I didn’t want to spend the entire three-day weekend without going fishing, so I headed out to the river bright and early this morning to get a few hours in. I also wanted to test a theory I had which was that in the dark, and with the water being stained from that green algae, a white spinner bait should work. I’ve always read that at night, you should use dark lures because the bass see the silhouette better against the surface light. That may be true, but I figured that since visibility is down due to that green algae, a white lure with silver or gold blades should work just as well.
It might have been a fluke and pure luck, but on the third cast with a white spinner bait (ok ok, for you purists, I know it’s white with red, LOL), I caught this fish, about 20 feet out.
And, I also caught one on a 5-inch Senko, black, fished very slow with the occasional twitch. I also missed a couple, which is par for the course. Just like the last two weeks, the bites were before or right at first light; once it got light, the action stopped. I got two hours in, which was perfect for me and by 7, plenty of other fishermen started showing up so it was time for me to leave anyway. I always say; if I can see another fisherman, then it’s too crowded for me 
:lol: I even had #50 sun block, but I was tough...
* I...
I’d say a theory that lands you fish is a pretty damn good theory!
I wish all fish caught on spinner baits would get hooked as good as that one was…it took me a good minute to work the hook loose. Also, after fishing Senkos so long, it’s hard to know when I’m getting a bite and when I’m bumping rocks. With this guy, I only felt a bump as I was reeling, then nothing, then suddenly he was on there, fighting. Fishing in the dark is definitely a rush.
He probably hit it from behind and your line went slack…
Yep, that’s probably what happened or, he missed it the first go around and came back for a second helping.
One thing I’m trying to figure out is, how fast is too fast when you’re reeling a spinnerbait or chatterbait in? If I reel it in too slow, it’ll sure enough get caught up on something out at that river but if I’m reeling in fast enough to keep the lure from getting snagged, I feel like I’m reeling in too fast. That’s probably just me because I know bass, being predators, can easily outswim their prey and I bet a scared shad or bluegill is hauling ass way faster than I’m reeling that lure in.
I used to reel it in as slowly as I could get away with, just enough for the blades to start spinning, but really, I’d say let the fish tell you what they want. I’ve read articles that said don’t be afraid to crank ‘em in as fast as you can for the exact same reason you stated above, and that makes a heck of a lot of sense.