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Location, location, location. Tom

Best of luck to you on your Quest for a Big Bass. I have three pieces of advice for you. First, consider beefing up your tackle, at least go up a line class or two. So when the fish you're fishing for does strike, your tackle will not be the weak link. Second, fish a healthy sized jig & craw trailer - A Lot. As the water starts to cool, and the bass you're looking for start feeding more (and moving a little shallower), put that jig in places others are not. And last but certainly not least - Be Confident. Know & Believe, that if you put the time in, fish enough of the right places with the right bait & tackle, you'll get a shot at a bigger bass. When you're doing it right, you're thinking that each & every cast can and should produce what you're hunting for. Do Not Be Surprised when it happens. They biggest bass are often not "where they are supposed to be". What has yet to be determined is, are you willing to put in the time and will you be ready ? Good Luck A-Jay

Caught this guy on Sunday

Hey guys so I caught my personal best yesterday! I have only been fishing for about two years now, and a lot of what I have learned came from this forum and all yall on here, so I wanted to post and say thank you! Until this year I had never had any luck with texas rigging so I have been spending a lot of time each outing trying to get better with it. It has for sure led to some larger catches for me over the past few months. Anyways my dad and I were fishing a laydown that we hit almost every trip out. We had been on it for a pretty good while when I pitched a 7in powerworm into the middle of the tree. I felt the tap and started to get my slack up when I see my line swimming back into the laydown. After setting the hook he tried to wrap me up on a number of different limbs, but finally I was able to work him out of the tree. My dad netted him for me and we threw him on the scale. He came out to 6lb 6oz. Haha he bent out my hook some and I couldnt tie another hook on for a few minutes because my hands were shaking so badly! Anyways thanks again for all the advice and all of the help you guys offer on this forum!

That's not Rock N' Roll, this is, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM

Before you leave - tell someone (reliable / dependable) where you are going (exactly including which and where the boat ramp you plan on using is located) and when you'll be back. Provide this person with a complete (written - don't ask them to commit this to memory) description of you boat, motor, Truck & trailer; including registration. Provide them with the number (or numbers) of which Federal / State &/or local authorities they should call if you do not return as scheduled. If you have Any Change of Plans - Call them and up date your plan ! It's called a Float Plan - it's saved many a life and sadly, the lack of one, has cost some too. A-Jay

When I saw these in the pictures from Icast I was excited to try them out. So when my local BPS got some in I jumped at the chance to own one. I kept it pretty basic with the silver/black back. As soon as I took it out of the package I realized there was an issue, all 3 split rings were open? Easy fix, changed out the rings and swapped the hooks to #3 short shank VMCs. I hit the water with it the next day at a small public pond, fishing from the bank. Conditions were not good for it with no wind, bright sun, and rapidly warming air temps. Still, a fish blasted the bait on about my third cast. This bait is extremely loud and has a very wide wobble, rocking almost 180* during the retrieve. It's also a true wakebait, running at or just below the surface the entire retrieve. After the fast start there was no more excitement until I'd walked a majority of the pond. I had one blowup and miss the bait, then another eat it really well. I had at least a couple fish swing at the bait as soon as I started my retrieve that didn't hook up. I was letting the disturbance of the bait landing die down before I'd start my retrieve because it was so calm. I'm guessing those fish were just looking at the bait and attacked as soon as it moved. I managed to catch a few more before I had to pack it in. The fish that hit this bait were really trying to kill it, probably because of how aggressive the bait is. The paint job scratches very easily so if that bothers you, this may not be the best bait for you. Otherwise, check your hooks and split rings and you should be good to go, I know I'll be adding a couple more to my arsenal

this forum is just great,and you angler's are too, just letting you all know that as well , this forum is just like a wood stock was when it started , put together and people just came ,but instead of bands we use topics instead ,i like that ,and you angler's too, just the best group of angler's out there ! just one great group of people having a great time , you angler's are just one great group of friends and another family in my book and i thank you, just letting you know.

Location doesn't have alot to do with it. It has everything to do with it.

Location would be the key to your quests and understand the fish you are after. What's the food chain? Some of the areas I fish they key in on different forage at times, will a certain bait work all year......maybe. But it is best to try and match the forage base they are chasing. Raul and WRB have great advice and lots of knowledge. I would say a jig over a 10-12" worm or a 2.5 squarbill. I would include them in your bait selection.

Hey, he didn´t say he was going after 10 lbers, we immediately asume when our cyberpals say they are going after bigger fish they mean 10+ lbs bass and such thing is not necessarily true. "Big momma" is a matter of interpretation and geographical location, you can´t go fishing for 10 lbs LMB bass in Minnesota. A 7 LMB where I´m at is a very nice fish, nicer than what 99% of the guys fishing where I fish will ever catch and at least 4 lbs better than what they will catch 95% of the time. I´ve pulled from 5 to 12 lbs out of my everyday lake consistently throughout a year but my average bass for that lake is around 1 1/2 pounds.

