Leaderboard

Of course any weekend I fish is a great weekend, but I was blessed with some gorgeous weather and chunky bass. Fishing has been very tough lately, but there was a great bite these last two days. These fish were caught on dropshot, fluke, tube, and the Missile Baits D Bomb. I've fallen in love with tubes lately, the Ned Rig is a lot like them, and they're soft so that the bass hold on to them. And I also have a new pitching and Texas rigging bait, namely the D Bomb. I've also had some fish bite it when I swim it, so I'm pretty happy with its versatility. I'm a believer, this bait is D Bomb .

Oh Shat handles!!!

..................well, whad'ya think I meant?

Maybe someday, with all the leaps in technology, someone can invent something, a switch perhaps, that will allow the television viewer to put different programing on the television. Even better, if this switch could work remotely, from the couch perhaps, the OP wouldn't be subjected to such drivel like the Bill Dance show.

April 14th, 2014. My wife and myself were on our honeymoon and while she had caught a few bass here and there she was totally unprepared for the day we had. I was too! It started out getting to a family pond(17 acres) and seeing a 6ft. swamp snake in the road, she wasn't happy. lol We walked in and my brother had the boat In the water and we were off. I missed a strike right away and didn't care as I thought It was pretty durn cool we were fishing on our honeymoon. We fished down the bank without anything but great conversation. Tresa made a cast and started talking, and I told here to get the slack out of her line. The minute she took the slack out the line shot sideways and after a short fight I lipped a 2+, a beautiful fish. She caught her personal best 15 minutes In and had we left right then It would have been a great day! We fished for a couple of hours and she was up on me 6-1. I was genuinely thrilled for her to be having a great day. I finally figured out a little something on a mis-cast and while she Insisted on fishing her way which had been quite successful I went In another direction and things got Interesting. She cast her senko with a Poche tail-spinner(red/shad) right on the bank and set the hook on a chunky 3. That broke her earlier personal best. While she was very happy I was all smiles! I caught a few in the 4-5 lb. range and scolded myself for not bringing enough flukes or boot-tail swimbaits but honestly didn't really care as this was a day that the fish were on and my wife was having FUN! We had a little time left and I went to a ditch that ran from the bank to about 6 feet out. She cast her senko and slowly reeled It into that ditch and about 3 feet from the bank she set the hook and the fight was on. After a decent fight I lipped a 5+ bass that had inhaled her senko. She once again broke her personal best. In a nutshell this day was and Is the single best day I've had on the water. The timing and the fact that she caught her biggest fish ever and all on our honeymoon. It simply was a tremendous day!

If you're dumb enough to cheat on your wife then you deserve to be caught.

Frankly, I don’t understand your question. Do I Like Bill Dance? Yes, ever since the late 1960s (Green & Murski era). There's no one in my circles deriding Bill, in fact he's one of the most universally respected bass pros Does Bill Dance Fish Privately Managed Ponds? Yes, it’s pretty obvious that he does Is That Cheating? On the contrary, if Bill filmed infomercials on well-worn public waters, he'd be cheating his audience by forcing them to watch paint dry ;-) Double-Standard? That sails over my head, like a piece from another puzzle Roger

My Steez LTD SV showed up yesterday!! I only got about 10 minutes with it in the yard, but it is sweet!

I foul hooked it LOL!! The learning curve continues....

Not to be a musky snob, but let your son know that if he does want to catch that fish again (or any musky), I would advise against holding them vertically. With a fish that size, holding that way puts a lot of stress on it's neck.

My 4 year old niece calls them "AHHH!!" handles

I use to have a flathead catfish in an aquarium. He was 4" long when I found him inside a tire I pulled out of the lake and nearly 3 pounds when I released him back into the lake. It was an awesome fish and an amazing predator. I had to feed him live fish, which he ate a ton of. I also had a softshell turtle about 3" across at the same time. They didn't get along but neither were big enough to do the other much harm. The flathead did slam the turtle into the glass a few times when it tried to burrow under the flathead's log though. I had some baby longnose gar as well. They're eating machines but did not survive well. Green sunfish are probably the easiest to keep but will also find any opening in the top of the tank to jump out. Of course make sure to check that it's legal in your state and remember that you still have to follow length limits, even though you aren't eating them.

