Leaderboard

We are closing in on 60,000 members. Thank you Glenn and Keri!

Just in case some of you might not know these..... Tip #1: Move your index finger away from the braid when setting the hook.....it slices fingers better than the ginsu 2000. Tip #2: When using your GoPro (mounted on the bill of your hat) to film your fishing adventures and you have the urge to relieve yourself, please turn off GoPro. It will save you some embarrassment and also save cleaning up the beverage of your choice that you just sprayed all over your monitor and computer desk after being surprised by viewing the aforementioned footage. That is all for now....

If ya look at the rods line rating alone 50# is "overkill" on everything except most Punch Rods! Instead we look at braided lines diameter

Got my biggest of the year this morning. This fish was on the thin side, but it had a giant head and mouth and was 21.5" long. Got her on a LiveTarget popper. She just barely sipped it in with no blow up or boil.

If you are using an anchor always remember to tie off the anchor line to the boat before you drop the anchor. Luckily I was in shallow water and the rope was floating.

Finally landed my first decent flathead today. Had a few break me off in the past, but nothing landed until today. Pulled him out from a brush pile on a breakline (the one you showed me about 20 feet off of the shoreline where the deep water cuts close in, next to a large grey dock with two boats underneath it's shingled roof. Thanks @Team9nine!) with a shaky head, tied onto an eight pound leader. Couldn't have been while I was fishing with straight braid of course, it had to be the second trip out after experimenting with using a mono leader. At first it didn't want to leave the brush pile and stayed down there rapping my line around all kinds of branches, but somehow it untangled itself (miraculously without fraying my line like yarn) and decided to go out into the much safer open water. Followed it with the trolling motor on high, the thing was convinced it was going to spool my little 1500 size reel. After a few minutes of that, it pretty much stayed directly beneath this boat and didn't really go anywhere, didn't come up but didn't try to go away either. Eventually it got tired and came up to the surface, which presented another dilemma. It couldn't fit in our net. Luckily I was fishing with two other people today, so one of them used the net and scooped its head into that, and the other grabbed the tail half of the fish and lifted it into the boat. It thrashed the net, tore two large holes the rubber mesh, and bent the metal frame up pretty bad. By that point I had my own personal cheering squad, four pleasure boaters had stopped nearby to watch the fight, and the two houses nearby both had everybody outside watching. My scale only goes to 25 pounds, so unfortunately we couldn't get a weight on it, but we guessed it to be in the 45 pound area. It measured 44.5 inches. Felt awesome to finally land one of them after having three or four break me off.

.....and remember to pull your bow anchor up before moving to your next spot......it doesn't play well with stainless props .

And if your partner is relieving himself off the back of the boat with one foot in the splashwell and holding on to the motor, make sure you take the trolling motor off 80% before you hit the go button.

Greetings from south central Pa! I've been dealing with some issues lately, and honestly needed something to get my mind off things. Why not go fishing? I got my license today for the first time in about 10 years and proceeded to my local creek. Started out using a #2 inline spinner and caught three little smallies. Then switched to a 2 1/2 inch Rapala floater/diver minnow and caught a 12" fallfish. Then I threw the minnow into a deeper run beside a big log and BAM! This was a nice fish! He was running up and down the creek stripping drag and jumping for a while before I got control of him with my 4 pound line. What fun! Turned out to be a 15 inch smallie of about 1 1/2 or 2 lbs. Fight was definitely better than that of a similar sized largemouth. What a beautiful little fish! I think I'm hooked!

Throwing an 8" pizz customs shadley out here in arizona and had a real nice one follow up to the boat. She got close i gave the glide bait a little twitch then BAM she smoked it. I watched her engulf the whole bait. Waited then set the hook. Somehow the hooks did not get her. Perfect execution. Im willing to bet money that if i put my hand around that bait and set the hook my hand would be full of trebles. Idk how she did it. But got some action shots.

Bullet weights for shallow water; 1/64, 1/16 & 1/8; lead will work just fine where legal. I don't use tungsten until 3/16 oz & larger. Hooks for soft plastics; 2/0 & 3/0 straight shank round bend for finesse & trick worm diameters, 3/0 & 4/0 for diameters up to a Senko, & then EWG Rod: totally & completely personal preference!!!!! Reel: totally & completely personal preference! Line: I personally throw Big Game unless it's matted grass

Wow!! 90-3 in smallies! Pretty awesome week for KVD! Great to see!

90lbs of small mouth? KVD just put on a 4 day butt kicking clinic!

And currently 495 guests online at this moment ! Every time I searched for reading material my questions in the search bar would always lead me to a thread in bassresource. It was always there , on the first page of results. Pretty soon I just started going to bassresource directly. I visit daily. There's a thread on this site for all levels and aspects of fishing . Awesome material and a good community.

