Leaderboard

You guys are freaking out of control. We have five full time employees here and you can all get a job working here LOL. Ok most of you have pretty much nailed it. I have been diving watching the "stick bait" since it first came out-I mean probably before 99%of the anglers didn't even seen it yet-I noticed that wacky rigging seemed to trigger more strikes. One of the issues was at times the bass would grab one of the two ends and swim away with the bait before engulfing it totally. It just depended on their aggression or mood. We know when we feel a tap(bite)or see/feel the bait swimming away we set the hook. What happens underwater is the bass just has a part of the bait-not necessasaryily the hook in the fishes mouth. It could be just a half inch to one side or the other. What happens is you pull the bait away from the fish resulting in a lost fish and usually a ripped bait. By centering the egg sac/ creating balance and coloring it gives the fish a focal point to attack. RIGHT WHERE THE HOOK IS. How many times have you seen chartreuse colored tails on lizards or worms being attacked by the bass first. I have seen it hundreds of times. By weighting the center , it will fall like a flick shake-(Im still playing with density of it-faster /slower fall rates) it could possibly induce or provoke more strikes. It depends on conditions and the fishes mood again. Using denser material-you got it-displacing energy to the sides for more action. Again less ripped baits The purest megastrike infused into the baits for attraction and retention purposes. Colors- Think about it -black sides with a red or hot pink center. black sides with blue egg sac--I will be developing some really good /proven fish catching colors.. They will be packed in a clamshell and not a bag for reasons obvious -don't want them bent. So theres more to come Play with that a while and yes of coarse I will be doing giveaways

If I read any more of this nonsense, I'll being thinking about suiside.

Trip to the Northeast Kingdom produced some big'uns. We had five over 5, a dozen or more in the 4 lb range. The two smallest fish were 2.5 lbs. I was catching most on a spinnerbait. We also caught some on jerks and cranks.

Nailed it!!! They all do that to you, Kissimmee, Toho, thats why we love the sport if you stroked them every time it would be boring. You have to change up when they aren't hitting moving baits its a waist of time to keep fishing them. The most important thing for newcomers to the lake from South Florida is to forget about how they fished in the canals.

I love how people come here and with their first few posts bash something. Your opinions means about this much........"que the crickets"

Perhaps the colored center is a hard plastic causing all of the energy to be transferred to either end rather than being diffused in the middle. So, rather than bending, the ends tend to flutter downwards when the bait is worked by the angler and upwards when the bait is in free-fall.

I hit BH saturday morning. Managed to catch 2. Here is the bigger one. Largemouth Bass by mddnrfish, on Flickr

I caught this little guy while my dad and I were fishing for walleye this week. I was casting a Gulp minnow on a jighead along a dropoff from a flat. I wasn't sure what he was when I first saw him. I've caught one true albino cat before but it was a channel and it was completely white instead of white and black splotched.

Two years ago we started a Highschool tournament to promote fishing and get these kids new opportunities and we finally made BassMaster's website. It took a ton of work but it was a great time. http://www.bassmaster.com/news/college-team-hosts-high-school-tournament

Mailed off the check today. It's a 2005 Xpress X19. Had a mechanic take it out on the water, run a compression test, check the hull, check all the systems and it passed with flying colors. I'm beyond excited to finally be out on the water instead of being on the bank longingly staring out as the guys on boats cruise around the lake. Thanks to everyone who chimed in here on my last post... it definitely helped me in making my decision. One more question. For convenience sake, I'm thinking of renting a covered slip for the summer and fall on Grand Lake here in Oklahoma. What are the pros and cons of leaving the boat in the water? Do I really need to invest in a lift? I hear people swear by one way or the other. Its a tin hull, so no gel coat, if that makes a difference. Thoughts, comments, concerns?? Here are some pictures of my baby to be... driving down next Sunday to pick her up!!! I'll be removing the decals, and at some point in time having the hull repainted black. But that's down the road. Right now I'm just over the moon to even have a boat.

Thank god you answered and said what the new design is for. The suspense was killing me

Ross has lifetime warranty as long as you buy it from an authorized dealer.

Personally I love it. But a very light drizzle that is. Plus I live in Florida so it feels awesome. I can get enough of those slow drizzly fishing days. So calm, quiet, and cool.

The one thing you want in any reel (low cost or not) is a sealed drag system. There is nothing worse than dipping your reel in a turbid stream and have fines around your drag disc. I think the Sage 1800 has a sealed drag, which will serve you sell.

Shimano Crucial Crankbait 7' MH.

My go-to right now has been a Pop-X in Threadfin Shad. It has been killing them, even in high-sun clear daytime. Fishing this in 20'+ of gin clear water will bring up big bass. And it isn't nearly as boring as dragging a Carolina rig

If the price is right you dont need a warranty. Diesels cost as much as what most rod companies charge for their replacement program.

You won't be disappointed.

