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Hello Everyone, I haven't been on BR in quite some time but I'd like to share a almost life changing story that included Bass Resource and my use of this forum. I promise this read will be worth your time.. A few years ago for my Christmas present at the age of 15 I found a lot on here for 300$ that was something I felt I couldn't live without and I begged and prayed for my parents to get it for me. It was a whole lot to get me started, several rods reels baits ect. And One of the best parts about it was, if I bought this whole lot, the seller would throw in a Fenwick Elite Tech Rod for me. So eventually my parents gave in and purchased me this lot and the seller immediately notified me saying he couldn't find this bonus rod at the time but assured me I'd receive it. So I didn't think twice and just took his word. Weeks passed and the seller and me corresponded and he still was having a problem finding it, so I gave him to the following spring to find and ship me the rod. Then one day I messaged him 5 months later and he finally found the rod and sent me a picture of it about to be shipped and I was more than excited! But, I never received the rod. Two weeks passed and I never heard from the seller again. His account went non active, he didn't post, he didn't reply, I called him and his phone was disconnected. At this point I pretty much gave up and threw in the towel, and kissed my 150$ rod away.. Which being 16 at the time was more than I'd ever afford.. Two full years passed, I never reported or bashed the user I figured if he was to rip me off, karma would find his way. Then one day I logged back into this website after months of inactiveness and I saw a message, it was the seller from over two full years ago. He told me he lost his job, his wife, his home, tackle and much more. And right away did my stomach drop. I was immediately filled with forgiveness but the seller told me even though he may have lost a lot, he is still going to ship me two brand new Powell Rods and a box of baits for my patience and because he stated he is a true man of his word and would go to any lengths to make it right, even if it meant cutting into his paycheck.. Sure enough, I received everything as it was stated, two full years after a transaction. This is something I find more than admirable. I'm only 17 now but I hope one day I'm a man of my word to this extent and I now learned this is a quality of a true man. I'm so thankful for this website and all the great people on it, I would say this forum has some of the best people on it filled with great knowledge and respect. Thanks Bass Resource!

^^^ I remember my first beer.

I don't think they are even on the same spectrum of techniques.

I think this generation is different. With infinite knowledge at their fingertips from the time you are walking as a toddler to TV and new thinking. Its thought of as old school to fish. I watched a youtube fishing video under my suggestions last month and it wasnt anyone with a lot of subscribers but more of a newbie. But one of his views wrote in the comments, "who even fishes anymore!" I know there arent huge major lakes near me nor a bunch of fishermen, but when, I come across one, they are never disrespectful but rather genuinely nice people. I think its up to us to keep this tradition. I know we dont want our waters over pressured but I feel that we should introduce something outdoors to one of our loved ones. Ive introduced my niece, my wife, my best friends and heck I always let my 17 month old play with her barbie combo when I yard fish 3 or 4 days a week. I know fishing isnt for everyone but its good fellowship time away from electronics (except your depth finders!) Price could be an issue but its def interest. I have a buddy that I try to fish with but he buys gear the day of and even buys the daily fish license 4 or 5 times a year. Too many shows on the dvr and making it a red box night. Trust me, I love the internet and some movies but fishing is a different category of life for me.

Exclusive license for 3M Sintrix carbon Nano fiber used in today's top rod blanks.Tom

Designed by Lew, manufactured by shimano. These new lews are manufactured by doyo using their technology.

^^ This ^^ Couldn't have said it better myself. And the notion that pros are getting some sort of super-secret custom versions of the rods/reels seen on the shelves is pure hogwash. Complete fabrication. The equipment the pros get from their sponsors are the same ones consumers can buy. The sponsors insist, for R&D purposes, that they use the same equipment. Do some pros "customize" the gear after-the-fact? Sometimes, but it's not a common practice. Now, are they using protypes and concept gear in some cases? Yes. But not as "privilege" per se, but more from a R&D perspective. The pros work with the manufactures sometimes to provide feedback and ideas for their products. Sometimes those prototypes are mistaken for "custom" gear to the layman. Do the pros use only sponsored gear/baits exclusively? Nope. And this is where the confusion may be. Sometimes you'll see pros using high-end gear and/or custom equipment. But that's outside of their sponsorships. That's most often their personal gear that they bought themselves. Hope that helps!