KVD totally smashed it in this one. Posting at 90lbs. - If the Basstrakk weights are right, and they are usually pretty close, the man carried a 4.5 lb average fish all FOUR DAYS ! And they were all smallmouth . . . . . That's crazy . . . . . Weigh-in coming up. Not much drama expected, at least not for 1st place. #gorilladomination A-Jay

H20 Xpress line of crankbaits from Academy Sports. I've wrecked em' this year on the CRS squarebill. Good paint, hooks, and sound. Can be bought on sale for 2-3$ a piece. I also have a truckload of Strike King squarebill lures which are also great quality but at a higher price.

Norman Fat Boy (Redear pattern)

Of course he's the man, he's from Michigan!

Justin, yes send me a message with your email address please as Sam said. He, Sean is really the guy to talk to, in fact from what it sounds like you guys might actually be fishing the same water. He lives in VA beach and his backyard ends to a lake that is private. Also, from what he says, it is crazy clear. Sean is not on here much, working, going to engineering school at nights, and his wife is having health issues. But, I can send him an email and let him know you are requesting some information. Dont worry, we will get this figured out for you. Fishing down in that area can be difficult, but once you got it, yeah........(just saying.) (There are two main problems there, the color of lures seem to play a more important role in VA beach, and the fishing pressure can be ridiculous.) Wdy

What technique helps me catch the most fish? Reading bassresource.com and stealing the knowledge and experience of all you guys!

Our first boat. Beautiful Ranger aluminum. Second trip out. After 45 minutes of fishing my wife says, "We sure are sitting low in the water back here". Thank goodness for auto-bilge. Step 1: Put the plug in.

We have been having success in this hot weather by slowing down the presentation snd finding deeper water. Curly tail worms texas rigged or weightless. We've had the most luck on Lake Meade, Harwood Mills, and Cohoon. You can rent boats on all three lakes. Harwood is weekend rental only. I fish most of the time out of a yak, getting off the bank is key.

+1 for the Pflueger Trion. I've been fishing one for years. Excellent reel, and the rod isn't bad either. Last combo I bought was $60. Look for a sale or coupon. Will get you on the water quick and easy.

From today...

This dude's slump is the longest of all time.

Three of my guys (JVD, Palaniuk, and Jones) made the top ten with all five 25th place or better. The dream team got it done.

Weights were crazy high. Guys needed a 20lb average All 3 Days to crack the top 12. AND they are all SMALLMOUTH ~ ! The final day is chock full of Bass Catching Sledgehammers so we're in for a treat. All I can say is All Hail The Goby ! A-Jay

I think you want a medium-power 6'6" to 7' spinning combo. I would look for a Pflueger Trion or Pflueger President Combo.

I have a box for lures that dont work . Isnt it funny how some lures are really good and others junk . I have two Rattlin Thin Fins that are night and day different .

I guess the best thing I can say is, "Visit a local tackle store/sporting goods store." From my experience, many of these places have folks who can show you some options that fit your budget and may have some good sales. I recommend that you do a little homework first - you want to be able to tell them the species for which you want to fish, the type of fishing (baitcasting/spincasting/spinning) in which you are interested, the type of water you will be fishing (lake, pond, river, etc.), and whether you will be bank fishing, wading, or using some kind of boat/canoe/ kayak. Another possibility is looking at EBay, Craig's List, or the classified ads in your local paper. My personal preference is to buy new since usually there is a warranty for your gear. Also, I'm a big believer in having a rod and reel in my hands to see if it is comfortable before I buy, so I would go to a store before buying online. As an example, Dick's Sporting Goods in our area has a knowledgeable staff and several budget set-ups that can get you started. There may be other possibilities in your area. Don't forget you will need line, terminal tackle, and lures so consider those added costs. Just a personal note: There are a bazillion folks on here more experienced than I and they may recommend that you save up to increase your budget. I certainly agree in principle with that; but, and I only speak for myself here, I would much rather be fishing for the next few weeks than saving. Should you decide NOT to wait you will at least be gaining experience and knowledge to help you in making future gear choices. (I bet I get yelled at for this!) I happen to believe you can't truly enjoy fishing unless you ARE fishing. Listen to what these guys tell you though - they have helped me immensely! Finally, try to select from name brands that offer combos in your price range - Abu Garcia, Shimano, Daiwa, Lew's, Okuma, and others should have something to help you get started. And ANY rod is fun when there's a fish on the other end of the line attached to it. Lot's of blah-blah in this, but I hope it helps. Good luck!

So we waited for the sun to go down and went to the lake, seemed like the perfect time. My sister landed a fish and was upset when all she had was "slop" and it got away but to her surprise there was something else under there. Let's just say she was really happy and proud when "her" bait she picked out for us to use worked. As for me, I didn't catch anything but i am using a new bait caster rig and i do like this setup but i haven't caught anything on it yet. I'm still trying to figure out how i can cast a t-rig senko just out pass the dock and slop and not bringing in slop on every retrieve would be great. <3

In my profile on here it states my PB as being 2-3lbs. That's just for bass purposes. Here's me with my all around PB. A 28" fork length 20lb. North American Paddlefish aka Spoonbill Catfish. It's not a catfish though. Believe it or not, I caught this a couple months or so ago at a dam known as Diversion Canal in La Salle Parish, Louisiana on my $20 Wal Mart 6' Matzuo medium spinning rod using 14lb. Trilene XT line using an 1/8oz crappie jig. Still can't believe it didn't break my rod, but I think it did damage the reel some. The handle sticks now when reeling in.

