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Yesterday I spooled my rods with braid. It's my first time trying it. So I put 15lb power pro on my spinning reel. And 30lb power pro on my BC (lews speed spool ss1). Anyway I go out this morning at a local pond in Richmond. I tied on a Texas rigged rage recon in green pumpkin. I'm fishing it slow and I feel this pressure. I tighten the line and feel movement! Then whoom! She feels the hook and I set it good. My rod bent so much (carbonlite 7mh)! I had full confidence in the braid (which I now love by the way, no leader) but I was worried about the rod. I never felt that much weight before. Anyway all thanks goes to bass resource. I was just a crappie bluegill fisherman before I found this site. Here she is. (I think she had a crappie in her stomach)

So I was looking for a Abu C3 or something similar a little while back to put o a extra swimbait rod I wasn't using. I ended up finding one and now I am looking for another. It is hard to beat them when they can be had used for $40-50. I don't really have much luck finding them on traditional bass site or even swimbait sites but then it hit me. Catfishing sites are absolutely loaded with them for cheap. You would think there is some kind of law that you can only use Abu's cause its all you see. So for people who make these swimbait threads or need another reel for bigbaits or whatever go find a catfishing forum. There is nothing wrong with throwing them on a C3, C4 or whatever. They have been around forever cause they last forever. There is also tons of monster catfish rods I don't know how weel that would work for big swimbaits ect but I am sure plenty are heavy enough to throw some pretty seruious baits. You could score a whole setup for super cheap and if it turns out you dont dig it and its not for you at least you didn't drop a bunch of money to find out.

been wanting to start this thread, but too lazy. always wonder to what lengths fishing addicts can go for fishing. for me, the craziest thing was this past winter, after losing about $100 worth of hard baits, i finally caught my first winter keeper. then i got that kvd sexy shad jerkbait that i caught the fish on hung up. i got so ticked of myself, seeing nobody's around, i stripped myself naked and jumped in the that mid february water (i am in missouri), trying to retrieve the bait because it was about 20 feet away from me. as soon as i jumped into the water i realized how cold it was and my swimming capability completely abandoned me. i struggled back to the bank, realizing that i stopped short of becoming the idiot who killed himself for a $10 jerkbait and you would've probably seen me in the news.

Actually three,but one didn`t tighten up. I kept waiting for the tide to start out. It takes extra time when your watching it? So I tied a spec rig with two light jigs w/ Gulp 3" shrimp. Jigging ,jigging along and a 22" flounder mashes it. Alright one in the box. More jigging and a monster bluefish hauls on with it. It started to pull drag right away.I knew the odds of landing it were about the same as Houdini returning to life.Round and round we went,it tried to get in the motor,jumped twice pulled drag several times.Amazingly I got it in the net.36" bluefish. I quick took some pix and measured it and returned it to the water. Blues that size are usually ocean run,but this critter was in shallow back water about 6' deep? Sorry about the lack of a smile,but I was worried about this size blue biting my finger off. They can do some serious damage.

Nice one! Way to go.

2 men in their primes actually boxing. This is a boxing match.

Hello I am more of a lurker than a contributor. But I have reached out to several members asking for help with casting jigs and the jig technique. Even down to pointing your rod at the fish reeling up slack and setting the hook have all come into play. Well, I have been throwing a 1/2 oz black and black/blue jig I live in Michigan and only recently have I been on the water But I must admit, the advice I have received here is the best, as well as the folks here have been very open and kind. Thank you all very much for helping me. Caught this 5LB'er today

Went out the other night and got the smallest Bass I've ever caught on a topwater frog, maybe 10-11 inches at most. Didn't know a fish that size would even try to fit a frog in its mouth! Moved over a couple of spots and nailed my biggest fish of the year so far and the first fish to touch the 20" mark. Very possibly could be my PB as it is very similar in size to my PB I got last year. However, I did not get a true measurement of last year's fish (only a rough estimation of the length) and thus I will never know. I guess this can be my "official" PB. Here's a question: how accurate is the weight calculator on the Bass Resource website? This fish measured 20" with a 15" girth and the calculator on this site gave me 5.88lbs. However, on other sites the calculations vary and I've seen it anywhere from 5.88 down to 4.2lbs. How much does this fish weigh in your opinion and would an average of 5.5lbs be accurate enough? It certainly felt over 5 when holding it. I love bass fishing.

Glenn- I always knew Keri was a better angler than you. Look at that hawg compared to the little guy in you're contest picture. Seriously you are one lucky guy. My wife's been in my boat 5 times tops in 25 years.

I managed to land a few Indiana pond bass this morning on a rage blade. None of them were huge, but it was still nice to get a few tugs on my line.

