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I hadn't been fishing in well over a month and it was killing me. Was able to get out on Saturday morning to a small electric only reservoir that gets hit pretty hard. We headed across the lake to a point that has a nice ditch and usually holds some good bait. I started out with a buzzbait, but nothing going there. Started tossing a spinnerbait to the weedline and bringing it back when i had a vicious hit right at the grass. a solid fight ensued and i knew i had a nice one on. brought it up to the kayak and had a 19-3/4" spotted bass that weighed out at 3.85lbs. However, i was a little too excited and tossed him back before snapping a photo!! fished for a while longer with no bites and working our way around the point we got to the backside where it was still in the shade and i tossed a "finesse frog" as @Master Bait'r would call it.... about 12 feet or more out from the grass i had one smash it and i set the hook and it hardly even moved! i knew this was another toad. got it in the kayak and it measured out at 20" on the dot. as i reached for my scale to get a weight on it this gold medal gymnast of a fish took one nice jump over the side of my hawg trough and a backdive right into the lake!!! at least on that one i did get a couple pics! went on to catch one more skinny guy on a senko on my new (new to me) gen 1 cumara 6'8" M rod and then had one get off on the jig about halfway back to the kayak..... my buddy caught 2 himself 1 on the spinnerbait and 1 on a 10' worm. great morning back out on the water!!

I don't get to do nearly as much bass fishing as I used to now that I'm at school, so I am living vicariously through my youngest brother Ewing. He is a freshman in high school this year, and I convinced him to join the same high school bass fishing team that I fished with during my junior and senior years. His first tournament was a state qualifier (through B.A.S.S. Nation) on the Potomac, and historically it is an incredibly tough tournament, since it is limited to Aquia and Potomac Creek, neither of which are good during late summer. The year before, I placed 3rd there out of 50+ anglers with 2 fish for 5.35lbs, so I told him it would be tough and he needed to just put his head down and fish. I called him as soon as they finished weighing in, and he told me he didn't catch any. He said most boats blanked, a couple boats brought in 2 or 3 fish, and one limit was weighed. He said he lost count of the channel cats he caught on a spinnerbait, and lost one fish on a senko that he said was about 4 pounds . "I saw something at the base of a bridge piling on the fishinder, so I drug a jig across it, and it was either a stump or a rock but I didn't get any bites. Later I fished it with a senko and lost the 4lber right at the boat." 2 weeks later, the high school club had a tournament at the same place. This time I sent him a nice package from Tackle Warehouse so hopefully he would have everything he needed. I sent chatterbaits and trailers to cover various water colors, brush hogs also in different colors to flip and pitch, a whopper plopper because those baits seem to be magical, and some senkos too! I called him again after weigh in and asked how much the fish he sent me a picture of weighed! He said it was 3.75lbs, on a senko, on the same piling with the structure on it. Then I asked what place that fish put him in. Turns out, the Potomac was REALLY tough that day, and he won! A handful of other kids landed a fish, but the nearest was a 2-something. Even boat captains were allowed to fish that day, some of them have been fishing the potomac longer than I have been alive, and only one bass was brought in by a captain. On a body of water the size of the Potomac, especially since it is tidal, it seems like the odds of finding the same fish twice 2 weeks apart is unlikely, but that sure is what it sounds like! "When we got that fish in the net, I was shaking way more than I have from any of the bucks I've shot"

That's what today was .

I take great comfort in knowing that the pros often struggle....not fair, maybe, but that's me. I love the monthly Bassmaster feature, Day on the Lake, when the pros have challenging days. I learn a LOT about how to approach waters, but I also learn, all too often, that it is also hard to be an 'every day angler'.

When they're too big to use for bait Something like this.

Well it's done ... I put in some new boat seats on my Triton (2002)...not Triton seats mind you as it was out of the budget but pretty good ones. Did take the bracing off the Triton seats and put on the back of the new ones for more strength and ease of putting on. Came out ok. Now its time to wax the ol girl and armor up the seats and other stuff and get ready for fall and winter. I was using gorilla tape to mend all the places that were tearing from various reasons but in the hot weather the sticky stuff would get on your cloths. So anyway it's done and was just happy enough to post. Tight Lines all

Imagine this guy with a fishing rod. That is a "Power" fisher.

