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Got these 2 suckers on a rapala rippin rap on the same cast! Casted into a school blowing up on the surface. I had this happen on a yellow magic once but one of the fish got off before I landed them, glad they both stayed on this time.

To avoid stupid people from introducing foreign species into places where they are going to do more harm than good, for example snakeheads.

If you had to fish in a lake with Eurasion Water Milfoil, Zebra Mussels, Quagga Mussels, Spiny Water Fleas, Asian Carp, or one of the many other ANS plants or animals, you might appreciate the "stupid laws". It's not so much the bass they're worried about being transported. There's no way to move a bass without moving some water with it, along with anything in that water, a lot things you won't be able to see without a microscope. Is it possible for birds (or various other animals), to transport the same creatures? Sure. The difference is that's Nature doing what it's done long before man walked on this earth.

My parents have a timeshare type deal where they can stay lots of different places around the country, one of those places is on the banks of Table Rock lake. My mom started a new job this summer and dad didn't want the points to go to waste, so he asked if I wanted to fish Table Rock October 16th-19th, of course I did. I was a bit concerned, beings as my dad isn't a big bass fisherman, and The Rock can be stingy for the most seasoned bass guys. I made sure he was aware of this, but he didn't seem to care, so Monday morning he met me at the house and away we went. We got to the lake around noon and the 30mph south winds I'd been fighting the whole drive down never let up. Thankfully, the resort was on the south side of the mouth of a cove and had it's own ramp that was also protected. I'd done my research and it sounded like flat gravel banks were the place to be, and I could clearly see that the entire shoreline as far as I could see was exactly that, so I made the decision to put the trolling motor down and fish. Dad tied on a 200 series Bandit in Spring Craw and I don't think we made it 50' before he had his first fish, a 12" smallie! He was pumped, I was glad the weight was gone that there was no skunk coming for him this week. Then within the next 100' of shoreline, dad had 4 more while I only managed 1 little smallmouth. We got to the first point and dad hooks up with not only another smallmouth, but the first keeper of the trip! Off to a red hot start, I was scrambling to find something similar without resorting to the exact same bait. I switched to my trusty V38 wiggle wart and put a few smaller fish in the boat over the next few hours. As it got later, I eyed the opposite shoreline and saw the shade creeping out over the water. Told dad we were making a short move and I picked up my 90 Whopper Plopper and put a little spot and a short largemouth in the boat in 3 cast. 1 of the baits I'd made dad buy before we went was a 90 WP and he already had it tied on. He made about 10 cast before the water erupted and he was pinned to a healthy largemouth. A nervous fight with several jumps that made it very clear he only had one hook in the fish followed before I was able to net it. Dad's second keeper of the trip was a nearly 3 pound largemouth! We rounded a point and worked into the back of the next pocket. I was in less than 3' with the boat, casting my WP into less than 1' of water when a submarine waked cruised off the bank and plowed into my bait. I saw a big side flash and called for the net. She dove under the boat and then tailwalked right into the net. 4 pounds 6 ounces, one of the biggest largemouth I've caught from Table Rock. Literally my next cast to the exact same spot produced another 16.5" largemouth, and dad added another 16" smallmouth before the end of the night and we both had several more fish and what would have been a really solid bag of fish in October on Table Rock. Day 2 was a grind at first. We tried a new area and didn't do much. Dad again got the catching started off with a pair of 16" smallmouth, one on a grub and one on a Ned rig. We dinked around for awhile, catching a stray fish occasionally. I pulled a few out of a school I marked in front of a dock, before the phrase "Don't leave fish to find fish", started running through my head. Back to the area we fished the day before we went. The wind was blowing hard again and we had some clouds so I'd started throwing a spinnerbait. The wind caught my blades one cast and I was pulling out a little backlash, cleared it and cranked my spinnerbait in quickly when it came through a cedar tree and got crushed by a 18 1/4" smallmouth. I kept slinging the spinnerbait, had another similar sized smallmouth jump off out of a cedar, then caught another 16" smallmouth that fought like it was 5 pounds. I switched to the WP when we got into the calmer water in the pocket by the ramp when I hooked up with another solid fish. I thought I had another fat smallmouth, but was excited to find I'd caught the second meanmouth I've ever caught, and it was a 16.5" keeper! Dad had a fish destroy his WP but didn't hook up, then it happened again a little ways further down the flat, and he boated a 3.5 pound largemouth that had an even bigger one following it! It was after lunch time at this point and dad was feeling it from rocking in the boat and casting all day so I dropped him at the ramp to go relax for awhile. I went and tried to fish deep, and pretty much failed completely. I managed to catch one 15.5" smallmouth on a dropshot next to a tree and that was it. Day 3 was a shortened day because we wanted to get back at a decent time but just like the first 2 days, dad started us off with a 16" smallmouth that crushed the WP. We tried several different areas and caught a few fish, including a few barely keepers, before we decided to put it on the trailer and head home. It was a great trip and I was very happy that Table Rock had been kind to my dad and I so that we could both have a more enjoyable trip.

