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2nd day of committing to deep CB's and new personal best 5.56. Appreciate the seasoned guys here introducing another arrow in the quiver... Best, Al

Didn't have very much time to fish last night, actually debated not even going. I'm glad I made the decision to go. Caught 6 5 of which were keepers including these two big girls

It's been tough around these parts lately with the high temps. So I'm happy with these 3, despite the size. One on a lipless crank, two on black/red flake Senko. I had been struggling with my Senko hooksets lately, as I have always kind of used them as a last ditch effort. However, thanks to this forum, the sweep hookset is working like a charm. I also stepped down to a 2/0 offset hook from a 4/0 offset wide gap. The fish on the left came out of a separate pond from the other two, just 5 minutes down the road. I found the difference in their color interesting.

I know this isn't as big as some of you guys, but it's my PB at 6.74 lbs. I think it turned out awesome, opinions welcome..

both length citations.

I grew up fishing small trout streams with ultralight spinning gear, but it only took a couple bass fishing trips with my cousin in local ponds to convince me to expand my fishing horizons. I would need bass gear though, and everyone I talked to said I would need a baitcasting outfit. I was a kid without much money, but I took what I got from mowing lawns and doing odd jobs and tried to put something together. I ended up with something cheap and crappy, and I don't even remember the name of the reel. I do remember that it was mostly plastic and I didn't have much success with it. Fast forward a few years and after serving in Desert Storm I had done a lot of growing up, but I hadn't outgrown my love of fishing. I got out of the service, came home and took stock of my fishing tackle. It was time for an upgrade! I ended up trading 3 or 4 cheap rods and reels to a local guy for a Garcia Ambassadeur S3600C and a rod which I have since let go. This fellow is a bit of a horse trader, and I'm sure he felt he got the better of me at the time (late 90's) because the reel didn't work right. It felt like something inside wasn't engaging correctly. Sometimes it would cast and reel, and sometimes it wouldn't. I didn't know what was wrong with it or how to fix it, but Abu Garcia had a good reputation at the time so I sent it back to them with a note explaining the problems I was having. After a while they sent the reel back to me, along with a laundry list of parts they had replaced. I glanced at the bottom of the paper and the repair bill for what they had done to my reel was zero! They fixed it without charging me a dime! I don't know if they considered this a warranty repair or what, but I definitely wasn't the original owner! Anyway, after catching hundreds of fish I am still using that reel today, along with the 4600CL3, the HPSS 5600C (Hank Parker model) and the 6500C3 I later bought. I don't know the state of the company today, but I will always be a fan of Abu Garcia! My three smaller reels are all mounted on excellent Abu Garcia Conolon rods (6' M, 6 1/2' MH, and 7' MH). I just used my 4600CL3 the other night to catch a five pound largemouth. These rods and reels have never let me down and I expect they never will. I'm sure everyone here knows about Ambassadeur reels, but I just felt like sharing my story. Cheers!

...and this is the point in the road (nomenclature) where all of us structure guys end up taking slightly divergent paths

I fished for about 4 or 5 hours Monday without catching anything, and maybe only getting a couple nibbles. But I was enjoying my solitude outside, and it sure beats sitting on the couch watching TV.

More Yak fishing for me yesterday. I took a rare day off as the weather was almost perfect for a day on the river. A little hot but very little wind. I ended the day with 11 fish, 8 Smallmouth and 3 Largemouth. All caught on a red shad Senko or a watermelon/redflake Biospawn Exostick. The two best fish were over 2 pounds, one Largemouth and this Smallmouth. Even with half a tail he put up a heck of a fight including one jump that almost stopped my heart as that was the first look at his size I got and the thought that he shook the hook.

I like to catch fish as much as anyone, but I'm not going to cut a fishing trip short because I haven't caught a fish. I know when I leave my house how long I'm going to fish and it only gets cut short for bad weather or family emergency. I go for the "fishing" part. The "catching" makes it more fun, but the "fishing" still makes the time enjoyable and well spent.

