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I didn't have a great tournament. I lost 2 fish and only had one keeper by 2:00. Then this chubby nailed my jig. It so happened to be a Siebert Tackle the Storm jig. It's been a long time since I hooked one this big. It weighed 5-7. What a rush!

Finally popped my cherry in KS using the Savage Gear 3D Trout line thru. 4.5 to 5 lbs caught on the NW end of Leavenworth Lake.

Fishing this past weekend was really good. My plan for Friday was locating fish for Saturday. My friend Chris wanted to go fishing. He fishes once or twice a year, when I take him. Fishing Friday was great. The details about Fridays fishing is in the who wants in thread. When I got to the lake Saturday it was as if I was at a completely different lake. The water level had risen 5 feet, water temp went from 78 to 62, clarity from 5 feet to 5 inches. The fish I found Friday were gone. The first 5 hours of the day sucked. We had 4 fish between the 2 of us. It was time to change tactics. We went shallow. Really shallow where the warmest clearest water was. Once we had them figured out our fishing success changed significantly. We started catching fish and big fish too. My friend caught the biggest bass of his life a 5 lb 2 ozer off a tree. Not to far from where he caught his big bass I caught a big bass after losing a lunker. The big bass weighed in a 6 lbs 8 oz. After a couple pics a few cast later my friend got a 4 lb 8 ozer the second biggest bass of his life. The fishing stayed red hot until dark. Had them figured out by that point. We had found a pattern and the next 2 spots which were very similar to that produce a lot of good fish. For the day we caught 24 bass, biggest was the 6-8.The rest of the fish were pretty good too, 5-2, 4-8 and 9 3lbers including a 3 lb 5 oz smallmouth. So after that amazing I had to sneak out after my nieces birthday party to get a few hours of fishing in before heading back to Vermont. The fishing was great again. My first bite of the afternoon was a 5 lb 10 oz After catching a few more bass on a jig with a rage craw trailer I caught a 5 lb 4 oz which I think I caught on Friday... It wasn't very far from where I caught a 5 lb 4 oz on Friday and it looks like it could be the same fish. After the jig bite died down the frog bite took off. I wasn't getting a ton of bites but when I did get a bite it was a good one. I pulled into one particular cove filled with reeds. All the lilies were submerged because of the high water. There were bugs and birds flying around everywhere. I watched as a big fish exploded on a small bird that was skimming the surface catching bugs. I couldn't believe it. I had never seen that before. I figured that fish must have been huge to eat a bird. I made a mental note of where it happened. After 10 min or so I had made it over to that section of the cove. I cast my frog out, plop, plop, KABOOM. A fish exploded on it and the fight was on. After a spirited fight I netted the fish. It was a decent fish a 4 lb 11 oz. As I was weighing the fish I noticed saw something out of the corner of my eye. Half way in between where I caught the fish and the boat something was quivering on the surface. I went over to check it out and I couldn't believe it. It was the bird that got eaten. The bass spit it up as I was fighting it towards the boat. I think It was a tree swallow. First time I have seen that happen. The fishing was great right up til dark. Not as many big fish as the day. I caught 15 bass including a 5-10,5-4,4-12,4-11,3-0 and a 3-2 smallmouth. It was an amazing weekend of fishing. I am ready to get back out there ! I also caught a red breast sunfish, kind of a rare catch in the area of Maine I like to fish.

You haven't been paying attention then Olathe has lots of good fish in it, they're just hard to catch. Every one of those was a keeper fish, 18" or longer, and weighed 3 to 4 1/4 pounds That's why it will be on the Thursday night rotation.

Jesus. Read what he did about feeding the masses from his fishing adventure.

Caught this guy on Sunday

Buddy of mine pointed me to a new put in on the chattahoochee up above the Morgan Falls Dam. Went out there this past weekend just cruising around checking it out and fishing a little along the way. Rolled up on this awesome stalking spot for fish. Two inlets from some backwater creeks came together right in a big outer bend of the river with minimal current. In this same spot was a ton of old brush piles and stumps just littering the bank. Tossed a Siebert Dredge Brush in blue craw (shameless sponsor plug) with a Damiki Air Craw Watermelon Candy trailer covered in Megastrike (shameless sponsor plug) to the opening between a stump and smaller brush pile and SLAMMMMMMM off goes the line to the side.... being that I was standing up fishing from my new Wilderness Ride 135 kayak I was able to get the right torque for the hook set and then the dredge jig hook did the work for me keeping the fish on..... get the fish in the yak, realizing it's a river beast I throw it on the scales and at 4lb2oz it is now my biggest river bass to date! The pic doesn't do it justice, but after measuring, weighing and snapping the pic I just wanted it back in the water as quickly as possible so it's the only pic i took. 21.25" and 4lb2oz

Caught this one off the bank. It put up a solid fight. I don't know how big it is, but it's big enough to take a picture of in my book.

