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I think a lot of how you look at this subject depends on your expectations from bass fishing. You've got guys that do it for fun/relaxation, tournament guys, big fish guys, etc.... I really think the guys who are fishing for ONE fish hold honest, exact weights in a higher regard. It's part of the game and a big part of the mystique of that ONE fish. While someone claiming their fish is at a higher weight than it actually is doesn't directly effect me, it does show a difference in perception. My opinion is you should be happy with what you catch without having to falsely bump up the weight. If you are not catching the fish that you want to catch, change where you fish or how you fish. What is the purpose of embellishing a weight? To gain acceptance and recognition from peers who are catching larger fish? Those peers are the ones who see through the BS and call out false claims, pretty much killing any credibility you hoped to create. In all honesty, if someone didnt care about what others thought about their fish they wouldn't feel the need to lie about weights. In the end, I'll keep doing what I do and others will do what they do. The people I respect and associate with know I put up honest, accurate weights. My credibility is important to me and, in my opinion, that is the way to keep it. Just because our opinions don't line up doesn't make anyone wrong.....except the guy lying about his fish weights.

If your "Holy Grail" of fishing supplies is Walmart, you need to get out more.

But I wasn't the only one who had a good weekend.

Answer me this - why is it that whenever somebody posts a picture of a terrific catch (e.g. a huge bass), there's always some yahoo that says it's Photoshopped - probably from some guy who's never used or seen Photoshop to begin with. Seriously. Many photos these guys say are "Photoshopped" aren't even possible to create in Photoshop. Or the latest one I saw, some dude commented that the fish in the photo was a fiberglass replica. Ya, the guy hauled out a fiberglass replica with him out on the boat just to take a picture of him holding it. Ya right. How do people come up with trash like that? Why do people - who weren't there when the pic was taken...who don't know the person in the photo....who have zero first-hand knowledge about the catch or the angler who caught it, have to make up garbage like that and downplay somebody's Personal Best moment? If you haven't guessed by now, it's a pet peeve of mine. This sport is so small and shrinking, that there's zero space for negative attitudes like that anywhere. It's not needed, not necessary, unwarranted, and just plain old juvenile. To those that make comments like that - grow up or take up another sport! Take your false accusations elsewhere!

I spend several days each winter walking the banks of the local lakes looking for lures. This past winter I picked up nearly 100 crankbaits from the shoreline of several different lakes, along with a couple duck decoys, a bowfishing arrow, a nice rain jacket, 2 reel covers, and about a billion bobbers. Some of those baits I keep for myself, some are given away, some are cleaned up and sold

Can I say Jimmy Houston?

Give me a bunch of small ones. If I caught an eight pounder it would have the same effect as my having relations with a hot sixteen year old; my enjoyment would be limited by the heart attack.

Dude, make better hooksets ! I' ve caught thousands of fish with reels much slower than yours.

You were probably setting the hook with to much force

Whoever happened to put out the last educational video I watched without pitching a product.

Whoo, you almost gave me a heart attack. Thank you all for the kind words!!

Short version. Catch bluegill bring it up for a pic because of it's color and he drops it. I hear a big whoosh and see his line starts going crazy. I take my shoes and socks to wade out in the water. Get fish in and it's a pretty big bass. On a fly rod with tapered tipit. #6 down to #2 and a number 16 or 18 fly. It's no bigger than my pinky nail. Bluegill got away but the bass was barely hooked in the corner of the mouth. Coolest thing to witness.

