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If I ever get comfortable where I'm at I'd probably quit fishing. Part of what I love so much about this sport is there is always something new to be learned.

here she is guys. My new fishing partner. Born August 15. The ladies are doing great.

I spoke with Big O last week and he recommended tipping The Bug, but what does he know?

I'm in Florida which has no season, something can be caught year round. Fishing strictly for recreation and fun I have no reason to compare 1 year to another or even day to day. I don't make a point of counting or weighing and I never put pressure on myself to produce, just take it as it comes.

27 double digit bass 12.8 12.66 12.4 11.5 11.3 And a log jam @ 10+!

Time for hate. I've only owned a handful of reels and all were low costs. My best reel so far is my Quantum Accurist. Until I get a better reel, I will continue to call it the best I've owned. Mainly because it is.

Catt, we're gonna need a bigger boat . . . . A-Jay

As long as I can bring Roger & Sam & Dwight Hottle & Long Mike & A-Jay & Slonezp & man it's getting crowded around here

mine was the one that got away......

I don't worry about hanging up with braid because I grab a stick that is laying on the ground and I wrap the braid around the stick and pull. Usually the hook straightens out or pulls free.

Caught this guy on Sunday

I might have caught a 2lber once

There is a third purpose for having a fast reel: to pick up the slack line caused by fishing lures that generate the slack line ----> jigs n´soft baits. Reels with high IPT are not new, I´ve owned one since the late 80´s and seldomly sees action, the Daiwa PT33SH has a gear ratio of 7.1:1 and an IPT of 33", the situation here is that it´s very easy to "get caught in the trend", how you feel fishing with your gear ? I feel fine with mine and it really doesn´t bother me to fish with my "slow" 4.9:1 Abus or my "regular" 6.x:1 almost every reel I own, or with my extra "slow" Curado B38 or with my "super fast" Daiwa PT33SH which, once again I mention, sees very little action. For me the situation is pretty much like this, I like to fish cranks and spinnerbaits ( cast and retrieve baits ), I have a certain speed at which I turn the handle, ok so based on that premise if there are reels that allow me to crank without having to try to speed up or slow down the cranking then why not ? so I end up fishing with several reels with different IPTs to perform specific tasks. A pic of the reel I mention, it´s also have nice features, a flipping switch which I never use and a "line test reminder" ( a small dial with 10, 12 and 14 ) just for you to know which line you have spooled in it. The only thing I did to it was to upgrade the drag pads because the stock drag was not good.

The one I am using is the best one at that time and place. That can be a different one at other times and places. I don't have a favorite. My "favorite" is whatever the fish's is at a particular time and place.

Or not.........I once had a boat full of supposedly "better" rods. Such as St Croix Avids, Legend Tournaments, Kistler's etc.....They offered me nothing more over the equipment I replaced with them than an emptier wallet. That being said, if you like, and/or desire to have premium stuff. Go for it, it's your money, and your decision. I went through that phase too, when I thought I HAD TO HAVE better stuff, then I realized some things, things that are often peculiar to an individuals tastes or situation, so I won't bore you with my thought process. But I have since taken my gear budget down a notch or two, and find that nothing has changed. I still catch fish, I still win/cash in tournaments, I still enjoy my time on the water, and now I have more money in the bank to boot. That's just me, and I am just letting you know there are other opinions out there than the " more money is more better" crowd.

OK......5 over 17 lbs 17.4 lbs, Lake Castias, '88 17.4 lbs, Lake Castiac' '91 17.6 lbs, Lake Castiac, '93 18.6 lbs, Lake Castias, '81 19.3 lbs, Lake Castaic, '94 All the above caught on custom hair jigs with pork rind trailers, between 1981 to 1994. Still trying to catch the 20 lb + FLMB. Tom

this topic causes me to juxtapose my beliefs on color. Color does not matter at all to me as long as its one of the three colors I would need: shad-ish, bream-ish, or red-ish.

The short answer is "Night & Day". If you decide to move up you will be selling or giving your old equipment away sooner than later.

They look great ... I will stick to my $5 - $7 ones. Catches them just fine for me.

Numbers: way ahead Size: behind Still got 4 1/2 months to catch up

Knock on doors. Farm pond fishing is a good time. Many won't let you have access any longer for liability reasons and the drought may have hurt may of the smaller ponds. Oh, and remember to hide that Johnson County license plate.

Interesting question. There are many portions of this "hobby" that I would certainly benefit from improving on. The short list would include: Learning more about the local bass populations situational & seasonal movements. Knowing more about what the bass here eat, specifically where & when would be good. My deep cranking skills are only basic at best. I'm betting that there are some important nuances of that technique that I don't know or am brushing over which is reducing my success. I need improve my ability to skip a bait into & under cover (dock & trees). My swim bait experience (the 2 ounce plus jobs) is minimal and something else I should step up. As for the Umbrella (A-Rig) deal, though I have several, I'm a total Noob. I love to fly fish for bass but my fly casting skills could use some Big Time work; especially with larger flies. Despite these short comings (and I'm betting there are several more I just don't know about), some how I've managed to do OK. So I'm not sure where that puts me on any scale. Either way, with the exception of some very special personal relationships, there's nothing else on this planet I enjoy more. A-Jay

Sounds like a good time. For your swim jig you might want to try switching to a different color or a different trailer when that happens. The bass are telling you that it's getting their attention, but they just aren't quite committing. On a side note, I think you might be overestimating the weights a little on those fish.

