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If I'm fishing with someone it's a dink. If there's no one there to see it it's a quality bass.

A few recent combos I've put together,

Been 8 months since i got to wet a line. Been dying to get out. I was able to get a 5 day trip underway to fish with the guys in our annual northern Minnesota spring trip. We fish mainly in the ottertail county area in various lakes. Fished from Wednesday to memorial day and had to head back to ol' Wisconsin on memorial day. Definitely long enough to have fun and get into some nice ones. We had no absolute giants this trip but got into a lot of fun ones. Wednesday's water temps were 55 degrees and much colder than i anticipated. Wednesday morning's boat was covered in frost which was also completely unexpected, So it was decision time and we had to pick one of hundreds of lakes in our area to fish which is oftentimes one of the hardest decisions to make when bass fishing. It is interesting how many of these lakes cycle from being great for a few years and then dead for a couple of years. Unfortunately, some of our bigger bass lakes have been on a steady downfall over the years which is always tough to see. So after a few lakes, we found a few that were hot for this particular temperature and got to work. We started to get into the better fish for these particular waters and enjoyed the beautiful outdoors. Temps changed from 55 to 63 in the coves by memorial day. The last few days were the best in that the bass started to come into the coves in more abundance. Jerkbaits seemed to be the ticket in the beginning and some sort of reaction bite which i had hoped for was not happening in the beginning. Eventually crankbaits started to get them which was always fun (e.g., 2.5 square bill). After a few days and fishing different lakes and varying water temps, we got a good rotation of lakes and had a blast. While walking to a lake, i found this little guy. Perhaps the smallest painter i have ever seen. Of course my girls wanted me to keep it after i sent them a picture so this little thing came home with me. And some more, We were fortunate enough to all get into some good fish. I only have pictures of my own, but everyone else got into some good ones as well. I finally got into a six+ pounder by the end which was a great way to end the trip. Altogether, i had 27 bass between 4-5 pounds, 4 bass between 5-6 pounds, and 1 over 6. Numbers wise, we never had an outing where you caught a ton but had a blast nevertheless. Big fish or not, it was just nice to be out on the water again. Troy

I just want to say thanks to all you guys. Ive read and read and read and while Ive fished on and off my whole life, I never went to the pond to catch "the one". I would stop and get some worms, load up the kids and throw the bobbers in and sit and wait it out. Then run back and forth getting all the bluegills off the lines and re-worming them for the kids. Well, I don't know what happened. I caught a few bass and then started buying more lures and most importantly, I googled and found 2 things that made it happen. This site and BassResource on youtube. I have scoured these forums and watched all of the videos and I have learned a ton. From Color selection to water temps to even how to fish a certain lure. I fished this farm pond yesterday that's old and all grown up. With the owners permission, I slid my boat in and started fishing at 8 am on the nose. I caught one baby bass and 2 nice crappie but at 11 am I had thrown everything I had. The water was medium to heavy stained (as all these farm ponds are) and about 2.5 acres. Water temp was 64. Deepest part was 9 feet. So at 11 am I had been throwing a 1/2 ounce black and blue Jig. Had a few nibbles but nothing concrete. Then, I remembered somebody saying " cast your jig, let it land in the shallows then let it set there long enough for the skirt to flare out and then give it 2 small, quick pulls. As I rolled up to the North side of the pond, it had heavy cover and lots of shade. The Sun was straight up and it was hot. I made one side arm cast in low under the tree limbs. My jig landed in about 3 inches of water. I let it set for about 3 seconds and gave it one small jerk which felt light. On the second jerk, it honestly felt like it was on a tree limb but there was no downed trees in there area so I said what the hey and set the hook. Immediately, the fish went nuts. He came toward the boat and I thought "this is gonna be a good one" and then as he got to the boat, he tried to go back under the trees and that's when I felt his wrath. I have never felt anything like that in my life. He was pulling the boat towards the bank!!! So I got him to the boat and he calmed down and I noticed that he was hooked good but I still couldn't focus but it was all too fast and at the same time, I couldn't believe what was happening! By way, He started pulling the star drag and so I turned it until he couldn't pull it. Probably a rookie mistake but I didn't want him to find a downed tree underwater. He didn't pull anymore drag (remember what I said about the drag for later). So buy the time I was ready to pull him up, I swear I had about 3 rods all tangled up from his thrashing so I literally threw my baitcaster to the bottom of the boat and wrapped the line around my hand about 3 times. I finally pulled this joker and and he was freaking huge! I could put my entire fist in his mouth! I took selfies, videos, measured him etc. and then I threw him back. I wanted to make sure he was out and back in quick. I had no scale. You guys can decide. When I got home, I found an unopened bag of 5 lb. Sugar and he was heavier than that but Who cares, he was 5 times bigger then any other bass Ive ever caught in my 42 years. As for that star drag story I told you to remember? After I pulled out to the middle of the pond and got my wheels back under me, I remembered about a big fight possibly setting off a biting frenzy so I trolled right back over, untangled my rods and re casted back in the same spot. And nothing. Once more, nothing. and then BOOM! another hit, same place but HARDER! remember that star drag? It was still locked all the way down. This next joker took off. He never came toward the boat and went straight left and down. My drag was peeling off so hard that the line was digging down into the spool and the drag was STILL spinning!!! Now I know all about fish lies but you guys have to believe me on this one. That fish snapped the line and I never saw him again. I untangled my spool, put about 20 more casts in there and nothing. I was exhausted and headed home. It was truly an Epic day so heres some pics! Thanks again to everyone! You guys rock! C

