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Had one of the best mornings spent fishing in my life. A friend of mine from church took me out to the local powerhouse chucking wire flies beneath bobbers and it was a blast! In 5 hours we hooked probably 27 fish and landed about 20 of them. Roughly 6 steelhead ranging from 12-18 inches, 9 whitefish ranging from 10-17 inches, 1 dink Atlantic Salmon, and 4 brute Atlantic Salmon in the 20-26 inch range. This guy has these fish dialed in! We threw all fish back besides two whitefish and my first true Atlantic pictured below. This guy weighed just over 6 lbs and measured 25 inches. Literally took 15 minutes to land this beast! Can't thank that guy enough for an unforgettable experience. Will definitely be back for more bobber take-downs in the near future.

5 pounder on a 5" Kailin's grub and that is about as flat as you will see Lk St Clair

Jerkbait crappie

The 'Lo' (Lois) in RoLo

What I see many of my students do is they "whip" the rod or try to cast with arm strength. Let the rod do the casting...it's better at it than you are!

Chicago from the Lund

When you get out fished by your nephew and lands a 6.2

over the 4th weekend my brother came to visit from Alabama. stating the he and one of our good friends were going to kick me and my brother in laws hind ends in a fishing contest! [WHAT!] so two of my grand sons also wanted a piece of this, stating that they would be doing the butt whooping! so Monday evening it was on!! with a lot of friendly smack talk. contest was every fish counts no matter the size. we didn't get on the water until 8pm. and fished until 9:45. my boat ended up with 28fish biggest about 4 1/2 and me and he grandson did land a double. needless to say he really started bashing them!! my brothers boat ended p with 13 fish. my other two grandsons [in a little 8' row boat] ended up with 8 fish. caught a lot of quality fish 2lb plus. 49 total in an hour and 45 min. our friends daughter created trophies for motorized and non motorized boats. so the grandsons all won of course, one in my boat and the other two in theres. should have heard there smack talking on the way home. cant remember the last time that I had so much fun!!went back to our campsite with a great evening of fireworks . still smiling!!

Update: Actually found a minn Kota service tech close to home and took it there. It appears there's a sensor in the foot pedal messed up. Minn Kota told him for the first year of this model if there a problem like that the whole Moter is replaced. So got a new ultrex installed yesterday!

Caught this little beauty during the Thursday night tournament this week on a shakyhead.

If I'm having a hard day I make a point to stop and think instead of blindly casting lure after lure with the same result. The tough days are where you learn the most. But yes, I agree that I am never bored when I'm fishing. "It's supposed to be hard." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhGDiJJeCNA

•You will catch bass on live bait in summer ,fall , winter ,and spring •You will catch bass on live bait whether its north , south , east , or west . • You will catch bass on live bait in big rivers ,little rivers,creeks , big lakes ,small lakes , and ponds I cant explain why you dont catch them on artificials only in the summer. Sometimes when the bite gets tougher in summer I pull out the live bait , and it generally produces. But I dont think its sad ....?

some days I feel just like this...

we went out for a while yesterday evening, after getting blanked at the marina (and losing a whopper plopper 90 to a mooring rope) we stopped by another pond on the way home. I tied on a baby mad paca in green pumpkin (t-rig 1/4oz) and pulled this beauty from the spillway waters. Between the two of us we had five fish from 2-4 lbs in about 20 minutes.

Bass aren't the only fish that like PB&J

... and pull the line taught from the reel before you start the retrieve. oe

Green Pumpkin is all you need.

With the popularity of the swimbaits such as Keitech it seems that the 5" grub is a forgotten lure. Here's 5 reasons (in pounds) as to why you shouldn't

I would probably choose 7' mh casting & 6'6" med spinning

I use Lucas Slick Mist on my current boat after every use to wipe down and don't have any water spot issues on boat or motor. My last boat I wasn't as diligent about wipe downs and it was a PITA trying to scrub them off.

I use Restore Boat cleaner & polish by L & L products. A-Jays suggestion Klasse All in One looks good! Tom PS, L & L Wonderfoam removes hard water spots.

