catch the next world record largemouth bass

my favorite lure is the senko. is't graet for pike muskie and bass. cast and real it in slowly an let it sink and then real it in slowly again you will catch a nice fish within the firt ten casts!

i find in small ponds, that a popper works great for smaller bass. Throw it right between a group of lily's and wait bout 5 secs. then give a big jerk to let them know your there. then small jerks from there with times in between.

when use ing popper pop three timess by giving jurk downward then let sit for 3 seconds repeat steps.

i usually use a normal colorado spoon spinner bait reeling at medium to slow speed above bottom jerking it every second and a half.

Today I went out in my backyard and in 2 casts i caught a 4.8 pound largemouth bass so always try a different bait

when using a bopper? pooper r from rapala, let sit for atleast ten seconds befor jerking. Also bluegills and lion fish will bite when lure is still

use a frog over mossy water of a dock I usualy catch big large mouth

i find that when fishing from shore near rocky areas that a plastic brown and gray crawdad works pretty good. let it sink to the bottom and do short little tugs giving 2-3 seconds in between each pull

When fishing for largemaouth bass use a Double Whammy. It is a Spinner bait with twin silver spoons. You usually catch the Lunkers or Hawgs(5lbs or bigger).

While Fishing for largemouth bass using plastic baits my tip is if you get a bite or two cast again near that spot i've done it numerous times and 90% of the time I catch one beetween 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 pounds.

When fishing a murky lake try a top water lure like a skitter prop from rapala.

When fishing for clear water bass you always want to use a bait that closley resembles a forge fish in that body of water. use a nautural looking bait w/ a lot of flash, because in clear water bass mostly rely on their sight more than their sense of smell, or their latteral line.... Also in a post spawn situation try to use a drop shot in clear water with a 4" quiver minniow, because bass are tired out from spawn and they are looking for an easy meal.

dont toss back any bluegills you catch, otherwise you'll end up catching the same one over and over again.

Attach a Spoon to your line about an inch or two above your hook, which can be baited with either softs or nightcrawlers. If you cast out and not get any nibbles, jigg your line, and youl'll attract something.

Use a 15 lb test line and a bomber lure the best one for me is the baby bass orange belly one also try citrus color is really good and if non of them work try a Rapala skitter pop the Walk The Dog techniche really works well on this lure and if nothing works and your about t throw th towell try a Berkley Blade Dancer.

try rubbing salt all over your member...then dip it in the water jerking it every 5-8 seconds. big bass can't resist that salty johnson.

Always use soft rubber i am 13 but i knoww what i am talking about

Pumpkin colored brush hogs,texas rigged. Small jerks on the bottom. You will know when to set the hook. I have caught several nice (2 to 5 lbs.)bass over the past few weeks on Green River lake in Kentucky and Campbellsville city lake.

theses are great fish a lot larger than smallmouth and are easier to catch use a rubber worm put it weedless and let it sink and then jerk it in

If you fish private ponds and there is largemouth in there its a given there hungry so use a bobber with a hook about 6 to 10 inches under water with hotdog or slim jim believe me it really works!!!!

Use a gary yamamoto worm hooked throught the middle cast out let sit for 10 or so seconds reel it in 5 feet and let sit again

IF you fish tournaments like I do then sometimes you have a hard time patterning the fish. So if you come up on somebody and two people are in the boat throwing the same lure, same color, at the same structure, then you know they're on to something. So tie on that same thing (or something closely like it) and throw behind where they have fished. Sometimes the people have aggravated the fish enough that you will get at least a strike.

I have found that when using any floting when you cast it and it hits the water let it sit for a secong or two before working it. this will often cause a reactiuon strike by a fish that would otherwise thet the luer go past if mover right away.Another tips is to use a fat floting crankbait like a top water luer. Storm makes great baites to do this with. Choose one that will only dive to about 2 feet and reel it across the surface slowly and let it sit for a second or two then crank it down to about a foot and let it rise to the surface. Wwhern you begin to crank it make the biggest splash you can on the surface it will get the basses attention. Or jerk it a few times like you would a popper. Mix up the way you work it fish can be wery picky.

