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I fish subdivision ponds at dawn and dusk and this is what I look like even when it's 80 degrees out. Freaking mosquitoes.

Does anyone else experience a huge adrenaline rush or almost "high" from fishing. Like a giant strike, or a big one jumping? Or once you have landed that giant bass- not being able to stay still? Shaking? It is what keeps me going back. I had this happen last night, and was able to capture it in picture form. Noticed it today when looking through pics. I was shaking so hard while trying to take this pic, my Iphone6 auto focus couldn't hang! HAHA Thought she was a DD.......(check the far left side of the fish) Jeff

When you're learning to pitch, don't bother with anything lighter than 3/4 oz. Once you get the action down, decrease bait size in small increments.

Failing to understand what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively. Failing to understand what the predominate prey species in your lake and how that species relates to structure with each season...morning, noon, and night. Failing to understand that next after location is timing; just because you don't get bite does not mean the bass aren't there or you tied on the wrong lure. Failing to understand that to consistently catch bass is a process of elimination and duplication. Eliminate patterns and waters that are non-productive and duplicate patterns and waters that are productive. Failing to understand the #1 key to consistently catching bass is between your ears not between the folds of your wallet. Failing to understand it takes a rare breed of fisherman using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass Failing to understand if you eliminate your history you've eliminated your experience Failing to understand anglers often respond to failure and frustration by over-complicating theory and technique. As much as it helps our egos to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you and your fishing success. Failing to understand that if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got!

The elite tourney guys are the best in the world at catching small bass. They become great at catching small bass because they are #1 intelligent, #2 have the resources and #3 have the skills that come with experience. #4 desire Resources are the time and money to fish and once you get to a higher level include sponsorship and local fisherman giving valuable intel to the top pros. I am sure there are many good fisherman who could be great if they had the resources to be great. Also not every good or great fisherman wants to compete in tourny's especially at a national level. You would have to be ok with that life style. I know I would have no desire to be on the road all the time and fishing when I don't feel like it because I have to. So desire plays a huge part in it. There are also some extremely good bass fisherman who have no desire to compete in tourny's but would rather hunt the largest bass in their area. They may be as good or better then the best pros.

Got a chance at a little "fishing therapy" this afternoon. That is what I call it when I am by myself. Never expect to have a day like this when alone, but man are they always welcome! Need to invest in a selfie stick, cause with short arms it is hard to get the big fish in the pics! Ha, isn't that nice to complain about!!!! Anyways, caught 7 today with the top 5 going 32.3lb (9.10, 8.77, 6.83, 6.10, 1.5ish) Wish I could have culled the dink, but not complaining! All fish were caught on a @Siebert Outdoors brush head jig(couple different colors). In order of catch: 6.83 9.10 8.77 6.10 And the sunset to cap off the AWESOME afternoon! Jeff

Made it out for about four hours this evening caught 4 that weighed in at just over 10lbs this one really helped the total. Just couldn't pick up the 5th one

Anyone ever get a double on a Texas rig? Managed it a few days ago and blew my mind. One hook two fish, my guess was the bigger bass tried to eat the little bass not so much the bait since it was so far in the smaller ones mouth. Hook came out the gill plate and hooked the bigger one.

Just TRY to catch catfish ! That would solve the problem for me.

