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We did our annual clean-out of our Koi pond today, giving me a chance to get my hands on Blutarsky, the bass I introduced to it last spring. When I caught him & added him to our pond, Blutarsky was just over 12" long and weighed 1 lb., 2 oz. After nearly a year of a steady diet of goldfish, nightcrawlers and any other critters my kids feed him, he is now 15" long and a hefty 3 lbs, 1 oz. (see picture below). He is a very solid fish, just real thick throughout as opposed to a pot belly. His girth is an amazing (to me) 14", which explains why he weighs a pound or so more than most other fish his size. I am guessing that the small size of the koi pond may limit the length he grows to, but not necessarily the weight. I also was amazed at how his coloring has changed. He is now a very dark fish, matching the bottom of the pond pretty well. He spends most of his time under a few lily pads, but even that shade hasn't stopped him from getting quite the suntan. One interesting thing that occurred was about 4 hours after we refilled the pond and reintroduced the fish. I tossed some pellets in & the koi as usual started swarming the surface to eat. I flipped a couple of nightcrawlers towards Blutarsky & he completely ignored them. The sank right past his nose & he made no movement to eat them. This is a fish that once tried to eat a ping pong ball!! Either he is very ticked off about his home being disturbed or he doesn't handle the movement out & back into the pond as well as the koi do and is stressed. I am guessing the latter and it opened my eyes a little as to how environmental changes can just shut down a bass bite out on a lake or river.

Monday I was back at Melvern, someone had turned the switch on. Lots of them like this. Then my jerkbait got trucked by this tank, 4.5 pounds. Then this happened. I've had them chase my bait but never actually try to eat it, released unharmed and hopefully a little more wary. Seems early in the year to be talking about football? Oh, and there was some walleye on the dam I guess. After a good anti zebra mussel spray down, I was on Lone Star Tuesday morning. Water was dirty, weeds have exploded, and junk floating everywhere, fishing was tough. I had one good one to the boat on a bladed jig but it came off while I was playing with it trying to get it to jump. Caught a fish here and a fish there but no good pattern other than a bladed jig and jerkbait were about all I could get bit on. Got to the dam and was about to call it quits when I got hit by a fish that was noticeably bigger than anything else I'd hooked. Gave me a heck of a tussle on my jerkbait rod before finally coming to the net. My first Lone Star wiper ever was 6lbs 4ozs. A few cast later I decided to do it again, only bigger. Never seen a fish eat a jerkbait to the point that I couldn't see it. 3ozs shy of tying my PB for wipers. Even managed to get a video of a portion of the fight.

Monday I was back at Melvern, someone had turned the switch on. Lots of them like this. Then my jerkbait got trucked by this tank, 4.5 pounds. Then this happened. I've had them chase my bait but never actually try to eat it, released unharmed and hopefully a little more wary. Seems early in the year to be talking about football? Oh, and there was some walleye on the dam I guess. After a good anti zebra mussel spray down, I was on Lone Star Tuesday morning. Water was dirty, weeds have exploded, and junk floating everywhere, fishing was tough. I had one good one to the boat on a bladed jig but it came off while I was playing with it trying to get it to jump. Caught a fish here and a fish there but no good pattern other than a bladed jig and jerkbait were about all I could get bit on. Got to the dam and was about to call it quits when I got hit by a fish that was noticeably bigger than anything else I'd hooked. Gave me a heck of a tussle on my jerkbait rod before finally coming to the net. My first Lone Star wiper ever was 6lbs 4ozs. A few cast later I decided to do it again, only bigger. Never seen a fish eat a jerkbait to the point that I couldn't see it. 3ozs shy of tying my PB for wipers. Even managed to get a video of a portion of the fight.

Well guys I headed out after work for a little fishing. It was slow on the bites since the skies were blue bird...those are my hardest days to fish. There was a good wind on the lake and the temps have warmed back up with air temps at 70 for the high. After the weekend cold front and the return to warm temps I don't have an accurate reading on temps for the lake, but water conditions were stained and muddy in some areas. I did manage to pull out this one fish with a homemade Jika Rig fishing a Zoom Brush Hog in Green Pumpkin. Not as big as earlier this week, but a good fish none the less. It may not quite be a pig for other anglers, but it was my pig for today! (I'm not intoxicated in this pic...Heather just caught me blinking lol)