Found this on the internet. they are designed for japanese ISO fishing. ISO fishing is primarily a style of rock fishing utilising long soft rods (mine is 5.3metres - full graphite only weights 275gms), bobby floats and very light line (4-10 lbs main depending on your rod). The purpose of the lever drag is that it kind of replaces the reverse switch on most threadlines. Y u may ask. Two main reasons, the first being that this form of fishing relies of tiring the fish out through the long soft rod. However because of the high risk of line breakage whilst on the rocks ISO fishing need a system of a controlled 'free spool' if the fish decides to swim away from the edge e.g. Drummer fishing being a classic example. This allows the angler to play the fish with greater confidence. Second reason is that the lever allows the angler to release line without having to open the bail arm. Luderick fisherman would recognise this as a great feature especially as it allows you to control the drift of the float more effectively - almost like using a centrepin reel.

Nice fish! Jeff

Price wise I would start with Zoom's Trick Worm, Baby Brush Hog in watermelon neon (red). H2O (Academy) 2/0 straight shank hook will fit both nicely. Yum Dinger same color, 3/0 or 4/0 EWG hook Bullet weights: 1/8, 3/16, & 1/4 oz will cover all water depths. That's all you need for any body of water & clairty Fish them weightless, weighted, T-rigged & Wacky Then you can add all the other confussion! P.S. green pumpkin neon is a suitable subsitute!

And after thinking a little more about this one - I'm going to say - I don't want to have "My Best Day Ever" - Unless it's my Last One as well. A-Jay

I never said anything about being to old to fish, Kick Master. Since Smalljaw explained it, we've been doing that for years. I just thought that was called flippin', too. The younger generation keeps coming up with new terms to describe stuff we have been doing for years. Remember; there is very little under the sun that someone hasn't thought of before.

12 4E I'd put them both between 4 and 5lbs. Had a good numbers day. One of those was caught on a pit boss and the rest of my fish were caught on a Northstar bull gill swimjig with a Kalins Sizemic Shad trailer. (I don't think anyone south of the Great Lakes region has ever heard of Kalins ) and I post most of my reports in the local IL thread.

At least you trimmed your piggies before the photo opp.

Of course you can use a spinning rod for flipping, pitching or skipping, they are only casting techniques; the only "limitation" is finding the right power rod ( which most probably won´t find at your local store), in many cases you can order it directly from the manufacturer.

newest addition

Mr Bill Dance has repeatedly shined on the biggest of stages for a long long time. To those who feel compelled to cast aspersions his way I have to ask "What have you done?" A-Jay

I use a Cabela's Large Advanced Anglers tackle bag. They also have magnum and super magnum sizes.

We are happy and healthy again.Glad to able to participate again.

My newest rig: Orochi XX Perfect Pitch Shimano Core 100 mgFV

Finally finished up a reel I have been working on modifying for a while now. Just picked up an SV spool for it and it may just be one of the most impressive reels I have used. Paired with a DX 703.

My son thought he would try his hand at muskie fishing while I was going for big smallies. He won, it was his first muskie trip ever. I would show you the smallies I caught but,........................ I don't want to.

Loving this thing. Small size, yet still casts a mile on MH gear, and is highly eager to get down deep. Super easy to burn, but still functions well during a slow retrieve (maybe not wise for shallow water). Excellent bait, 5/5

Wow, it's looking like we are going to have a great turn-out at KY! Maybe we can convince Ghoti to host his Wine and Cheese Soiree' again.

Trim the legs about an inch min and practice. I trimmed one a little more than the other. It takes a little while to get the rhythm, but you'll get it. Don't feel bad about the misses. I missed two today. They just didn't get it.

Hey guys. Picked up a pad crasher today. They are on sale at DSG for 4$.I think the color I got is called Leopard. Anyway do you guys have any tips to walk the dog? I'm using a lews speed spool (6.1) on a Duckett ghost 7ft mh. I'm 5'9 so I don't know if my rod is too long because sometimes I hit the ground. I can kind of get it to do it but then I lose the rhythm. I did get one blow up but I lost it. Think I set the hook too fast. Any tips I think would help

Poisonokie after closely looking at a few pictures, it appears the lever just opens the bail. An expensive solution to a nonexistent problem.

u mention a Manns lil George haven't seen one in years, are these still used by many? I can think of many situations I think they would be great just never thought about b4m

A better setup for my 5yo grandson. South Bend bait casting rod 5' ultra lite $8, south bend push button reel $5. It's a nice cheap combination. For a kid. I'm sure he will break. I give him a full replacement guarentee With a new flambeau two shelf tackle box full of lures, plastics, bombers. The dirt bike monkey got him two new dirt bike tires too. What a birthday.

