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oh man, the pressure is on, i think i'm calling in sick tomarrow and on the lake at 5:30 i got to stay in this !!!!!

This came off a ledge with a 1/4 ounce jig with a b-bug trailer. Wind started to pick up and was blowing good. Had to leave shortly after. 19.5 in.

Well, back in the 70's I met this drop-dead gorgeous young lady in Bangkok ...

A beautiful woman loved growing tomatoes, but couldn't seem to get her tomatoes to turn red. One day, while taking a stroll, she came upon a gentleman neighbor. He had the most beautiful garden full of huge red tomatoes. The woman asked the gentleman, "What do you do to get your tomatoes so red?" The man responded, "Well, twice a day I stand in front of my tomato garden, naked in my trench coat and I flash them. My tomatoes turn red from blushing so much." The woman was so impressed; she decided to try doing the same thing to her tomato garden to see if it would work. So twice a day for two weeks she flashed her garden hoping for the best. One day the gentleman was passing by and asked the woman, "By the way, how did you make out? Did your tomatoes turn red? "No", she replied, "but my cucumbers are enormous!"

During the late 60's and early 70's I was a staunch advocate of catch and releasing largemouth bass, specifically trophy size bass. To say that I ran into a brick wall is putting things lightly. I got letters back from Ray Scott, the president of B.A.S.S. stating fishing pressure alone had no affect on bass populations, the bass are prolific spawner's, good renewable resource. Times have changed and I now find myself on opposite side of the C&R issue. C & R has become a cult with some anglers that believe every single bass caught must be released. It was wrong when Scott took his stand, he later reversed his position, not from his original belief that fishing pressure was harmful, it looked bad to have hundreds of dead bass at the end of his tournaments that became food for fish fries. Livewells were developed and better fish handling skills are still evolving. In-Fisherman had it right with their "Selective Harvest" in the 80's that continues today. Properly handle the special trophy fish and keep fish that will not survive or a size that are overly populated. What the 100% C & R angler doesn't acknowledge is it's impossible to release 100% of the bass, some don't survive after catching it. There is a post catch mortality rate, the bigger the fish, the higher that rate becomes. It's doesn't harm a fishery to keep a few fish to eat, there is always a combination of factors that deplete a fish species from a body of water as large as a lake. Should you harass another angler for fishing within regulations...no! Should you turn in another angler for fishing illegally... Yes! Tom

If he catches your fish again give him no nookie for a week that will show him! lol

Dumbest thing I ever bought? You mean I have to pick just one?

Just like A-Jay's bass, you can tell that other bass hate these lures too.......

AK can't save his cash, he has to buy replacement parts LOL frog hooks, rods and reels Oh MY!

Hey everyone knows 68's don't work A-Jay

Sweet! Thanks for confirming! ...the fight in these little fish has been something I had only read about before. Only one other time before, I thought that I had a smallie on the line but it spit the hook after one jump. I've had Largemouths jump out of the water too so I couldn't bee 100% positive. My fishing addiction has just gotten worse. Smallies are so much more fun!

It's a smallie. Congrats!

How does one declare one company as having the best customer service, if they haven't used the customer service from the dozens of companies that make rods. A good rod is one where customer service is never needed. If I happen to own rods, and thankfully I do not, from 1 company where customer service has been needed several times for whatever reason, that's a company I'd be staying away from for the future.

It's not dumb if I can justify it in my head.

No you wouldn't. I bet your aim is worse than a Raider's quarterback! Besides, you probably don't have enough fire power to knock a fly out of the air, let alone a PETA drone. Ok, that ought to keep him fired up and looking to the skies for the next three days.

Jay, you need to get educated. This means you need to subscribe to fishing magazines; join BASS and get Bassmasters Magazine; go to various pros' web sites and read their blogs; read all the articles you can in the Fishing Articles link on the top of this page; buy some DVDs on various baits, techniques and time of year; speak with the guys at your local tackle shop; and study the fish, itself. You live in Georgia. I live in Virginia. We have guys in all 50 states and around the world. So to ask a simple question as to what baits to put in your tackle box this time of year will generate thousands of suggestions which will mess up your mind and confuse you greatly. Even during each time of the year you go fishing each day is different. So to tell you to start to throw a tight wiggle crankbait may or may not be right. It would be right above the Mason-Dixon Line but are water temperatures in Georgia at a level to have a tight wiggle crankbait be productive on the waters you fish? Who knows? For $12 a year you can get Bass Times which discusses the tournaments and techniques and is a valuable source of information. So you need to do some macro study and then go to micro studies for Georgia and the waters you fish and you will learn what baits to put in in your tackle box for fall in Georgia while other guys put winter baits in their tackle box up north while fishing in California is totally different.

