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my zillion-tws came in today i love the feel of this reel i can't wait to spool it up

I came across a stack of old drafting drawers. So I have just used them for tackle storage. Everything is out of the boat and stored in these drawers. Each tournament and trip I can pull what I want and load the boxes accordingly.

I hear that - The BOAT GORILLA introduced himself to me this spring . . . A-Jay

The strangest things that have ever happened to me are, in no particular order: #1: Sunny warm fall day, my seasonal allergies were kicking my butt, and I only had Benadryl in the boat. Knowing full well it makes me sleepy, I took it anyways. I was at the south end of the lake, got bit off by a pike, trolling motored out a ways off the spot to sit down and re-rig.......................next thing I know it's several hours later when I wake up and am almost at the north end of the lake. I make sure I have non-drowsy allergy meds. with me at all time from that point on. #2: Hot summer day, I was up tight to the bank behind a point frogging and punching some slop, and shade that usually hold some good fish during the heat of the day, they didn't seem to be there that day, so I come around the point to hit the deeper water grass line on the other side, and the row of floating swim docks that are anchored over deep water. On one of the swim docks were two very attractive collage age young ladies sunbathing...........not an uncommon sight around here.............except they were buck neckid, and seemingly un-bothered by me. Let's just say I was more shocked then they were, and I quickly pulled up the TM and got the heck out of there before I made a fool of myself. #3: Doing a drift and drag for smallmouth in the fall, when I hook into a hard fighting fish.......or so I thought. It was a flip-flop covered in zebra muscles. I hooked by the strap and evidently the water resistance, and flip flopping it did made it feel like a decent fish. #4: Windy crappy day in the fall............the clouds break and the sun comes out and gets real warm, real fast. I take my rain coat off and spread it out on the back deck to dry off. Then the wind picks up and takes my coat with it. I didn't even know it was gone for a long time. I went to pull up the TM and move and seen it was gone, I idled around looking for it in the general area I lost it, but it was no where to be found. A week or so later, I am cranking over some submerged milfoil..............ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY from where I lost the coat and hooked into it. And other than a few bugs stuck to it, and a treble hook poke hole it was good as new. I still have and wear it to this day.

First trip of the year started off slow. Took 2 1/2 hours before getting the first bite but was steady once we got on em. Finished the day with 10 total. Most fish were 3-4lbs, one being 4 1/2 and the big fish of the day was 6 1/2 on the boga grip. All fish were caught on 3/4 oz seiberts football jigs and rage lobster combos. 20-40ft depth.

Usually I spend more money on higher quality rods for my bottom contact baits like jig, shakeyhead, t-rig etc. I don't feel I need as sensitive of a rod for crankbaits, chatterbaits etc.

I'm excited to begin reading and digesting the info inside

Somewhere around 1980, I was with my fishing buddy John and we hiked (sneaked) into a private pond in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Ca. It was either spring, winter or fall because it doesn't rain in the summer there. A heavy cloud cover rolled into the area and just sat there. It was dark and misty and getting darker. I had just bought a boron spinning rod and this was the first time using it. Anyway, I had what I thought was a muscle spasm run up my right arm and I heard a beep. It happened a few times. Then I switched the rod to my left hand and it happened to my left arm but no beep. It got even darker when my friend John said he saw what looked like an electrical arc at the tip of the rod. So I watched. Then I saw it too. I don't exactly know what was happening but the cloud was discharging current and using my new boron rod and me as a lightening rod. I had a digital watch on and it would beep when I got shocked. I don't understand it and most folks wouldn't believe it but it was a strange thing that happened while fishing. John always used a glass Fenwick rod and he wasn't getting shocked.

Millions of different baits, and all of them are good. As a beginner, keep it simple. Get your self a pack or two of 4" to 4.5" beaver type baits (I personally like the Havoc Pit Boss, but there tons of other good ones to choose from) Black/blue and Green pumpkin will serve you well to start with.

Looks good. One of these days my crankbait storage will evolve from "pull the whole lot of them out of the box all stuck together, and shake the wad until the bait I want falls off"

Find the steepest drop you can - preferably one that's on an inside turn and drops directly into the main lake basin or the deepest water available. Watch the video in this link, tie on a 1/2, 5/8 or 3/4 oz blade bait and fish it exactly like Scott does and I bet you'll get bit. Try setting up on the shallow side, cast into the deep and work it back - the reverse is often very effective as well. Good Luck A-Jay

Not the best picture, but looking forward to using these guys a lot over the summer.

Here are a few pictures of problems you can't see but are very real anytime you buy a used boat. This first picture is of the a transom. I easily pushed that 10" screw driver into what's supposed to be plywood. This next picture is what's supposed to be the wood stringers than run from the front to the back of the boat and keep the hull from breaking in half. There were supposed to be four but all are basically gone. This next one shows you what the old open cell floatation foam can do. What you are seeing is water coming out of the foam as I pushed the screw driver in. This can add several hundred pounds to the weight of the boat. This is what happens when I got bored and wanting to check out my chainsaw I just worked on.

