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Tough day at Wohlford Lake. Almost got skunked but landed a nice little guy here: Then a few hours after that one I was about to give up but went to drop shotting a Roboworm and caught this 5lber!

Whatever you do don't ask them if they want to reel one in after you hook it.

Last week I finally landed a gar on an artificial. The fact that it got hooked on a DD22 still amazes me, but it happened. And the best part, it was when Ronnie Moore with Bassmaster was taking pictures, so the whole thing is documented!

The quality of the members here is much better than a lot of other sites I am on. No senceless bickering, not over moderated and a lot of information. Oh yeah, I had a first this year as well.......my first double digit Northern Snakehead.

Mixed in amongst a bunch of "dinkos" (dinks-on-a-Senko), a couple of fat ones 18" and 17" this morning bright and early. On a KVD 2.5 and a...Senko:

I'm actually relatively new to the bass fishing scene. Only about 3 1/2 years and counting. Due to that, YouTube, and the limited fishing season in Western Pennsylvania my experience doesn't match my knowledge (example: I can tell you how to rig and fish a punch setup for heavy vegetation but have never actually done it). So I actually regularly experience fishing "firsts" that wouldn'tbe noteworthy to many others. Some firsts this year are.......first time keeping track of how many bass I caught this year (140 and counting) 1st bass on a lipless crankbait, first bass on a chatterbait, first bass on a swim jig (now my favorite type of lure), and this past week my first bass ever on a top water frog. Just wanted to thank you guys (or yinz, if you're from Pittsburgh as well) and BassResource.com for helping me learn the art and get more enjoyment from what has quickly become my passion and see if any of you are still experiencing "firsts" in bass fishing?

I added a 2nd garage door on the back garage wall....opens into the backyard where I put a carport. Best thing I have done for my boat. the carport has since had the 2nd side completed.

found a couple little spotted bass that were willing to bite on saturday night. black buzzbait and a berkley 10" black grape power worm were the baits. had a few more blowups on the buzzbait, but only managed to hook and land the one. here's one of them, picture of the other one didn't turn out very well in the dark!

You mean, back when this thread was started, a decade ago

I bought a new 5 weight fly rod a couple of weeks ago and I think it came with some mojo. Some noteworthy catches so far include some of my biggest crappies and trout, and my first carp!

You may recall.....................................I used to post on here and write articles way back when. It has been a while B/R. I've been floating around, writing a couple of books, watching my kids grow up. I haven't written an article here in ages but I've been fishing a ton. When I got down to Fl. in 2006, I quickly realized I would be spending a lot of time finesse fishing because my local water was gin clear. That didn't discourage me because that is what I did on NY. Once I got used to how clear the water really was, I started catching a ton of fish. Some of my friends, who have fished this water their whole lives, didn't believe that I was catching 40, 50, 75 even 100 fish a day. They were so intimidated by the clear water they avoided it at all costs. Only when I got them out on the boat did they see that we really could catch that many fish, and some big ones at that. Finesse fishing is the name of the game, 6lb test is the heaviest I employ in the clear water, even when jig fishing. The water comes out of the springs at 72 degrees and doesn't get much past 75 degrees even when the air temp is over 100. Ned Rigs Drop shot rigs Enormous fish on light tackle Shakey head rigs Wacky rigs Neko rigs even small jig n pigs produce good fish. I fish here pretty much at least once a week In the cool weather I throw a hair jig that I tie to resemble a float n fly, on a 1/8oz jig and no float and I drag it on the bottom and just clean up with it. One without the hat.

this should help https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6568457?tstart=0 solution #2, get an android

Every time.

Hi BR, As mentioned in my earlier post, here are my new arsenal for 2017. 4 more days here in Ontario Canada till the bass opener! Tight lines boys!

Well Said @TOXIC I'll only add that as a man who was charged with enforcing the rules mentioned above, as well as searching for, recovering and sadly, using body bags on, some of the people mentioned above, I'm here to tell you that a fun day on the water can turn in to something very different, very fast. Boats do not have seat belts and when the boat suddenly stops, the occupants do not - impact or ejection (or both) is immanent and often fairly debilitating. Just wear the Life Jacket & kill switch - don't become another statistic / obituary. A-Jay