^^^I like Megastrike. Not as an attractant, but as Sam said, to help make them hold the bait that split second longer to get a hookset.

My favorite would probably be the old Curado 200B. For a pure workhorse reel that was affordable and could do just about anything and was easy to work on, pretty tough reel to beat. If they hold up like I think they will the new Curado I will be at the top of the list too, man they are sweet reels. For spinning reels the Stradic C14 is awesome, so is the Pfluegar Supreme XT.

Got this 5-2 after work today.

The only time a custom paint is worth the price is when it replicates a bait forage that you can not find on a standard bait. Example, currently on the Great Lakes the hard bait manufactures have not provided a realistic goby colored pattern across the board.

I went to Winni today and fished out of Lees Mills. Fished from 7am to about 11. The lake was like glass and the water temp was 76 degrees. Caught on Senko wacky rigged and the big one was caught on a 1/2 oz jig with a berkley 7" power worm. Caught 7 fish sizes from 4 inches to my biggest of the year a 4lb large mouth. So hard to take pictures by myself.

Those are nice but I don't think a paint scheme has nothing to do with it. I think reaction theory is true.

Scissors.

Zebco 33. It served me very well before I knew any better, lol.

Yes. It was in one of Uncle Homers videos. Bass are predators and will hit at anything to determine if it is food. This is why we use scent to try to have the bass retain our bait in their mouths a few seconds longer so we can have a better chance of setting the hook.

I'll be honest with you, I dont watch those movies for the guys..but it's cool that you do.

When I was 5 or 6 I caught a 3 pound largemouth in my grandparents pond. This was when fish were for food for my family, not for fun. My grandma, who is deathly afraid of mice, was filleting this bass and it turns out he had a recently eaten field mouse in his stomach. I don't remember my grandma cleaning any more fish after that.

If they are not interested in live bait then the only other course of action is to take them out and you act as a paid guide. Pay extra attention to what they are doing and how they are doing it. They will get discouraged if you are catching and they are not. This of course takes fishing away from you for that trip to some degree but if it gets them hooked (pun) then you will have a fishing buddy for a lifetime. I am dealing with a similar situation with my kids. I failed the last few times trying to take my little one out and fishing alongside her. Anytime I would catch it would bother her. I needed to forego catching to help her catch. The last two trips were successful for her. Now she is asking me to go fish. At some point she will be independent of me catching fish alongside me.

Sounds like a classic case of stunted bass from over population. Golf course ponds do not normally have any catch & kill bass . Small waters need some or many fish removed to keep a healthy population. Most fish under 15" need to be removed until a healthy population emerges.

Got my pb today with a chatterbait. 5.10lbs

Steez w/ 1016 spool and zillion w/ 100m spool. I'm also impressed by the tatula for the money. In my area they're aren't many enthusiast that I've encountered so I'm basically on my own. I'm sure if I joined and made friends with any of the local clubs I'd meet more but as of now my friends think I'm crazy. They should meet some of you and they'll realize I'm in the minority haha

Currently my Aldebaran bfs xg. My Core 51 should be here tomorrow.

The elite has a 6 arm braking system vs 4 for the premier, and an 8:1 ratio option

You know Dwight, I think your results on the water would improve if you invested a bit in some halfway decent equipment

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/Bagwell/bagwells_bass_tactics_12.html?utm_source=AUGnews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0820 Very interesting article, but I have to take issue with the thesis. Although there are many situations where silent enty may be the best choice, for the majority of my fishing a big splash is a better option. Specifically on the Tennessee River lakes, noise is a constant. This is a commercial river which means lots of barge traffic, medium ships and big yachts. More noise from recreational speed boats and pontoons and of course, big fleets of "fast boats" during tournaments. My point is this: I feel that a BIG splash attracts more fish than it scares away.

Low profile is the Antares HG Round reel is the Conquest 2014

Shimano Excense DC. I've never spent over 300 dollars though. I can tell you this. If Daiwa made an aluminum T3 with no pop up hood it would take the cake as far as I'm concerned.

or look at the screenshot sticky in this forum

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got! Do ya wanna fish or do ya wanna catch

I'd say just about your only option is to go back and speak to the owner of the shop that did the work. Ask him why they did all the work they did when it only needed the fuel filter fixed. If he's a stand up guy, he will make an adjustment to the bill. If not, you pay the bill, and never go back.

the big lebowski

This is what a rod will do when it isn't damaged. I don't think most people are putting this much strain on their rods while fishing. If your rod breaks after the first year, it's because of something you did to it.