I have a few of the old paper maps of Lake Anna. Those areas are designated as stumps. Navionics has been adding those notes back to their maps after they lost the rights to publish those map details around 2009.

8" Hudd

You have to tempt the Bait Monkey with an even bigger purchase Or in Rich's case, the Boat Monkey.

I caught this lil fella on a speed shad and the catfish hanging out of its mouth was nearly half the size of the bass lol

If the tip has any softness at all I'd use it for dock skipping jigs. It would be good for pitching too, especially if you're in tight cover.

Troll an Alabama Rig

I like both. I do not think any braid out there is better at cutting down lily pads than 50 to 65 pound Power Pro. It works like a weed eater. I use a lot of 832 for other purposes and it plays very well. I do not think you will be anything but pleased with that line in 30 pound test. I use some 10 pound, 20 pound and 30 pound 832 and then 50 and 65 pound test Power Pro.

Easy one to answer. The most important rod to be highly sensitive is a rod that you throw bottom bouncing baits. So if I am choosing to buy my first higher quality rod it would be a baitcasting rod for jigs, texas rigs and carolina rigs. My second most sensitive rod would be a 6'6 to 7 foot medium power fast action spinning rod. I would throw Sencos, light texas rigs with 4 to 6 inch worms, weightless plastics like creature baits, grubs and tubes. When I say lightweight i mean less than 3/8 roughly. This rod might even be a ml depending on the rod manufacturers tendencies. I would also throw drop shots and Ned rigs on this rod. For me I carry 3 rods top do this job. I can not afford a deck full of top line rods so my spinning and a my bottom contact rods cost the most on the boat. With the quality of today's mid priced rods I find plenty good sensitive rods in the $100 to $175 category that will handle spinnerbaits, crankbaits, chatterbaits,and rattle traps perfectly well. To me if I am stepping up to a higher end rod than the price usually start near $200 and goes as high as you can dream, but my higher end models cost just around $300

I fish the Flash Mob Jr on a rod rated just like that and it works out perfectly. I can only use 3 hooks so have 3 baits on a 1/8oz leadhead and usually 2 blades on the top arms or sometimes extra decoy baits.

I was sooooooooo close to ordering one of those but decided there was something I wanted more down the road a little bit.

Winter boredom hits some of us harder than others.

I keep all my swimbaits, including my Hudds, in a homemade box very similar to what Tom described.

Labeling ponds as "easier" or places to "hone" skills is a bit inaccurate. Most ponds are under a tremendous amount of angling pressure and that can make fishing frustrating and cause a beginner to question everything as sometimes nothing will work in a small body of water. One thing is for sure, the size of the body of water makes no difference to the size of the Bass living within. My friends at BPS all concur that the majority of big bass they see come from small bodies of water. The State record in NC is almost 16 lbs and came out of a 2 acre farm pond. 16 years later no lake has produced anything close. I will concede that locating bass in big lakes is tougher but catching them in ponds can be much tougher. Of course, the definition of "pond" and "lake" can play a big role in this debate.

In October 2015, we had a discussion titled: Do You Have To Spend Big Bucks For An Accurate Scale? As part of that discussion, board member @Fisher-O-men recommended an inexpensive scale available on eBay (usually advertised as a "luggage scale") as a candidate. Curious, I ordered two of those scales from an eBay seller for about $4 each shipped (and you can still find them on eBay even cheaper than that). Upon receipt of the scales, I load tested them as I do all of my digital scales and found them to be VERY accurate, and repeatable, and were as good or better than the $15 to $20 Rapala scales that I had in service. That initial load test was documented in this post back in October 2015: Then, later in that thread, I posted this: So, as stated in the above quoted post, I have been using Unit 1 all of this year as my primary bank-fishing scale. This morning, I ran another load test on Unit 1 using the same 9.804 test weight and, still using the original supplied AAA batteries, the result was..............................the exact same 9.80 pound weight as on most previous tests (I did have one earlier load test on Unit 1 that pulled 9.77 - 1/2 ounce light). The batteries tested at 1.47v and 1.48v after nearly one year of service. Replacing the batteries with fresh AAA's testing at 1.62v each, resulted in a measured weight of, wait for it..................................9.80 pounds. Here is Unit 1 under load this morning: So, as promised, here is the one year report. You can see from the above photo that Unit 1 is now a veteran with scratches, smudges, and fish slime as well as some of the original factory lettering starting to wear off. So, far, durability seems good. I'll put another reminder in my computer for December 1, 2017 and we'll see how this unit performs over its second year of service. Since the earlier thread, I purchased 2 more of these scales, and now have a total of 4 of them. The WORST unit (Unit 4) reads 1 ounce heavy on the 9.804 pound test weight - all the rest are within .02 pound (1/3 ounce) of the test weight. I use them for weighing stuff around the house, for weighing packages to determine postage, and for back-up to my other fishing scales. Oh, and I also use them for weighing luggage ! FOUR of these scales cost about what ONE of my Rapala scales cost. Value delivered so far... Given the accuracy, low cost, and apparent durability of these scales, there is NO EXCUSE for anyone NOT having an accurate scale. No more of those "look at this picture - how much do you think she weighs" threads - BUY a scale !

