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Bah, I'm just good at having a good time. Fishing I'm ok at but it's all about having a good time and getting away, enjoying the little things and being thankful for the day and the ambition to enjoy the hell out of every second of it.

Why I am a better armchair angler than you. I have a two year old. My wife works. Local fisheries are poorly managed for bass, and are highly pressured. Better fisheries are 1.5-6 hours away, requiring a full day commitment. Im easily distracted, and spend a lot of fishing time pursuing other species/methods. I have unlimited access to the internet and spend hours reading forum posts and fishing articles. Anyone want some unqualified advice?

Why I am a better backlash-getter-outer than you are! I got a lot of them this year! Dang bushes around my pond always catch my lures in the act of casting.....

Whoa. Got the Stella today. Holy smoothness Batman!! Put it on my 7'1" MLXF new rodand whaddaya know- the balance point is literally as perfect as it could possibly be!! Color me stoked, this is going to be a KILLER combo!

I am better at learning because I teach others what I think I already know. The more I fish, what I think I know becomes less, lol.

I really don't like to sound arrogant, and I know there's people better than me somewhere, but I'll give it a shot. Why I'm a better dropshot angler than you are: I've been fishing for my whole life (which definitely isn't as long as most of yours'), but not all always for bass. I started walleye fishing at 3 and became a hardcore bass fisherman a few years ago. Walleye fishing meant spinning rods and light line most of the time for me. Whether it was vertical jigging or using crawler harnesses, I always wanted to know what I was fishing in or around. I learned quickly what a soft bite felt like, and how to tempt a fish into buying in a vertical presentation. Ice fishing especially helped with this. When I started bass fishing, i still had my spinning rods, so immediately I began finesse fishing. I guess that's what we do up in northern Minnesota. It's been said we grow up with a hockey stick in one hand and a spinning rod in the other. I spent all of my free time learning techniques on YouTube when I couldn't fish. I've watched hours of videos on how to read Lowrance/ Humminbird units and now I know what almost everything looks like on one. Through experience, I've learned how to feel the bottom with a dropshot, how different attractants change your presentation on a dropshot, and when to use different types of baits. I started out using just Zoom Finesse and Trick Worms, my favorite color being "Sprayed Grass." The flake shows up more than the fairly translucent body in deep water. I now use 4.5" and 6" Roboworms and Jackall Crosstail Shads. The 4.5" Robo is for most situations. If you need one bait to throw on a dropshot hook, this is it. I use natural colors like Aaron's Magic in clear water and bright pink/ purple colors in dirtier water, such as Morning Dawn and MMIII. The 6" Robo I use when I'm fishing for largemouth 90% of the time. The same color rules apply. The Jackall Crosstail, or any shad shaped bait for that matter (I use the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm as well) is reserved for fish schooling on baitfish or if I feel like there aren't a large amount of crawfish in the area (think very weedy lakes). 95% of the time a bite on a dropshotted bait is just going to feel like dead weight, especially with bigger fish. This is because a lot of the time, they stare at the thing before they decide to eat it. It's not an aggressive reaction strike like a (insert any reaction lure). The only time I get a hard hit on a dropshot is when they hit it on the fall or right when it hits bottom. These bites are the ones you typically have to watch your line for. I think a lot of guys don't notice some of the bites they get on a dropshot rig. If you're a good jig fisherman, you can translate your skills over to dropshot fishing fairly easily, in my case it was the other way around. The main trick with a dropshot is to vibrate the bait with your wrist, but not to lift the weight off the bottom. The most I lift my bait off the bottom is maybe two inches to move it over a rock or check to see if a fish is on. Dragging the weight is the most efficient way to cover water with a dropshot. The speed of your drag depends on where you're fishing and how active the fish are. I drop down on structure I see on my boater's unit a lot of the time with this rig. I actually stand in the middle of the boat when I'm dropshot fishing to see the unit(s) better than I would on the back deck. EDIT: As for the gear I use on a dropshot, I've changed it around a lot to fit exactly what I need. I started out with a 7'2" ML/F Daiwa Lexa spinning rod and VMC #2 dropshot hooks. I found the rod to be a bit stiff for dropshots. It was hard to lift up on a fish without them feeling the weight of the rod, which led to more fish spitting the bait before I could set the hook. Now I use a Powell Inferno 6101 dropshot rod. It's a L/XF rod. The tip action is crazy, but when I reel set into a fish, the backbone really shows up. I use Gama #2 Split shot/ Drop shot hooks now. They are lighter gauge than the VMC's, which makes them easier to set into a fish's mouth, especially the hard mouth of a smallie. I still use the VMC's around wood and grass because they're harder to bend out. Basically in a spinning reel, what I look for the most is a smooth drag. For line, I use 15lb hi-vis braid to a 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader. This allows me to see the line better and have more sensitivity. Plus the lack of stretch helps make up for the light tip on my rod. I feel like I wrote too much, but hopefully it helps some people out. A lot of people dislike finesse fishing and spinning rods, but it's something you absolutely need to know, especially if you fish competitively. I think I like this technique so much because there's so many options: ways to fish it, things you can change. You can complicate it or keep it simple and still catch tons of fish in it. You can catch active and non-active fish on it any time of the year.