Touchy subject for me for a number of reasons. First, I bought my current boat (Z21 Ranger) from the brother of a gentleman who drowned while kayaking in a calm bay on the Potomac River. No PFD. He inherited the boat from his deceased brother's estate. Second, being a Guide and spending a lot of hours on the water, there are some very common problems that contribute to on the water accidents. Inexperienced boaters/jetskis/paddleboards/yaks/etc.. Whether motorized or not, the USCG Rules of the road apply to all and should be read by anyone enjoying the water. I could site numerous incidents where if I had not been fully alert and paying 100% attention, there could have been an incident. I see children with no PFD's, Operators with no clue on boating regs regarding passing and safe operation. Go to any popular body of water on a warm summer weekend and it's a free for all. All in the name of fun and relaxation. And finally...alcohol. Let me state upfront that I am not anti alcohol. I can put them away just a good as I did in college but I never, never, never imbibe on the water. Put me on-shore and it's game on (as long as I'm not driving). Obviously there is -0- alcohol allowed while guiding and I guess I've just seen the results of sun and booze on too many people. I am amazed that for a majority of people that it's part of their normal boating routine to drink. I get it, boating is supposed to be fun but stop and think about it, you are going out where there, for the most part, is no speed limit in a watercraft with no brakes and where operators are required to have minimal training (if any at all). Add booze to deaden reaction time, cloud judgement and you have a recipe for disaster. If accidents show an upward spike in the bodies of water that I frequent, I would assume there will be increased enforcement and that, to me, is a good thing. Until then it's up to me to be an operator of safe equipment, educated on the operation of that equipment and USCG regulations and in full control of my faculties while on the water.

Man has a vivid imagination, and lure manufacturers exploit that vulnerability. Lure makers would have us believe that a bass mistakes a crawdad-colored Bomber for a crayfish. They'd also have us believe that a bass mistakes a bluegill-colored jig for a bluegill. This I know for sure, bass have a lot better perception than me, and I would never make those mistakes. In my opinion, bass are opportunistic predators who mistake our lures for something to eat...period. Roger

The bait monkey convinced me I needed to purchase a light setup today. Picked up a solid tip XF Major Craft Benkei (1/64-1/4) spinning rod and Daiwa BG 1500 spinning reel. Gotta love that exchange rate!!

Encourage them to keep practicing and they'll eventually get as good as you.

put them exactly where i would throw in depending on what we're doing

First cast. Hung the bottom and lost lure. The end.

X2 best I've used

I just got back from a trip where I spent 2 weeks fishing mostly jerkbaits using straight braid. When using jerkbaits where I add action to the lure, I want all my movements to transfer to the bait and not be absorbed by the stretch of the line. I use jerkbaits in open water where line abrasion is not a factor so there is no reason to complicate things with a leader. A common comment I see about braid is that guys feel they will tear the bait out of the fishes mouth without some stretch in the line. As someone who has used nothing but braid for many years and never with a leader, It has never been an issue with me. I also don't use bait casters with 50 pound test line and ski fish back to the boat. I keep steady pressure on and let the fish tire out some before landing them. If you are tearing out hooks, you need to back off your drag a bit and ease up.

Take a look at MegaStrike Shake 2 or 2 EWG Pro stand up jigs. Tom

Sorry for the late response guys but here is the reason I couldn't just set the hook and hand him the rod. This is a tournament for them in which they win angling points and money. We are not allowed to fish for them. We are there for anything they might need help with. It's called Paraylzed Veterans Association and they go all over the country on their bass tour. If it's near you I would highly encourage you helping out. If you have a boat you can take a disabled angler out, if you don't have a boat (my case) they pair you up with a disabled angler who has a boat. I've done it the last 3 years and its been amazing! I've met some real heroes that just happen to love this country and fishing, what better people are there? Lol this was my last year doing it since the Air Force needs me to go do some fishing in Alaska for 3 years

They seemed more aggressive there too. Any time I got a bait even close to a gar they were chasing it down and attacking instead of stalking like they do here. Just like you're saying, I think the only ones I didn't hook up with were the ones that were smacking at my frog. All the ones that hit a bait with trebles got stuck and landed. Granted, a majority of them were Florida or spotted gar that are much easier to hook, it was still odd hooking and landing so many gar. Whatever kind they were, they loved a little white X-rap.

Academy has pad crashers on sale for 4.99 and also free shipping no minimum for a limited time, no clue how long it will lasts

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Revenge_Flippin_Wackers_3pk/descpage-RFWH.html I reserve the VMC or other light wire wacky jigs for M or ML spinning gear only.

Lol, no but I try. I currently spend about 160 days on the water and once I get a boat that will increase. But yes like many of us I'm guilty of just liking to buy tackle lol. More stuff I need to try and fish, thank god I'm heading to the lake in 2hrs.

a few things i picked up when i was in the TW retail shop in Cali, the keitech custom leach really intrigued me for some clear water drop shot days. then some specialty tackle z-75's for deeper cranking and another s waver.

Time to fill the freezer with crappie. Sounds like the crappie are overpopulated and now it's time to do your part in fish management.

This is my Heddon Super Spook. There are many like it, but this one is mine. WolfyBrandon

Yum Dingers for shallow ponds. When fished weightless they sink real slow.

Here's a 3.77 lb. smallmouth that ate a Finesse TRD on a 3/32 oz. Ned (mushroom) jig head worked slowly at a depth of approximately 20'.

