New (smile) bass bait discovery...

[speck tackler]

About 2 months ago, I decided to spend a day crappie fishing on a small lake that I was totally unfamiliar with. I spent the first hour or so running around, checking my finder, trying to locate some structure, some fish, anything. I found nothing. Got tired of looking and decided to just set my poles out, turn broad side into the wind, and side drift.

Put 4 crappie poles, each rigged with 2 live minnows, in my holder and kicked back. I was rigged at about 15', in water that ranged from 20' - 25' deep. I had drifted for half an hour without a bite, and without a single sign of a fish on the finder. Suddenly hit a small, sharp drop-off and started showing fish on the finder. Threw out a marker and started working around it.

Long story short, the fish I saw were largemouths, and they were wearing my minnows out!!! At one point, had a bass on each of my 4 crappie poles at the same time. Twice, had 2 bass on a single pole (again, they were each rigged with 2 hooks). Caught 22 keepers in the span of 45 minutes or so.

Two young guys were anchored out a short distance away. As my back was to them, they couldn't see the fish, just me struggling to land 2 - 4 fish at a time. One yelled, "Man, you are wearing those crappie out!" I yelled back and told him that I wish they were crappie, but I couldn't keep the bass off my hooks long enough to catch a crappie. They were bass fishing, furiously swapping from one artificial lure to another, throwing everything they had in in their tackle boxes, and catching nothing.

They yelled again and asked what I was using for bait. When I said live minnows, one of the guys answered back, "I never heard of anyone catching bass on live minnows (SMILE)!!!

I am thinking about applying for a patent on this "new" discovery of mine!!!:D

[majflyboy]

Sounds like you were very very busy.

[fearnofish]

sounds hectic good story

[Chowan]

:D thats funny

[rnvinc]

Good thing most bass tournaments don't allow live bait or there wouldn't be enough minners for us crappie fishermen.....

[Crappie Reaper]

Good and funny!

[fishinRod]

never heard of catching bass on minnows?..........just exactly what did them fellers think that bass ate or what the lures in their tackle boxes imitated?

[escobro85]

If Bass masters allowed live bait,or trolling I might have a chance to place:p

[skeetbum]

You should see what bass do to a goldfish. Illegal most everywhere with good reason. Fella down south used em and got caught by the game officer when one of the fish spit his up in the livewell. Brother and I watched from a ways off and couldn't figure out why he was loading up and we couldn't buy a fish. Cost him big.

[NIMROD]

You should see what bass do to a goldfish. Illegal most everywhere with good reason. Fella down south used em and got caught by the game officer when one of the fish spit his up in the livewell. Brother and I watched from a ways off and couldn't figure out why he was loading up and we couldn't buy a fish. Cost him big.

Green Carp (Bass) will hit anything that moves at times. They sure eat my Crappie jigs often. My buddies use Goldfish for trotline bait here, it's legal in Arkansas. I've seen occasional big bass on their trotlines.