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Decent time on Pleasant lake this past Saturday. Rage Tail spacemonkey on the biffle hardhead was the ticket.

What I see my students doing is they try to force Jig/Texas rig through the grass, Like Siebert said, ya gotta finesse it! I apply pressure with my rod, release it, apply pressure again, release it; I do this real fast causing jig/t-rig to wiggle through.

Use this - it works well in those conditions. A-Jay

I've been around for a few years now and learning a lot form these forums. And met a lot of genuine people.I broke my phone on a road trip to texas so I've been out of the social media world which was nice. So my baseball season is done, we came in third place at the college world series in Texas. It was awesome. Anyway I've been fishing a few days a week but it wasn't the same being able to converse with people about questions I have. So now I got my new phone and excited to be back!!

Bass don't have hands to build spawning nest, they use their tails to sweep away bottom debris. Males do the majority of bed building and often have tail damage as a result. If the bass gets it's damaged tail infected the damage can be permanent. Tom

X2 ~ The bait is in the basses world, they know it's there. The fishes "Food" rarely Tries to be seen. So attempting to emulate that by working the bait with less rather than more action is an option. Rather than drawing as much attention to the bait as possible by snapping & ripping it through the weeds; Easing it along, letting the bait glide when you can, doing whatever you can do to make as little commotion as possible sometimes is the deal. A-Jay

Welcome to the forum, It could be that the bass have shifted to a summer pattern, which may be less accessible from your shore position. Roger

Worm soft plastics will dominate this list. Tom

Like others I do not have the discipline or patience to measure and weigh most fish. The bait that catches the most fish is the one you get in front of the most fish. As simple as that sounds, I believe it to be absolutely true. This year my go-to bait is a t-rigged smallie beaver pitched to grass. Last year it was a chatterbait. The year before it was a wacky rigged Senko/knock-off. The year before...maybe a jig. The key is finding fish. What is far less important than where.

.45acp

Bite their head off, thats what real men do.

Hi Folks, So got to reading some things which were suggested to me when I posted questions after first coming here. It turns out that "super tuning" is what I've just always done to reels. There are new(er) lubes and ideas out there, but the basic polish points are the same. After experimentation, I've found I prefer 0w-30 Mobile 1 on bearings and high-speed bushings, and lanolin on the teeth of gears that don't move during free-spool. Lanolin is also an excellent protectorant as wells as lubricant, and it's used on the sideplate mating surfaces. Fluid Film is a lanolin spray, and it's used on the internals that are not gears. The whole lanolin thing comes from extensive use of it on firearms. The stuff just works. I recently acquired an older Ambassadeur 5000 from eBay. The price was right and it was lightly used. After ordering new bushings that it really didn't need, I set to do the "super tune" thing to it. However, prior to this, I ran a test to see how far I could cast with a rod and 1/2oz weight. It came in at 30 yards pretty consistently. After "super tuning" I'm getting about 35-40 yards. I can't seem to get much further than that, but that distance requires almost no effort whereas before, it did. The spool rides on a film of oil like car bearings. I installed spool bearings on another 5000 I have. It's mounted on a longer, newer pole that can be cast two-handed. Curiously, I make about the same distance as with the bushing-equipped model. This one is mounted on a medium-weight 6'6 Jupiter rod. Same 1/2oz weight. Both outdistance the Quantum I bought. Likewise, it's "super tuned" but has magnets instead of centrifugal brakes. It makes just about as far as the bearing-equipped 5000. The weight is the same, of course, and the rod is the same but is the heavy version and 7' long. (I bought this Quantum because it was made in Korea. Another thread asked about the quality of Korean-made reels, and though there's a bit more plastic in this one than I'd like, I'm pretty impressed. There are a couple internals that I believe could have been better made, but overall it's an excellent reel.) I do believe the next thing I'll be doing is swapping the worm gear bushings for bearings in the Abu 5000 reels, and a recently-traded-for 5000c. I should be able to also replace the shaft bushing with a bearing. It will require some opening up of the opening, but I think I can just make it fit. The biggest issue with playing with these is figuring out what components swap. For example, the old 'fast' pinion gear is no longer made. An upgrade to 5500c gears now requires a 5500c spool, which in turn requires bearings. This is why I eventually ended up building the 5000 I wanted to upgrade with new gears into a 5500c (for all purposes, anyway). These are just late-night thoughts I'm writing to unwind from a hard day. Maybe what I've found out so far will help someone. Goodnight folks. Regards, Josh

I like fishing a senko when the tough summer bite is on. Usually I use the Yum F2 Dinger or a Yamamoto Senko, but lately I've been using the Ocho. I've noticed a couple things..... 1. They're a bit less durable than other worms I've tried.....think the Yamamoto. While the action is great, the durability isn't as much, which if I'm reading correct tends to be the trade-off, the Yum or SK Shim-e-stick's seem to be a bit more long-lived 2. They fall a bit faster than other senkos (weightless) that I've tried. The difference isn't huge, but if you're fishing them a bit deeper than normal, it's nice to have them fall through the column a bit faster 3. Whether the shimmer of the flat sides or shimmy action from thereof is a gimmick or not, they seem to catch fish as well or even better than other senkos I've used Might give em' a try. I was in the need of a pack of senkos, grabbed them off the KVD display at the store, and was pleasantly surprised that they're pretty darn good.