When fishing for bass in the summer time try adding a rubber worm to the back of a spinner bait like a tail. This gives the luer more color and action, it will also give the luer a scent. Twister tail worms will make the fish go crazy, and crayfish are a largemouths favorite meal. a worm tail is also a great way to cover a tralier hook on a spinnerbait with a smaller skirt. A worm tralier may make the difference on a day spinnerbaits will not work. This also works great with northern or muskey. And sometimes you will fing two or three tails will work even better than one.

Another great spinnerbait trick is to attach a rubberband to the head of the spinner and hook it on the barb of the hook. this will make the luer weedless, and the rubberband will not effect the hook then being set.

So the next time your on your favorite lake try a worm tail of weedless spinner. they have worked great for mr and willo be sure to increase your catch fot the day.

When searching for bass in an area with little weeds on a bright day cast out in to the shade or near tree cover. When in an area with weeds its safe to say the best place to cast out is near them. Use a worm on the bottom with a florida rig to avoid snags.

During cloudy days look for murky waters and try a spinner.

For the best results in anywhere you fish for bass use a gulp minnow grub by jigging it twice then let i t drop n reel it in some. This lure is so secnted that the fish wont leave it alone. You can get them from www.berkley-fishing.com or if your lucky wal-mart will carry them.

for the best results in murky water a in water with weeds use a new kick-tail hard bait dying shad natural shad color it is one of the if not the berst lure you can buy now. You can get it from www.ngcsports.com e-mail me at richmortis8 to tell me your sucsess your gaurrnteed it!

get the green lizard and bass atract and you'll catch a pretty good sized bass depending where u r.

hey wat u guys should get is the green lizard in a blue package which u can get at walmart and the bass atract spray u will spray the lure and you;ll catch a pretty good sized bass depending on where ur at

I recently witnessed a 9 lb 8 oz bass caught on a large floating rapala (not the broke back) Simply cast the lure out and let it float for 5-10 seconds before retrieving then holding the tip of the rod close to the water give it a slow jerk moving the rapala forward take in your slack wait 2-3 seconds and keep doing so it might take a while to get it perfect but once you do you will land the big ones for sure.

I've had good luck taking smaller lures, esp spinners such as Panther Martins, and putting larger hooks on them. Smaller fish can't get it, but the bigger ones do. Works good on grasshopper lures as well.

I'm eating the results right now. ;)

FLUKES!!FLUKES!!FLUKES!!FLUKES!!FLUKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use a jitterbug i caught a 10lb, 18in Largemouth in NY by a bed of lillies about 5ft deep of water.

Also use a rapala Jointed minnow. It floats and when you reel it in it has a great wiggling action. Every time i went fishing (5 times a week) i catch at least one fish

IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER, DROP SHOT 3 OR4 INCH FINESSE WORMS STARTING SLOW WORK YOUR WAY TO TWITCHING SLOW TO FAST ON HEAVILY PRESSURED WATERS. PATIENCE IS A MUST.

Buy a scum frog, they're like 3 or 4 dollars. Fish them in weed beds or wooded areas or in open water. Use a faster retrieve, making the frog bob with short strokes emulating a real frog and you'll catch a bass everytime!! By the way, angelofdeath2566 is my screen name if you have aol or aim, instant message me and tell me the outcome of my tip.

During the spawn...get a plastic scented worm... (i use kelleys) find a big bass and toss the worm slightly past the fish...now reel in slow and let sit in front of the fish.....with the right worm the bass cannot resist!!!!

For any kind of bass use the fake curly tails but make sure they are bright or have sparkles in them then through it out let some string out then reel in slow to make it look real. I caught 5 bass doing that.

Try to stick nest the islands or outlets. That is where the bass hang around waiting to strike. Also make sure you are out of site, you can move back and try to keep away from the shore.

