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Very clever bassmaster...or should I say... MRS. KYHOKIE!!! I think this is someone's wife that has infiltrated our secret club, trying to garner information, I'm sure. Lol, this could def be used in a court of law so I plead the fifth.

If you buy a license and fish legally it is your choice to keep or release any legal fish caught. End of story.

After numerous calculations, 10% more than I can afford.

Well, if you HAD put a Met MGL on an 893, it would have looked like this (properly slimed up of course)...

Your credit score although important these days is not nearly as important as keeping your card balance at ZERO for as long as Humanly Possible. "Paying the minimum" is how Banks keep the light on. At this stage in your life, use the card as a tool to establish good credit. Not a way to purchase unnecessary items you can't afford. Perhaps use the card to purchase what you would normally buy (and can afford) and then pay the balance monthly. Whoever gave you the card is betting that you will not be able to resist the urge to build up that balance and make them money. Good Luck A-Jay

stop eating your toys.

To d**n much.

In my area bass fisherman practice catch and release. On the other hand, most of those who fish for food are catching panfish or tilapia. And lots of folks who fish for food are poor people who may, if they are lucky, have the good fortune to bring home to their families some fresh lean protein. There are many impoverished people in the US for whom it is very hard to feed their families, and I am glad they can occasionally bring home some fresh fish. And when those poor folks manage on a lucky day to score a good sized bass, they can put it to best use by consuming it. To people who are chronically hungry, catch and release is at the very least ridiculous, and maybe close to sinful. It's okay to care about those of us who fish for sport, but more important to have compassion for our brothers who are needy.

Best example of this happening currently is the idiocy underway up on Mille Lacs. For years, everyone, their brother and their uncle Stu went out on the lake and took a limit of walleyes. ...toss in a couple poor year classes...and guess what? Not as many walleyes! ...and they're surprised....and they're blaming muskies, pike and...smallmouth bass. ...so the Minnesota DNR has now caved into political and money based pressure from Gomers who don't know conservation from their left rear cheek...and raised the limit on smallies...and now there's party boats going out to do to the smallies exactly what was done to the walleyes. Effect on walleye population? Pretty much nothing...and now they've had to enact special walleye regs to try to save that fishery... Sometimes, as concerned anglers, we have to do what's right rather that what's legal and not take a limit...and we need to help others understand why this is important. I'll get off my soapbox now...

Lipless crankbaits cover water and help you figure out depth especially if off colored,but always throw a Topwater of your choice or Frogs because if topwater is working, why do anything else? In Summer fish are often supsended at the thermocline if you have depth changes that are steep, a quick way to get the depth of where they are holding if they won't come up is to drop a bait in the water and when you lose sight of the bait, that is usually the depth you may want to crank first. Try Silver, Chart, Gold, Red... I would try working flukes and soft baits in the weeds, try a deep diving crank or c-Rig...Find where the water enters, and then focus on weed edges since that usually means the bottom changes composition and or depth. Areas where 2 different types of weeds connect, or any change in cover, and look at the shore around the pond for slopes etc... Key is also figuring out what the main forage is in the pond. If rocks,then craws and crawfish colors may work, if lots of bluegill,catch a few and try to match that color with any bait you choose. Some times ponds that are full of fish and seem easy are not easy at all. Usually it takes a few trips to figure them out and then it rains, and you go back and get shut out and have to start all over. This time of year, I like early and late with topwater prop baits like a Torpedo, Rapala X rap Prop. Bagleys makes a minnow bait with a prop that is becoming a favorite lure, Bass always seem to be willing to feed upwards, especially when fishing cover, but if not, start picthing a jig or creature and you will catch bigger fish. Find 1 good fish and odds are it was not an accident. You will get them, sounds like you are starting to figure them out. Keep it simple, fish the areas you are most confident in fishing with the baits you feel work best for you and you will figure them out. You may need to get inside those weeds by flipping during the day to get the bigger fish.