Well my fishing marathon has unfortunately come to an end , it was a good time though. Started it off at Melvern with Dad. Windier than they said it would be by at least double, supposed to be 7mph, but I've never seen 7mph wind make white caps. I was just hoping for a fish, any fish. Didn't take long before I caught one and a few more across the dam. Dad got his first one by the support post of the outlet/inlet, to my surprise it was a chunky largemouth, and he actually caught another largemouth a couple cast later. One of my smallies off the dam was nearly square, 16.5" and 2lbs 13ozs. We ran to a spot up the lake and got several more smallmouth, a few whites, a walleye, and a couple largemouth, including this one that was 4lbs 7ozs which is my second largest from Melvern. All the smallies (and most the fish for that matter), were busting at the seams. Sunday Nicole and I went to Shawnee. It was tougher than anticipated but we still got some trout, a bunch of bluegill, a few bass, and Nicole caught a drum. I managed to sight fish a little golden rainbow with a micro jig under a bobber. It took a lot of trying and swapping out spools on her reel but Nicole finally caught her first fish from the new boat. Her mom's boyfriend wanted some fish to eat so we brought them 6 trout home, yuck.

You'll be fine storing them like that. I prefer to leave mine in the original package and store them in binders or Ziplocks.

X2 However, as we all know the proper way is to invest in another rod and reel.

I'd fish for frosted flakes. They're great!

20 minute battle. That fish is a tank! http://www.gon.com/article.php?id=4179&cid=158

....Not quite. Tried pulling it up in a search function to give you links, but came up empty for some reason. It has been discussed a few times on here before. If you really stick to what Ned recommends, then you need to try and use mostly Z-Man plastics, including the half ZinkerZ (or now the TRD), or possibly the half Strike King Ocho. Any other plastic isn't the same, though they do sometimes go with regular plastics if Z-Man doesn't have a particular shape they like. Also, use with a mushroom jighead, mostly 1/16-oz. but sometimes 1/32 (more frequently) or 3/32nd (less frequently). And the hook isn't oversized, but rather undersized. Ned keeps 'em small around a #4 (1/16-oz) or #6 (1/32-oz). Some guys prefer going slightly larger up to a #2 or #1, or even larger. If there is a "trick" behind it other than the Z-Man plastic, I'd say it is the "no feel" retrieve with shorter casts. This is the basic setup Ned throws the majority of the time. Beyond that, others have started improvising on the system for specific situations or preferences including larger hooks, weedless heads, heavier heads, etc. My personal recommendation is if you're new to the system, to always start with exactly what Ned suggests and uses so you can get an honest feel for what "baseline" truly is with this technique. After that, then you can alter components as you will have that (original system) for comparison, and know how your alteration affects the original presentation. The more you read, the more you'll see Ned rarely ever deviates. -T9

Haha hey that's my move! I make the "full list" and then go over it to eliminate things I don't actually need. It makes me feel more frugal at the very least.

I keep waiting for someone to ask if it is a state record...

Scents work plain and simple. Fact. I fish the same spot for months. The current flows by me slowly. I spray my lures. Plus I give the water a squirt. I noticed the bass fishing picking up more and more. I stopped using scents at one spot because everyone was catching bass. My scents attracted them to the area. I was using the original baitmate bass scent. The bite is usually good. I was up to 9/10 fish per outing. I'm fishing for an hour when I'm in pain. My time fishing is limited from shore. Now one day it was very very slow I couldn't buy a bite. I switched from the original bass scent to the baitmate garlic scent. The bite was on right away. Do scents work? I'm fishing in the evening and using a crankbait. An old man asks me if that lure works? Before I could answer him I pulled in a 3lb bass. He says I guess they do work. I let the bass go, give my crank a shot of scent. He asks me if that juice works? Before I could answer him I pull in another bass. He says I guess the juice works too. He says give me a shot of juice on my spinnerbait. I did but he caught nothing. There was three other guys watching me pull in bass after bass too. The next night all three showed up with new rods/reels and tackle boxes with new lures and scents too. They all caught bass. I feel like a field salesman for fishing equipment. I like to see others catch fish too. Scents cover foul oders. Wash your tackle box and your lures. Keep everything clean from foul oders. Now I wash my hands with big orange hand soap before I go fishing. I touch nothing but my tackle. I don't pump gas when I'm going fishing. The fish can smell ppm in the water. That's really good smelling. You can't fool them with foul smelling lures? Scents work. I match the correct scent to the correct bait. It works for me? But I get dressed the same exact way every morning before I go fishing. I have my lucky that and polarized glasses. Then my skill takes over its our skill that catches fish. I been on this site since it was started some know me and others don't. I'm not going to lie to you. I love bass fishing. While I'm no pro nor claim to be I take my bass fishing as serious as a pro. Retired from an engineering r&d test lab I like to test stuff to see if it works. I use lures only. Only because they out fish live bait if we match the lure color, lure size and the style of lure to the situation. Using the correct presentation helps too. Tip, don't wear bright colored clothes when fishing. If you can see the fish they can see you.