I don't think learning to survive is applicable since the survival instinct is already part of an animal's DNA encoding. It doesn't need to learn to feed or be coached by it's parents - it automatically begins feeding after it's hatched and automatically increases the size of its prey as it get older and larger. As far as finding sources of food, it may just hang out waiting for prey to come to it, run with schools or migrate a distance where it senses prey will be. Patterns consist of anglers learning which choice a population of bass chooses to be near a food source in a specific water. When noting negatives of a bait (and you mentioned quite a few!), many anglers don't take into account the simple fact that BASS SIMPLY DON'T CARE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE INCAPABLE. Why do they inhale a plastic worm or any other slow moving bait they have a long time to study and think about? Fact is nothing in their DNA gives them any cognitive ability and their instinct for survival only goes so far and in fact falls far short when it comes to animals that prey on them and anglers that hunt them. When a color or bait seems to catch less bass, The first statement IMO is far more likely, the second one never proven in a large sample of waters by a large number of experienced bass anglers. Keith Jones in Knowing Bass gives a plausible explanation plastic worms and minnow shaped lures work: and Back to color preference: Another factor Jones mentions is the importance of lure size range. Some bass prefer lures in a size range on the small side, others respond to a range of larger sizes, but any bass may hit any one size lure, small, medium or large, anytime conditions are ideal outside the range. All of the above give me reasons to chose certain baits in certain colors, none having to do with a non-existent fish intelligence so many believe exists. Lock & key, like binary computer code - on or off, makes more sense when it comes to lure success.

Lake Kissimmee, which has large gators that will take your breath away: the state park there rents kayaks. I'm really not trying to sound crusty, but here it goes: I have lived in Florida all of my life (except for two tours in the Navy). I swam in lakes as a kid, had a classmate get mauled by a gator in college, and currently kayak and boat in waters that hold very large gators. I have been hissed at, growled at, etc. JD's advice is right on. I only know of one gator "attack" on a kayak (other than the recent video of the gator going after the dog). http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20020204&id=HL8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pP0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6384,4381127 You be the judge. Paddle-craft are very stealthy and you can unintentionally sneak up or worse, on top of, a submerged/rising gator. When this happens the gator will cause a ruckus (read "water explosion"). I have had this happen next to me while canoe fishing and I know of at least one instance where a kayaker was blown off his boat. This happens more often with the "gentle" manatee. None were attacks, just a freaked out large animal trying to get away. There has also been the occasional deliberate gator bump to a kayak which is probably a warning shot. I have heard of at least 3 occurences of this. When folks ask me about kayaking and gators, I always ask, "Do bears keep you from hiking and camping?" No, because your knowledge and respect gives you confidence that you will be safe. When a gator sees you and submerges, this is passive behavior. However, if he raises his back and tail high, this is a challenge. In response, I turn my kayak parallel to him and show him my 16 feet of orange "what the hell is that???!!" kayak and that usually makes them submerge...if they don't, I find somewhere else to fish. When this happens, I watch to see why the gator wanted me out. It has been due to baby gators in the area that I did not see, I was in his hunting grounds, or I was in his path as he was going from point A to point B. Hope this helps, Phil

The BB1's cast really well..just not sure about the plastic rod that holds the palm cover..on the other hand the tatula palm cover is a little harder to access but really there is no reason to access the palm on the tatula cause its not centrifugal

I just need my "be quite" bottle and all is well.....

Coming soon apparently! Mike posted this picture on his FB page. I like my veritas so hoping these much up in quality as well.

I was throwing the keitech mono spin jig in the bluegill tiger color. Its a small jig so you might get a lot of the little guys, but once in a while a good one will hit it.

It's very difficult to remove the pin without damaging it or the spool without a proper tool. Strip the line and flush the bearing in place by spraying with carb cleaner. Alternatively, leave the line on and find a shallow bottle cap etc to dip the bearing in place.

You can remove it with pliers/punch/hammer but IT'S NOT ADVISED. You can also make your own pliers. I did this at first but the pins in my 2 Daiwas were freaking in there good. I ended up bending them both. It was more of a test since I had bocas on the way and the hedgehog studio spool pin tool. It's a pricey little tool but if you plan on doing regular maintenance on a few reels it's well worth it.

