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I caught my personal best today in my own backyard. Proves you ain't gotta go far to catch tanks weighed in at 4 pounds 3 ounces. Caught her on a watermelon seed senko. What a fight! Anyone else catch a big'un ?

I think your use of the word fishery is biased towards bass. As far as we know, nature did just fine before man got involved at the top of the food chain. I would believe the harvesting of bass by fisherman has a more detrimental effect on the fishery than panfish. Fish have adapted to living with evasive species as well. They don't adapt to weed kills and frying pans As far as lead, they've already closed the last smelting plant. I don't think my opinion matters

Really ~ C'mon Man. A-Jay

11- do not ignore or downplay a bite. remember the location and always think of that spot as a fishy/big bass spot. bite locations are fish holding areas so think of them as good not bad. it's easy to get down b/c u missed a fish but a bite is v-e-r-y important clue that reveals ur in a fish holding location. it's not as important on ponds. but very important when bank fishing lakes/reservoirs etc (and equally important when fishing from kayak or 18ft boat; mark a GPS point if u have a unit). if you got skunked that day but got 4 bites....go back to those 4 locations tomorrow and from that day forward. make them ur priority spots. try to figure out the bite right then and there. cast back immediately with something different (something closely related to what you were doing when you got the bite ie you gave up on ur dead sticking/slow dragging ur senko and just started reeling ur line in when a bass slammed it but he didn't commit. the 'fleeing' bait got a reaction out of the bass. tie on a similar color jig and cast back immediately. dead stick it for 60 sec to get his interest (like the senko did) and then go straight to reeling it back experimenting with slow to fast reaction retrieve, pops, rips etc.