As the previous responses here have indicated, effectively fishing a crank down to & below 20 ft on a spinning rig might be kind of tough. One alternative to a crank that can easily be fished on spinning gear and will easily & very effectively fish down to 20 ft (and below if you want) is a 4-5 inch swim bait on a jig head. The bait offers plenty of thump and catches Bass. There are several great options ~ here's a couple A-Jay

Amazing start to 2016 for my two fishing partners and I. January 1st: Jermaine started it with his 10lbs 10oz (his new personal best) on a black zoom horny toad. January 2nd: I catch an 8lb 3oz on a blue gill rat-l-trap (I had to check my fish a couple times couldn't believe she was only 8 lol) January 3rd: Rich catches an 8.06 on a rat-l-trap We all fish together but the past 3 days when we caught our trophies we weren't together and each fish was caught in a different part of Jacksonville, FL (rich got his on a golf course). All fish are caught and released and Florida Trophy Catch certified. If you live in FL and don't know about the program or don't participate you need to. It's a catch and release program that awards you Bass Pro Shop gift cards ($100, $150, $200) for fish caught 8+ pounds. Regardless of the incentives the program offers you must ALWAYS catch and release it's the only way to make these moments plentiful for everyone. QUESTION: Jermaine was told by someone on his Facebook that his fish may be some sort of hybrid. I forget exactly what he was telling me but said something about how the mouth is small, fin coloration, and the girth of the fish with its lack of length. He sent pics and what he was told to the FWC Facebook page so he's waiting on a response.

I had a few hours to hit up a pond today and I threw a small swimbait and a squarebill crank. Normally this small swimbait hooks them good but I lost a big one when it came to the surface and came unglued. My buddy was catching numbers on a squarebill so I switched to a RC2.0 and caught a couple 3lbers. Then a tiny crappie decided to get in on the action.

I am better at enjoying the moment than most. I am not driven by numbers or size so much anymore. It is interesting that not being driven to perform has allowed me to relax, and I often catch more and better fish. I am happy to fish with guys that are better than me at different techniques and if you catch more or better fish than me, especially from my boat, I am genuinely happy about it. It is easy to get caught up in the competition to be the best. With few exceptions, I am really not interested. I have friends that I rarely fish with anymore because having a good time is dependent on the fish biting. Life is too short...

I'd just fix it myself.

Just be glad you don't work with your ex where you both have guns and tasers, trust me.

I suck

I would say lipless crankbait, and just count it down.

