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So I'm out in the canoe today with my trusty grub rod, tossing a Zoom Fat Albert 5" grub at some clumps of emergent grass. On splashdown, a huge swirl and I think I've spooked a big grass carp...then, I feel a little tick from the bait...then, I see the line move sideways. HOOKSET. ZrrrrrrZrrrrrrZrrrrrrr drag singing on the little spinning reel. I'm not anchored so every time the drag quits slipping I'm getting towed by something BIG. I'm thinking - I can't believe that grass carp sucked up that grub. THEN, I see the line coming up...the fish is gonna jump...then OUT of the water in a great tail-walk, head-shaking jump is a pig of a bass! Serious time now - this is not a carp. She keeps pulling drag, tows the boat some more, I make progress on line recovery, then get her close to the boat, then in the net. PHEW. Down the hatch - you can see the Fat Albert WAY down there: So much for a 21 inch bumpboard - have to get out the tape measure. She goes 24" and weighs 7.4 lb. Hard to get a good photo when you're fishing alone but this was a VERY nice bass for my neck of the woods. Biggest grub fish I've caught so far. This 'ole girl must have thought that she was TOO fat and was on a diet to go for that little 5" grub... Happy camper today...

Yesterday (Jun 28), Lois & I celebrated our 50th Golden Anniversary. It's actually closer to 51 years because I asked her to go steady on Oct 11, 1963 I asked Lois where she liked to go today (Sunday), and told her the world is her oyster. You guessed it, we're going fishing this afternoon. How lucky can a guy get? (I'm not worthy) Roger

the thing is, Ugly Stiks make good all around rods, ive used them for nearly every popular technique using artificials and have caught fish too, and i am far from clumsy. try putting some thought in your post before you start slinging around insults and generalizations. high end rods are not every bit as durable as ugly stiks. fact is, the expensive rods are more likely to break. you never see a thread saying "i broke my ugly stik" but you see plenty saying "i broke my expensive rod and it ruined my day of fishing" theyre also good for people who already know how to fish. people constantly talk about wanting a challenge is why the use artificial only baits, and how tricking the bass is a challenge. yet the same people are also crying about sensitivity in rods and the high dollar ones giving them an advantage and such...thought they wanted a challenge? of course, i subscribe that sensitivity is more in your hands than the rod or line, sure some materials are better conductors, but if you cant feel with your hands what does it matter how good something conducts? right on dude. i think its quite absurd to call an Ugly Stik a gimmick rod because it boasts durability. if that was even remotely true that its a gimmick rod, then i can just as fairly and rightly call any rod that boasts sensitivity or being light in weight a gimmick too... ----------- i have no problems catching fish on my ugly stiks. its a fine product at a reasonable price point. it may not be the best rod in the world, but its not nearly as bad as some here make it out to be. some of you gave fair assessments, but others are just trashing it with no real logic behind it...

Fishing the past two evenings has been insanely good. The bass are definitely in post spawn summer time patterns. Yesterday after work my friend and I went fishing at about 4 o'clock and fished until dark. The water temperature had warmed up a bit, it was 76 degrees. The air temperature was around 86 degrees. There was a northwest wind 5-10 mph. It was partly cloudy. The sun felt super intense yesterday afternoon. We launched the boat and went to my first main lake spot. It takes 20-30 minutes to get there with my trolling motor... Once we got there our first 4 casts we caught fish. Nothing good but 2 of the fish were 2 lbs or so. We had our first double of the day there which is always fun. We fished the area around this spot for an hour picking up fish. It is a steep drop into 30 feet of water and weeds. We decided to make a move to the most northern end of the lake. The fishing on the northern end of the lake was insane. We were catching fish what seemed like every other cast. Targeting off shore spots with thick weeds right on the drop off seemed to be the thing to do yesterday. We caught fish on jigs, rubber worms, and a couple fish on frogs. The past couple days downsizing our baits and using lighter line really seems to have done the trick. Caught most of our fish using 8 lb fluorocarbon vanish line throwing 4 inch weightless power worms. It takes such a long time for the bait to sink to anywhere near bottom but it certainly has been getting the job done. Before we switched to the lighter line and bait we were using 12 lb mono and a 6 inch power worm, we weren't getting anywhere near as many bites.We finished the evening with 69 bass in the boat. Most of the fish were in the 1.5-2.5 lb range. We decided to make one of my really good spots our last spot of the day. My friend quickly caught a 3 lb 8ozer. I unfortunately get broken off by a lunker. The first time I have been broken off by a bass in two years... So that is sad. I guess that is the chance you take when you use 8 lb fluorocarbon. Then we double up on a couple 2 lbs. After that we both cast right back to the same spot again. There is very thick weeds there right on the drop in about 8-10 feet of water. We both hook into real nice fish. Playing the fish towards the boat I realize I have a larger bass on. It is kicking my but and I am holding on for dear life, praying my line doesn't break again. My friend is using 10 lb test and he gets his fish to the boat quicker then I did and he is calling for the net. I hand him the net while I am still fighting my fish. He nets his fish its a solid 3 plus pounder. Now my fish is to the boat and it looks much bigger. We net my fish with his still in the net. Now there are two fish in the net. Pretty sweet double. His weighed 3 lbs 6 oz and mine was a pretty good fish and a lunker for this pond at 5 lbs 2 oz. We fished the spot for another 30-45 minutes until we couldn't see any more and then made the long trip back to the launch. We finished the day with 69 bass in the boat. Most of them were in between 1.5 lbs and 2.5 lbs. Our 5 biggest for the day were 5-2, 3-8, 3-6, 3-1 and a 2-14. Pretty awesome evening of fishing. I am going back there again this evening.

