Leaderboard

People are people and you are not going to change their behavior. Courtsey on the water is always expected and appreciated. However, with that said, some people believe that there are no laws to stop anyone from fishing anywhere when they want. Tournament and bass club tournament rules allow a specific distance between anglers (usually 50 yards) but this practice is not utilized by others. You can take the high road and move on, giving you indigestion, or play rough and make the other guy miserable. If you decide to attack be watchful of others on the water you do not know for there are people out there with weapons or who are looking for a physical altercation. The experiences above are not unusual and occur across our country and the world when bass fishing. I know of a very good tournament bass fisherman who had his father run to his spots and guard them until the son arrived to fish them. The father had a shotgun in plain sight on the deck of his bass boat and the father would come within inches from other bass fisherman to run them off the site. The problem can easily escalate and with more and more guys carrying weapons on their bass boats we can expect a serious problem to develop in the future somewhere in America.

I don't mind sharing an area if the other party is polite and asks if it's okay. It's the guys who just roll up and act like they own the lake that get on my nerves, and I will say something to them when that happens. Jet skiers are another story all together. We had several this Summer that stopped right by our marker buoys and tried to pick them up. One of the guys acted like he didn't hear us yelling at him until I bounced a blade bait off the front of his ski. The guy I was fishing with said nice cast. I told him it wasn't that nice, I was aiming for the rider, not the jet ski.

One of my biggest pet peeves on the water is getting crowded or cut off, especially when there's plenty of room to avoid doing so and even more so when I've found the fish and someone else sees it and crowds in. I was on one of the local lakes last week that's about 400 acres. It was me and one other boat on the entire lake, the other boat was fishing a point a couple hundred yards away when I pulled onto one of my favorite late season spots on the lake and immediately started catching them on a shakyhead and jig. After I'd put about 15 in the boat it must have been more than he could take as the guy pulled his trolling motor, motored over, and stopped about 20 yards off the front of my boat and dropped his trolling motor again and started fishing. At a couple different points his big motor was barely more than a rods length from the front of my boat. Thankfully I saw him coming and was able to box him out from the better portions of this very small area. I managed to milk several more fish off the spot before I got tired of fishing so close to someone else, had other spots I wanted to try anyways. I figured since he didn't mind sharing my spot he wouldn't mind me taking a picture of him doing it For a point of reference the point directly to the 12 o'clock of my trolling motor is about 50 yards away. I know it's happened to everyone, anyone else want to vent about their run in with less than courteous people on the water?

Am I the only one who loves old fishing tackle. Now I am not talking about stuff you bought 4 yrs. ago. Ancient stuff, 40's and 50's and older, steel rods, bamboo, solid fiberglass. this stuff just fascinates me. Hootie

This describes my brother, LOL. I have never seen him be an offender since he was raised right, I guess, but if you cross him then you better watch OUT. I remember "an episode" where a rude fisherman crossed him and it ended up with the offenders' rods thrown over board, a boat boarding, and an a__ kicking, those where the days, if this would have happened in today's time he would have ended up being in jail. To say he has a short fuse is ridiculous, his fuse is equivalent to lighting a flame near an m80 and having it explode, he has calmed down considerably since, but In the end you never know who you are dealing with, so its best to avoid confrontation.

It is all too common a problem. I've experienced this where a guy and, presumably his father or g'pa in the back. This was on a nearly 300 acre reservoir. Buddy and I were fishing the docks and this dude, who arrived after us, decides he wants to as well. So he motors inbetween us, within 15 yards of me, and about 8 of my buddy. I caught a lovely 3lber right in front of them, then moved to the other side. They decided to follow me. The young doofus thinks he owns the spot even though I was there for nearly 10 minutes already, and casts within feet of my yak. I could almost feel the splash of his bait. I kept giving them the stare of death hoping it would work, but the dummy returned stare. Finally I looked at them and said "ever heard of fishing etiquette?!" The kid mumbled something, I said I was there first, blah blah, and I paddled off. Idiots are out there. Since then my buddy has experienced very similar rudeness from other guys. BUT!! There are PLENTY of decent fishermen out there, but it is frustrating to encounter the few jerks. Some guys on another forum suggested I carry a nice 2oz weight and cast it over at them... LOL. But then, like Sam said, you never know what kind of people you're dealing with. And my wife is a nurse who deals with psych patients sometimes. She told me of research that suggests we'd be very surprised how many people in "normal" life have psychoses, i.e., significant mental imbalances, not just the "I'm on antidepressants" kind. A lot of the people who come in to the hospital ER for quick mental "fixes" over breakdowns, etc., are everyday people you'd see at the mall, on the road, etc., but have these mental issues. They may not be taking their drugs, or such, and have "episodes". Point of it all is to confirm/add to Sam's comment that you never know what kind of person/people you're dealing with. Are they just rude, or have other issues which would make them snap if you confronted them. My wife is urging me to take the "shut up and move on" approach. And even though I'd rather throw a few choice words back at the dudes, I am seeing the wisdom of her counsel more and more to take this stance.