Fenwick Aetos 7'0" MF + Pflueger Patriarch 9535:

Ok, here is my VERY modest rod lineup. From left to right: Pflueger President 2500 on a 6'6 Fenwick Eagle M/F Lews LFS on 6'6 Veritas 2.0 MH/Moderate Pflueger Trion on Lightning Shock 6'6 Med/ModFast Tatula CT on Vendetta 7' MH/F

I think you are looking at a custom made rod that was most likely built for "Frank Boomer JR". I would expect the rod was built as a boat rod, so to speak, and the blank was built to handle 60 to 100 pound test line. That looks to me to be a rod for salt water fishing for fish like blues, stripers, or even smaller tuna, I am not sure. Your member info does not say where you live nut if you are near salt water find a good local tackle store that handles salt water gear and ask them what they think he had it built to fish for.

I have a telescoping pole that used to be a lure retriever before the metal coil snapped off. It's worked very well and since it was a 15' pole, I can easily stake out in up to 10' of water and collapse it down to about 5'.

Someone in ohio please put these boys on some fish!!!

I thought the same thing about senkos until I really forced myself to use them Texas rig weightless.. I disagree big time that they aren't as effective . I prefer to fish them tx weightless now and I can get around 5 fish a worm with the original GY senko rigging this way. Senkos are not just regular worms... and definitely are not limited to just wacky. I could never wacky rig them again and catch bass with them day after day. I Appreciate your insight on the zinkerz though.

On advice of counsel, I did indeed buy all of the Mid Wee R lures they had, an even dozen. Some pics of the Rebel stash. Crank R Critters

Hello, and thanks for having me! My names Ethan (raised in Indiana, now in Michigan) and I've been fishing since I can remember. In fact I have home videos of a small me fishing with a crankbait on a snoopy pole before I could walk. My first bass was on a snoopy pole, and since then my addiction has only gotten worse (or better) depends how you look at it!☺️ I've never made an account here, although many of you have helped me without knowing it at times...and for that I say thank you! Onto my question! today on a cold front Michigan day I went fishing, something I always do☺️ Today was a bit different, for today I caught my personal best! I debated on keeping the fish for a mount, but she was too large and beautiful I felt it would be selfish.. how can I kill something that I personally would love to catch again as would many others? I released her BUT I still want a mount? Are there any replication companies that can make a look alike mount to my measurements and weight etc? Has anyone used a company before that they were satisfied with? I thank you for your time, and truly hope I did not screw up by releasing her... in case anyone wondered. It was a 9.4 pound largemouth, would of been ten but she spit up some large bluegills! Just shy of 25".. a fish like that is why I go fishing in the first place!

Well took out my Subwalk today thanks to @A-Jay recommendation and I have to say its the Crappie'st lure I've ever thrown. Hooked up with 4 nice crappie, and 2 bass that would be lucky to measure 10". Overall pleased with it and looking forward to throwing it some more, especially in the spring.

It's awesome on spinning tackle. Cast a mile and is extremely thin. Tough to tie knots though, and it does kind of unravel or something like that after awhile but I like it for what I use it for. Wouldn't personally use it on casting gear but some do and like it.