I have to be honest, and please pardon my ignorance...I refused to buy a whopper plopper because of its silly name. That, and the surface bite on my local lake is (was) 100% non-existent. So, hearing all the hype, I broke down and bought one. I took it out yesterday and it quickly became apparent why so many people are raving about them. I'm telling you, I've thrown EVERY surface lure out there, and the fish ignored every one of them. They sure do like the WP though! I had a blast watching the reactions to this bait. I only landed 3 or 4 fish on it, but I had many lookers who came up to take a swipe at it, but many of them seemed hesitant to commit. However, I immediately followed-up on the bashful ones with a wacky senko, which must have really ticked them off, because every one of them crushed the worm as soon as it hit the water. Lots of fun! Over the past two days, I've caught 2-6lb'ers, 3-4lb'ers, and dozens of 2-3lb'ers.

I spend what I spend. I...like most.....work very hard for my living. I provide a roof over the head of my family and everything else they need. I've never bought fishing gear when I had other priorities. I have no other hobbies and I don't drink. Even with all that, it's probably still less than $1000 a year. I don't hide anything from my wife because I don't have to....nor would I live a life that would require me to hide anything like that.

You don't think I'm going to answer that question truthfully do you ?

I don't like to think about it.

Lord a mercy!!! I leave you grown men alone in here and come back several pages later to find Sasquatch has taken over. Seems the na sayers are looking for bones well let me tell ya why you haven't found any... Sasquatch cant be killed!!!

Anyone who hates this thread hates America.

I am not sure, nor do I really want to know.

You know , we've had a lot of rain here too . I went fishing Monday and caught fifty fish .I figured I would start deep and play it from there First cast of the day caught one 17 foot deep on a Strike King 6 XD and several more after that . Also caught several 10 foot deep on a Norman Deep Lil N . Then caught a whole bunch at 6 foot on a Rapala Fat Rap . Several came at two foot on a Rogers Big Jim . Then Texas rigged worms caught fish from 1 foot to 17 foot . Where should they have been? I dont know . I have not mastered anything .

Well cant catch the big ones every outing but this is ridiculous. Only caught two in 4 hours and they were both this size.