It's called fishing not catching!

First time he opened his eyes! My little guy is doing better and better. I really appreciate all the kind words and thoughts. He's a spitfire and a lady killer already

Every once in awhile, you need to get back to basics and hit a farm pond to get your confidence back .

Can we go fishing now?

May I suggest you invest in a long distance phone call and speak with Robbie Patterson at Propeller Dynamics in Chester, Virginia. Robbie owns the leading trolling motor repair shop on the east coast. Both Cabela's and BPS send their client's trolling motors to Robbie's company for repairs. 804.706.1847 Robbie is honest and he will give you his input on the differences between the two brands, and you can get his input about the burned out units.

I had a plan before starting . A 200 acre lake , fishing from a jon boat with electric motor only . I dont have the luxury of motoring around so I go to the nearest spot then on to the next ... and fish in between spots . 1: fish main lake point - resulted in 2 bass 8 foot deep on worm 2 : fish main lake flat - zero 3 : fish sunken brush pile in creek - zero 4 : fish stumps in creek with a slight channel running through- Bingo several bass caught at six foot on worm and crankbait { between spots 4 and 5 I catch several bass from laydowns with a worm } 5 : Fish sunken brush pile main lake - zero 6 : Fish main lake lay downs - zero So , main lake water was eliminated , and I concentrated fishing cover in the creeks .

New one I like is dude driving his family. His whole family is wearing headphones. He precedes talking to himself..."I bought a new putter you don't even kno about!.

I'm still stuck in the 50s. My newest reel is over 35 years old and several of mine are over 60 years old and they still work like new. I grew up at my grandfather's Three Rivers Boat Dock & Resturant at the confluence of the Holston, French Broad and Tennessee Rivers in Knoxville, TN back in the 50s and 60s. Seemed like most everyone used Mitchell's back in those days. These are the Mitchell's that I've inherited and purchased and salvaged from the garbage dump over the years. My first reel was an Airex Bache Brown Model 3 that my grandpa gave me. I didn't get a Mitchell 300 until about 1960 when I saved up enough money to buy one. This is a picture of me and my old half bail Airex back in '57. Boat races at Three Rivers Boat Dock summer of 1959.

A T-rigged Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace Grub came through for me again today. The fish were aggressive this evening, after today's cooling, aerating downpour.

Three Tap Theory as explained to me by Shaw Grigsby The first tap the bass has inhaled your lure The second tap the bass has expelled your lure The third tap is me tapping you on the shoulder asking way you didn't set hook!

I finally got my first pike today!! Wasn't rly sure how to get a good pic so don't mind the first time awkwardness hah

Watching a Vision dart in the water is probably the single most pleasing bait to look at. And that is probably worth something. To someone. The LC Pointers cast better for me. Not that accuracy is all too important for jerk baits, compared to other presentations, but I get more fouled hooks with the Megabass lures, for some reason....not a lot, but enough to be a little frustrating. I would say the fish-catching ability is about equal. I use both, but I'd probably recommend the LC, if only because the 'catability' gives it an edge. Good thing that we don't actually have to choose one over the other. I'd toss a Shadow Rap onto that order, too...just because. And...while you're at it, maybe a Rogue...jk....BUT, I do have a bright blue/silver Rogue that for some reason will beat the rest on very rare occasions.

for me when im at my home lake on the boat an 8 hour day is not uncommon

I'll always stay out there as long as I can. I can usually count on hooking into something regardless of the day, but even if I don't I won't get discouraged. Fishing is just that....fishing, catching is just a bonus.

Tossing a spro killer gill popping frog around a river here I arizona.

USN 88-94. Desert Storm is where I did my growin' up.

Weightless, in my case last night wouldn't cut it. One and half ounce jika punch rigs, tossed 2-3' into these weeds. They weren't huge, but one of my favorite ways to fish. Hand to hand combat, in the kayak!