Anyone else excited to get their hand on this? http://strikeking.com/products/new-icast-products-2015/new-2015-bass-baits.html > Quick description: A magnum-sized squarebill that dives to 7 feet with great wandering action. It's based on the original 2.5, just oversized. It weighs 1.5 oz and is 5” long. It deflects really well off of cover. Big baits catch big bass! Big baits equal big bites. We’ve all heard that before, so tie on the all-new KVD 8.0 from Strike King and prepare to catch a giant! "The nature of today’s tournament atmosphere has changed," says four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam. "Gone are the days of catching a limit to survive. Survival and success in today’s tournaments require catching 5 big bass every single day. "That need led us to design the all-new KVD 8.0. The 8.0 is a large-profile bait designed to mimic the bigger-sized forage of giant bass. But don’t think for a minute that a 3-pounder won’t eat it too." The all-new KVD 8.0 weighs in at 1 ½-oz and runs 3-7 feet deep. Much like its squarebill brethren – the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 – the 8.0 has the erratic “hunting” action that made this line famous among anglers. It also is designed with no rattles for the silent approach that maximizes its ability to take advantage of the reactionary nature of a bass. The introductory lineup will include 10 fish-catching colors and can be found at better sporting goods retailers everywhere.

A-Jay

Somebody do a reverse google image search on this one!!!

Top 3 from this past weekend. Maine doesn't have any bass. 6 lbs 8 oz 5 lbs 10 oz 5 lbs 10 oz

I'd go with a pair of breathable waders, stocking foot & wading shoes. Buy big enough to insulate as needed when the weather changes. Wading presents certain dangers, among them is the possibility of getting stuck in muck bottoms especially in ponds. Be aware of your footing and where you step.

Ha! I stayed out of the savvy topic but being that I've done Bjj for 12 years I HAD to chime in on this topic lol

Caught my first 5 fish on the frog!! Went out today not really knowing how to fish a frog and ended up doing pretty well. The first one was a real nice 3 pounder too which was a pleasant surprise considering most of the other bass on that lake are < 2#. Missed about 7 other fish while I was at it but I guess that's just part of the learning process. All in all a great day and some of the most exciting fishing I've ever done. A couple pictures of the first fish:

I think Raul is right on the money. On days when the conventional wisdom says I'm supposed to kill them, sometimes the fish haven't read the script. The opposite can be true as well, yesterday with bluebird skies and using nothing but a top water popper I destroyed them, both shallow and deeper water. I have but one rule, that's just to go fishing.

Off topic but chuck actually is an avid bjj practitioner and is at least a brown belt lol

You can (and I do) pitch every bait I use. When flipping, the reel is necessary, but is essentially just something that holds line as you are doing all the work manually When pitching, I'm pretty particular because I do it a lot. I want a spool that starts up with almost no effort. My favorite spool for pitching that I've used is the Daiwa RCS1016. You want something that is very comfortable and balances well on your rod as you will be holding it a lot of the times all day.

Like most of us, I have read, studied, and watched others to learn what best works for me. That has evolved over the years as I've learned more about bass and what I enjoy. There is no substitute for time on the water. As BrianinMD said fishing with guys who are better will save much time, effort, and money. Taking all of that and making it your own is what separates the best from the rest of us.

1. don't get caught up with colors, black/blue is a general favorite. Otherwise stick to colors similiar to other baits you have success with. 2. bites can be hard to detect, in the beginning any tick in the line you feel, mushy feeling, odd line movement, etc set the hook hard and fast. hook sets are free don't be worried about whether it was a bite if that question comes to mind you should be swinging. 3. used at least a MH rod with a fast to x-fast action, the most sensitive one you have. 4. stick to at least 15lb line, more if there are a lot of things to get snagged or wrapped around. 5. try different retrieves, from dragging it, hopping it, different speeds until you figure out what they want I am sure others will reply with there thoughts, but this is my 2cents....

It took my girlfriend a long time to learn how to set a hook. Other then a soft hook set I think the single biggest problem was my wife leering at her from the back of the boat. My wife sets the hook like nobody's business!

I don't know about the corn but if you've found a woman willing to go carp fishing you better keep her.

Hello everyone! Ive been reading on the forum for a little while now but finally decided to dive in head first and make a username so I can get more out of this. My name is Ryan, Im 23, and although I have been fishing for some time now I have just recently gotten serious with the bass fishing in the past 2 years. I fish the small lakes and ponds in my area and also the deleware river, but my favorite spots are 2 little honeyhole private farm ponds ive been lucky enough to gain access to. Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Im sure you guys will see me around nagging and asking questions and learning. hope everyone is having good fishing, the bites been tough the past 2 weeks here!

