With Monticello closed for bass fishing I’ve again found myself wishing I was bass fishing. I found some footage from late last fall pertaining to cold water crankbait fishing. This was from early November and it scratched the itch a little for me, hopefully it’ll do it for you if you’re also itching to get out there!
Man, I don’t know why this isn’t embedding…..
EDIT: I guess I need to do it from my iPad not my laptop….
The other link appeared to be password protected. The new link is a completely different link.
-J.
Yep, I think I figured it out. Thanks.
You guys deserve a catch and release season.
We have it now but it’s only about 3 weeks before regular bass season so it doesn’t help much…..
I was casting like a mad man in the driveway today after watching the Classic online while watching March Madness. Bought a Daiwa Tatula. My son couldn’t even get a backlash. He was surprised. So was I.
I was casting like a mad man in the driveway today after watching the Classic online while watching March Madness. Bought a Daiwa Tatula. My son couldn’t even get a backlash. He was surprised. So was I.
What a great way to spend a March Sunday, little things like that can sometimes be the best. Just that simple sometimes. 
I was casting like a mad man in the driveway today after watching the Classic online while watching March Madness. Bought a Daiwa Tatula. My son couldn’t even get a backlash. He was surprised. So was I.
Nice! I’ve been known to do this as well and I also bought a Tatula this Winter. I’m not sure I’ll buy another model of reel after casting with it. Pretty amazing.
What models of Tatulas did you folks buy? I’m basically sold on getting one after reading the recommendation here and viewing other reviews online, but I haven’t found them in Fleet Farm or Dick’s that I’ve been in. I want to hold one before I buy.
Nice little video, can’t wait for mid May.
Jack
You can scratch the itch on the river…..we caught a couple smallies on P4 the other day. If nothing else, you’ll catch some pike on that bass gear.
I wonder where the bass go on P2/P4 when the water is this cold? I’ve never really targeted them this time of year.
I definitely hit the rivers. Once I get my boat out of storage I think I’m going to make the trek down there and finally check it out. Only ever shore fished it. Gonna have to really read up on where and where not to go though. I’m a boating newbie on rivers.
I have hooked into some cold water smallies on P2 but they are always the little males. Never had a good sized one early season.
What models of Tatulas did you folks buy? I’m basically sold on getting one after reading the recommendation here and viewing other reviews online, but I haven’t found them in Fleet Farm or Dick’s that I’ve been in. I want to hold one before I buy.
I bought the CT. It’s the same components in a compact housing. Just a little smaller and lighter than the SV. It is the 8.1.1 which is really fast and what I wanted as I’m going to be using it for pitching into heavy cover and jigging.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>blank wrote:</div>
What models of Tatulas did you folks buy? I’m basically sold on getting one after reading the recommendation here and viewing other reviews online, but I haven’t found them in Fleet Farm or Dick’s that I’ve been in. I want to hold one before I buy.I bought the CT. It’s the same components in a compact housing. Just a little smaller and lighter than the SV. It is the 8.1.1 which is really fast and what I wanted as I’m going to be using it for pitching into heavy cover and jigging.
Since I’m kind of cheap, I was looking at the CT since I figure that I will get by perfectly fine with it, performance wise. However, the small size has me concerned a bit. I tried out some Lews since I’ve heard really good things about them but didn’t like the feel of them at all. They seemed quite small in my hand and my fingers got in the way a bit. This is exactly why I want to hold a reel before I buy.
I have a Lews Speed Spool and they are pretty small. While the CTs aren’t that small they are still small. If you have bigger hands or like the feel of beefier reels you might want to stick with the regular sized Tatulas.
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?
I mean you can target them throughout the whole spawn. Why not now?
The only thing I can think of is to protect incidental catch walleyes.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
You can scratch the itch on the river…..we caught a couple smallies on P4 the other day. If nothing else, you’ll catch some pike on that bass gear.I wonder where the bass go on P2/P4 when the water is this cold? I’ve never really targeted them this time of year.
I definitely hit the rivers. Once I get my boat out of storage I think I’m going to make the trek down there and finally check it out. Only ever shore fished it. Gonna have to really read up on where and where not to go though. I’m a boating newbie on rivers.
I have hooked into some cold water smallies on P2 but they are always the little males. Never had a good sized one early season.
