[Michael]

Started fishing the usual small pond around 1:15pm Thursday.

Started with a baby bass Rebel Pop-R which caught me a 1 1/2 pound largemouth. Also lost a bass with it. Nothing else was happening and tried a few other lures so around 3pm I went to the private lake.

Started off with the Pop-R but didn't get any swirls or explosions. Next I went with a 4cm silver shad Jointed Shad Rap. Usual slow retrieve with the rod tip up caught me 2 bass and lost 1. Other lures I played with included a 6cm custom painted X-Rap Shad Shallow, firetiger Crankin Rap 3, 5cm helsinki shad Clackin Crank 3, and 7cm bleeding pearl Original Floater.

Caught another 2 bass with 1 coming on the Original Floater and the other on the Clackin Crank.

Switched back over to the Jointed Shad Rap when I went to check out another fishable area of property. Caught another 4 largemouths and lost 2.

Hit the road just after 5:30pm.

All bass ranged from 1 to 2 pounds with most in the 1 3/4 to 2 pound class. Here's a pic to show what most looked like today.

[CT_BASSman]

Nice catch! Man you must be sponsored by Rapala or have stock in them, seems to be the only crankbaits you use lol

[Michael]

[CT_BASSman]

That a CT bass?

[Michael]

Yep. Caught April 2007. Didn't get a weight but length was 22 inches and girth was 20.5. Did a calculation and it came out to be just a hair over 8 pounds.

[CT_BASSman]

[Michael]

Golf course with original farm ponds.

Gotta be with me if you want to get into plenty of largemouths and aggressive bluegills at this place. At the ponds there, a 6 inch bluegill will fight and grab a lure more like a 9 inch crappie.

[CT_BASSman]

Nice, what town if you dont mind me asking? You can PM if youd like

[Michael]

PM sent

[perfect hook set]

You're suppose to get into tourneys 1st then hope for a blue moon and get sponsored.
_________________

[fishfinder]

LOL. he even has the Rapala hat!!! Nice catch Michael. Been so busy here lately I havent had the chance to get out of my own town. I sneak down the road here and there but am tied up with ball and chain trying to find another house or something else like taking my dog to the vet. Dont think Ill be able top sneak back with ya for a few weeks and by then I hope it will be Striper fishing!
_________________
There's a fine line between fishing....

and standing on the shore like an idiot!

[Michael]

Thanks for the update Wade!

[Ryanmalloy44]

I do find the size Rapala's you're using earlier in the year to be intriguing. I never threw any 3-4 cm Rapala's until I saw your success on them this year. Only threw the bigger ones mainly sticking to jerk baits.

Got a question though. Is there anything you do to improve your casting length. My only issue with throwing the 3-4cm rapala is how far i'm able to cast it. This time of the year i'm using light line 4lb-8lb range and the combo of the light lure doesn't allow for long casts.

[Michael]

There's certain 4cm Rapalas that are heavier and longer casting than you'd think. If you go onto www.rapala.com you'll see what the weight is.

Same thing goes for 5cm and 6cm ones. The only 6cm that isn't long casting is the Husky Jerk. Certain 5cm balsas don't cast far.

4cm Shad Rap RS, Glass Shad Rap, Jointed Shad Rap, X-Rap, Ultra Light Minnow, and Ultra Light Shad are long casting for their size.

5cm Shallow Shad Rap, Shad Rap RS, Glass Shad Rap, Jointed Shad Rap, Clackin Crank, Crankin Rap, Skitter Pop, and more are long casting.

6cm Flat Rap, X-Rap, X-Rap Shad, X-Rap Shad Shallow, Ultra Light Minnow, and a few more are long casting.

Check out the website and you'll see the facts.

I've been using 6lb mono with a 5' 6" medium light spinning rod. Even with these windy days we've been having, certain Rapalas can fight the wind.

[Michael]

The big thing about the Jointed Shad Rap this time of the year is the sound it makes. It's built with a rattle and its jointed swimming action sends out a vibration to attract fish.