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First, make sure the hooks are sharp. Cheap baits often have dull hooks right out of the package. Second, don't set the hook as soon as you see the splash. It takes a little self control, but keep the line taught and don't set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish.

When I tie one on I remind myself to "wait for the weight" before setting the hook.

Wanted to share something that happened over the 4th of july weekend. Sorry about the length in advance. I get to the marina to launch and I can smell what seems like a tire or plastic burning. The marina has a campground with a lot semi- permanent campers and they often burn stuff over night so I figured it was one of them. I launch the boat and start tossing my frog down the shoreline and now i can see a fire by a camper and thought must have been those idiots burning the tire. As I get closer I can see better and it looks like the fire is between a SUV and the camper and I'm thinking there's a recipe for disaster. Now , I see that there is fire dripping down and know that isnt right. I beach the boat run up on shore and sure as ****, the back quarter of the camper is on fire. I run to the front and start banging on the door, I hear a lady yell JESUS, I'm coming. I tell her the camper is on fire and she gives me an old fire extinguisher that she says she thinks is broken. There is no top, no trigger no nothing just a tube sticking out the top ... like a cheeze whiz can. I press the top and the retardant flies everywhere, I managed to put the fire out and turned around to see the woman, what looked like her father, 3 older teen girls and 2 guys looking at me like I don't understand just happened. They were very grateful and pretty much in shock as this was 5:45 in the morning. The older gentleman mentioned having something rewired and that could have caused the issue. From the outside I couldnt tell how much damage there was but it seemed like it was caught before any major damage could be done. I tried to launch at my father in-laws that morning too. However, he had left his boat on the trailer right at the lake so I ended up deciding to put in at the marina instead. I went home and tested our fire extinguishers and smoke detectors and replaced one of each. I also had to replace the one on my boat. If you haven't checked your safety devices recently, it might be a good time to spend the few minutes and check. Be safe.

BTW, I've NEVER had a real pro be disrespectful. Dean Rojas asked if he could cut along side me to get to fish he saw yesterday. He never got any closer than 20 yards. Timmy Horton was hysterical. "I bet you caught my fish that's over here. " I'm like, "nope, nothing, but KVD beat this place up pretty bad." "That don't bug me, KVD doesn't know how fish right anyway." BAHAHAHA! The only issues I've gotten were "wanabe pros."

4 out of 7! Don't know if I would complain Sometimes it aint operator error, sometimes the bass don't take right to ensure a proper hookup!

Yes I've been in a thunderstorm big enough to beach a Champion 210 Elite & have been 150 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico in seas that made a 70' boat look little. It's all fun & games until you pull a dead body out of the water...changes your perspective on boating safety! I love my family more than bass fishing!

MEH...

Long arming some 14"ers for all the folks that love it. I caught about 30 of them drop shotting some brush piles, it was pretty neat, I dropped to the individual fish a couple times.

I snuck out to a pond tonight, in spite of the hot sticky windless miserableness of the weather. I swear the only breeze was that generated by the beating wings of my personal congregation of gnats. Why do they love my ears? Anyway, the Menace Grub came through for me tonight. I tried the Delta Red for the first time, on a whim, and it brought me a half dozen 2-4 pounders in an hour. It was nice also to spot the gallinule chicks with their mom.

Had to share this one. Nobody would believe me unless it was on video.

Point taken. When writing that post, I was thinking of top names for some reason; Bill Dance, Hank Parker, etc.

I pay for a fishing license and I pay taxes, I have every right to be on that public body of water fishing. With that said, if I know there's going to be a tournament I'll avoid that lake, but if I get there and there happens to be a tournament, I'm going to fish. I'm not going to follow anyone or try to fish their spots, but I'm not going to move if they want to fish the spot I'm already at. I work 5 days out of the week, someone who fishes for a living is not going to get any pity from me if I catch one of their fish. Dealing with other fisherman is part of fishing, if me fishing my spots is going to stop someone from putting food on the table, they should probably do the responsible thing and find another career.