thanks for the info fellas. help me out alot. i appreciate you taking the time to help. its nice to have a place to go to get honest answers and opinions. do not do alot of internet stuff, but this website is the best ive found for friendly and informed people. once again, thanks

I don't like bait fisherman and I despise bait fishermen with a castnet, I usually just leave and fish another area, really not a big deal. All my boat fishing is in the ocean, don't think there are not a lot of boats but crowding really isn't an issue, no real problem arises, except an isolate incident on occasion. Shore fishing, whether it's at the ocean, ICW or freshwater, I always stop by and shoot the crap for a while. There was a situation that really po' ed me, at one time I was fishing quite a bit with a Hall of Fame fisherman, he was an authority on freshwater stripers, even autographed his book for me. Granted when it came fishing off the beach, he was a bit lacking even though he was born and raised on he Jersey coast. Each and every time I out fished him, several times as I had a fish on he was casting right over me before my fish was landed, I'm talking 10 and 15# jack crevelles that are swimming all over the place. I said to the guy, "gimme some room for crying out loud, as a Hall of Famer you should know better". Last time I spoke to him, glad to say he moved back to Tennessee.

Don't think for one minute that if a boat pulls too close, that I won't land my lure right on the deck of their boat.

You'd probably need a psychologist to provide the answer. On the other hand, if you can afford it OK, it's probably harmless.

The only thing that's going to hold you back is yourself. I win money in my tin boat regularly. I qualified and fished Guntersville this past spring to fish for 50k. There was one other deep v and a couple Xpress boats in a 190 boat field. The fish don't care. That being said, I'm in the market for a bass boat. I need more room. The kids are grown and I'm not pulling them on tubes anymore. My 2 cents, If a 17ft Tracker suits you now, then get it. You may need more boat, down the road, you may not. Life has a funny way of changing plans. I wouldn't worry about it until then.

Shhhhhhh! I want to fish it before it get to crowded.

They will work for Bimbo Bread when they buy Hostess.

Like I said, I used the $50.00 rods for a year, and my son has used them for 2 yrs. So explain this, buy a new one every year philosophy of yours. Hootie

Look at my PB. I caught one that was, but let it go. World records are in every state of this country. And apparently 8 pounders are as common as one pounders in a lot of the fishing reports i read.

I can't remember the last time I ate a processed cupcake. Atleast 20-25 years ago. I, for one, won't miss them. I do however feel bad for the 18,000 employees that lost their jobs, all because the union couldn't come to a mutual agreement. Small pay cut vs no job? How the hell does that make sense?

Mark my words. The next world record will come from lake Baccarac in Mexico Jeff

I jig on a frog rod only because I started throwing frogs first. The only thing I don't like is the rod length. I use a 7'0 frog rod and I'd prefer a 6'6" jig rod because I cant pitch in tighter spots. A new jig rod is on my wish list, as is a new frog rod.....and a new everything.

So glad you asked. I say this all the time, because its SOOO true > My knots NEVER fail, even though I tie all kinds of totally crappy knots ! {and the % seems to go up, the worse my eyesight gets... never remember my reading glasses} So why do my knots never fail ? Because what I am really good at, is knowing how to recognize a crappy knot, when I have tied one. And then, NO, that knot will never get wet, because I will cut it off and re-tie it.... 3 or 4 X's if need be, until that knot is as clean, and pretty as the ones you see in those knot tying guides I also won't use a hook that's not surgical sharp...... And I check my drag about 600 X's during a trip too. OCD at its finest Peace, Fish

I haven't really met a frog rod I like. They seem more suited to casting the frog than actually setting the hook. Most often, I use my flipping stick for frogging.

