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My future tournament partner. He likes fishing jigs and crankbaits. When Ian casts, the bass tremble. He needs to grow into his jersey though. I have to drive the boat. His feet don't reach the hot foot yet.

Been almost two months since i wet a line. Been too busy creating a bass boat! The process is a nightmare, but a fun nightmare. One of the last few times i went fishing, my dad and i had a good day on the water. We each had some 4s, 5s, and each landed a 6 and a half pounder. It is always rare in Minnesota for two people to catch a 6 pounder in the same outing. Were on the water for 6 hours. I was feeling confident with the early 4s and a 5 and was quite satisfied with my day. Then my dad hooked the 6 pounder. I was extremely excited for him, but knew my chances were slim for catching a giant. His was on the 7 inch worm. About an hour later, i hooked mine with a ghost swimjig i made and painted couple nights earlier. Always the best to catch them on your own creation. Not sure if this picture will be right side up... Shimmy

The fish I caught back in May has now been caught AGAIN! It was first caught in April on a Ratl Trap, I caught her in May on a Hudd, and recently she was caught AGAIN on an Ol Monster... Unbelievable! Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard?? Who knows how many times that fish has been caught and not registered with the Lunker Program... Just goes to show that not all giants are as smart as we think, and catch and release WORKS. edit: for those of you familiar with Toledo: this fish was caught in Six Mile, released in Housen, caught by me in Six Mile, released in Pirate's Cove (LA side of the lake, miles away), then caught in Six Mile again this time... That fish knows how to find it's way home!

Interesting how some think you are limited in bass fishing when using a spinning reel.I use all the lures mentioned above with spinning reels and have a high success rate with spinning tackle.I even throw big spinnerbaits and buzzbaits on spinning gear which is supposedly "incorrect" to do as well(yet I somehow manage to catch bass this way).It all boils down to personal preference and there are plenty of fishermen that do well with spinning reels just like fishermen do well with baitcaster reels for bass.

Umm I catch fish on all those lures using spinning tackle ? I only have one bait caster and almost exclusively use spinning tackle. I catch fish on cranks all day using it.. I don't see how using spinning tackle eliminates the OP's suggestions. It clearly does not. I use all of those baits on spinning tackle with success on a regular basis. I think the most Important "beginner's lure" not mentioned is the IN LINE spinner. Like a mepps. I've caught more species on that lure than any other . Nothing even comes close.

Can you please educate me, someone that primarily uses spinning tackle, why I am limited in the different types of lures that I am using. I'm having a lot of fun using all different types of lures with my spinning outfit.

In the March/April 1975 issue of Bassmaster Magazine, Ray Scott, in his Scott on the Line editorial, introduced the concept of fly-fishing tournaments into the fold of the Bassmaster Trail. “You can count on a one-day ‘Flyrod Only Tournament’ before the regular pro national tournaments in April, May and June. This maybe the most fun we’ve ever had at a BASS tournament. We expect most of the BASS pros to give it a whirl, we’ll probably see a few previously timid flyrod ‘experts’ jump in the contest since we’ll be using weapons of their liking.” The 1975 season added a new concept in bass tournament fishing – a one-day fly rod tournament that anglers could choose to participate in or not. The advantage that the fly rod event gave was an extra day of practice and also much needed points towards Classic qualification. Because of this, most anglers grudgingly fished the fly rod events. For the 1976 season, though, the fly rod competition was discontinued, probably due to complaints from the anglers. On the Fly Rod Front Bull Shoals also marked the first fly rod-only event of the season. The tournament was held the day prior to the regular tournament with 63 anglers participating. Eleven fish were caught and weighed with Ricky Green taking the top honors with two fish that totaled 3-04. His fish netted him an extra $1,400 dollars. Ron Deardoff and Austin James each took big fish honors with single fish weighing in at 3-03 along with second and third place honors. Russell Breckenridge (brother of Rayo) collected a fourth-place check of $300 with one fish that went 2-05, while Roger Moore held on to the fifth spot with one fish that weighed in at 2-04. Other anglers who caught fish were Bill Dance, Billy Westmorland, Rick Clunn, Jim Nolen and Walt Sawicki. In all the 63 anglers caught 11 bass. Kerr Fly-Rod Only Tournament For the second straight event, B.A.S.S. hosted a fly-rod only tournament the day prior to the main event. This time Jon Hall took the winning honors, besting 65 other anglers, with five fish that weighed 11 pounds. He caught his fish on a 4-inch blue Mann’s Jelly Worm. Dick Busby placed second with two fish for 8-02. He too didn’t conform to traditional fly rod baits, catching his fish on 1/4-ounce spinnerbaits in the trees. Although Don Shealy didn’t finish too well in the main event, he did bring in two fish for 6-07 and 3rd place. He was the only angler to utilize conventional fly gear, catching his fish on popping bugs. Ricky Green (5-03) and Tom Mann (5-00) placed 4th and 5th respectively. Santee-Cooper Fly Rod Only Event Although Don Shealy stunk it up pretty bad in the main event at Kerr, he came back at the fly rod only event held at Santee-Cooper. Shealy weighed an impressive 10-fish limit that went 17-10 and also created a new fly-rod only tournament record. He caught his fish His fish came on a combination of popping bugs and plastic worms. Bo Dowden finished in 2nd place with 12-14 and Johnny Morris weighed in 12-03 for 3rd place. Jon Hall, who won the Kerr fly rod event, placed 4th with 9-04 and Bill Dance placed 5th with 8-05. Source: Bass Fishing Archives Part 1 Bass Fishing Archives Part 2

