Diamond 12/27

[Matt_Magnone]

hopefully this helps with breaking down the puzzle. fished today and hit my milk run with two buddies of mine. fish are definately biting and biting hard. target outside structure in the 50'-80' zone for the larger fish 5# + or hit the bank out to 30' for the clones. lots of 15" butterball fish right now.

most fish were caught throwin creature baits on the rig. angles are definately key on how you approach your offshore structure spots. have a game plan on how you want to set up on your spots. wind direction and angles of lead in structure are key. right now a spot can hold 25# limits but if you pull the bait at the wrong angle it could be the difference between getting bit and not. utilize the one cast concept and you can put the screws to them.

vegetation has also been key for the last few weeks. pay attention to color and match colors accordingly.

if anyone has any questions i'll be happy to clue you in.

fishing is very good up there right now and i cant imagine it slowing. were in basically january and pre spawn is right around the corner!!! if anything, it'll get even better!

GOOD FISHING!

[Big Ed]

Very good report Matt.

Thanks for that accurate information and for supplying the FNN readers and Last Chance customers with good info and good service to the fishing community. Ive set up only two spots on my milk run looking for more.

I visited the new store for the first time a week ago and was very impressed on the spread of quality tackle and had a good time meeting old friends outside. The parking lot looked like a bass boat dealership before you knew it.

Later; Big Ed!

[Matt_Magnone]

haha yeah, i remember you. ill have them fireplaces cooked up and ready to roll by the end of the week :LOL: you guys are nuts. haha.

i appreciate the good words. life to me IS fishing and im always willing to help. everyone at the shop for that matter. we try our best.

the lake is fishing great right now. with the mass amount of boat traffic these last few days im amazed the fish are acting the same way.

[MAVERICK27]

Great informative report! Thanks for the tips. How bad IS the boat traffic?? I want to take mine there, but seems like it may me a madhouse for personal boats..

[Matt_Magnone]

its cake walk right now. everyone seems to be working together on the launch and things are going smooth. throughout the day it can be frustrating as a lot of the key element spots people are sitting right on top of and casting the opposite direction burning up the water.

overall im loving every bit of this lake being open. im in heaven.:Cool:

[SEA ADDICTION]

Nice report matt, Tryed the spectra i picked up the other day and damn near sliced my finger off setting the hook on a big fish, Different for sure.... saltwater fishing i love it but not to sure with the fresh.....

[Matt_Magnone]

yeah throwin braid can get a little nasty. for a while this year i was throwing the punker on a revo sx and a crucial just to prove i could. i had spectra full spool spliced to a 3' section of hollow core spectra. i slid a 3' piece of 50# floro up inside the hollowcore and was done. a couple casts got a little hairy but i couldnt believe the distance and responsiveness.

one things for sure, dont set the hook with your finger under the line. :EyePop: slit my fore finger flippin that crap over at elsinore!

[Rabbito]

What is this "once cast concept thing"

Is it pulling up to a spot and making one perfect cast and catching the fish thats on that spot, as opposed to making a stupid cast and scaring the fish off.

[Matt_Magnone]

the "one cast concept" comes from knowing the structure you intend to fish intimately. you need to know where the fish are positioned in relation to the cover you're fishing. instead of flailing 5 or 10 casts towards that "rockpile" you have to train your brain to isolate that one specific part of the rockpile and cover the structure in as few of casts as possible in the hopes of not showing the fish too much. too many casts and the bass, even if they're there, may go dormant and feel threatened and not show interest in your bait.

imagine a car driving by your front yard. you make that occasional glance and turn back to doing what you're doing. that same car now drives by your house one more time. you recognize it then shrug it off again. the car then comes by a third time and you start to question what the hell its doin. the car comes by the 4th time and you start to get uncomfortable. he then comes by again and you get suspicious and go inside.

the fish are just like us. too many wrong moves and they lock down.

by presenting the bait to the structure and fish in as few of casts is the difference between getting limits and catcing one or two.

the first cast is often the best cast if angled the right way. a fish sees something new and has to either commit or let it go. these are often the times you get your biggest fish.

[BASSDUDE]

Park your car in their driveway!

[BASSMITH]

How would you use this one cast concept while shore fishing

[Matt_Magnone]

like i said about targeting offshore structure, knowing what you intend to fish is critical. in my opinion the shore angler has more of an advantage over the guy in the boat. dont let the glitter or the horsepower make that knucklehead appear at another level as you. being that you're bringing the bait uphill. naturally whatever bass is within the area is believing they are accomplishing their goals. fish have no hands so they ambush or swoop their prey. a fish knows his prey wants to run and if pulled into a structure, the bass is givin a one shot opportunity. more often times than not that bass will see it as an opportunity to chomp as opposed to let er go.

take the water out of the equation. look at the landscape you're fishing and observe how the rocks lay out. naturally your eyes will gravitate to certain features. dont discard your first impressions. think about it. think about how these features lead into the water. while walking the bank look behind you. its a safe assumption "what you see is what you get" under the water. our goal as anglers should be to catch as many fish as we can within the short amount of time we have to fish.

[HuskerRod]

I second what Matt "mad man"Magnone just said...........I think.

[diamondbear]

Hey Mav. no problem on the launching or retrieving of your boat . You have 3 lanes open , 2 can use the outside docks for the lone fisherperson or the middle for the bass guys with a friend in the boat driving off the trailer . Even on a weekend the launch will be wide open after about a hour or so , thats how efficent the launching is . THE HOLDOVER TROUT are being caught by some bass guys in SHALLOW water right now , maybe in the spring when the LMB goes into spawn mode it'll push the trout deep . [ LETS HOPE ] Matt , great informative report . Seeing that my boat has no sparkle Iam not a knucklehead I hope , ha ha