Going along with good stewardship, I'd bring up old Ray Scott founder of B.A.S.S. He is the one who really brought about the catch and release mindset a lot of us follow through with to this day. We are taking his cue, and making sure that we pass it on to others especially our children. http://www.rayscott.net/rayscott/ Bass fishing connects generations together. Grandfathers, fathers, sons, and grandsons and yes, even include the gals in this too, but we all know fishing is by percentage more of a guy thing. My grandmother was a seamstress and she passed that down to my mother and together they passed it down to my sister, so I suppose besides cooking that is one of the girl's things they do while fishing is a major connection some of us have to our fathers and grandfathers and our own sons. Another issue of good stewardship is how we handle bass. I can not tell you how many photos I see of fish laying on the ground or allowed to flop around in the dirt. We release a still living fish, but many of us may not be aware that how we handle the fish can determine whether it will survive or not. Disturbing the mucoprotein coating, or slime, can be deadly to the fish even though we think we released it live and in good health, we may have actually killed that fish but will never know. And another issue of good stewardship I don't hear a lot about is how much poison some of our fishing equipment is putting out and accumulating in our waters we fish. One prime example is power pro braid line coated with teflon as a lubricant. Teflon does not break down over time. It accumulates in our waters as it wears off the line from use. Teflon is a neuro-toxin. It is a poison. And yet many of us buy it as the greatest addition to our braid line many of use without a care in the world for the poison we pay for to dump into our lakes and rivers. We are suppose to leave a better cleaner world to our posterity, but that is not what some of us are really doing when we buy teflon coated braid line or use other poisons to fish with. To me it is a shame how commercialized bass fishing has now become. Money seems to drive the engine. Corporate sponsors are spending money to control professional bass fishing. Today we are bombarded with brand name overload- an optical nightmare! We watch professional fishermen try and tell us how to fish while they are locked into contracts demanding they use only certain products and then the professional fishermen are used to sell these things to us. Gone are the days of free fishermen who pick and choose whatever brand or product they so choose. Our culture has changed. It is no longer about pure fishing, but more about who has the most money to shove their products down our throats the most. Pro bass fishing needs a man in black! A rebel. A renegade who can afford to fish professionally without hawking the optical nightmare of brand name overload abusing us with it. I'd like to see such a man win the classic! The culture of bass fishing should be about bass fishing and handling the fish correctly, not flopping around the boat, and not polluting the world we live in and call it fishing so mindlessly, and passing on a fishing legacy of pure fun to our children, not a culture of big money running the show for us.

I fish alone a good majority of the time so comparison opportunities are scarce. But since we're pumping ourselves up ~ I go with it. Fishing from a small craft limits my mobility so this has forced me to learn something I call Fishing Small. It means since I'm not going to be running & gunning all over the lake, to get the most out each trip I have to choose when & where I fish wisely. Sometimes that's as simple as when to fish & at what section of a lake. Other times it refers to what time of day or night, to be on certain spots. Learning to break a spot down. Looking at every possible environmental variable - it's challenging. There's the obvious ones of past, current and forecasted atmospheric conditions like air temperature, wind speed & direction, cloud cover, precipitation,and barometric pressure. Then there's the possible effects of any lunar activity, if you believe that there's any bearing there. Clearly the water itself, Depth, the turbidity, any current, temperature of course, is it rising or falling, what about the what level itself what's the story there? How about the presence of bait or what about food for the bait or other predators that even eat the bass ? Is all of this the same all over the lake ? Usually not. The presence of Cover, wood, weed, man made deals like docks & rafts. How about boating traffic & fishing pressure ? I want to take as much of this into account as I can IN ADVANCE of my arrival, because if something is "out of tune" - With 3.5 mph as a top speed (if you can call it that) there's no Moving to another area of the lake. At least not very far or very fast ~ timing is everything. Then there's the "what bait, technique or presentation" I do not use a "Search" lure - ever. By not beating the water to a froth with something simply to cover water looking for "a Bite", I've learned that by getting to the area, looking for the spot, finding the spot on the spot, and making a high percentage presentation to it, one can often fool the fish you're actually looking for before she realizes you're there. Big advantage. A little harder to do at night - darkness helps but so does practice. A Ton of trial and error comes into play and there have been more misses than hits, but sometimes it comes together and I get a few decent ones. Even still, the environment routinely lets me know that I still have a lot to learn. And that my friends is what keeps me going back. A-Jay

Thought this topic could generate some interesting replies. The "I" is anyone posting a reply, the blank is any specific lure/presentation you feel is something you are good at. Why I am a better casting jig angler than you are! Casting jig is a skill set that I feel very confident in using because of the time spent doing this started in 1955 over 60 years now. My first jig was a Doll fly 3/8 oz black hair jig without a trailer and didn't have a clue how to fish it other than what was offered on the card it came with. Cast it out and hop it along the bottom. I soon learned a jig caught bass and snagged easily, Doll flies didn't have a weed gaurd. Soft plastics were unknown to me at this time, the Cream worm hadn't made it's way out west until 1957. My source of bass fishing knowledge came from Jason Lucas outdoor fishing editor of Spirts Afield, Jay suggested using a pork rind bass strip for a trailer and a small denture rubber band hooked between the jig eye and hook barb, this worked great and would influence my casting jig fishing forever. Back in those days my reel was a Langley Lure Cast bait caster with Dacron braid, the a rod a 5 1/2' tubular fiber glass Conolin bait casting rod. This outfit could cast a 3/8 oz oz jig 50 yards, all the line the reel held. Being a bank angler back then a long cast allowed more distance to retrieve the lure, not necessarily a good idea because you missed most strikes. With the old knuckle buster reel you had to keep your hand on the reel handle all the time when retrieving or hopping the jig along the bottom,this also required holding the rod by the fore grip, line running over the index finger and under the thumb to feel strikes and help prevent the handle from spinning backwards during a hook set. This out fit also had a lasting impact on how I would develop casting jig fishing skills, strike detection, hook setting and controlling bass during the fight, you had to play the bass or lose it! Today I still hold the rod the same way, make long casts, feel the line to detect strikes and use both the reel and rod to get a good "reel" set with rod sweep technique developed over decades of jig fishing. I also rarely use a fiber or wire weed guard preferring a piece of soft plastic worm attached via a spring between the hook eye and hook point that replaced my original small rubber band. I also still prefer hair jigs with pork trailers. Why do I use this old school jig presentation of making long casts and use out dated hair jigs with pork trailers? The answer is in the number of bass caught over 10 lbs, hundreds. My 5 top jig bass caught between 1982-1994 are: 17.4, 17.4, 17.6, 18.6 and 19.3 lbs. Tom