I’ve never caught any monsters on P2…..in the summer you can sight fish for them which is pretty fun. Look for them busting baits on the surface and pitch plastics or raps into them. Big ones on the St Croix though – that would be where I would go to get into big ones in the summer.
The river can get a bit dicey when the water is really high if you’re not used to it. Flow is low and slow right now so this is the time if you can get your boat out. Just go slow until you get used to navigation and always watch for debris – ice chunks right now, logs when the flow comes up. As we get the melt it’ll come up. The St Croix will get some flow but it’s a lot tamer in high water than the Mississippi.
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?
I mean you can target them throughout the whole spawn. Why not now?
The only thing I can think of is to protect incidental catch walleyes.
I use to think the seasons were based on biology and protecting the fish. But after looking how some lakes are managed during the spawn, I am a big believer that the seasons are what they are because of the resorts. They all want the opening day push. If you have a C&R season even Bass, they are afraid the push goes away some.
I might have had a dream about bass fishing last night. I can’t wait to wind the bait caster. I have a new Cabelas Arachnid to pick up tonight. It’s basically the same as the Diawa Tutula.
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?
I mean you can target them throughout the whole spawn. Why not now?
The only thing I can think of is to protect incidental catch walleyes.
They say it’s to protect the spawn but who knows. Last year the fish were off most of the beds by the time the season opened. All depends on how fast the water warms up. I would like to see an April 1st C&R date so that when the lakes thaw the season would be open. I don’t see that ever happening. It forces me to fish spawning crappie though, which I can stomach for the short time I have to do it until bass opens.
I tend to agree with Biggill as well, even though I have no evidence.
I might have had a dream about bass fishing last night. I can’t wait to wind the bait caster. I have a new Cabelas Arachnid to pick up tonight. It’s basically the same as the Diawa Tutula.
Let us know how you like it! I knew that was the same reel but was leery of trying it.
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?
“Accidental walleye” is exactly it. You’d have myself and thousands of others out there C&R fishing for “bass”. It is what it is.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>biggill wrote:</div>
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?“Accidental walleye” is exactly it. You’d have myself and thousands of others out there C&R fishing for “bass”. It is what it is.
You bring up a perfect point. I was ironically writing a post in the thread on the muskie ban Star Trib article about how no other fish gets a chance in this state because it will “decimate” the walleye populations. God fear the walleye!
I wonder where the bass go on P2/P4 when the water is this cold? I’ve never really targeted them this time of year.
I wonder where the bass go on Mille Lacs all winter? It’s no secret there are a few smallmouth in that lake. 
Never saw one photo or report of a SM caught over the winter (or any winter for that matter). Do they not feed?? Should be in the same areas as the rest of the feeding fish? A true mystery.
God fear the walleye!
What models of Tatulas did you folks buy? I’m basically sold on getting one after reading the recommendation here and viewing other reviews online, but I haven’t found them in Fleet Farm or Dick’s that I’ve been in. I want to hold one before I buy.
The SV has a different breaking system than the CT.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>nhamm wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>biggill wrote:</div>
Does anyone know why they just didn’t open bass fishing to c&r for feb-may?“Accidental walleye” is exactly it. You’d have myself and thousands of others out there C&R fishing for “bass”. It is what it is.
You bring up a perfect point. I was ironically writing a post in the thread on the muskie ban Star Trib article about how no other fish gets a chance in this state because it will “decimate” the walleye populations. God fear the walleye!
You guys know what cast nets are banned right? One of the concerns was catching juvenile walleye in the cast nets.
Yup. Anything that could have the chance of impacting the almighty walleye gets deemed as “evil”.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dan Baker wrote:</div>
I might have had a dream about bass fishing last night. I can’t wait to wind the bait caster. I have a new Cabelas Arachnid to pick up tonight. It’s basically the same as the Diawa Tutula.Let us know how you like it! I knew that was the same reel but was leery of trying it.
This is my second one. Love the first one. Butter smooth!
The C&R season runs from walleye opener to the bass opener, right?
I do think it’s silly, but the DNR may have a point in closing species for periods of the year. I’m not sure there is a state where lakes receive as much fishing pressure as Minnesota, so it’s hard to compare regs to them.
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