Potomac River

Went to the Potomac River for the first North East BFL and it was a tough one went down on 5/6 and prefish for Saturday's Tournament 5/9... caught about 30 bass over 3 days with nothing big but had 2 good spots....... lots of rain and lots of muddy water and alot of trash floating in the water... Saturdays Tournament came and my first run didn't produce any fish so off to my second spot and we started catching fish.. we fish in the same spot from 8 to 12 o'clock between us both we had about 35 bass I had 5 fish for 10-14 and my coangler had 5 fish for 11-8 he was throwing the Famous Senko and I was throwing a Spinnerbait white/chart and a Minus-1 orange and baby brush hog Green-Pumpkin, Fat Ika and caught fish on the chitter craw ......... I placed 50th and he made a check and placed somwhere in the 20's.........

Manasquan........5/16

Bass Caught:
20
Bass Depth:
1 to 6 feet
Best Lure:
brush hog
Air Temperature:
70

Paper Tournament Fished Manasquan 5/16 from 6:30 to 2:30.... caught close to 20 fish .. the fish are done the spawn there ..lots of beds but no fish on them ... sunny's should be moving up soon water temp was 65 and water was clear lots of small fish caught on baby brush hogs up shallow off wood,color didn't matter .. bigger fish came on a sweet beaver in about 4 to 6 feet of water... no fish with bloody tails either.... biggest fish was caught on a spinnerbait ... 16-1/2 inches ... some times you had to just let the bait sit there in 1 spot......

Elmer Lake

Me and my Partner Steve caught 5 fish for 10 pounds even and came in 2nd place in our first TopRod Buddy Tournament ..

I was catching my fish on a tube bait dragging it across the bottom.. Steve caught his fish on a Creature Bait.. air temperature was 30 degrees at start .. My toes and fingers were Frozen... It didn't warm up too about 10:30am. the water was very clear and cold Water Temperature was 45 and could see the bottom 6 feet down..

The shallows water was dead and every fish came in deeper water.......

Mirror Lake

The winter has finally ended. The wait is over. Saturday dawned a chilly morning for our first tournament of the year. Many had high expectations when the morning started. Mirror lake has always been a difficult place to catch fish even in the middle of summer. But this was March and the 12 anglers who braved the cold start found out just how difficult Mirror Lake is to fish this early in the season.
1st Place – 1 fish-1-05
Mike caught one fish back in the pond just one hour before the tournament ended. He stated his fish was caught on a wacky rig senko. (does this surprise anyone) He stated after a tough day of fishing he decided to return to the pond late in the day to see if he could find just that one fish to get on the scoreboard. Mike would like to apologize to the lakeside resident that he left a rather unpleasant surprise on their lawn.

2nd Place- 1 fish-14oz’s
Geoff caught one fish weighing a whole 14 oz’s. Geoff stated that he had one bite all day long. He caught his fish on a drop shot rig in the deeper water in the area of the dam in the front of the lake. Unconfirmed reports have stated that his secret drop shot bait was a piece of pepperoni that fell off the Dominos pizza that he had for lunch.

3rd Place- 1 fish-12 oz’s
Mike caught one fish fairly early in the morning. He stated that he caught his fish on a Carolina rig. He stated that he had prefished the weekend before and had caught his only keeper on a Carolina rig.

Jig Fishing

A Black-n-blue Jig,Black,Green Pumpkin, is a great bait all year round or any Jig....Just take only a Jig out on the Lake,no other baits...... In winter time I keep my bait on the bottom of the lake just crawling it along the bottom 4 to 8 inches... Pay attention to the sky when Jig fishing ... If cloudy out fish outside the cover you are fishing ...When it is sunny out fish tight to the cover ....Looking for the biggest part of the cover.... fish the shady side of the cover.... make several cast to the same spot...
A bass is like a sunny, throw a piece of bread in the water and watch all the Sunny's come up to eat it... they stop and look at it and then they will eat it...Well, think of your Jig the same way.... A bass will come up to see it as it sits on the bottom with the soft plastic moving slightly, then drag it.... If water is warmer then 55 degrees you can hop it....Scent is good to add just for the fish to hang on a little bit longer and it is good for sliding though the grass...
Just remember nothing is writing in stone...Good Luck Tim Fitz