As an employee of a sporting goods retailer I often see many different anglers ranging in experience. Just in the last week I was lucky enough to run into Elite Series Pro James Elam while I was working, but many times I get the chance to share some of my knowledge of fishing to some new guys and gals. A lot of new anglers seem timid to ask for help or even embarrassed of their lack of knowledge of the sport. Some may say I'm over passionate about fishing, but it's my love of the sport which drives me to want to educate and teach others of my experiences and knowledge. With so many different sources of information on the web a beginner can be bombarded with too much information at one time. So here I am to answer one of the most commonly asked questions from beginners and experienced anglers alike: "What are the fish biting on?" My answer to that question can vary a lot depending on the time of year and experience of the angler. In many cases, whether it's a newbie or a seasoned vet to the sport, I will tell them at least one of these four baits I'm about to list. In my opinion these are the only four baits a beginner needs to have in their box to get out and start catching fish immediately. The spinnerbait/Chatterbait The spinnerbait can be contributed to more fish catches than just about any other bait on the market. It's an easy bait for a beginner to pickup because it requires a simple cast and retrieve and is relatively weedless. It can produce fish no matter if its fall, winter, spring, or summer. The chatterbait is very similarly fished like a spinnerbait though more commonly fished from spring through fall. The square bill crankbait A square bill crank can produce fish spring through fall and lots of them. Though it is not very weedless it does require the same simple cast and retrieve as the spinnerbait and chatterbait. The color options are somewhat limitless so going with a simple bait fish pattern or the ever popular chartreuse black back pattern is a safe bet to landing some bass. The Senko The senko is a no brainer best bait for any new angler partially because your options to fishing it are practically neverending: weightless texas rig, wackey, ned rig, drop shot, neko, it goes on and on. A couple packs of Green Pumpkin Senkos (or other brand stick worm) and you can be out catching fish today. Why are these the best baits for a beginner you might ask. Well, because all of these can be thrown on either spinning or baitcasting gear and none of them require a monster hook set. Bites are fairly simple to detect on all of these set ups and getting out and catching fish is what the new guys need to build confidence in their abilities. I will say it again these are the best four baits for a beginner in my opinion and I'm sure there are others that would work just as well, but these are the ones I have chosen. So I hope this was worth the read and I hope it helps you get out and catch some fish.

What about the money? So every advancement or new technique that requires something different is "about the money?" I don't understand. When we made the switch from steel, cane, and fiberglass rods to graphite, it was money driven? Better hooks with wider gaps, and a z-bend was financially driven? I mean in some respects, it's always about the money. The company that does not satisfy the demand for a product consumers want doesn't get that revenue. You can look at this in many ways. I'm sure there are people running companies that are all about the quick buck, but to characterize evolution in gear as some conspiracy motivated to get us to spend money is a little silly. You've always had to part with your wallet to try something new. Fishing tackle isn't like cell phones or other consumables with designed obsolescence. The new doesn't really cancel out the old. Besides, if you don't see a need, or don't want to try something new, then you aren't forced to buy it.But don't tell me that an industry made up of primarily small businesses (yes, this is true and you'd be surprised how small) is somehow all about the money, and conspiring to jip you.