I've been using Klasse All-in-One on everything for a long time - including new (black) truck & boat. Simply put - it does everything I want / need it to - Everything. And nothing I don't. "This unique formula dries just as quickly as it’s applied, so application is quick and easy with no risk of streaks or hazing. Klasse All In One Polish cleans as you apply it, removing light oxidation, minor swirl marks, old waxes, and other minor surface defects. Since it is non-abrasive and does not contain any silicones, it will not stain plastic, vinyl, or rubber trim pieces. Klasse All In One Polish is so versatile, it can be used on virtually any nonporous surface including fiberglass, gel coat, metal, glass, plastic, marble, vinyl, painted surfaces, and more—it’s even approved for marine and aviation use." http://klasseusa.com/kalsse-all-in-one.html A-Jay

Can't say, as I've not done anything like this for green bass. Try it and let us know. However this and floating a stick bait over them under a slip bobber, are the only two ways I have had success with when targeting truly suspended smallies out over deep water. I've tried a lot of other presentations and although they 'sound good' at the dock, brown bass totally ignore my attempts. I had all but given up on trying to catch these fish, which can make for a long summer (and a lot of deep drop shotting) but now when I do find them, it's a decent deal. On a side note; for me, the conditions have to be right - usually mean relatively calm, to light wind with little to no boating traffic (which seems to break up the bait which is needed to help concentrate the bass) Doesn't happen often. A-Jay

When I remember, I use megastrike on non worm plastics and arnice on worms, especially the BPS ones. The arnice comes as an aresol and I spray it in the bag in hopes that it sticks Heck.....if I thought KY jelly would help my ratio, I would use it! Side note, I have found that megastrike on jigs seams to help them slide through the grass easier

Like the others, I close mine by hand without ever knowing I'm doing it. The sound of a bail snapping shut from someone turning the reel handle makes my skin crawl.

Tried to post picture of fish but can't figure it out on this site. Apparently every pic I take is too big

For me its the time spent outside. It takes me back to a time when I was much younger and life was simpler for me. The catching part is not that important. Some of my best days have been tough days because its given me an chance to look around and notice nature. Simple things like a heron wading for a meal or a raccoon scurrying up a bank. And yea, it beats work hands down.

Welcome! First I applaud your enthusiasm to upgrade your gear. Let me start of by saying cranks, topwater, jerkbaits and small swimbaits can be fished on $100 to $200 rod and you will be just fine. You mentioned you have spinning rig already for the finesse stuff so there is outfit #1. Next you have a frogging/heavy cover outfit so there is #2. Now you said you want 2 Loomis rods. How about getting your self 3 total rods and you would have a 5 rod arsenal? If that is the case you have nearly endless options for your topwater/crank/jerkbait, swimbait rod. Something like a Dobyns 705 cb glass or graphite or the 704 if you don't fish very heavy baits. Any similar reaction bait rod would fish most of the apps just fine. If you wanted to Loomis rods to cover a variety of apps from weightless plastics, to texas rigs, and jigs up to 3/4 oz total you will likely need two rods. I would suggest something like (1) 2 or maybe a 3 powered rod and (1) 4 powered rod. The jig and worm rods are going to much faster in action and better for jigs, plastics, and weightless baits, while the MBR rods are your super versatile rods with a taper and action suited from anything from small swimbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater, and treble hook baits to jigs and plastics. You could fish everything you listed on the MBR 842, 843 and 844 rods from the GLX line. I would get a hold of the folks at the TackleTrap and see what kind of deal they can offer. They often have deals not listed on the website plus the occasional rep sample or dealer demo rod which carries a full warranty. I bought my new MBR GLX from them for $340 shipped. If you can find a similar deal you can buy 3 GLX rods for around $1000 and cover about anything you need. So If I was in your shoes I would likely pick these two rods to cover what you want: 1. GLX MRB 843 - This would be for weightless plastics, light jigs, swimjigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, cranks and topwater 2. NRX - 873 CRR - This rod is between the loomis and 3 and 4 powered rods despite it being listed as a 3 power. You can fish all your mid to heavy texas rigs and jigs from 3/8 to 3/4 oz. If you prefer a shorter rod maybe look at the 854. Many like the 894 which is a bit longer than you wanted but is the bees knees for jigs. Regardless if you are set on GLX and NRX rods I would contact the TackleTrap and speak to Gary Wood. He knows his way around all things Loomis and would get you fixed up with the rods you want at a very nice price.

