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Got the first one of 2017 today, probably a 35" fish. 41 degree water and icy guides made for an interesting hour or so that I was out. I was walleye fishing with a 4" swing impact on a 1/4oz head, fish was hooked right in the corner of the mouth and my 10lb mono didn't have a scratch on it after the whole ordeal! This is the second musky that my little Calcutta 50 has bested

If you're a long-time member here, then you'll recognize a familiar logo on the right column of the forums. Okuma is back again, supporting BassResource and partnering with us to help you become a better angler. Makers of quality rod and reels at affordable prices, Okuma Fishing helps you focus on the fish, and not the equipment. From Okuma: Please join me in welcoming back Okuma!

I'm jealous. I remember when I had time like that. Life can be cruel. When you're young you have all the time and energy but little money and when you're older you have more money but little time and energy.

I know a guy that uses these things . As for the Ewg that is a Mustad Ultra point /super line hook . It was designed to accommodate baits with big bulky bodies, one that need more gap such as creature baits and really shines used with swimbaits. They were designed to be fished with heavy line ,braid and big fish. The pro models are suited with mustad ultra point hooks ,real strong and not light wired . I have used light wire hooks in the past on other heads and have had my heart broken on big fish due to them opening up. I have no use for them what so ever. Once you learn the dynamics of these heads ,you can use them for so many applications ,flipping grass,heavy cover ,rip rap,and swimming baits. I am a fisherman just like you guys and have used everything out there. Just build a better mouse trap .

I have been working on a couple documentaries on bass behavior. First one will be on the spawn. I was playing around with iMovie canned trailers and thought I'd share it.

No doubt you'll recognize a familiar logo returning to the right margin today, Savage Gear. Makers of original and life-like bass lures, Savage Gear has long supported BassResource as a leader in helping anglers improve their skills. Their baits are like none other, with extremely realistic looks and actions that catch big bass! Please help me in giving Savage Gear a warm welcome back to BassResource!

your son is one lucky kid. $300 reels at 8 years old!

I much prefer hats, buffs, shirts, and gloves with upf over sunblock creams. I have never liked any of them and tried a ton over the years. Im normally covered head to toe nowdays, the alabama summer sun is no joke. My wife works at a dermatology office and it has taught me several things. 1. that any sunblock over spf 50 is no better than 50. After 50 its becomes a moot point, as well as people are fooled into thinking they wont have to reapply as much or as often with it, which is incorrect. 2. They reccomend both upf clothing and sunblock, but if you choose to only use one go with the clothing, since you dont have to reapply it, and it normally still works when its wet. 3. starting early is one of the keys to preventing melanoma and other skin prroblems. The dr said most of the time, the bad problems she sees really began in your youth days when you didnt care. Teens who lathered in baby oil regularly, are nearly guaranteed problems, followed by tanning bed users. Men who stay outside shirtless like construction workers and fishermen are right behind them. 4. when it comes to being in the sun for extended periods, there is no such thing as overdoing it with sun protection. Yes, you do need some exposure to the sun for better health, but its accomplished normally by short periods of exposure by daily activities.

Little better AJ. Tag team action with my wife.

Hey folks! If you've been a member for awhile, you'll notice a familiar face is back: Power-Pole! Power-Pole has been a BassResource partner for several years now, and we're delighted to have them back again! I personally have a set of Power-Pole Blades on my boat, and can truthfully say it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Strong and reliable, these are a must-have on any bass boat. Please help me give a warm "Welcome Back!" to Power-Pole!