Always fun to look at generated test data, but in my eyes, your post/data suggests two things to me: The knot that works best is usually the knot you tie best. You happen to tie a good clinch knot, but are not so good at tying the others. For example, if you simply take your listed data sets and run standard deviations on them, you'll see the clinch knot easily has the lowest SD of the four (~25% better), while the other three are all almost identical (throwing out the 4 Palomar outliers. Much worse SD if you leave them in). Every knot mentioned in this post or all the other previously related posts has someone who thinks it's the best, or at least has never had any issue with said knot. In my mind that simply shows how little pressure we put on knots when our equipment is set up correctly and you have a pretty good grasp of how to play a fish properly (very much inline with SirSnookalot's thoughts). -T9

I find that a fishing rod held in my hand is much more so.

Or Jerry Garcia Hootie

I agree with most posters that there just isn't a lot of youth coming into the sport. I am only 26 and I only know 2 people my age that get out there regularly. Its kind of sad, but at the same time, i can look forward to less pressured fish. Now if only we can find a way to get Jet skiing, wakeboarding, and any other type of boating with a loud radio to decline as well.

Can anyone say for sure that Cecil was definitely the specific target of baiting ? If true ,that would give just cause for an uproar,but not to the degree it has reached. Why no dissension toward Zimbabwe for the death sale of 600 lions every year +all the other animals.? Maybe they should name all of them for extra income? BTW, how many from that country have any concern for problem issues here in the USA. Buy your Beane Baby Cecil here. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cecil-lion-beanie-baby-unveiled-article-1.2314465 As for the airline thing I can`t truly express myself without getting the boot. C22

I'd be "lion" if I didn't say that I wanted to!

A dry lure catches no fish, during the time it takes to log a 15" fish onto an excel spreadsheet one could have a sizable fish on the line. Like Bill I do my research before I leave to go fishing, heaven help me if I already don't know to tie a knot. I've gone on BR few times using my phone, while I'm sitting in my car waiting for a squall to pass. When I'm fishing, I'm fishing, any posting of fish pic can be done when I'm home.

Reminds me of the story about Coyote Ugly. So if you wake up in the morning and there's this ugly gal asleep on your arm, do you wake her up or start chewing?

Changing Demographics... http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/hunting-fishing/2014/08/04/Shifting-demographics-suggest-a-future-with-fewer-anglers-who-are-most-multi-cultural/stories/201408030210 The Old School Basser...

The latest generation my son included wants fast pace instant gratification. He along with many others also do what is cool and for some reason fishing is not cool. Expense is an excuse because every kid i know has a cell phone that would buy a very nice setup and plenty of gear to have fun for a long time. Am i upset there are less people fishing hell no. I go out to enjoy peace and quiet. Marketing is not a concern of mine and if people want to do something else then power to them.

May be in the minority here, but I own both and I really don't care. As long as they fit my hand and comfortable enough to fish all day, I don't have a preference either way. Mike

Just sit it in your lap and tap on it. After it burps the gurgling will stop.

It would be cool if someone could do a live feed on a lake and use suggestions from bassresource to pattern fish.

One that I can use properly.

A Braid/Fluoro Hybrid -No Stretch -Invisible -Slack Line Sensitivity -Small Diameter -Good Knot Strength -Sinks (Definitely not going to happen but it's nice to dream about)

No no no! It's just all wrong. Get out of here with your logical way of thinking.