Once the beginner master the Texas Rig all other techniques are easy to learn. Proof's in the pudding!

I agree with you 100% on everything you wrote,especially the part on having fun when bass fishing.Some say that spinning reels don't have strong enough components to effectively fish bigger lures such as heavy spinnerbaits,but that's not 100% true with all spinning reels.There are many people that enjoy casting big saltwater plugs with size 4000 spinning reels and these people have no problems catching big powerful saltwater gamefish.

I am with you, I have fished pretty much every technique with a spinning reel in my time. I have found that a baitcaster is easier to use with cranks due to gear ratios and the handle reels fast easier, but that doesn't stop me from only using a spinning reel/rod when bank fishing tossing everything from plastics to cranks on the same spinning stick and catch a mess of fish while I am at it. I may miss a few because the rod is not perfect for the lure, but since I am out there to just have fun, it is much easier to carry one stick vs 4 especially if I wade in.

Spinning tackle that most entry level anglers have are not designed for high water heavy resistant lures like square bill crank baits and spinnerbaits or chatter baits and the line rod power is marginal to get good hook sets with heavy wire hooks. If you cast and retreive lures that can't unwind the line as it twisted by the spinning reels bail each revolution, the line becomes twisted beyond use quickly. To over come line twist a swivel should be used or braided line. To achieve good hook sets with heavy wire hooks you need line at least 10# test and rods with enough power like 3 or MH. Agree you can use a spinning outfit if the rod, reel , line combination performs the task. Gary Yamamoto only uses spinning tackle and I can't think of any other pro who uses spinning for crank baits, spinnerbaits or chatter baits. Spinning is ideally suited for weightless Senko's and several lightvweight finesse presentations suited this type of tackle. You all should be busting my chops for saying 3 out 4 when it's 2 out of 3! Peace. Tom

Doug Hannon has written that the largest bass are often the most aggressive ones -the fastest growers. He felt that many potential giants were most vulnerable to be culled by anglers.

Don't want to sound negative, the right lure is only good fished at the right location and time. Selling a new angler that uses spinning tackle for example eliminates 3 or the 4 suggested recommended lures. Advice should take into account what tackle is being used, where the angler intends to fish and at what depth the bass are currently actively feeding. The lowly worm has caught more bass than all other lures combined, Senko is only one type of soft plastic worm. Welcome to the BR site. Tom

I absolutely smoked the fish in a pond yesterday on a ned rig. They were all small, but I caught over 20. At first I was using a 6'6" ML with 6lb line, but I found out that the tip was damaged and it was fraying my line, so I switched to my 5'6" UL with 4lb line because it's what I had and the fish were small (1lb at the largest) so who cares. When I got bit I did a classic hookset. Reeled the slack down and jacked em. I lost very few fish. None of this sweep or reel into them stuff. However, it could be because I was using such light gear, I don't know.

I'll take the cold over the heat every day. I firmly believe anyone who would rather have the heat doesn't do manual labor for work. If you had to pack construction materials all day you'd rather be in the cold. I can always wear a hat , gloves and coat But in the heat I'm SOL. Hate the heat. Only thing you can do (enjoyably) in summer that you can't do in spring and fall is swim. And when you're blue collar you dont get to spend most of your time swimming.

Brand new, just posted. Hope it helps. Let me know what you think!

I took a big old bite of it this weekend. This is my first season fishing for LMB. I have been quite consistent all year with fish over 20", and I decided to join a local kayak tournament. This is the first tournament I have ever fished. I anticipated it for months thinking I would have a strong shot at winning. Well, with that hurricane/tropical storm last week, the lake was up about 2-3', and the water had cooled way down. The bite was non-existent for me. I landed two small fish that weren't even worth scoring. I tried everything I had with me. I was getting lots of bites on wacky senkos, but I couldn't get the hook set on any of them. I spent the day banging the banks and lay-downs. The water was very dirty, so I didn't suspect them to be in open water. It was a bad day. Definitely need to become a more rounded fisherman!

