FireKracker50

Which size should i get in the rising son? Any color preferences? I am thinking about hitch even though i don't have hitch in my waters. It still looks like the best color option. And when it comes to the MS Hammer im trying to decide between the 9 and 12". I would like to be able to use this bait for bass and muskie. However i'm afraid the 12" may be a little excessive for bass in my area. I catch them on 8" spoons allot so i know they eat big bait. But 12" is really big. Im targeting bass 8-13#. Our state record is only a little over 13#

Very good advice. Yes presentation advice, types of areas to fish specific types of baits is the exact tips I'm looking for. Yes I am diffinately looking to key on 6lb+ fish. Not looking for limits.

I hope I didn't come off as an uneducated or novice fisherman, I'm just a roockie to big swimbaits. I have been fishing for 20+ years. Fished competitively for 12 years. Everything from college circuit, flw college circuit, BFL, ABA, and Renegade which is the largest team circuit in my region. Ive won both at college level as well as locally. finished top 12 at national championships almost every year and top20 in points on 200+ boat team circuit consistently. Not on here to brag or on the contrary come off as a new angler. Just want people to understand not a novice angler but I am very open to any and all advice because I've never done this big swimbaits thing. And I'm anxious to learn. Thanks again for all the help.

thanks for the advice on the strong shad

Also i dont have to focus on the shallow grass if i should be focusing on the upper lake around the dam with swimbaits. Im open to any suggestions. I just havent been able to get on any fish around the dam yet.

Thanks for the info thus far. the MS Slammer was definitely on my radar. I have a St. Croix 7' 10" Swimbait Rod rated 1-4oz. Once i buy some new baits if i find it cant handle them i will upgrade to a stouter rod. I like the BBZ as a wake bait I have the small one. I have heard the Slammer is a little more weedless is why i was thinking it. The s waver and gantrel i have been watching videos on and like them as well. There are no trout in this lake. Primarily threadfin and gizzard shad, bluegill and crappie, a few yellow perch, frogs, rats, small birds/ducks, things like that are what i have noticed while on the lake. Remember i will be keying on 6lb+ and realistically about 10# is close to as big as you will see in this lake. i'd love a new record. But Im trying to be realistic here. So fish in the 6-10# range is my target area. What about: Huddleston HuddGill in crappie color ROF5: https://www.huddbaits.com/store/bluegill I like it because of it not having an exposed hook. Matt Lures Floating Strong Shad either 7.5" or 8.5": http://www.mattlures.com/strong_shad.htm MS Slammer - Should i go with 7,9, or 12"

I forgot to add. The lake has threadfin, gizzard shad, and pan fish such as crappie and bluegill. But those are the only baitfish that i am aware of.

Hello Guys I am a new member to this forum. Thank you for all the great info i have been able to read through my research browsing this forum. I have been throwing small (4-6") soft plastic swimbaits for several years at Dale Hallow Lake, KY for smallmouth, at Lake Cumberland, KY for Striper, Rough River Lake, KY for Hybrid Striper, and on KY Lake Ledges for Largemouth. I recently made my first trip to Wood Creek Lake, KY a 672-acre reservoir that was impounded in 1969 where our state record largemouth (13 lbs., 10.4 ozs) was caught. I spent most of my life assuming it was a fluke that the record came from there and that it was probably just a 1 off. But after my last visit i saw that it has the best largemouth habitat of any other lake in the state. And is one of the few lakes in KY i could see really having a viable largemouth swimbait bite besides KY lake. I have done allot of reading but i was hopeful that maybe someone could take the time to read my lake analysis and help me breakdown the lake and determine what my best choice of baits would be. I plan to purchase two new swimbaits to start out and possibly more in the beginning of next year. I may also be purchasing at least one new rod as well. Even though its a small lake it varies drastically from one end to the other. It is a man made lake but not a flood control lake. They do not control the lake level by the dam. There is only a spillway for overflow. I will break the lake down into 3 sections. This lake contains a large percentage of largemouth in the 4-6# range. I would like to target fish in the 6lb+ range. The north end of the lake has 8-10' visibility with almost no weeds. The depth in the channel is about 160ft. The banks are 45deg taper. So casting distance from bank you are setting between 20-30' deep. Most of the shallow cover is flooded timber. The Dam is riprap. And other areas have good rock/boulders for cover. The creek arms in the north end are just as clear as main lake and maintain that visibility all the way up to only a few inches deep. There is a large amount of flooded timber in the 3'-10' range. There seems to be fewer fish in the north end than other areas of the lake. South End of the Lake is the most stained and visibility varies based on time of year and weather, but averages around 18" i would say. The mouth has 6' of visibility but decreases the further back you go.There seems to be the largest quantity of fish here. The banks have a slower tapper and the deepest it gets is about 30'. Casting distance from the bank you are in around 15' of water. The is an inside weed edge at approx 3' deep. And an outside weed edge at approx 10-12'. There are allot of creeks that run into and out of this area. The water will muddy up towards the back of this arm with rain. Mid-Lake / East Fork is fairly clear by my standards. There is probably 4'-6' of visibility at the mouth and 2'-4' of visibility in the back. I attribute this creeks visibility to the vast amounts of grass. The back of the creek has grass mats on both sides of the creek. And grass tapering out all the way to the channel. There is no defined edge. And most all of the grass is about 1' below the surface. Mid creek there are small patches of mats 10-20yrs across. There is no defined grass edge. Grass is about 1' below surface out and then gets more sparse out towards the channel. At the mouth of the fork and all the mid-lake there are small mats but primarily submerged grass. There is an inside and outside grass line. The grass line ends right on a drop where the depth goes from around 8-10' to about 25' deep. This area of the lake seems to have the largest size fish as well as good numbers. I am not fluent in grass terminology. We do not have many grass lakes in KY due to all of our lakes being flood control lakes. All the grass at this lake appears to be the same type. There are some patches of reeds and cat-tails along the banks, but in the water it looks to be primarily milfoil. I could be completely wrong about that but thats what im guessing based on what it looked like. In order to effectively fish this lake with swimbaits what would be the suggested baits to purchase. I will probably be purchasing two in the near future. And possibly another 1-2 first part of next year. I have attached some Navionics files of the lake.