... the pattern is real. Jerkbait and square bill crankbait again. 5lb4oz and 4lb1oz. The 5lber had the best fight out of any bass I've caught. Every 4th time I tie on a new horny toad, a gar immediately rips its legs off.

I found the post below on another forum concerning this question, it's an answer from someone at Yamamoto baits as to why they dont sell in bulk. Okay, well I'm someone from Yamamoto and I'd love to answer this question. I manage the Online Store and get a very significant number of requests for bulk deals. The long answer is that we used to have bulk available. We stopped doing this because we do not have room to keep all of our 3,000-some different styles and colors in stock as 100-count bags. And when we did, the weight of the bags and bait tended to crush the soft bait. Then, nobody ever wants the same color or style as another angler. It seemed that the extra efforts consumed any savings we could reasonably pass on to the angler by making 100-count bags. Now, dealers and distributors get bulk deals, naturally, by the caselot. (No suprise there, right?) And the baits are still packaged in the normal ziplocks. Now we love our anglers. You guys asking these questions. But honestly, we're not into making outrageous profits on anyone. I think that our bait is worth the extra cost, and I get that value back in better performance. If you don't think that's true, you should either do a little more research here at the Inside Line, or find another bait to use. Our bait is expensive to make. I know for a fact that I'm not making rock-star wages. (In fact, everyone here is definitely underpaid. *hint hint Gary*) The real question is, why don't the tackle stores have special deals and quantity sales? We don't because we really don't want to compete with them -- our corporate policy is to actually support those mom-and-pop dealers who have to compete with the X-Marts selling 5,000-count bags of X-bait. So, to recap. We used to have bulk -- it really didn't work out because of the quantity of products and the delicacy of our bait. We're not trying to rip anyone off -- our bait is expensive to purchase because it's just plain expensive to make -- our prices have NEVER increased and have actually DECREASED in the last 15 years (we're getting cheaper) -- stores get quantity deals and you should talk to your local dealer about getting the deals. Hope this helps, -Ryan

That was a very entertaining game, as these two teams always are. Already looking forward to the Christmas Day game between the Warriors and Cavs. I wonder how LeBron the GM will go about dealing with having to possibly go at it with GS again for a championship. It's clear defense is their weak spot. Next up, the awards and the draft. My guesses are: Westbrook for MVP Draymond for Defensive POTY Brogdon for Rookie OTY Gordon for 6th man OTY D'Antoni for Coach OTY

Great game, great season. JB doesn't seem to like much if it doesn't fit within his parameters.

Congratulations Golden State Warriors, 2017 NBA Champions! Welcome back Larry! Much respect to the Cavs, they played a great series.

Might be able to get up there this weekend. It's been a while. I gotta dig up the old monsters, 6xds , and football jigs if I can find them.

Since Flouro doesn't rebound after being stretched, if it's been stressed a bunch, I suppose it could fail anywhere along it's length. Also, if it was somehow scuffed, chaffed or otherwise damaged, that could play a role. But all things being clean & in decent shape, I'd expect the failure to come at either the leader knot or the bait connection. Certainly not along any length of the braid. btw - I don't like flouro as a leader. A-Jay

Ignore those bass you can see and concentrate on casting to cover .

I sometimes agree with you, but 10 years of river data shows the Crawbug to be the runaway number one soft plastic. I fished the pit boss in the same manner and got bites, slow popping it off snags, but of course craws appear to be the number one natural forage on the river. Typical match the hatch situation. Why the Bandit 100 has caught almost as many fish as the Crawbug, goes to the opportunistic feeding. No perfect answer, but I do try to match the hatch more often than not

I would like to buy a vowel.

IDK...setting the hook is one of the greatest parts of catching a fish (IMO)

Yep warm up the frying pan and bring some home for dinner. If you put the crappie in check the bass may be able to make a comeback.

I don't think it has anything to do with using straight braid. That reel was a straight dud. I been going to my local gander like 3 times a week to see how much the prices are going down. If I buy any rods or reels it will be brand other than gander because the manufacturing warranty would still apply. I learned my lesson buying cheap baitcasters when I bought a Silver Max. Fishing stuff is up to 20% now but I'm waiting for bigger deals. I find it funny that all of the senkos were cleaned out of my local gander when they were 10% off but priced at $7.99, not really a discount if you ask me.

I know u specifically said shimano but I use a daiwa tatula type r in 8.1.1 with 50 pound braid.

Triline 100% fluoro is the only fluoro I use anymore and like Rich, I haven't had any issues with it either. I would suggest checking your spool tension. If it's not set correctly, it doesn't matter how you adjust your brakes, they can only do so much. If you want to run the spool tension extra loose, you're going to have to learn to use your thumb, it's as simple as that.

What a crappie day