I bought a 1/8oz Rapala Floater and using a Conquest 50 - Avail Spool w / 6# Floroclear / Loomis CR721. I don't know the exact distance that I was getting this morning but I know that I was going farther than the 20 yard mark in my back yard. I managed to get my first BFS Hardbait fish, a Bluegill

Jake and I decided to break the day up yesterday. We started at La Cygne after I'd been texted some pictures of big bass the day before. I missed a couple bites but it took a few hours before Jake finally caught the first and only bass on a shakyhead. At least it was a nice one. There were fish everywhere on my depthfinders in about 15-20 feet of water. White bass and wipers were loaded up there, we caught several on a jigging spoon but Jake's first fish was one of Curt's pets. Wind was getting bad so we headed to Miola to see what was going on there. Slow start but we finally started getting them flipping the grass. My biggest one was a for sure keeper that was too much for my punching rod to handle as it's now a two piece.

You guys are all right, it's nothing new, nothing to be excited about. Move along, nothing to see here, don't even bother trying it, it only catches small fish anyways. It's not just a bait, it's the whole style of fishing it that is different. I'd be really happy if everyone did just ignore it and move onto the next big thing.

Better ask Minnie on matters concerning Mickeys pole..

Place it vertically and sit on it.

http://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2015/05/26/missouri-angler-bear-hugs-record-st

I have 3 "tricks" I use to help minimize line twist with a spinning reel. I actually learned these from watching Bill Dance I think and have been doing them so long they are now automatic on every cast. 1) Always close the bail by hand. 2) After closing the bail gently tug on the line before starting to reel to make sure there is no loop on the spool. 3) When starting to reel, let the line bounce off your extended index finger for 3 or 4 handle turns to make sure you don't bury a loop in the spool. AND with all that being said, I use braid on my spinning reels which doesn't give me line twist problems. :-)

Took a trip to MM35 yesterday and fished the Miami Canal with my 8yr old son and my BIL. Wind was from the East 15-18MPH, Water temps was 87-88 degrees, water was lightly stained with 6-8ft visibility. We launched at 930am and fished til 6:30pm. Boat traffic was minimal considering it is a Holiday weekend, and everyone cleared out by 2pm. We were solo out there for 4 hrs. We were fortunate enough to boat 56 bass and 90% of them were caught using frogs. The majority of the fish ranged from 4lbs - 2lbs. The highlight of my day was when my son caught and landed a 3lb 18" bass all by himself. I was so proud him. He was impatient and frustrated some of the time because he wasn't catching as many fish as he would have of liked, and at around 5pm he caught his second wind and was hell bent on catching a nice fish. Well.... I am very excited to say his perseverance paid off.... The old man managed to catch himself a nice bass too..... but it paled in comparison to watching my boy do his thing and catch a nice bass for himself. I can proudly say that I am lucky DAD!!

