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Do I believe bass see colors? Unequivocally Yes! Do I believe color matters? I've experienced times when color made absolutely no difference at all; I would switch colors to the opposite end of the color spectrum and that color would continue to be productive. I've experienced times when I had to constantly change colors to continue getting bit, catch 3-4, change colors, & catch 2-3 more. This pattern would continue all day or night! I've experienced times if ya wasn't throwing a particular color ya wasn't getting bit period! And then there or colors like bubblegum, bright yellow, Zoom's Merthiolate, or a pink-n-chartreuse skirted spinnerbait!

marry a rich woman

I love Jeremy wades show, and honestly if he spent part of the show going in depth about his tactics he would lose viewers, most people who are watching don't fish or atleast not enough to care about that stuff... That "newbie" has caught hundreds of different spieces of fish and many, many triple digit behemoths in multiple country's in so many different lakes and rivers. He does have some videos on animalplanet.com where he explains why he uses the tackle and tactics he does. He does play up the danger factor like bluebasser said, but hey, its show business and you gotta keep the viewers entertained.

That color theory has caused me great financial distress. I almost always have to have duplicates of certain colors in hardbaits.

Don't know about the new baits, but my local walmart has the F2's on something like a closeout. Last night my fiancee picked up all they had in a bin for $ .50 per pack....All I can say is a taught her well.

My idea of money saving tip for fishing is....Even if I only need a pack of hooks, I make certain that I have at least $50 worth of stuff in my TW cart so I never have to pay for shipping!!!

Agreed ~ And when it's all about just one color & one color only, if it's a plastic bait or trailer, with out fail I'll only have ONE BAG and it's usually a partial . . . I hate that. A-Jay

Took some time off from chasing those dam eyes and went after some hogs

Due to our lovely Chicago weather here. I managed to squeeze in a fishing outing on the 21st before it snowed on the 23rd....My buddy and I only caught 3 fish, all 3 were over 20" (20.5, 22 and 22.5). She was 22.5" and about 6lbs, great fish.

Guys I just have to say how pleased I am with Hawg Tech! They were great from answer all my questions, to ordering, fast shipping and a superior product! This was my first order from them, and wow what a shock, I was not expecting there bearings to really perform like the video.... But what's craz is one of my reels out performed there reel, and it was a reel of 1/2 the price! Tell me how sick is that! I have been playing and have noticed less backlashes as the reel is smoother. I am kinda new, only been using baitcasters about 2 years, and I will say I am no KVD! Most days are off days.. Lol but it seems things are gonna be looking up now! Thanks Hawgtech! Thanks Bass Resource for all the info! Thanks to all the folks on here the post! God Bless!

Well guys by fishing season has been slow due to my broken leg and the resulting surgery. Last week they put me into a walking boot and crutches and I was able to go back to work on desk/light duty. My last three fishing trip had resulted in zero fish, but with warmer days and nights the fishing here in South Central Kentucky has finally started turning around. Air Temps have been averaging 65 and water temps at Cedar Creek are averaging 54 degrees in the shallows and in pockets. All of these fish came out of shallow water. The largest was caught on 3/8oz PB&J football jig with Netbait Paca Chunk in the same color. Fish number two was caught on a Brush Hog in Rootbeer Green flake rigged on a homemade 1/4oz Jika Rig. The smallest was caught on a Trick Worm in Black Neon rigged on 1/4oz shakey head.

Don't buy a boat...

I pretty much grew up in a boat and have had one or many from high school till now. They are nice to have and once you have one you are always adding little things to upgrade them, not to mention the annual maintenance that comes along with them. My last boat was a 91 Champion and it was a great boat until the motor spun a crank bearing that cost $6,000 to fix. That was my chance to upgrade after owning that boat for 12 years. I pretty much do all the work except rebuilding one and they are still expensive. Would I not own a boat? No, they are just part of my life that I am willing to sacrifice other things in order to have one. The really bad part is when you have multiple boats for fishing, family activities, and then one for hunting. Not complaining as I am fortunate to have a family and job that allows me to own and afford these toys but man they take a lot of maintenance to keep running. My dad always said it is cheaper to find a buddy with a boat and buy him fuel and whatever else to be able to fish with him as that is the cheapest and least amount of headaches you will have. This coming from a guy who has always owned boats.

Plastics

I know both Mike & Robert personally and they both go out of their way to help people with fishing tackle and life in general. They are both outstanding individuals and provide great products. A top notch business and they really understand the sport of fishing.

Been catching bass on frogs here in arizona since january in the gila river been having a blast. This time they were all over the spro poppin frog killer gill. Biggest were 4.3 and 5.1. Had a blast caught 22 outta the yak. Here are some pics.