1) sponsorship exists to help sponsors sell products/services. It would make sense, then, for them to display options that anglers can afford. If all the pros fished NRX, Megabass, Tournament Extreme, etc, they'd be marketing a product way above what most of us can afford. The goal is for the prospect/angler see pros catching fish with the equipment and then immediately going out and purchasing it under the idea that "If it's good enough for Ike/Skeet/Clunn it's good enough for me." As opposed to "Ike/Skeet/Clunn are catching fish because they have a dozen $500+ Rods sitting on the deck of their boat." Also, related, sponsorship is a huge part of how guys get paid. If you look at "career earnings", something like 2 million dollars may seem like a lot, but if you break it down over 20 years, that's 100k/year. Now, take into account travel costs, vehicle repairs, food on the road, tolls, etc and make adjustments for the expenses, the pro "making" $100,000/year may only be really making 50k before taxes. That really isn't a whole lot of money for a "professional" to be making in most fields. Money is made via sponsors, seminars, guiding, etc on top of whatever career winnings show, and have to make up a huge portion of earned income. 2) Despite the urging of the tackle monkey, we don't really need a locker full of $300+ rods to catch fish. The Rod is simply a piece of a tool (other pieces being everything else attached to it). The line, lure, and presentation are more likely to affect the fish's decision to bite or not. Also, none of this matters if you can't find the fish. Yes, better rods can help us cast them farther, feel them better, and get less tired/sore in the process, but it's not as essential in getting more bites as everything else. 3) Rods now are really, really good. For $90-150 you can get rods that are leaps better than anything available 20+ years ago. Just look at the graphite, itself. How many rods can you get with 30 ton or better graphite for under $200? How many different options that give you the grip/blank exposure that feels best to you? How many manufacturers make lines of rods with a huge variety or weights and actions for every presentation imaginable? If you need to tighten a bolt, you can do it better with a properly fitting crescent wrench than with a pair of vice grips that may cost twice as much, right? Though the vice grips may work, why use them is you're getting properly fitting tools for free that do the job perfectly without stripping the nut/bolt? - Especially if part of your job is to help sell crescent wrenches.

Or pretty much if it's shared through FB as "news" it probably isn't.

The problem with those "knot war" type tests is that's not the way to land to a fish. With 8# line the drag should be set in the neighborhood of 3# or so. With a fish pulling at 3# and more the line is being stripped off the spool taking a lot of pressure off both line and knots, none of those knots should break if tied properly. Most of my lure connections are tied with a loopknot, at face it doesn't look too strong yet they land some powerful fish. That drag is on the reel for a reason, use it properly with any well tied knot and there should rarely be a problem. Consistently landing 10-30# fish on a 20# leader compared to landing an 8# bass with an 8# leader, the equation isn't too different. A properly tied knot, using the drag along with expertise will supercede the world's strongest knot every time. Slippage with different line types is a separate issue, that may require a different knot.

I posted this in the A-Mart AOY thread but it's a little more fitting here . The Chesapeake is predominantly a largemouth fishery. Good bags of smallmouth can be caught from the Susquehanna, but that pattern has never held up in a multi-day event to my knowledge. It's also pretty dangerous to get to the best smallmouth water in a bassboat (I won't take my boat up there). The winner will likely weigh in mostly largemouth, if not all largemouth. The launch is technically in the Northeast River, there are many other rivers, to include the Susquehanna, that all make up the huge body of water that is commonly called the 'Upper Bay'. It is all tidal water and there is a slight saltwater influence. It is similar to the Potomac River and I would guess other tidal waters...But every tidal system has it's own special qualities. Tidal experience will help no doubt, but you can't bank on that entirely. Bass fishing used to be very good as far south as the Baltimore area (Middle River, Gunpowder River, Dundee Creek) but those areas don't have the bass populations that they used to. Most of the fishing for this tournament will probably take place on the Flats, the Northeast, and the Susquehanna. There will be guys that fish all over the place, but the event could legitimately be won in the Northeast without ever losing sight of the launch marina. Shallow grass fishing is the main technique that will play. I'm picking guys that are good at that .