Is not about the size of your baits, it´s about where, when and how,. Preparation meets opportunity. There´s pickerel where you´re at, soft baits are not such a good idea, the bait will get torn to pieces and unless it lands right on the face of your next PB most probably 99% of your baits will never reach destination 99% of the time. Bigger baits ? not necesarily, my first 10 and my PB were caught with small baits, the catch was when ( there´s a specific window when bigger fish are more catchable ), where ( you can´t catch big fish where there are no big fish ) and how ( slow ). To be true to you, fast moving baits don´t catch as many big fish as slow moving baits.

You need a find a pond or lake that has double digit fish in it. Like Tom said location, location,location.

Thanks. Such a nice thing to say. Have you communicated with Raider?

Very true. The rich enviros have a lot of power. I hope if it comes to that and they start killing bass that someone goes vigilante on their butts. No endangered fish has ever been aided by trying to kill a nonnative species. It is almost always habitat degradation that harms native fish. In my mind too, sport fish trump obscure or rough fish, and it's that way with the majority of sportsmen and the public in general, but California is very liberal with lots of enviro extremists so this could be a DANGEROUS thing for clear lake. Stress habitat improvement and show opposition to any removal of sportfish. Mechanical removal of sportfish is relatively ineffective anyway, at worst causing moderate declines of the fishery (but this is unacceptable in a place like clear lake). It's also hugely expensive. Remember when Lake Davis was twice poisoned to kill pike, and each time the Game and Fish said it would "kill every single pike"? WRONG, the pike have returned both times (although at this time the numbers of them are still fairly small). Once a nonnative fish is in a system, for all intensive purposes you cannot get rid of it and long term, permanent declines are RARE. So it's a total waste of time and money, and as far as it not helping native fish, science is on your side. But most biologists in western states are driven and controlled by environmental extremists so they are NOT to be trusted.

This 4-11 was aught on the livetarget mouse earlier this year And the topwater bait "Flipin the Bird" has produced a few 4+ bass

Chronarch 100D7 with Avail spool, upgrades galore. Casts like a dream.

Nothing special but it'll do the trick. Okuma 7'11 H with Cardiff 301 and 9" slammer. Added carbontex drag washers to the 301 and owner st41's to the slammer.

It's the shooters causing the whole .22 LR mess. Everybody is in panic mode so they buy everything they can get their hands on even though they don't need it. I only have 600 rounds left and am afraid to use any to sight in my new rifle. I haven't been able to get any around here for a long time. As soon as any hits the shelves, it's gone and you ain't getting any if you aren't standing right there to grab it. If a guy had the money to start up and manufacture quality 22 LR ammo right now, he'd get rich in a d**n hurry!!

I do not know where people got the idea that the 5 speed motors draw the same current on all speeds. When you increase the resistance of a circuit the current draw drops. I=E/R. Ohms law. Me and another fellow go into a 15 page forum discussion with another guy, who is a minnkota repair center owner, about the same thing. The Minnkota guy kept claiming the 5 speed motors drew the same current no matter what speed. I finally had to make a video to prove otherwise to him.

I feel like Hooligan has a beautiful OCD that will keep him up at night if he has unsexy combos that don't match and stuff. All I want to know is why can't my gf suffer from this affliction?!??

We have a city park lake that the bass stalk the baby ducks. There are only a few places where they can get out onto some rocks, when they enter the water they are picked off. See a boil, hear the baby duck and then a splash and one less baby duckling. Come back an hr later and facing the rocks along the shore you will see 6-8lb bass waiting for another chance for a meal. Within 2 days 12 ducklings reduced to 0.

7' medium heavy fast action for single hook baits 7' medium heavy moderate action for treble hook baits