Fishing in the Fast Lane. Anglers have been using Speed to trigger strikes with moving baits for a long time, and bass anglers are no exception. I’ve been a fan of this approach for a while and I’m probably guilty of using it a little too much. I’m not the biggest Fan of the “finesse” deal and have had some success using a Speed approach in these conditions instead. Doesn’t always work but I can catch a skunk on anything, so might as well do something I like. The technique involves the use of horizontally moving baits that a bass can track & chase down; FAST. For me this is usually most effective in clear to slightly colored water & in shallow to mid-depth ranges of 10-12 ft. and less. Doesn’t mean that using speed can’t or won’t work in something else, just that this is where I’ve found better results. Some wind is very helpful, as is staying off the fish and making a long cast. I prefer to fish into the wind if conditions permit, but either direction / approach has shown solid results. Fishing cross wind is a little tougher. Quite an assortment of lures can be fished / retrieved quickly and in the right conditions /situation can & do catch fish. I have a few favorites that have proven themselves over the years. Crankbaits, Lipless Baits, Spinnerbaits, and Jerk / Rip Baits are what I use most. More recently, several lures manufactures have introduced baits that are specifically designed to be retrieved with speed which has resulted in more & better options for those of us who like it Fast. The Spinnerbait is one of those lures. (For the remainder of this write up I am always referring to a single or double willow leaf bait). It’s such a versatile lure that can & will produce in a wide variety of situations but does seem to come into its own over & through some type of shallow vegetation. Burning one just under the surface to about one foot down, is one of my all-time favorite ways to catch Smallmouth bass. Which is what makes right now, early fall, such a great time for this technique. The weeds are starting to die back but the water is for the most part still warm enough where the bass are very ready, willing & able to chase it down. Back in the day (and there’s no real need to say when that actually was) I read somewhere that by making two simple modifications, most any quality spinnerbaits ability to run fast & true could be improved. One was to down size the willow leaf blades 1 or 2 sizes and the other was to add weight to the bait. The smaller blades allowed for easier reeling & more speed without the bait coming out of the water. Same with the added weight, bait stayed subsurface and casting distance was improved, in the wind especially. Sometimes Smallmouth will follow a bait for quite a while. (Regardless of how fast I reel it) It’s like they enjoy the chase before eventually hammering it. Other times they just seem to come out of nowhere and Blast the bait. Both are OK by me. A few years back SK introduced the Burner Spinnerbait. This was a game changer for me. The baits compact head design allows for max speed, but the real innovation was the Raz-R-Blade. It’s a somewhat down sized, thin cut willow leaf that was designed to increase revolutions, increase flash and keep the bait from lifting like traditional willow leaf blades are so prone to do. BAM ! No more changing out blades. But I have found that by still adding some weight to the ½ oz. bait, I can make an already great bait, Better. By simply spinning on length of wire solder onto the baits hook shank, centered & balanced weight can be effectively added to any bait. How much weight will depend on the length, type & size (gauge) wire solder selected. This can easily be done by hand and a drop of Super glue at each end will help keep it there. Any spinnerbait is a candidate if you want to add weight to, not for just burning, as it’s quite applicable for deep water applications as well. Trailer hooks are optional. Don’t remember who to give credit to for sharing these ideas, but I’m certainly glad they did. A-Jay

I have never fished hair jigs, but it is something that I've been wanting to try. I spun this up this morning while having my coffee. Simple tie; some marabou, flashabou, estaz, schlappen, and laser dub, tied on a size 1 Owner Deep Throat, with a few lead wraps, and a large tungsten cone under the fish mask. Probably weighs in at just a hair more than 1/8oz.

Looking on Noaa's ChartNo1pdf, I would say that is likely a rock area that is a hazard to navigation. The definition given is "dangerous underwater rock of uncertain depth." I'd say fish it, but don't run over the top of it.

My nephew Connor, who my wife and I raise, and his first bass caught on a spinnerbait. The funny thing about it is my 23 year old son is in town visiting and now wants to learn how to fish. He had no interest in it until Connor started talking about it. He is also obviously wearing a shirt in honor of @Catt

This is my youngest. He loves fishing. Just turned 6 and outfished the 10 year old and 12 year old every time we went out this last summer.