Since I started Bass fishing in August of last year when I caught my first bass I was hooked. This year has been killing me, my confidence was shot until this past weekend, which was my best by to date. It also gave me confidence in plastics, fishing structure, and What to use in certain conditions. Thanks to Bass Resource.com. The fam planed a trip to Minerva, New York which is about 20 miles North of Lake George. We stayed at a cabin only "camp ground" called Morning Side Cabins on Lake Minerva. It was nice and quite because school is still in and no summer vacation crowd. You can have your choice of canoe, kayak or 12ft Jon. I opted for the Jon so I can stand without worryng about falling in. Visibilaty was about 4 to maybe 5 ft. This is How it went. Caught these guys the first day on the water. The day was tough going, because a front moved in the night before, and cooled the temperatures down. Plus to make it worse it was pretty windy. Good thing we had an anchor. I went out by myself at 6 am, stayed out till 2 pm, and got skunked. That all changed when me, and the wife went back out around 4pm. The wind died down a little and the sun was more frequent. Caught the pike when the sun was out on a White spinner bait with chrome blades. Caught the bass when it got cloudy about 15 minutes later on a sexy shad color spinner bait with a gold blade. First good bass of the year, and I was pumped. Took the wife back to shore had some dinner and just relaxed for the next day. Saturday got up around 8 am and went out on the lake at 10 am. Was nice and warm and the wind died down drasticaly. Took the Jon out by myself beat the shore l with spinners and some swim baits, and nothing. To note this lake is littered with lay downs every where. Took out the whacky rig put on a green pumpkin black flake Senko some JJs, a wrist roll cast into some timbers and the line takes off to the left, set the hook and a nice one like similar to the above. Like an idiot I forgot my camera (Phone), and couldn't record it. Rowed back to the dock, and retrieved said device. Then decided to do some top water in some grass and pads... No dice. Came back in around 2p fished with my 3 yr old son some, and had dinner. Went back out around 5p, and thats when the magic happened. Started hitting things like this towards the middle of the lake with a weighted, glass beaded Trigged Watermelon red flake Space Monkey. Just roll cast it let it sink lift it a little wait for the pressure, and BOOM! And somebody didn't want to be left out... After this I decided to go here... This cove was littered with lay downs along the shore. Rowed up it, fished all the lay downs with the Space Monkey... Nothing. When I got to the end of said cove I decided to switch to the whacky rig with a Pumpkin Black Flake Strike King Shimee Stick, and just drift back down, fishing the same lay downs.... Nothing to brag about, Drifted to the next lay down, and.... My inner Dave Mercer took over, and "Look at that dude right there" My PB. Man was I pumped. My cheap spring lip grip scale said 2lbs, but I think it might of been more. I couldn't measure it so I put it next to my foot for comparison, but it still is an awkward angle. I couldn't get it right even with my boot. I'm a 9 1/2 and add a 1/2 inch for the tip of the boot. It was way bigger than the first one at the begining of the post. So I'm happy now. To note I also missed a few fish between that small bass and my PB with the whacky rig. Definetly gained alot of experince fishing this past weekend, and hopefully it carries over with more success. Thanks to everybodies input and help.

Google's definition of a professional - a person engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. Sorry all you tournament guys who have won some money fishing tournaments. If it's not your career, you aren't a pro. To ad to the post, I know Scott Martin has made some posts, but I'm not sure if it's actually him or if it's someone who is doing it for him.

PP 50lbs at Walmart... under $16

I know the technical name but I always just say bluegill,sunfish, or sunnies when talking because people relate to that. I forget I'm on a fishing forum and people know the difference.

So, you ordered on a Federal holiday at the end of a site-wide 25% off sale and you're complaining about shipping times? A bit of too high expectations, no? It's a small operation, not nearly the size of TW. I've ordered from both and there are good aspects of each company.

I fish out of a Starcraft STX 2050 deep V aluminum boat

Hi Folks, Some of you remember when Belle was born. My wife was in a car wreck and went into labor early the next morning. Belle was about four weeks premature. She really didn't show it then, and definitely doesn't show it now. She was helping Big Brother and Daddy sort fishing lures, and decided she wanted to help. She loves this plastic worm (Zoom, I think). She is of course supervised and not allowed to chew on it! Josh

Congrats man and enjoy it! Seems like just yesterday I was holding our "little" guy in the delivery room, now he's almost 6 months old and swelling up like a California bass on trout stocking day!