Arnold Palmer passed yesterday at the age of 87. Not only was he great golfer, competitor & statesman but his philanthropy set the example for all of golf as well as the rest of us. Golf will never be the same without him. RIP Arnie.

Remember you are not doing this for a living. This is suppose to be relaxing. Even if you aren't catching anything try to learn from it. On days like you are describing (hot water) I try to do things I've never tried before. Deep dragging a jig, finding new targets like deep stumps and rocks, and slow rolling a spinner bait. If you ain't catching bass on the typical technique, try the non-typical. Worst that could happen is you don't catch anything which is what you are doing anyway.

This is the opinion of one dumb Cajun There is a period of time in which bass actively feed, the length of time between each feeding period is determined by the bass's metabolism. Now one must keep in mind the fact that bass are predators & will strike lures presented in close proximity even though they aint hungry. What would I change? Locations! This is the reason you need several locations to explore through out the day. Some days ya gonna have to hit all of em...some days all ya need is one!

a marriage is like a deck of cards, with only a few cards in it. Only takes two hearts and a diamond to get started. sometime later a club and a spade may be required.

After a heavy rain storm on the Historic James River I took this photo of a beautiful rainbow hitting Jimmy Dean's estate's dock. It was so nice that I entered it into the Virginia State Fair's photo contest along with my wife's "Grandma and Marlee" quilt. Well, my wife won first place for her quilt and I did not get one "honorable mention" for my photo. OK, that's the way it goes. Here is the photo for your view and enjoyment. Sorry if it is on its side. I don't know how to move it around.

Hi all, A few day's ago I posted about getting Boat Buckles for my boat. The response was very favorable, so I ordered some. Two for the sides and one for the bow. I installed them this A.M. As many have said the included hardware was not the best, so I used different bolts, nuts, etc. Installation was easy, just drill holes and install. In my case I found the perfect spot for them. They are out of the way when not in use. They don't rub on the painted sides, and there is just enough room to use the ratchet with out pinching my fingers on the light bracket. I have not had a chance to use them yet but I'm looking forward to a simpler and faster prep to launch and recover. Here's a few pic's Thanks for looking Jim

I've been in two Phoenix boats. Build is solid, and they're fast. They treated my friend really well, with some certain things he needed in the boat - he's a vet with one leg. The only thing I'd say, is you probably want to have a dealer within driving distance, regardless of make. It's a boat, there's ALWAYS something that needs fixing.

These pics are from this weekends trip to the Susquehanna river. My first fish Saturday was the biggest of the weekend, coming in at about 3 1/2 pounds. Caught it throwing a small beetlespin style spinner downriver. It gave me a good five minute fight then jumped out of the water. After that happened I thought I lost the fish cause I didn't feel it on the line. Turns out the smallie ran upriver faster than I could reel. When I caught up with it on the reel it was still not exhausted. It tried to swim between my legs like most do but I blocked it then lipped it. After the big one all the others were dinks.

EFI will be the easiest starting by far. Think of it this way....does your car ever not start on the first crank? The newer carbureted 4 strokes aren't bad starting either but the efi's pop off the easiest. Being that these engines are all going to be new, I don't think you can buy a bad one.

Wouldn't happen to be made by Samsung, would it?

Loon and Bone only 2 ya need

I have the Merc 25 EFI on my boat. Love it! Have had zero problems out of it for 6 years now. I would never go back to carb or non electric start! EVER! Jeff

I feel Gantia in my future. Been looking at it, and you all know how much I like Jackall products.

@Bluebasser86 Give a man a fish & you'll feed him for a day Teach a man to fish & you'll confuse him for a lifetime!

Y'all seeing the problem yet? It only grows from here!

The zip ties I use are 1/16" & 2" long Now y'all ain't gonna find these at Lowe's or Home Depot, ya gonna have to visit your local electrical supply store. Do yourself a favor & buy a zip tie gun! There's nothing wrong with wire, it's just slow, by the time you get the wire out, cut a length of it, meticulously tie it, I've been done zip tying!

Ask yourself what changed? While you were 'caught' up with catching something changed. Unless you lucked into a feeding school of bass, they're likely still in the area. I'd switch to a more subtle presentation that targets a different part of the water column. Still no action? Odds are they changed location. Check out the area you were catching from with your electronics and try to determine why they were there. You likely won't find that group, but if you look for similar areas, you may find others.

