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Didn't do a lot of fishing on my days off this week with the holiday, but I still made it out for a couple shorter trips to avoid the crowds. Took my son out again on Monday, and my parents (Papa and Nana as my son calls them), went along with us so Lake could show them his fishing skills. Tuesday was just me for a few hours in the morning. I got started off with a bang, sight fishing this one with a wacky rigged 4" stick worm as she cruised the shoreline.

Still on a solid bite here in Indiana. Picked up a few more on a short trip Monday before a line of storms moved through the area. Cooler weather also has the crappie bite picking up, so trips have been back and forth between those two species - hard to pick one over the other. Good problem to have

Visited a couple more friends this Sunday in Virginia before I came back to WVU. One of which was a minority not often seen in Virginia.

Here is a story worth sharing from last night. Made a quick trip over to a local lake to play around more, trying to dial in a finesse setup and presentation. I catch several solid fish and am happy with the way things are shaping up. I'm working my soft plastic back near a steep shoreline when a bass comes up from the deeper water at my feet and sucks in the bait. I see the fish, set the hook and the line snaps - broke right at the leader knot (braid/fluoro). I'm bummed a bit because it looked like a nice fish, but it's not totally unexpected as this combo is on at least it's third trip without a retie, and has probably accounted for landing about 60-70 pounds of bass over that timeframe. You simply have to retie every so often if you don't want this to occur - no knot or line type lasts forever. I sit down to retie, quickly realizing I don't have any leader line with me. So I'm about to do one of those fun experiments where I get to learn something - I tie a duplicate bait on, now going straight braid. This all takes a few minutes, but upon retying, I stay sitting on the grassy bank to keep a low profile (just in case) and cast my bait out to the exact same spot. Retrieve the same way, and get bit again in the same manner. I set the hook, get back up to play the fish, and promptly land him. Remove the new bait from his mouth, then look a little closer and sure enough, deep in his mouth is the first bait with about 2.5' of fluorocarbon tag line streaming Exact same bass, very next cast after breaking him off minutes before. How often does that ever happen? Anyway, I go on to catch a lot more bass on the straight braid setup, including the largest of the night. The fish simply didn't care this go round. Here's a few pics.

granny Naylor from Holton in. is 105 years old and can still cast a pole . and if you ask here how she is doing ,she will answer , JUST AS AWNRY AS EVER!!

My Father In-Law and I had a record day of doubling up on Saturday. Three times we doubled up on Smallmouth and then we had a double when he caught a Smallmouth and I got a Redbreast Sunfish. We were using Zoom Salty Tubes and finesse TRD's

Caught my first fish on our "new to us" bass boat that my brother and I have been restoring all summer. It also happened to be my PB! Tipped the scales at just over 3.5 lbs. Great way to break in the boat!

Got out for a few minutes this morning, a rare event for me. Pretty uneventful, figured I missed the morning bite. Decided to revisit a spot that gave me nothing earlier. Dropped a crankbait right on this one's head, as soon as it hit the water she was on. Fought like a champ, 4.1lbs. Had to wade out to knee deep water to pull her out of some reeds. This is basically the only true access point to this pond without walking around through the woods(which I'm not going to do during snake season).

first fish between 5 and 6 lb, missed next two on huge blow ups on a popping perch. one of which took drag on 14 lb line tightend down fairly tight like thread noticed I had that bait on a medium rod [oops]! layed that down went to a pop r. got a 2 1/2, a 3, and a 4plus.went back to green pumpkin stick worm got another 5 and another 4. back to pop r got another between 4and 5 and back to worm, with another 3 plus. then missed one in a moss blow up. needless to say what an evening ,still smiling WOW that was fun!!

Went out tonight bank fishing a local pond from 7 to 8 pm and caught this 6+ on my last cast, as the sky became dark. I was tossing a Menace grub, and at first I was hopping it back slowly. I caught a bunch of dinks that way, kind of finessing the bait, because in the summer here fish are often shy. But on my final cast, just for the hell of it, I burned it back really fast -- and this pig slammed it hard!

Found this basic lure guide. Obviously there's lots of exceptions, but it's a pretty solid starting point for anyone needing help.

I was an original member years ago, after going into the service I had no time to be on here, I'm back glad to be back...hello ladies and gentlemen..I'm Andrew

A-Jay

Zebco 33 Platinum, 4.1:1 gear ratio, 5 stainless bearings, aluminum frame, continous anti-reverse, mirco fine drag control all for $35.

Long awaited, can't wait to hit this one honey hole where the bluegill are big and abundant and the bass feed on them heavily!

Our dogs first time in the pool.

Caught a monster today pitching the tule reeds. For the curious I got it on a Dbomb, 3/0 ewg, 3/8 tungsten bullet weight and straight 50# maxcuatro braid.

Hey, all. I have two 7-yr-old boys who are into fishing and it has renewed my interest in something I haven't done in probably 30+ yrs. Have a great location here in central NJ, the Manasquan Reservoir. Got myself a 7' UglyStik and a Penn Fierce II, now slowly adding to my tackle box; today was my fourth consecutive morning fishing and i'm enjoying the challenge. Looking forward to learning from all of you.

Not a fishing goof, but I have a pelican case I keep all my tools and such in for work. One day I decided to throw a 24oz can of energy drink into my already overly full case. And then decided to bump it down two flights of stairs. Sugar water all over all my tools. It took me three days to clean, dry, and re-oil everything. As for fishing, well, I fish out of a kayak and I like a lot of coffee in the mornings. My yak is pretty stable, but I was fishing a crowded area and didn't want to pee over the side. But I had a wide-mouth gatorade bottle on me, so I used that, nice and stealthy. When I was done I dumped it down the scupper hole. The scupper hole with a plug still in it. Still up in the air if urine is a fish attractor, but I did pretty well that day.