Its a real problem. The center for biological diversity led the lawsuit that ended trout stocking in many of our lakes. Some lakes have resumed planting but most have not. It happens that quickly. "Native" species matter more than "invasive" species and "threatened" species matter most of all. Turning a blind eye will not get us anywhere. This IS happening and there are plenty of negative examples around the state and nation that show what talking heads in a courtroom can do to a lake once they decide one species matters more than another. As much as I love the shops around Clearlake, I would not expect a lot of help to come from them. Of the three, Clearlake Outdoors will take an interest for sure but a group of people looking to push an agenda will not take a lot of inspiration from a tackle shop. I'm not trying to put a negative spin out there, I'm trying to be realistic. Raising a united voice against what is being done is the best approach. I've seen the "science" they've used to make these rulings and its appalling. I'm on that lake day in and day out and see the hitch's movements on a regular basis. While they're spouting about zero hitch in Adobe this year (the mouth had a sandbar in it) thousands of hitch successfully spawned just one bay over. They didn't all die, they moved. I've attempted to share that information with the biologists to no avail. The reality is, there is a political agenda that has very little to do with hitch. They are a stepping stone in a greater picture so if you want to save your bass, knuckle down for a fight because whatever we're seeing in front of us is not the true battle at all. Sure I'm just a fisherman but I'm a fisherman with a lot of time on the water. That time has allowed me to see a lot of things that directly dispute the incomplete science being used in the court room. That's enough for a 7 AM rant. :-)

here's how it works: as you can see, it all depends on what kind of fisherman you are. regular joes (blue) are don't know any difference and are happy as clams with a $50 combo or a $1000 combo. interestingly, professional tournament anglers (red) know the difference but most see fishing as a job and don't enjoy the equipment; also, they're so good, they catch fish regardless of what they use. the avid fisherman (green) appreciate nicer gear and have a sweet spot around right around $350 ($180 reel and a $170 rod)...after that, they have to spend much more to gain a little bit more enjoyment. now, for the tackle enthusiast, any combo under $250 barely even registers in their brain...they have to spend at least $500 just to have a so-so time fishing; for them, enjoyment goes up linearly with price.

I for one am glad you went to meet him. As mentioned before, this could have been the only chance you had. Regardless of what happened, what choices he made, perhaps at the time that was the best thing he could have done for all involved. Forgiving is tough sometimes. It takes a big man to be able to do it. Sounds like you did.

He probably snagged his roman made..

Rock-n-Roll was born in Memphis Tn. at Sun records in July 1954 with Elvis Presley Thats All right mama. I too was born same town same year and I play classic rock 68-85 and SRV and KWS Blues On my 96 and 97 Fender american Stratocaster Guitars. and Fender Tube amps. Just like the King I love Rock-n-Roll Harley Davidsons and Fishing.

So here is my take. You are a new employee and while what you may want is different gear that does not mean that the rest of the buying public does. Work a few months and see what type of customers you are helping and keep a mental note of why they are asking for and their reactions to suggestions of the more pricey items. You may find that while the enthusiast wouldn't mind having better gear at their disposal, they are also the ones who are going to buy online, used or find the deals. They don't make the store run per se. When i used to work at an outdoor retail store that was heavy into backpacking but had a good selection of a lot of things i said we needed to expand the climbing section because well, i was a climber and that is what i wanted to see. After working there for a few months it was pretty apparent the three money makers in the store were socks, footwear and patagonia capilene and it was not even a close battle with socks head and shoulders above the rat in both volume and profit margin. Your feedback will be much better taken if it is phrased positively like others have mentioned and also if you have some background to your suggestions. good luck!!

Thank You.

That's some Exacting work there T_D , I like that..

Bass Wisdom x3.....its my first experience with Uncle Homer. Would love to find more on Doug Hannon as well, have read some bits and pieces of his thoughts Think Like A Fish (Tom Mann)...not so much for learning technique but a very interesting read on his life and how it relates to bass fishing, starting Mann's Bait Company, etc. In Fisherman Smallmouth as well as Largemouth

T_D, I've read many times that 5 speed Minn-Kota's use same amount of current no matter what the speed is because it control the speed by applying more resistance series to the motor. That's why I bought variable speed. This study totally contradict to those claim. (But I believe this study.)

See if you can locate Doug Hannons work, it is still very helpful, and it taught me most everything I needed to know about big girls!

He could have had chow mein, some rangoons, and teriyaki sticks..golden fingers, so many choices...

X2

Bass Wisdom. (Taught me a lot about fishing structure and weather patterns) KVD's Secrets Of A Champion. (A lot of tips on modifying baits but covers a lot) Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish. (Bass biology. I've learned ALOT from this book. I've read it many times and still can't grasp all it has to say lol.) I don't know if any of those are available for your phone/tablet but they're all worth a read IMO.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I appreciate it. I went out earlier today and picked up some Rage Toads in Green Pumpkin Pearl Belly as well as some Rage Craws and Menace in both Green Pumpkin and Black Blue Flake. I'm excited to get the opportunity to get out and try all three.

Well then I'll cheers a beer to you Skeeter. To getting back into it and keeping our heads up until we get that one fish that triggers our good ol memories of late.

