Couple questions..

I ordered some top water flies and some tapered bass leaders from cabelas. Because there's tons of tiny LMB in this lake I've been fishing. But, since my son hasn't caught anything in the last 4-5 times we've went out fishing, he's been losing his ambition to go out and fish. Unfortunately, but true. Maybe cause I've been outfishing him, who knows. I have knee injuries, and really need someone to come with me. But, I'm stubborn and will go solo anyways.

So anyways, question number 1. How exactly do you work a topwater bug? A Sneaky Pete to be exact, I think:)

And question number 2. My son is still using his spinning gear, and it's July, will bass be hitting spinnerbaits? He's been using Jitterbugs, Mepps inline spinners, rubber worms, almost everything, no luck. I suggested spinnerbaits. I got to get him catching fish again.

Any information/suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Shane

i go with a cast out and let sit until all rings disappear, then i twitch it once and let it settle and repeat.
if that doesnt work then go faster or slower

Shane

Sneaky Petes are designed to be skated across the water. They won't make as much noise or attract as much attention as a popper will. When fishing Petes, I've had success pulling them 6" and then letting them rest. Another tactic is to pull them hard enough that they will dive under the surface and float back up. This is a killer tactic on a smallmouth bass river I fish.

As far as what your son should be throwing on his spinning gear. When I use to fish for largemouth bass on conventional tackle in the summer, my go to bait was a plastic worm rigged with a slip sinker and the hook buried under the skin. Also known as Texas rigging. I would cast my worm out. Let it settle to the bottom and work it back slowly. Lifting the rod tip and reeling in slack.

Hope this helps.

Dave

About spinnerbaits.. yes, good idea. Also a plastic worm rigged Texas or Wacky. Use darker stuff on darker days, lighter/brighter stuff on lighter days.

About popping bugs... I cast and let them sit until the area calms and then give a twitch, wait, give another twitch or two. If that doesn't produce interest I strip it in a few times slowly only about a couple of inches. If that doesn't do it, I pop/skate/skitter/dive it, depending on the fly. Make a bit of a racket in other words. But I usually do it in that order before casting somewhere else. And then when nothing happens, I tie on a bugger, clouser, or big nymph and end up getting hits.

Just one more thing to add in. Getting some joy out of fishing is the most important thing in my book and the idea of your son losing interest (understandably so) because he's not catching anything is not one I want to ponder.

So why not get some live bait and have at it? Minnows, crawdads, I would imagine that there are live baits for sale in your area that we have never imagined in Texas (latitudes make big biological differences in baits). Heck, he would have a blast I bet hooking into bass, whether it be on artificials or live baits.

That's my alternative advice.

_________________
RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
http://robinsrumination.blogspot.com

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions and tips. I can't wait till my flies come in, I'm excited like a kid on x-mas day.

We've tried the Texas rig, but it wasn't effective on this lake that much. The weeds in this lake are extremely high, they come up to around just about 2 feet below the surface. So the worm ends up getting into the cover and once it's reeled back in, well, we end up taking off the weeds.

rrhyne56 - I've suggested livebaits to him just lastnight before I made my post. It's something we're going to seriously consider if the spinnerbait doesn't work out.

I'll fish every day, weather I catch something or not (never is the case with the fly rod it seems) But he said lastnight he's bored. He thinks there's no fish or something because he's not getting any hits.

I'll use the suggestions mentioned and hopefully he can hook into a decent sized fish to give him that thrill again.

Thanks again,
Shane

i would try diffent lake maybe no bass are there .
or winter freeze and killed all fish there,

we have winter kill lakes here. and lakes are close to geather,

:shock: Have him use a small bobber to keep him out of the weeds, with a split shot 6inches above a hook and a garden worm . Adjust the leader below the float so the worm is just above just above the weeds.
Cast it out and move it in 6" to 1 foot every 10secs.

buzz bait and penicil sticks

With the spinning rig, go without a sinker and use the smallest bobber that you can get away with. Use baits like crickets, worms, meal worms, etc... Since these are small bass, use the appropriate food for them. If you want to stick with lures, try Beetle Spins in various colors starting with black and yellow.

For the fly rod, you can use fairly small streamers, woolly buggers, and probably dries and popping bugs. Load up a dry fly with Gink so that it can be skated across the surface. Try different retrieves.

Remember the 3 cardinal rules of bass fishing: location, location, location. Fish the correct structure for your locale and the time of day.

Ed