I'm not entirely sure what happened clicked on the TW bookmark by mistake saw something shiny on the front page everything got fuzzy and the next thing I knew I'd dropped about 145 bucks on all this...

Why do you feel bad for him? Maybe a better approach for him would have been not ask for "free stuff" There is no mention in the OP of seeking sponsorship with local businesses. These types of sponsorships may be more beneficial to him than So and So's bait company. More than likely they have more money to spend on advertising. I'd much rather have some of my entry fees paid for than some jigs at 1/2 price. Invite the business owner to the weigh in. When "Joe business owner" sees his company name on the side of a boat and on the fisherman's jersey and he sees how the fisherman interacts with his peers, he thinks money well spent. I wonder why the young guys get caught up in the bait and tackle sponsors. Who do you think is paying this guys way? You think he's getting paid with Frosted Flakes?

Trash

I had posted this on a local site but had to mention it here as it was definitely a feel good moment. I went to a local lake here in east Tennessee and was at the top of the ramp looking down and saw that both lanes were full. One boat was definitely taking there time and the other was an officer getting ready to patrol. Well all of a sudden he comes up the ramp with his boat in tow. I had to ask him what's up and he said he was doing a couple little things to the boat and that he didn't want to tie up the ramp....and didn't like it when others did. Right after I launched he backed back down and launched.....awesome but gets better. When I came back in the afternoon he was at the ramp and asked how I did. Said I had caught a few but let them all go....he smiles and says "I let them all go today too". Awesome

Caught my first double digit bass today weighing 10 pounds 4 ounces. Caught it on a frog which is funny because today is the first day I have ever caught anything on one.

This came today. I need smaller, deeper and more finesse jerkbaits to fish clear water smallies compared to you guys and your shallow largies. Moving from Rapala (which have worked just fine) to Jackall. Not quite up to Megabass. Last pic is the Jackall stuff I've gotten in the last 3 weeks. Can't shake this JDM baitmonkey. almost 500$ of Jackall lures since 2015 began. This is from the past 3 weeks.

It doesn't feel much bigger than my CTE 200 GT. Sorry about the picture quality. It's all I could do on short notice.

Climb that tree and beat that branch down. Nature isn't worth that 15 dollar lure.

Their actual product available to promotion ratio is unlike anything I've seen in a while. Right now it's mostly shirts/polos. I'm sure they are trying to build brand recognition while they continue to add to their line and grow the business. I likely will not be contributing. I'm not a fan of paying a lot of money for the privilege of plastering a company's logo all over myself. If they want to send me some free stuff, I'll wear it all over the place, but I doubt that they are that generous.

Me too - I'll take a free one... Wait - I guess you meant that your Conquest 400 has escaped from Customs, finally !

Topwater is great, I still catch the majority of them on small jigs. Got this one today.

Most local club tournaments are Senko only events, lol.

That wiper is sick! By the way, I am extremely jealous that you have been able to take advantage of this nice weather and get out and catch a bunch of fish! The only thing keeping me sane at this point is the fact that you are catching them on baits I painted for you. That could be making it worse, I don't know.

I see one major issue that I am surprised no one else noticed...you have an empty section so go buy more bait!Then go buy another 3700 and repeat the process again and again. Works for me.

For sure, even a world record class largemouth isn't going to give you but maybe 5 minutes, they just aren't built for distance, they're sprinters.

Well my fishing marathon has unfortunately come to an end , it was a good time though. Started it off at Melvern with Dad. Windier than they said it would be by at least double, supposed to be 7mph, but I've never seen 7mph wind make white caps. I was just hoping for a fish, any fish. Didn't take long before I caught one and a few more across the dam. Dad got his first one by the support post of the outlet/inlet, to my surprise it was a chunky largemouth, and he actually caught another largemouth a couple cast later. One of my smallies off the dam was nearly square, 16.5" and 2lbs 13ozs. We ran to a spot up the lake and got several more smallmouth, a few whites, a walleye, and a couple largemouth, including this one that was 4lbs 7ozs which is my second largest from Melvern. All the smallies (and most the fish for that matter), were busting at the seams. Sunday Nicole and I went to Shawnee. It was tougher than anticipated but we still got some trout, a bunch of bluegill, a few bass, and Nicole caught a drum. I managed to sight fish a little golden rainbow with a micro jig under a bobber. It took a lot of trying and swapping out spools on her reel but Nicole finally caught her first fish from the new boat. Her mom's boyfriend wanted some fish to eat so we brought them 6 trout home, yuck.

