Leaderboard

First megabass rod came in today. The x7 Super Eiger. Put on my core 51 with yumeya spool. 8lb cxx. What a versatile rod, threw pop-xs, 3/8oz walkers and jerkbaits. 4 inch senkos, 1/16oz shakeyheads and flickshakes. Pretty much threw all my goto baits. Extremely sensitive and well built rod. Needs a slightly heavier reel to balance a bit better. Think I'll be pairing it with a zonda in the near future. I'd rank it right up there with my poison glorious but slightly behind the ultima. Nothing has matched that rod yet in my hands atleast... I'll definitely be adding more megabass rods to the arsenal.

Here he is.

My son, BIL and I took a trip out to the Everglades yesterday. We launched out of MM35 and Alligator Alley. The day was beautiful. A little bit on the warm side, but manageable. The fishing was not out of this world, but we caught some quality fish during our outing. The baits that produced for us were: stick baits, uvibes, mice, and frogs. Bass count was 23, and the biggest fish of the day went for 4 lbs, and measured 19" caught on a frog. All in all we had great day. My son enjoyed the trip which was the main thing. I am very proud of him. We fished from 930am to 645 pm. That's pretty tough to do.

For anyone who is just starting to fish soft plastics, there is one important lesson to learn. Learn to recognize what IS NOT a bite. On everything else, set the hook!

Stop trying to argue on the forum (we don't really want to hear it).

After catching one around 3lbs and my personal best of 4lbs today. I realized now what everyone is talking about on here with the bigger fish having a very light feel on the bite. Kinda crazy but I get the physics of it. I'm very new to soft plastics. I mainly just fished spinnerbaits and rat l traps my whole life. Until today I had such little confidence in my soft plastics game so today was a incredible learning experience for me to be able to get that feel for soft plastics. Also want to thank everyone on here for their help

Being most of my fishing time is done between the hours of 8am and 3pm during the week when my son is at school, found myself with one of the best shallow water crankbait bites I've ever had yesterday on a Mann's 1 Minus. Although no monsters, watching 1-3+lb bass come out of nowhere and inhale the bait was just awesome. Must on had over 30 fish with I would say my best 5 probably totaling just over 15lbs, just an awesome day of fishing. They say when they are hooked on the front hook you know you have the right bait, well 90% of them had the front hook in the mouth and the back hook somewhere esle stuck in them. I know that days like the one I had are not the norm around where I live and to experience such a great bite where you could almost call your fish as you came by certain areas make days like that stand out. Even better when you happen to be doing it from the shore.

Well, what is the answer, a grapefruit, a banana,? But, in this case, it doesn't appear that the orange has fallen very far from the tree.

Before the 6.0 lb. smallie in my avatar pic had her photo op she had a wacky rigged 4" Senko in her mouth. Color #297. #194 works well too.

Hmm if you look over the past years you will find new scents in the market stating amino acids I have gone to many shows including ICAST. Where I was in a shirt and tie and asked the manufactures and inventors of these scents/attractants which Aminos are in there and what was their significance. I would say 99% of them had no clue So I call bs on them. If you look at our history I would have to say Megastrike is the first to proclaim the "Amino Acid" concept. I know what's in there and I know specifically why each one of them are for. I learned how to develope the "carrier" and make them water soluble. So basically you are attracting them by olfaction / smell. Chemo/gustation = taste =retention So Berkley makes a great product and I always give credit when due but always look at science and options. Ask anyone that watched me at the Bassmasters Classic doing demonstratiins with it. It will make you a believer.

Finally got to get out and chase some of the big trout they stock in one of the local lakes. Caught a bunch of little ones, including some I got to sight fish which was a lot of fun. About 20 minutes before I had to leave, I finally stuck a good one on a Little Cleo. She rolled and wrapped herself up in the line so many times that the fight didn't even last a minute, which was pretty disappointing but still fun to get a good one. I even managed to get it on video. Only the second time I've tried to record my fishing so it leaves alot to be desired.

Got my new Alphas SV! Put it on my 6'9 Major Craft Corzza medium - regular fast. Should be great for shallow cranks. Quick note - NO bearings in the handle, 4 bushings. Fixed that right quick and added a 90 mm carbon handle.

Yes, these steps are HIGHLY recommended: Step 1: Mount on rod Step 2: Fill spool with Proper amount of line in desired strength Step 3: Attach Lure to said line Step 4: Get lure (see step 3) wet. That is all!!! If you feel that any "maintenance" is needed for a reel that is factory new then the only "maintenance" that is needed is to return the reel for a replacement.

I bought a few things recently! By all means, this is not even everything, ive still been buying tackle every week and had other things that I forgot to put in this photo, but here is a good chunk lol.

