Leaderboard

As one of those who posts incessant meaningless drivel I'm offended.

I had a stray thought about this. If it truly mattered what pro was using what gear, and we all wanted to fish with the stuff the absolute best guys were using, most of us would be fishing with Quantum rods and reels. I'm fairly certain most of us are not fishing with Quantum gear. That suggests to me that it doesn't matter a bit who is using what.

Having lost our daughter this year and myself having acute pancreatitis (should of have been flower food) this last year has changed many things. I too was hell bent on getting to the lake and getting it DONE. I still have the hunger ... I just approach it more slowly ... like eating a good meal ... you savor every bite. I get up early now and take my time enjoying a couple cups of tea (doc says no coffee yet) and some breakfast. Make a lunch and head out to get loaded to the boat. Five or ten minutes don't mean that much anymore. The gift of being on the water is truly a gift...as is time with family. Tight Lines

If you take away my T-rigs and jigs, you might as well take my rods too Roger

Get a part time job if you can. That's where I get my spending money. I wouldn't say there are great stores for a budget, but rather, great brands for budgets. Store brand quality has really gone up, and the Cabela's, BPS, and Academy house brands of great value/quality for the price. Also, I'd recommend BIG Bite Baits soft plastics. They are extremely well priced and of high quality. As for rods, the Berkley rods (Cherrywood, Lightning, Shock, Amp, EMotion) are all extremely solid rods for the price. I fish currently all Berkley rods, as they are the most cost effective option for me. Good luck, it gets tough trying to get everything you want w/limited spending money!

Yea 75% is a good number! As I approach a spot I'll cast, pitch, & flip as I get close. And yes I do it with the same rod & lure

These kinds of posts puzzle me. Every forum isn't a bunch of the same guys who are talking all the time. there are lots of new people and they have questions. Sure we all get tired of what is the best $100 rod or why should i buy a shimano over a diawa or lews but it doesn't matter. it is the exchange of information that leads people to become better educated about the sport we all are fans of. There are plenty of threads i don't click on because i know it has been said before but low and behold it has 4-5 pages worth of information. And the whole median age thing is plain silly....i don't care what age someone is if they can give me some pointers on techniques i may not know much about. i guess i always feel like these types of posts are a passive aggressive attempt at telling people not to post because it inconveniences them to scroll past a few threads when they visit the site.

on more occasions than I care to admit, at least. While I'm far from being an expert angler, accomplished would be my assesment, I would say I'm well informed. Given that I've been fishing for over 50 years, I'd say that I have put more time on the water than many and therefore experienced. Due to some physical limitations I'm not the most accurate caster. Add to those the fact this sport isn't just a hobby, it's a passion and that, I have recognized, on many occasions is my stumbling block. When it comes to catching fish,I am my own worst enemy. I still have a difficult time sleeping the night before an outing and I can drive 12 hours without anything more than a break to gas up and grab a bite to go because I'm so pumped with anticipation. The problem that arrises from this is that I focus so intently on satisfying that urge to catch fish that I 'forget' most of what I've learned, ignore what experiences would dictate in a given situation and experience discomfort from attempting casts to totaly useless water. I see this in most of the youngsters I've schooled over the years (minus the aches and pains). The experience is new and exciting and it is very difficult for them to focus. I've also been in the company of anglers that are much more knowledgeable and experienced that have a completely opposite enemy, they over think, or suffer from a different form of tunnel vision because they are so focused they don't see what is obvious to most everyone else. Similar to an drinking addiction, I realize the first step to recovery is admitiing, or recognizing the problem and I have come up with a multi-step solution for myself. Do you have your own stumbling block and if so, what do you think it is? More importantly, what steps can you take to combat your own worst enemy? We all strive to be successful, but what if we ourselves are the reason we don't succeed on a regular basis?

It was in the 70s today, for some reason. So I dusted them off for the winter and spooled up some new toys.

What the frog???? It wasn't me!!! When I clicked "Post", nothing happened - at all. I may have clicked three times, I don't know; but the screen said "Saving" and never changed so I gave up and closed IE. I'm not Blond, or senile...... just old.

Looked like a little boy who just saw his first set of knockers running that thing!

I've fished an A rig quite a bit, caught a bunch of fish on it, never caught a double. I've had bunches of doubles on about every kind of hardbait though, is that unfair? You still have to find the fish and make them bite, it isn't like it turns them into mindless zombies that must eat because it got within their strike zone. I've had days where I threw it and threw for hours with no luck, but the guys that found the fish smashed them with it. When it's on, it's crazy good, but that can be said for a lot of presentations. It also has very specific windows when it works. I don't really care either way about tournaments banning them, but I don't see how it could be unfair if everyone was allowed to use one?