Exactly. In fact, some are downright territorial, and there are no other bass in the area, which is why many assume those spots are "dry," when in fact, it may hld the biggest fish in the lake.

We should all chip in a bag of baits or something and winner takes all, just a suggestion though

Thinking maybe I should have just gone out today to one of the smaller lakes like Swains.

Awesome fish Shane. With fish like that business must be or will be booming. Congrats!!

I'd say similar to how you'd present a Texas rig, you gotta mix it up and see what works better for the day. I prefer just twitching and pulling them forward little by little. And read that article on the BR homepage. I think pauses are more important than how you walk it!

I have never fished the 1800 but the Sage reels I have fished were nice and Sage stands behind their products 100% with great customer service. That seems to be a good price for it. The one thing you want to make sure of on a fly reel is that the frame is all metal construction which that one is. For what you will be using it for I doubt you would be unhappy with it. Also take a look at the Temple Fork Outfitters BVK reel. I have the BVK III on my 8wt St Croix Legend Ultra and it is a sweet reel. You can probably find the BVK I (it is sized for 4wt/5wt) for around $135-160. As long as you get one that is machined metal frame you are going to be happy with it for a long time. I used a $40 reel for about 15 years before I started purely hunting trophies and upgraded to stronger/smoother drag systems. Good luck!

Awesome! My fishing days are seriously numbered in June, with school out and all. However, I hope to put some numbers up quick starting tomorrow because I am going to my monthly trip to the glades. Fstr385, congrats.

This is my understanding of the terms used to describe this technique. Not the gospel mind you, but pretty darn close to it! The term "down shot" was what was first introduced to us by the Japanese, when it hit the west coast in the late '80's to early '90's. Since then, the term has been modified to "drop shot" here in the US, for whatever reason. I learned this from a Japanese fishing friend of mine, who introduced it to me, about a dozen years ago. They are both the same technique.

Enjoy your purchase. When I bank fish people sometimes walk by and hang with me to shoot the breeze. I do not know why but several times we end up talking about eyewear. Believe it or not, there are many people who still do not know about polarized lenses. I take off my pair of glasses to show them and they are speechless. The point I am trying to make is do not sacrifice your eyesight when fishing. Great sunglasses I believe are game changers.

I am partial to Ross Reels. They are built for a lifetime of use. I use Ross Evolution Lt's on almost all my rods, however they are about $325. Ross does make a reel called the FlyRise that is about $125-150 that is a good reel. I agree with everyone else about not needing an expensive reel for small/medium trout, bluegill, and bass. I hunt trophy size (25"+) Browns so I tend to put them on the reel as I am usually using light lines (6X & 7X tippet). Good luck & welcome to the addiction!!

If they catch fish like a GY Senko I will give them a try. Do they have allot of salt? Lets consider problems with wacky rigging a senko, without an O ring they are one maybe two fish baits and that equals expensive. So if you roll that bait over does it have a small center O ring, built in? I have noticed when you rig a senko wacky with an O ring and do not touch any plastic and use the O ring its has a better action.T Trying to get the fish to key in on the center, the hook, and the color change could provide that. In windy days I add a nail weight, perhaps this system you can add weight and or they are weighted centers? If this eliminates the need for O rings and nail weights, add increases hook ups that's a three for one bait, and I like that maybe even a 4 for one.. I buy one bait that is a three for one, hula grub, you can make it into a twin tailed grub, ika, and leave it as is, three for one... It could also be the centers are the new O ring, and the worms are really slim in the center to accommodate this new MegaO ring, but what I mentioned above can still aplly.

Some people value their eyes more then $25. I'm kind of a sunglass junky I probably have 10 pairs my favorites are my costa's followed closely by the old pair of maui jims I have. I use wiley x glasses for work and bike riding or any time I have a chance of breaking a pair with glass lenses. I used to wear a pair of oakleys but the polarization started to delaminate on the lense.

Two terms, same thing.

Wow!!! Glad I got mine for the regular price last year! Barnes & Nobel shows a used one at $218, Amazon has a new one at $900. Recon whats up with that? Coots, another good book is "In Pursuit of Giant Bass". This one has lots of good info as well.

Spinnerbait, lipless crank, jig, trig, senko, shakey head. Like mentioned before, dark colors.

I always wanted to try WileyX. Glad to hear you like them.

My opinion is this, forget about the illness most of us has had or will have those memories. All it really does is create depression, nothing positive comes out of those thoughts and nothing can be done to change what's already happened. I would be focusing on the good memories, be healthier for your own well being. Death is part of life, accept it and move on and make your life as good as you can, your dad would want that.

Never...........been 21 years and I miss my dad more today than we he passed away.