That use to be my pick up line back in high school but it was a little different lol

Just checked Dobyns site and TW ... not so sure they've got "rods for all different types of budgets" as you describe if the bottom is $159 MSRP, unless I'm missing rods in the sub-$100 range?

That's such a vague question... Time of year, weather conditions, water temperature dictates a lot. I have weighed 27-28lbs for 5 spotted bass in 50-60ft of water in winter, and then flipped a jig in 4ft of water for largemouth during the same conditions. Jigs work in 1ft of water all the way down! Once you find them in one spot, they may only be there that day, week or month, then move deeper or shallower. Makes fishing fun, but frustrating!

typo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate my phone

where did the other ounce go? lol

Thanks again guys. Rooster - sorry, I missed this comment earlier. The reel is not THAT bad....the goal is to always have a fish on 'cause you don't notice the reel at all then... Wind gives many people problems, especially if trying to cast directly into the wind. Gusting wind (as opposed to steady wind) can give you fits as well. Magnifying the problem are baits like spinnerbaits and some crankbaits that lose velocity quickly. Assuming you have your reel working OK for no-wind conditions, when the wind comes up you can try adding more magnetic braking. If that doesn't work, add another centrifugal brake and play with the mag brakes. AND, as everyone says, that educated thumb needs to come into play to lightly ride on the spool and feather, or stop, the cast if you feel the reel getting ready to backlash. I have reels with centrifugal brakes only, Daiwas with Magforce magnetic brakes, and dual brakes. I prefer the DBS reels in windy conditions, or in conditions like near- or sub-freezing temps when the educated thumb suddenly gets dumb....since you can add more mag braking to supplement the centrifugals. In some cases, especially with really strong gusting wind, you end up using so much braking and/or thumb that you really sacrifice a lot of casting distance - in that case, it's time to re-position the boat (if you're afloat), or try another spot on the bank that is more favorable for wind. THEN, when all else fails, grab a spinning rod !

I do like the magforce z brake on the tatula..it works great in high wind

I use a small chunk trailer most of the time, plastic or pork and thread it up the hook shank. One trick I learned from Chris, with Northstar, is to cut the chunk into a V shape (fatter end towards the claws). The pointer end helps spread out the hair and allows it to breathe better in the water.

Think they will be less prone to break when smacked against the gunwales

I'm biased here. I have an Ultimate 12 and love it. The new models are even better, more stable, better standing (flatter bottomed pontoons), etc. It looks like you are in the market for a hybrid kayak/canoe, both are fine products, as is the Wilderness Systems Commander. If you can get some sit-in time, that might help you decide on comfort based on your body, etc.

I have to agree with everything you said. Acting like you are someone's friend to steal their spots... That's some teenage little girl middle school type s*** lol

It's rarely used today, but was not uncommon a few generations ago. From the Urban Dictionary. Handsome Woman A woman with the kind of refined beauty and attractiveness that requires poise, dignity, and strength of mind and character, things that often come with age; not merely sex-appeal. Usually applied to a woman who is also very well-groomed and from an upper class background. This phrase is very dated and rarely used in today's English. Those who don't understand the term could almost be insulted by the word "handsome" being applied to a woman, mistakenly thinking you're saying she is masculine. "Though she had lost long ago her virginal loveliness, she had ripened into a handsome and fruitful looking woman." - Ellen Glasgow

since im just getting into using heavier jigs to pitch into cover, the spinnerbait was my go to lure for moderately thick cover. I think with braid and floro SBs do pretty well ripping through weeds without getting hungup

most of my fishing is from the bank. i look for anything underwater that doesnt look normal. like a dark patch in the water could mean an underwater rock or stump or piece of wood. pay attention to whats around the shore and in the shallowest water on the bank. is it rocky, muddy, leafy, grassy. if you start pulling in grass, youve found an underwater grass bed, now try finding the edges of it or possible pockets in it, fish the transition points. i do a lot of fishing off my uncles dock at Smith Mtn Lake. last year i went in october and the water was much lower than i had seen it since ive been fishing off this dock. i took pictures of the land thats usually underwater. now i know that much more about the structure and cover of the area around the dock. located a couple stumps and large rocks i didnt know existed. fish could hold to these things. with bank fishing you dont have to learn the whole lake, just the area youre fishing. if its a smaller pond, then try to learn as much as you can about it...