i beat the bank for years and was a certified pond master before moving off shore. ponds are like fishing in a barrel BUT it still take awhile to learn how to: consistently catch fish, catch the biggest fish in the pond and learn how to read what's going on above and below the water. 1 ponds have a feeder stream, either above ground or underground. the feeder stream brings fresh water/oxygen/food. the influx of water during heavy rain and flooding flushes out a pit where they like to hold. there will always be fish hanging there, especially in summer b/c its like air conditioning. you can usually see the feeder creek above ground. if the pond is underground/spring fed the surface area can sill looks 'swampy' ie you won't trek thru that area without waders; you can smell the moisture in the air; there is beaver activity; tall cat tails, bullies etc. 2 the water must exit the pond as well. this area also holds fish but in my experience not as big. 3 streams meander thru a large lake like a snake. they don't have quite the opportunity to zig zag from bank to bank in a small pond. at the very least the underwater stream favorites one side of the pond. this will be the deeper side and it holds better fish. the opposite side is usually shallow, more stagnant water w/ slimy algae on the surface and on the bottom, and tapers very slowly out to the middle. it has stumps and logs jammed in the muck etc. this would be the pond flat or cove side. i always try this area but it produces best during spawn, spring, fall. bass don't worry about predators from above as much in low light conditions so they will be more bold about sitting in this shallow water at dusk/dawn/night fishing or with wind chop on the surface or rain. i hate this area in the summer b/c its the hottest part of the pond w/ no current or wind. but i love fishing it during the cold season b/c the water warms up the fastest so bass sunbath in these pond coves or corners. its hard to get a 'big lure over their head in this shallow water b/c even a 4" senko casts a bald eagle like shadow. i try my normal lures but keep them far off shore to draw the fish out to them. if they aren't chasing or are skiddish i go with a 1/8 Mepps in-line spinner. its the only thing i've found can be cast right over their heads and not spook them from above or below in 12" of water. a lot of times the thumping/vibration from a double willow spinnerbait just scares the crap out of them in stable pond water this shallow. there are aggressive feeding times where they love it so i start big but quickly downsize if i'm just scaring bass. the more you analyze ponds and what's going on above water the easier it become to read whats going on underneath. ponds are more shallow so it's easy to see bass reacting negatively to vibrating lures. learn from their reaction and make adjustments immediately. 4 if there is a dock never walk out onto it b/c you'll spook all the fish on that side of the pond. first stealth cast both sides and then the front from both direction. then slowly tip toe out to access deeper water. never walk directly up to the waters edge. i make my first cast from 10-15ft back. i've seen other guys laugh at me bc i'm elmer fudd but there's nothing better than silently flipping a lure 6ft off shore and having a giant bass smash it. vise versa there's nothing worse than walking right up to the waters edge only to spook a nice bass out to the deep. most guys see the swirling bass take off and think 'oh there's good activity today'. but really you just spooked a bass you could have caught. 5 fan casting is the way to go. i'll fan cast an area and move on. i don't fish, i hunt fish. ur first cast to an area has the best chance of catching the biggest bass and/or the most aggressive bass. so why not relocate often. some guys sit in the same spot all day long. probably bc that's how they were taught to fish. i've literally caught 3 fish approaching a guy...walked around him...and caught 3 more bass as i hiked up shore. he finally came over to ask me what my magic lure was. i know it took alot for him to approach me so i explained the lure changes each day but my hunting/hiking fish style will always be the same. it was probably the last time he used a lawn chair for bass fishing. 6 if ur not catching fish change lures often. if i fan cast 3 different locations with a spinnerbait and don't catch a bass, it's time to change lures. ponds are small so it's easy to locate and/or draw fish in. i'm quick to change lures and go from reaction lure w/ vibration... to reaction w/ no vibration (swim jig/senko/swimbait etc)... to bottom bounding something like a t-rig, c-rig, split shot... to flipping wacky senkos... to dead sticking senkos, drop shot or bottom crawling jigs. you only have so much shore/casting real estate from shore so i'm quick change lures. and i'm quick to slow down my retrieves and/or be patient. 7 analyze what comes back on ur hook. the two best things are green vibrant weeds and/or clean leaves. these areas hold bass so if ur hook comes back with either you are in the right place. the worst thing to bring back is green slim algae=keep hiking up shore. fountains or aerators are also fish magnets b/c of the oxygen/food and cover. i fished a pond for years that had no weeds but it had an aerator. it created an underwater current system and fresh mulched leaves would gather in a nice pocket 30ft away. this is where i always caught the biggest bass. it took a 80ft cast to get out there. if i couldn't draw them back with a reaction bait i would just bombed a jig out and slowly worked it till they crushed it. 8 i hate frogs . no matter how stealth i am, they are better. a frog jumping into the water is like an alarm to bass that gives away my position. if i spook a frog into the water at a good location i wait a few minutes before casting. i just check my text messages, tie my shoe, put on new lure etc. let the spot settle until the bass drops his guard again. 9 use braid mainline with leader of ur choice. i also carry 2 rods and use a fanny pack. One spinning and one casting rod. both have a braid (10lb and 30lb) with yo zuri leaders (6, 8, 12, 15 or 17 lb). i keep a bunch of 12ft leaders wrapped up with a piece of tape around each. it takes up virtually no room and weighs next to nothing yet i'm prepared for any situation. if the cover gets nasty i just remove the leaders and fish straight braid. 10 skip buying ur next two rods and buy a kayak. it will get you off shore and open so many possibilities. so many angles, constant fresh water, access to deeper water, ultra stealth. spring is coming and every box store will have one for under $300. it will change ur fishing life. Good article by Hank Parker on Pond fishing: http://www.bassresource.com/hank-parker-fishing/pond-fishing-tactics.html

Speaking of which, did you guys see this? http://www.theboredninja.com/gifs/fish-eats-bird/

I think your math is wrong. Must be the old age. 29+6=BR35

I'm in. I will have to fill out the form tomorrow and get it to Mike.

I vote in favor of a bank fishing forum. At a minimum this thread should be stickied.

A bass eats what it can catch and fit in it's mouth. Don't over think it. How many 5" long, fat, cigar shaped sticks of wood have you ever seen dancing seductivly on the surface in nature............probably, like me, ZERO..............yet a bass will try to eat a Zara spook............when you think about it, they are actually pretty stupid, and easy to fool, we make it harder than it needs to be.

If your worried about killing a fish.....................take up golf. Even with C&R, some die.

Navionics has a free web app that is pretty hard to beat.

The subject of "imitation" has been largely discussed here, you don´t have to "imitate" anything, your lures "imitate" whatever the fish thinks, we really don´t know what a bass thinks when it sees a lure, so it´s all speculation, what you really need to know is that lures catch fish and it has more to do with who is behind the rod handle than what/how the bait looks like or you make it look like. In my neck of the woods bass have never seen trout, salamanders, shad, perch, walleye, pike and so and lures that "imitate" them catch fish as well as those who "imitate" what bass may eat in the waters around my neck of the woods.

Realistic lures sure make the consumer bite!

