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I had two - both thrown on spin cast gear, a seriously noodle fiberglass rod (that weighted 6 lbs - easy) & bad mono. I was like 7 years old. A Rigged Crème Scoundrel (had to be nightcrawler) and the Original Eppinger Dardevle Imp. First several years I didn't use a swivel - the line twist was Epic. Now, my confidence lure is just that; Confidence. A-Jay

Rapala Original Floater (balsa wood plug) Back in the 50s, nearly everyone called this lure a "ra-PAL-uh", but Lauri would be pleased, because today nearly everyone calls it a "RAP-al-uh". Rather than work it like a 'crankbait', (a word that didn't exist back then) we fished it as a 'twitch plug' to exploit the buoyancy of balsa wood. After the lure was cast, you simply wait until the ripples flatten away, then deliver one crisp twitch. This routine is repeated for 2 or 3 twitches, then the plug is burned back for the next cast. Needless to say, the floating Rapala still works as well today as it did 60 years ago. A pre-rigged Creme Scoundrel was the lure responsible for my love affair with plastic worms, which we called "rubber worms" back then. A grotesque creature with a propeller, two red beads and tandem hooks, yet it caught more bass than any lure in my tackle box. Shortly thereafter, my go-to worm was the Original Culprit Worm (ribbon-tail worm). My first go-to spinner was a Shannon Twin Spin, first go-to spoon was a Johnson Silver Minnow, and first go-to lipless crank was a Heddon Sonic. Roger

Iv'e been hitting one of my little gem ponds recently trying to get the 6-8lb'ers that lurk in this small bow. It gets mucky in the summer and sometimes you're limited to what you can throw. Yesterday I caught a 3lber on a frog and found an open pocket of water near the bank and threw a swimbait and a 5lber crushed it. Today I made a quick stop and threw the frog again and another 5lber hammered it thru the muck. Only one bass from there today but I'll take it.

so i bought an airbrush and all sorts of paint a while back and hadn't done a thing with it until a couple weeks ago. i got some megabass knockoffs, griffins i think, and have been trying to figure it all out. lots to learn, these were just some freestyle ones i did. i've been mostly just trying to figure out the airbrush and paints and get a good feel for how it sprays. anyhow, here's a few of the ones i've come up with so far. the clear coat part is what pains me. the epoxy looks good when done properly, but it is not user friendly! it's really fun and almost therapeutic in terms of just mixing up some paint and going at it with nothing to go off of... next thing i'm going to work on is making some stencils and try to make some cool craw patterns and work on some more colorful bluegill type schemes. critique away guys, i can handle it!

Not today. P.b... stoked

[June 21, 2017] (Wednesday) -----Conditions----- Time: 2:00pm - 7:20pm Sky: Clear "Bluebird Sky" Wind: Strong Wind from the Southwest (White Caps) Water Temps: 64-67F Water Clarity: Clear (10ft+) -------------------- My friend from work (Jeremy) and I planned to continue from where we last fished back on the 19th (Monday) and had to cut the day short. We both got off from work at 1:00pm, geared up and headed to the lake, and were in the water and headed north to our location at 2:00pm. First thing to note was today was forecasted to be windy, and when we arrived at the lake we could see a southwest wind strong enough to cause white caps. The wind wasn't much of an issue though as the location we planned to fish was north on the protected side of the lake out of the wind. We decided to start fishing near where I caught my largest one the last time we were out. The bass in my local area spawn anywhere from Late-May to Mid-June, depending on the year. This year we received a lot of snowfall & record amounts of rainfall so the conditions are about a month behind last year. I suspected the nice one I caught on the 19th may have been on a bed, but couldn't confirm it due to depth & waves. I let Jeremy make the first cast to the spot so he had a chance at the big one if it was still there - and sure enough seconds later he was hooked up. Sadly, it shook loose while fighting it to the boat, so I made a cast to the exact same spot and again it was only seconds before I had a tight line and gave a good hookset... 1st Bass = 18 & 3/4" - 2.69 lb (2 lb, 11 oz) Same bass as last time. I was able to get a better measurement and it's actually closer to 18 & 3/4", same weight. Still couldn't see a bed but being that it's in the exact same spot, and we both hooked into it within less than 60sec, and I could see it's been caught before by someone else, I would say it has to be the male on a bed. Since I've caught it twice now within 3 days, I made sure to give it a good healthy release... We continued to fish, and I had another nice Smallmouth follow my bait and check it out but just turn and swim away. I made multiple casts trying different things to no avail, then Jeremy made a cast with his bait (similar yet different) and hooked right into it. Turned out to be a (1 lb, 10 oz) Smallmouth. There has been this common thing on all of our fishing trips... At some locations whenever we have the boat in ~35-45ft of water the Sonar has gone crazy marking things. It's been going off so much it's caused me to toss a few baits down there, and even tie on a 6XD and make a handful of casts with it... I've seen it marked up way more than that, almost top to bottom, lines all over, but never had any bites. :Shrugs: It could be anything... from Kokanee to a school of White Suckers. Would be nice to hook something though to at least identify the species. By this time we ran out of protected water, and were fighting the wind again, so we changed locations and headed further north to the next protected area. It was pretty much one after another for the both of us, but mostly just dinks - no real size to them. I caught a total of 10, Jeremy caught a total of 11. Just numbers today, for the exception of my first one which was the one I caught before. Anyway, here are the larger ones of the bunch... 7th Bass = 11 & 1/4" - 0.53 lb (08 oz) 8th Bass = 10 & 5/8" - 0.44 lb (07 oz) 9th Bass = 11" - 0.51 lb (08 oz) We both have the early work schedule so we had to pull the plug at 7:20pm and head back. It was another good day, the wind calmed down in the evening, and we caught a lot. We already have a plan brewing for this coming Monday and will probably change it up, will have to wait and see what happens... WolfyBrandon