Just because you have a blow up on a top water..popper, spook, frog etc. doesn't mean they hit it to eat it and you have a problem with anything. A Bass will come up just to stun it. That's why sometimes they will come back after a hit and crush it or something else as a follow up. How they can not get hooked hitting a 2 or 3 trebled hard bait is a question that can't be answered. Mike

I don't follow them around, but if I'm already fishing a spot, and one shows up, it would depend on the spot whether I'd stay or leave. Some places fish small, some large. I've fished club tournaments alongside Elite or Open level tournaments on Oneida. No one was hurting for room. I fished right next to Jaime Hartman, who was leading a northern open at the time. The spot we had in common was pretty small, so I moved several yards away, and let him have the prime spot. I ended up moving to a bridge piling close by. He won that open, and I won my club tournament. I believe he had two more pounds than I.

I believe there will be an array of responses here. Some on both sides of the fence & even a few 'in the middle'. Perhaps if an angler is not at all a fan of tournament fishing or a competitive angler themselves, there could be a certain disregard for the derby participants. This may or may not impede the contestants. If an angler happens to be a tournament fan or even a lower level participant - they could see fit to stand off or give way - and perhaps use this as an opportunity to learn. I'm not a tournament participant but am a fan, so I'm hanging around to 'watch the show' but not fishing at all until it's over. I will add that I'm in a part of the country where there are only a few local derbies on only the biggest waters so it would never really cut into 'my fishing time' which could be a determining factor for some anglers who have only a limited time on the water. A-Jay

Big SMB this week on the Quabbin:

I use my Curado 70 XG for pitching or target short distance casts with jigs and worms. I use the Chronarch MGL XG for jigs and worms too but I use it for longer distance or deeper water. (extra line) The Met MGL I have, use it for moving baits (spinnerbaits/bladed baits, crankbaits, swim jigs etc.) I agree you get an extra few yards with the Chronarch MGL. Met MGL vs Chronarch MGL - It's kind of complicated, I say the Met is just little bit more refined in my hands, but if you compare the USDM prices . The difference in price is not worth it. Go with the Chronarch MGL. If you are buying the JDM version of the Met vs the Chronarch MGL (USDM) price, it's far more reasonable. I'd go with the MET JDM in that scenario. I would've bought more Met JDMs but here in Canada they have been cracking down it seems on anything I buy now internationally. So I opt to buy the Chronarch MGL from now on and not get dinged with the import tax. Either one will put a smile on your face. At least for me it does.

Comments on line not lying down and rod buzzing when lifted indicate you're close to a lightning situation, and as mentioned, it doesn't have to be clearly a thunderstorm environment. It can happen miles from the storm . I repeat to emphasize the danger which one can find himself in, even without a thunderstorm. If you point your rod up and hear the buzz, get the heck out of there immediately.

I quit using the rubber T bolts a long time ago. After a few years the start coming apart, the motor gets loose and you can't tighten it. I would make me an access port if at all possible and bolt it down with SS bolts and self locking nuts with rubber washer between the motor and boat.

From the pages of In-Fisherman btw - 10lb braid might be a little light for this one A-Jay A New Option For several years I’ve been using a swimbait body on a weighted swimbait hook behind an in-line spinner. Sized correctly, this combination is dynamite on pike. This rigging can be used in open water, away from cover; but with the hook texposed it also runs through heavy cover, including timber and brush. The weighted swimbait hook acts as a keel to keep the package running straight and as a pivot point for the swimbait body to work against. So far as I know, nothing like this is available already rigged for commercial sale, except for the Mepps Comet Mino, which lacks a paddletail. My rig requires deconstruction of an in-line spinner and adding a swimbait on a weighted swimbait hook. Matched with the in-line spinner, smaller swimbaits can be used to achieve the same overall size of about 6 inches, which works best. One of the first options I used was created by removing the treble hook from a Blue Fox Vibrax Musky Buck with a #5 blade, adding a 5/0 Lazer Sharp #L111 weighted swimbait hook weighing 1/4 ounce, coupling it with a 5-inch Berkley Hollow Belly Swimbait. I’ve also caught lots of fish on a bigger option, by deconstructing a Blue Fox Fluted Musky Buck (#6 blade), adding a 6/0 Gamakatsu Swimbait hook (called a Weighted Superline Spring-Lock hook) weighing 1/4 ounce, coupling it with a 6.5-inch Yum Money Minnow. On the smaller side of things, deconstruct a Terminator Snagless In-line Spinner (#4 blade), weighing 5/8 ounce, adding a 3/0 Lazer Sharp #L111 weighted swimbait hook weighing 1/4 ounce, and coupling it with a 4-inch Berkley Hollow Belly. So many other lures might come into play, given the circumstance. When I’m searching on reservoirs with brush I also like to use a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait. Dress it with one of the hybrid swimbait bodies like the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig to add bulk and vibration to attract bigger pike. I’ve used this system successfully for pike across North America over the past 5 years, during early season and late. Read more: http://www.in-fisherman.com/pike-muskie/northern-pike/lure-options-for-pike-giant-pike/#ixzz4nN3N5bpB

