Leaderboard

Fished a private pond this morning with a fellow HOW volunteer and my son. My son missed a few but caught a couple on this slow and hot day. My buddy missed several bass blow ups on his hollow bodies frog. I on the other hand had a decent day. Managed seven total on the day, the most memorable being my first ever citation fish out of the kayak. This big girl breached the pads like Air Jaws and was an absolute fatty! She nailed my Clone Frog with a purpose! She measured out at 22.75". An awesome day!

and the experiment continues.

I think I'm done for at least a month Finished the 1st combo here, might just put the Zonda on my Powell Endurance for now when the reel arrives.

Fishing has been good up here in the northeast ! Got this one the other day in Maine.

And we are done here..... Jeff

People have hobbies other than fishing?? I don't get it?

Pickwick Guntersville 15% off TW

Hi guys, new member here. I have been ocean and bay fishing my entire life. I just moved from the coast to a small mountain town with tons of great bass fishing lakes. I've been going every weekend and have landed some monsters. Now I'm obsessed. All I have are heavy action rods with spinning gear that I've always used, I just threw some 8 lb mono and its been doing the trick but I want to invest in a lighter rod with a bait caster. I want to keep it under 200$ for the setup, any good recommendations? I'm right handed but will get a left handed reel. That's how I've always fished. Anyways here is a picture of a nice fish I recently caught, I estimated it to be around 8 lbs, it was 25 inches long with a thick belly, the picture doesn't do it justice. I was fishing early today from the bank and had an even bigger one, biggest bass I've ever seen. I had him at my feet and he swam under a branch and broke the line, now Im really excited to get into this. Thanks!

Hey friends, been working on some new stuff that's coming out at ICAST. The fish sure like it and I hope you will too.

Caught it on the megabass white python Pop-x with a 6'7"MF *** black spinning rod, pflueger supreme mgx, 15lb power pro braid. Last 2 trips to the pond were unfruitful so this was nice! Nothing like the popper bite, my PB was on a popper...

Mercer is a very good salesman....

I like the frogs. I'm very excited for this new LT bait

You really have to stop soon. You are causing me to want to spend more money than I should. I had talked myself out of the need for a ban saw and lathe. Not so much anymore. Watching this thread unfold is like a fishing crack addiction... And I can't "Just say NO"...

Caught my largest of the year last Thursday evening on a 1.5" Bill Lewis Trap! Weighed at 5lbs 7oz. and just under 22".

Scott please get plenty of practice on Steve's handle before the NEXT one.

It is so!

Don't want to hi-jack the thread but Be Careful what you ask for - super clear water looks cool and may offer a feeling of a pristine eco system - but it makes the bass fishing a bit more challenging. And that may be an understatement of sorts. A-Jay

Well the measurement marks start at 8" which may cause self esteem issues for some

Do you happen to know if they also offer the "Dink Trough" ? I'll be needing that one. A-Jay

Local shop had Pit bosses for $2. I bought......all of them(nearly 30 packs)! Should be set on pitching baits for the year.

Polishing, primping and driving my restored 1965 GTO. It's more of a year round obsession really. Also, taking trips in our new motor home. As a matter of fact, We're currently on our first extended trip now. We just left home yesterday heading to Charleston SC, then to Williamsburg VA, Washington DC, up to Gettysburg, over to Canton Oh to see the NFL hall of fame, and then to Bourbonnais Ill for the opening of the Chicago Bears training camp. Then we'll just meander our way home to SW Fla stopping at either Guntersville, Chickamauga or Seminole (none of which I've ever been too) depending on the route we take for a few days of real fun! Mike

I wanted to but this guys just takes up all my play time. A-Jay

First and foremost suspended bass not relating to baitfish are inactive bass. Why select a lure that works a high percentage on active bass to catch inactive bass? Back to your question, look at bass as a predator; where are their eyes located....the are physically a fish that looks up, not down. Your lure should be above the bass or fall slowly past their visual envelope so they can see it and decide to strike. Fishing below where bass are located makes for a long day. Tom

Sold the 2 new style 250s and bought 2 OG biwa masu's and an OG natural saiko to replace the injected ones. Have 8 wood punkers, tons of hudds, slammers, triple trouts and Swavers not shown

If that's a Rage swimbait, I've been waiting for one to come out for a while now!

Most rec anglers I see are much harder on the fish than the pros. They take too long to get the hook out, then have to take a thousand pics, after they dig their phone out, and by then the fish has asphyxiated.

Droooooooooooooool. I've never ventured into the world of swimbaits..... but this makes me want to buy a new combo.

That is a great fish! I was thinking it might be your new PB......looks like I was right! Jeff

In March at Braidwood Lake opening week This is my boat, 1999 Tracker Pro Angler Deep V16, Come with a 40hp Mercury Force and a 9.8B Nissan. When I first got it in January it came with the Tracker vinyl stickers and trim but over 15 years of deck rub and wear I made some changes; removed the vinyl, wet sanded the paint, buffed and polished, rhino lined the rail, made my own rub rail. This winter Im going to re due the deck, carpet (going Charcoal gray) , add storage, deck LED lights and hopefully next year re-power to a Nissan or Evenrude 60-70hp

My summer activities are pretty much the same as my winter activities. With the exception that my fiancée will ride on the bike with me. She ain't real fond of 90 mph in the cold on a Harley. Otherwise, its camp, hunt, fish, and ride. Not necessarily in that order.