Hope the bill doesn't fall off those like it does on their jerkbaits

Hey All! Making this thread for fun and just to tell everyone what I do as an angler living in a dorm room and out of my truck. I fish the full spectrum: From shore, paddling, and off of a boat. So I need to be able to bug out and go at any time based on my needs for that day. One thing that I do to save space in my room is condense my equipment to various bags and boxes and put them in the corner. Within reach, but not taking up important space. When I'm on the boat or from shore I pack my things into a Plano guide series bag that fits about 5 standard size boxes, but during my most frequent every day canoe fishing, I use a milk crate to keep 6 Plano boxes for quick access Each of these boxes are pretty full, but in a concise and organized manner. I keep my soft plastics in a Rubbermaid 4 gallon tub I got at Wal-mart. I highly recommend these, very sturdy and locks down tight. The way I keep my soft plastics in this tub is pretty simple: Bag 1 (flukes/swimbaits), Bag 2 (anything I can flip or use as a trailer), Bag 3 (senkos), and then other stuff goes outside the three main bags on its own. It is what works for me and I dont have to carry too much of anything. When I leave my room in the AM or night before a trip to load up the truck, most of the time all I carry out is this one compact stack: One box that is very useful to me in my packing is my utility box.

Good grief that's a beast!

If at first you dont suceed... cut out birdsnest, respool and try again.

Yesterday, first time out for the season. Didn't exactly tear em' up, But it's a start. Water temp, low 40's. Only one fish, but the seasonal skunk, didn't even get a start. Hootie

I use scents on the majority of baits, plastics, swimbaits & trailers I throw. Can't say for sure if "They Work", but do believe they don't hurt. Get a tube of Megastrike and see what happens. You just might find out you'll never want to fish a bait without it again. A-Jay

Rednecks in lawn chairs.

"i'm your huckleberry" -doc holiday, tombstone

With a light reel like that a light rod is nice but you need to remember that good balance is more important, and you'll notice it on the water. The Shimano/Jackall Poison Adrena (would be a SICK combo with the met!), Dobyns Champions and Extremes, and Megabass Orochi XX's are some of the best balanced rods on the market and are all in the $250-$400 range.

Haha it's not at all it's been a fact

I got some garlic scented soft plastics and every time I open the bag I get hungry for Italian food. A little parm cheese and some basil and its over for me. %)

Fish like to trap their meals up against something, so running (somewhat)parallel to banks is almost perfect. I always start with a slow steady retrieve. Then if I see followers or short strikes, mix it up, let it die, give some jerks ect...

LOL, funny enough I came across a 250 the other day I didn't realize I had. It's a sickness. Thankfully, there are many more that have the affliction worse than I. Also thankful that I'm lucky enough to be pretty tight with some of the best swimbait makers on the planet. The internet is apparently good for some things If I remember, I'll get a shot of some badass garage pours I recently acquired.

Playing tennis helps!

When stuck on the bank, with no visible "targets" it's best to try and pick spots that allow you to fish parallel to the bank. It's important to study your water. There may be no structure visible, but there are clues everywhere. You can identify points, flats, drop offs ect...just have to be observant. Even casting to the middle can give you clues to what's below the surface, just pay attention to your bait on the retrieve.

Rattle snakes, coots, coyotes, occasional deer and bait fisherman. Tom

Why was i expecting this to be a post about a college kid fishing in a bathtub

Bikinis .

Try packing what you mentioned in an Accord! The looks I get from people when they look in my car is priceless. I think you're good. A suggestion for your room would be to use command hooks, 2 of them, and run a line between the two and hang your cranks and stuff from the line. Who knows, you might want to rise the blinds one day.

Reading this thread I've tried to calculate how much money I've saved in the 20+ years I've used my simple homemade one. While I'm not able to come up with a figure I know I will buy a Core 50 this week with the savings. My sincere thanks to the OP for reminding me to spend all this money I had forgotten about.