My daughters boyfriend was going to join me fishing yesterday and I planned on it being a pretty good day. He hasn't done alot of bass fishing, but is enthusiastic and a quick study. Weather and water temperatures had been dropping for the first time in months and the forecast called for an overcast morning, so I figured topwater and moving baits may be the ticket for the first few hours until the fish moved deeper or under the docks. What I hadn't anticipated was one of the stranger days of my life, not all of which involved fishing. I woke at 4:30 am and noticed my wife wasn't in bed with me. I figured I must have been snoring and she fled the scene, but as I went to the bathroom, she came into the room fully dressed. Apparently I had slept through her getting a midnight call that her Raider-like brother was drunk at a club, her picking him up and bringing him to our house to sober up, him going outside to smoke a cigarette but then forgetting which house was ours, him knocking on the neighbors door asking to be let in, him falling down & busting his head open on the neighbors planter (resulting in the police, fire & ambulance showing up), him getting stitches at the hospital and then walking out before they were done examining him, she picking him up 2 blocks from the hospital bringing him back to the house again, him going out to smoke again (this time in the backyard) and then once again falling over & cutting the other side of his head. All this between midnight & 4:30 am. Yes, I did sleep through all of that, my wife is an angel. So I got dressed and took all the gear down to the dock. I realized I had left a flashlight I use in our other car, (it is still dark outside) so I went out to retrieve it. I had parked the car up tight to a hedge to avoid potential door dings on the other side and as I tried to wedge myself in, I lost my balance & fell into the hedge. Had they neighbors been watching, they would have thought I was the drunk. I get the boat set up and as daylight begins to approach, no sign of my daughters boyfriend. I know he works hard during the week, so I figured he overslept. I sent him a text to let me know when he arrived & I would double back to the dock. I got in the boat, went to a point and fired out a cast with a Zara spook. As anticipated, I immediately hooked up...with a bluegill. I figured it was a good sign nonetheless, until I went the next 90 minutes without a strike. I cycled through different baits, different type cover, shallow & deep nothing. Then, when I was working a jerkbait over a weedbed in 7 ft of water, I realized as i looked at the depthfinder that the weed bed was no longer there. What I ended up finding out later was that days before, the HOA had treated the lake with some kind of weed killing chemicals and had dredged (by hand) some of the more problem areas. The cover I had been fishing no longer existed... Not knowing exactly why the weedbeds were gone, I made some adjustments and caught a few fish. My daughters boyfriend had indeed slept through his alarm (he hadn't missed much), joined me near 8 am and I was able to put him on a few fish (we even had a double). However, as we were working a couple of docks, a party boat came towards us being driven by a women in full muslim garb. There were a half dozen other women dressed the same way and single man in the boat, so I am assuming they were his harem. I know nearly everyone on this lake and they kind of stuck out because I had never seen them before. Apparently they didn't know me either because they drove their boat between us and the dock we were casting to, laughing & taking pictures. I was going to say something, but realized from their chatter, they most likely didn't speak English. Near noon, my daughters boyfriend had to leave and the sun had popped out. I put on my buff & sunglasses and headed over to another cove to flip, pitch & skip some docks. As I made it to the back of the cove, a woman came out of her backdoor, intently staring at me with her arms crossed. I waved hi but she didn't flinch, staying like that for a good five minutes. I know I might look like a criminal with a buff pulled up, but I have been by her house over 50 times in the last year. She is just now noticing me?? I work out of that cove down to another and once again, a different woman comes out her back door looking at me. This time, she is chattering with someone inside in a foreign language. As I pass by their dock, a man comes out & in a heavy accent says "Please do not throw your line into my boat". I may not be an Elite pro, but I am a much more accurate caster than that. I assure him I won't and he retreats back into the house with his nagging wife in tow. By this time, I am completely spun out, unable to figure out what in the world is going on. As if to put an exclamation point on the days adventures, another smaller party boat again filled with folks that are speaking a different language, comes down the cove between me & the docks I am fishing. However, since I was skipping the docks at this time, there wasn't much space between me & the dock. They manged to fit their boat in between, at full speed nonetheless. I loudly said "Hey!!" as they passed, to which they smiled & waved. Ugh. I put my rod down, went back home & took a nap.

It's what the Cool Kids are all doing these days A-Jay

Most everything has been said but I think the guys on that higher level of bass fishing might as well be considered freshwater marine biologist. They understand how a lakes ecosystem works at anytime of the year and not only know where the bass are but why they are there.

Destroyer x4 rattle viper and a '15 aldebaran new finesse setup

I think the biggest difference in levels of fishermen are this: Beginner: "I just wanna catch a fish" Intermediate: "I just wanna catch a limit(5 fish)" Advanced: "I just wanna catch a big limit" Trophy Hunter: "I don't care about a limit, I wanna catch the biggest fish in here!" It is all in the mindset! Jeff

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got! That can be both positive or negative! If it's working why change it? If it aint working ya may wanna consider changing!

Nice Hawg right there! I remember a tournament were Rick Clunn caught a 10# kicker, once the fish was in the boat he laid down on the back deck looks at the cameraman & says, you wanted to know when I'm gonna retire? Holding both shaking hands out, when that stops!

If you are using string on your reel, should we assume you are using thread as a leader?

I think they look silly, but I wear one all the time. There's no way to get sunblock in very fold and crease of your ears, neck, face every time you go fishing. Plus if you have short or no hair like me, that scalp sunburn is a mother and putting sunblock in your hair just sucks. I go with the buff, sun gloves, sun shirt then sunblock my legs and feet. Also, with being a contact wearer, sunblock in my eyes equals blurry vision the rest of the day, no bueno.