She was a shade over 8.

Chillin' out, not working , reading, shooting hoops, etc. etc.

Nice fish. Just curious if you got a weight? At 22.75 she should be holding some weight for sure! Jeff

That`s a Pig! Congrats!

That IS a Fatty ~ ! Really NIce Congrats A-Jay

Thanks I was sore for almost a week reeling that thing in! Yanked me out of the chair once!

Nice fish!! That's one you'll never forget.

I will say, though, the saddest fishing memory I have is of my Grandpa, who taught me how to fish, brought home his personal best, a 7 1/2 pounder, from the lake where he had caught it. I remember watching it swim around a metal trash can. Even though I had been told not to touch it, I leaned down and picked it up by the gills. I was so little, I couldn't lift it, but it was such a huge fish, I couldn't resist. I got in trouble for it later. He wanted to eat it, but my Grandma was tired and didn't feel like filleting + frying it. So, what happened to that gorgeous bass? Grandpa cut it up and buried it in his tomato beds for fertilizer. The next morning, we discovered that neighborhood cats had dug up and eaten it. 7 years later, I caught one slightly bigger than that . It's still swimming around somewhere in that pond, eluding me. I've had her on once after that, but she shook the hook. I have every expectation of catching her again sometime in the future. So, I do agree with you. I don't like the practice, but, that said, I think it's easy to be too far on the side of only C & R.

Here it is!

What gear ratio are you using ??

So I caught my largest of the year yesterday which happened to my B-day. Only Bass I caught and it was on 1.5" Bill Lewis Ratl Trap. Just about 22". Weighed 5lb 7oz on my new scale. (About time I got one)

makes it a little tough as a daily driver with 70 miles a day put on them lol now if i get an old TJ or YJ i just might go that route....

This will be in my tackle box.....or should I say on the end of my line! Jeff

Well it been almost a yr since we last made a video. Due to my wife's pregnancy & birth of our first baby it's been difficult to play as much as we would like. Lately, though, our baby girl has been really settling in on her sleep schedule so we figured it was time to make a new video. Our first 2 vids were of original songs (http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/144378-music-with-my-wife-part-2/?fromsearch=1) but this is a cove of one of Jens favorites. I hope you enjoy.

That's insane Capt. Shane!! Lol....that rhymed!

Weightless plastics and small crankbaits/spinners are my favorite, big lures and heavy rods are my least favorite.

Im also still pretty new to baitcasters. I have found it easier to cast with a reel that has both cent&mag brakes. My reel has 4 cent brakes and so far i keep them all on and the fine tune dial about halfway and adjust the spool tension knob whenever i switch baits. I have also found it alot easier to cast with braided line. Definitely also want to make sure you use a good technique and to make sure you are releasing at the perfect time. For me i have found that having a good technique and good timeing on your release is the biggest key to a good long accurate cast. Evan if all your brakes are tuned perfectly for your particular lure but you dont have good timeing down on your release your lure isnt going anywhere. Youll end up casting a line drive landing 6 ft in front of you with a birds nest. Good luck.

This. Timing is everything. I fish a tidal river for smallmouth, and there's not a whole lot of information out there for this type of fishing. All I can say is to use the trial and error system. Large fish will inevitably move into the areas where the dinks lurk, but if you're not casting to those areas when they're there you won't catch them. In contrast, these fish can be caught by targeting the areas where they rest when not actively feeding at times when they're not extremely active. When you're catching smaller fish try altering the depth at which you're fishing, the speed/cadence of your retrieve, and possibly the lure that you're throwing. Chances are you've found decent bass habitat but are targeting the wrong "spot within the spot." If small fish are eating your offering, the larger ones most likely will too. An example would be this rock pile that I've been dissecting as of late. I've caught large smallies on just about every part of this rock pile at every depth, but I've also caught quite a few dinks throughout. I fished it the other day on the last 2 hours of the incoming tide and the spot was on fire. Lost 5 or 6 big fish in less than 30 minutes on a football head jig. Switched over to a swim jig and started burning it in 8-10 FOW and started to hook up with the bigger fish. Problem was that these fish were more aggressive than I thought, and once I started throwing a faster moving bait by them they were striking much harder. Once the tide turned the fish moved into a shallower area behind the rock pile where there was a current break, and once again the fish were hitting the slower moving football jig and a drop shot(albeit much less frequently.) TLDR: Try something/someplace different.

I would agree with what AdamsEye has said. If taught properly you should be able to learn how to use a baitcaster in a day, just be sure to use the proper form/technique and not try to set personal best casting records while you're just starting to use a baitcaster. Be sure to adjust the tension knob if you're switching out lures of different weights on the same rod/reel setup, and adjust the brakes/pins either as you get more comfortable with using the reel or if you're casting in wind. You may want to stick with one brand/model of reel so you don't have to adjust between mag/pin/dual brakes. Remember even the pros get backlashes.