Latest addition to my stable compliments of my wife and the fine people at the Tackle Trap, yes she is the BEST wife ever! If you're in the market for a high end finesse spinning rod you've got to consider the Megabass Destroyer Addermine, it's amazing. Awe heck let's show off the FMJ too.

Large Pike. Forgot my tape in another bag. One of my biggest.

Don't give savage gear any more ideas

Forgot I had money in my PayPal account so I hopped on TW..waiting on a couple back ordered 65s.

My advice: Enjoy everyday on the water...they are not givens...if your a tackle junky....Thanks for supporting the industry. Tight Lines

Yessir I appreciate your concern for this fish health. As we take a lot of pride in our fisheries. And overs here we go the extra mile to ensure the fish is as healthy as possible. The fish was either in a live well , or weigh bag (for a very short time while walking in and out of the marina) full of water. And revived in the tpwd holding tank. She was out of the water for maybe a minute max. I just wanted s certified weigh. We didn't have a scale or ruler in the boat.

Good read, thought I'd share http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/factors-giant-bass/

Yep looks like melanosis . It's not harmful to us or the fish.

Im sure if we could ask a Bass, they would say Hooking yourself is no big deal. Just give it a few days, it will definitively rust out. ???

Nesting Osprey (Nest made largely of Spanish Moss) Roger

Mepps Comet Mino.......still carry a couple of them in Gold and Silver. I found one of these years ago on a bank and caught my first bass on it. Hooked immediately....both the fish and me. Used to throw it almost exclusively, now not so much. Going out tomorrow and might tie one on for old time sakes. Great lure.

For me it was, and to some extent still is, just a plain ol ribbon tail worm... Mike

7 blow ups, 2 two pounders landed. Had another hooked but he came off. All on the frog. Maybe this topwater fishing ain't too bad.

Over the years, I've read a myriad of posts on other forums authored by a fellow angler named "Oldschool". Anyone who pays attention to detail and consistency would easily know that 'Oldschool' and "WRB" were one and the same Roger

No, I mean it doesn't exist. You can think what you want, but it's pure fantasy.

My 6 year old daughter Addie loves to fish with me at her Grandpa's pond.

Do not invest in tackle :........... are you friggin nutz ?!? Tackle is love man.

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying, but the small ponds around here are public parks and there is no fish management. If you mean "target water known to hold big bass", all of the reservoirs of the Tennessee River and White River systems meet that requirement. On top of that there are at least twenty other impoundments within three hours of Memphis. I think the same can be said for a host of locations throughout the country. The challenge is FINDING the fish, but selecting the right lure and presentation is still very important. You are still going to have to make an investment in tackle and the choices are many.

Lure manufacturers don't sell any lures to fish, so it's pretty clear who they're targeting. Ironically, many of the best topwater anglers ignore the upperside pattern, and choose between 2 colors: baits with a 'white' belly and baits with a 'black' belly, that's all she wrote. Roger

Didn't expect to throw a wacky rig this early, but got 4 like this...

I'm not even going to answer.