Yes...take it off 80% and put it on 100% or high bypass

Big SMB this week on the Quabbin:

Hey Y'all, I just recently moved to Richmond, VA from New Orleans, LA, but originally from Southern California. Unfortunately, I never fished in New Orleans. I was busy eating all the great food in the Big Easy. I am brand new to bass fishing, but grew up doing a lot of trout fishing in a lake (not lures or fly), surf fishing, and pier. Checking out a Cabela's, I saw a great deal for a Lew's casting combo. I had very little experience with a salt water bait caster, but I always knew most bass anglers use a bait caster and decided to take on the challenge. So far, I'm not doing bad. Only one FUBAR backlash that needed to be cut out, after I exhausted all the techniques to repair. However, reading these forums, I over spooled my reel anyways - so the backlash helped me. Being brand new to Virginia, I'm still trying to find some good fishing holes. I'll appreciate any advice or locations to catch some bass. I don't have a boat so everything needs to be bank fishing. I really enjoy it, even though it's hot as hell out right now. The complexity of understanding your equipment and surroundings are exciting and pretty challenging. Right now, I am only using senkos in a wacky rig (no weight added). I am not sure if this is right, but I have 30lb braid on my reel and tie on a 10lb fluoro or mono leader. Also, I have had at least 5 fish slip a hook. I don't understand what I am doing wrong setting the d**n hook. If anyone can help me figure that out that would be nice. So far I can catch 2-3 fish in about hour. My biggest bass is 2lbs haha. I lost what looked like a 3-4 pounder on the bank. I got excited and tried to drag the fish on land getting it caught on a stick which snapped my leader. Looking forward to learn from everyone and improve my skills.

Long time weekend fisherman who is starting to take it a little more seriously now. Anyone getting any bites in Western PA? Been getting back into it now with my son who's taken a big interest in fishing and we've been mainly fishing the Kiski River (between Leechburg and Vandergrift). Pulled a few bass out of there the other night. Nothing special, one was around 15". Finding bank fishing hard. I miss my boat.

Hello my name is Brandon, I have been fishing since I was 10 years old. Although I haven't caught any fish since I retaught myself recently. I fish in my lake community in silver lakes helendale CA.

Tonight I was fishing a night tournament on ouachita and well it could've went better. Not only was the fishing tough but when i thought it was bad I couldn't have envisioned how bad it'd get. Finally got a good bite on an ol monster and set the hook and blam my 4 month old falcon lowrider somehow jumped outta my hand. Got the light turned on just in time to see my rod getting drug to its final resting place. Thought about bailing in after it but had my phome in my pocket. By then it was too late. Has this ever happened to anyone else??

Still fishing the same small pond with the same ugly stick...11 years later

Great moving bait rods. Not great bottom contact rods. Champion for your 100$ price is a no brainer.

No kidding. If the OP can get that kind of pricing, why not go for the best they have.

That would seem like a really solid deal to me . If the savings are that great you may consider stepping up to a Champion or Champion Extreme.

nicest hybrid I caught this week. Had a great week with smallmouth, with a couple pigs. One I could only describe as a football, not long, just fat. Greediest fish in the river. Here is a decent sized one I caught on a 3/4 oz white/chartreuse bucktail hair jig that I throw to target hybrids. Walleye continue to hit right before it gets dark. Not sure where sauger have gone but I only caught 1 this week and I'm not complaining. This is a 14 or 15 inch walleye, caught on a 1/4oz jig and gulp minnow, normally use 1/8oz but needed extra weight to get my bait to where I needed it.

Next theres going to be a thread "Has this ever happened to you? " about catching a rod and reel with a fish on it . I had a channel cat yank my rod in the water . I just set it down for a few seconds to do something and off it went .I dove in head first and got it .

Warn the backseat partner before trimming the motor. Scares me every time. My dad was notorious for this. But he had a pontoon that went 25 MPH max so he wouldn't get them in the prop. We started using concrete blocks for anchors because it was much cheaper to lose them.Both the rope lugs on his pontoons were bent from doing this. If your boat won't start check the kill switch. Yep, I actually missed fishing time because my kill switch was open. Always work from the easiest fix to the harder stuff during the process of elimination.

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.

Maybe not in weight, but length they would be for sure. Catfish is one of the only thing that grows big here. They have to be 33" just to get a state master angler certificate in Kansas. I've caught a few I'm positive were longer than that, but didn't know there was length records, doubt I'd bother submitting a length record anyways.