UPDATE: We contacted him and talked to him on the phone for quite a while about it. Drove up to see it and test drive it the next day and the boat was in immaculate condition for the age. The boat has been kept in a garage since the day it was bought new and you can tell. We bought it and have taken it out twice already with no issues. Thanks for the replies everyone

I'm with you there Jrob. I also have both and prefer the I. Hootie

Those are the heavy drinkers

This thread is so asinine that it doesn't deserve to live. Goodnight Irene.

We could give better answers if we knew what techniques you were planning to use it for. The Mickey Mouse is used by most fishermen here as an up close flipping stick. Also doubles as a close quarters spinnerbait rod. Has a nice soft tip with plenty of backbone. Is yours the standard Mickey Mouse or the Mickey Mouse Signature Series?

I feel the same way.

Here's a simple trick to fix the dreaded line twist in spinning reels:

Headed out to the river again here in arizona. Fish every monday usually. Fish were all caught froggin/flipping. Caught 15 on the frog and 11 flipping. Hooked a ton of dinks flipping only 11 came in the boat. Was flipping a yamamoto flapping hog way back in the grass with a 3/8ounce tungsten and bobber stopper and 3/0 straight shank hook. Nothing big but Best 5 were 3.24, 2.54, 2.5, 2.44, 2.1. Thanks for looking.

Lesson learned. I never leave the house without pliers.

Jigs and spinnerbaits are both great lures in the right conditions. If you are looking to increase your numbers you might want to consider mixing in more finesse presentation like a wacky rig, a drop shot, a shaky head, etc.... I guess my answer would be yeah those two rods would be enough as long as the conditions are right for those two applications.

I attach the boat to my truck and head south to Florida. Has to be the best way to winterize

Alabama Rig The Rig is either on or not. I have no idea why it does not produce in warmer months, but here in the Mid South it's over in May (for bass) and doesn't catch back on until late October.

Good thing they don't run to far. He would have had a long paddle back. Great catch!! Of course they get bigger but you are missing the point. A 600lb fish in 50lb boat is a rare accomplishment.

If you tournament bass fish a dink is any bass under the minimum legal length, me it's any bass under 12". Quality bass, again using the tournament angler as a baseline, any bass between 3 to 4 lb is a money bass, therefor good quality. Where I fish: Big bass (LMB) any bass over 5 lbs is a big bass. DD is any bass over 10 lbs. Giant bass is over 15 lbs. Tom

Very sorry to hear about your brother. My heart felt condolences to you and your family. A-Jay

In order of cost effectiveness: Deep Clean w/ bearing flush ad proper lubrication of stock bearings Carbontex Drag upgrade Super Tuning of appropriate models ( solid, uncoated spool shaft) Installation of ABEC5 ceramic hybrid beraings - dry ABEC7> are overkill for a reel. The spool does not reach sustained speeds high enough to benefit. I usually reserve bearing swaps for enthusiast projects or as replacement for worn out stock parts. There are model specific tweaks that be beneficial but the above list covers the basics.

Spotted bass, smallie largemouth

I don't know who's seen this. This is pretty crazy. Greg Hackney is fishing on Toledo Bend with Mr. Crappie. Just start the video at 25 minutes. I believe this was filmed last fall and Hack was still on a roll. When you're hot you hot.

You can lock your drag down when frog fishing. I would recommend it.

Toss up between a spoon and bucktail jig, both lures catch any kind of fish in any kind of place.

