Leaderboard

Parts 1 and 2 of my BFS combo. A Loomis CR721IMX will be next.

6#13oz. on a tube.

The wife manages to catch a big old good one every once in a while. This one came from the 2011 Road Trip on Kentucky Lake.

If you want wander ditches with me, let me know. I'm only a few more hours away.

IMO it's not as much about being too heavy as it is about sensitivity. For rods, the weight/stiffness ratio is where sensitivity is derived from. An unnecessarily heavy reel mounted can, I suspect, deaden some vibrations and affect balance/feel. A lot of this may be splitting hairs, but that can be said of 90% of the topics we discuss. It all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.

caught this today on a watermelon red tiny fluke

ALWAYS have a senko tied on as a throwback bait. Seriously! Jeff

Caught this one and only at a new to us lake on Friday. A good one for a slow couple of hours.

Sunline, Sunline, and did I mention Sunline?

6lbs 10oz on the Outkast RTX jig with a caffeine shad as the trailer

Don't finance toys.

I broke two rods this year, neither was a Duckett. That help?

bottle opener

You need special shampoo and that little comb for......... Awe crab lures? well nevermind then. Allen

New England fish.

Square bills break, it just happens because they aren't indestructible (although some are close haha). But KVD 1.5s last longer than that, I would agree with contacting the company and explaining what happened. You could invest in cheaper lures like the bomber square A or H2O express they produce just as well but are cheaper. Don't give up on the 1.5 because it is a great lure. Oh and don't throw away the hooks lol

IMHO, people who think color is more important than size, profile, action/vibration, rigging method, location, retrieve speed, and rate of fall don't "get it ". Most of the time, I'll change those before color.

Location and presentation are much, much more important than anything else in this thread. Two things even seasoned measurebaters get wrong. If you're worried about IR/NIR, and how it might effect your tournament results, you already lost. If you're that good that you can fine tune this, then I humbly bow. That's not to say this isn't interesting stuff, but whenever the discussion turns towards using the info as an advantage, I start smelling bad science, and marketing hype. That's just my opinion.

I know it sounds like BS but its all about the fishery. I usually do not catch many dinks when smallie fishing on Erie. I try to target areas that give me the best shot at bigger fish. I do not fish for numbers in areas that are known to produce numbers. I have caught more small fish this year than normal & less bigger fish.

Got a full breach on camera. I think she wanted it.

I use squarebills almost year round

Football jig: Dragging along the bottom Swim jig: Horizontal presentation Casting jig: Excels at wood cover Irish jig: Good for everything! (except catching fish).

Jig is a simple lure, a weighted hook with hundreds of variations. Football jig is the jig head shape, instead of being round it's football shape. The shape helps to keep the hook point upright so it doesn't roll over and lay flat without line tension. This shape works better going through rocky structure. You can cast or swim a football head. Swim jig can be several shape jig heads; bullet, dart, round, fish head, etc. etc. a swim jig is simply any jig that is retrieved through the water column after casting it out by reeling back or swimming it. The head shape determines how well it will move or go thru weedy cover. The bullet head shape is good for weeds or grass. The Arkie and brush heads are designed to go thru brush, trees etc. both are good in heavy cover. Tom

Football Jigs: Good for fishing rock and clean bottom without grass or other structure. When not to fish: around grass or timber Casting Jigs: Use these when you are fishing around brush. These jigs are much better than football jigs at coming through wood. Casting jigs are also easier to fish through grass. Swim jigs: These are great when you are trying to imitate baitfish like shad and bluegill. Swim jigs do well fished along weedlines and around standing structure. Good conditions to throw a swim jig is enough wind to create chop on the water and overcast. If you want high quality jigs that you can get cheaper than mass produced check out siebertoutdoors.com.

If I'm not fishing in my boat, I'm fishing from the shore. If I'm not fishing from the shore, I'm fishing in my thoughts. If I'm not fishing in my thoughts, I'm fishing in my dreams. And If I'm not fishing in my dreams, well, it probably means I'm fishing in my boat. So I'm always fishin'

From what I've seen, it's another tool that holds back some fishermen from going out and catching fish. Too many follow that system and believe it works. Key is to go out and fish whenever you can.

Earlier this year I was fishing a hollow bodied frog in and around lily pads in 2-5 feet of water. There was a lot of surface activity, sunfish slurping down bugs, dragonflies and other bugs flying around as well as swallows skimming the surface eating bugs. The fishing was great. The frog bite was on and I was catching a lot of fish over 3 lbs and some bigger fish over 5 lbs. I had made a cast and was keeping a keen eye on my frog. As I was watching my frog, way out beyond it, further up the shore, I watched as a swallow that was skimming the surface disappear into a massive explosion. I couldn't believe what I had seen and thought for sure I had just seen an 8 lber eat a bird. A bird. I remained somewhat calm and after a couple minutes I meandered over to where I had seen the swallow get swallowed. I cast my frog just past where the explosion had been. Plop, Plop, wa-bam, a huge surface strike. I set the hook hard, like my life depended upon it. The fish felt big but not huge. After it jumped a couple times and putting up a spirited fight I slip the net underneath it. It weighed in at 4 lbs 12 oz. I figured it couldn't have been the same fish, but it was in the same exact spot. As I released the fish I noticed something float to the surface and start quivering half way between where I had hooked the fish and the boat. I motored over for a better look. It was a swallow, quivering from just being eaten by the bass I had just caught. That bass had just eaten a bird and he still wanted my frog. I had figured it must have been a giant bass that had blown up on that bird and it was a fish that didn't even weigh 5 lbs. That is pretty wild. I guess you never know what will happen on the water.