Spend some time watching you tube videos on how to fish these lures. You tube is wonderful because it can show you how to rig baits and how to work baits. Also check out these shakey head jig heads. They are the ones I use the most. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megastrike_Shake2_Pro_Model_Shakey_Heads/descpage-MSPROMD.html

What difference does it make.? Guys use live bait all the time.

Redneck Bubba Bass Fishing

I find when the don't bite that I try to force feed them and as we all know, that doesn't work. I do enjoy being out in nature, but some days it feels like I would have been better off staying in bed or going to w**k!

You often have "homers" and "roamers." Some bass, often including the biggest in the lake, won't move any farther than they have to between spawning areas and summer/fall home areas. Other bass like schoolies may roam for miles at times, but they tend to run much smaller in size. Not the best conservation of energy strategy, but they're likely younger and make it work. That said, every lake is different, and bass will do what they have to to survive, so don't write it off (what you were told), but also don't consider it chiseled in stone

Yes I got it installed and used this week on the bend. That is the best add on I have ever put on a boat. Worth every penny. Nothing like driving over a school of fish dropping trolling motor and fishing off the back deck !! Lol

What kind of rod are you casting on? I can cast weightless senkos on a medium heavy rod with no issues. It doesn't get half way across the lake, but it's a decent cast.

Happy 100th page!

Lake Kissimmee (Maidencane, locally known as 'Kissimmee Grass')

WHY ARE WE YELLING??? The original... Bill Lewis.

Anhinga (Withlacoochee River, FL)

I've never catching a bass on a yum dinger so this was a first for me, I wanted to change things up. I went with a pack of Watermelon Red Flake and June Bug in four inch. After waiting for countless hours and wanting to give up my sister and i both caught alright size bass on them and best part we both didn't lose our bait Release was easy got em right in the lip, Overall an okay day.

Numbers are down and they are still suspending 15 down, but one came up to play

Wolf River Harrison County South Mississippi

A rookie police officer pulled a biker over for speeding and had the following exchange: • Officer: May I see your driver's license? • Biker: I don't have one. ...I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI. • Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle? • Biker: It's not my bike. I stole it. • Officer: The motorcycle is stolen? • Biker: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's card in the tool bag when I was putting my gun in there. Officer: There's a gun in the tool bag? • Biker: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the dude who owns this bike and stuffed his dope in the saddle bags. • Officer: There's drugs in the saddle bags too?!?!? • Biker: Yes, sir. Hearing this, the rookie immediately called his captain. The biker was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the biker to handle the tense situation: • Captain: Sir, can I see your license? • Biker: Sure. Here it is. It was valid. • Captain: Who's motorcycle is this? • Biker: It's mine, officer. Here's the registration. • Captain: Could you slowly open your tool bag so I can see if there's a gun in it? • Biker: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it. Sure enough, there was nothing in the tool bag. • Captain: Would you mind opening your saddle bags? I was told you said there's drugs in them. • Biker: No problem. The saddle bags were opened; no drugs. • Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn't have a license, stole this motorcycle, had a gun in the tool bag, and that there were drugs in the saddle bags. • Biker: Yeah, I'll bet he told you I was speeding, too.

Lake Walk-In-Water, FL Gator Cloud

Finally a good day for me and my long time fishing buddy. We hardly had any success together as fishing partner since last year, it either him or me(mostly him) or both got skunked. We started around 5:30AM, he caught one fish and lost one on his walking dog(R2S), I got two blow up on my frog but no fish. Then we both switched to chatterbait and both caught a few more bass, including double(first ever for us). I end up caught another big catfish also with chatterbait. Good to have fishing buddy even once in awhile.

Jet Skis have to be at the top of my list. They are loud and ALWAYS have to get close to see if you are catching anything, which of course you aren't because of all the racket made by the stupid jet ski.

Original 3 1/2" Gitzit is all you need, available nearly everywhere. Tom

@NHBull ~ Here you Go ~ This is Gold. Don't tell anyone else though . . . . A-Jay

40' (that reads 40 feet)? Wow... that must have been some fight!

Pit Boss baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!