Making a mold of somebody else's bait and copying it is lazy and steeling. When you design your own its yours. If you have the skills to make a mold and copy another bait then you should also have the skills to create your own. There is so much more satisfaction in catching a fish on a bait you designed. If you pour a bait copy, its not your design. You deserve no credit other then maybe you came up with a color pattern but you probably copied that to. The sassy shad patent has long since expired, meaning he got paid for his idea, he reaped the rewards for his work and now its ok for others to use that design. Also the original sassy shad had a very weak swimming action that has been greatly improved in most modern day swimbaits. This subject always ends the same way. The guys who do the copying defend their actions with a bunch of excuses. That are not true. " there is no new ideas" Lie, there are new idea all the time. "Every lure was based of another lure" not true some are and some aren't and most new designes are inspired by old designs but have changes and improvements. "The big companies steel from the little guys so its ok for us to copy somebody elses bait" Its usually the little guys who do most of the copying. Yes it has happened when the big guys steel from the little guys but how in the heck does that justify you steeling from anuybody? now if you just happen to be the actual little guy that got ripped of a big company then it would be reasonable for you to do it back to that exact company that ripped you off. Don't use that excuse to rip off some other company big or small. I do feel that its not nearly as bad to copy for your own personal use but even that is not usually the case. They give them to their friends or "only sell a few" to offset the costs. Either way the guy who invented the design is not being compensated when he should. Like I said earlier, Get some Mend-it and those baits will last a LOOOONG time. You will save money over the cost of copying. Or better yet Use you mind, your imagination, and create something. It is sooooo much more rewarding.

Fish is a lot of trial and error. Read, listen, observe, ask questions in detail, take notes and practice, practice, practice. Most of the time fishers are very agreeable to share info. If yopu see other people fishing, pick their brain. Best of luck to you.

For several reasons: 1. His jigs are awesome. Just the quality and the feel of them give me confidence. I'm disappointed that I waited this long to give them a try. 2. His shipping? Crazy fast. I got my order in 2 days flat after I ordered. Why did I wait this long to order from them, again?... 3. For the price that I paid for the jigs, I don't know how anyone could look anywhere else. When it felt the quality, I KNOW that I won't look anywhere else. Again, disappointed that I put off getting these things until now. 4. I'm disappointed because I almost feel like I stole these things from Mike at the price he is selling them. Last but not least: Now I'm constantly on the website looking at what jigs to try next... So many choices.... Oh well, just placed my 2nd order... Beginning of a new problem right here Thanks for great products, Mike! I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular from here on out.

Guess I don't know how to post pics very well couldn't get all on one post. So here are a few more from Ontario. Caught lots of noce walleye. This one was 4.5 lb. Smaller ones went back for dinner. Northern Pike were very aggressive. loads of them in the 6 to 8 lb range. This one was 10lb 6 oz. It was a great time and made reservation for next June before we left camp.

Made it back from Rainy Lake, Ontario. Was a great trip, except for the rock that messed up my prop, glad I carried a spare! Nice view from the porch of the cabin. Probably 30+ smallmouth per day, 2.5 to 3.5 lb range.

An 8 lber ............why so low expectations ?

Yes but yours smelled like a barn yard animal. Baa baaaa

I just assumed somebody finally pushed you into the drink! Joking aside, I'll reiterate the point that getting a guide replace is a very inexpensive fix. As for the shipping, you need to understand that the shipping costs are to cover their end of the ordeal. They have absolutely no idea weather you are telling the truth about the rod being damaged due to a faultily craftsmanship or user error. You can tell them tell you are blue in the face (and this applies to all rod companies) that you baby your rods but you need to understand a rod company most likely hears the same exact thing 100 times a day. Their customer service is amazing. If your rod would have broke in half after only owning it a short time, Gary or Richard will most likely still only charge you the same 40$ shipping back and forth for a new rod. The 80$ replacement is for user error because rod defects show up very quickly. They are fixing your rod free of charge if you ship it back but you need to understand again the shipping cost is just that...only a shipping cost because again..they have no idea whether you abused the rod or it was a defect. It's only your word. St. Croix, who also has one of the best customer service departments in the industry, does the same thing. they will charge shipping.

ok ...........does that mean I cant post it? sometimes people need to hear things twice. I don't understand your point...........especially since you said $10 "I heard".......... well I KNOW. so you can see my post as backup to yours, or pat yourself on the back for "being first" ........whatever. geez and people wonder why I havnt been on the boards for two weeks.......sheesh.

