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A man shall always refer to pre-spawn as " fat bottom girls".

The men of the square table have the job to deem what is manly, and what is not manly in common male situations. We here, need to decide what is manly and what is not manly in common bass fishing situations. (I know some of you have trouble with being told what to do, but this is a joke, don't get worked up.) #1 Man who takes another man fishing to a spot where neither man catches fish, shall provide his guest enough beer to forget that any such fishing trip ever occurred. #2 A bass that has been hooked, reeled in, lipped, and released is considered a CATCH. Follows, jump offs, long distance releases, and touches do not count and NOBODY CARES. #3 No man shall photograph any bass estimated to be under 14" (and subsequently post it on all your favorite fishing forums). Just tell us about it- we believe you. #4 At no time is it ever permissable to use the term "rubber worm". #5 When a non-fisherman asks if you're catching anything, you shall always reply, "Nah, this lake sucks. Nuthin' in here 'cept carp." #6 When the boat plug is forgotten, a digital picture of the infraction with the boat owner shall be posted on the internet to thwart off repeating offenders. #7 No fish shall be reported as a 5 pounder unless the scale is pulled down to at least 3 pounds. #8 One shall never ask another fisherman where he caught his fish. If asked where one caught said bass, it is always acceptable to reply "In the mouth" That's enough from me, who's got more?

YES!!!... I hate when that happens... I'd been staring at that thing for two days and couldn't remember it's name. Guess I'd better start bringing my GPS when I visit the neighbor... thanks. oe

Been hitting the ponds around my subdivision for the past few months. Thought I would post a few photos of some of the fish. Have some nice healthy fish here in southwest Ohio. Not a lot of pressure, I'm usually the only one fishing these ponds. Jigfishn10, these are the two better ones from today!

One Saturday morning Sam gets up early, dresses quietly, gets his lunch made, puts on his long johns, grabs his dog and goes to the garage to hook up his boat to the truck and down to the driveway he will go. Coming out of his garage the rain is pouring down; it is like a torrential downpour, there is snow and sleet mixed in with the rain, the wind is blowing at over 50mph. So much for that he thinks as he comes back into the house, turns the TV to the weather channel and finds it is going to be very bad weather all day long, so he quietly undresses and slips back into bed. There he cuddles up to his wife's back, now with a different anticipation and whispers, "The weather out there is terrible". To which she sleepily replies, "Yeah, can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in it?"

I have several old rods and reels that I won´t give away and still use but by no means they are ratty and beat up, I take really good care of my gear because not only do I like taking care of if but also because for me neglecting my gear means it will malfunction preciselly whenI need it to perform flawlessly and I hate malfunctioning gear.

"#5 When a non-fisherman asks if you're catching anything, you shall always reply, "Nah, this lake sucks. Nuthin' in here 'cept carp." If you get skunked, refer to #5.

Never touch another mans senko

I've never had to cut my line from a bad backlash but that's just me. I also take the time and pick it out and I don't horse it, that just makes it worse. I still think braid is the better choice. I learned on braid and I never had any major headaches, but again I guess everyone is different. Oh and I use 40lb power pro which I think going with the heavier test helps picking it out.

I'm gonna say braid. Reason being if you get a bad backlash, the line won't be destroyed after you try picking it out. It also has no stretch like flouro but floats instead of sinks. You seem interested in braid or flouro so it's obvious you will at some point in the future buy it so you may as well get it now. Besides, it won't take long to get used to that baitcaster and then you'll be wishing you had braid or flouro on it. That's my 2 cents.

More than my wife thinks....

X2^ Go get a spool of Trilene Big Game 12 lb., spool up, and practice a lot.Once you become proficient at casting, use the Big Game for backing. Tom

i have used McCoy for everything for years and taught two grandsons how to use a baitcaster..but more important then the line is to learn how to setup your baitcaster before even throwing a lure, if its not setup right it wont matter what line you use it will backlash...research on the internet there many pages on how to set it up and also on youtube there are videos to watch.....

First baitcaster, stick with mono until you get comfortable. You will backlash, no point in wasting money on other lines until you get more comfortable.

Wanting to haul more that one Kayak at a time easily when I kayak fish with others I made updated my trailer to do the job. I took by existing harbor freight trailer, some 1 1/4" EMT, 4 two hole EMT hanger, screws and kayak carriers. I may shorten the pipes to pull the outside kayaks in a bit.