Well I'm going to national championship o won a slot at our state championship

Exactly why I suggested looking into pouring in my post. Same with the prices they ask for Ned rig heads, which go in a hurry if a person fishes that rig much. They're around $1 apiece as well, but cost me $.04 to pour. At that price, a person can much up the difference very quickly.

Oh, I caught fish. I just haven't been bass fishing since mid July. I've been spending most of my weekends since then fishing for panfish and walleye with other people. This was the first time I have fished by myself and not played "fishing guide" in 2 months.

Lol. I am endlessly amused at how politically correct it has become to complain about political correctness...

30 lb. is the heaviest i've used for flipping/punching. and yes have had a jig take my hat off from close range.

Aluminum, weld it, & be done with it

People lurking and internet scouts are part of the deal, but I'm sure there's lots of folks out there that are trying to learn by following along who feel they're too inexperienced to try to contribute. The lurker comments aren't going to help make anyone want to join and contribute to the thread. This has been one of the most active threads on the forum because of the guys on here being willing to share information and help each other out, I'd like to see it keep pointed that direction. We were all new here once and were maybe even lurkers ourselves at one point before we signed on. I'm guessing part of the reason everyone made that step was because it seemed like a pretty decent group of guys here who you could speak to freely without being insulted or belittled (at least until you got to know everyone of course). I've been burnt by spot thieves, just like anyone will if you catch fish consistently and post pictures with them, but that's no reason to assume that everyone here just following along is for those reasons. Lets just try to keep it friendly or stick to the old saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I know it's hard sometimes, I have to work at it at least a few times every night to just let it go, sometimes even after I've typed up a good smart A comment to someone. Anyway, off my soapbox and to what everyone is here for, the fishing reports/pictures! I picked up one of the new Jackall Gantias at Mondo Wednesday and ran by Osawatomie City Lake on the way home, took me one whole cast to get blasted along some water willows. Not a big fish by any means, but sure gets the confidence up. It's a great looking bait that moves very lifelike and nearly suspends it sinks so slow. Fishes very easy too. Thursday I went to Wilson SFL and met @Shaunmoore1 to chase some spots. The fish were about jumping in the boat most of the day. I had a ton of rods out but all I really needed was a jig. Jig color didn't seem to matter as long as the trailer was blue. A popper was wearing them out in the morning, pretty much every cast for awhile, both spots and largemouth. There was one other boat there and I think he went pretty much straight back into the pond because that was about the only place we didn't do so hot. The water was also a few degrees warmer up there (79 instead of 76), which is a pretty severe difference in a small lake like that. I did get the biggest of the day up there though, which was also my only frog bite of the day. Caught several flipping the willows. I'm sure a wacky rig would have just been stupid easy but I didn't want to waste that many sticks. I threw a Ned for awhile at the end just for the heck of it and caught my biggest spot of the day at 16.5". Wasn't as big as I was hoping for, but still a heck of a spot. Also caught one of the blue/channel hybrids they stock in that lake, really pretty fish. Thursday night was the last weeknight tournament of the year at Miola. It was pretty brutal but I started out by catching a 1.5 and 2.4 on a frog in the first 50 yards and another 1 something in the next 15 minutes. Turned out we could have gone and sat in the truck and skipped the mosquitoes and still be okay. We had a limit by the time we finished fishing halfway through the dock cove before we had a long dry spell with only a couple shorts. I culled a few ounces on the dam with a popper before we made a pit stop at the dock for bug spray. After dark I missed a couple solid bites on code blue before catching another 2.4 while Coty was busy with another couple ounce cull himself. It was a grind no doubt but a nice way to end the season. Friday I went to Linn Valley with the intention to start for bass and finish catching bluegills on my fly rod. I had a shot at a 4lb class largemouth that I was trying to sight fish in a pocket along the weedlines but she someone short struck my Flat Dawg and I missed her and she disappeared. I found a school with a bunch of shad corralled in the back of a cove and caught several out of there. Saw some huge channel cats under a dock but they wanted nothing to do with anything, even livebait. Once the sun got up high, I started sight casting to big bluegills near docks and wearing them out. At one point I cast at some gills and as they converged on the fly a brown rocket shot off the bottom and engulfed the little fly. It was a much longer fight than I expected, but it finally came to hand, my first fly rod smallmouth. I think I made 2 more cast before it happened again, this time even bigger. If I was smart I probably should have changed to a larger fly and actually targeted them, but I've never claimed to be smart. Right towards the end I made a cast under a tree that was dropping some kind of nuts or berries. Lots of bluegills under it but man when my fly touched the water a grass carp that was easily 50+ shot of the bottom and narrowly missed my fly. I'd probably still be fighting that thing if it had connected. I'd like to try it sometime, but maybe start with something a little smaller than one that size.