Fished in the scattered storms this morning for a couple hours. I surprisingly did really well given the water temperature dropping four degrees over night to 72, I figured that would mess them up for a day or two. I was throwing a loon colored whopper plopper while it was raining, and when the rain cleared off I switched to half of a zinkerz. The whopper plopper was fished on points and shorelines in 2-8 feet of water, and the ned rig for some reason worked best in the narrow window of nine to eleven foot range on drop offs, I found these fish on my depth finder and dropped it down just to see what they were. Turns out they were bass, and a whole lot of them packed into a tiny little area. Ended up with a total of 34 bass in about three hours, nine bass over fifteen inches and big bass weighing 3.8 pounds

Ditto on Strike King doing the copying Here's a few of my old DBs, most with the brass hangers and lead tuning bills Great baits!

The model a and wiggle wart are my favorites, I haven't done a whole lot with the big o, but to be fair I haven't tried it a lot so I'm going to have to try it again. The balsa baits work fine for me in rocks, as long as I'm bumping and stopping the bait into them on the retrieve. I have had them break by hitting stuff on the cast, but I've only broke one or two I can remember on the retrieve and then I was digging it in the bottom really hard and also there's no telling how many fish I had caught on those baits before, or how many times I had fished them before. Sometimes the balsa baits like bagleys are the only way to trigger the fish

And that's why I cringe when there's debates over what is the better knot, and stats are flaunted around, and tempers rise, lol. If you can't tie the knot, it's always going to be the WORST KNOT TO USE, no matter what the consensus it.

I've had a few scenarios where ordering from Australia is a pretty good buy. Since we have that trade agreement with some of the pacific countries the shipping isn't too bad. I got a NIB Shimano Sustain from Melbourne, AUS for about $175 plus $15 shipping and it was here in 6 days.

Opinions are all over the place on this subject and honestly it just comes down to personal preference. I will say the guys in the office here are more of the old school variety and believe in building on the spine - this includes the guys who design the blanks. The main reason is to reduce torque as the blank wants to turn with the flow of it’s pattern. Now my opinion is that it's small/minimal increase in performance, kind of like the difference in weight from 316 Steel to Titanium guides. It's minimal and hard to really feel the difference but there is a bit of bump in performance. If the spine is barely noticeable then there’s little benefit and build on the straight edge if you want. But if a blank has a wicked/pronounced spine, which depends on the layout pattern when building the blank, then it’s best to build on the spine. This is when we consider strength, not just torque, becomes an issue..

Another thread on this topic on this site helped me a bunch. When does the back lash occur? Beginning? Middle? or End? Beginning= Increase spool tension at knob. Middle= use your thumb very lightly as you feel the backlash starting to happen. End= increase brakes. Experiment from there. I find adding Shimano centrifugal brakes (VBS or SVS) helps at the beginning also. I do not cast well with magnet based systems so I do not have any.

Yeah but, we're told over and over ad nauseum that the FG is the BEST knot for connections.

And on your way to Virginia can you guys stop in West Virginia first?

J Francho is spot on, once you get them dialed in better, the less it will happen. I'll get a loose coil or two every trip usually casting lighter baits into the wind. I only had to cut out a backlash once in the last couple of years. Check out this video, it works like magic!

Depends. If it's a new to me reel, I might get some muffing several casts in a row, until I figure it out. Some reels, never. Fishing in wind with something like a spinnerbait, I might get some loose coils, and mabe a backlash or two in the trip. It's part of the game. Spinning reels are no better. A day deep drops fishing for smallies with a drop shot or tube, and I'll get some coils flying off from twist.