I don't honestly remember what my 5 biggest fish I weighed in during tournaments weighed. My biggest 5 fish combined would have gone 40lbs 12ozs. My biggest single day limit (other than Mexico), was 30 pounds 2 ounces on a cold February day several years ago in Eastern Kansas. 10lb 2oz 8lb 8oz 8lb 8oz Haven't been able to find the picture of this one, also from Mexico but on my second trip. 7lb 14oz 7lb 12oz

PWI - Posting While Intoxicated

Welcome. When getting back int fishing or just starting out, I always recommend finding a versatile bait that covers or can cover different depths and is productive throughout the open water season. Two come to mind and a third isn't that far out of the running. A jig, Senko and a spinnerbait. For the waters you describe and fishing from shore, I'd go with the stick bait and rig it Texas or wacky style without a weight. The water is shallow enough that it will sink to the bottom easily without any and it has the most action without one. Being proficient with more than one bait/presentation lets you adjust to changing conditions. You can adjust your rigging and/or presentation on these baits for those changing conditions so multiple baits aren't necessary.

Ha. I will provide a drivers license next time to verify it is me as well. Funny thing is, i have all these on film since we always have a camera going, i just need to get my butt in gear and put together some more videos. Thing is, it is super addicting and time consuming...so, yes, i need to do it.

Good read. Now you've got me rethinking my desire to have coyotes in my backyard (I'd surely miss our fox) This evening, shortly after sunset there were two reds feeding in the backyard when an opossum lumbered in (a black jack). The fox sat still and watched the opossum amble around the yard. The goofy opossum nearly bumped into the fox before finally noticing the fox, and the fox never flinched..LOL One day while crow hunting in Flemington, NJ, I was using a crow in distress call and inadvertently pulled in a gray fox. That day I was experimenting with a low power scope taped to my shotgun. Though it worked okay for shooting crows, I could not find the fox in the scope. In desperation, I ripped the dang scope off my shotgun but by that time the fox was history. The next time I returned to that woodlot I brought my Burnham Brothers fox call. Although the call of a crow in distress pulled a fox, the call of a rabbit in distress drew a blank Roger

I believe he said hardbait...... At which point I would say lipless crankbait. If it's any bait then I'm gonna have to go spinnerbait.

Yea Shimmy do you have any proof regarding those 5lbers and that alleged 6lber?

My five best tournament fish: Aug 2012: 6.68lbs Aug 2015: 5.51lbs Aug 2015: 5.29lbs Sept 2012: 5.09lbs June 2013: 5.07lbs For a total of 27.64lbs My five best non tournament fish: March 2009: 8lbs 3oz. (from Florida not NY) Oct. 2013: 7lbs 2oz. Oct. 2013: 6lbs 12oz July 2015: 6lbs 10oz July 2012: 6lbs 8oz 35lbs and change.

To me, the definition depends entirely on expectations. Quality is whatever size I'm content to be catching at the moment. A Dink is anything less than that.

Dink = not a keeper Small = less than 2lbs Decent = greater than 2lbs Good = close to 3lbs to about 3.75 Big = 3.75 to 5lbs Whale = over 5lbs That's my scale based on Ohio fishing.

There is a member on another forum with a philosophy similar to "Don't share your spots, you might not be the only one who enjoys fishing them"... It's great that you are sharing for people, but if someone did that to one of my spots, I wouldn't be a happy camper.

I'm a big fan of both reels. I have Curado I's and Tatula R's, the R's aren't much different than the regular ones. I also don't have any issues at all palming the Tatula. I know I'm mostly alone on this but I like the Curado I better than the E, and I really like the E. It palms better for me and feels more connected than the E series.

Just do it. I have both and hardly notice when I pick up one or the other. Fights fatigue and repetitive movement disorder, whatever that is.

One from a quick trip today.

Not that big but fun to land, specially on a very slow day.

Chatterbait bass from this morning