When you say "It Casts Great" please define great. If you can make a long cast, why would you not be able to make a very short cast - which is what flipping & pitching a bait is. Did you recently change or add line to your reel ? Perhaps you've over filled the spool and the excess line is rubbing on the reel frame preventing unobstructed release of the spool. Post a picture of your reel that shows the reel's spool of line; that might help. A-Jay

Had this rule been effect, every new guy would get a free scale with forum membership. What size are these sneakers?

The bass in the top pic is about 6 lbs. The bottom pic is about 4 lbs. If they are the same fish I'll split the difference and say 5 lbs. I'd like to make a suggestion that for every thread like this we donate $1 to the "Buy a guy a scale" charity.

"Level" was the description that I chose to describe the difference between anglers of different skills. Obviously those "elites" have show the abilty to consistantly catch fish but ther isn't any money in 5 pound bags so the size and quantity of the fish caught matter. So maybe you could contribute what you think made Fish Chris successful at catching large fish at a higher rate than average?

on the water time the more you fish the more you learn and vary the places that you fish

I like getting buff

Lot of money in that OP. What's wrong some good ol' Spooks and Pop'r's? Throw in a Jitterbug or 2 and I'm a happy topwater man.

Confidence that one can catch fish anywhere any time . I dont pay much attention to todays pro anglers but use to read and watch all I could about the early tournament pros . Without exception , those guys were good fishermen period .They all started fishing at an early age , they fished for multiple species , they fished often and long hours .They shared all that knowledge in magazines like Bassmaster. To reach the next level , I think , you have to be confident that you can succeed no matter where you are , time of year .,, A good friend of mine is a river rat . He grew up literally on the banks of the Mississippi river . He fished it and its backwaters .for channel cats , sauger , white bass.. .I took him bass fishing . He had never bass fished from a boat or used a Texas rig before . I got him started and he took too that rig like he has been fishing it for years .. He fished it better than almost every "bass" angler that I have been with . The guy knew how to bounce a curly tail jig in the current for walleye so a plastic worm was no challenge .He just flat out knows how to fish .

LC makes very nice baits. High quality and productive all except their swimbaits. Those are way below par.

After catching a good one I definitely get a buzz for probably 20 minutes, and for the next few hours even I am in a very good mood.

I have a Fenwick Aetos Spinning 7'0 Medium fast. The tip is softer than most other brands of Medium Fast. I can cast weightless finesse zoom worms with ease. Not going to win distance but good enough. I would expect what you want to use it for will be fine.

No top water collection is complete without some form of a Spook. My favorite is the Spook Jr. in Bone White. Inexpensive and very effective. Don't feel like you have to be in a hurry to purchase everything at once, the fish will be here and so will the baits.

If I met you in person it would take me a while to come to terms with the fact that you aren't Al Bundy

Berkley Trilene Big Game.

What does "level" got to do with bigger fish ? I don't remember Fish Chris to be an "elite" tournament angler and when it comes to numbers in big fish that man humbles pretty much everybody.

In clear to lightly stained water the watermelon shades are excellent all over the southeast. My persoal favorite is watermelon red. In dingy water I would go with Junebug. Junebug is also goo under low light conditions in all waters. I personally like the 4" sticko and senko products. I have caught a large number of bass on all sizes of these baits, including the jumbo size. Use as little weight as possible for the conditions. You will get more action out of the bait. Good luck buddy, its a great choice of baits.

That is ballsy DDG! I like how you roll! I once used 8# fluorocarbon fishing a fluke on a spinning rod in a pond with some pretty narly weed growth. It wasn't ideal but it sure was fun. Well I am not really sure as I have zero lakes around here with lily pads. I have fished pads before but it has been a good 7 or 8 years and those were some lakes up in MN. I was using a copoly as that was one of the better line choices back then before the braid and fluorocarbon craze took off. I am not sure if I would change my approach if I fished them. When I read the title of your post and then the body of your post, I figured I would probably answer the question differently. 12 # fluorocarbon is my preferred line for fishing the lakes I frequent the most. Now to answer your question about pads I would probably answer it 2 ways. Fishing the edge of pads and outer pockets I would still use 12# fluorocarbon. However, If I was casting into a massive pad bed I would probably use straight braid as I am betting I would approach it the same way I would frogging heavy vegetation. Hopefully that helps clear up my answer and I am sorry if I misread your question.

The most important area of improvement, IMO, is in finding fish/ eliminating unproductive water. Skill level, when it comes to presenting lures, or even determining which style lure to use in what conditions/under what circumstances is something that can be achieved with practice and time on the water. I've fished with guys, and if I'm honest I'm one of them, that had what I consider have average skills yet consistently placed high in tournament standings. What separates them from the others is how quickly they can find fish and determine their activity level.

