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I used to be a pretty fanatical bass fisherman. Would really work at studying conditions, lures, presentations and tactics. It worked. I caught more and larger fish then than I do now but there is one huge difference. I enjoy fishing more now than I did back then. It used to be about 'success' now it's about enjoyment. I love being out on the water on a beautiful day. I love bass lures. I love casting them I love getting bites. and I love catching them, but not at the expense of enjoyment. I'm getting old, and I don't care.

Hopefully the tournament will go as well as practice! This one went 4.3, I think I shook off enough for us to catch tomorrow ?

Got a membership to a local gym and started weight training and running again, only been back lifting for like 2 weeks and I feel way better mentally and physically... Surprised I can still run well haha, I guess I just have running in my blood... I want to run a marathon eventually, I've ran halves but never a full one, it'd be nice to get one under my belt!

Why does a bass or any fish for that matter "attack" a lure ? There's a ton of conjecture and most every fisherman has his or her own idea as to why we are able to catch fish on artificial offerings. However in my somewhat limited mind, there's really only two things to remember about the whole deal. One, I'll never know exactly why and two, I don't care to because it doesn't matter. The fact that they do and I know that that do is what I bank on. As for living in perfect harmony, I'll offer you this example. I've often walked right up to & even petted cows in the field. They were quite content to accept my attention and seem completely oblivious to the fact that as a meat eating human, I am perfectly ready, willing and able to slaughter them in any manner possible in order to satisfy my craving for Ribeye. No to mention, turning them into a few ball gloves and a very functional & stylish pair of work boots. A-Jay

Two toads from Lake Gaston this past weekend. These 2 anchored a big bag that helped me jump from 14th after day 1 all the way to a second place finish. If I could have just made one more cull on the first day I would've probably won the whole thing . The big one was 6-1, the other one was around 5. Both caught on a @Siebert Outdoors Dock Rocker jig .

Hit the lake after work for a couple hours, and finally had some good pre-spawn action. Fish were shallow and all caught in timber/downed trees. Started off with this CHUNKY 13 incher. . Thought I hooked a hog on a lipless. Ended up being a chubby smallish pike. It made a run like a pike twice its size. I got a couple more decent bass, and then landed the lunker of the day. 19 inches long, 4.16 pounds and the fattest belly on a fish I have caught: . Ended the day with another good one: It was a great couple hours on the water, and I finally got the pre-spawn bite I was waiting for! All fish were caught on lipless cranks and 5" senkos. Gonna try to be on the water everyday for the next couple weeks I wish pre-spawn was all year long.

These r the 7 NRX rods and 5 reels I got so far. Will post pics once I get my next set of rods. In pic 893C 854C 853C 852C 804C 822S DSR & 822S SYR I fished w them this past Thursdays and was absolutely blown away. The sensitivity is beyond anything I imagined. With braid I could feel everything and fish bites were impossible to miss. And the rod & reel together made casting effortless. And increased my accuracy dramatically.

14lb. test is fine for what your doing, if you seem to be getting snagged a lot it could be the way you rig, you leave a lot of room for discussions with what may be happening however, for example, we don't know what technique your using, if it is a Texas rig, the bait may be grabbing on to something and causing the hook to become exposed, like a ribbon tail worm, the tail on those will wrap around twigs or snag on a splintered parts of the log, the weight you are using may be too heavy for what you are attempting to try, soft bottom is like a vacuum for heavier weights. One example of a fix for your situation may be to rig a weedless tube style bait, if you would, a few more specifics would be helpful so that we can give you the best advise possible.

You can order the supplies off tw or Amazon. Get a couple packs of finesse shroomz heads in 1/16 ounce as you will break of quite a bit. Pair that up with either a trd or half of a zinkerz with the salt stretched and soaked out. I'm not to picky about colors, green pumpkin is almost the only color I use with the exception of coppertruse in muddy water or occasionally new money on a sunny day, but I mostly stick with green pumpkin. I use both the zinkerz and the trd, he zinkerz is softer and has more action, but the trd is slightly more durable and the colors last better so that's what I choose when I want something with a little sparkle or a brighter color like coppertruse. Use it on a medium-lite rod spooled with six to ten pound braid with or without a six to eight pound floro leader. And check out the infisherman article on the six Midwest finesse retrieves, I mostly use the drag and short deadstick retrieve, but most others prefer the swim glide and shake retrieve. The Ned rig isn't for heavy cover, it was created for catching the less pressured bass on nothing looking shorelines. Most people will tell you that it only catches dinks, but it doesn't just catch the little guys. It catches nearly any bass it goes near, including and 8.2 pound 24.5 inch beast I caught last month. And even though it wouldn't be my lure of choice for big bass, it does catch them and it is the best lure for catching a quick limit before going for a kicker. Hope this helps, don't hesitate to ask you have any more questions.

Grow a beard, then wear it around your neck. Or grow a neck beard...

A-Jay

I think I make better choices now without having to think about it . Just seem to be in the zone more .

