Northwest Fishing Reports

i got a little fishing raft for my birthday, and next saturday im going fishing on phantom lake. i know there are bass there because ive caught 3 small ones in the last 2 weeks.

Can anybody help me out and tell me how to fish for them from the boat. I know that the lake is surrounded by lillie pads, and there are tons of baby perch in the lake, but thats about all. What type of lures should i use, or depths. Any help will be apreciated.

Thanks for any help, J.T.

if it was me i would try a spinnerbait and a senko. if its nothing but lillys all around the lake just cast into the open holes in the pads.

just curiouse. how did you get negative points?

i dont really know. i wasnt notified or anything.

and thanks for the info.

If I were you I would use jigs. I know when first starting out in a boat, casting into trees and lillys, there will be some lost gear. But if you are using jigs, they only cost about 50 cents any way. I would try a 1/16 oz colored jig head with a curly tail grub. You mentioned all the little perch, so I would stay away from live worms, but live worms is a very good way to catch bass. Also if you start getting all those little perch, just upgrade to a bigger grub. Also with a raft, I would not bring all my tackle, it will get pretty cramped. What I do is put the necessities in smaller tackle boxes, you the see through tray type, and just put those in a plastic bag

gpc wrote:If I were you I would use jigs. I know when first starting out in a boat, casting into trees and lillys, there will be some lost gear. But if you are using jigs, they only cost about 50 cents any way. I would try a 1/16 oz colored jig head with a curly tail grub. You mentioned all the little perch, so I would stay away from live worms, but live worms is a very good way to catch bass. Also if you start getting all those little perch, just upgrade to a bigger grub. Also with a raft, I would not bring all my tackle, it will get pretty cramped. What I do is put the necessities in smaller tackle boxes, you the see through tray type, and just put those in a plastic bag

Does the color of the grub matter to much.
Also, how big is a 1/16 oz jig, is it like the jigs you put crappie tubes on?

Thanks.

JT if you get there early in the morning .. try throwing a Plastic Frog ... WORK IT REALLLLLLY SLLLOOOOWWW (YOUR HIT WILL COME WHEN THE FROG IS SITTING STILL) ..and this so very important so listen up!!!! ... WHEN YOU SEE THE BASS SLAM YOUR FROG , DO NOT SET THE HOOK UNTILL YOU SEE YOUR LINE PULL AWAY FROM YOU ..if you pull before that i will not get the fish .. frogs will catch a BIG BASS .. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE .. and Happy b day guy.. BBD

Thanks Bigbass Dez. I actually bought two frogs last saturday, but dont know how to use them. is it ok to cast on top of pads and bring them back into open water, or just cast along the sides of the pads?

JT26 wrote:Thanks Bigbass Dez. I actually bought two frogs last saturday, but dont know how to use them. is it ok to cast on top of pads and bring them back into open water, or just cast along the sides of the pads?

From looking around, you can texas rig them. I might have to buy a couple and give it a try at a couple of spots that I've seen.

JT26 wrote:Thanks Bigbass Dez. I actually bought two frogs last saturday, but dont know how to use them. is it ok to cast on top of pads and bring them back into open water, or just cast along the sides of the pads?

JT26 just get that rod and cast as far across those pads as you can , right on top .. pop that frog and count to ten /and just keep repeating it >>this will seem like forever but the end results are worth it .. and dont think that a Big ol Bass want burst through those pads to grab that frog (they will) ...on the retrieve if your frog comes off a a pad into an opening let it sit for 15 secounds before you pop it again ...GOOD LUCK !!

JT26 wrote:

gpc wrote:If I were you I would use jigs. I know when first starting out in a boat, casting into trees and lillys, there will be some lost gear. But if you are using jigs, they only cost about 50 cents any way. I would try a 1/16 oz colored jig head with a curly tail grub. You mentioned all the little perch, so I would stay away from live worms, but live worms is a very good way to catch bass. Also if you start getting all those little perch, just upgrade to a bigger grub. Also with a raft, I would not bring all my tackle, it will get pretty cramped. What I do is put the necessities in smaller tackle boxes, you the see through tray type, and just put those in a plastic bag

Does the color of the grub matter to much.
Also, how big is a 1/16 oz jig, is it like the jigs you put crappie tubes on?

Thanks.

I have always been a fan of white jigs. The white jigs I have found will catch anything, bass, trout, crappie, perch, bluegill, you name it. So you might want to ask some of the bass guys what color plastics to use, but white would be a good start. Yeah the jig head I am talking about is like the ones you use for crappie. Most crappie jigs are 1/64 or 1/32 oz, so the 1/16 is a little bigger. You can still use the 1/32 oz, Iv caught a lot of big fish on that size jig, but with all the small perch you mentioned, you want to go bigger to stay out of those

gpc wrote:

JT26 wrote:

gpc wrote:If I were you I would use jigs. I know when first starting out in a boat, casting into trees and lillys, there will be some lost gear. But if you are using jigs, they only cost about 50 cents any way. I would try a 1/16 oz colored jig head with a curly tail grub. You mentioned all the little perch, so I would stay away from live worms, but live worms is a very good way to catch bass. Also if you start getting all those little perch, just upgrade to a bigger grub. Also with a raft, I would not bring all my tackle, it will get pretty cramped. What I do is put the necessities in smaller tackle boxes, you the see through tray type, and just put those in a plastic bag

Does the color of the grub matter to much.
Also, how big is a 1/16 oz jig, is it like the jigs you put crappie tubes on?

Thanks.

I have always been a fan of white jigs. The white jigs I have found will catch anything, bass, trout, crappie, perch, bluegill, you name it. So you might want to ask some of the bass guys what color plastics to use, but white would be a good start. Yeah the jig head I am talking about is like the ones you use for crappie. Most crappie jigs are 1/64 or 1/32 oz, so the 1/16 is a little bigger. You can still use the 1/32 oz, Iv caught a lot of big fish on that size jig, but with all the small perch you mentioned, you want to go bigger to stay out of those

Thanks again.

Also, both of my set ups have braided line. Would it spook the fish to have a lure tied strait onto the braid? Should i just put a few yards of monofiliment on the braid and put the lure on that?

JT26, I never tie straight to braid. Monofilament leader would be great. But fluorocarbon leader would be the best. If you know how to splice the line that would be the best way to do it. If you have a swivel connecting the 2 pieces of line its pretty easy to real the swivel in past the first guide and it gets pretty frustrating. But a split shot just big enough that you cant real in past the first guide would work