My partner and I had an AWESOME final day on Kentucky Lake. We were very worried after our first stop yielded zero bass, and then finding the fourth place team (who ended up winning) at our second spot where we had started on day 2. Turns out, Colorado (the winners), and ourselves, had been fishing the same >5acre >5feet cove every day of the event, with lots of big fish coming from it. We were fishing the same water with a different technique. I threw a 3/8oz chartreuse and white war eagle spinnerbait, and my partner would follow up with either a senko or shakey head. The Colorado team was throwing floating 5" chrome and silver jerkbaits!!! I couldn't believe it, but we watched them do it, and they caught some nice ones. On the final day, we could tell the lake had dropped about a foot, and the bass were no longer in the bushes like they had been. So we pulled out to the mouth of the cove and fan casted with the spinnerbait, and a big bandit squarebill. We put 4 in the boat around 2-3.5lbs before leaving, and the Colorado team in the back of the cove was catching some very nice fish. We caught our 5th keeper at another location and pretty much thought we had done all we could do. My partner and I said we would go fish some rock bluffs for smallmouth and just have fun on the final day. On our way to the bluffs, I said "lets hit that spot we fished this morning one more time". We pulled into the cove and I started working the same area with the spinnerbait that the 4 fish came from in the morning. A fish crushes my spinnerbait and after a few nerve wracking moments, we netted the 5lb largemouth. We were ecstatic! At this point we decided we would hang out at this spot for a while longer. The mouth of the cove produced no more bass so we moved into the back of it. There was a small stickup in about 3 FOW that I caught a decent fish off of on day 1, so I picked up my drop shot rod and tossed to it. The line started swimming towards me so I picked up the slack and leaned into the fish. It wouldn't move, I didn't even think it was a bass. I chased the fish around for a while on the troling motor and then she jumped, another 5lb class largemouth! She ran back to the stick I caught her off of, and wrapped me around it once. I stepped on the trolling motor and managed to get the fish out of the stick. A few jumps later we slid the fish into the net! We caught a few more fish in the cove but none that would cull. We decided to head back early to get our fished checked, because unfortunately the 85-90 degree water is rough on bass in the livewell, no matter how hard your pumps are running or how much ice you can keep on them. We lost 3 of our 15 fish this week. I will say that running back early did save one of our five pound fish, she was having a hard time but once we parked in the shade and got ice on her, she recovered. The weigh in was a nail biter! We brought in an 18lb, 9oz limit of bass. They weighed from 12th to 1st and since we were 10th, we had to watch everyone else weigh and hope our weight held! We sat on the hot seat for a few places, but Colorado bumped us out with a 16lb, 11oz bag of fish, a mere 12oz over what they needed! Once we got to the top 4 boats, we just knew we were going to get bumped. 2nd place on day 1 had a 7lb advantage, and 1st had a 9lb advantage. We were stunned when both teams failed to bring a limit to the scales, I think each had 2 or 3 fish. A 2nd place finish was way more than I had expected, and even though it was such a close finish, I was happy to see the Colorado team win. They are both very respectable people, also, they fished the same event last year and didn't even weigh a fish! We talked with them for a long time after the weigh in about the magic cove and how many fish it produced. What was even more shocking, is that the fish they were catching in the back of it, were huge smallmouth! I know that no one could have predicted that the winning pattern would be fishing floating jerkbaits in the back of main lake coves, catching smallmouth! We learned a lot about the fishing industry this week. B.A.S.S. did not interview us until the final day when they pretty much had to, because we don't have jerseys covered in sponsors. We were almost the only team there that didn't look like nascar drivers with logos all over everything. Half of the boat captains had wrapped trucks that matched their wrapped boats! We talked to a team that didn't make the final day cut who said "well, there's a local tournament in the morning, and the entry fee is "only" $250 so we are just gonna fish that!" But it proves that anyone can do it. It's not about money, it's about fishing. I am going to try to do some sort of "road to the national championship" story on my blog, covering everything from out first (of three) state qualifying event, the state championship, and the national championship. That may take a while but I will post a link to it when I finish! Don't worry, we never forgot to have fun. Because that's why we fish.

If this gets off the ground bring some over. ?

true. but the OP is asking for opinions. its legal to sleep with someone else's girlfriend but its not cool. that's my opinion. eating a large bass might take care of your hunger for a few hours but that bass will never be caught again. not worth it. the bucket fisherman who eat everything wont care about that. sport fisherman with bassboats and shiny new reels - shame on you!

Only thing I'll add is when I'm fishing Magnum Spoons, I slide my hand down the rod, around where the label usually is, to work the spoon by popping that part of the rod. Trying to work those spoons with your wrists or however you might by keeping both hands at the reel like you typically do when working a jig or a typical bait, will wear you out. It seems everyone has a different rod preference for this technique, but you don't want a rod that is too soft or it will absorb all of the energy and will wear you out. You don't want a rod that is too stiff as you are more likely to rip the bait out of the fishes mouth. You will want something relatively heavy and a bit longer rod with a longer handle is nice from a leverage and slack-line pick-up standpoint. Most people don't fish it often enough to buy a dedicated rod for it anyway, so they just have to experiment with what they have until they decide which rod they feel most comfortable with.

I'd be more than glad to host it at my new house? I've got a couple turkey fryers... Someone bring some Drum.

I have been very impressed with the HELIX 10 SI GPS KVD - love the large clear easy to read for the old guy eyes screen, very tunable as far as sensitivity and functionality is concerned. Totally happy with the Side & down imaging, switch fire sonar and I'm just starting to get into the Auto Chart Live Mapping functions. The included unit mapping is OK but pretty basic. You really do need a supplemental mapping card and one can supplement / update the maps with the Auto Chart feature - which is pretty cool. You can also overlay your AutoChart Live maps on existing LakeMaster® or Navionics® charts to reveal new details. Despite all of that - there's a bow mounted 360 imaging unit in the works . . . A-Jay

I have enough Walleye, and some Crappie in the freezer to feed the group. Rarely do we make onesie-twosie meals at home, I always keep enough for a big fish fry for everyone to enjoy. We ought to plan that out...

