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For my money, raccoon small intestine makes the best all around natural line. Squeeze everything out of it, making sure to save the tapeworms for bait, then soak it for a while and stretch it out to dry. (Fly fisherman will find that they suddenly have all the flies they could ever ask for at this point.) Although mono-gut is fine for panfish, for bass you should strongly consider braiding several lengths together, because braid is awesome. You'll find that its refractive index is nothing to brag about, but it's certainly better than that of twisted plant fiber. Coon-gut braid's superior diameter to pound-test ratio and above average abrasion resistance make it a no-brainer in my book, but lots of guys still use twisted plant fiber and do just fine. It all comes down to confidence. Tight guts!

This statement represents an attitude that many have. It is the idea that excess starts where my budget ends. Some of the people who own these luxury homes,docks, boats, and recliners have worked hard doing things other people can not do to achieve the success they have. Good for them. Others have the same entitlement mentality as those who own nothing and think because of their economic status they are somehow more deserving. Tearing down a perfectly good home to build something else in my world is hard to accept, for others it much the same as adding a deck; they both use available funds to make the property better suited to their needs. A guy with a 20 million dollar home has the same right to be concerned about his property as I do fishing his dock from my old tin boat. There is always an under-current of judgement in these threads that suggests that because someone has more money than me he does not deserve to be treated with as much respect. It is as wrong as the knot-head who thinks that because he has more he deserves preferential treatment.

It's got to be an awfully hard life to feel so bitter about what other people have, but I'll wish you all the luck in the world that you make it to that point. And if you ever get that new wife, remember that without a picture, it never happened!

Did Lovell lake for a few hours before all the storms started to come in. We basically fished in front of a cabbage line in 8-12 ft of water with jigs and chatter baits and picked up a couple dozen 2-4 pound fish before the lightening started. This was my biggest at 4.3 today. Once the boat was on the trailer we went to the pub across the street and watched it downpour with some beer in our hands.

Got this in the mail today. Tatula Type R 100XS Special Edition

It was fun! Thanks for going to a small lake where I could use the pond hopper!

If you are wanting to through down some cash on a topwater lure, I would start with the pop max from megabass. It's a pricey, work of art that catches fish.

The best and most manly way to do this: Go to a salmon hole. Wait for a bear to knock one out on the bank or trap one in it's mouth. Then wrestle that sum'***** to the ground and kill him with your bare hands. Eat the salmon while standing on his corpse to flaunt your superiority over the other bears. After your meal, you tear the arms off the dead bear and walk around the river with them to display your right to bear arms.

Don't think there is anything wrong Lite Ugly Sticks, far better than what I learned on 60 years ago. I had no trouble feeling a bite then and don't have one now, my rods of today are not what would be classified as sensitive. I do think a lighter rod may be more comfortable to fish with. To me sensitivity is over rated along with other high end equipment for bass fishing, don't throw stones but I find bass to be one of the easier fish to catch.

Had a chance to spend the past two mornings on the water. I fished a lake I haven’t been out on in two seasons. There’s some decent bass there but its easy access makes it very popular. I went anyway. I got on the water both mornings before day break and was into both green and brown bass almost immediately. Started with a spinner bait and then switched to a ½ ounce swim jig once the spinner bait bite seemed to die off after sun rise. That was working but I wasn’t feeling it. Moved to fish a deep side weed line edge in 10-14 feet; switching back & forth between a Texas rigged Rage Lobster and a Square bill crank bait. The feedback was immediate and positive. With a bit too many pike mixed in, the bass were very eager to chase down and hammer the crank bait, and slurp in that craw. It was fun. It’s been a bit of a different fishing experience here this summer. The usually very clear water in these lakes, all have a bit of a green tint or hue they rarely have. I think it’s causing the fish to stay shallower longer or in some cases permanently. Usually by August here big smallies are really hard to find and even harder to catch. Most of the better fish I get then come at night. But not this season; the big browns seem to be everywhere – I’m liking it. Some footage below. A-Jay http://youtu.be/WnrPfnEmC-I http://youtu.be/yrMO--PKPiE

Hard for me to define "new" Some "new" stuff would be the addition of fiber weedguards to jigs, shakeyhead jigs ? hmmm, not new, I´ve been pouring my own for more than 2 decades, swimbaits ? back in the 80´s we ( I and my friends ) used to hunt for big bass in Tamaulipas with saltwater and musky size baits, dropshotting ? we, ( I and my fishing partners ) used the "hook above sinker" rig to present the bait above the bottom weeds. Soft plastic stickbaits ? ain´t those super similar to the venerable French Fry worm ? Alabama rigs ? I remember them being called umbrela rigs for saltwater fishing. Something really new to me was the invention of the EWG hook. Perhaps the "new" stuff has more to do with the availability of foreign tackle ( mostly Japanese ).