Focus

How important is that word in tournament fishing? How many times have you missed a fish because your mind was somewhere else? If you’re typical, you’ve had both of these types of experiences many times. How many times have you thought after a tournament that you should have done this or that? You hear it all the time in sports and in life: “You’ve got to stay focused.” What does that word focused really mean and how can it help us catch fish? The dictionary explains the word focus as, “the concentration of energy on something.” That makes sense. If I can keep my concentration on fishing and only fishing, I’ll be better off at the end of the day. Focus on the task at hand, whatever it happens to be. Focus on what it is you’re trying to accomplish. This is just a litte list of what makes us lose Focus: Other compertitors, getting a limit of fish, winning the money, Family, Job, dock talk he said this and use this bait or I heard someone was catching them on a yellow worm..casting and reeling in thinking about what you will be doing at work on Monday instead of paying attention on the job you are doing....... Each and every cast you must stay focused on this cast not the next one. just try to picture your bait under the water and what it is doing ...all the way back to the boat.. Have a game plan, get focused and stay there thoughout the day.... Good luck fishing

This was me at the age of 15

Me and my Pals Ralph,Frankie caught this Tarpon off Deerfield peer in Fla ... on 17 pound test line ...
on what bait I think it was pieces of a blue runner .. we fought the fish for almost 1-1/2 hours
Ralph sent this article in to the Fla Sportsmen Magazine and the printed the article.........
Click on This was me at the age of 15 to see the picture.........

Pattern Fishing For Bass

Basically,a pattern is the certain combination of conditions or circumstances that attracts bass to a certain spot at a certain time and causes them to act a certain way. A pattern involves a combination of two factors 1.bass location 2.the presentation needed to make fish bite........... the good thing about finding a pattern is once you figure the bass out you can look for the same conditions anywhere in the lake or river and catch bass.



When searching for a pattern, I like to start off with fast moving lures like a Crankbait or SWL Spinnerbait. hungry bass will strike almost any lure that comes near them. every once in a while move from shallow out to deeper water. when you hook a bass make a note of the depth,water temperature,cover,structure,wind,sky. did the fish hit hard or soft and was he barely hooked or did he swallow the bait, when barely hook try a smaller bait or change the color of the bait.

good luck
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Best lures & presentations for shallow bass Part-2

Jig-and-pig is a good choice for probing dense shallow cover when the water is murky to muddy. Pitch or flip the jig into brush or weeds and ease it through by shaking it.Tube baits are good alternatives to a jig, especially in warm water. Texas rig a tube and use it to probe shallow brush or boat-dock pilings.

Floating worms, Super Flukes are exciting lures to fish in spring around shallow cover. let it sink a foot or so, then twitch it gently — you'll often see the bass swim up and eat it.

Surface lures including buzzbaits, prop baits and poppers will catch big bass around shallow cover, especially early and late in the day.Use Buzzbaits when there is wind and Pop R's when light or no wind......The winder it is the bigger the Buzzbait

Best lures & presentations for shallow bass Part-1

Lip-less crankbaits are favorites for covering shallow water. They will work around both wood and weed cover and are especially deadly in spring and fall. Fancast them around shallow points and flats and retrieve them quickly to trigger reaction strikes.

SWL Spinnerbaits work best on windy days; wave action diffuses the lure's flash and gives it a more realistic look. Use a lure with willowleaf blades in moderately clear water and one with Indiana or Colorado blades in murky to muddy water, targeting isolated wood cover.

"Manns Minus-1" crankbaits they run about a foot deep with a pronounced wobble. Their unique design allows them to crawl right over submerged logs without hanging up. and are Great for Jersey Waters........