Beginner at bass fishing from a boat

[Jim_From_Zim]

Looks like my new years resolution would be to fish all the dams within 100km from me! Jim if you ever need a friendly person to keep you company on one of these dams please PM me, I would like to crack a cold one and learn some tricks from someone as knowledgeable as you

I might not be the best to learn from, but you're welcome any time. I need to pre-fish witbank sometime soon for the divs in feb. 
Drop me a pm sometime and we can make arrangements to join up for the pre fish session

[Ginja]

Time on the water is the most important thing, the rest mostly develops from there. A senko or a fluke, weighted or weightless is always a good bait regardless of conditions, don't get caught up in colors, if in doubt, go green pumpkin. It's all about how you work your bait. What depth in the water coulomb or on the bottom, twitching, lift and drop or dragging slowly over the bottom, these are all good techniques, and at the end of the day you have to figure out how the fish want it.

*Thanks for the lag JIM - i agree with the color of the bottom theory, especially when water is clear. (and if you want to get a bit more technical, usually i do green\emerald flake in grass, red/orange flake on rock, seems to blend in nicely.)

[Jim_From_Zim]

Ok, so I'm not smoking my socks then? 

I dont go as far as matching colour flakes to hard or soft surfaces with plastics - maybe I should give it a try sometime...

Thanks Ginger, you've given me food for thought (where's the bloody thumbs up emotie?)

PS: Have you seen that latest drone video of Twk on news24? Scary at 16%. If i were you, I'd be marking that dam on GE big time now that the water level is down. And mapping it of course 

[Ginja]

Ok, so I'm not smoking my socks then? 

I dont go as far as matching colour flakes to hard or soft surfaces with plastics - maybe I should give it a try sometime...

Thanks Ginger, you've given me food for thought (where's the bloody thumbs up emotie?)

PS: Have you seen that latest drone video of Twk on news24? Scary at 16%. If i were you, I'd be marking that dam on GE big time now that the water level is down. And mapping it of course 

Not so much about hard or soft bottom, more color focused, match the bait to the environment. 

Before i go to that dump id rather drive back to clan.... like i'm doing this weekend

but on a serious note, yes, looking very scary atm... March is going to be interesting to say the least. I'm possibly moving back to the Gardenroute for a couple of months so hopefully i can fish a couple of new dams that side.

[Jim_From_Zim]

Lekker

Send clan my regards

[Kassie]

One thing I could also add is the skill of boat positioning.
I have learnt this the hard way.
Prop wash spooks fish - especially in clearer water
Approach spots with care.
Fish from further out first before approaching closer.

[Gary Myburgh]

It is still pretty early for largemouth in your area , but things will start hotting up soon.
Best early spring search baits are generally spinnerbaits (white and chartreuse are top colours).
As fish move into the shallows weightless or mojo rigged "fluke" type soft plastics will produce well. Try a natural shad or pearl colour and maybe darker colour like watermelon/red or black/gold flake. "muddy" colours like Razor Baits Roadkill Stew are also hot producers in most Gauteng waters.
You are not very far from Heyeshope, which can be a super hot water in Spring. In order to be able to access it safely and conveniently you would be best advised to join a club. Western Bassmasters has a secure set-up there.
Flat sided cranks produce very well there at times.

[BassRoux]

Thank guys I’ve been to Rietspruit recently had a good day, think it’s the post spawn judging by the soft takes with weighless flukes in light coulours that produced, below average sized fish. Just a question, when do you know when it’s the post spawn or spawn?? What a lekker day to dream about a lazy Sunday on the water with this lovely rain we are having

[Riprap]

Morning BassRoux.

Every body of water has a different bass spawn based on the environmental conditions of the time. Also, Northern Strain LM and Florida LM spawn at different times. Florida's later when the water is warmer and around 18+ degrees.
If you see small bass fry (black stripe down the lateral line) in the shallows or males guarding their young and especially if you start catching fish with reddish tails from fanning and cleaning a nest then obviously the spawn is on the go. Bass will normally spawn around the full moon but the odd fish will disregard this rule of nature. Females will have swollen bellies and the area around the vent will be enlarged and reddish.

The smaller males move up shallow first to makes nests to entice females to lay their eggs. Early on the females will stage on offshore structure or cover until they are ready to spawn. Once they lay their eggs often in more than one nest, they will move offshore again to recover before they start feeding normally. The males will guard the eggs and the fry without eating but they are still catchable but should be left alone for obvious reasons!

The spawn could last 3 months (cycles) in any given population but as mentioned earlier, local current conditions dictate what happens and every year is different.
Skelm bites doesn't just happen during spawning time, cold fronts etc do the same thing.

[BassRoux]

Thank you riprap will keep an eye out for it! Just another thanks to all the info that is beign shared on this forum. For me with no mentor and learning from scratch is is an absolute privilege to learn from you guys. And I am btw in the bass boat market, if anyone knows of a good deal or someone who wants to sell their loved boat they can let me know. I think I can get about 80k for my bowrider at the moment so anything from that upto 120k?

[Gary Myburgh]

At this time of the year you should find a lot of fish in 2 - 8' of water, depending on venue, water clarity and air pressure.
Later in the season many of the bigger fish will move deeper, but there will always be some in the shallows, especially if they have cover like pads, mats or overhanging willows to hide under.
The bigger fish will often also move from shallow to deep once the sun gets up and then come back to the shallows as the shadows lengthen.

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BTW, Navrik is wrong about the Vaal. You do sometimes get a topwater bite in the morning, but its not typical as fish in the Vaal tend to be "lazy" and mostly don't venture away from cover.
Not saying any more than that.

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BTW, Navrik is wrong about the Vaal. You do sometimes get a topwater bite in the morning, but its not typical as fish in the Vaal tend to be "lazy" and mostly don't venture away from cover.
Not saying any more than that.

[Navrik]

BTW the way the was Jim from Zim correcting me about the topwater at the Vaal