I was born ready.

Got a couple fish today fishing in the wonderful state of Maine 5-2 5-2 6-8

I go with the company that took no Government bailout and has had the number 1 selling truck in America for as long as I care to remember. Can we debate Pro Choice, Pro Life next?

Football jig = deeper water, rubble, where you want to keep good contact with the bottom and drag. Swimjig = anywhere you think you would throw a spinnerbait, but a more suttle presentation and less flash. Burn it, slow role it, swim it and kill it, Casting = can be used like a swim jig, but can be flipped into heavier cover due to a thicker weed guard, used around cover (grass) that a footbaill jig would get hung up in.

the senko for sure, and a slower topwater....popper, possibly a hollow body frog. Can't forget a swim jig. But honestly if you are going to have her fish a spinnerbait and/or buzzbait, fish your strenghts and your confidence baits.

Everyone...

Francho´s summer big mommas:

My average smallmouth is about 10". And... commence laughing...........

Average bass (both Green & Brown is probably a pound maybe a pound and a half. For all you studs with a 3 pound average, you're missing you're calling. Yea, but you're fishing those mutant Lake Erie bass & they have a Completely Freaky Large Gobie Fed Frame. That's not fair A-Jay

I recently got two of the Kistlers. To me, they can't be beat at that price point. I am not a fan of the 13 Rods.

Cutom rods posts would be greatly enhanced with some pictures.

I was wrong once. I thought I was wrong, but it turns out I was right.

I personally don't pay attention to them. Have proven to me to be correct. I say go fishing, taking into account for weather & water temp and fix accordingly. Good luck

I will say the 734 is my to all around rod. Dobyns heavy action rods are more versatile than most other companies' because the action compensates for the power. I've thrown everyrhing from trigs to spooks and squarebills on mine...amazing rod

Yeah, I just stop talking to them, turns into a waste of time.

The weather's been So Bad - I can't get out A-Jay

I wanted Slonezp to be new moderator. I think he would have done a bang up job.

hey greg, don't forget to fill out your profile info so people can help you down the line with your posts.... i'm looking forward to fishing on eufala next year, i've made up my mind that i'll make a trip down there in the spring at some point.

Tom on here from California has probably the most experience catching lunkers than anyone i know. He has caught at least 5 or 6 fish that are over 15lbs. For me though , 12lbs is my goal , then 15lbs. only thing that needs to happen is the stupid biological assessment needs to happen to resume them stocking trout in my lake. which if its over 1000 acres its a lake right? someone called it a pond.

The recessed pedal allows one to stand with both feet close to level. That takes a lot of pressure off the back. If you fish many hours you would soon learn to appreciate it. You don't need to twist your body to make casts to the side just set up at an angle. If you don't have a recessed pedal you should at least had yours screwed down.

red earth.... you are way off base. 1st of all the X10 was not for my own post. i quoted another post and it was X10 for that post and to all the others who posted the same. and you speak of "tick and moan" say what? and a "douchey post" ? your attitide proves my point. i simply said i don't play music and i have zero desire to hear yours. the fact you say you would turn your music up "to tick me off" truly shows the type of person you are. total lack or respect for anyone else. i don't care if you or anyone else listens to music, i just don't care to hear it. so have a little respect if you are around fisherman don't have it turned up to annoy others. it is called respect. pontoon boats and party boats usually aren't an issue and aren't in the same area. but if they are, i certainly would never say anything to them. ever. they are there to have a good time. sometimes i like what they are playing. my point is, i don't play music, i enjoy all the sounds of nature and being on the water. and my preference would be not not hear your music either. no "tone" to my post. as there certainly is tone to your post. can't say i've ever met an angler i don't like...but if we ever met, you may be the 1st, based on your post and the attitude you expressed. kinda mean and hateful. and vindictive. for no reason.

A young boy went up to his father and asked him, 'Dad, what is the difference between potentially and realistically?' The father thought for a moment, then answered, 'Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Then ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a Million dollars, and then ask your brother if he'd sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you learn from that.' So the boy went to his mother and asked, 'Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?' The mother replied, 'Of course I would! We could really use that money to fix up the house and send you kids to a great University!' The boy then went to his sister and asked, 'Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?' The girl replied, 'Oh my Gawd! I LOVE Brad Pitt I would sleep with him in a heartbeat, are you nuts?' The boy then went to his brother and asked, 'Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?' 'Of course,' the brother replied. 'Do you know what a million Bucks would buy?' The boy pondered the answers for a few days and then went back to his dad. His father asked him, 'Did you find out the difference between 'potentially' and 'realistically'?' The boy replied, 'Yes, 'Potentially', you and I are sitting on Three million dollars . But 'realistically', we're just living with two hookers and a ****.