I've read that the rod you mentioned is best throwing baits 1oz-3oz. That is the weights where it reallly shines. If you are going to be throwing those 2-3oz baits I definitely say get this rod. Also note the 795SBML is built on the same blank as the rod you mentioned just has a longer handle. So choosing between the 795SBML and 795SBMT is up to your preference. Overhead casting would be tough on the ML. To address the second part I put in bold depends on if you want to say in the up to 2 ounce range. I've heard the Shimano Cumara 711MHXF is great for fishing anything up to two ounces. You could also use some other techniques with it and it works really well for paddletails and up to hudd 68's. Some other people can probably chime in here better, thats the only one I've heard of that can somewhat compare to your situation. My personal thoughts are that if you are really looking to start swimbait fishing. I would go for the 795SBMT or ML. To me, it sounds like you are going to be sticking right in that 1-3 ounce range and that is where this rod really shines and you will have a true swimbait rod. Some people end up getting more than one dedicated swimbait rod if they find it as a technique they really like. Such as getting a 795 and 806 or 807. If you are really interested in this technique go ahead and get that 795 and see for yourself!

Sonora is good, I have a 2500 in my collection. Just make sure u keep it oiled. Good luck!

My wife has been telling me for years that my tension knob is set too tight.

Spro Baby BBZ-1 I think it scares fish away.

Good bait for numbers. Think about it though, it's not even 4" long and not even an ounce. Swimbait? Yes. Big bait? Negative. Just get out of the whole "west coast" thing. Bass are bass, everywhere you go. They eat a jig out west the same as midwest and east. They eat baitfish the same in all those places. They also exhibit cannibalistic behavior everywhere they swim. A bass has a huge mouth and the attitude to eat anything that will fit in there. Don't be afraid.

If you are looking for a LP baitcasting reel that will handle baits lighter than 1/4 oz. Daiwa makes some of the best. The Daiwa Pixy is top of the line, the Sol and Alphas 103 series reels also do a very nice job with a few minor mods. The nice thing about the Daiwa reels is that there are a lot of custom aftermarket parts to make these things realy run well. The Shimano 50E does a good job and is quite a bit cheaper than most of the Diawa reels not as many aftermarket parts but they run good for what they are. I have not used one, but have heard good things about the Revo ALT and MGX with an upgraded spool, but again you are starting to get into some big money. As RW said, the reel is only half the equation, finding a rod to match is the other half. T

Believe it or not, the best producing worm I've used on a shaky head has been the Yum F2 ribbon tail slightly trimmed down. Also, the Kriet Squirrel Tail worm by Big Bite is awesome as well.

Nobody said it yet so I might as well; We're gonna need a bigger boat.

squarebills are meant to be thrown right into thick cover, usually from closer in. therefore, a shorter and more powerful rod is in order. i would not recommend a light action rod for this type of fishing...not even a medium power is stout enough. plus, glass here is unnecessary. go medium-heavy power, fast to extra fast action...the powell squarebill rod (a TW exclusive) is perfect and you might be able to find a used one for $100. i have the 7' veritas winch and it's an awesome rod but would only be good for squarebills in open water. perhaps a falcon bucoo in the 6'6"-6'9" range in medium-heavy?

WOW! What's really surprising to me is that the guys living in Big Bass states are satisfied with little fish. Size is relative to the water that is availlable near where we live. Here in the Mid South very few double digits are caught. We dream of fishing in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California and Mexico. Regarding "arrogance", when I was a kid all I wanted was anything alive! Since discovering the Senko in 1997, I have become a fairly serious recreational fisherman. If I were a tournament fisherman my mind set would be different, but since I'm just a "fun fisherman" I want to chase the Walmart Girls. I don't remember if Big O wrote this or just said this to me on one of the Road Trips, but this sums up my thoughts exactly, "I target the biggest fish in the lake or river I'm fishing". He seems to "get lucky" quite a bit. Fish Chris, WRB, Dwight Hottie, South FLA, 00 mod and others seem to share this philosophy. If you think they are just lucky, you're dead wrong.

one summer i was a waiter at an 'all you can eat' crab house in Maryland beach. claws would break off the blue crabs while steaming and the cooks would dump all the broken ones on a tray for the staff to eat. i thought it was the greatest 'perk' ever getting to chow down on free crabs for dinner. a cook looked at me on my 3rd day and said "by the end of the summer you'll be sick of eating crabs". I said "No way!" with my mouth stuffed full of buttered crabs and old bay seasoning. well he was right...i ate so many crabs by mid-summer that i didn't eat them again for 2 years. its not arrogance, after awhile you get tired of eating dink pie

Nicely marked pair from this spring.