I had an hour to get some fishing in during my business stops today so I hit up one of my honey holes. I threw nothing but the rig walker swimbait. It was like a buffet line with that lure. Ended up catching close to 12 bass and I pickerel and lost a swimbait on a big laydown. Good thing for braid as I was able to yank on the line hard and partially straighten the hook to get most of the snags back. Next time out there I plan on throwing some bigger 6'' Hudds which could be good or bad depending how long it takes for some wood to ****** them up.The big girls haven't come out to play yet.

So as most of you know I've been trying to trim down my bank fishing equipment to fighting weight! But I'm just one of those people who likes to be prepared and have options. Especially since I fish nasty ponds, canals, large lakes some clean and deep some heavy cover. And since I fish a lot after work I like to always have a pack ready to go and not have to load up different stuff. So got a new bag a lil bit smaller. Tactical back packs work well and can be had cheap. Plenty of pockets and good stitching. I dropped 2 pounds in changing bags alone. I'm condensed down to 2 Plano boxes. And then soft plastics bags. I combined colors of similar looks and bait type. By cutting them in half and mixing them. This lets me carry variety and ample supply. I'm carrying creatures and ribbon tail worms, stick baits, and some soft plastic swim baits. For terminal tackle I have plenty of hooks and sinkers light to punching weight, jigs, chatter baits, frogs in a couple sizes, several minnow type crank baits of size and color, and several colors of red eye shad rattle trap. And a few colors and size spinner baits and inline spinners, and a couple size top water poppers. I'm carrying pliers, a scale, and scissors. It's not for everyone as I have several rattle traps, spinners, and minnow cranks in each compartment. But condensed like this im basically prepared for anything anytime of day my local florida waters can throw at me. And I've condensed it down to 7-8 pounds and easily carry able. May be a pointless post but I hope it helps some of the newer guys who want to pack efficiently for bank fishing. Let me know if anyone wants anymore pics.

Have children. Soon your disposable income will be a distant memory.

*Looks at user name* I don't believe anything you just posted.

Hit Baker Park today at lunch, ended up being an impromptu BassResource meet up. I meet MARsPEED and Munkin while I was fishing. It's cool putting a face to a name now. Anyway, landed one fish, just happened to be my personal best 5.3lb Edit - just had a friend tell me the road closed sign at black hills boat ramp is gone.

Research before you buy. Check the discount bin often.

Was a great day. Only caught 16 fish but we did a little running around spot checking. Two over 20 and three 18 were our best 5. I'm thinking we had close to a 20lb sack. The day before we went town VA and found found a mix bag of fish but nothing like those footballs.

I'm bored, so I took pictures of all my stuff haha. Here's my new one, and my baby, my pride and joy.

Well it all came in. I picked up as much jerk baits as I could for the price range I set for myself. That darn 110 was a pocket book killer, but glad I got it.

Fishing for Wels catfish with artificial baits is actually very common. I wish he used his show to educate about the fish more since a lot of these monsters are endangered instead of trying to play up the danger factor.

Up until today, the Met DC had only managed to reel in an 8" bluegill - thanks A-Jay for giving me credit for that monster on the "honor system" I've had this reel on the water quite a bit, both from the bank and in the boat. Today, while out in the boat, I finally cut off the lipless crank and tied on a snap so I could start tossing various crankbaits. I normally don't use a reel with this IPT for cranking but by golly I wanted to catch some bass with it. Lipless cranks are very easy to toss; crankbaits can be a bit tougher. Also, the wind today was 10mph steady with gusts to 20mph so the reel got a bit better test for casting ability in wind. On setting 2, in moderate wind, I had no real issues tossing crankbaits from 3/8oz to 5/8oz. If I was tossing directly into those 20mph gusts, I selected setting 3 with good results. If the wind was still or at my back, setting 1 gave max range. I did finally have my first backlash today. I was making a quick cast with a Wiggle Wart and sorta short-stroked the cast, the rod didn't load, and the bait just sort of fluttered downrange with no real velocity...JUST as one of the strong wind gusts popped up. Backlash, but easily cleared. The reel continues to be an all-around performer and a delight to use. Too bad they don't offer it in a lower gear ratio more suitable for cranking. I still haven't tossed any spinnerbaits with it which, in the wind, would be a pretty good test of the reels wind-bucking abilities. Oh, the Met DC reeled in three bass today so I can FINALLY give the reel my ultimate approval rating - SEEMS TO WORK, REELS IN FISH...

Took it out for inspection and then crammed it back in. I've seen that done before. I've also sent reels to people and had them scratched up when they arrived. I wrapped them in plastic and the customer said there was no plastic in the box. USPS inspected the box and damaged the reel when they were "inspecting" it. Usually a little card inside though that says "inspected by USPS sorting facility ____". I've never figured out why my shipments get inspected so often, but I assume it is because my packing bench used to be a shotshell reloading bench so there is probably traces of powder on each package I send. Surprised I'm not on the no-fly list yet.