My wife's grandma was showing me pictures of fish they caught at her dad's farm when she was a child. They had a farm that had bull creek frontage near Paola just south of town. Huge carp & catfish mostly. She said they ate carp all the time and always thought it tasted great. Then she said. "we were so poor back then we were just happy to have something to eat". My dad has told me of eating carp when he was growing up too. I am probably in the minority here because I would definitely try any of it. Especially if someone else cleans and cooks it a weigh they claim it to be good. I never eat fish because my wife hates fish, but I even ate the occasional bass growing up, never thought they tasted "bad". All that being said, I haven't kept any fish other than trout(which I give away) for over 10 years, but I don't catch the tasty ones, leave that to @Ondrejka. One of these days someone needs to host a big fry. If it's in the spring I can try to provide some Morels.

For me it's probably < $10 per month. As the kids get older my life is consumed with youth sports. Wouldn't change it for the world.

As much as i can get away with. I always try to make it sound like an "investment" to the wife, but I'm scared she may be catching on

It's all fun & games . . Until it's not. I wear it religiously and I'd appreciate it if everyone did - just so their un-manned boat doesn't hit me. A-Jay

As much as I need!

I'd agree that Fishing in Indiana probably does make you Better - in Indiana. A-Jay

I respect your right to believe what you want but I 100% do not believe they exist.There is just no evidence.Not a live or dead one ever found.I don't care how smart,instinctive, etc.They supposedly are.T here is just no way one wouldn't have been found in this day and age.Also,one has never been seen on a trail cam.How is that possible if they really exist?

This time of year fishing can be tough in the heat. Target the deeper holes with dropshots, jigs, to rigged creatures and worms. Lipless cranks and square bills in the open spots. I usually find fish holding tight to cover or under it on sunny days. Early in the morning and late in the evening they will be more active. Then I'd try top waters like spooks, frogs, and buzzbaits. You might try at night. I catch way more bass in the dark from may-september. At night try single Colorado spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jigs, and to rigged worms. My best color is usually black or black and blue at night or if the water is muddy. During the day my best pond colors imitate bluegill or crawfish. What swim baits did you try? My absolute favorite pond bait is a bluegill imitation swim bait like the mattlures ultimate and u2 gill, savage gear gill, little creeper panfish swimbait, or hudd gill. Cast it out, reel it slow, and hang on:)

My uncle swears they're the best eating fish in Kansas. He also lives in a shack with no phone and just recently got indoor plumbing so take that with a grain of salt. They don't scavenge and are obviously closely related to red and black drum that are very popular food fish so they probably are pretty decent eating if prepared right.

Maybe it's a cultural thing , a geographical thing or maybe it's just me. I was brought up on the notion that the LMB was a game/sportfish to be sought after for the fight and to be released quickly so the next guy/gal has a shot at catching it next time. Law is the law and says you can keep certain fish at a certain length/weight, but i just don't get why you would. that said, i have had fresh fried crappie sandwich on an open fire during a fishing all night'er and it was awesome!

Yea, yea, I see this posted a lot in this thread. No one is criticizing poaching or anything illegal though. Obviously "they have the right" to keep their limit. What is up for debate is the unwritten ethic about keeping fish. I could catch and keep my limit every time out but I never do. I try to be strategic about keeping fish in a way that has as little impact as possible. I know a specific spot on Lake George with tons of huge pumpkinseed sunfish. I keep a few and move on, I don't want to over-fish it. There are probably hundreds down there but I try to only take 5-6 each trip because I value the spot so much. When I'm catching tons of rock bass in the spring, likewise I try only to take a few of the bigger ones. Any time I catch something rare- like, in my lake a Northern Pike or a Crappie- I am sure to return it carefully. There is an ethic about how you treat a fishery that goes beyond laws and regulations and everyone approaches it differently. That's what's interesting to hear people explain.