I keep detailed reords of every trip out Spring & Fall: bank shallow out to 12' Summer & Winter: 12' out to 25' My records show preference of depth but rather for season. Since ya force to pick a depth it would be 15' +\- 3'

Fine if the tofu farting fairies want to play that game. Ill play that game right back. Lets see how the tree huggera like it when I launch a missle up their bum. WANTED: Predator drones. Anywhere between 5-10. Need to be fully armed and operational. Preferably painted black and silver. Camo is fine though, its not a deal breaker.

I've been boatless the last few years, but there's not a lot of difference between bank fishing and boat fishing except, casting angles, access to structure that's beyond casting distance from shore and electronics. I really miss knowing what the bottom looks like. I'm not an accomplished enough fisherman to really tell the depth or bottom composition that a lot of guys on here talk about. I grew up fishing both around 50-50, so I'm comfortable with either one. I'll use a Texas or Carolina rig, spinnerbait or crankbait ( I prefer a rattletrap chrome and blue...go figure) to search for fish, then when I find something they like, I'll try other baits/techniques to see what the big girls like. The hardest part about bank fishing is not knowing what the underwater structures look like and where they are. Other than that, I use the same visual cues that guys in boats use. I started rambling...sorry. I guess my main point is you should worry more about technique and choosing the right bait than whether or not you're in a boat or onshore. 2 of my top 5 personal bests have been caught bank fishing in ponds. One on private land that weighed in at 8.23 and one on a golf course (it's called Redstone now and they play the Shell Houston Open there) that weighed 7.66. Oddly enough, both were caught with a Zebco 303 and black/yellow worms and both were Texas rigged, weightless and caught before 1980. I continued rambleng. Still sorry.

First I'm a bank fishermen too... It would be cool but not really necessary. Basically any question you have can be answered here either by the search bar or simply posting. I don't think they need to implement a bank fishing section on this site though.

I recall back when Catt discussed the different water columns and how bass will live in certain water columns year round not limiting yourself to seasonal patterns. I always grew up targeting bass in less than 8 feet of water year round and only fished 8+ waters occasionally in the summer and fall. After hearing of his success and how monster bass are predominantly caught in the 8-15 foot range year round (more specific to lakes with less depth - not like lake Amistad depths), i gave it a shot and it has changed my fishing. He emphasized how another big bass population lives 15+ deep year round as well. The reality that big bass prefer certain depths year round was a big wake up call and i then started targeting depths that were less targeted for specific lakes. While this is not to say a bass that lives in 20+ waters won't come up shallow to feed here and there, it means they live deeper most of the year than other big bass that prefer shallower depths. For example, one lake i hit is hammered by fisherman hitting the 8 feet and less zone year round. I Stopped fishing the shore and points and learned about subtle structure changes (also learned from Catt and WRB) in the 8-15 foot range that other anglers failed to recognize and started killing the bigguns on that particular lake. Wanna be a better angler and get the most out of the original topic here, I suggest bookmarking any topic with Catt and WRB pitching in and you will become a better angler.

ok. Im not down with your hipster lingo.Next time lets just say bong for us old guys.

I like Night of the Living Dead. It's black and white and a little cheesy but it's a classic.

tO ANSWER THE FIRST ? There is very little area to fish from shore. If you go to the dam and go across dam there is about 1/2 mi. of shore lined w/ rocks.If the cabbage isnt blowed up on shore or the drilla isnt topped out very far there are some good spots to catch bass. to adress the 2nd. ? ,yes there are plenty of stumps and with the water as hi as it is now you cant see many of them. the barge canal seperates the stump fields and for the most part it is ok to run. you just have to watch out for floaters. right now some of the best fishing is strait across from kenwood landing.when you come out the canal to barge canal go across into stump field work your way back to where old river channel meanders and work off that.

SOB offers twisted loop or r-bend on all orders. The twisted loop is supposed to offer more vibration because it is more rigid. You can take a piece of clear plastic tubing & slip it over the r-bend to close the loop.

WRB, that's interesting since I fish uphill 95% of the time, your lure stays in contact with the bottom longer. I have no problems making long cast & settin hook, once you learn how to feel the bite & learn to set hook quick.

I cast a jig more than I flip/pitch/punch, I fish it like a Texas rig, & I do it with 15# Berkley Big Game. There are 2 rods I keep rigged 24/7/365, a Texas rig & a Jig-N-Craw. My standard weight jigs are 1\4 & 3\8