Chronarch MGL gets my vote also. Since you are planning on having 2 bait casters I'd definitely suggest getting one with a bit more line capacity than the Curado 70. It's my main complaint about that reel from a versatility point of view it's almost entirely geared towards light lures and finesse. I've never spooled my 70 but have hit mono backing casting with heavier lures and I don't like that. The breaking system and weight in the MGL are the same as the 70, and the feeling in the hand is pretty similar as well. If pitches, and flips like no other and throws weightless senkos just as well if not better than the 70. The best comparison I can make after using both is it's a smoother much more refined 70 that I can also confidently throw a 1/2oz crank bait or plopper 90 as far I can. I don't even bring the 70 fishing since I picked up 2 MGL's it is soon to be sold to a friend. If you like the Curado 70 I think you will love the MGL. I don't really see the new 200k to be enough of an upgrade from the 70 (if at all) to justify grabbing one until extensive primarily peer sourced reviews are out there. I do want to grab a Daiwa at some point but I don't love how they feel in my hand nor the action.feeling of the thumb bar on the Tatulas. If not I'd own one of them too. You have a very good dilemma on your hands.

KVD 1.5 Bill Lewis rat-l-trap Rapala original floater rebel pop r

I've had lots of high end glasses over the yrs and hears my .02. I've owned several Costas and Maui's as of late and know that I no longer like a glass lens because of the weight. After fishing all day they are just too heavy for me, anyway. I agree that u should go somewhere like bass pro, Cabelas ect that has a large selection to find what's comfortable on your face and astetically pleasing to you. I am about to buy a 2 pair of Costa Permits probably one in Copper and the other in Sunrise Yellow for morning dawn and overcast days. Anyway there is a chart obviously explaining what each color lens is best for and how much light transmission that lens let's through. There expensive glasses go for about $189 in the plastic vs $249 for the glass as the Permits do. You can order them from Costas site as they are the same price as the retailers and there is no extra fee or $100 up charge fee for choosing the frame you want the color of it and which lens you want in them.

Ok so I've watched this thread go on for a while without chiming in... I'm the original owner of the rod in question. While I'm sure it's the case that there are some dishonest sellers on the internet but I'm not one of them The duration of my ownership of that rod was removing it from the tube Dobyns mailed it in, putting it on the rod rack in my fishin' room, then removing it from my rod rack to ship it to Wagster. The rod never even took a boat ride or made a cast in the yard. The Dobyns replacement policy is still in effect even though he's not the original owner. Its absolutely unfortunate that the rod broke but I stand by the info I gave about the rod's history. I know no one was inappropriately finger-pointing but I wanted to add my 2 cents.

So, being hit by lightening is just like getting married?

Water temp is bathwater, outside temp is armpit. This bass felt like it had a fever. And one while I was avoiding the storm:

Chunker from yesterday, going back today to finesse some bigger ones that followed but wouldn't commit.

So I've been without the use of my boat for a few weeks now and have done quite a bit of shore fishing to keep from testing out some single edge razor blades. Considering the limited amount of shore access on my home waters, I feel I've done extremely well. What the experience has shown me is something I learned long ago, but I've gotten away from: If a spot is worth checking out, do a complete job. I always break down the entire water column in areas of 10ft. of water or more of water, but when it comes to shallow water, I rarely do. My reasoning is that the fish will react to any bait that passes. I was re-educated to the fact that even in 3ft.-6ft. of water, a fish with a 1ft. strike window will only move 1ft. That leaves a fairly large area where my presentation will go unmolested. Maybe i should have a tattoo that reads: Top-middle-bottom.