Save your money for when you actually need something or else the bait monkey will lose control and activate protocol Z Type RT9, AKA Operation J2 Candlewick. ***You have been warned. I have gone down that path and it isn't fun for your wallet.***

Brandon Palaniuk he is the future of the sport

I like the centrifugal braking system in the curado I , but I prefer the ACS braking system in the quantum smoke.

I've been making my own for years, I do everything from pour the heads to bending my own wire and here is what I can tell you. If you are a casual angler then the $1.00 walmart specials will work but if you like to tournament fish or if you like to fish a spinnerbait slow rolled then you need to step up. I use Worth ball bearing swivels, the difference is I can reel my spinnerbait just enough that it isn't laying on the bottom and my blades will spin but good ball bearing swivels cost money, the only two I would ever use is Sampo and Worth. Then you have the hook, a high quality hook will penetrate, the cheap hook is ok when the fish pounds it but when they swip and just get it in the corner of their mouth , that is when you need a good sharp hook. Even the wire, in stained water you will want more vibration but you still need flash, a good quality stainless wire will allow you to run a willow leaf blade with a small Colorado kicker blade and you'll get vibration along with the flash, the cheaper bait will need to have a hubcap Colorado blade because they are made on really heavy wire, it will last and it will catch fish but you will get more bites and fish on the better bait more often than not. I'm not exaggerating either, when the fish are hitting a spinnerbait and they are spooky, they will often have what I call the "area of commitment" , if you come through that zone too fast you will get chasers but no takers, but if you have a bait you can reel slowly and still have good blade spin, then you'll get those fish. I have heard the stories on how dollar spinnerbait work really well and I don't question it because I've witnessed it but I also witnessed when the premium model was lighting it up when slow rolled and the dollar special wasn't able to slow down enough, I actually got started making my own because the dollar specials would roll over on me in current and I'd miss fish so I made my own when I could not find one to suit me needs. Here I am 15 years later and the spinnerbait is still my favorite bait and I found that there is no substitute for a high quality spinnerbait, it is the most versatile lure in the box next to a jig.

Mono and fluoro are not an issue but braid can slip on the spool giving the illusion of a malfunctioning drag. The tape is just to give the braid some traction. Just a layer around the spool is all you need. Tying off to a wiffle spool will work, but I just don't like the idea. I use backing for almost everything. It makes re-spooling quicker and easier, solves the braid slipping issue, and saves yards of good line that would never see the light of day.

Not cool to copy the rage bait. Design and make your own. Another easy option is get some Mend-it and repair the baits. Mend-it fixes them by chemicaly welding them back together. No hard crusty spots like super glues or pros soft bait glue, (Similar to super glue) You can make your rage baits last for a very long time.

Doesn't compete with Speeds monster LM but here's my 6lbs 22" caught on a rage rigged rage smokin rooster.. She had just spawned out sadly..

Fish BFL's etc as a NON boater. Pay attention. Ask questions when it's appropriate, but don't be annoying. Find a fishing partner who knows more than you do. A LOT more than you do. Again, ask questions. Don't argue. There's nothing worse than knowing a lot about something (not just fishing) and having someone who doesn't know squat about said subject ask you for help and then argue with your advice. Be careful with dock talk. Strangers will often give you bad advice so you don't get on the pattern that's actually working for them. Not always, of course. Fish as much as you can. Don't let their marketing confuse you into buying every lure known to man. You don't need all of them. You don't need 68 colors of each type of crankbait you own. Keep it simple. When I used to guide, I was amazed at how complicated people made fishing. You're never going to completely figure Bass out. Don't worry, neither has KVD or anybody else on this Earth. If they claim they have, they're lying to you. There will be days when the best fisherman on your lake won't catch squat. It will happen to you too. It happens to all of us, even the top pros. I've watched them scratch their heads down here in FL. LOL Do as Starcraft1 says. Take a boaters safety course and ALWAYS wear your PFD with KILLSWITCH attached. Many a boater has been ejected and drowned or was ran over by their own boat because they didn't have their killswitch attached. It CAN happen to YOU.