Woke up early to meet my buddy in the surf. Tide was high and water is calm and clear. IT was lake like condition. I needed a casting distance so I use my Core 100 on GLoomis CBR843 with 20# PP S8S. Started at 6:30am, fan casting the beach. A few bait fish jumping here and there but no bites for the first hour and a half. While talking to my buddy I got a hit, set the hook and game on. This one gave me good long runs almost thought it was a Bay Ray until I see some colors. Here she is 37" California Halibut from the surf.

A new hedge trimmer Garden rake Square point shovel 10 cubic yards of Red Hemlock bark mulch 50 count bottle of Ibuprofen

I'm bored. I'm going fishing......BYE!!!! Hootie

May he ride his mower right through the pearly gates

I'm a get a limit kind of fisherman. I shoot for my 5 early and usually one or two will be 3-5 pound fish that won't cull anyway. Then when I have four or five, I'll try for some bigger fish. The confidence having a limit in the well gives you allows you to slow down and really take your time for that last bite or two. Works for me.

Color. They have rods and cones. Learn about your enemy. Get the book "Knowing Bass, The Scientific Approachy to Catching More Fish" by Keith A. Jones, PhD from Amazon and read it. Check out Chapter 5, Vision.

In-fisherman has a book on largemouth bass. best book i have ever read.

they are built to spec from whoevers name is on them. example; you can go to wallmart, buy a 42" sony tv for $300 dollars. you can go to best buy and see the exact tv for $500. thedifference will 1 or 2 #'s in manufactuers #. i was told thats whats the difference. as for which is better, you would think the more expensive would be better quality. but how do you really know. i personally dont care, if it feels good, works good, and it catches fish thats what i want. i still use " old zebco 33's" for most my crappie and panfish poles.

I don't feel sad, George Jones had a great run and will remain a legend in Country Music. Always know to his millions of fans as simply, Jones. His legacy has been an inspiration for generations in the music business.

You bet they share many parts! Thats business, they wouldnt make as much money if they didnt. Talk to mechanics that work at a dealer and you discover high end often lays on the surface and in the buyers mind. The Korean factory that makes the parts for the Cobalt and Spark makes much of the parts that fill up a Caddy. And they dont have a 1st class parts line and a 3rd class parts line, just one BIG parts line.

I personally don't have good luck when fishing around easy forage like you describe. Full Bass are really hard to catch! I would have found new water with similar structure to where the forage was. I also have NO patience in the wind. I would have found water where I was comfortable then slow down and pick it apart.

Blow up.................one thousand one...............swing.

Rabbits

Thanks for all the tips! Yeah, there is no cover except for weed beds, on the opposite side of the lake, and I can't access those areas on the other side because I don't have a boat, hehe. The side of the lake I'm on, there is some weed beds, but there's so much pressure. There's also the docks at the marina, but again, lots of pressure. So this is why I fish the not-so-great points that I do. When I see videos, and the experts are talking about "punching grass", I'll think to myself, "well, can't do that here" lol. I know what you mean about small fish going for big worms. I was using a 4.5" roboworm last summer, and caught a 5.5" or 6" bass. They were almost the same length; worm and fish lol. This past week, I found out about Megastrike. I'm definitely going to be getting one or the other, or both. I've looked at them as "cheating", but that was last summer/fall, when I thought I'd be catching more fish by now. At this point, I'll do whatever I can with baits to attract more fish. Thanks again, and I hope to post a picture of monster one day!

That's what I suspected...some reels just look too similar.So for example...if you buy a low end Shakespeare branded reel...you may actually be getting the exact equivalent of a higher end reel like lets say...Pflueger, Since Pflueger is owned by Shakespeare (surprised? I was) Although Shakespeare is more likely to be an entry level product. http://www.shakespeare-fishing.com/history/index.shtml So basically in some cases all you really are paying for is the name. Kinda funny how that works. Years ago I purchased some low end Renegade fishing line sold by Wal Mart.Peel back the label and you've actually bought Eagle Claw line...which Eagle Claw is the parent company of Wright and Mcgill,a sponsor of Skeet Reese...so if Wright and Mcgill sponsors SR...and the same company that sponsors SR falls under Eagle Claw...must mean Eagle Claw isn't THAT bad of a product...right? People look down on Zebco...Quantum and Zebco are one in the same...

I'll echo what some others have said. Buy cheap mono, either do the tape trick or only put on 50 or 60 yards and cast in the yard till you learn. You are going to backlash until you learn how to cast, every does. You will get some nasty ones, too. You'll have to cut some out. Don't waste 15 or 20 dollars on flouro or braid just to cut it off when you get one of the nasty ones. After you get it down, spool it up with something good and hit the water.