Honestly it depends on the day. Somedays out to catch the most weight i can. Studying up and trying to figure things out. Some days i dont care about anything other than enjoying time on the water, not caring if i catch anything.

I want to thanks everyone for thier tips advice and generosity. I would not have a fishing season without you guys. Thanks to all who sent me stuff, it was unexpected and a complete shock. There are plenty of things to get me started. I look forward to being part of this community and sharing my experiences with you all. Happy Fishing my friends.

well i'd admit i am chicken!! but seated in the kayak it is a little bit difficult for me as i too often hit the water right at my side which causes some muy malo backlashes!! standing on the bank, not nearly as big of a problem. and trust me amigo, i've re-spooled plenty of my BC reels from my terrible efforts! in fact, cutting out nasty backlashes and re-spooling line is something i have on my resume for prospective employers!!

It's the internet. When in doubt don't do it

Blue is turning 30! Break out the diapers and apple sauce! Happy bday buddy!

Caught my personal best 5.5 pound smallmouth on Lk St Clair today. Anytime you can get out during the work week is special and catching my PB is the icing on the cake. It's still cold out there wore multiple layers all day long and water temps are 52 to 56 degrees.

Went to a new pond today and caught my new personal best. She was just under 19". I'm guessing around the 4.5 to 5lb mark. She is a tank of a fish. Thick from head to tail. Very odd how it happened. I was fishing back in a cove and I saw a few roaming around so I knew there were fish in the area. They showed no interest in a few different lipped cranks or spinners. Finally got a bite on a flat sided square bill but I lost it at the surface. Kinda funny though as I brought it to my kayak there was another fish following it in. Both were around 2.5lbs. The fish very gently took the bait were I thought I just snagged something. So I didn't get a good hook set. So I tried the area with no more luck. I decided to go ashore and have some lunch. Decided to tie on a chatterbait and go back through the area where I missed the last fish and bam I hooked up with the fat girl. Had a good hook set in the top of her mouth but I netted her any way. Man talk about adrenaline. I was shaking for a good 5 minutes after I let her go. Didn't get a chance to weigh her, I wanted to hurry and get her back in the water. But by far bigger than 4lbers I've weighed in the past. Ended up losing one more due to a poor hook set. That was it. Not a lot of fish. But we'll worth it. No idea why these pics get rotated when uploaded. I tried everything to get them to upload how they are in my gallery?

Caught this fatty on the James at Robious Landing Park. I was using a Texas rigged rubber worm and 1/8oz bullet weight while fishing a submerged tree near the shore line.

Through all of my buying and selling tackle, I found I really only need 3 nice setups for my fishing. Unless something catches my eye, lol. Medium/Light spinning for 1/8-5/16 (I do most of my fishing with this) Medium casting for 1/4-5/8 Medium/heavy casting for 3/8-1oz All fast action with braid and leader (6lb, 10lb & 15lb). I'm not a tackle junkie with a million baits to choose from. Over the years I've narrowed down my selection to the bait styles I have the most confidence in, then manufacturers. What I have is roughly 5 styles of soft plastics and a hand full of hard baits for each rod power. I even did the spreadsheet thing other members suggested to help keep track of what you use and need to reorder so I'm not shopping for new-to-me baits when I can see what works for me. This helped me limit my gear, selection and stress carrying what I need when I'm bank beating. Also makes restocking easier and cheaper. My wife appreciates the cheaper part, lol. A happy wife means more fishing time so I'm thrilled. Sorry to ramble on. This all is jmho of course.

We went out today wanted to run the motor we just got back we got 9 about 1/2 on kvd 2.5 and 1/2 on a range crawl...all the fish were shallow most off rocks...it was raining and cold but we did ok a lot of fish 3-5 pounds

Got the stradic fk out today and hooked into a few 1-2 lb Lm. My daughter wanted to try and did really well casting a 7' spinning rig and now wants one of her own. Girl has expensive taste lol. This guy also wanted to see what the commotion was about. Probably my heaviest cichlid to date. The picture doesn't do him justice and wouldn't lay still for more than a couple seconds but he was very round and scrappy. All in all, this combo is here to stay. An absolute joy to fish with. Light, smooth and connected plus a silky drag. Fantastic. Stradic 1000 fk 7' ML/F 2 piece Avid x 10/2 power pro & 6lb fluoroclear leader

Either way. Although half of a zinkerz is technically cheaper, the trd lasts longer so it is actually a little more cost efficient. I find that a Zinkerz works better for the swim glide and shake retrieve though.

Lures with swinging treble hooks will snag weeds, even square bills. if you want a reaction style lures and fishing weeds try a swim jig. Scrounger jig with a soft plastic Fluke or Sluggo will go thru almost anything and creates a reaction bite. Tom

Because the swimbait doesn't BEHAVE LIKE A HEALTHY bluegill. Bass are predators, they evolved to be able to detect healthy/strong animals from the unhealthy/weak and they feed on the unhealthy/weak before attempting to feed on the healthy/strong.

Once bitten.......

No I haven't tried the Ned rig. I saw your post and ordered them off Amazon this morning. I'll give it a try once those get in.

