I've always fished in rivers/creeks and I want to start expanding some this year. I have some 6" artificial worms and lizards, and a couple different colors of 3" swim bait.
Just a few questions are:
What time of the year is a good time to start going?
Is my baits good enough? And what others are good?
Will I need to change my hook size from the river?
How deep do I need to fish?
It you answer all of these, you are probably going to be one of my favorite people this year.
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by IStealUrSandwich
> What time of the year is a good time to start going?
When the water starts warming up in the spring is a fantastic time to start.
> Is my baits good enough? And what others are good?
Yep, those a good start. I like fluke style soft plastics and weedless jig with frog or crayfish imitation plastics a lot as well.
> Will I need to change my hook size from the river?
Use the right hook/weight for the lure you're using and you'll be fine. Start with what you have and if you're getting short strikes you may need a longer hook, snagged a weedless hook, etc.
> How deep do I need to fish?
Yes. More specifically, fish any cover you can reach/know about. Fish move around in depth so you'll need to find where they are that day, and relate to cover so you always want to start there no matter the depth within' reason.
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by aRushinTroll
On smaller lakes I like to make a bunch of noise - chatterbait, frogs, texas rigs with beads bouncing off the bottom.
In a big lake there's a chance there's just no bass where you are. Smaller lakes it's easier to at least get within earshot(or lateral-line-shot) of one.
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by RandomPantsAppear
Time of year: In San Diego, CA February is a good month to start using soft plastics
Your baits are perfect. If you want to try other baits, try crank baits and spinner baits. Both work quite well in spring.
Your hook size should match the bait you are using. That said what you are using is probably OK to start, but like the guy said if you wind up getting a lot of short bites switch to a longer/bigger hook.
With soft plastics, fish on bottom or as close as possible to bottom. With spinners and cranks, fish at all levels in the water column that you can reach.
One other thing, if you are allowed to wade, get into mid thigh water and cast parallel to shore with cranks and spinners. Fan cast with the soft plastics.
Rushintroll did a good job. I use the same lures for ponds, lakes, and rivers. I treat the bodies of water the same as far as lures except for deep crankbaits which you can still use just have to be smart about it. I have better luck if I stay a few feet away from the edge and try to be quit at possible for ponds and small lakes unless a lot of people fish and the fish are use to the noise. I still use noise type lures for the ponds and small lakes. You may also want to fish facing the sun if you can so you don't throw a shadow in the water which alerts the fish.
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