This past weekend was a busy one for me as I was bouncing around all over the place. I did get over to spend some time with my girlfriend who was feeling the urge to fish. I never need my arm twisted to do that, so I hauled the boat over. Last winter I saw a lake on google maps that I had never fished before only 15 minutes or so from her parent's house so we set off on an adventure to explore it. Upon arrival, things were looking good, it had some bogs that looked to have some water under them, lots of grass, some deep holes, and some stumps and downed trees. Conditions were not the best though, post frontal, bluebird skies, a light breeze that seemed to be blowing in circles. Things started off on a good note, as Mikalila had her first fish in the boat (baby northern) while I was still pulling rods out of the box. Things slowed drastically after, but we seemed to catch fish in spurts, I don't know if we just happened to run across a productive area, or if it had to do with the switching wind or what, but you'd catch one or two and it'd be followed by a long stretch of nothing. Most of our bites were coming on a frog, and all 3 photo worthy fish were caught on one. We lost a few others that got us wrapped up in the thick stuff and we couldn't get to them before they pulled off. Overall, this little lake has some potential, and I look forward to going back under better conditions and seeing if that lake has more to offer. Sunday, on the way home I stopped at a lake closer to my house that I usually fish quite often, but haven't had the time to get over there lately. I've only been on it once this year and that was early spring. I spend the little bit of my time fishing off shore structure with jack squat to show for it other than a few tiny and I mean tiny fish and a nice northern than liked the look of my jig. I decided to move in and fish some shallow slop in my last 40 minutes or so and was rewarded with 3 keeper bass one of which was a big momma! 20 3/4" and 5 lbs 3 oz. my first 5er of the year but hopefully not the last, they aren't exactly common around here. It was definitely a quality vs. quantity weekend, that's one of the best parts about fishing though, you never know what could happen the next cast.

New to the forum but I'm an old fisherman that first started bass fishing in the 50's with linen braided line, baitcasting rod made of split bamboo and a baitcasting reel without any brakes or other backlash control. I tried the search function and couldn't find anything on this but I suspect it is due to my lack of computer skill. I got away from largemouth fishing years ago when I moved to a location with much better smallmouth and trout fishing, and now I live in SC and do a lot of saltwater fishing. I want to go fishing for largemouth again and I am trying to build my tackle box. The number and variety of lures for sale are staggering. I have assumed that things have not changed so much that I could not make any decisions and I bought plastic worms, sinkers and hooks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and jigs. However, when it comes to plugs I need some help. I googled this stuff and read lots of articles, watched utubes and have read some of the beginner articles here but I don't feel I am getting focused enough on my search. It seems nobody even calls them plugs anymore, but I am talking about crankbaits (spoon bill, lipless, suspended, sinking, etc.) , jerkbaits, surface lures and poppers, and the like that used to be made out of wood, now are plastic, and generally look like baitfish. I am not asking which kind to use in general, but I am asking whether there is a general consensus as to certain specific brand names that are accepted as effective. In the old days that would have been lures like Hoola Popper, Jitterbug, Daredevil Spoon and Mepps Spinners. I know that there are established brands like Rapala, Strike King, Rebel, etc., but I don't know which specific plugs, if any, are generally considered must have plugs. Perhaps none, and there are several good choices of each kind but just knowing that would help. Any current plugs that would make your hall of fame?

Ebay

Friend and I were fishing the St Johns rive in Palatka, FL. with power lines overhead. Started hearing the crackling. I made a long cast using mono, and the line just hung in mid air, floating. Then bright flash, and simultaneos BOOM. I though we had been hit. That's probably the closest I've come. People tell me I'm exagerating when I tell them the line floated. Good to see it has happened to others.

I agree with Catt. Give the fish a second or two before setting the hook. My best day fishing a popper I landed 8 fish and had around 12 blow ups that morning.

Last summer some time I posted what happened to a boater and co angler on Okeechobee during a tournament. To make a long and sad story short..... They were fishing under blue sky's but kept watching a building thunderstorm that didn't seem like it was moving. After fishing hard for a while one of them happened to look back and saw that it was bigger, darker and moving faster. They packed up and started to head back when a lightening bolt struck the co angler and knocked them both out. When the boater finally regained consciousness he tried to revive him but being disoriented himself he couldn't. He screamed and tryed to get the attention of other passing boat's. When they got to weigh-in the co angler had died.. Weird fact...The fish in the co angler's live well were dead, but the fish in the boater's well were not. ALL prize money awarded that day was donated back to the co anglers family. Iv'e said before..Leave, it's just fishing Mike

