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Got a nice one today...

New spool arrived this morning. Then I figured why stop there.

I'm not into birthdays much, especially for myself, but this year I couldn't resist. I had sold one of my reels for $120 a few weeks back, then got a $50 VISA Giftcard from my company for my birthday. I figured I'd save it all and buy something, or a few things with the money. I searched a while online for something fishing-related to buy.....I mean....who WOULDN'T buy fishing things? I stumbled upon an Australian tackle shop that had some great promos, and ended up getting a brand new Shimano Sustain. I read a lot of places where the comparisons between the Sustain and Stradic are negligible....present, but probably not worth the $100+ price difference. However, I ended up paying $170US for the reel, minus my money from the old reel and the $50 Visa card, I paid just the shipping to the US - $28. So I got a new Sustain, for essentially $28, when from US retailers I would've probably gotten the new Stradic FK. Both excellent reels as I've used a Stradic FJ for a while and LOVE it, so I'm sure the Sustain will also probably do very well. Took it out last night, and it feels like they greased the gears with butter and Megastrike....it's the smoothest reel I've ever used, also had some decent fish pull the drag, and it's also very smooth. Overall I'm pretty darn happy with this birthday!

Day three (last day) of prep is under way! Yesterday evening went pretty smoothly. I fished a tournament with a buddy and got second. I was actually starving when I got home. Another plain Jane hamburger patty. Yah... Lol. Today is going pretty well. I'm feeling good, rested, full of energy. Looking forward to the meeting with the nutritionist tonight to set up the real game plan and get back to some normal food with variety. There are 1000 ways to lose weight, but I'm taking this approach as a confidence "bait". I've seen it work, and now I'm invested. I think of it as a give a man a fish, feed him for the day, teach a man to fish, feed him forever. So, translated to, tell me to work out and eat right, I'll fall off the wagon. Teach me to eat right and work out while I'm being held accountable, that is a habit that should last a life time. Maybe I'm all wrong in this, but I'd much rather give it a shot rather than do nothing. Will update after the meeting tonight.

Checklist complete: Rod Reel Line Bass...

A man can dream.....

The Bait Monkey says that he had nothing to do with this. Hootie

Hard to beat a T-Rig worm...it's how I was taught many moons ago. I always have one tied on. Like Mike said..vary the retrieve but usually a lift and drop will work.

Whew!! There are so many ways to answer this there really isn't a starting point. There are literally hundreds of threads on here that will answer your questions with a lot more depth and insight that I can give.. But, I'll at least start... Not knowing what the water is like in your lake...clean. stained, deep, shallow, rocks, vegetation, pads, reeds, grass, docks etc. Do you fish from a boat or do you walk the shore?? See what I mean? If it were me and knowing that worms already work, I'd concentrate on those first. Try different sizes, shapes and colors. There are thousands of choices. Throw a T rig all over the place. Drag, hop and swim it to see what they want on any given day in the type of water you're fishing. If you have thick vegetation peg the weight to the hook and try that switching to a small, sleek craw type bait with a lot of appendages. Grab a spinner/chatterbait, a small sq bill crank bait, rig a drop shot in deep water, and of course don't leave without throwing a jig. You asked an open ended question there Pal, I can't give you a definative answer because there isn't one. Try them all over your next few outings and see what happens. It really wont take long. Good Luck and Welcome Mike

While I've learned much along the way I sure don't have all the answers. I certainly have nothing to sell. I am convinced that proper nutrition is not as simple as calories in and out though. It may not be quantum mechanics, but what we consume and when are essential parts of maintaining a very complex machine. I also know that what works for one may not work for others. After many years of trial and error I have learned that the hard way. Knowing your body and having the discipline to do what needs to be done to maintain fitness and health is a life-long process that may be simple, but it's not easy for most of us. Good luck on your journey.