Cool Drone shot from last week of me on Great East.

Saturday marked ten years with the company and when I got to work today there was a nice breakfast spread and lots of kudos from everyone, and then I look outside and one of the guys is towing a boat right up in front of the windows. Speechless! It's used but solid, 16 more feet of boat than I was ever going to own anytime soon, outboard, trolling motor, GPS, depth finder, rod locker, live well, plus everything I need to legally have on there; she's totally water-ready! I even got the rest of the day off to go with one of our guys who knows boats so I could start learning my way around it. Not a bad day at work. If you have to have a boss, you'd be darn lucky to have mine.

Jhoffman I don't disagree with most of what you say. You continue to make it about money though. It does not matter one bit whether the owner of the house and recliner made his money or was given it, whether he likes to fish or not, or even if he behaves like an idiot. The only thing that matters in all this is how I conduct myself. I cannot control anyone else, and neither can you. Life is too short to worry about stuff you can't control or to fight with fools. Peace.

Some of you are highly mistaken in your assessment. Would I love to have that 20 million dollar home, you bet I would. But heres a little note for those that missed it in life, not everyone who has money made it themselves. I could see being mad if I am standing on your dock and fishing but thats not the scenerio, the scenerio is fishing AROUND your property and the person being mad about the fact a guy who likes to fish can do so. I dont care if you own a freaking shack with one room or a twenty million dollar home. I have friends that range from people who can fly private jets at anytime they want to any location in the world the whole way down to people who can barely afford to eat. What I do know is that when I have something special I can appreciate it for what it is and how it came to be without needing to run down to the end of the dock everytime I see someone flipn it. Oh if my problems and worries in life only revolved around a total stranger doing an activity they love and me having the ability to treat them like trash because I have and they have not, yep sounds like a life I would lead. Not really, id probably build MORE structure to fish in front of, just cause I could.

Nice Smallies man! I am jealous! I NEED SOME BRONZE SLIME! LOL Jeff

Without seeing the reel it is hard to say but a simple clean and lube may be all that is needed. You can probably have it cleaned inspected and lubed, and if any parts are needed cover them for less than 1/2 the cost of a new one, so if you really want to keep it and be sure, let a pro do the work. If you decide it isn't worth 20 to 35 bucks, buy a new one and do what others said, carefully take it apart "with the schematic in front of you" and go thru the cleaning and inspection process, usually bad bearings and broken parts can be easily detected, and you may find it can be saved by simple clean and lube. BUT be prepared to realize even if you save it doing it yourself, most quickly discover when they do this, that those of us who do reel repair work "FAR TO CHEAP" and it is extremely cheap to have someone else spend all the time and materials to take care of your servicing hassles!! or you could be one of those that enjoy it and find it is doable themselves, if not your not out anything!! Good Luck with however you decide to tackle it.

I stock my bag with what I'm gonna fish or technique I'm going to be using. If I'm fishing swimbaits, it's stocked with those. Punching grass, well have a small box of hooks and weights, then a soft wallet style binder with punch jigs and creatures. If I'm junk fishing, I think about where I want to go and stock accordingly....Kinda use the trunk of my car as my tackle locker when I'm headed out. This way I can swap on the fly. There's always 4-6 rods and various tackle ready to go. Also carry pliers, sissors, a scale and the attractant I choose. Don't bring it all becaue you're not gonna use it. Stock with what you're planning to use or what you use most often If it's a new technique, don't bring anything else so you can't fall back on something else.

And when your done be sure to record your success by carving a very life like line drawing on the inside wall of the nearest cave.; and then ride your brontosaurus off into the sunset . . . . . On your way by, say hello to Barney Rubble for us. A-Jay

I plan every day with thoughts of catching a personal best!

Southern bass prefer Tabasco scented lures.

Yup, 12 lb big game or 14 lb silver thread.

Nowhere is written that a shakeyhead rigged bait should stand up.