1.. No matter how many cars you pass, there will always be someone in front of you. There is no front of the line. So just relax. you'll get there. 2..Just because your light has turned green, don't just jump out there. Because after the other light has turned red, the next three to five cars are coming on through...at least in Cincinnati. 3..And the biggest one, you can never drive fast enough for the car behind you. Remember, he's looking for the front of the line. Hootie

I was able to get out the past couple of days and fish some local ponds here by my house. Since the weather was nice and sunny, and the water was clear, I was able to see the fish quite easily with my polarized glasses. Not wanting to spook the fish, I stood back off the bank about 20 feet, which also meant I went up and incline in doing so. That resulted in my height being about 10 feet higher than the water. It was pretty neat to be able to clearly see my lure, where I was fishing......and when fish took my lure. The creepy part was, when I used a T-Rigged Rage Craw, jig, or weightless fluke/senko.....I could see the fish take the lure, mouthing it a bit before it did, then ingest the lure. All the while, I felt nothing.....no tick, no jerk. Nothing. I was using braid - pretty sensitive stuff. I was using a Crucial rod - definitely not junk. The only way I knew I had a fish on was seeing the lure disappear in the fish's mouth, then I could set the hook. Makes me wonder in other circumstances how many times I've had a fish with my lure in its mouth, while I stood there unaware, admiring the scenery.......

I might be getting this combo from Dick's Sporting Goods soon and was wondering what the experts think of this combo. I have never used a baitcaster and have been watching tube videos just to know what I'm getting into. Now I mainly fish from a kayak/bank and also wonder if would work well for me. It has a $20 mail in rebate, so that makes it even better lol! Thanks for any advice!

http://www.antiquefishinglures.com/whopper.htm I thought this was pretty cool. The Whirlybird looks like a real nice compact weedless spinnerbait. The Dirtybird looks like an early form of a chatterbait and check out the weedless worm rig? Weird how these companies come and go,

As mentioned, I think you mean MLXF. I was at the same place you were with it. I ultimately chose the LTB because of how sweet croix's XF tip is and their warranty since I'm fairly hard on my gear. Glad I did since the 610MLXF is very versatile stick and use also for jerkbaits, tubes, shakeys, and senkos among the dropshot

You sure cant go wrong with either...they are both awesome! I would also add the 13 *** to your short list

It's a good thing the OP asked about your saltwater history with shimano and daiwa spinning reels or this post would make absolutely no sense. It seems like you've cracked the code on the mysterious AR pawl. Shimano must be using "cheap" AR bearings...Not that it matters since you don't want to look it up yourself and just assume a company that isn't "yours" uses cheap parts, but the purpose of the secondary AR is for salt water use. It's useless for freshwater as it's very unlikely that it will fail in freshwater.

The fishing Saturday and Sunday was really good.. Details in the any luck in NH thread. Fish # 3 22.25 inches 6 lbs 8 oz Fish # 4 21.5 inches 5 lbs 4 oz Fish # 5 20.5 inches 5 lbs 10 oz 107.5 inches

The answer is don't change. I used a $15 Shakespeare excursion rod with a $25 Shimano Sienna reel for a long time. I don't catch any less fish now than I did then. Granted with today's technology in blanks and line. I probably catch a few more fish detecting bites I wouldn't have before but I'd say it's minimal. For me I enjoy owning 'nicer' gear. I stay within my means and all my bills get paid. It's nowhere near what some people spend but it works for me and I enjoy using it. You won't catch me with a $400-500 rod. I can't justify that kind of money on a rod when my $150-200 rod makes me happy.

Nice fish! Which Storm jig was it? Jeff

Nice fish!

Yes. It only serves as a back up. The problem is if your AR bearing does fail, you aren't using the reel anyway until you replace it. I removed every AR pawls in mine. . It make the reel smoother as well . They are notorious for clicking if you put the in wrong or just go bad. Take it out and pitch it in the trash.

Braid is the only way to fish a frog.

What 3 rods did you break?

I agree with this, so use whichever brand of 65# braid you are most comfortable with

And think like a crawfish in your area!

Sick bro.....admittedly I have a 178 and have o ly thrown it a few casts. This year ill probably put it to work.

That's barely bearable.

Hell, I don´t know kemosabe, maybe he can enlighten us with his abilities to break rods ?

I have about 4 Bayou Boogies, unfortunately they are the newer ones from Heddon. A few years ago I tried making one but a little bigger: It was just shy of 1/2 oz and 3" long. It caught fish, but it swam more like a lipped crank. Oh well, another experiment gone awry...

I don't watch fishing shows because I don't find much relevant info on them just a lot of high fiving over and over. I use my own and partners' methods.

I use my own. Having said that, the information gathered from shows, books, and sites like this one allowed me to learn the basics of bass behavior, bass seasons, bass use of structure, and how the bass generally reacts to its environment. That allows me to derive patterns when I am on the water. A lot of patterns will overlap between individuals because there are generalities of bass behavior that can be applied by everyone to come to the same conclusions. There can be numerous patterns that work at any given day and time, just as on tough days there may be only one or two that work.

I headed to Lacygne this morning but with the fog I decided to just stop at Miami State lake. I figured the fog would keep the dust down. WRONG! I spent more time cleaning the boat than I did fishing With all the vegetation die off the visibility was about 6 inches! I caught 3 fish before I tucked my tale and ran home.

I tried casting with no brakes on the first time I used my baitcaster.... Never going to do that again

A nice, heavy, tailspinner is a useful little lure that doesn't get talked about much these days.

X3. Lifetime warranty still in effect. Great rod for the money

Yea they changed the way to get in, it is still free to members. The easiest way is at the bottom of the home page click on benefits under join bass. Then enter your name and number. Next screen hit digital bass.