I don't know if a bass see's Red - But when my line breaks - I Definitely do . . . . . A-Jay

What's an instagram? Is it like facebook, twitter?

There's probably any number of factors that come into play here - But one thing is certain, I'd change out that entire spool of line. Simply no confidence at this point. A-Jay

This is going to be a fun combo. Talk about feathery light! Wow! Every time I take it out I'm still kind of shocked at how light and palmable it is.

Not sure if it was because of the gardening last year, general yard work or fishing (can't be fishing!), but several of my finger tips developed cracks and bleeding. Saw a TV add for a product called "Working Hands". Bought a jar and it does work. Not sure if it would work better than any other medicinal hand cream, but after about 3 weeks of use, the wounds healed and fingers got a lot better. Scars from the splits are still there, but at least I'm not bleeding, fingers are not super sensitive as they were and the pain is gone. You might want to give it a shot. Got mine at Walmarts, in the "Lotions" department. Cost around $7.00, but it goes a long way, you don't use much.

My neighbor and I took an hour-long drive to Gander Mountain today. I got a basket full of lures and a 7'1" Med, Fast Action *** *** (black) that I'm going to pair up with a Daiwa Tatula (purchased online). It's my first baitcasting setup so I'm pretty excited.

*knock knock* who's there? *banana* banana who *knock knock* who's there? *banana* banana who *knock knock* who's there? *orange* orange who? *orange you glad I didn't say banana*

Other than the line choice yes, very well. But honestly switch to braid and use a leader, mono for topwater and flouro for others. You will be much happier.

Ok, now that I have done that, how do I remove the hook from my mouth?

If you put the time in you'll be rewarded. There are guys who can go out with 8 inch hudds and glide baits and catch 20+ fish a day at certain times of the year.

GYCB in straight watermelon or watermelon w black flake or ( fading watermelon )

Watermelon flake or junebug

All blood contains salt

Salt increases the density of the plastic so it sinks faster, and it's easier to cast because it is heavier. Also, supposedly, salt makes the plastic tastier so the fish doesn't spit it out as fast, giving you an extra second for the hook set. If you want a bait to float, say on a dropshot rig, don't use a salty bait. If you're not sure if a bait has salt, give it a little bite yourself and you'll taste it. Some plastics start out salty and as you fish the salt slowly dissolves away. You'll then notice it becomes harder to throw or starts to float -- time to put on a fresh bait.

he just doesn't like dobyns and likes to tell people

Mudrider, fishing in Georgia's lily pads should not be that different from other eastern lily pads so he advice above should apply to Lake Blackshere. When fishing lily pads you have to think about the two levels they present to us as fishermen. TOP OF LILY PADS Frogs, toads, weightless Senkos Texas and wacky rigged, spinnerbaits if possible, unweighted Zoom trick worms in pink or white, and wake baits if there is room to move them around. Fish individual pads out in front of the main pads as they hold fish. Be aggressive and throw a Cavitron, frog or toad, Chatterbait plus any Rage Tails you want past them or to them and let the bait drop. Throw a lipless crankbait with the rear hook removed to sparse areas of the pads. Always fish any pads sitting alone or areas between pad areas. Throw your Senkos and weightless plastics in these open areas. When throwing plastics be sure to pull the plastic on top of a pad and let it sit there for thirty seconds before continuing to move it. UNDER TOPS OF LILY PADS Punch through them with a plastic like a brush hog or Rage Tail crawfish. Note all the baits the pros will use to punch through the pads. John Crews is making some good money on his baits that can be punched through the pads. Texas rigged plastics so that they don't get snagged such as Senkos, Zoom trick worms, YUM Dingers, and any other plastics you want to throw. Use a tungsten weight if possible to reduce the bulk of your weight. Use a braid with or without a leader. Experiment. The bass will tell you what they want to eat and in what color and where. Fishing lily pads can be fun but very frustrating. So go out there and frustrate yourself.

The pre-spawn is 'trophy season', but you're right, cool water usually means slower fishing. As the water warms the action always picks up, but most of the bass during the post-spawn are the smaller males. You mentioned having 'zero confidence' in jerkbaits, but the pre-spawn is a key season for jerkbaits. Force yourself to throw jerkbaits and you'll be amazed how quickly "zero confidence" bites the dust Roger

The crew at Toledo Tackle restocking for tomorrow

Fyi the zpool tension knob is the one under the drag star. If you tighten that all the way down and it still falls to the floor there is something wrong.

I'm not sure if they were fed, but they are now. This means that if this fish is still alive, he could possibly have hit the 4-pound mark. God, now I'm going to devote my life to finding this fish...