One of the lagoons that we fish has a lot of wind blown thick, soupy weeds and algae that piles up that provides some good cover for bass. There are a few small breaks in it and because it's so dense it's generally a pain to fish. But we all know it's fun to toss a frog over cover and have the bass come crashing through the crud even if the hookup rate is low. So the other week I'm fishing the frog over this gunk and get a pretty good hit. I wait a second for the fish to take it downward and set the hook. It feels like a decent size and has a pretty good fight. I'm fishing over elevated railroad ties, through the gunk and then over weeds so I yell to my son to bring the net. We never reach way down to the water with only our hands from an elevated position here in SC and the attached picture shows why. Instead of a nice, big bass a small alligator hit my frog and he wasn't about to let go anytime soon. When I got him near shore he just sat there on the weed bed with the frog in his mouth and wouldn't let go. So I picked him up out of the water a bit and that just made him mad. He spent nearly 5 minutes spinning and thrashing until he finally had enough and let go. This wasn't our first encounter with a gator. Last month when I was reeling in a 4 pounder a 4-5 foot gator made a bee line for the bass as I was reeling it in. On this lagoon it was about a 5 foot drop from the elevated railroad ties to the water. As I go to bring p the fish my rod tip snaps. My son grabs the net, lays on the ground reaching down as the gator comes barrelling towards the bass. My son bopped the gator on the head with the net and scooped the fish to preserve my catch. The small gators are a nuisance and you try and fish around them. But when the big gators show up we usually move on to another lagoon. Whether you're catching them or not it's always exciting fishing here in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

That's not a bad choice, another confidence bait for me is ..... a marabou jig, man I've caught tons of bass while fishing for bluegills with those, even if there aren't any bluegills I know I will catch some bass if I tie one..... of course "more experienced" fishermen look at me like if I were insane when I tie a panfish lure where there are no panfish to be caught but what the hell do I know, I've only been doing this for a little bit more than 4 decades.

In-line spinner, that was my first confidence bait, I've caught literally thousands of fish with it, interesting, I still get "the look" from "more experienced" fishermen when I pull out an in-line spinner from my tackle box .... s*t, maybe they know something I don't ....

Florida Mike, have they ever checked you for cystic fibrosis? You were probably born before it was a standard newborn test. I am 31 now and was diagnosed at birth but a lot of adults around my age weren't. You've probably already been tested but thought I'd ask jic. Sorry to the op if I hijacked their thread. To the op: I hope your out of hospital and doing well now. I can't comment on drugs specific to asthma but I know how it feels to be in the hospital and struggle to breathe. I'm currently in the hospital for a tune up now.

Best way to get the bad small out of a boat is to leave Uncle Louie and his 6-pack, box of Slim Jims and bucket-o-worms back at the dock... Dude...I love the smell of wet dog. Brings back lot of happy memories. Well....you wouldn't have to deal with the smell of the dead mice any more...

Both bottom fish are bluegill. I believe the very bottom is a make, and the one above it a female. That largemouth doesn't look very big. I hope it was the minimum size to keep.

I've always felt that a translucent lure is the best way to avoid insulting a bass's intelligence. Roger

I like 3 colors for topwater. White, black, and translucent. Ironically translucent has always worked best for me.

Here's a bigger gator from the other day that followed in a 2 pounder that I caught. The photo is looking down from up top the railroad ties on the old golf green. This gator hung out there waiting to ambush another catch and would not leave, so we went to another lagoon. BTW, I'm NOT leaning over the edge. Too scary. I held my phone over the edge hoping I would not drop it in the water. Oh - and if one of these hit my bait or catch I'd cut the line. When I fish I keep a knife in my pocket just in case that happens.

Latitude 22 is the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico! Ice out turn over is a common event in cold climates where lake freeze over. To have a "spring ice out " turn over in mid June the lake wouldn't be able to sustain bass...too far north and too cold of a climate. The OP may be experiencing an algae bloom and thinks it's a tourn over? Tom

No, they look and act too much like crawdads, the #1 enemy of bass.

A 20 lb. largemouth bass in MA is pretty much near impossible.

It is a great knot and one of the most reliable and easy to tie, which means you are less likely to make a mistake. Any knot if tied properly will be fine. There is a lot out there about the "improved" versions which basically means going through the eye twice and an few extra wraps. With all that said, if you learn the Uni, it is the only knots you will need......for terminal tackle and joining lines. As far as your problem, I believe it could be in the line as your knot is a reliable one.

stopped by DSG last night to spend my $10 rewards certificate....

Probably because you haven't been around very long. Their name is mentioned on every page you load in the forms as they are a site sponsor.

Yes, I must have one of these tickling sprinklers - NOT! YouTube makes everything look cool. Rebel did make something similar in hard plastic that floated called the Buzz Frog @whitwolf

I prefer the apple.

Shoot, I get as much enjoyment, if not more, in buying fishing equipment then I do in landing a fish

caught 13 this past evening in about 2 hours. the biggest about 4 1/2 couple more 4's and a couple 3's the rest dinks. sure was fun tho!

Was practicing my shakey head presentation and had this decent rock bass hit right beside a dock.

A few things I've acquired via trade recently

Woa, I'm correct on something? Can somebody please tell my wife?