I fish hair jigs year around, it's a misconception that living rubber and silicone skirts are only good in warm water and that hair jigs work better in cold water....nonsense! A skirt is a skirt and the hair is just a jig skirt. Most hair jigs today are made for smallmouth bass and walleyes because anglers still believe they work for those fish. If you put the hair jig away, it can't work in your tackle box. The jig & pig was the original ball head hair jig with a pork trailer that pre dates the Arkie head jig with vinyl skirts that also used pork trailers. The key word with hair jigs is pork trailers. Both the bucktail hair in combination with natural pork trailer taste and feels alive to bass, especially big bass. The down side is pork dries out easily, is messy compared to soft plastics and hair mates in contact with most commercial attractants. I see sponsor NorthStar offers hair jig selection. Tom PS; the 19 lb bass in my avatar was caught on a hair jig with a pork trailer!

Ish's Phat Frog or Jackall Iobee Frog.

I use the SK Sexy frog exclusively now. I had used Spro's for a long time, and Snag Proof "Bobby's perfect frog" before that, I have been frogging for a long time. The SK is easier to walk, casts just as well, skips under overhead cover better, has the same EXACT gamakatsu hook as the Spro, is softer, comes with a rattle (which you can.....and I often do, take out if you don't want it) and is a little cheaper. The one downside to it being softer, is it is less durable. I have worn three of them out this year so far, but have gotten at least 40-50 fish out of each one. Realistic paint jobs???? They are made to catch you, not the fish. I catch them in crystal clear water on just about every color SK makes.

I must be the only person in the world who likes the wire weedguards. Here is the key to them. KEEP THEM ABOVE THE BARB!!!! You also have to "flex" them a little, to soften them up. Straight out of the package they are too stiff. AND...open them up a bit too. I have a very high hooking % on both the VMC and Falcon Lures "K" wacky hooks that every one else seem to hate.

Felix, I can't speak from experience on that particular hook, but I wanted to drop off my .02, as I have really gotten into the wacky rig in the last year. I frequently use the Owner weedless wacky hooks with flick shakes on a very particular pond that I kayak fish. The bottom is completely covered with a type of moss that simply wants to eat any lure that falls through it. We typically resort to burning spinnerbaits, swim jigs, swimbaits and frogs to keep weedless. If it sinks into the grass that cast is ruined. The point of all of this: when the bite gets slow, I toss flick shakes weightless because they won't sink through. These hooks have literally never fouled up in this stuff. I don't use a lot of owner stuff but I was extremely impressed with these. For what it's worth, I throw mine on a St. Croix Mojo Bass, 6'8 M/XF with 20lb PowerPro. My hookset is exactly the same as a drop shot setup.. Simply a nice, quick (abrupt) upward snap of the rod tip. I usually stall the hookset by just a hair though. When I feel that "tap tap tap" sensation, I set the hook as soon as I quit feeling the taps. Either they spit it or its in that mouth! It's usually in the mouth though. The megastrike may help with that. Works for me, anyway. Good luck man! Link to the hooks: http://www.***.com/Owner_Weedless_Wacky_Hook_4pk/descpage-OWWH.html

I am #7 in line. LOL.

Small rivers with a lot of mines in the water are a dangerous combo for bass boats with large motors. As mentioned, they are very stern heavy so they naturually run deep at slow speeds and the lower unit on a big motor sticks down a lot, making anything less than two foot from the surface a dangerous obsticle, Runnning at low speed where the boat is plowing makes it even worse, that's when the motor is at it's deepest point. Have your buddy sit in at the bow of the boat and put as much weight forward as you can. When you start off, go full power, get on plane and then cut back to the minimum speed it will stay on plane. This is also one time where a hydrofoil is worth it's weight in gold. It's helps greatly in poping the boat up on plane. You will see the people running large boats with large motors that know the river running fairly fast. This is so the minimum amount of motor is in the water and is actually the best way, but again, they know where they are running.

My brother and I hit Black Hills up tonight, only managed 1 fish about 2 pounds.

I have a club tournament there next Sunday (Big Slackwater) so if you see a silver Xpress wave. Last Saturday I went down to pre-fish some since I have only been there once or twice this year. I caught a ton of fish but only two keepers. One was about a 13" SM but the first fish was a 21" LM that I would say was 5lbs (hoping I can catch it again in the tournament). Tonight I found them but am still not on the larger fish that I want. You can run your boat all the way until the first bend upriver from the game club. At that point it starts to get shallow and scary for a prop boat and the fishing isn't very good until you get up by the bridges anyway. Allen

COntact Abu asap and insist on a new reel. They really dropped the ball with the new ones.

Looks like you're wearing her shirt in your avatar, I don't see what the big deals is.

I do the same thing when I'm out fishing by myself. Although my music is a little more intense than George Straight. Try walking the dog to some Godsmack lol!

Trout are often stocked instead of naturally occurring like most species of fish, that's why there's special permits. If people don't buy those permits then the states often wouldn't be able to afford stocking them in the first place. Not sure about them being the most stocked, probably depends a lot on where you live. Around here the state stocks millions of channel cats, walleye, and wipers every year but not nearly as many trout because of the shallow lakes and warm temps we have during the summer months they wouldn't survive long enough to be caught.