I think when you fish in a tough lake to fish, and you see a father and son or daughter fishing together using what obviously will never work, i have to go over and donate something to increase their odds of having a lasting memory of that trip together.

I have an old chug bug looks 8 months pregnant that still works. Now the LC gunfish that is now shaped like a banana not so much? Allen

I hope so

http://www.bassresource.com/content/search?SearchText=summer+bass+fishing&SearchButton=Search Here this will get you started But like mentioned above summer isn't the ideal time for bank fisherman, but there will always be some bass catchable from the bank

It could be a bunch of different things... Is the water always a bit muddy? If you just had a bit of rain that caused the water to get more muddy than normal the bass could be holding really close to cover... Like nose touching the tree close haha at least that's what it seems like around here Oh and if your actually targeting the bowfin they may be chasing little critters shallow, like really shallow, like 3 feet or less shallow

Let me save y'all some time! #1 Worm (soft plastics) #2 Jig-n-craw #3 Spinner bait #4 Crank bait Done did that research

Poor bass died, too. I saw that article on *** a couple days ago.

Welcome back homie. I've missed having you around.

I love to help and try to help whenever I can.

Power Pole?? (ancient history) Take a real hard look at Minn Koto's 12-foot telescoping Talon, and notions of a Power Pole will likely dissipate. Roger

Hey grizz! Yea you checked out for a bit!!! That's awesome 3 rd is great , just great !! Nicely done! Welcome back.....

I bet it was! I had a great experience of coaching my son's little league team last spring and can only hope one day he becomes a fine ball player in the college ranks. Man, I would be more than excited to watch the young man play in that type of arena! Congrats again my friend, you must have made a lot of nice memories playing this year! John

Congrats, although I'm bummed you eliminated my Cardinals LOL

Me and Sizzle went to Melvern Today, Man that lake is full of dinks. Anyhow, pics of our fish

Congrats Grizzn!!

Her mind is not on food, so you must aggravate her. You may have to go through the nest 20 times before she can't take it any more, and she attacks with a vengeance. I really don't like doing this. I'd rather let her do her business and bring forth the next generation of fish.

I chose the smokes over the exo because I saw something I felt might cause problems down the road the reel foot on the reel is riveted to the reel not one whole peice I thought it looked like they would work themselves loose over time and the reel would wobble on the rod. But having already owned a smoke I knew it was a good buy the smokes are just awesome reels I love mine & they have never let me down.

I am not sure about the bead. But using a jig that has a pointed head would allow it to slide through the weeds. A lot of swim jigs would be good for that.

Had us a wiper party at Clinton yesterday, including tripling up on some seriously stout fish. There was no livewell on this boat to pull from for the shot, we hooked into all three of these at once! Earlier in the evening the whole main body was a boil with mostly whites and some wipers, but the triple came just before nightfall after all the other boats cleared out and surface feeding slowed significantly. The wipers were still very actively chasing baitfish, just in deeper water outside of the flats as the wind had subsided.

Hi, new to the forum and just wanted to talk about crank baits to start off. I seem to be having trouble with hooking bass in the sides and eyes lately. When I go out on the lake (Sacheen lake) I usually go to the same bay to fish and it always puts up good numbers but In between those decent fish that happen every several casts I get a few dinks that are far too small to eat the bait in the first place and I always seem to be hooking them in bad places like the eye, the back, behind the fins, ect. Just today I got a 6 inch bass that was hooked in the eye and so I removed it as carefully as I could but when I put it in the water it swam in circles. I guess my question is why are there so many small fish taking the bait and does anyone else have experience with treble hooks getting into the wrong places on the fish. Should I find a place with bigger fish or debarb my treble hooks?

Are you fishing as a boater or coangler?

15lb 832 braid And a leader is all use... Totally changes the easy of spinning gear by avoiding many wind knots etc

Its amazing how different my perspective is. The only bait mentioned so far that I would consider a wakebait is the MS Slammer.