Bass see a wider color spectrum then we see and can see these colors in very low light. Bass also have the ability to see fast moving objects in detailed slow motion instead of a blurred motion Forget the black and white vision, it's a myth. However black and white are both high contrasting colors that are often good lure choice. Tom

Only differences I see are weight, gear ratio and the ability to use the core in saltwater. Other than that I don't see the monetary difference. I have 1 core and 3 50e's. Jeff

I always try to fish into the wind. My thinking is the bass will be facing the current looking for an easy meal blowing into them. I try and look for some vegetation or a point that the current is traveling into and cast to keep my lure in the strike zone.

KSDawg and I went to melvern for about 3 hours this afternoon, despite the rain and wind..... We did pretty well. I caught one on a jerkbait in the first five minutes and Blake caught one shortly after that. It was pretty steady for a while, but slowed down as we got colder/wetter...we sort of lost interest after a while since we couldn't feel our hands. We decided to call it a day a little early because we were numb but I'm sure we would have continued to catch fish. Very nice fish were caught, Blake broke his PB smallie 3 times! We should do pretty well tomorrow guys!!!

The one thing that I know for sure is; I don't know what colors bass prefer and why the prefer them under various light conditions. When I started bass fishing in the 50's I knew everything about bass lure colors! Surface lures were green frog colors, shallow diving lures were white with a red head and deep diving lures were black with white skeleton patten, because that is what worked for me back then. By the 60's my horizons widened to add fish colored lures like bluegill and crawdads and my best colors started to fade, replaced by newer choices. Plastic worms and vynl jig skirts became my new lures and colors of choice; black, brown and purple worms and jig skirts were obviously the colors bass preferred under nearly all light conditions. In the 70's soft plastic hand poured worms with translucent colors and metal flakes or neon blood lines came along with living image life like baitfish pattern lures came of age and my color preferences started to get complicated. Add spinnerbaits with multiple colored blades and it was obvious that bass don't know what they want. This continued to the late 80's when swimbaits with exact rainbow trout color became my choice of lures and colors. I got into making silicone jig skirts with an unlimited combination of skirt colors and came to the conclusion that the jigs with natural deer hair dyed black, brown and purple combined together worked far better than any of the silicone or living rubber jig skirts....for the first time I took a step backwards, and decided bass do know what they prefer, we just need to figure that out on a day to day basis. It's a myth that bass see colors like we see colors, they see better then we do. Keep an open mind about color preferences because it will change. Tom

I was "scared" of going with fluoro for my main line, but I would recommend Seaguar Red Label as a good, cheap line. Treat it with KVD LNL and it's pretty manageable and doesnt have bad memory.

I am not quite sure that there is a choice worse than braid. When backlashed, it is a nightmare compared to any line using nylon, fluorocarbon, etc. You can literally damage your spool trying to pull it out, not to mention the dig from pulling out backlashed braid Sure, the line will not be as damaged, but why does that matter when you will already have to cut off a significant amount of line because of said backlash? I think practice and cheap line is the way to go. 1,000+ yard spools of mono can be had for less than $10. That should be plenty of line to practice with until you get it down. An option you may choose to help not let the backlash get so deep is to place tape on your spool after letting out enough line to cover your casting distance. Besides that it is all about practice.

Sorry Guys, I would love to be there but right now my priority is my wife, she is only 43 yrs old and has stage 4 bone cancer that has also moved into her lungs and liver. I want to spend as much time as possible with her. I will look forward to maybe the next Roadtrip. Have fun and try to catch some big Bass !

We did ok caught about 20 this was the best one the rest were like a pound was alotttt better than working!!!!!

I submit only this for consideration. And I joke not, this guy catches more fish in public waters than anyone I know, I've seen it with my own eyes. http://www.in-fisherman.com/2012/01/24/midwest-finesse-tackle-rods-reels-and-line/

Well ya' know, I've taken a couple photos of big fish in my days. And I do a lot of "actual photography" {mostly nature, outdoors} as well. IMPO, I normally don't take a photo unless its a big fish (big, being relative to the species, among other things) Yes, a person can hold there arms stretched straight at the camera, then have the camera 1ft from the fish, and obviously, this will look goofy, and unnatural. On the other hand, SO many people will hold the fish too close to their bodies, then the clueless camera man will stand so far back, that he captures the birds in the trees, the guys fancy new boots, and 6 feet of property in front of them ! Of course the fish ends up being like 1% of the shot. It's like, "Hey... is that guy holding something ? I think its a fish ! Can you hand me my reading glasses ? Doh ! Then later, the angler says, with a sad look on his face, "But I swear.... we even weighed it ! It just looks so much smaller in this shot" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bottom line: I always say > I'm not holding this fish out to make it look "bigger than it did in real life"..... I'm holding it out to try "to make it look as big as it actually did, in real life". Do you know what a 13 or 15 lb bass looks like, when holding it 18" in front of your face ? Alright well, it looks pretty big. Peace, Fish PS, Please do shove that fish in my face. I think its "prettier than you are" LOL

I like baits with a little flash when the sun is out. Chromes, golds, maybe some orange or reds.