The straighter the worm on a Texas rig the less twist it will create . I bend the part next to the eye slightly creating a straight line from that small section to the point . The top photo shows one before and after the bend and the bottom shows how a worm would lay naturally . Its easy see how this bend will allow for a straighter rig .

They won't necessarily go to the deepest parts of the main river. They may not travel as far as the main river at all. You'll just have to explore to try and find them.

I don't see this lasting long

They're a good C-rig or split shot rig bait along with being a good T-rig bait, but I usually pitch them with a 1/4oz bullet weight instead of weightless.

Get out of that chair and move! Bass ain't gonna find you.

In many rivers smallmouth will migrate out of the tribs into the main river toward their wintering areas when the water temps drop in the fall. Next trip go to where the tributary meets the main river.

I fish the zinkers just like senkos, weightless wacky/ Texas along with weighted wacky or Texas when they loose their salt and start to float. You can catch a three to five fish before they start floating. When they float I'll put a nail on them to make them sink, tear them in half and Ned rig them or use them on a shakey head. I like normal senkos more because they sink faster but if I want some worms for the Ned rig, I'll get a pack of zinkers and fish them till the salt runs out

Those suspenders are stretched to their max, if they go off, somebody is going to lose an eye!

jigs BPS Stud Fry buzzbait shallow crankbait Zoom Centipede Pop-R Took a bit to track down the old data sheet. Top 3 accounted for 72% of all keepers. Lure #4 brought the total to 82%, #5 to 89%, and #6 to 92%. -T9

I love fishing with buzz baits but alter everyone I buy. You can make them much easier to cast by pulling half of the skirt strands off , tune it to run at slower speeds by opening the curve part of the blade, I also crimp the rivet at the end of the wire arm so it doesn't move and rough up the face of the rivet where the blade hits it to get the right squeak. Finally I almost always add a trailer to slow the sink rate as most hits seem to come on the first couple cranks.

A few more back up rods.

Thanks to another member I was finally able to round out the 3 amigos Gloomis IMX 844MBR-chronarch E7 Gloomis IMX 783MBR-conquest 100 Gloomis IMX 782MBR-curado 50e Not much these 3 can't handle.

MB Orochi XX: Spinnerbait Special Jerkbait Special Flat Side Special Perfect Pitch EMTF Tour Versatile Shakey Head(not pictured) G Loomis: NRX 842S REELS: Shimano: 13 Met. 6.2 13 Met. 6.2 13 Met.HG 7.4 13 Met.XG 8.5 15 Calcutta Conquest 100HG 14 Stella 3000HGM Daiwa: SV 103XS 7.9 More Daiwa reels coming

Drum are fun, when you're not in a tournament and think you've hooked the next record smallmouth, lmao.

Anyone tried this?

We have stickied threads for specific lures such as Senkos and NED rigs. Perhaps we can sticky this thread on Fishing Tackle TIps & Tricks which would cover rod, reel, and tackle tips. I know that some guys like to change their reel handles, add hook holders, use rod sleeves, use clips for lures and other tricks and tips. Just tips and tricks like that that have helped make your fishing experience more satisfying and efficient. I'll start out with two tips. I learned both from fisherman on here and they have really helped me save a lot of money and time. The second one, how to save on Senkos has been covered before but that's ok. 1.) How to quick change lures: KVD Mustad Fastach Clip (I like size 3 for my baitcaster). This clip also helps add movement to stickbait lures and such. I've tried snaps, swivel snaps, and many other types of clips and snaps and nothing has worked as well as this. What's nice is they are cheap and can be found easily at Walmarts and other sporting good stores and are $2.86 for a pack of 12. They are also much stronger than swivel snaps and snaps. I'm still on my original 5, even though I've caught many northerns on them. I've had northerns tear up snaps quick. Number 3 size has a 75lbs. breaking strength. 2.) How to quick change Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits: Rubber Tubing (I use the Fastach clips on all of my baitcasters but have to use the segment of tubing for Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits so they don't slip - I use standard airline tubing for aquariums.). It goes over the loop tight but then is fits once it gets into the groove. The tubing does not effect the action of the lure. 3.) How to save on Senkos: Rubber Tubing (I use a 1" piece of vinyl tubing that is 3/8" inside diamater and 1/2" outside diameter.). With this tip I've had 1 Senko last like 12 trips which was probably over 50 fish. That's a lot of savings when I have lost Senkos just casting. The tubing does not effect the action of the lure. Sorry, couldn't get the photos to go horizontally. Alright guys, hopefully we can sticky this thread and guys can add their tips and tricks.

