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One Lure- Ten Minutes To Use It!


Mike Clifford

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It just dawned on me that we used to do quite well on largemouth at Braidwood before 9 a.m. with topwaters. Spooks, buzzbaits and PopR's.

Would chuck them into pools of schooling shad, and hang on.

 

On more than one occasion, we'd get a fish to smack our lures clear out of the pool. My curiosity led me to look into this further, as I thought perhaps they were missing the hooks or something (trailers didn't seem to matter).

As it turns out, the theory I heard (that I'm buying) is that sometimes they saw the lure as competition- and were actually knocking it out of their feeding zone.

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As it turns out, the theory I heard (that I'm buying) is that sometimes they saw the lure as competition- and were actually knocking it out of their feeding zone.

 

Could be. That happens from time to time.

 

It's all part of the excitement of topwater; watching the water explode! I'm going to fish my topwater all the way to the end this year (season), just to see what it will do. I don't think colder water will matter that much if the fish are active.

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Baitfish on the surface means that the fish is injured or dying and therefore are an easy meal for a bass. They don't have to expend a lot of energy to get fed. Senkos are similar in that the slow fall mimics a dying baitfish that is cannot swim so it can be easily taken by predator fish.

I believe that lowlight conditions are favorable to predator fish like bass because it allows them to "sneak up" more easily on prey than in the bright conditions of the afternoon when they have to have other means to conceal themselves. Again, the bass can expend less energy to catch prey during lowlight times so they feed more often when pickings are easier.

On some bodies of water, fish become accustomed to sight feeding. Lake Erie is a good example. The water in Erie is generally on the clear side and walleye are used to feeding by sight. After the wind blows across the shallow waters of Erie for a couple of days, it stirs the water up, makes it cloudy, and bite shuts down. The DuPage is also like that.

Rivers like the Fox are cloudy all the time so bass need to use feel to locate prey. When the water there comes up or gets dirtier, it doesn't have nearly as big an impact as it does on the DuPage.

These are my theories and I'm sticking to them.

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Scott

 

Those are all excellent points.

 

Have you fished the Dupe much when it is turbid? If so, did you vary your techniques? At times, I did rather well when the water was up, roiled and moving. Likewise on the K3. There are also times when I didn't do as well. I think it is just a timing thing. These are two rivers that are touted as "better fished" when clear. However, I have caught some of my larger bass out of them in just the opposite conditions.

 

Just want to restate I agree with your earlier points.

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"Rivers like the Fox are cloudy all the time so bass need to use feel to locate prey. When the water there comes up or gets dirtier, it doesn't have nearly as big an impact as it does on the DuPage.

These are my theories and I'm sticking to them."

 

I couldn't agree more Mr. Scott ;) Caught over 100 Smallies this past Saturday on the Fox and the water certainly wasn't gin clear B) Many danks and denks were caught that day as well as a enough dinks,donks and dunks to keep things interesting :)

 

This is the biggest fish I caught that day on the Fox. Bill Chase dubbed it the "Silver Bass" of the Fox.

 

 

And yes.....she hit a Yum Crawbug

 

Don R

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Some of my knowledge about the DuPage comes from someone who has spent more time there than I will ever be able to. My own experience goes along with what he told me. These days, when the river is more like chocolate milk than gin, I find somplace else to fish.

Is it impossible to catch fish when it's up and muddy? Of course not. But it is a lot more difficult than when the water is low and clear.

So many areas are so weed choked that is seems it's never as clear as it used to be.

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The Dupe is definitely not a river I would want to jump into when it is high and raging. However, a day or two after the rain sometimes makes a big difference in the level and clarity. Great time for a spinnerbait!

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  • 1 year later...

A Hand Grenade!

 

Oh! The first smallie? Not the biggest!

 

Then a 1/8 oz jig with a chrome hammered safety-pin spinner and a 2.5" plastic grub!

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