Water temp is 47. Water is getting more clear every day probably 4' visibility. We just had some rain so hopefully it will cloud it up some. Fished for couple hours today just in the cove here by the resort. Wind advisory kept me from venturing out. Caught one 16" spot on the A-rig with 5" smoke grubs. Hooked a nice largemouth on a texas rigged watermelon/red baby brush hog in a boat stall 35' water depth but lost it before I could get it in the boat. Guessing 4+ but just another fish story with no picture. Attached pic of spot.

Today is my 29th birthday with 6 yrs of experience being 29. So I decided for today I'm going to run a 10% off sale for Bass Resource members. When checking out use the code BR10.

Hey guys I know its only December but we will be havingb our yearly meeting in January before we know it ! Here in richmond va We are looking for people who wanna fish the James river , Appomattox, chesdin , chickahamony , and chickahominy lake that have aluminum bass boats or Jon boats with 60 HP or less we are looking to have around 10 - 15 members so hurry should fill up quick contact me at wadet25@gmail.com for any info or here is fine as well

That would be a Red Sox team prior to '04!...For 86 YEARS!

I went ahead and texted the guys that work for me that I am gonna be in an ill mood till after the superbowl. Hard to admit. But the 9ers were the better team. We are still a year away

Alright !! SAN FRAN AT SEATTLE !!! WWWWOOOOOHHHHHOOOO !!!!!!!!

The frame is wider. Daiwas magforce 3d braking system is ,imo, better than vbs. just such a smooth braking system. The TWS casts and pitches easier than anything ive used. The 50 shimano is still the most comfortable pitching reel made.

Dallas comes to mind or maybe Kansas City blowing a 28 point lead!

I bought mine from Cadman.

I've heard perch taste good but I always figured you filleted and cooked them first?? Looks like a good time, except for the whole being cold part.

LOL ~ You're right. A-Jay

Northwood gets a lot of pressure in the summer. Sometimes the fishing is great sometimes it sucks. Best places to fish are the deep weeds out around 10-13 ft its not the deepest lake, but if you can find the pockets of cover in that depth you should do pretty well. Places to avoid on that lake are the obvious places such as to the west side of the lake where there is large rock clifs running into the water. If you cruise about 100 yards away from the public beach near the boat ramp there is some good deep weeds over there I have caught multiple big bass over there and my uncle caught his 4lb smallie over there.

LMAO...It doesn't bother me Tom, you're one of the few that makes me laugh on this site, I can give a rat's @$$ what you think of the Patriots and I know you'll be rooting for the other team next week, should be fun reading your posts. It's all good fun Bud!

Use a Bearing Blaster. Bearing Blaster is pretty neat tool. It has two parts one to hold the bearing in place and the other one is to cover the bearing edges which has a hole where you you stick in those CRC/Carb Cleaner/ nossle/straw. Use a CRC brake cleaner w/ bearing blaster to blast out those gunk. The bearing would be sandwich between the bottom plastic and the top plastic. Use your hand to press down the cover while the other hand sprays in the cleaner. The force of the compress cleaner will blast the cleaner into the bearing. Should look like this when preparing. I place the bearing plaster in a bowl catch all the excess cleaner when flushing the bearings.

Sorry, I don't give credit to spy-gaters or bounty-gaters.

Should be come on men....I will call them that until Belicheat leaves....

Yes the paint does build up on them. I use the Teflon pins once, then when I take them out of all the painted jigs, I just bend them a little and the paint cracks off. This is the easiest way to paint jigs. Also you can use the Teflon pins to pour. If you are not using them to pour you are doing yourself a disservice. They are so much better than the metal pins. No more fighting with the pins and stabbing yourself.

That's C'mon Persons

Welcome. We have at least two retired coasties here & many buddies of coasties. You should feel right at home.

When an angler puts a lure into a prey categories, such as prey fish, worm or crawfish, it doesn't mean a bass does or is able to considering its limited brain's abilities. There may be something about a lure that feels right to a bass, but humans will never know for certain. On the other hand, novelty lure action, color and profile may have more to do with why bass strike than what it thinks a lure is. A bass that has never seen a spinnerbait or shad is capable of striking both but for different reasons - a spinnerbait is annoying; a shad is a real fish in every way a bass senses it is. A bass's senses take into account everything about an object that swims or crawl, real and fake and IMO will never confuse the two. Lure designs are an artful abstraction of life forms, the details of which are more appreciated by humans than the fish they are designed to catch. In any case, if an angler believes imitating prey helps get more strikes. even if the lure is doesn't come close to imitating anything, than who's to say it's not true. The only difference would be that if an angler feels he must limit himself to lure types, colors, actions, sizes and maybe presentations to imitate what fish may be feeding on, he may miss out on other lures that do better.