The 5k is a lot easier than 100 push ups.

made deals on both a used BCR 802 GLX and MBR 842 GLX today!

Bill, this is a normal occurance. It's been happening for centuries. It's why we have seasons, and why the days are shorter in winter, and longer in summer. The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis away or toward the sun as it travels through its year-long path around the sun. The Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees relative to the "ecliptic plane" (the imaginary surface formed by it's almost-circular path around the sun). The tilt toward the sun is maximized during Northern Hemisphere summer in late June (the "summer solstice"). At this time, the amount of sunlight reaching the Northern Hemisphere is at a maximum. In late December, on the date of the "winter solstice", the Earth's tilt away from the sun is maximized, leading to a minimum of sunlight reaching the Northern Hemisphere. The seasons, of course, are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. Now if only we knew what a double-rainbow meant. Now THAT would be something!

They have Major League Lessons which is a 2-hour show. I believe they do these after the major events are over. It's an in-depth review of with several of the anglers where they show you exactly what gear, lures and presentations were being used. It's really informative.

i don't go by brands.... usually go by size, sound, color

Many would think my strength would be a Texas Rig or Jig-n-Craw, y'all would be wrong. I have a God given gift; when I look at a one dimensional topographical maps along with the one dimensional view on a depth finder screen I turn it into a three dimensional image in my minds eye. As a teenager I worked as a first mate on my Uncle Joe Addison's charter fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico where he taught me to understand what structure is, how to truely identify it, interpret it, and the fish it effectively. During the early 70s I attended a 5 day seminar under Elwood "Buck" Perry. Before class, during breaks, during lunch, and after class I questioned him relentlessly. What I gleaned from Buck I added to what Uncle Joe taught me and completed my understanding of how fish relate to structure. While y'all see the obvious structure humps, ridges, points, ect, I see little subtle pieces of structure y'all over look. In my thread on Toledo Bend I've shown guys "honey holes" that were right under their noses and they had fished around them for years.

I like that job a lot now but y'all wanna hear the big problem ? The girl all this is over works with me... And Idk what I'm gonna do the next time we see each other at work, I can't avoid her because its a small fast food place, I'm gonna have to interact with her but she knows exactly what to say to me to tick me off. The managers have already told me to chill out and I no called no showed once because I was hungover and thankfully I'm a good enough worker they gave me a second chance... But I'm done with the pity party, I need to stop being a baby and get on with my life... Thanks guys...

You could talk about how you don't necessarily need all the fancy gear to get up at dawn with your dad or grandfather and go and catch some fish. Explain some very basic techniques that would work to catch fish in any conditions, but keep it more about spending time with families and creating moments. Some of my favorite fishing moments are with my grandfather eating PB+J and catching sunfish.

Why I am a better bass angler than you are! List of anglers I have beaten either by winning the tournament or finishing ahead of them more than once on Toledo Bend & Sam Rayburn. Harold Allen, Rick Clunn, Ken Cook, Jerry Dean, John Dean, Villis P "Bo" Dowden Sr, Todd Faircloth, Shaw Grigsby, John Hall, Tommy Martin, Darren "Mad Man" Mooneyham, Larry Nixon, Terry Oldham, Ron/Rick Pierce, Zell Roland, Bob Sealy, Lonnie Stanley, & John Torain. You will only underestimate me one time!

First day of the year I'll be very lucky to catch a bigger one this year. 2oz from a p.b.