I use a variety of baitcasting reels and only a few spinning reels because I consider spinning reels for bass fishing are used specially for light line finesse presentations and bait casting for everything else. Baitcasting reels use a level wind to guide the line onto a revolving spool. If the line is too small diameter the line can dig down into line underneath, for most baitcasters that is about .008 diameter. There are a few small size baitcasting reels that can use smaller than .008 diameter line, very few! So for general use 8 lb test mono, FC or copolymer single filament line is about as small as you should use. Line diameter larger than .018 on average size baitcasters tend to have too much memory to cast without spring off the smaller diamter spools of size 100 or 200 reels. 300 and 400 size reels the larger spools diameter can handle large diameter lines over .019 dia. Smaller diameter line cast further than larger diameter line on both spinning and baitcasting reels. Lure weight, rod length and action/power along with casting skill and reel performance determines how far any line can be cast. Tom

Always set the hook, and if you don't connect you just tell the person you are fishing with "I just missed a GOOD one", they will never know the difference and neither will you.

Depends if my mother in law is visiting...?

Fished LaCygne Sunday- I started up lake and noticed quite a few boats in the river section. I pitched flooded brush and water willows for a while ending up with one fish about 2lbs. Came back down lake and picked up a shakeyhead. I found a couple nice fish over 20". All in all, spent about 7 hours on the lake for five bites one of which was a drum, one of which was a dink. A few good ones make everything better. -Jared

Caught about thirty today with seven over 15 inches . Nothing huge . This was the best one caught on an 8 inch jelly Worm .

Well, I may have only caught one bass but i'm proud of myself. I caught it on a frog i never used before, on mono line i never used before and i'm still new to bait casting. I had my ups and downs with bait casting and even wanted to give up but i stuck with it. A few bird nest here and there but not as bad as before and i can throw as far as i could with my spinning rig and no bird nest. Improvement feels great. My sister caught a bass, some rainbows and sunfish and even a catfish on real worms, I wanted to keep using my frog lol.

Lots of action chasing crappie this afternoon. Kept a few for a meal, then enjoyed just swinging on them the rest of the afternoon.

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Hooksets are free so - I say get your money's worth whenever the mood strikes you. Smaller than bass fish, like panfish, are notorious for 'tasting' soft plastics with little chance of getting hooked. Finally you mentioned two taps - if it were indeed a bass, the first one might have been the fish picking up the bait and the second one was the fish rejecting the bait. If @Catt had been fishing with you, there would have been a Third tap. A-Jay

Our haul this past week. Yes that is the Potomac, Virginia side. The rest are home in Jersey.

Most excellent explanation On any given day, almost any of the suggestions given so far work. I've never thought of a Texas rigged worm as a "Reaction" bait, so I don't routinely fish it like one. However, one could look at it from the stand point of the Predator & Prey relationship. Most anything a bass eats is probably trying really hard to avoid that scenario. So doing anything that would draw attention to itself is undesirable and could lead to it's demise. Rather than hopping & popping the bait, there is a time & place where sneaking the bait along every so gingerly works well. Try to move it while imagining that your actually attempting to toss your bait out there and get it back without getting bit. Sounds kind of backwards I know but the bait is in the bass's world, and she knows it's there; without the extra action. You'll find yourself fishing spots slower and more thoroughly while at the same time affording your bait the time it needs to work it's magic. On a side note - this is not a bad approach for a jig either. @A-Jay

You don't have the issue of coils slapping against that first reduction guide with baitcasters, so increased line diameter influences casting distance much less than with spinning gear. I've always been in the minority when it comes to line size. The heaviest I use is 30lb. braid and 14lb. mono or copolymer. I do so for two reasons, casting distance isn't one. I fish mostly clear natural lakes and the heavier non-braid lines I find difficult to manage. BTW, the only time I use any kind of leader on my braid is when I Carolina rig.

I only use one trailer on my swim jigs and it isn't either of those you mention. I'm a graduate of the 'Show 'Em Something Different' school. All my swim jigs are minnow imitations and a Kalin's Lunker Grub adds almost transparent action that gives the illusion of a small compact bait, but one that moves a lot of water calling attention to it.