Awesome!!! Welcome!!!! Some tips: Buy spinnerbaits, gary yamamoto senkos, gamakatsu worm ewg 4/o hooks, squarebill crankbaits and a frog or two. You should be good until the bait monkey comes calling

Welcome!

Welcome!

1) work it like a spinnerbait if fish are active ( cast and reel) or like a jig if they are slow2) no 3) any lure

That's great. My daughter fished with me from age 7 to around 12. She's 14 now and wants 'nothing' to do with fishing. Take a lot of pictures. It's a bag of fun!

Hello Rob and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello André J. Davillae! and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Spinnerbaits work. Glenn here in the very beginning of this site told me about them. First my thanks to Glenn. From shore for some reason the smaller spinnerbaits from 1/8oz to 1/4oz work the best for me right now. I'm still learning too. I use a blue glimmer skirt with a gold Colorado blade, 1/4oz, with a mister twister 4" split double tail white trailer with a trailer hook. The Mann's classic 1/4oz twin Colorado gold blade spinner bait comes with a blue glimmer skirt just add the skirt and th. The Mann's classic 1/4oz twin Colorado gold blade in chartreuse spinner bait again add the trailer and th. I also purchase the blue glimmer skirts and the hot chartreuse skirts for replacements and to setup my 1/8 & 3/16 oz spinnerbaits. I do cut the body on the mister twister 4" split double tail trailer to fit the hook on the smaller spinnerbaits. The spinner bait MUST run true. That means perfectly vertical. You may need some practice installing the trailer. Add a shot of yum shad scent and your good to go. Glenn's true words stay trying them. Don't give up. We need to learn how to use every lure with success. We need to learn every presentation with every lure for success. We need to stay focused and motivated. Wear polarized glasses and watch your lure when you can see it. Look for the flashes behind your lure. If the fish are making short strikes behind your lure slow your speed. Your going to learn that every lure catches fish in the right situation when we use the right color for the water conditions matched with the correct speed for the basses mood. Pay attention to what the bass are doing.

Greetings and Welcome to the forums

I've got this rod http://www.***.com/Wright__McGill_Skeet_S-Glass_Casting_Rods/descpage-WMSG.html My cousin got it from walmart for something like $20. He didn't want it, just bought it for the price. I gave him $20 for it and have been using it all year. That, with an abu garcia blackmax has been my go to crank bait rod. I have probably caught 100+ fish on it this year, late and smallmouth bass, walleye and pike on it. NO problems what so ever, best $20 I have ever spent on a rod lol.

My personal best came fishing a big worm at night on Bull Shoals early in the spring. I was very excited, but not at all surprised. I have caught many big fish in similar conditions. All of the lakes I regularly fish have the potential to produce a new best, and I target bigger fish. So like others, I plan to catch a new PB every time I go. I am surprised when I don't!

Thanks! How do you "rage rig" please elaborate

I went Sunday with 3 friends in kayaks. We fished the same water and in relative close proximity to each other. With in casting distance anyhow. They were throwing the same stuff I was using. I ended the day with triple the fish then the next closest buddy who had 7. That day was just all about technique. I slowed way down and they all fished pretty fast. Sometimes you just have to work an area really slow to get bit.

Short Answer: Yes, it's common, but don't settle for it. Don't let it shake your confidence; but keep trying new approaches. You might throw everything in the book at them and find that in that body of water, mid-summer, mid-day; one bite every 2 or 3 hours is as good as you'll do. You might find the sweet spot, and have onlookers thinking you're the local KVD. Who knows? That's the beauty of it.

I'd probably throw a 3/8 in less then 10 fow. Most of the time I throw a 1/2 for all around fishing. Ledges I typically throw 3/4 football

If you are flipping and pitching to the shallow cover, fall rate is extremely important. Depending on conditions, I throw anything from 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. The majority of the time, I will start at 3/8 oz and go up or down from there. For trailers I primarily like rage craws and chunks, chigger craws, and paca craws and chunks. I tend to use the same trailers shallow or deep. Also I like my trailers to match my jig 90% of the time.

Two weeks ago, tournament day. Hammered fish from sunup till 9:30, the bite then completely shut down on me and I never caught another fish till 1:30. My local lake, last time I fished it, same deal, till about 10am max then nothing. They shift into the shade or back down to that first break, or heck they even suspend in open water.