I was requested to copy a bait by another member, I was pretty pleased with the turn out An imitation of War Eagle's Coleslaw color, right down to the white blade. Love this one for cloudy day smallies. Chartreuse and black with a chartreuse blade. Should be a good muddy water bait and was getting slack lined with it night fishing last night. One that has really surprised me. Already beat some paint off the head it's been hit and banged off rocks and docks so many times. The fish have really been loving it, much to my surprise.

It was tough but I eventually found it. LMAO http://yo-zuri.com/Products/Yo-Zuri_Fishing_Line/details/Yo-Zuri_Hybrid.html No luck with P Line.

Although bass under 17" or 3 lbs may strike a big worm it's not likely. Using giant worms you are targeting larger size bass and these bass are not school fish or grouped with smaller bass. The bass you are trying to catch are located somewhere else. Worm water to me is a area where big bass can move into from deeper water to search for prey, then move back into deeper water. I use giant worms in these areas where the bass can find the slow moving worm, usually softer bottom with isolated stick ups or submerged brush, some rock piles or other hard structure, flatter bottom with a ditch or road bed. Summer nights are good, during the day if the boat traffic is low. Tom

There's only one flaw in your logic. You CAN catch fish on an ugly stik. Making a durable product is not a gimmick. If you can't catch a fish on an ugly stick, you probably can't catch one on a $300 St. Croix, either.

That doo-doo is all in your head. If you believe you're going to do bad, you'll do bad! If you believe you'll have a good time, you'll enjoy every dink you catch!

My son has you all beat he is 2weeks old. Has an account on here too. So hahahahaha. Duh! Winning!

24" didn't get to weigh her, but i guessed near 8 pounds. silver fluke on a weighted hook 20 minutes before a storm rolled in, i took my canoe out on buddies pond, that was my fifth cast. she jumped 4 times and my heart stopped every dang time. swam away looking strong!

Couldn't agree more! Bank fishermen who practice catch and release should do their research on fish and their slime coats,

Congratulations to you Both ~ ! In Fifty plus years together you've shared so many things. That's why this very special anniversary brings to you, a wish that love, laughter, joy, contentment too will be yours to share throughout the years ahead of you. Now get out there and put that lucky lady on some fish . . . . . . . . A-Jay

RoLo, congrats to your wife and you, 50 years of marriage is almost unheard of in this day and age. This is a something you both can be very proud of, again my congratulations.

Yeah that would be helpful. But I tried the Alberto Knot. Will be the one I use from now on. Thanks.

Oh ****! Here come the grammar police!!

Just curious, what exactly is a semi micro guide?

Sauger are as good as Walleye, It is sub species of Walleye, a Walleye and Sauger hybrid is a Saugeye and excellent as well, I catch all three species and can tell no difference at the table. to me it is the same meat. I like Yellow Perch Walleye and Bluegill in that order, I have it many different ways from soup to the grill and everything in between, fried, baked, by itself and in casseroles, for saltwater Salmon grilled or smoked.

I'm not worried about breaking any of my rods in tall grass... The gimmick is how they won't break. That says nothing of their fishing qualities. They market you a fishing item by how durable they are...not about how innovative or useful they are in the actual task they were built for. Like buying a fridge with dent resistant technology but can't keep food cold... Ugly sticks being around decades has nothing to do with it. Gimmicks divert or attraction attention. That's exactly what is going on. If you want to spend your money on mass produced noodles then more power to you.

why I use 832, very good abrasion resistance, few braids can take this kind of abuse, and power pro has proven to me to be among the worst.

Thanks again guys! Yup - another score for the "Attack Canoe"...

Real men fish with Brush Hogs, we are after real fish aren't we ?

There is a skirt color called "oil slick" that would be an exact match for that chromish color. Allen

Welcome to the forums! Jeff

the 705cb is a fast action crankbait rod. It isn't fast like a jig/worm rod but it's faster than your typical crankbait rod. I personally don't like the graphite fast. I use the 705cb glass. top half glass. bottom half graphite. rod fishes like a graphite fast rod until a fish loads up on it and then the glass action kicks in. it's a really special rod. rod is perfect for squarebills and lipless baits. As for 1/4oz, if you are throwing primarily 1/4 and 3/8 squarebills in open water, you won't like the 705(unless you want 1/4 lipless cranks...the 705 will throw those a mile). the 704 is much better suited for those baits. I can throw 1/4 oz squarebills on the 705 but I use 51 size shimano. I don't understand braid because its a moderate action but if you like braid, go for it. I prefer mono and fluoro depending on where I'm fishing. you won't have a problem getting a hookset /w a moderate action..