Scorpion with Yumeya BFS spool. My micro jerk/crank baby.

Pm bluebasser86. You won't be disappointed.

Me too. Starts as a cast, then a side swing cast, then a flip.

I completely agree..I think everybody should post as much as they want..thats why the forums are here. If you dont like it dont read it. The only exception would be when flyfisher posts in any thread containing the acronym nfl.

Put the trolling moter up before you take off full steam ahead

My 2015 rods and reels wait on my shimano Sahara spinning reel

This thread proves one thing. You dont have to own a an expensive bass boat to enjoy good bass fishing .

Marie, a nice, calm and respectable Cajun lady went into the pharmacy, walked up to the pharmacist whose name is Boudreaux, looked straight into his eyes, and said, "I would like ta buy some cyanide." Then Boudreaux asked, "Mees, Why in de world do ya need cyanide?" Marie replied, "Ah need it to poison my husband." Boudreaux eyes got big and he explained, "Lord have mercy! A..h can't give you cyanide to kill you husband, dat's against de law! I'll lose my license! They'll throw boat of us in jail! All kinds of bad tings will happen. You CANNOT have any cyanide!" Marie reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband Thibodeaux in bed with the pharmacist's wife. Boudreaux looked at the picture and replied, "You didn't told me you had a prescription."

one of my biggest downfalls is tying on a few baits i want to use, then being too lazy to switch them out when they arent working...changing the type or color of a plastic is one thing, but having to choose which new baits to use and then tying them on is where i get lazy...

We are the exclusive partner for NFC blanks.. This means anyone can buy from not only our distributors and retailers, but online as well. If you need a builder, either DVT can build one, or we can refer you to one.

Here is a couple Maine bass that were fattys. Some serious girth to the first two.

My biggest weakness is not realizing in a timely manner that what I am doing is not working. When the bite is/gets tough I just hunker down & continue doing what I'm doing. I need to adjust on the fly when depth/location or technique is wrong for that day. Tenacity is a good trait but serves you best when you allow it to help solve the puzzle at hand.

It takes a rare breed of fisherman using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass. It doesn't matter if I'm preparing taking my 8 year old grandson out or if I'm preparing to fish the Bassmaster Classic...I know one way of fishing and one way only! Tackle preparation, map study, review of weather patterns, observation of water conditions; then make proper on the water adjustments...it's all the same every time!

i would say my downfall tends to be fishing a particular body of water historically. I'm so excited to get there and catch something, waiting for the next high, that I revert to lures that worked for me in the past, only to be skunked. Stuff under the water changes, and as drastic as the weather can be from one day to the other here in Indiana, the lake from one day to the next could be a whole different world. Sometimes I have to just turn off the classic oldies country station on the way, and literally talk through my strategies and factors for the day. I'm sure other motorists see me talking to myself and think I'm nuts. I have to factor in weather trends, (likely) water conditions, wind factors, what stage the bass are in, etc. That way I can have some sort of gameplan other than just using what worked two weeks ago in that spot. I'm a work in progress.....LOL

I'm the guy who likes to experiment with baits to see what will get bit. I especially like to do it when the bite is on. Meaning, when the fish are obviously eating a bait well, I will cut that one right off and try baits that have yet to prove themselves. Whether it's just a color change or even an entirely different bait, I want to test it's effectiveness and there's no better time than when I know the bass are there and eating. Now the possible drawback to this is I'm probably missing a few bits while I'm switching back & forth and retying baits every 5 minutes. But on the other hand, these times have afforded the opportunity to gain confidence in a few baits that on another day might be "The Bait". Of Course, then the whole deal might start all over again. A-Jay

I cast jigs and t-rigs probably 70+% of the time, but it is usually a very controlled roll cast which is often just as accurate as a pitch. I almost never flip... Mitch

some people are confusing each technique so for clarity: Flipping = having a set amount of line out then using your hand to grab the line to raise and lower the bait in and out of the water (not engaging the reel) Pitching = an abbreviated version of a cast (you actually disengage/engage your spool to make shorter accurate casts) I cast about 60% of the time because I want to stay way off and work more water I pitch 35% of the time when I am in range to do so because I am more accurate than casting this way The rest is flipping, I do it, just not nearly as much as the others.