Texas Rigged Craw Worm! Absolutely deadly on big bass

Nice Bass ~ Congrats ! Good Luck with your next adventure and your new goals with trout & smb. But since you've already admitted to the Bucket Mouth addiction - and you say you're going to just walk away; I'll offer that it might not be that easy. Oh you'll be OK - at first. As you're targeting beautiful trout and great fighting Bronzebacks, there may still be that little voice, way down deep in your soul that says, "Hey Man, Let's throw a swimbait around a bit, just for a while - just to see what happens" Oh you'll try and resist it, try to ignore the voice. But it will be persistant. And it may get louder and louder as time passes. Sooner or later, you'll have to cave - you know you will. The urge and desire to lay a tight thumb hold on a big fat bucket mouth will just be too much . . . .you'll have no choice. It's OK though - who could blame you right ? After all, it's an addiction and it's in your blood. You were meant to do it. But hey, what the heck do I know . . . . I could be making this all up. Signed A-Jay (Completely Addicted)

Lund your missing the point. Say you won a silver metal at the Olympics and you were proud of that accomplishment. You worked hard, and you trained for years. How would you feel if every other person you talked to claimed they also won Olympic silver and gold metals and they had a picture of their metal. Wouldn't you be annoyed if you knew they were lying. At some point wouldn't you call BS on them? It has nothing to do with being insulted with the supposed accomplishments of others. If somebody catches a big bass then I am happy for them. I honestly think that awesome. Its when they are claiming a fish is much bigger then it actually is and he and I both know he's full of it. Think of you telling a bunch of friends a story and then there is that one guy that always has to 1 up everybody's story. Except he's lying. That wouldn't bother you?

Glen I have to respectfuly disagree with you. Here is why. If you set out to do something difficult and you succeed then you have accomplished something. If it was easy and most everybody could do it then its not really an accomplishment. If what you did can only be done by a small percentage then your most likely proud of that accomplishment. Now lets apply that to bass fishing. Only a small percentage of guys have actually caught a 10+ pound bass. Even fewer with a 12 pounder and there are not many who have ever caught a 15+. The guys that have done these things know they accomplished something when they did it. So when tons of guys post pictures of 6-8pound bass claiming they are 10 pounders its an insult to the guys who have caught legit trophy bass. When guys lie about it, it diminishes the accomplishment. You say its your pet peeve when guys call them out, well its my pet peeve when guys claims a fish is much bigger then it is. Now I agree with you if the picture in question looks close or is reasonable. After all most of us get excited when we catch a good fish and tend to over estimate the weight. But when its obviously exaggerated I think they should get "educated". I think there is a balance. Some should get called out when its obvious, and when its reasonable then let them have their 15 minutes of fame.

mine was bigger.........Jeff has the picture to prove it!!!!

Sometimes they just slap at topwater baits and don't actually get the hooks in their mouths well. You aren't going to catch every fish that bites, especially on topwater baits.

Treble hooks don't need a very hard hook set. You probably yanked it out of the fish's mouth.

I wouldn't remove anything. Iv never tried, but it seems to me it most likely would alter the plug in a negative way. I still get tangled on the front treble from time to time. Its a quick fix. Also, even if I wanted to remove the front treble, I wouldnt... Id say over 50% of my spook fish are landed with the front treble attached, and back treble swinging freely.

Maybe you should try Yozuri hybrid? It's crazy strong... But trilene big game is too... Or Pline CXX... Of course it won't have the feel of Tatsu or invisx... But way strong, and good enough on feel, at least for me.. Palomar spit soaked knot.. No troubles...

You can't beat a pflueger president spinning reel at 60$ I use a 6935 on my kistler helium lta.... Great reels for the money

I would recommend a Pflueger President. It's $50-$60 and is a great reel. I bought one this year and won't go back.

I have no preference for one, all my Daiwas are magnetic, all my Shimanos but one are centrifugal ( a very old Bantam B-Mag 1000 which has magnetic ), before going yadda yadda yadda with the characteristics of each and in between those characteristics there have been variations let me tell you, no system is forgiving if you don´t set it properly, with both you have to go through the learning curve, once you have gone through the learning curve you´ll see that it makes absolutely no difference. It´s all in the thumb !!! BTW, I still manage to backlash every now and then and now that I´m an "expert" I make much better backlashes than when I was a beginner.