I write right handed but couldn't cast a rod with my right arm to save my life. It's just awkward to me. I cast left reel right, never switch hands. I also throw left handed so I guess I'm just odd that way. I believe I'm a natural southpaw but was taught to write right handed because the world's a right hand dominant place. Pay attention to most of your power tools locking switches if operated with your left hand you are more likely to disengage them. When I was in grade school the teachers would take your pencil out of your left hand and make you write right handed. I remember them taking my fork out of my left hand and making me eat right handed

I forget who makes that cone head jig. I have some made by Nichols that are very similar except that the plastic holding barb is a little bigger and has a hole in in, which allows you to peg the plastic to the bait with a toothpick. A long time ago I remember a "mango jig" which had a similar cone shaped head.

i'll sell you one of my custom ones for only 400. guaranteed to catch fish 5 lbs. or bigger. i'll throw in some ladybug boots, too, if you pay shipping

With jigs, t rigs, and c rigs, I have always thought them to be bottom baits. I cast them out and watch the line, as I am watching I count until the line has a sudden bow between the tip of the rod and when the line hits the water. This is when the bait is on the bottom. At this point I start a retrieve back, either popping or dragging or hopping or some combination. The counting down before reeling will start your bait at that depth and rise as it gets closer.

Speaking of smallies, I'm heading back to Melvern this weekend to try and figure them out. I haven't done nearly as well as many of you have done the past two weekends. Does anyone know if there are any tournaments going this weekend? I want to try and avoid tournament day.

well you know how deep you are with say a jig, t-rig, shakey head, etc., because you're going off the bottom with these presentations and can feel the bottom as you work the lure (hopefully). With your other sinking lures, unless you're working those close to the bottom, as well, you may want to try figuring out the sinking rate of whatever lure you're throwing. That way, you can make a cast and "count down" the lure until it reaches the depth you wanted to. Say you find a lure to sink at about 1foot per second and you want to suspend your lure in 8 feet of water. make your cast and count to 8 when the lure hits the water. at 8 seconds, the lure should be at the desired depth.

Thanks guys, 4lb yozuri hybrid is flatout my favorite finesse line.

The thing with a diet is that you have to commit to it..for life, or its merely a temporary weight loss. Bettering your lifestyle is the longterm solution, one you can live with. A very important thing to keep in mind is weight loss and health are often not paralells..they can and should be but the way many people go about it, they are opposites.

Never heard this before but i have to say that i completely agree....

My mistake... I was not considering the extreme.. May not be a bad idea to look at a few rods if you're going to spend that much for a rod. Is the extreme made in the USA?

I know, it's awesome. There's a rod/reel/line combo for every possible taste or technique.

Using Gary's method with 8 coats This one only has 3 coats I only use High Build finish and as Gary said, timing is the key.

Look at Powell too. Better rod.

For the first year i fished i only used senkos and zoom lizards. Caught a lot of bass that way. Still my go to baits. I use the senko for wacky rig and the lizard for texas rig

I doubt the NFL will adopt it. A team could get a 25 yard penalty for taunting, or it might be considered excessive celebration.

Both

Both 24/7/365

That's why I put "IF" in caps when I said IF you are paying out of pocket. If you get a scholarship, by all means, shoot for the moon! lol. My baseball scholarship went as quickly as my rotator cuff tore with 3 games left my senior year...

the only exception is visible cover like a tree stump. if you feel like there is a bass there pound the heck out of it from top to bottom till you annoy the big girl into biting Great Advice by ClackerBuzz, I saw Denny Brauer pound a submerged tree for hours w a flipping tube ( strikeking ) he knew fish were there, he moved his boat around and methodically continued his fishing.. He won the Classic that day!

I remember 50 plus years ago when "wheat" was referred to amber waves of grain. The wind and rain would knock it down and the farmers in the valley were bummed to say the least. Not to mention disease. Now it's 18 inches high and nothing will kill it.....Genetically modified isn't good.