Lots of good links to read on C & R relocation studies have been posted. Different regional jargon can get confusing, the OP tried to explain the he caught and transported back to his dock were not spawning bass and were released in good condition because they swim off. Where those bass went is anyone's guess, we don't know! What more than likely did happen was they swam off to where they felt safe and rested. If the new area offered good source of shelter and prey, no reason to move very far from where they where released. If the bass doesn't like the new area, they can and do return to where they were caught or relocate where there is food and shelter is availble. The young of the year bass in the cove are a prey source to those bass, they were not guarding them! Tom

I would be late for everything!

You're kidding right? There's a billion and one threads dealing with that since the beginning of braid. That has to be the most often cited reason for using a leader. I think in most cases, it's hooey. I use a leader for other reasons, or more often use straight whatever leader I'd use. In most cases, I feel like the "best of both worlds" argument is actually combining the worst traits of both.

I always use a leader when possible, theres no downside and you don't have to worry about whether your leader matters or not

Good discussion...I'm in the camp that has never known when to quit. But there's something I don't understand above.... What does this mean?

Just one more cast.... (2 hours later) Just one more cast.....

Both Quantum Hot Sauce and Ardent Reel Butter failed my bench test. Both fouled and turned black in a COMPLETELY stripped, degreased, and rebuilt reel. Not only would I not recommend those products, I would recommend you avoid them at all costs. Any gold lithium grease, Shimano Star Grease, Shimano PermaLub, Cal's Light Purple, Cal's standard drag grease, will all give long lasting results. SuperLube and Penn grease work well, but they're really messy. I do like Penn for saltwater gear. For oil, Shimano Bantam Oil is my favorite general purpose. Oust Metol is my favorite performance oil. For cleaning and degreasing, I use Perfect Solution (NOT SIMPLE SOLUTION!!!), Dawn, pure acetone for a beauty supple store, told tooth brushes, and elbow grease. For tools you'll need size 0 and 1 phillips, 1/6 and 1/8 slot. 10mm thin wall, deep socket, and a ball peen hammer to smash yourself in the head when your too frustrated to finish. I suggest you start by getting an exploded diagram of your specific model reel. Gather your supplies, and start watching videos. If you can't COMPLETELY take apart every single part from the reel, don't bother, since any old grease left behind will foul the new grease. I like to use a muffin pan to keep each of the sub-assemblies together. De-grease the bearings by swirling in a glass jar with Perfect Solution. Rinse and let dry. Repeat with acetone, but the soak should be longer. Sometimes overnight. No rinse required here. Let them dry, then add one drop from a needle oiler to the inside edge of the bearing race. Bigger bearings can take two. It doesn't really matter, even though many will tell you otherwise. The excess runs out in short order. Once your done there, reassemble the reel. Gears get a tiny bit of grease pressed into the teeth. Leave the drag pads and washers dry and clean. The engagement kick plate, and other parts that move around the yoke posts get a bit of oil. The yoke and pinion get grease. The worm gear can get anything you want. I prefer oil, or ATF. They don't attract dirt as much as grease. Knobs get oil, unless want buttery smooth, the pack them with grease. If that scares you, send it to Mike at DVT.

When I get to go fishing I could stay out there forever, whether I'm getting bites or not. Because the way I see it is, being a beginner bass fisherman, it's practice, time on the water, learning how to use the different lures I have and very enjoyable being there. I usually don't get to stay out there near as long as I would like. My girlfriend can't handle when it's hot out there and she almost has to drag me away from the water. Most of the time, here lately anyways, it's the rain we been getting. Always seems to rain on the days I can go fishing. I just wish I could have one good day to do nothing but fish. I am greatful for the time I do get to go though.

The only answer is to keep fishing and thinking - have won a tournament or two in the last 30min. after going 7 hrs or more without a bite.

Simply modify your Texas rig to include a shirt and you'll have what you're looking for A-Jay