Divide the balance by the number of months remaining on your zero offer. Pay that much every month. Arrive at July 17 with $0.00. Your idea of paying the minimum because there's no interest is decent logic. IF you can still manage to have it ALL paid off before the interest rate jumps. Not a lot of people have that sort of discipline, however. A-Jay's suggestion is best for most. A great plan for most of us: Use the card for every day expenses -- especially if you're getting points or some sort of reward, but pay it off each month.

Got a couple chunks tonight pitching to over-hanging trees. Only a few bites, but they were good ones.

Good conditions today. I decided to try and go big with a 10.5" worm and got this on my 2nd cast.

No amount of experience, technique, advanced lure technology, or nevermind general dark magic will catch a bass where there isn't a bass. Also, it seems you are in the boat I was when I started.100+ techniques, baits, presentations with video footage on all of them being successful. I'd recommended focusing on two or three techniques that are extremely general and will target bass in a wide variety of scenarios, I.e., Texas rig worm(black, junebug, green pumpkin,) a hollow body frog(black, white, leopard/natural looking,) and a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce black and blue or green pumpkin jig. Darker water, darker bait. Clearer water, natural bait. Check out Bassresource on YouTube, Glenn's getting kinda popular which kinda detracts in my book but he generally knows hat he's talking about. Don't give up, once you catch one or two I'm sure you'll be beating them off with a stick just to keep your line loose. If you don't just get addicted to bass fishing like the rest of us lol p.s. Bank Anglers Unite!

Tournament Lite SS tackle warehouse is selling them cheap now. Great reel, the ACB casting control is the best I've used.

I originally purchased the Mach 1 baitcaster combo last month to use for spinners and cranks. I started using it for the 90 size Whopper Plopper and haven't taken it off! I love this combo and will probably buy another one in the future.

Keen Newport Bison Extremely comfortable

I see a lot of guys saying they wear sandals, and/or take them off while fishing. My problem with that is the possibility of getting a hook in a bare foot. I know a local guy who stepped on a hook last spring and it went up into the heel of his foot. It ended up getting infected and he is still fighting that infection today. Last I heard, he very well could end up having to have his foot amputated. Knowing this alone has me scared to ever go barefoot or have part of my foot exposed while fishing.

Way to go , Slicko.

You can do that with Humminbird Autochart, Humminbird Autochart Pro computer software, and Navionics Sonar Charts. Auto Chart, when processed, functions just like Lakemaster mapping. Sonar Charts is a free service by Navionics, but is shared data. When Navionics processes the sonar logs, the contour mapping is shared on their website's Web App, Mobile App, and downloadable to a Navionics card that is Sonar Charts compatible.

With the exception of bullheads, catfish are among the hardest freshwater fish I know of. I can't speak for river walleye but the lake walleye I've caught were only so so fighters at best. This isn't to say I don't like catching them. Northern Pike don't keep up a sustained fight very well BUT a big one will practically rip your arm out of its socket when it hits. THAT by itself makes it worthwhile.

It's funny how you know which one of you guys are friends and which one's are the new ones. Wonder why people don't post that much when everyone jumps all over them.

I'm not Sure why everyone gets so upset over fishing techniques. My PB came on a top water popper. But I have caught numerous beauties fishing with live bluegill. I would hook them through the lip, and out the nostril. Usually the bluegill is very lively and ends up running into the weeds and getting buried there. So I would have to check it periodically. If a big bass is around , she cannot resist. Especially if it is in a pond and this is her main forage. I've caught bass when the bluegill was practically dead. Just reeling it In . Make sure the bluegill is of appropriate size. If you choose to use a 4 to 5 inch bluegill you're only targeting bass about 5 pounds and up. People say it's not fun using live bait, but it's surely fun catching the big bass. And taking pictures with your friends or kids. Not to mention occasionally catching some nice catfish.