I'm the kind of person that once i get there i get all excited and have to go to the bathroom, but as for being my own worst enemy i tend to find it hard to try new techniques, i always catch myself going to the same baits that have worked for me in the past but when i try to pick up something new i get frustrated because i know i can catch a fish if i pick up a jig instead of a crankbait but thats my new years resolution this year!

I'm extremely Hard Headed and if I think something should work, I will not give up on it even though it is proving it's not working. This wastes tons of time on the water. I've also had my Bud sitting in the front of the boat refuse to throw a Spinnerbait, because he doesn't like them, while I sat in the back putting the hurt on them. I'm going to strive this year to let the Bass dictate how to fish than my idea of what SHOULD work. Brian.

im in college right now and I'm always broke, saving change helps me a lot lol but what helped me out a lot was berkley coming out with the havoc and now (first time I'm seeing it) yum is coming out with a lot of baits that are $2.99 but when it comes to rods and reels i don't like to buy too cheap, denali rods are great rods for the price with a lifetime warranty and for me the best reels have always been lews

If possible , I prefer to cast from a distance and Ill often work the Texas rig or jig all the way back to the boat .

3 times ~ do I detect some Blonde ? A-Jay

hehe, Read more, post less... Yea, such sound philosophy, right?

The new Energy reels look SO good w/the orange accents. They make me drool...

Crank baits don't look like a whole school of natural baitfish. A rig requires no skill you cast reel repeat. Specific way of acting, no if a bass sees a school of baitfish and its a easy meal it's going to eat those. how many other baits can you catch 3 fish on at once ? That wins a tourny some days, not fair at all.

I just shovel snow the entire winter to supplement my budget. It actually works pretty well. Whenever there is a big snowstorm, I make around 60$ in a day by shoveling drivedays.

There are a high percentage of posts I do not read, and many of those I do read I do not comment on. This philosophy could be stated as: Enjoy what you like and ignore the rest. I don't always follow this, but think it is a sound policy.

You're alright deak, but you root for the wrong team

Have a few of their squarebill cranks, wakebaits, and ratletrap style baits. I have no complaints for the price of these baits as well as the color choices.

There are tons of repeat questions on this forum (and on most forums for that matter). It seems there is always someone whom answers the same way to popular questions and it goes something like this..... "That question has been asked a million times. Why don't you learn how to use the search engine?" My thoughts on this is, sometimes it is nice to just discuss it in your own words and share your thoughts on your specific situation and politely suggest to check out the stickies.

We have many young guys and gals plus those new to bass fishing joining the Forum every day. We must continue to answer their queries even if they have been asked previously. Your thread reminds me of a story about Cal Ripkin. He was playing in a game after the playoff contenders were announced and he was playing hard in a game that did not matter in the standings. When asked why he was playing so hard in a meaningless game, Cal replied "In the stands there are people that came to see me play for the first time and I want them to see me play my best." So when we get a repeat question just remember that there are those new to our sport that are looking for an answer so they can learn and grow from the best guys in bass fishing on the Internet.

Felix, great points! I subscribed to both theories you raised for many years. Keep in mind, I've been a crankbait fisherman since I was a kid. The problem is, I've used braid with several miving baits, including treble hooked cranks. The missing fish because of a zero level reaction time doesn't hold water. It also has nothing to do with treble or single hook baits. I don't miss fish when I use a siwash hook on a spoon or a spinner. Or an umbrella rig for that matter - in fact a little trick is to use a spoon with a treble on the center bait instead of a swimbait. Why would you need more reaction time with an open hook bait than a weedless/brush guard bait? Do swim jig guys use stretchy mono? The argument makes no sense. I'll reiterate that my preference has more to do with deflection and rebound feel, and also my reaction to cover - NOT THE STRIKE - like wood or dock pilings. You won't miss bites because of braid. If you're missing strikes, chances are they weren't engulfing the bait anyway, and the problem is some other part of the presentation - color, profile, cadence, action, etc., and not the line.

I use the 3701 size. It's thinner than a regular 3700 and you don't have a bunch of unused space. Also when you apply a piece of foam backing used in drawers on the lid. It all stays put and in it's appropriate spot.

Nor should it stop the questions. Sometimes active threads can venture off into areas we didn't think about initially, allowing us to make connections and comprehend more clearly. If everything was at our fingertips the forums would be a much less lively place.

Not enough

I'm just wondering why a FLW pro would drum up a two year old thread to either agree or disagree with the actions of another competitor? BTW, I invented the internet and currently hold the recipe for KFC.