They will also migrate in the big lakes. They may be out deep then move to main lake points and secondary points or road beds then in shallow and back out. It's almost like pattering deer. In ponds you just look for structure and you catch fish. Thousands of combinations it seems on lakes. In the back of bays, on chunk rock, around docks, on road beds, on ledges, on points, on creek channels.....

I don't disagree with you. I often go back to the farm ponds when I need a change of pace from launching the boat, and all the dog and pony show that going out on the lake entails. I have been humbled by small waters more than my fair share of times.

I finally got the video uploaded.

Besides the ones I store in the bottom of the lake, this is what I do:

My friend used to troll a baby bass colored crank over a deep hole at night.This was a deep hole for Florida - 30 feet.His biggest doing that was 11 1/2. The lake was also very clear.

No!!! My equipment is!

Personally I fish spinnerbaits on 30# braid and have never had issues with hooking fish or keeping fish hooked. I've used a leader before but probably won't next season, it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Only exception is maybe slow rolling in clear water. As far as trailer hooks, in my opinion if you are constantly hooking fish on the trailer hook, you need to change something. The fish are short striking for a reason.

You know - It's funny. You can't find this old, time tested & effective Plano spinnerbait box for sale anywhere these days. and yet they are routinely popping up on the BR forums. Here's mine. A-Jay

Update : went to the store and played with a bunch of stuff. Decided to purchase the new 2016 Pflueger president xt and a 7ft medium fast fenwick hmx (new 2016 model as well). Both seemed to be excellent values and hopefully will meet my needs. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

To echo most of what has been written previously; skinny zip ties work good to keep skirts positioned. Braid is overkill - me I go with 17 or 20 lb mono. The point of throwing PAST your target and bringing the bait up to/near/ hitting the target can't be overemphasized. For me, that is the first principle of spinner bait fishing. Next, is vary your retrieve, every cast, vary your retrieve until you find one that is working, then do that. For me, most of the time the retrieve that works the best for me is "slow rolling". Throw at whatever, if, on the retrieve, you never hit anything you are retrieving too fast. If, on the retrieve, you're hitting stuff on the bottom all the time, you're pulling in too slow. Find the speed in there between the two extremes.

If you can still find one of these on the shelf, walleye trolling guys swore by these, even pulling planer boards. I got one before they were discontinued. Ugly Stik CAL 1100 or 1102(depends on handle) 7'er in medium action

haha Bait Monkey attacked...but my finesse Kung Fu was stronger! 1.25/ roboworm 2.50/ 7" Glide Bait 2.00/ PE 1.00 weenie worm (apparently it is the SUPER SALT Model) ~$24 total..."He used soft style in a very hard way!"

My lake is much bigger than yours and there are many areas I have not explored. With no internet at home I hook up my depthfinder with lakemaster charts and study the lake on the couch. I mark potential areas I want to fish with a different icon than the icons I use to mark known spots. Then on the water if it turns out to be a fish holding area I change the icon. This helps me know what is what. Also the marks I do at home are for "areas" not just specific spots. I might mark the tip of a channel swing but once on the water I will explore the entire area up and down the swing and both sides of channel for example and move the waypoint accordingly. I would take WRB up on his offer to post the lake on here and use some of these senior guys experience to help you find potential areas. That's info that may be priceless @A-Jay im jealous of your mapping strategy. Do those programs require an internet connection?

Huge topic - use the 'search function and find previous threads on the subject. That said, I'd go heavier than ML unless a Shad Rap will be the extent of your trolling. M or MH for larger plugs. Typically you have the rod parallel or slightly tip up for most single rod trolling. 'Where' could be anywhere, but around structure, breaks and breaklines if you want to concentrate your efforts. As for other baits, almost everything can be trolled with a little adaptation. Crankbaits, jerkbaits and spoonplug are the most common items I'd guess. Buy and read Buck's 'Spoonplugging' book as it covers much of what you're asking. -T9

After returns and gift cards I got this bad boy for 5.75 out of pocket! Only 70 size in RH left in BPS.I wasn't leaving without it.

First pic is my dad coming along for my little girls first trip to fish. It has to be one of my all time favorite pics. The last 2 are of me and the boy fishing a yearly tournament called fishing pals. This past year we fished a local team trail and finished 14th out of 40 teams. Making memories.

My son got his first bass last year @ 6 years old. We where fishing in a pond I go to just to catch somthing. He kept thinking he had somthing so with a boy who cried wolf I hadn't paid much attention to him saying he caught a fish I figured he hooked some vegetation. Till I heard the splash of the bass jumping and sure enough he did get his first bass. The look on his face says it all.

I'm a fan of tradition ~ Let's go Roll Top & Marlboro Red - Box 20's No A-Jay