If youve got the room, double or tripple bag the carcasses, throw them in the freezer until trash day then take them out.

Everyone's experience is bound to be different, but I can certainly relate: Back in my apprenticeship years as a tool-&-die maker, there was a guy in the toolroom that nobody liked, but me. I seen Jimmy as a man with a troubled past, but a person with a good heart. After a while I just sloughed off comments like: "How can you stand that guy?". One day I took Jimmy pickerel fishing to my secret spot on the Wading River in Jersey. I boated a couple pickerel that day before Jim got his first strike. Instead of sharing in community joy for 'our' boat, Jim uttered an expletive which made it a personal competition. With that, I just opened my arms and allowed my rod-and-reel to plunk hard on the deck. Jimmy immediately got the message and blurted: “AH Cum-On captain, I was only kidding”. I said Jim, kidding or not, do you really want me to sit here and hope that I don’t get a strike? A word to the wise was sufficient. I took Jim fishing many times after that, but he got with the community spirit, and there was never another awkward moment like that. Roger

That's a CHOUPIQUE down here in South Louisiana. (pronounced "Shoe Pick" Some people will scrape the meat off with a spoon and make CHOUPIQUE Balls or Boulet with them in a brown gravy and served over rice. If cooked right they can be pretty tasty. One rule on CHOUPIQUE. No live ones in the boat. They will bust up tackle quickly when thrashing around. Also, don't "Lip" em like you would a bass.

I'm with you, cork all the way for me. Have tried Eva a few times and always dumped the rods. I'm done trying and sticking to cork. Is that an Avid handle I see in that picture?

Bass season finally opened up on Saturday and it has been good so far. We've got smallies as shallow as a foot and as deep as 15. A 4" prodigy tube and a 5" impact stick has done most of the damage so far. Lots more to come.

I've been using cork for so long I can't get use to the EVA. I've tried more than once.

Having an attitude while your fishing definitely helps. Similar to your observation I have a good buddy I have fished with since high school. When one of us are catching good the other is usually not. It's like we get into each others head.

I'd like to request the Rage Craw & Rage Lobster to be improved & modified where I could actually hang my body weight off a claw and it would not pull off . . . EVER ! ! And then make ALL Senko's out of that same Super Natural Material. Oh, and Pike Proof Monofilament & Swimbaits would be a BIG help too. A-Jay

Oops...NRX. I would never have bought a Carrot Stix rod. I don't like orange. When I'm fishing, I want to look good. Image is everything ya know....lol. Hootie

I would let it swim again, with a picture of the scale. People will believe you, and it doesn't have to be official.

Hello all. So I consider myself still a relativly new fisherman. I've only been fishing heavily for a little over a year, I fish rather shallow but I decided I was going to trial by fire deep diving crank baits. I had already had a ML crankin stick I purchased for 1.5s and fell in love with how easy it was to fish and how well it kept fish buttoned. So I went to bass pro again and bought a telescopic 7'6 MH Crankin stick (so it fits in my truck) and a Abu Garcia Orra Winch. Filled it up with 12lb Yo zuri hybrid Fast forward, I take a yearly vacation to Northern New york and my family has a place on one of the smaller indian lakes up there. This is much different then my home lakes, being a natural pretty clear water setup. So I bought a bunch of 5 and 6xds and figured hey i have time to learn them. Well it went well, I got nothing on my first bait I threw for about a hour. I switched up to a natual color with no rattle and hooked up wiht 5 nothern pike in 1 hour. I was hooked! (Hardy har) I threw them a lot from there forward, over the week I caught near 50 fish and 90% of them were on the 6xd. I only lost three fish the entire week on that pole, lucky? Probably some, two of those fish were my fault, I tried to boat flip a bass that ended up being bigger then i thought...I lost him even though he had both hooks (4lb est). The other fish I lost I never saw, it felt like a heavier Northern....I had the drag too tight and he tried to run and it pulled the bait out of his mouth. After this fish i loosened up my drag and had no more issues. I caught a lot of fish on just one treble and they stayed hooked even on hard surges at the boat. SUPER impressed. Now onto the bad, or what i need to learn. Since this pole is so "moderate" I have a hard time feeling the bottom unless I'm hammering it same to be said for grass on the bait. When I do feel the grass I was having a hard time clearing it like I can on a fast action rod. Sometimes I'd reel in and have grass on the bait and I never felt it. These poles really mask the crankbait's wobble, does anyone have any suggestions or is it simply more experience? Another thing is after the first full day of fishing my ring finger and pinky felt numb. My elbow didnt hurt, just my hand. This is the hand that holes the reel while cranking, the 6xds pull this rod pretty good. The 5xds are way lighter of a tug. Is this to be expected or is my form bad? I have to imagine I flat out overdid it that day, I tossed these things for hours. With all this said I hope I can translate this into my home lakes which are all manmade and much more hangups. I fished all week and didnt lose a single lure there, around here I'll lose a few a day even with a retriever and a pole. 6lb Northern ( for the lake it's a pretty good size, no known monsters in there) 4.7lb Bass