I took a fishing hiatus for a spell this summer, after vacation, came back to it this past week, and once again, soft plastics caught the bass. Had some success this year branching out to hard lures, spinnerbaits, etc. Will continue to use them, but most fish I catch are on soft plastics. So I like to stick with what works. Last summer, senko-style baits fished wacky (mostly). This summer, pretty much the same. It. Just. Works.

raider and slonezp 1 cup part 2. "Their cup runeth over".

Oh my....couldn't or wouldn't voluntarily take the pain. Been to the ER and hospital too many times to like needles. But if you like it ....go for it. I think I'm stepping out of the box letting my hair grow for four months because I told the wife was going to let it grow untill I was done with surgeries and healed. Kind of reminds me of the ol ol days. Tight Lines

Added the mighty scorpion to the lineup. Cleaned it, added hedgehogs, and threw a zpi handle on there. Will be putting the septon knobs on there tonight. Matches very nicely with the 6'10 cumulus. Put on some 8lb hybrid and really liking this line. I was casting this little 3/8oz megabass a mile...

I fish freshwater and saltwater 7 days a week 12 months of the year, that's a lot of fishing and a lot of fish caught. Maybe not an enthusiast but pretty darn enthused about catching fish. I don't do much bottom fishing, I like getting a good thump so super sensitivity isn't my main criteria. I do want a rod that is comfortable with foregrip and a slightly longer butt that casts well has the backbone I need to land fish, being durable is a bonus. I have found my niche in the 90-125 range that have met what I want a rod to do. I have gone the custom route as well more expensive rods, the performance difference to me was small if any.

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.

I'm without a electronics on my kayak. I bought a contour map and tried fishing ledges that I identified on that, but without a graph to see what's underneath me, it's quite a challenge and my few ledge efforts have been unsuccessful. A lot of the better looking ledge areas also equate to a super long paddle for me. I can't complain though; my limited water access forces me to spend more time in an area and really pick it apart and get better at reading the water.

The most knowledgeable bass fisherman was Doug Hannon. He wrote the book, literally.

A woman goes to see a veterinarian. "Doctor, I hope you can help me. My dog has been humping me constantly. Is there anything you can do?" "Well," the vet says, "The first thing we should do is neuter him, that should calm him down" "No", the woman says, "That's not what I had in mind. Do you think you could trim his nails and fix his breath?"

OK, here is a second way to look at all of this: My Dad was married before my Mom and had 2 kids. His wife at the time(not my Mom) ran around on him and took his 2 kids out of state. At the time, for Fathers to get visitation rights, you had to live in the same state, and he was financially not able to move and not willing to do so to leave his sick Father. He tried for 2 years with a lawyer to get visitation and countless dollars to no avail. The other lady ended up marrying the guy she ran off with and he adopted my half brother and sister. Their Mom, lied to them about how awful my Dad was (drinking, abusive, you name it). I have never seen my Dad consume an alcoholic beverage in his life. Anyways, they grew up thinking their Dad abandoned them and was a horrible person. I am not saying my Dad is perfect, but he certainly did not do any of these things. My half-brother finally contacted my Dad once he was 18 and realized that it was all lies and we have all had a great relationship since. My half-sister just finally realized this early this year, and is planning a trip to come see my Dad soon. She has now realized that even though their mother was good to them, she was the one to blame and it was all lies. To see my Dad crying like a baby on Father's Day because after all of these years, they finally realized he wasn't a bad person was something I will never forget. He tried every so often to get in touch with them, and like I said he is not perfect, he was never able to because they never wanted to talk to him. He certainly could have tried more and more often as they got older, but it was a very hard subject for him to even bring up. So I say give him a chance. They were both grown adults before they knew their Father, who has become the Dad to one and is striving to become the Dad to the other. Just sayin Jeff

Wow Brian! What a great idea! I'm absolutely humbled by your generosity and initiative. When db (Don Barone, founder of Tackle The Storm) read this, he said, And just this weekend at the BassResource RoadTrip, we raised enough money to add 119 kids to that total. This came from a combination of the raffle, Siebert Outdoors Storm series jigs sales, and a very generous $75 donation from Brian himself. I know Brian isn't looking for recognition, as he pulled me aside to quietly gave me his donation, but I just wanted everyone to know what a wonderful and caring person Brian is. In addition, Alpster (Ronnie) custom built a fantastic spiral-wrapped rod to donate to the raffle, and Dinky (MIke) added items including an autographed tournament jersey from Randy Howell. I also wanted to thank all our sponsors for donating prizes to raffle off. Everyone can make a difference. It doesn't take much to change a child's life. Every $7.50 raised puts a magic wand into a kid's hand, and puts a smile on his face. Again Brian, what a wonderful idea. And a big thank you to everyone stepping up to the challenge. Thank you, Glenn