Sometimes the bass don't feel like chasing down a lure moving at the speed of lightning. A good technique that is very likely to produce hits is a plastic worm with No weight. You just cast it out, and reel it in nice and slow occasionally letting it rest on the bottom. It takes patience to be able to make your lure look more natural by making it act like it doesn't want to be eaten rather than having it call a lot of attention to itself.

Largemouth Bass, is by far, the most popular freshwater fish in the USA. Bass fishing started around the colonial times, maybe even before that! These fish can get to be huge! Over 20 pounds! The largemouth bass used to be just a native to the north east, but now the largemouth as spread all over north america. These fish spread fast and if the food is good all year long, will grow to amazing size. Largemouth are distinguishable from their Smallmouth cousins by their mouths, their dorsal fins and their coloring. On a largemouth, when the mouth is closed, the jaw goes past the eye. On a smallmouth, it does not. On the largemouth, the 2 dorsal fins are connected, a smallmouths are not. The easiest way to tell them apart is their coloring. A smallmouth is a brass or brown colored fish with brown bars and spots, a large mouth bass is more often dark green with a blackish green pattern down its lateral line. The best way i have seen bass caught, is by popper. Poppers are small surface lures resembling a wounded bug or minnow. They have a concave mouth that makes a "pop" noise when tugged on. This method should be done as so; Cast the popper to the location (usually spaces in surface weeds, sunken weed beds, logs, fallen trees, cover etc.) let it sit there for about 5 seconds before u start popping. Do this by reeling in until the line has no more slack, then jerk the rod tip. Wait 5 seconds, jerk the rod tip.....wait 5 seconds and etc...This has always caught me a bass, no matter what. I swear i have never NOT caught a bass using this technique, no matter the conditions, why dont you try it?

When retreiving your lure in spring time try using a bobber and set the jig about 1 to 2 feet and slowly retrieve it.

In regards to the fishing tip posted by [email protected], that is absolutely correct. A small jig will get them to strike a lot quicker than throwing your whole tackle box at them.

Another thing my fishing partner and I have found is when you get on fish right before the spawn, it is always wise for the other person to cast in the same area of your strike because fish do hang in schools and therefore increases your chance of catching one after the other.

More of a heads up for your tip-up's. Don't throw your dead bait away. If your a tip-up guy (use a lot of live bait) like myself you may find this helpful. Sounds simple enough right, but think about it. If you use live bait during ice out and you buy a dozen or so shiners a trip and say you go 2 times a week thats a lot of fish. If there not biting then your left with a bucket of fish that most just dump out or they die. Save them, freeze them, and use them for chum with your tip-up's.

Use a Texas Rigged Brush Hog. Make the presentation slow in darker water, and a little faster in clear water. Slowly Jig the lure on the bottom and let it sit for a second or two, if you feel your line move, lightly twitch, and when the fish goes to run with the lure, then set the hook. I have learned to set the hook really hard. E-mail me if you read this [email protected] or [email protected]. Thanks, and practice catch and release unless fish is large, or if you want to eat it. Just remember the more you let go, the more that will reproduce the next year.

Don't you hate when the fishing really slows during the spawn? Well, I have figured out a way to get those big spawning bass that you see but can't get them to hit anything. First, get a 1 to 2 ounce bright jighead (preferrably chartreuse) and locate a bass. Next, cast it about 5 to 10 feet past the fish and retrieve by jigging it. Last, get it to go right past the front of the fish and you should see the results. If it doesn't work the first time the second can be just as productive.

It is amazing what you can see in the water with polarized sun glasses. The next time fishing for largemouth with one or more persons in your group, try this. As soon as one of you have a "bass" ON, delay your retreive as long as possible. Have one of the others immediately place a lure or bait in the water near where YOUR "bass" is struggling. You will see several other "bass" right near YOUR hooked "bass" and the odds are now more in your friends favor to hook one during this commotion.