But my "old junk" still works, lol.

Some of my Avids had duct tape holding the reel to the seat, or super glue holding the wraps down. I finally sent them in for repair. Some are 12 years old.

I'd opt for Trilene Big Game or Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Basically any decent line that you can buy a big spool of at a decent price. You are going to have backlashes, and lose line. Fluoro seems to kink up real bad after a bad backlash. Or you could buy some good braid, and tie on a leader. Braid won't kink up, and lasts for (almost) ever. Whatever you do, consider practice casting a little before going fishing. P.S. I'd make sure that the rod is light (in power, not weight) enough to cast quarter ounce jigs for your comfort/ skill level.

My routine for getting on the water helps me to get things into perspective for the days outing If you are fishing from your own boat, take the time to determine a few things before putting the big engine in gear. Look around the boat dock or marina for bait fish and bass, both visual and using your sonar unit. What is the water temperature, how deep is the bait or bass in the marina area. This information helps to determine what seasonal period it is for the bass and where they may be located. We all get a little wired anticipating catching bass the first stop, the first cast, so I make a few around the marina to get a feel for casting and the lure I plan to start with. Caught a lot of good bass doing this! My go to lure is a jig or a swimbait, rarely start off with either unless I know what is happening on the lake from fishing it recently. I like to get the wiggles out by casting a crankbait, buzzer or spinner bait around tight shore cover early in the mourning, then get out my go to lures before leaving the area. I also always meter the area I just fished before running somewhere else to determine if there is fish there that didn't respond, so I can go back in an hour or so. Depth is very important when fishing slower, you should know how deep the bass are holding so you don't fish too shallow or too deep. This is another reason I slow down and use my sonar so often. Your goal is catching bass, not making a few hundred casts. Tom

I think a lot of this tendency, and MANY anglers have it, has to do with the reason we fish these days. We see fishing as an activity where the objective is to catch fish, and catch as many pounds as possible as quickly as possible. This is, largely, a result of the explosion of tournament angling where, quite literally, dollars are attached to every cast, every pitch, every fish, every minute. Nitrofreak was on to something when he talked about fishing for cats or whites or whatever as a kid. When we went fishing as kids, we weren't quite as obsessed with everything, we just wanted to go out and have a fun time fishing. I think if we bass fished more that way, we'd slow down naturally. We wouldn't be worried about whether or not we were "maximizing" our day. We'd realize we maximized our day the second we got in the car to tow the boat to the lake in the first place, before we ever made a cast. We'd also have more fun, be more relaxed, and likely catch more fish, too. We'd spend less money. I don't know about you guys, but I suspect I'd be a lot happier with my favorite pasttime. So, to the OP, I suggest this. Read Charlie Brewer's book on Slider Fishing. It doesn't really matter if you want to learn how to fish the slider-- its more of a philosophy of fishing than it is a technique. Then, go out and find an old timer, I mean a real old timer. Someone in their 70s or 80s, and see if they'll take you fishing. I went fishing with Ned Kehde one weekend when I was in graduate school, ostensibly to pick his brain about fishing journalism (he's an In-Fisherman field editor), and instead I got a graduate level education in slowing down and keeping it simple and having fun fishing, and the simple joy of getting your line stretched. I also began a journey that I'm still on, toward simplifying every aspect of my life, and slowing down every aspect of my life. So, you might get more than just a fishing tip.

Sometimes you can throw your entire tackle box at spawning bass and they won't bite a single thing. Texas rigging is great, either weighted, or weightless, but also try wacky rigging the worms. Make sure you slow down on soft plastics. Not knowing how you fish them, you may be moving them too fast, not letting them sit long enough... 2 cents...

Small hair jigs, tubes, senko's, jerkbaits, and deep cranks are cold water staples..Fish slow, then slow down some more.... Start breaking out some warmer water baits when the water temp climbs towards the 55-60 degree mark. Some warm water staples top to bottom. Buzzbaits, Walkers, Poppers Flukes, Spinnerbaits, Shallow Cranks, Swim Jigs, Jerkbaits Jig n Chunk, Tubes, Deep Cranks, Assorted plastics Good luck