Where did the bass go, Chris? Into deep water for the oxygen and cool water? Along the bank for the shade and waiting for an easy meal to pass by? Holding to any structure they can find due to dirtier than usual water for your pond? Resting after gouging themselves when a cold front came through the night before? You have to find them. And you know you have to use search baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, Shad Raps, etc. Or, you can try your luck at pitching and flipping. May I suggest investing some of your hard earned funds into a Hummingbird Piranha MAX 230 Portable sonar unit with the wireless sonar and map the pond? You may be totally surprised at what you never knew was on the bottom of that pond. Keep this to yourself or others will do the same and find out what they don't know and become better bass fishermen, or at least catch more bass thinking they are better bass fishermen!

I prefer a 1/2oz for a majority of my fishing, shallow or deep. I'll go down to a 1/4oz or up to 1oz as the situation dictates though. I use Paca chunks, YUM craw papis, Zoom Big critter and critter craws, and twin tail trailers a majority of the time. I really like the twin tails for fishing a football jig, chompers makes a great one.

Yes, very common around here. There's some lakes that, when I fished a lot of tournaments, it was well known that what you had in the livewell by 9am was probably all you'd have by the end of the day. It just gets extremely difficult when the sun gets high and it gets hot out.

I always, always catch my fish just before sunrise, with maybe 1 1/2 Hr. after... In the mid- summer. Then at night....in central Fl. You had to be on the water well before daylight, and one July morn. I caught 16 Pds. Before the sun came over the Horizon, that bag was huge for July. After sunrise about a hour into the bite was over... The End.. I believe you are fishing the worst time of the day, for this time of Year..

Try an alberto knot. Never had one fail on me yet. If I were you I would use straight braid since you are fishing the Coosa River the most, and then tie on a leader whenever you need one.

Wow! congratulations on the gift. That is Awesome!!!! I can just see it now. Jolly Green is sitting on the coach being interviewed by Oprah where she is asking to discuss how it all went wrong. Jolly Green: "Well, it all started when I received a fishing boat as an anniversary gift and I began missing a day of work here and there..."

The reason you want more line capacity when casting anything a long distance, over 100 feet, is the affect on line per inch recovered with each crank of the reel handle; LPT.. Size 200 narrow spool reel spool capacity doesn't hold 100 yards or 300 feet of 20 lb mono/FC line. If you are happy with your line recovery at 100' that is about 1/3 rd less line per inch per crank, then it's OK. If for some reason you loose some line or the line tightens onto the spool and the spool capacity isn't full, your LPT goes further down, in affect your 6.3:1 ratio reel at 26 LPT is reduced to about 4.3:1 or 18" LPtT. This makes it's difficult to catch up a bass to get a hook set at 75 to 90 feet away where a high % of strikes may occur. Tom

It's going to be hard for you to make a popper chug because it's a popper, for a chug you need a chugger. Don't think I'm trying to be an azz, it's true ! Poppers pop and chuggers chug, the shape, size and depth of the mouth is what makes them different. May look similar but they aren't.

It might be hard for warm-blooded humans to comprehend, but 'numeric' temperature values are not as important as water temperature ‘trends’ (temperature uptrend vs. temperature downtrend). Cold-blooded animals acclimate to whatever the temperature happens to be, and are comfortable in all but extreme temperatures. Despite the numeric values, a downtrend in summer temperatures might appeal to humans, but causes a temporary decline in fish activity due to the downtick in metabolism. There are two reasons why this is especially true for Florida-strain bass: > Florida-strain bass are indigenous to natural lakes and to shallow water (the basin depth of many lakes is less than 10 ft) > Florida-strain bass delight in high water temperature for which they are innately acclimated A midsummer cold-front in central Florida (regardless of the numeric temperatures) can shutdown bass activity like flipping a light switch. Roger

If you couldn't buy a bite, it is possible that you haven't spend enough money. It is also possible that they just weren't biting. It is also possible that there was some flaw in your presentation. In the entire gamut of fishing situations, many things are possible. Buck Perry wrote, "The fish are deep . . .or shallow . . .or somewhere in-between." This is always correct. The In-fisherman formula Fish + Location + Presentation = Success, always applies, no matter what species you are fishing for. Put your mind on it, fine tune your presentations (or don't) and try again next time. Option B - Throw away all your gear and take up golf. You think fishermen are nuts sometimes, after having a bad day or the one that got away, try talking to a golfer with the "yips".