Lathem Lately?

[Coenen]

Y'all do any good with traditional hard baits on the lake? What sort of situations are they delivering for you?

I spent some time Sunday working a flutter spoon and a lipless, used a yo-yo retrieve in areas that I knew were stacked, and nothing. Fell back on the spybait and bagged about a half dozen. Same deal with a traditional lipped crank last week; area was alive with action, no takers on the crank. Surely, they've got to be willing to eat something other than a Keitech or spybait.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I went 1 for 4 on big bass with the spybait recently. I only got one in the net, a 3.5 lb spot that put up a heck of a fight. The others managed to shake the lure off by jumping. One was est. 5 lbs+ LM, hated losing that one. They all hit at around 15 feet. The schoolies are mostly dinks, but it's starting to get good as the water cools and the days get shorter.

 

[dank1296]

Kinda slow today caught the crappie trolling a yozuri 6 inch deep diver trying to locate a magnum spot. Did also catch 2 nice LM on it.

 

[Geffellz18]

DonBob rig:

https://www.facebook.com/DonBobRig/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Question:

How Does this differ from say a popping cork used for flats fishing?
What’s the significance of the bubble rig over a normal cork?

Genuinely asking!

 

[weagle]

Question:

How Does this differ from say a popping cork used for flats fishing?
What’s the significance of the bubble rig over a normal cork?

Genuinely asking!

It's just an adaptation of the bubble rig that worked for me on Spanish in Saltwater and I have had good success with the specific combo of pieces.

The bubble makes a better noise in my opinion and casts further. Since it's clear you also don't get many fish hitting the bubble, although sometimes they still do. The line sliding through the bubble also gives the soft plastic a great motion and brief free fall on the pause. The nose hooked soft plastic is the real key to success.

The entire combination, including the nose hooked soft plastic just seems to work and produces a very high ratio of hook-ups vs misses.

 

[Geffellz18]

The line sliding through the bubble also gives the soft plastic a great motion and brief free fall on the pause.
The entire combination, including the nose hooked soft plastic just seems to work and produces a very high ratio of hook-ups vs misses.

Thanks! Good point on the line slide through aspect. My popping cork setup for the flats is very similar. I use an adjustable rubber guide that allows me to control the depth. The cork slides up and down the line on the pop between the guide and swivel, settling down at the depth determined by the rubber guide.
I like it much better than the stationery popping cork setups because it allows me to cover more water quicker to locate the fish by adjusting the guide up and down based on the water depth.
Plus to me it adds more action to your point on the free fall.
Appreciate the response. I’ll give the DonBob a shot soon!

 

[RamblinWreck]

Friday morning post-Sally fish. 15" 1.64 lb


19" 2.65 lb spot (on a UL + crappie jig)


14" 1.56 lbs.


Weird. Caught the big crappies trolling a spybait 1 mph over 80-60 FOW at about 10' while moving between spots. Found crappie on brush, but they would not bite.
Caught the chunk spot throwing a 1.5 g jig w/trout magnet in front of bream feeder looking for red ears. A long, but FUN 5-minute fight on 3 lb test Gamma panfish mono and a UL JDM rod. Caught some toads and some dinks, then the bite up and died about 11 AM. All fish released. Surface temp 75 F!

 

[dank1296]

Like i found out last week big bait big crappie.

 

[OwlRNothing]

It's too bad you have to crawl through the snake pits and over all that poison ivy to launch a boat to catch crappie like that. ahem. lol

 

[RamblinWreck]

A slab on nearly every cast...


I had the PLS gain cranked to see my itty bitty jig, so the picture is noisy, but they were really stacked up on a flat. Wind was blowing me off anchor, and they were hard to stay on, but if I got my jig near them - THUMP. Caught and released a bunch, most 11-12 inch fish (plenty in the freezer already).

 

[dank1296]

Hope to hit it Wed Morning.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Fished 11-4 today in bright sun. Water temp 70F. Took home a fine mess of 11"-14" slab crappie, released even more.

I found them on bottom 18-20 feet deep. Super light bite, no thump, just weight on the line. My JDM UL rod and 2.3 lb polyester (zero stretch) line was like magic for feeling them. Sowbug and Bison color trout magnet, 1.5 g black jig head, tipped with a crappie nibble. Pretty good for the middle of the day.