I love my YUM Dingers and are more durable than Senko or Flat Dawgs (which I like too)

Rather than trying to find another Senko type bait, use a different style worm all together. Lots of stick baits out there, but I don't think another actual Senko is available. They flat work so why bother is my take. If I'm not using a Senko, I'm using a Jackall Flick shake and would encourage you to try them. Only two worms I even bother with rigged various ways. Neither have been duplicated to perfection and will catch fish when everything else fails.

Did a little night fishing Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Minus the nearly 3 dozen channel cats I caught on my bladed jigs and spinnerbaits, I caught 6 bass. 5 of them were less than a pound, one of them was my biggest of the year so far I hate night fishing during a full moon, but the plus side to the normally slow fishing is that I usually get a shot at a big one during a full moon. Slammed a black and blue War Eagle right as it was coming over a log and gave me all she had at 2:30 in the morning, 5lb 9oz. Right when I caught her. Our morning photo shoot at the ramp before telling her goodbye.

Catching bass in the Dog Days of Summer is almost always a challenge - for everyone. During July & August 2015 the Bassmaster Elite series is only holding 3 evens in NY, Michigan & Maryland. Review how many Big Bass photos we see here in the summer as compared to spring & fall when the bass are shallow. Doesn't mean you can't catch them, just shows it's a little harder, so don't get bummed out. However, It sounds like you're fishing the same way you did BEFORE you bought that Boat. Stop beating the bank. Most of that bite has been over for a while. Leave the Frogs, Buzzbaits & Roostertails At Home ~ In order to increase your bass angling repertoire, you're eventually going to need to learn to use & have confidence in an entire stock of skill & techniques as well as be able to effectively use your equipment; electronics included. You can catch "Nothing" using anything and fishing anywhere, so trying One or Two New techniques each season is a great way to go. Good Luck A-Jay

Got my second largest of the year so far on a buzzbait this past Thursday right after a torrential downpour that I got to thoroughly enjoy since my rain gear was in the truck.

Well I didn't catch the 7 lber like I was hoping for the Tournament. BUT I did catch a new personal best and my first Florida Trophy Catch Bass. Submitted it last night. 8.90 lbs, 26" length. For the All About the Bass Benefit Tournament.

5.8 pounds on a jig in a 3 hour Wednesday night tournament. Big fish and helped our other two fish to be good enough for 1st place with big fish. Pretty decent night. Tight lines Andrew

We call em Goggle Eyes down here; 1-1 1/2 pound aint uncommon. I've often said if grew to 6-7 lbs they would hit the prop on your outboard thinking it was a buzzbait!

A small grub on a light jighead will catch any fish in a pond.

small in-line spinners will catch anything

Rebel cricket crank!!!! With four lbs test it's a blast. And bass well jump on it too!