Take what "they say," with a grain of salt, you throwing a big bait doesn´t necessarily mean you´ll catch big fish. you´ll catch big fish when you fish for them because big fish behave in many ways different. Here´s some food for thought: My first 10 lber was caught with a Rapala Original Minnow size 7 .... not exactly a big bass bait My PB ( 13.86 lbs ) was caught with a Rapala Shad Rap size 7 ..... wait ! that ain´t a big bass bait either For some folks big spinnerbaits have caught big fish, big is a relative term because it depends a lot on where you fish, I´ve never caught a bass bigger than 9 lbs with a spinnerbait, for me 9 lbs is a very nice fish but not quite a bigun. My second largest ( 13.5 lbs ) was caught with a 5" senko ....ain´t that the size everybody, including me fishes ? not a big bass bait There I go and try some "beeg bass baits" ----> a bunch of 2-3 lbs with a 8" Hudd, let me see ......I´ve found and seen several dead or nearly dead 2-3 pounders with a half pound bass stuck in their mouths, and a half pound bass is larger than a 8" Hudd. My personal big bass bait is a 1/2 oz jig with a Brush Hog as tráiler, there´s a reason for it being the bait I use to catch big fish, I can fish it in practical terms everywhere.

The truth be known bass like most animals can't determine their size verses the size of the lure. Like a small dog going after a big dog, it has no concept it's own size. If you want to catch bigger bass fish where they live. My 5 top bass,all over 17 lbs, were caught on a jig less than 5" long, right place, right time with the right lure is what it takes to consistently catch big bass. Tom

Here's your graph as requested! (Not a student, but slow enough at work today that I could make it happen!) I started out with topwater as a category, then got a lot more towards the end! If I would have known how high the count would be, I would have broken them down further. I also put flukes and skinny dippers together as a similar bait. For some reason you can't zoom in...here's the photobucket link! http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o192/zachvu/fish.jpg~original

I love Lox. Tournament season for me is Nov-May and I didn't fish Lox once. From May-Jun, I like going to Lox and just getting away from it all. It is the opposite of tournament fishing...I go out there on my timetable and just work on techniques and finding fish without the constraints of a 3:00 weigh in. I think I am onto something out there right now. I lost two giants on Sunday, I saw the one...she came 100% out of the water. This fish was 7-8lb. The one I lost, I didn't see but I think was bigger. I'm on a goal to break my PB this month out there.

We fished from 6-8:30 and caught 31 between the two of us. I had big fish of the night if you count quick releases, 2 1/2 pounds jumped off right at the boat. Best spot in my opinion was the hump with the two buoys and grass on it. Clayton, the shad you mentioned did end up getting chased on the edge of the hump by a big group of largemouth. It was quite the frenzy for about a minute, and quite fun to watch. We got a couple of bites swimming our rigs on the top of the water column when that was going on. Ned outfished me 2 to 1 it seemed, he definitely knows how to handle the midwest finesse rig as he calls it. He still doesn't like it much that it's named after him, but he's come to accept it.

Punch, punch, punch. Did I mention punching? Sounds like someone has been spending time on the Delta. There are really only two ways to attack pennywart. You can throw cranks, senkos, chatterbaits etc...and parallel the outside or you can punch. Getting fish out of this stuff can be tough and takes some practice. In many cases you have to go in with the boat and get them. Some days will go your way and some will make you want to pull your hair out. I try to go as light as I can as far as weight goes in many cases thats 1.5 oz . I snell a straight shank hook and tend to stick with beaver style baits. You can use a punch skirt if you like but I dont know if it really matters. Fish tend to eat the bait pretty fast. Be ready for the bite at all times. They don't always slam it. In many cases things just don't feel right and learning to read the bite takes time. I use Bubs punch rod paired with a shimano castaic and 65lb braid.

I've heard Ned is about as nice a guy as you can meet, and a decent fisherman apparently I bet Gardner was tough though. We were driving around to get the boy to fall asleep (been really cranky lately), and decided to drive out there after he fell asleep since it's about 5 minutes from the house. There were schools of shad on the surface EVERYWHERE right at dusk. Lots of food for them to eat, and nothing was chasing them anywhere.

Remember when shaky heads were called jigheads.

If this person has a 5-gallon bucket, I tell them NOTHING!

A Farm Kid Joins the Marines Dear Ma and Pa, I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late.. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes. Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once... He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry. Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.. Your loving daughter, Alice

Time to start searching for Dick's... Wait, that doesn't sound right

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day, wife and I went into town and visited a shop. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and I said, 'Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?' He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him an a--hole. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires. So my wife called him a sh-- head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the irst. Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. Just then our bus arrived and we got on it and went home. We always look for cars with "OBAMA 2012" stickers. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age.

6-4 caught on a Pointer 128. A-Jay