 

[jocko755]

Dang nice crappies'

 

[RamblinWreck]

Today was another awesome day. I fished 8AM until noon, water temp 65F, lake pretty clear. No fish on the old spots, so I trolled around and kept looking. Finally found some crappie, at 10 AM on sunk trees 20-25 feet. Did not expect them so deep.
I could tell right away from the screen these were slabs schooled up, and bunched up tight. First cast to them - kaboom fish on. Kept the first 6, then let a bunch more go, maybe 20 fish. I released a couple over 2 lbs, and all the fish were solid 12" or better. No smalls at all. Greenie Weenie color trout magnet was the key.




Biggest of the six fish I kept was 15" 1.84 lbs.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Dang, ain't anyone fishing besides me? There sure were a lot of trailers in the lot today. I realized there was a bass tournament underway after the 3rd rude boat fished too close to me.

Terry said he fished yesterday (the lake was closed for Thanksgiving, but he works there) and he said the jig bite was unbelievable, and he caught 19 bass including a 7 lb.

So I put in, and immediately my trolling motor started acting up. I thought about running home for my spare, but I decided to take a peek on Livescope where I was..


So, I wasn't going anywhere, no. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but that one was worth about 25 fat crappie, including 2 real whoppers (1.67 lb, 1.75 lb). The school was not on structure, and I was able to stay on it, moving the kayak when they did. Awesome device, highly recommended if you have the means (/Beuller).
I kept a few for my supper, and released most of them. Damage was done with greenie weenie and Bison color trout magnets, and a few on Bobby Garland baby shad in blue ice.

 

[hopper]

Dang, ain't anyone fishing besides me? There sure were a lot of trailers in the lot today. I realized there was a bass tournament underway after the 3rd rude boat fished too close to me.

Terry said he fished yesterday (the lake was closed for Thanksgiving, but he works there) and he said the jig bite was unbelievable, and he caught 19 bass including a 7 lb.

So I put in, and immediately my trolling motor started acting up. I thought about running home for my spare, but I decided to take a peek on Livescope where I was..
View attachment 1052424

So, I wasn't going anywhere, no. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but that one was worth about 25 fat crappie, including 2 real whoppers (1.67 lb, 1.75 lb). The school was not on structure, and I was able to stay on it, moving the kayak when they did. Awesome device, highly recommended if you have the means (/Beuller).
I kept a few for my supper, and released most of them. Damage was done with greenie weenie and Bison color trout magnets, and a few on Bobby Garland baby shad in blue ice.

View attachment 1052425View attachment 1052426View attachment 1052427View attachment 1052428View attachment 1052429View attachment 1052430

That is cool. I have a Gsrmin 93sv. What are my options for adding live scope?

 

[RamblinWreck]

Which Echomap 93sv? Echomap Chirp, Plus, or UHD? The 93sv+ and the 93sv UHD have the network port to connect to the PLS module. The Garmin website has a list of models compatible with the Panoptix LiveScope: Panoptix compatible products

There is a $200 rebate offer right now I think.

 

[hopper]

Which Echomap 93sv? Echomap Chirp, Plus, or UHD? The 93sv+ and the 93sv UHD have the network port to connect to the PLS module. The Garmin website has a list of models compatible with the Panoptix LiveScope: Panoptix compatible products

There is a $200 rebate offer right now I think.

Thanks for the info. I have the plus so it looks like I will be in for around $1400.
A quick question for you, I fish Lanier quite a bit how would this be for vertical spooning ditches for spots in 40-60 ft of water? I definitely see it being useful for shooting docks. One more thing is the transducer easy to move from one trolling motor to the next since I have one boat for electric only and river and one for Lanier that ise separate trolling motors.
Those are some awsome images you posted.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I don't like having the LVS32 on the trolling motor because it makes it hard to both control the boat and stay on the fish. I use a pole mount so I can independently point the xducer. To move it I just loosen the mount clamp screws. I have both boats wired with power and network cables, so I just move the black box and the LVS32. Takes 5 minutes.

As for the spots, I don't ever fish for them that way, so I don't know for sure, but I don't see why you couldn't see the fish and your spoon easily at that depth. It is the bomb for shooting docks or finding crappie in general.

There is a thread on my kayak install here for more info.

 

[RamblinWreck]

So Lathem is C & R only on all bass now. I didn't even notice the sign until today. Another sign reads "No Fishing Tournaments 2021". I don't keep bass, or fish tourneys, so this has no impact on me.