IMO it is way better to fish with a trailer on your jig. I have never caught one without a trailer on. I like to think I fish my jig pretty fast, but if I am not getting any bites I start to slow down. I mainly fish from the bank and what I try to do is find cover. Now if cover isn't available I try to hit submerged structure. You can find submerged structure via google maps or google earth. You can also find submerged structure by throwing your jig out and feeling bottom. Drag the jig around, different structure has a different feeling, try to find rock piles or lay downs. Fish break points from a sandy to rocky bottom or a weed line. Here is my favorite way to work the jig: I cast it out and with my thumb slightly controlling the free fall until I hit bottom. Be prepared to close it up and reel down because hits can come on the fall. Once I am on bottom I reel in the slack, maybe dead-stick for a bit, then with a little bit of slack in line I start to hop it all the way back. I hop it back in a random pattern until I find what the fish want. I really like to get on top of a rock and hop off the top and let it fall, I get a lot of hits this way. Well, I am a little stoned and feel like I wrote too much. Good luck! tight lines

Lucky craft slender pointer 97MR in ghost minnow?

Sweet tackle on this page !

Took the fully cleaned up and waxed boat out yesterday, today I used the Lucas mist on it, took only about 15 minutes and it looks like new. So the initial cleanup with dilute CLR, then Slick Mist wax resulted in like new appearance. Then the next time out, only the Slick Mist returned it to like new. Good process, thanks for the tips.

had the same thing happen to me in bama. it's spooky when the line just floats in the air. I left rather quickly!

Look at the ci4, great deals can be had and a step up from the 70

wet-dream I see you are located in southern NJ. How far from the town of Northeast MD are you. That is where all of the big tournaments go out to fish the upper Chesapeake Bay. If you were interested I would be willing to do with you exactly what I did with the other member. I would meet you at Anchor Marine and go to an area nearby for some hands on with your gear and mine. I can help with both your Tat and MGL. That location is about an hour and 20 minutes from me. OP here are 3 links on the Tatulas. Note Bret is talking about a Tatula SV TWS which is the latest version. It is built on the CT body. The Mag Force on all of the Tats get adjusted the same way.

Rod choices are based on weight and technique, it has nothing to do with "smallmouth".

I have always been a fan of the Smithwick devils horse. You don't hear much about them anymore, but they still catch fish.

Here's a day out on Lake Ontario. We literally ran through the outlet from the lake to the bay at around 75 mph to beat the storm. Came out of nowhere. I saw a speck of lightning many, many miles away, and five minutes later. We beat it out just in time. The last two videos are the wind just before the storm.

I have daiwas, shimanos, and lews. None of them stand out to me as way better than the rest, they all seem good for the price range

makes me ashamed to show my 4lb dink

I was fishing at Bull Shoals and there was a storm in some far away hills . I wasnt too frightened by it . I was using a tube on a quarter ounce jighead . I made a cast and my line would not lay on the water . The lure was in the water but the line was trying to stand straight up in the air . I connected the dots rather fast and got off the water .

Kayak's on the truck and I'm not working tomorrow. Don't know where I'm going yet, but it'll be somewhere.... Somewhere turned out to be Ponkie in the morning and Hedges in the evening. Launched at Ponkie around 7:30 and stayed until 11:00. I landed a few little ones and three in the 1-5 range. They all came on a 'generic' brand twin tail grub on a 1/8 oz. Keitech jig head. Something BIG hit it, assumably a Pickerel, because it chewed straight through my braid. Didn't get on the water at Hedges until after 6:30. There were two accidents in addition to regular afternoon traffic. It was worth it though, with four good SMB, one little one, and a nice fat yellow Perch. I can only count 1 SMB, the other fish came close, but never made it into my kayak. All came on blade baits. I started with a 3/4 oz gold Binsky in roughly 17 - 20' of water. One of the good sized smallies hit it like a truck and spit it while coming out of the water by a foot or more, which, itself was worth the drive to Plymouth. Another SMB is wearing that gold Binsky beacuse my braid/fluoro knot failed as I was reaching for it (forgot net ?). I hope it can shake it loose. Water temps at both locales was 81.x.

This ^^^^^plus When it comes to jigs everyone has their own personal repertoire of confusion! What I look for in a jig is a smooth transition from the line to the eye & around the belly, which requires the eye to be slightly rolled forward. The reasoning is I want my jig to follow the line up to the cover & then slide over or through the cover smoothly. I want a quality brush/weed guard & a quality hook, both are more important to me than head design. If I'm working a shoreline or offshore structure I do not switch jigs just because the cover changed!

Had a decent weekend, not a quantity weekend, but did well on the size.