Well fellas...... today was a day that dreams are made of. Received a call yesterday from my tackle shop telling me they are having a sale today that I shouldn't miss. So I head on over not expecting too much. What I found was insane. Just an incredible feeling. Core 50mg7 $105 Core 100mg x2 $105 ($210 total) Loomis GL2 783c $74 Xmas came early.

I'd avoid any galvanized product on a boat, hot dipped or electroplated. I'd prefer monel, bronze or stainless steel fastenings especially if the boat will see any use in salt water. Sacrificial anodes are made of zinc, since it will prevent electrolysis from destroying other metal components/fasteners on boats. When I was a kid, I used some brass fastenings, because they would not rust, on a boat I had in salt water. Big, big mistake. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The zinc dissolved ,leaving nothing but the porous copper behind. I could literally pull the boat apart with my bare hands. Plain steel would have lasted longer. Salt water is an electrolyte, so you have two things at work, electrolysis and galvanic action. The process of coating metals with copper, chrome, etc., takes place when an electric current is introduced in the process by electrolysis.. Galvanic action produces electricity, such as you have in a battery where you have dissimilar metal in an electrolyte. When I was a commercial lobsterman, I used Rolls Surette batteries in my boat. The place where I bought them added the electrolyte to a battery when it was sold. This prevented the slow deterioration that takes place in a battery once it was filled.

I like my cranking rods to be at least 7' long. I'd be surprised if you notice the difference except you'll probably cast a bit further, unless you fish a lot of tight areas (standing timber).

If I could afford to move you would see a Pennsylvania license plate driving past with the driver smiling and waving at everyone. In about 2 months we will have 40 degree temps and with no luck...snow! Coming up, 5 months of no fishing. I'll take grumpy neighbors over that any day.

For me I would rather have the Yamaha. Their small engines run nice. I used to fish a lake that had a 20 hp max restriction. The most favored engines on the lake were Honda and Yamaha.

Might as well use bridge cable.

And as far as, @Alonerankin2 & @deaknh03, get along.....it's a nice forum to be involved in...as of fact...I drift away to here to get away from ole girl...so why act like women? Sound like Cutler with that thumb! Pessimism granted!

It'll be interesting to see what others say...but I'll never own another carbureted outboard unless something really bad happens and it's all I can afford.

Action and Power are two of the terms that I often notice being used incorrectly. I think it is important to understand the difference. Rod Power: The “power” of a rod refers to how much pressure it takes to flex the rod. Different rod powers are engineered to efficiently handle a certain range of lure weights and line sizes. To select a rod power that will perform best for you, simply narrow your choices to rods designed to cast the weight of lures – and sizes of lines – you’ll fish with most often. Rod Action: The “action” of a rod is determined by where a rod flexes along the blank. Faster action rods flex mostly near the tip. Moderate action rods flex more near the middle of the blank. Slower action rods flex down into the butt section. Borrowed from the St.Croix website.

I've got these all tied on during the fall. I'll usually throw a jerkbait half the time and rotate the rest till I know what they want. This time of the year is my favorite. Spring produces, but the water is way too crowded.

It depends on how you fish and if your priority is boat driving or fishing. A motor pulling the boat will be easier to control than a motor pushing the boat. Quite simple physics.

Not much of a flip and pitch guy but I do like mono! My only advice is that you may want to invest in a set of knee pads/protectors.

It is a child's quilt with dolls you can remove and dress and undress. Only photo I have from the fair.

Isn't Sesame Street on public television?

Maybe the judges were vegans.

I give you, the BassResource Glossary of Fishing Terms: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/bass_fishing.html

Dawn buzzbait fish from a week ago; best of 4 on an otherwise slow morning, about 2 3/4 lb: Unfortunately it might end up being my last until spring. I rarely get to fish oct through mar, even when there is open water. and the way this fall is shaping up, finding time for another outing before dec is unlikely to happen except by accident.

Aluminum.

Florida is the only place I can think of where the further south you go, the more northern you get.