Everyone likes to recommend senkos for beginners, but I like to start them off with a moving bait. Something like a spinnerbait or a crankbait. Fish usually hook themselves with these. A topwater is not a bad option either, since it's very interactive. Once they're used to feeling the strike, I'll move on to feel baits. I prefer to use something weighted, but hooks easily. Wacky jigs with a finesse worm, or a jig and grub is a good option. I want them to feel bottom, and how long it takes to get there. Finally, I'll show them weightless options, like senkos. By then, they will have developed a feel for semi-slack line bites. Too often, I'm removing deeply swallowed hooks when I introduce them to a senko from the get go. It's this experience that led me to the path I outlined above.

The Only Baits Any Beginner Needs to Catch Fish I don't know about baits (lures) but I start most of my students with one simple technique. Texas Rigs! With a Texas Rig I can cover the entire water column, it is effective year round, it is productive in all water clarity's, deadly post frontal & bluebird skies.

Sometimes entire coves are "bubbling" with shad and if they are not jumping there are no bass after them . If they are just flicking , they are not under pressure .There might be an occasional bass bust them but I found them hard to catch .You see lots of them jumping excitedly , something is after them and the fishing can get very hot.Sometimes they are not visible then suddenly they are busting surface Many times I'm fishing and see a single baitfish jump . A big bass might not be chasing but is on the prowl and a startled baitfish quite often jumps. I have caught a lot of nice fish by casting at a single tiny minnow that is skedaddling . I have caught many bass , almost always small ones , by fishing pods of shad . I'll spot a pod , cast a plastic worm , grub...past the pod and reel it in slowly under it .

Cotton Cordell Big-O's and Bomber Model A's are killer on the rivers I fish for smallmouth, if the fish are hitting craws, those two cranks will out fish more expensive baits. The key to it is the forage the fish are on, but the Big-O and Model A are some of the best craw imitating cranks ever made.

Yeah, that wouldn't go well with the equipment the OP is using. I've seen a lot of broken lines and bent hooks using a traditional hookset with a Ned rig on braid. It works fine with mono or fluoro though because of the stretch.

Original Floating Rapala....split shots....assortment of plastic worms and of course.....a Popper and walking bait since they are fun, but I would have fun setting people up with a starter kit when I worked at a tackle shop. I would always ask what the budget was and then I would always figure since they usually were fishing ponds or small lakes I would also suggest the senko since it is easy to fish, but in pressured areas like many private lakes, everyone uses a senko, but we had a worm bar so for .10 each you could load someone up with enough plastics for the year for $10 bucks. I would always suggest inline spinners since they get bit, topwater, but I would encourage them to learn to get comfortable with weightless worms and I would suggest shallow running cranks to keep it simple, but the Rapala or Rebel Minnow was usually the first lure I would suggest because people love to have lures.... Best part of the Floating Minnow baits is you can fish em topwater, wake em, walk em, or crank them down to 3-4' like a crankbait, or add a split shot or put them on a carolina rig especially if fishing rivers....I would always try to give baits they could use in the brackish water as well so they could catch some Snook as well, but good list. I could always tell who was reading magazines or watching videos when they would come in new and want Glide baits or the BBZ....I had to do my job and sell them, but if they were on a budget I would have to be honest and tell them that the line was really the most important part because strikes are only fun if you land a few..... I found most new anglers would come back and always want more toads and boot tailed swimbaits because I would tell them to fish them on the surface, cover water, and count to 3 after the blow up....Everyone loves Topwater, it is hard to convince them that the best way to get started is to target shallow bass, and suggesting casting to the banks is often hard for people to comprehend. They assume if they can get that boat right in the middle, that is where the big fish are.... I use Medium Heavy spinning rods for Jigs, Cranks, any bait with 20lb braid or 10lb braid, sometimes 10lb mono on a 4000 Reel. Most MH spinning rods are rated up to 3/4 so you can't really fish big baits, but the saltwater inshore spinning rods can handle 1 ounce and are light. I never see saltwater guys using casting gear, and you catch fish much much larger than the world record largemouth with much bigger lures at times....A nice Stradic with a good quality MH or H spinning rod can get you through mats if needed imo. If you can land a huge Tarpon, a 5-8lb bass should be alright.