Perfect balance can only be obtained if the same exact weight lure is used every time. Don't know about anyone else but I use a variety of lure types with different weights, I don't seem to endure difficulty doing this. I do hold my rod in an unconventional manner, not that I'm the only one, my hand is on the foregrip above the reel. With many bass style rods this would be difficult, for me the advantages are always having my hand in strike position for a larger fish, makes setting the hook easier for me by having a bit more leverage and does negate some tip heaviness. Like Fishes in Trees, a little tip heavy isn't a bad thing. I'd be buying the reel I liked the best, perfect balance IMO is over rated and over thought.

Cabelas advanced angler bags. Magnum or super magnum size. Very well made and constructed of heavy duty materials.

To answer you question yes it is a lifetime ban. He will go out like bonds, especially after this mess. No one wants this kinda of drama on a team. And while they are not role models for life, I remember being a kid setting my stance up like Cal, kids see how they play the game and think it is the right way to go about it. Their dad didnt play ball why listen to him any how. That's just my two cents.

Mine would be a hope not a goal, I don't have any control of what's swimming by. While I'm still able to walk, lol, I'd like to hook any kind of fish that will strip out 200 yds of line (without opening my bail) chase it on foot down the beach stepping over rocks for a half mile and land it. That will be my greatest catch and my last fish, I'll retire.

To get back to the states so i can start catching BASS again lol. 4 years overseas is to long. I loved this assignment but 2-3 years woulda been good. Idk how people stay overseas most their career lol.

I don't do resolutions, and I usually don't set goals, but I suppose every year I aim for a new PB. Overall, fishing to me is about enjoyment, getting outside, becoming proficient at the sport/hobby. I don't do tourney fishing, for me it's all about having fun and loving the sport.

This is a great idea and a great program as Fishing is such a great Hobby to have for thousands of reasons, and I often compare it to golf, only much more exciting & difficult. I will put some $ in the pot when I have some extra money as it is a worthy cause.

Same goals as 2013...........and really every year. #1 Have fun.......if it's not fun, it's not worth being out there #2 No expensive break downs, that would put a big hurting on #1 #3 Spend time on the water with my kids #4 Don't hook myself, or fall in the water The fishing will take care of it's self as long as I am in the right place at the right time.

Worth isn't always determined in dollars. I've traveled cross country with the boat just to fish.

Temp on dash right now is 62....back to normal aaaah!

Wow! I get knocked on my butt by the flu for a week or so, and the next time I look up we've got new members and Road Trip attendees coming out of the woodwork! Welcome to new members Jack Fate, BG RTR, and Pete-K. Also, glad to see that ProCrafter is back with us again. So here is the list as of today. BassnChris and BeckieC Kyakr Fishing Rhino Bighead and Sharon and son Chad Long Mike Alpster Road Warrior Glenn and Keri 00Mod ProCrafter Pete-K BG-RTR Jack Fate Maybe J Francho

Alright so my review on them lures! Got out there today and gave em a try. All 3 had great action. Slowly reeling in the lures moved very well. Cranking the lures was excellent as well. You could feel the vibration as the bait moved. The treble hooks aren't great. I got hung up one of the three sides broke off. I got 2 tugs on it, missed both fish, didn't set the hooks and the lures were spit out. The hooks are sharp so I have to blame that on me. Overall If I have to buy some good Mustad hooks to replace them it is still well worth the investment. I think these lures are going to help me catch some fish pretty soon!

Really? Although I am not impressed with this lure, I have been VERY impressed by The Rig.

+1^ The teflon base hole pins work like a champ! Barlow's also sells a heat-resistant tube that you put over the weedguard when you powder coat and bake your jigs. http://www.barlowstackle.com/Heat-resistant-Tubing--P1200.aspx I've never used them, but it's another option. Tom

IM IN! Just got the email saying my status has changed from on waiting list to IN TOURNAMENT! YES!!!!!!! Im so stoked! If i get paired with Ike or KVD Im going to go ballistic!

Buffalo, your point has merit, but if we created a forum for everyone who has a special interest, there would be hundreds of them. e.g. separate forums for crankbaits, plastics, top-waters, trolling motors, etc. By the time a member could scroll through all the forums looking for his/her particular interest, it would have been much easier to simply use the Search Function, located at the top, right of each page.