Fox Chain gave up some good ones this morning. Actually had a real productive morning until about 10 when the bite just shut off. Swimjigs were the ticket today.

Honestly, I was afraid (and actually Squinting) when I open the thread. Nice bass though. A-Jay

Hello badhat. I just joined the forum and finished my hello post about 10 minutes ago. My story is almost a carbon copy of yours. Recently retired and I had to scratch the itch to get back into fishing. I am looking forward to being able to fish during the week and avoid the crowds. Getting older does have a few benefits.

If you want a bag that you can carry, but other guys have difficulty with, just buy one of those large Magnum Cabelas bags, and fill it with your fishing gear and top off any remaining room with bricks.

I would put the 7.1 reel on the Fenwick 7' MH and put 50lb braid on it for frogs and fishing around grass. You could also use it for T rigs and jigs or topwater. The 6.2 on the 7' MH Shimano somewhere around 12-15 pound either copolymer or fluorocarbon. You could use this one for T rigs and jigs along with crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits. The spinning rod I'd spool with 20lb braid and add about a 3-4' leader of 8-10 pound fluorocarbon leader to fish shakyheads, grubs, tubes, wacky rigs, or weightless plastics.

Some very popular baits that I HAVE USED, but I do not care for: Zoom Super Flukes............I like this "type" of bait (soft plastic jerkbait) but not the Super Fluke, Brush Hog baits of any size, style or brand Anything with the name Rapala on it. The Luck-e-Strike Rick Clunn jerkbaits and squarebills Z-man or SK plastics made of elaztech Any and all umbrella rigs Tubes Owner and Trokar hooks Just about everything Missile baits makes Spot remover jig heads And these jumbo crankbaits like the SK 10xd

Actually, it works better than just about anything else in weeds. The weight drags the bait, and line straight down through cover, instead of draping it over the weeds. It's just about replaced Texas rigging in weeds. I'm even using it to punch through super heavy slop with 1 to 1.5 oz, weights. The key is to use SKINNY PENCIL WEIGHTS. You can also drop down what you normally use by 30-50%. A 1/2 oz. Jika penetrates most milfoil/coontail beds as well as a 3/4 to 1 oz. pegged Texas Rig.

St Croix seems to use a shorter grip than others lending itself to the "tip heavy" feel. I like the extra "effective rod length" (from seat to tip) but if you want a special seat and grip, St Croix sells blanks that can be built up to suit.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse 1978 right before I went to boot camp in Parris Island

At my age everyday on the water is a treasure. Castaic at it's peak in the early 90's was a incredible giant bass fishery, my best 5 bass limit was was 62 lbs, PB is 19.3 lbs, my best day was 18 bass over 10 lbs, my top 5 jig bass life time; 17.4, 17.4, 17.6, 18.6 and 19.3 lbs, all fading memories now. Winning a night tournament with my son at age 15 when he caught the most of the big bass and pulled his catch out to be weight was priceless. Tom

Yup...every year I have a couple of days that are "once in lifetime" type of days. Strangely enough, almost everyone of those days is doing something different than the last time I had "one of those days".

"Single Best Day On The Water" Everytime I think I've had it - Seems I have another one. A-Jay

My best day for size was 5 largemouth between 43-44lbs down at lake Baccarac in Mexico. My best day for size was 5 smallmouth between 30-31lbs on lake Erie.

One morning, 83 fish, most over 4lbs, including 2 over 10. Got to the point where you would raise your rod over your head and try to make the fish jump. If it wasn't over 7lbs, you gave it slack to try and get free. Never again have I had anything close to this, but man do I hope it happens again. All on crankbaits! the stats- 2 over 10, 1 over 9, 1 over 8, 4 over 7, 10 over 6 and 10 over 5. 2 biggest were 10lbs 9 oz and 10lbs 2 oz. Jeff

I've got two. #1: Fishing from a johnboat on bass that had never seen a topwater before. Sure, it was half cheating, but seeing 20+ fish blow up on your Hula Popper in less than an hour was fun! That's a bass every three minutes. The hard part was taking out the trebles. #2: A hot, hot afternoon in NC. One fish. Of course, that fish just happened to be 7 3/4 pounds, my pb. Funnest fight ever!

Most of my fishing it very shallow so it probably wouldn't be effected too much except during the winter months when water temp makes a huge difference and I fish offshore a little more.