Good to see all of you guys on Saturday that were able to make it out to Johnny's. Looking forward to this year!

I usually go for the walking baits that sit higher in the water when I'm going to fish a faster retrieve, or in choppy water. For poppers, I like the bigger chugging type baits in darker water, especially if the fish are chasing gills. I reach for the smaller spitting or skittering baits in clearer conditions, or when fish are feeding on shad/shiners.

The only Falcon I've used is the BuCoo, so I can't help you there. I just want to add that a lot of guys on here recommend the Avid X over the Avid, so I'd check that out as well.

Forget a future with her, or the next few years will likely be similar. Find a another job, she will keep you stirred up like a hornets nest. Don't worry about what you think is best for her, worry about you & a future.. either in police work, University or the Military.......

I agree Logan! I added a 2nd one because of many of the reasons you noted above. One of mine is on a Gen 1 Cumara 7'2 jig rod and the other is likely going on a custom that I am having built. It would never be a true finesse caster as the weight is a bit much even if spool options existed. I would also like to see a few more gear ratios options especially one around 6:3.1 It would also be cool if they introduced a 2nd Gen Exscence DC with a magnesium frame like the Core 100 and see if they can get the weight closer to where the new Metanium DC is. I would pay few more $ for the weight saving to help balance on lighter or shorter rods. These are probably the best performing and most enjoyable reels around $250 that not many are using or talking about. For all the die hard Chronarch D guys out there and the crazy prices those reels are going for, why not get one of these new for less, with X-Ship, faster gear ratio, DC controls, and the clicking drag.

You're right...not sure why I replied to this thread now... What the hE11 was I thinking!

He said he didn't want to know Pop v. Walk.

Cheap mono.

Pointer 100SP lol.

Guess you don't need anymore convincing, but I'll just agree with everyone else that it's an awesome reel. I love mine and I keep thinking about adding another... For the price you won't find a more feature packed reel. If there were a few different options for gear ratio's I'd likely already have a few more, the 8:1 gears are FAST. I use flouro on mine, but I've found the flouro (F) brake setting to be a little conservative...It's good in heavy wind or for skipping but distance-wise it's not really any different from a normal reel. I typically use the minimum brake setting and it will flat out bomb a 3/8 or 1/2 jig while still keeping the spool in check. I don't really use the SP mode since distance is poor, but it's basically thumb-free casting which is impressive. The DC whine is also strangely addicting . Mine is on my casting jig rod. The combination of extra long casts and an extra fast retrieve make it perfect for that application for me.

I bend the eye one way and if it gets worse then i go the other way .

2 out of 3 aint bad..just stinks shes broke.

Lol you guys crack me up, I went fishing today, didnt catch anything but it was nice getting out... Thanks for the advice and stern words

On your feet soldier !

C&G, I was about your age when my GF of 5.5 years left me out of the blue. I was on a 9 day fishing trip at a buddies place on Lake Minnetonka when she called me on day 2 and told me something was wrong but wouldn't tell me what. I packed it in and drove 9 hours home for her to tell me it was over. The next few weeks were spent trying to drink away my pain, but all it did was replace one hurt with another. I didn't fish hardly at all or spend any time with my friends. After about a month I let a buddy talk me into going to a country bar to catch up a little. As soon as we walked in I saw the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. It's been over 7 years since that night and I still thank my ex for what she did because I would have never met my wife if she hadn't.

Ain't no woman in the world worth destroying your life over

How do you like that veracity compared to that st.croix(premier?) ?

Btw lipless baits work when chipped, faded ,scratched .just like crankbaits the rougher they get the better they get.

I found this chart and the guy that did it did a great job with it. Again, it is not mine, I am an amateur so I need all the help I can get...lol. Hope this helps you out.

This may not make any sense, and be completely the wrong way of thinking, but as a co-angler, I try to take as less tackle as I can get away with... Yes I know, what if I need something in the spur of the moment that I don't have, and it has happened before, but here is why I do that. First off, don't get me wrong, I take as much as I NEED, but with minimizing tackle to my confidence baits, and backups of those confidence baits, I can fish more confidently and don't find myself retying or picking up a different rod at every spot. Fishing behind a good angler, its important to keep your focus and be confident. I know I didn't answer your question directly, but its a different spin on it. Based on the time of year, and predicted conditions, you should be able to narrow your focus down to a few different techniques, and then base your tackle prep off of that. good luck brotha, tight lines