I can understand your frustration, you are experiencing a huge learning curve. Learning a B/C and learning the vast array of baits available to a bass angler can be very overwhelming. My suggestion to you is to keep it simple. The suggestion was brought up to look up the videos available to you on this site. They are very instructional imho, and you will learn a lot. As far as baits are concerned. A stickworm has never steered me wrong when the bite is slow. Since you don't have buddies to learn from yet, you will have to research and apply what you have studied to become a better angler. Where there's a will there's a way. Best of luck to you.

A few in your area http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/5481564526.html http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/5505257141.html http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/5529030592.html http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/5529030592.html

The only way to know is trial and error and color is funny. There is always an argument about color and whether is is just for us or if it matters and the truth is probably a little of both. The only real way to know is to try and then keep a log.

Go with the 15' you'll be happy you did, I'm rolling in a tracker 1542 that is decked and it handles 2 people perfect. Any smaller and it's going to very tippy if you put raised decks in it. Here's a pic of how mine turned out:

Went out on the Allegheny river flyfishing with a guide today and landed this nice smallmouth!

I also caught my first ever smallmouth at this lake since moving here last fall, and it was a solid two pounder to! It's been so long since catching a smallie I had forgotten how much harder they fight compared to largemouth and how much more acrobatic. I caught it on a trd fished with a drag and deadstick retrieve in the bay by the marina.

The prices on Shimanos look too good to be true. I just tried to check out with a Chronarch in my basket and it said, "Minimum order must be USD $300 dollor" because they're a wholesaler yada yada. Dollor.

Lake Keowee, Seneca, Sc

Bait; live crawdad, water dog, big shiner, big night crawler. Lures; swimbaits /wakebaits/ big surface lures like punkers & rats, jigs, big worms, deep diving crankbaits. Tom

Last trip down there, I caught my biggest fish by dropping heavy jigs with rage trailers down the face of vertical bluffs.

I'm old, I'm just the opposite, it was just the family there for a while and then the girls grew up, one moved out and the other graduates college this year. I have always had a passion for the sport in both fun and competition, I invested in some of the smaller tournaments (less than $250.00 entry fee) just to get used to the idea of the mindset, the timing, the pressures one may be put under etc... the past two years I have really put myself in the mix of things and worked hard at putting things together, next year, I want to start tournament fishing, it's something I have had to put aside for quite some time now but, family is always first. I feel like I find it more appealing knowing how much I am learning and how much more I have to learn, I am looking forward to the challenges and the stress but I think I can keep the stress part at bay for some time to come, after raising a family and dealing with the stress this economy has had, this, if I can keep it simple and start easy, should be the best time ever!!

New guy here from the Lockport NY area. Longtime lurker of this forum, finally decided to join. It's nice to see a thread dedicated to the Buffalo NY area.

I love fishing in the spring, spinnerbaits with a fling! I love pitching in the brush, Rat-L-Traps in a rush! I love that big bump when ya flip by a stump! I love flying across the lake, the sound a 2-stroke makes! I love fishing in the grass, kicking bass's axx! I love Hawgs on a bed, trying to hit em on the head! And I love twins

One more won't hurt. Jerkbait Special ✅

Of course size matters to big fish. But the #1 way to catch big ones is to fish where there are some. Then the bait size is secondary. I just lost what would have been a PB Sunday on a T-rigged Hula Grub...not known as a monster bass bait but more of a numbers bait. All my fish over 5 lbs last year except for two came on a craw imitation. Most of them on either a Zoom Super Speed Craw or a Berkley Chigger Craw. And the other fish over 5 came on a Rat L Trap and a Chug'n Spook, Jr. I'm left with only one conclusion and that is that big bass eat craws. But they ALL came from the same body of water.

Location is a better strategy for big bass. Once you have that, cover, bottom composition, physical structure of the area, and cover will dictate what bait is best, or will even work. No sense tossing a treble hook hard gill in a slop field, when a frog, jig, or punch rig is more suitable.

Walmart Special - - - - - - - - - - "Simple But Effective" WolfyBrandon

Your brain. Trust me, once you figure it out what is on the end of your line doesn't really matter. At that point it's just matching gear to weight and bait to cover/structure/conditions. Also, you're probably going to need to fish deeper than you're used to or comfortable with.

I had green LED's put around the entire perimeter of my boat. They face downward toward the water. They are fantastic! It's like the whole boat is glowing from underneath. Very calming actually. Lures are easy to see when you are reeling them in. They attract bait fish. Bass have struck within feet of the boat so I know they are not scaring the bass at all. In the heat of the summer I'll sometimes drag a Texas rigged worm behind the boat with the trolling motor on low and catch them. Best of all... EVERYONE can see me on the lake. I get questioned all the time about them.

Chatterbaits, swimbaits, crankbaits, topwater. Even 4'' senkos caught two over 8 the same day.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the hospitality.

Man and his thoughts fishing away in the early morning. Location: Flint Creek Wiggins, Mississippi Source: National Geographic