Clunn's concept is basically this: Upper, Middle, Lower. The idea is basically a limnological designation in that a dammed watershed will be shallowest and usually warmest in the upper sections, and deepest and coldest in the lower section closer to the dam. So, upper heats earlier and fish start their year earlier there. They start their year latest in the lower. On large sprawling waters, the upper may be mostly in post-spawn, the middle spawning, and the lower in pre-spawn/just starting to spawn. Same can possibly be the same in individual creek arms, although here size (volume) of the arm really begins to weigh in in terms of the amount of difference in timing. In general, bass move from deeper winter quarters to shallower feeding and/or spawn locations as spring season progresses (warms -essentially). Winter (and often summer) locations are most often in the main lake or lower creek arm areas as adult bass seem to prefer larger water volumes and depths in winter and summer. Bass are "object-oriented" so they tend to travel from "object" to "object" as they migrate (travel deep to shallow and back again). How this is actually laid out varies with individual water body, or section of a water body. This also happens in natural lakes, and even in ponds. Factors include lake size, depth, clarity, habitat availability, prey type and availability, ... . Hope this helps steer you in the right direction.

Generally a cove is small less than a few hundred yards deep, some call a cove a pocket other may refer to it as a bay. If you are referencing a creek or river arm that is miles long with several smaller branches therecisn't any reason for bass to move out into the main lake basin area unless a prey source is preferred. Seasonal bass location has more to do with preferred water temperature and a good prey souce. All bass need to spawn is somewhere with a surface in water shallow enough to provide sunlight and warm water protected form current, doesn' need to be in the back of coves. Some bass live within a few hundred yards of thier home area, others roam for miles, no set rules regarding migration. Breaking down a larger reservior into sections that have higher percentage of bass should be seasonally. If you look at the main lake basin less the creek arms most reserviors are deeper near the lower 1/3 by the dam and taper shallower where the water enters upstream or the upper 1/3, what is left is the middle 1/3. Apply the same logic to big creek arms as if they are seperate lakes. Winter cold water period deeper water is preffered. Spawn cycle shallower wind protected water is preffered, summer bass can be anywhere a good prey source is located, fall bass tend to follow the prey to deeper water. Tom

You can always go with a 2-in-1 Frankenstein setup and tie a dropshot rig but instead of using a dropshot weight, tie on a shakeyhead. I used to do this and it worked but stopped because I fish a lot of snaggy places from shore and got tired of losing a bunch of tackle every time I had a break off. Go with a size 2 hook and nose hook a 3.5-4.5" plastic for the dropshot, and a 1/8oz or lighter shakeyhead for the bottom. For a completely different style go with a cranking setup. Slow finesse can get mind-numbingly boring, cranking gets you involved with constant tactile feedback.

I had the same problem with my 8 yr old grandson & to solve it I purchased a Mr. Crappie® Slab Daddy® Baitcast Reel. While some here my laugh at a Crappie reel for bass fishing I can assure you it is more than up to the task. I've caught several 5-6# bass in moderate to heavy cover with no problems. This reel features a fully adjustable, anodized-aluminum star drag system that allows up to 8.8 lb. of drag and a 6.3:1 gear ratio for fast retrieves. The 1-piece graphite frame and removable side plate provide strength, and the anodized-aluminum handle with SoftTouch knobs offers a comfortable grip. Magnetic Cast Control System (MCS). 175 yards/10 lb. 7.7 oz. Features and Benefits 6.3:1 gear ratio for fast retrieves 1-piece graphite frame and removable side plate provide strength 3 stainless-steel bearings and a Zero-Reverse antireverse bearing Fully adjustable, anodized-aluminum star drag system allows up to 8.8 lb. of max drag Machine-forged, anodized-aluminum drilled spool Anodized-aluminum handle with SoftTouch knobs offer a comfortable grip MCS is externally adjustable Ceramic line guide All for $39.99 from Academy

Gross Savanne is 30 minutes from my house

You might have a tackle addition problem when you're on first name basis with the Daiwa parts lady...