Keep in mind that Long Island is not as cold as "upstate" NY, it's climate being tempered by the ocean and the Gulf Stream in particular. Those small coastal lakes and ponds give up northern bass in sizes that are not seen further inland, including that 15+lb LM from Massachusetts -still, I believe, the largest pure northern LMB on record. Mainebasser1984 knows a thing or two about this I'm guessing. This winter was particularly severe there according to fishking247. Ice depths are not certain. DEC describes max lake depth as 8ft. Shoreline is ecologically intact, surrounded by forest and wetland. At 100 acres, that's a decent volume. If there were any winterkill there it would most likely not be catastrophic. True, which highlights the very reason winter habitat is so critical to bass. Be there or be square. So... back to the OP -fishing advice- I stick with my original post.

Don't stress out over it. This time tomorrow you will be driving around enjoying yourself.

I have or had Lews, Abu, Shimano, pfluger, browning... And my favorite is and I keep coming back to Shimano. I just put ceramic bearings in my Shimano and abu, and my Shimano's are so much smoother. All my spinning reels are Shimano, 4, 4 of my baitcasters are Shimano's and I will slowly replace the rest with shimano's. I will tell you my Canean is very nice, it is a granite frame, but put a set of hawg tech bearings in it and you have a reel that is as good as anything you will pay 200+ for I promie you that!

My TW jerk bait order is here! Now to make it through the rest of my shift... I will have to post pics when I get home and unbox it.

Don't get drunk beforehand. They frown upon that. Other than that, good luck

From one of my neighborhood lakes - yes. (When you live here, it's just a neighborhood...we don't think of it as a resort... ) Thanks Dwight. Most of the bass here in my lakes have that classic LMB color scheme. I've never caught a bass here in TN that has that very dark green/black color like what I used to catch when I lived in Florida. We DO have ugly bass here - stunted, black marks, malformed, etc....but those usually don't warrant posting on the board unless the thread deals with "skinniest or ugliest bass" and I've posted some of those. This PARTICULAR bass REALLY was just a beautiful fish. I didn't realize until I got home that the photo was being shot from the belly of the fish towards the top. I should have stood directly over the bass to get a better profile shot. This lake is one where I'm tagging and by the time I get length, weight, and then tag it, I'm running out of time for good photos. Anyway, it just had to be one of the nicest, healthiest looking fish that I've caught since last summer.

Many anglers fish here, its one of the most popular lakes on the island. It has indeed produced some very nice fish, including that 9lber. It could be due to the wide range of food: bluegill, pumpkinseed, pickerel, perch, shiners and trout that allowed the growth of such a fish.

Couple new goodies, Suspending Waxwings

Nice bass Goose. I'm still trying to figure out how all your bass have such green backs & perfect white bellies. Really beautiful fish & never a mark on them except for your tag. I guess you never ever catch any ugly ones.

I love that picture.

Light line, and cast to fish that you cannot see.

100 acres! The bass would glad to see me leave

Nice photo of green algae bloom. Some types of algea can be deadly, golden algea for example wiped out Mission Viejo lake last year, a trophy bass lake that a lot of folks thought would produce a world record bass. Tom

I don't understand the casting piece. A dirty AR may slip intermittently but locking up on a cast is unusual. If you're uncomfortable with opening the reel or don't want to mess with it feel free to send it in. If you DIY and have any questions you can get me here or call.

I apologize if it sounds insulting, but my first thoughts were the same as Zeth - was the line coming off the spool counter-clockwise?

maybe you spooled it on wrong? try line conditioner. and try to stretch it out a bit. hook to a tree and pull to reduce memory. or skip the fluoro. or maybe you overspooled. i never use staight fluoro anymore. at least not on my spinning reels. it's almost always braid with fluoro leader. line twist is bound to happen sooner or later on a spinning reel. Pfluegers are great reels so i doubt it's the reel.

The bite has been good on the Alley. Water levels are still above normal for this time of year. There are a few visible beds but still way less then other years. Most caught on an array of plastics fished slow. Good luck!

I had that happen once on a Curado. Turns out over time some grease and oil had made its way into the sleeve that the AR bearing assembly was in. I took it out, degreased it and made sure no oil/grease was on the AR bearing assembly itself and it went away. The AR bearing assembly was able to just slightly slip itself within the sleeve, which was causing the slippage. Might be the issue, might not, but it's worth checking out either way. I just know mine was doing the same thing, slipping just a couple feet, and that's what it was.

Anything under 1/2 oz

Regardless of braking, muscling a cast is the surest way to back lash. Use a fluid stroke and let the rod do the work.

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

Maybe you passed over a sinkhole... If I know I am going to be fishing shallow, I set it to the 15 ft. max depth setting. It makes everything on the graph larger & more discernable.