I don't mean to hijack your thread here but I have managed auto centers for the last 22 years and every winter, without fail, I get out the super glue and glue cracks together. So this last fall, my wife's dermatologist came in for some service and saw me using the Gorilla Glue on my finger tips. She laughed and asked what the heck I was doing. She directed me to get this stuff: http://www.hardcorehandcare.com/ and I'll never need any other hand product again. I had tried Working Hands, which is good, but this stuff is 10 times that product. I'm not a rep for them, just a very satisfied customer who will spread the word about a product that really works. Your in good hands with either one.

I caught a monster open umbrella on a timber tiger a few years ago...put up one good fight.

Sure, bass "eat" for a number of reasons. They eat to feed themselves; they eat out of instinct (reaction bites); and they will "eat" just to see what something is. You have to remember, bass don't have hands and can't talk so if a bass sees something, natural or not, they may pick it up to feel the object. Sometimes it's blown back out if the bass senses something unnatural, that's when we went to set the hook but nothing was there. That's also why scents can help getting a hook in the fish if a bass hits your bait and is deciding what to do with it, a scent can make him hold it just that split second longer to get a hookset on him. So just because a bait doesn't look like anything in a particular lake, bass will still hit it.

^^What he said. Those are 2 very different baits and, personally, I wouldn't throw those baits on the same rod. For my traps I like my glass rod but for deep divers I like a firmer rod so I'm not working so hard. I couldn't imagine throwng a big billed bait on my glass rod. That's just me though.

Consider this bit of trivia; Eppinger Daredevle IMP spoon was one of the most popular bass lures at one time, the red with white stripe the leading color. Because of EPA Eppinger change red paint suppliers and as a result the new red painted spoons stopped selling, everyone wanted the original red white spoons. The color was the same to the human eye, evidently the bass could tell the difference. Eppinger had both the new and original red paint analyzed and it turn out under ultraviolet light the original red looked florescent blue, the new red looked black. Eppinger went back to the original red paint supplier and sales picked up. Sometimes there is more to things then we currently know. Tom

Bowfin 8-4 They're more powerful than bass. I cringe when they're called 'mudfish' Roger

I do but I'm wondering who else may. We can all post our account names and follow each other. mine is @zethkinnettfishing

Aw man I got her to the top she flipped went back down 10 feet from the boat. While time my dad who was at the front was yelling did you lose her I said shut up and let me get her in lol. Heat of the moment excitement and stress lol

I did and I felt like things in my soft plastic game are finally coming together. Feels really good

That's great news! Congrats on a great fish! Line watching is a critical factor in fishing soft plastics.. Sounds like you saw that on your trip. Best wishes on future fishing adventures

Their apprentice schools allow them to educate the guys in the manner for which they wish in addition to selecting those they want to join their union. If they like you then you can go through their apprentice school and you will be given a job. If they don't like you will not go through their apprentice school and you will have to move to South Carolina which is not a union state. The apprentice schools give the bosses the understanding that the new guys have a strong base of knowledge in their chosen field which helps production and leads to fewer problems.

Its a social media site that is focused around uploading and sharing photos with your friends and family.

Made a trip to Bass Pro today, only needing to get some essentials for this season. Ended up walking out with a new rod and reel, and spent around 450 dollars all together. I will try and upload a pictures of everything tomorrow. Got a little carried away this time.

I am of the mind set that one's tackle, all your tackle, is a like a big chain; and you're only as strong as the weakest link. When a portion of the chain is miss matched or not operating effectively, I'm changing it to eliminate the problem. A-Jay

Food For Thought There’s really no way to prove that bass see the same colors as humans. For that matter, there’s no way to prove that one human sees the same colors as another human. For example, we’re all taught to stop for a ‘red’ light, but ‘red’ is not a color. "Red" is the noise humans utter to describe a certain perceived color. If ‘red’ objects appeared 'green’ to my eyes, I’m going to call that color ‘red’ because that's what everyone calls that color. I'm also going to stop for 'green' lights, but I'll be calling them 'red' lights just like everyone else. Blue is the shortest, most penetrable light wave; the last color to be diffused. That's why the sky is blue, and also why blue is the last color to disappear underwater. "Red" at the opposite end of the 'roygbiv' spectrum is the largest, sloppiest light wave and the easiest color to scatter. That's why we see a lot of red during sunrise & sunset, and also why red is the first color to turn BLACK underwater. In any case, it's been known for decades that 'RED' lipless cranks are big producers during the pre-spawn in Texas. Red is believed to imitate the color of a common spring crayfish found in Texas (i.e. Match-The-Hatch). The "Color-C-Lector" is a device that selects the most visible color based on current light conditions. However, if you're a believer in "Matching The Hatch", then using a Color-C-Lector would be a grave conflict of interest. Nature typically uses patterns and colors that make forage more difficult to see, but the Color-C-Lector strives to make lures easier to see. Things that make you go "Hmmm". Roger