It's already been said, the only way to build confidence is by doing. I learned to fish Texas and Carolina rigs and then jigs primarily in flooded farm ponds and reservoirs with soft bottoms. With fishing them, you'll learn to feel the bottom, vegetation, any hard surfaces, changes in depth, and a ton of other things. As as for hook sets and bites, you'll get everything from soft, almost impossible to feel bites where your line just starts moving to having your lure absolutely crushed. Having a fast or extra fast action rod will make feeling all of this much, much easier. The bite, and the level of slack in your line will determine your hookset. Generally, if you're fishing any kind of slack in your line or with a high rod tip, reeling down is a very very good idea. I generally favor an overhead hookset most of the time. If the fish picks up the bait and begins to run in a direction, I'll favor my hookset opposite of that direction. Once you you get the basics down, you'll start to see jigs and T-rigs especially as 'go anywhere baits' because you can fish them effectively in virtually any kind of cover and in almost any conditions.

I dig it. I'll be fishing that place (gross savanne) on the 27th!!

Not much not to like about Stockton. Big largemouth, big smallies and some nice walleye to boot. just watch those winds when you're navigating the north end up near the dam. It can feel an awful lot like Kansas in that area! Its just like any Ozark lake - pray you're fishing in a cold front or snow and you'll cave their heads in!!!

'Bottom Baits' as you refer to them are not fished strictly on the bottom, with maybe the exception of a football or shakey head jig. The majority of the time they are targeting the same fish your drop shot is unless you fish that drop shot directly under the boat, or with a long leader. My point is; you are basically fishing a different version of a 'Bottom Bait' without knowing it. Jigs, T-rigs, Tubes, C-rigs although sometimes fished on the bottom are often most productive when the bait is falling. Sometimes it is the initial drop to the bottom while other times it occurs as the bait re-settles after rising during the retrieve. You favorite, the drop shot, when cast isn't very far off the bottom even with a two foot leader to the weight because of the angle. The advantage the drop shot has, at times, is its ability to stay off the bottom the entire retrieve. You will find that a T-rigged curly tail worm cast out and allowed to sink to the bottom and then brought back with a steady retrieve will out produce a drop shot under most conditions mainly because you will be covering more water and presenting it to potentially more fish. The same can be said for most bottom baits, so give them a go next time your drop shot is getting hammered (when you know you're on fish and they're active). As for hook-sets, my rule of thumb is; If the hook is burried in the plastic, I reel down taking out any slack to about the 5:00 position and then quickly straight up to 11:00-12:00 while turning the reel handle. If the hook is outside the plastic, either resting on top or skin hooked, I'll use more of a reel and sweep the rod style of hook set. Hope this helps.

GET THE NET!!!

I just use inexpensive Strike King Bitsy Bugs . They get bit .

Beautiful and sunny this morning, snow stopped yesterday afternoon after about 2 feet. The snow was steady, however, the wind intensified the storm. Noticed an overhang of snow from our roof this morning. Not sure how the wind made this happen, and how the snow is hanging from the roof; but it looked interesting, so I took some pictures and attached one inside the house and one from outside (hip waders came in handy for that part).

Today the weather here was 35 with 20mph winds. I had to give it a shot where I caught the chunky ones yesterday. After 30 minutes my fingers lost function even with light gloves. Managed to catch a 4lb 4oz girl who hammered a white custom spinnerbait. Warmer weather is headed our way.

ill be out on the RI boarder tomorrow. new pond my buddy knows it! hoping the fish are chewing!

I think people are over-complicating this decision. I own all 3 of the reels you speak of. All 3 of them are phenomenal reels for what you are asking. Buy what you prefer (or can afford) and you will not be disappointed.

iMovie is fun. It has its limitations but I'm getting what I can out of it. A-Jay, my wife nominated me. And I won!

I do the same. My company has a very generous time off policy. I use it to take off a day a week during the summer months to fish. The plus side to not being limited to weekend fishing is I can plan my day off around the weather. I also fish out of the way spots. I might have to travel a bit more but it is worth it for the lack of boat and jet ski traffic. Come to think of it I use this approach to other things in my life as well. I hate crowds.