Dude. DUDE! your AVATAR! Holy COW that's a big alligator gar! Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread...

Wow!! That's a pig right there. Congrats!!

I think its going to be pretty hard to top yours.

Thats a good fish man. Congrats!

dang that's a big un!!! you done good.

Beautiful beastie! Next purchase: a scale!

Goodin

Now that my friend IS a hawg!! Good Job Mike

She's a beauty! Nice job!

SWEET!

I would say my(thumb) is retarded...lol

You don't want to know what I think I scrapped my 858 and 998 for (2) 1100 series units. The nice thing about the 899 over the Helix for the bow is the 3 memory preset screen buttons, so if you're on the bow you won't have to screw around looking thru all different views until you find the one you want. The 899 is a 7" screen vs a 5" on the Helix BUT the information bar removes an inch so you're down to a 6" and 4" screen respectively.

Great Bass ~ Congrats A-Jay

A manufacturer defect should be payed for by the company. Not covered by the customer.

I had a similar thing happen not long ago 2 weeks ago Clark's Hill. They were busting the top everywhere, totally ignoring my offering, finally saw a dead bait fish on the surface. I immediately knew the problem the super fluke was too big. Switched to a small fluke and bam. I started catching them on the small fluke, they were so tuned in on the bait fish that I had to match the size.

niceeeee

This is the first year that I'm not flipping tables after watching the Lions pick.

That is a darn good catch.

Congrats! Did you get a weight on her?? Braid really lets you feel the fishes strength. Id advise against it for anything with a treble hook though. I have lost fish before I learned this. Unless you are using a rod with a soft tip. Those treble hooks need stretch or give so they don't get ripped out.

Go for the hump

That's a Hawg right there

Lol, first off that's a beautiful largemouth bass, very heathy in appearance.. Fish calculators are pretty close .. Roland Martins calculator was one I used a long time ago, when such things mattered more to me. I would echo A-Jay on a scale... Any scale! Lol ..

Nice Bass B-Man But please, by a scale. Any Scale. Even if it comes out of a gum ball machine - buy it. A-Jay http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/148880-the-official-i-dont-have-a-scale-calculator/?p=1668095

First year building confidence on topwater, but the topwater bite has been on post spawn.

I used to think to myself that I didn't need a pair of pliers dedicated to changing split rings and treble hooks, but I rapidly got tired of the fingernail/screwdriver technique. It works but it's not the most pleasant. If you change trebles/split rings with ANY frequency whatsoever, invest in the Texas Tackle pliers.

I get them every year here's a couple I've got wading and kayaking te same creek.

Rage Tail Lizard is KILLER!

I have the same one! Only thrown it once and not for long, haven't caught a fish on it yet but the action is awesome. Clayton of CL8 Baits was a great guy to talk to and was very helpful with my decision!

Just make sure you calibrate it correctly. When you weigh a 5 pound bag of sugar it should read 6-7 pounds.

Underwater welding? Do they make wetsuits that big?

The boats are supplied by MLF and their sponsors. And if Mike drove a Chevy, he'd be on time.

The greatest thing I ever did was to cast my line as far as possible then walk out 20ft. Took a piece of electrical tape and put it on the spool. It helped me. This throwing at the ground thing is going to happen until you get your thumb calibrated. You can tweak those breaks and knobs all you want but if your thumb Is off then its not going to do right. I can cast my reels with half break and the spool tension knob all the way off. Oh and make sure your drag is set right. I have had mine set way to tight and it threw off my cast. It takes time but when you get it you'll be a happy camper

3/4oz is at the top of the range for a MH rod. I'd use the heavy. Plus I like a longer rod for C rigs to help with the hookset since at times you'll be deep.

1. Not packing your gear 2. Not going to the lake 3. Not casting your line out

Does anyone make an 18.5' that isn't stable?

Just figured I'd share some pics of some of the decent fish I've caught so far this spring. Biggest two were caught on a jig - one by a flooded bush, another by a fallen tree. Third one was caught on a squarebill. Been a great spring so far and I look forward to seeing more pictures of everyone else's catches.

It probably means most of us are pigs & women just don't like us.

Been on a more expensive kick the past few weeks: cymbal monkey got me.

Try using the weightless EWG hook of your choice and add a Parasite clip. After using them, I'm a believer. It's a very simple & inexpensive little device that directly addresses your problem. http://parasiteweights.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=30 There are a few video's on youtube showing the simple but effective rigging process. Below is a pic of one on a Sluggo - and btw - they weight almost nothing and don't negatively affect your weightless presentation. Good Luck A-Jay

I don't usually fish them but my bro's gf does. Use a Gamakatsu Twistlock with no problems over the course of 3 trips and many fish. I can't take credit for this.