Reel & lift here as well. With usually 6 - 8 lb leader & 10 lb braid, I reel in any slack and continue reeling as line comes tight and as I can start feeling the weight of the fish, I'll lift up until the drag starts to slip a bit. Continuing to reel the whole time. Big smallies seem to have a propensity for swimming right at the boat at Mach speed and then launching themselves skyward. - sometimes it's hard to keep up. I will admit to fishing with a fairly light drag setting when fishing a drop shot - which has been a ton lately. A-Jay

3 yo zuri 3db mid cranks 1 sexy shad prism 1 bluegill prism 1 gold black prism 2 yo zuri 3db deep cranks 1 craw prism 1 firetiger prism 2 rebel big craws 1 nest robber 1 stream craw

This is The Only Way To Live. I bought into this as a young man and made it my life style. I've never had to endure wild fluctuations in my weight. I can say from first hand experience the concept in the highlighted text above is the main reason why. Additionally, I do not believe that the human body needs to prepare to eat & live healthy. (doing a Prep ?) That would be like leaving a room full of smoke and then going to another room with slightly less smoke before getting out into fresh air. Just get on with it man. You'll be fine. Just remember moderation in all things including moderation. It always makes me smile when people mention that a certain food is either good or bad for you. In my experience we all start out perfect. So what you eat & do determines how you are. The wrong choices change you. The right ones do not. I'd wish you good luck but hope is not a strategy. You have all the tools you need - it's called choice. A-Jay

Unless you are fishing deep you probably don't need any bullet weight for a Senko. Part of their appeal is the slow horizontal fall and wiggle. The slower, the more real it looks. Most bites will come on the initial fall. For that reason, if I'm hitting specific targets, I'll use it wacky rigged. More wiggle when you do twitch it.

K.I.S.S. You've bass fished before & despite what many will tell you techniques aint changed that much...equiptment has changed. Concentrate your energy on finding fish...once you find em selecting the technique to catch em is easy!

"Just Getting Started" Guaranteed To Catch Bass I just cant catch bass Learning to fish on your own

I do this on my boat all the time to scare off the pickerel when I go bass fishing

T-rig and learn to fish a dropshot. Oh, and read EVERY article on this site. I have, some two or three times. Apply it to the types of fishing conditions you encounter. Not sure if you're bank fishing or by boat, but overthinking your game plan will cause you more problems then just going fishing and enjoying. Senkos work great just flylined or wacky rigged as well as t-rigged. Find someone that enjoys bass fishing that you can go fishing with, watch and learn from as well.

There's a ton of info on here as Long Mike said. As downman said I think t rig is a great idea. It is really easy to get overwhelmed with all the techniques and advice. Keep it simple for now. Read all you can and gain whatever info you can then slowly incorporate it. As was mentioned, the t rig can be worked a lot of different ways. I would add to that the spinnerbait. It can also Be worked many ways in many different conditions.

Just keep it up, you may be overthinking it a little. But the more you read/learn on BR the better.

Go to the Fishing Articles section on this site. There is a ton of information available there.

Honestly out of everything you had in your list as I was reading it I was thinking I was going to tell you to stick to the T-rig. Use it and only it, it's probably the most versatile rig you can use in any situation. Fish it deep, shallow, in hard cover, weeds, and there is no right way or wrong way to fish it. Some days I've caught them dragging it real slow with the reel and pausing to let them get a good look at it when fishing is hard in the dead of summer, pop it two-three times then pause, hop hop hop, you let the fish tell you what they want. Some days you'll figure it out quick some days not at all. Fishing is fishing it's not catching unfortunately. Get yourself a confidence bait then move to other techniques. The t-rigged senko was my first

Nope. I'm a righty with all left hand retrieve reels and it feels a ton more natural and comfortable. Fish what works best for you.

Heres my rule of thumb that I break often . When I am casting at visible targets I usually start with rattleless baits. When I am casting at structure that is not visible I usually throw baits that rattle .

Try this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jT1Sdn5QE

I reel then lift.

I usually post my spots because I've had enough times where the person in the same boat with me couldn't catch fish at my spot. Those bass in that creek will get smart fast, then you're buddy will probably get bored with it an move on.

28 copperhead bites from lipping fish? that sounds pretty outrageous to me.

I've never seen those in a store, so I haven't used them. Plus I think circles make more sense.

I think you have gone through more frog rods in a week than I have in my lifetime.