They swim . haha If theres is a point or other break line at the mouth of the cove bass will use it . Otherwise they just move from shallow to deep and are harder to pinpoint . Bass are everywhere but a cove with a point attached is easy to fish . I often start deep on the point or structure and work my way shallow then into the cove but so does a whole slew of other anglers . Rick Clunn breaks reservoirs down into three sections just like a creek . That never worked for me .

I went to a local reservoir today in search of a jerkbait bite. My friend was out there recently and crushed them, the water was 50-51 degrees when he fished and fish were up shallow cruising and cooperating well. Today when I got on the water, the temperature was 46 degrees, clouds prevented the water from heating up and it only got to 47 by the time I left. The bite was tough, I had to fish really slowly and I couldn't really make sense of where my bites were occurring and why. On top of that, there was a rowing meet taking place, so there was a significant amount of boat wake that I think negatively affected the bite. I caught 11 bass, most of which were about a pound. I did find two studs though, a 4.18 and a 5.24. Both big fish came from the mouths of coves in about 10 FOW, and I tried to duplicate the bite but it didn't happen. I was fishing a vision 110, and pausing it for 5-10 seconds at a time was the only way I could get bit. This was my first time catching numbers of fish working a jerkbait slowly so I'm pretty happy with it!

Mud soft bottom simply use a lighter weight. Tom

I don't own arm sleeves but I Imagine that combo could be cooler (temp wise) and more breathable. Air could get to your pits a bit better. The tighter fit against the arms could also be good for mobility when casting. It's also cheaper. Short sleeve shirts cost less than long sleeves. That being said, I'm definitely a long sleeve guy but I can see the potential benefits of these things.

Bouncing lures on the bottom is my forte . I learned by just doing it . Try a standard Texas rig and six inch worm . Strikes are light and you will have to learn strike detection . When in doubt set the hook . Weedy bottoms , I would think a light 1/8 ounce weight , would work well . Patience , diligence and confidence. Some people never get it and others pick it up quickly .

Southern hoosier here! Looks like moat of you guys are way north of me.

New 2016 GLX MBR 844. Happy to get a higher end Loomis rod with a full handle and without recoil guides.

That's the absolute truth. One thing I used to think was that fellow anglers and hunters were like minded "good men". However I've since learned that's not the case.

i prefer the Owner Shakey Ultra Head over the Finesse ball head , as i like the longer hook ( 4/0 vs a 2/0 ) and definitely love the CPS bait keeper ! you'd be better off with the Ultra SledHead as it also has a 4/0 hook

I couldn't help it ~ And you'll be glad to know that I'm starting a new tackle testing business. So send me any lures or even rods that you would like to have 'tested'. I'll snap them all in half and get them right back in the mail to you. And all for a very reasonable rate - plus shipping & handling of course. SSOA. A-Jay

"Out For Delivery" means you got to stay at home and hope your wife does not see you get a package.

The stock brackets will not allow you to tilt the talon(s) out of the way when pulling in the garage or under a low bridge. I used a plastic cutting board as a spacer between the tilt bracket and the transom and just used fender washers on the inside of the splashwell. More pics

Still able to get out.Last Sunday had 6 inches of good ice and caught a few largemouth.

I wonder if blue man group fly fishes

This will be my first spring of bass fishing, I have always been a trout/salmon/fly fisherman. I just got into bassing early last summer (June-ish). At that time of year however I had lots of luck just with wacky and texas rig senkos and spinnerbaits.

Currently moving to all GLX's Tried the shamano couunted parts and was not impressed

are those real?

One word 'tube'. Weightless. Worked for me in NM, Co, and Az.

i dont fish beds to often as i usualy fish muddy water and dont typically see many bed fish but when i do. i usually throw a white brush hog or lizard. but going down the bank when u flip a white jig and pop it a couple times and then let it sink. get a lot of big reaction bites this way

I caught 20 the other day too! I too just tried the Ned rig with a black senko that I bit in half!

Look into the swinging jigheads too. Those are supposed excel in rocky lakes.

It almost feels like cheating sometimes. Scary thing, it's even better if you're around smallmouth.