bob johansen
7/3/2015 8:30:00 AMBeaver Lake used to me one of my favorites back in the late 70s and during the 80s. Congrats on your first bass -- And, you are already a bass angler by releasing your catch.
Amx
7/3/2015 10:38:00 AMCongrats on your first ever Bass, and 2 Largies at that. :-)
And YES you can fish for Bass with spinning gear. Don't even let anyone tell you different. I have been using spinning for Bass for more than 50 years.
And YES you can fish for Bass with spinning gear. Don't even let anyone tell you different. I have been using spinning for Bass for more than 50 years.
bob johansen
7/4/2015 7:40:00 AMYes, like AMX says, Spinning gear is great for some aspects of bass fishing. Like AMX I also have been using spinning gear for bass for more than 50 years. I always use it for tossing Rapalas which are probably one of my favorite lures of all time. Casting gear works best for jigs, spinnerbaits and other heavier gear. My usual starting gear on a bass trip includes 2 rigged spinning rods and 2 rigged casting rods. And, the casting gear is best when you start fishing steelhead and salmon in the rivers.
N E 1 FISSION
7/4/2015 12:53:00 PMGreat going, you must have fared pretty well with the baitcasting reel, I had one and tried multiple times, finally gave up,...but enough about me,... major props!!
ak9800
7/5/2015 9:44:00 AMHey everybody, thanks for all of your nice comments and good advice. I was wondering at what length the weight should be below the hook on a drop shot rig at Beaver Lake. Thanks
Amx
7/5/2015 10:11:00 AMI like 10-12" dropper length for most lakes. But it's a good idea to try a 15" to 24" dropper length now and then to see if the Bass are a little further off the bottom. If they are then they are probably looking for minnows and aren't looking down so won't see your worm at 12" above the bottom. Yes some people use 4 FOOT dropper lengths. I haven't been brave enough to try that but once for a few minutes. lol
ak9800
7/5/2015 11:54:00 AMI was also wondering how good are largemouth and smallmouth bass are for eating. I normally just catch and release but I always enjoy trout whenever I do decide to keep one or two, but I have never tried bass before.
ak9800
7/5/2015 12:05:00 PMI also just remembered something, sorry I have so many questions for you guys, as you all know I am still new to bass fishing. How long can a bass be out of the water without causing damage too the fish. I sometimes have trouble getting treble hooks out of fish's mouths and I recently figured out that a lot of bass fishing lures use multiple treble hooks. Thanks!
Amx
7/5/2015 3:33:00 PMI try to not keep a fish out of the water for longer than a minute. I also have everything ready for whatever I might want to do, camera close, pliers for removing the hooks close, fizzing needle close. A place for everything and everything in it's place so you don't have to look for what you need. If the fish is out of the water for longer than 30 seconds you should hold the fish in the water and wake sure it's breathing and trying hard to swim away. After you release it watch it to be sure it swims away and does just lay next to the boat while you replace a worm, untangle hooks, or look for the next place to cast to. If the fish lays on the surface and tries but can't swim down, then you'll need to release pressure from the swim bladder. Look a videos on Youtube on how to do fizzing.
Eating Bass is fine, remember the slot limit. The really big fish aren't as good to eat as the little fish, the flesh is too old for the best taste.
Some lakes it's best to not keep Bass as there isn't a lot of Bass in them. Some lakes have lots more Smallies so keeping a couple Smallies instead of Largies would be best. Some lakes are so overloaded with small Bass that it would be best to keep a limit every time you can, as those lakes have a stunted population, and culling lots of stunted fish will help the others to have more to eat. Over time you'll figure out which lakes are in which category.
Eating Bass is fine, remember the slot limit. The really big fish aren't as good to eat as the little fish, the flesh is too old for the best taste.
Some lakes it's best to not keep Bass as there isn't a lot of Bass in them. Some lakes have lots more Smallies so keeping a couple Smallies instead of Largies would be best. Some lakes are so overloaded with small Bass that it would be best to keep a limit every time you can, as those lakes have a stunted population, and culling lots of stunted fish will help the others to have more to eat. Over time you'll figure out which lakes are in which category.
bob johansen
7/6/2015 8:44:00 AMThe yellow perch is much more plentiful and better tasting than bass. If you like to eat pan fish, I suggest you eat perch, bluegill or crappie instead of bass.