Possessing the ability to adapt

I shake like a d**n leaf. Usually need a couple minutes to calm myself down after I release the fish. If I'm fishing solo and nail a good one I can barely even take the picture, there is an iPhone 6 somewhere on the Upper Potomac because of it. Love it.

You can also have the trailer hook facing down if they are really being finicky. I've done it.

Looks like I can finally get back up there in a couple of weeks. Its been a long couple of months and I am sure looking forward to the fall.

All the time. I couldn't even speak coherently after each big fish in Mexico. For me, one of my main weird side effects is I can't fish after catching a big one for a bit since I have to be opening the livewell and stare at the fish. This can last on and off for the next 30 minutes. It's like having a brand new car. You just want to sit on your porch and stare at it. Furthermore, every fish that might be over 6 pounds, I get shakey...you don't want to jinx it, but just stare at the thing...and shake and shimmy.

You're gonna lose rigs from the bank..heck I lose them in a boat. Two tips for bank fishing.... 1. Go up in line size with a smaller weight (sounds like you are doing this part). 2 . The second you realize its hung, drop slack and then try to shake it loose. If not, grab the line and pull..this is where the big line comes in.☺

Mosquitoes can and will bite through them

I started using one a year ago, but I am still self conscious that I look like a hoodlum with it on. When I pass by other folks, I'll pull down the mouth area so I can speak with them & they can see me smile.

Everything is going fine over here now...not with one girl but me and my daughter are happy together...I've gotten the opportunity to spend more time with her...just hope it stays this way

Ok...wait a minute.....Let me start by saying that only you know what you can afford to spend on fishing gear. If you can afford "The Best" and that is what you want.....go for it. BUT!! ........with that said....bass don't see price tags. Pad Crashers are GREAT frogs and I (and a whole bunch of other folks) throw them all the time. My favorite frog is the Scumfrog Trophy Series. I can afford other frogs but I CATCH A LOT OF FISH with these. I can find them for 4.99 every day of the week. I don't fish cheap. My terminal tackle is the best I can afford. I buy quality lines. and so should you. But spending top dollar on lures will NOT make you a better fisherman. I would love to have a box of Roman Made Swimbaits but that would just be silly. Get some Pop'r's. Get some Jitterbugs for first or last light. Get some Hula Poppers. Throw them. Learn how to work them. There is a REASON they have been around forever. They catch fish and have for a LOOOOOONG time. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING is a ripoff of a Hula Popper, A jitter bug, a Pop'r , a spook, A Devil Horse, or a Cavitron Buzzbait. My .02. Off my soapbox.

This went over my head . Heres one . I'm working my way down the bank , coming up on a lay down tree . This guy pulls in front of me and fishes it . Whatever , Later I catch up with him and ask if hes doing any good and he replies " Yesterday I caught a six lb bass right there where I cut you off. " .

First what rod and reel are you using? I am not trying to give you any trouble but I have been fishing for 40 years and for the first 10 years or so I fished lower end baitcasters, it was what I could afford. So experience has shown for me to get good distance I need to fish with reels that "Retail" between $100 and $200. Now I have caught many of them on sale or online for less, but I find reels like my Diawa Tatulas and Shimano Chronarchs allow me to get much better distance. Next pay attention to your rod specs. Make sure the weight of the bait you wish to throw falls somewhere in the middle of the rod specs. So if the wake bait weighs 3/8 of an ounce make sure the rod specs for say 1/4 to 3/4 and since most wake baits and walking baits have treble hooks make sure your rod has a moderate taper. The rod bending further down the blank will allow you to load it up easier, so more energy will be released on the forward cast and also the softer rod will help with a delay to your hook set, thus allowing you to get a good hookset and avoid pulling the treble hooks out of thee fishes mouth. My last tip is to practice, and get your thumb well educated, so you can loosen up your reel more without having big birds nests. If you have to run your reel tight with lots of spool tension and heavy breaking it will be hard to get a long cast. Oh and another thing, if you have a good reel repair guy around, it may be worth it to have the reel professionally cleaned and lubed. Sometimes the factories pack their reels with way too much grease which can inhibit the cast as well

1. Turn around the old braid and try the leader using 12lb mono. 2. Keep the old braid as filler, it's light weight and makes a perfect backing line. 3. Start with Sunline Super Sniper 12 lb FC before moving onto the very expensive Tatsu or Toray FC lines, I use Sunline FC refuse to pay $$$$ for very marginal improvement in knot strength. Tom