The 8' rod length limit was established to stop the use of 12' flipping rods from use in B.A.S.S. sanctioned tournaments back when Dee Thomas first fished B.A.S.S. events with 12'-14' rods. Dee's first 8' a Fenwick flipping rod had a telescoping handle so the long rod fit bass boat rod lockers. Going from 8' to 10' is a surprise! The flipping, big deep crankbaits and swimbaits will benefit from longer rods and they will become popular. Tom

$1 buzzbaits sold right alongside the spinnerbaits work too. I've personally modified them to prevent the blade from slipping, and this mod is easy and it works. See below. I've also added various plastic trailers to bulk them up. Agreed that another good value spinnerbait - for $3 when on sale is the DSG "Banshee." For the record, I agree with the statement that Mr. Francho refrained from making about big box vs smaller companies. But yet I have and use cheap baits from Walmart and others, so I can't say too much...

Way cool ! She knows where the food is. Lol

Cool, just don't handicap him with one of those new 10 ft. rods!! Great thing about having little kids as fishing partners is they can often get to snagged lures on the shore that adults can't. Small enough to fit thru a bush, light enough to climb a tree, its a human lure retriever!!

these days with most of reels under 7 oz. ,contimplating fishing a 9-10 oz. reel should not be an impulse buy !!

You can use any lure with spinning tackle, provided you have a reel with gearing that is powerful and durable enough to retrieve high resistance baits like big cranks and spinner baits and the strain of horsing fish from heavy cover with braid using frogs and punching. And provided you can find a rod suitable for those techniques or afford to have a custom built on a casting blank. Other than that I guess you could use one for anything but a baitcaster is going to have a lot more power with any resistance bait and it's a lot easier to find a casting rod in long lengths that are best for many techniques, moderate or moderate fast crankbait actions, and heavier powers

Thanks Turkey Sandwich,...I couldnt agree with you more. I use the perch patterened jerkbait early in the mornings, then switch over to the olive green around 9 or 10ish as the morning patterns fade, for the rest of he day., I think that solid greenish flash really gets them hopping on it with the sun being up so, hits it just right. One thing everyone seems to be missing is, as these smallies feed up for winter, they are getting fatter, stronger, and can litterally wear you out during a good day of fishing, the longer the season goes on. They fight like frieght trains on the run, they jump to show you how fat they've gotten, and then it's a fight till you get your thumb on the lower jaw. Almost like they are challenging you to succeed. While doing a triple gainer with a full double twist, in mid air mind you, they look at you, and size you up as if to say,..."this is what I got to beat?',.."he's got a fight on his hands now!",... and its on. That right there is the one reason I wait to winterize my boat til the last minute. With those mild winters maybe not at all.That hightened, energy filled battle, has got to be the pinnicle of smallie fishing. They are as fat as they are going to be that year, and ready to battle because of it. And do they ever battle. Set your drags right ,..otherwise plan on loosing some lures. I actually set my drag for the hit, and then back the drag down a bit once I have them hooked, to let them fight the rod and line. after I let them go? I reset the reels drag, ready for the next hit. Shimano's fighting drag reels really shine doing this, as It has a lever to "set" for the hit, after you've loosened the drag for the fight, when it comes time to reset the drag, its is as easy as moving the drag lever back to its original "setting" Works wonders and I rarley loose a hooked fish God I love smallie fishing in Fall. It just rules Keep ya line wet

I like a 1/4 oz for running fast over shallow water, smaller profile, lighter rod and line. I usually go 3/8-1/2 90% of the time since I can add bigger trailers without them rolling and 3/4 is my favorite for fishing slowly. Pond fishing I always go light 1/8-1/4 even Strike King Mini size just to match my little 6' Med action spinning rod I use for tight spots..... I find the 3/8 is not much heavier but allows you to use bigger & heavier soft baits for trailers which is when I like to use the standard brands. Yea, Terminator is a strange company, I know Rapala VMC owns them, but for a "Spinnerbait" Company they sure charge good money for a nice skirt and blades that fly off at times, bend, and even the T-1's are not so great. DIck's has that 3/10 Strike King/Booyah Sale and they carry a ton of colors, I find both brands hold up well.

You would not be able to use a 10' rod from the bank in some of the places I fish. Too many bushes and trees.

Finally back to catching some nice ones again after a week long dink-fest up north. Smallest one pictured was just over 17"

and still relevant

Scotch works better

therapy

BOWFIN!