Good point!!!

You guys are killin me with those deals, geez.

Here's another one A-Jay http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/106831-new-lmb-pb-954lb-not-a-ddbut-close/?p=1166722

Nobody buys rods with the intent to beat them up. Sometimes it just happens, depending on how you fish. Sometimes you gotta blaze a trail to get to a good spot. I'm not gonna bring a super nice bass rod with me, if I'm bushwhacking my way through timber or tall grass to get to some fish. There's also some places I've bank fished that have a steep dropoff, rather than a nice graded bank and I invariably end up lifting fish out of the water with my rod. When I think about my fishing rods, I think of them like golf clubs. Each of them has a fairly specific purpose and Ugly Stiks are what you want to use when you're playing though the rough.

Well - here's one of them. A-Jay http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/gallery/image/9377-2011-02-07-22in-531lb-lmb-catherine/

and where is the picture??

Use braid. A-Jay

Wouldn't let me attach the pic of them together, but here they are. Plus a Jason Christie Falcon and a Rick Clunn square bill rod I got for 30

On the lake report from a close friend Housen' Community Flat 12-22` ridges, humps, points Texas Rigged worms & Craw worms 8 pm to 7 am Total: 9 Keepers: 9 Top 5: 27.45

If I understand this correctly you will be using the combo in New York in brackish water. LMB gave an excellent starter combination. I would definitely spool it up with 20 or 30# braid, I'm personally not crazy for F/C main line or leaders for spinning reels.

Tried some aftermarket CF handles recently. Also since I got less and less time on fishing I sold my metanium and got this combo, a curado 51 paired with Majorcraft Corkish 2 pic casting rod. Finally got a chance to fishing today and very impressed with the high quality cork handle and lightweight of the rod. Perfect combo for keeping in my car.

I lose a lot of jigs so it is worth it to me which is why I buy in bulk or pour my own. Find a jighead style that works for you and order a 100 in the size and color you use most often. Allen

essentially a more narrow bullet shape head design /w a softer weedguard and a lighter(not light just lighter than your california heavy duty hook) wire hook. also the skirting is traditionally a much lesser 20-30 strand skirt.

They work fine for starting rods, but IMO, better (if you stay with Ugly Stik) is the Ugly Stik Lite, or even the rods marketed for saltwater, the Ugly Stik Inshore Select rods. But for the same money, there are more sensitive rods out there, though not as durable (again, IMO).

I like summer fishing mostly for throwing Topwater at night. Love throwing pop-x's, Sammy's, buzzbaits, and frogs. But, I'd personally take fall fishing all year long. Would much rather be fishing comfortably in a hoodie...

Fresh: Crappie, Walleye and Yellow Perch Salt: Dorado Jeff

Older baitcasters from the big 3 ..some are japan made high quality also .ardent used to make them here and i have quite a few plfeugers made in usa that still work perfect .(knuckle busters)

I could only dream of high 60-70 degree water. Fished to day and temp was 89.8 degrees. Caught them in the shallows with wake baits and topwater and also caught some deeper on weighted swim baits and chatter baits as well.

Any tackle with the word "graphite" and "bearing" in the description is "modern"...

6th Sense Peg X Stoppers

It's been forever and a day since I've been fishing but I finally made a trip up north to my place last weekend. Weather was horrible with on and off thunderstorms which seemed to show up at every opportunity I got to get in the boat. Fishing for the start of the summer was not so great. Water temps were around 77 degrees. I thought I'd absolutely hammer them on a frog bite but that was far off. I had to work for every bite I got and there just wan't a consistent pattern I could find. Big fish came on my Dobyns 766c punching a Rage Bug in the slop. She weighed 4-09. Second biggest was 4lb even and the rest were in the 2-3.5lb range. One 3-09 bass was on a Siebert brush jig paired with a Summer Craw Rage Bug. One fat gator pike decided to have my Siebert Fogy in Bluegill with a Twin Menace trailer. She measured 28" and has been eating well and forming a nice shovel head. Here's a few pics of my fish. Video wasn't the best, not sure I'll even bother with a clip, but will update if I do. I was mentally out of the game all around... Next time will be better.

Like smalljaw said above, it was probably due to lack of sales. BPS didn't get where it is today by taking up space in warehouses or on store shelves with products that don't yield the necessary return. Same thing happens at the supermarket; they've discontinued many products which we've liked very much. Obviously, everyone has their own thoughts and confidence factors. In my case, discontinuance of lures and/or colors don't bother me because I always think other lures/other colors will get the job done just as well. The only disaster for me would be discontinuance of the Jitterbug, because it's my favorite lure and I know of nothing equivalent.

I love the Mann's Stone Jig, it is my confidence lure. Any color, any weather, I love it. I cannot find it in any stores in my area, and TW is the only place I can find it with regularity. The only problem with TW is that when I go to order $30 in jigs, I end up spending $300. It'skind of like going to Costco for milk.