i wouldn't use a power handle , a longer double handle (95-105 mm ) answer is YES ..

Castaic has been receiving water from the Pyrimd for several months and that stopped about 2 weeks ago. The lake is up nearly over 50' since May. There isn't any aquatic weed growth, lots of flooded shore brush. There is a low light top water bite until 8A, followed by Shad colored crank or lipless bite. The deeper soft plastic bite is about 15' to 25' on Shad colors or oxblood red flake around the points. The ski arm has been better than the fish arm and that is changing. Tom

Crazy

No, I'm not direct aging. This info comes from data collected by state agencies throughout the north, from conversations with managers here, and from my own observations following year classes and some recaptures. Fish, as I know you know, are extremely variable in growth potential. (Stating this for the wider audience). A given bass could gain anything from 0 to 3lbs/yr depending on growth season and sheer amount of food it can catch. Most bass, in most waters, do not gain such high rates simply bc they cannot catch enough food. Waters with high growth rates, much less sustained high growth rates, are rare in the wild. Of course those are the waters that attract anglers. People who successfully manage private trophy bass fisheries come to realize how much forage is required to grow bass, and how carefully population size-structure must be managed. This stuff is simply rare in the wild.

I don't see why not. A small weighted wacky rig with them would probably work even better. You can wacky rig any worm. I've caught fish on a 12" manns jelly worm wacky rigged.

Wow! What a trip!

Back in August I bought the KVD Helix 10 SI for $1200 shipped. Probably not the lowest price these went for (shipped)...but a pretty good price. As has been mentioned, you get the three baits (a 6XD, a spinnerbait, and a 3rd that I've already forgotten) and the red accents on the unit. The only downside that I see is that the red will eventually fade to pink. BUT, for the $$$ savings, I can live with a sonar with pink accents...

I practiced with the tape trick and on top of a parking garage. I used the number of spaces I could cast as a guide. Security came up one day and asked me if I had caught anything yet.... I said yep... one idiot...

For me, it's simple. I don't use braid/superline with a fast speed rod. I use mono with a fast speed rod. For a low-stretch line like braid, I figure I NEED the give and cushioning effect of moderate speed rods. The problem is that some companies offer "fast" speed rods that are what I would call "moderately slow". Better to see and handle the rod in person. jj

That's awesome. Sounds like a great time and being with Dad makes 10 times better.

Awesome!

Well done Blue! It's always Is special to fish with those closest to us.

Ahhh yea, who's going out this weekend? Sustained 20-25mph winds and rain...woot woot! In all seriousness I might try Sunday if the wind isn't super bad. I ended up with a few quality fish two weeks ago when the winds were 30+ so who knows.

I am new to the forum, been watching for a while, a big thanks to everyone on here with all of the helpful posts. I will attempt to contribute but as my name indicates, I am a busy guy with kids in ball but I will be at the bend next week to give it a try. I usually go in the spring and fall, 2 trips each year for now. I'm from down south so usually more of a bank beater but trying to get out of that mode for this trip at least some. Plan to start shallow then move off and fish Housen, Lowes, indian mounds and maybe 6 mile areas. Just wanted to say hello and thanks. BG

Down here you don't approach someone's boat without permission... Ya might get shot or your ass whipped! It's called respect!

This little musky found its way to my 1/4oz Excalibur lipless crank today and miraculously didn't bite through the 10lb mono it was on. The Calcutta Conquest 50 sure is being put to the test!