Looks like we have enough members to start our own bass club - Second Chance Bassmasters

You can't go wrong with a 2-3 month old bottle of Miller Lite. Often overlooked. Just a tip....it's best chilled. Enjoy! ?

First thing, define when exactly fall begins. 60 degrees is not for me or my fellow river smallie chasers the end of the topwater bite, nor is it the beginning of fall. For me, fall begins when the river smallmouth move to their wintering areas which seems to be when the water drops closer to 50 degrees or below. Until then, everything that's been working all summer still works for me except the size of the fish starts to get bigger.

I lost my white chatter bait just a little while ago to a low hanging tree branch that I was trying to cast on the edge of. Lost the battle and had to cut it off. Oh well the main reason for this post is before I lost my chatter bait I finally got me a big un(a big un to me). My new PB! This girl is every bit of 4lbs. Was alot heavier than the one I caught earlier. She put up a bit of a fight but I got her in. Caught her on the red bug Ol' Monster out in the middle of the sunlit smaller pond here by the house. Glad I decided to cast out there. My original PB was 2+lbs and today I broke that twice! What an awesome day this has been! ?

This small but chunky bass fell for a chartreuse with black back square bill while I was bouncing it off of rocks. Caught half a dozen more that was smaller. This small lake is recovering from a bad drought and is coming back nicely.

A good friend of mine sent this to me earlier this week. This was taken at his office.

My Father-in law and I took a fishing trip on the Hudson on a cold foggy Saturday morning. The river Smallies were hitting tubes and Ned Rigs all day. I hooked into a 2 and a half pounder with a green pumpkin TRD. This was my PB Smallmouth Bass for the year. I was using my lucky reel, the Kastking Sharky II 1500 size spooled with 8lb Fluorocarbon line on a medium light action Lew's Carbon Fire Speed Stick. It's the same setup I had when I got the 3 plus pound Channel Catfish earlier this year. On Monday, Labor Day, I took out my kayak for some more fun. Fishing with the same setup I landed this 3 pound Smallmouth. New PB for the year. Great fight especially since I went to reach for my net and realized I had forgotten it at home.

We were fishing a tournament and when we weighed it on our scales it was 7lbs. When we went to weigh in she won big fish it weighed 7lbs 8 ozs

The stock hooks on my 90's seem to be great and I don't see the need to upgrade them at this point. They work well and stick when smallies are slapping at it.

Topwater bite should be even better this time of the year.

and a squarebill.

I just bought 2 daiwa tatula ct's for $70 shipped a piece from academy.

Just look around on google earth, pick a couple that look fishy and that don't have any obvious fences, and go check them out. If you don't see any no trespassing signs, you're probably not going to get prosecuted. In most cases, the worst that could happen is you get kicked out.

They starting to get more active. Here lately the only way I've been able to catch em is either snailing an Ol' Monster back to me or burning a chatter bait back. Both ways got me two big uns yesterday. Heckuva catch and on your last cast at that. Nice! Bass! Congratulations on your PB and first bass caught off your new to you bass boat! ?

Summer and more specifically Summer nights. It's hard to beat night fishing In the South!

Long story short. I was talked Into fishing on my buddies boat. He was and Is neurotic about time. I usually get my gear ready the night before but I unfortunately didn't. I woke up late and was rushing around to get ready. At the last minute I decided to take the car instead of the truck and not thinking of anything but getting to the ramp I didn't realize I hadn't loaded my tackle bag, worm bag, or sweatshirt in the car. It was on the trunk. I got to the ramp and as I was walking around the car I noticed the worm bag and sweatshirt on the trunk .....BUT $300.00 worth of crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and other tackle gone. I retraced my steps but didn't find it. I went back home and got a few more baits and as I was boarding the boat my new sunglasses fell off my head and right into the water. All In all a crappy day.lol

Got into metal detecting about a year ago never found anything good. Sunday i went in my parents mostly wooded 5 acres and first target was a 1943 penny next target was a couple inches away. 1973 kennedy half dollar! It was about 6 inches deep and by the look of it its been there for a while! My parents have owned the property for at least 20 years.

My kids won three Zebco dock demons in a raffle a two years ago, and two of the combos have survived to this day (one is at the bottom of Lake Michigan). The drag is not in any way buttery smooth, but the reels are durable for how cheap they are. I use 8 lb yo-zuri hybrid line, because of its low memory. We mostly use them for small fish, but my kids have landed many 3+ lb smallies with them. Nothing over 5 though. If your oldest kid is coordinated for his age, you might have some luck if you have him use a baitcaster with all the brakes on and spool tension set high. Kids (and many adults) seem to have a lot of trouble with spinning reels. For my 7-year-old I use a cheap rod with decent reel. Make sure to tape a foam noodle to the rod butt so that it floats.

Spent a night at Lakeshore Motel last fall; staff was great and price was even better. Went out in kayaks one day, but wind was rather brutal. We kept to a couple sheltered bays -- not much catching, but it was a beautiful lake that I'd like to return to.

Took the kayak out Saturday morning hoping for a topwater bite. Chance of rain kept boats off the water, had the feeling of a crisp fall day. Labor Day weekend, and we had the water to ourselves. Can't wait for the fall striper run. Another beautiful sunrise, doesn't get old 26.5 in striper Whopper plopper enticed these little bluefish to bite, but this fiesty things will hit anything lol

Billiards

Not as stunning as in other parts of the country, but not bad for a Southern California sunrise...

Another one for the baitcaster/white chatter bait/sprayed grass sweet beaver combo. Could be my new PB. Didn't have a scale but it felt bigger than any of the other bass I've caught. I'm guessing 3lbs.

I'm betting your tiptop is cracked. Be sure to do what Ktinman86 suggests with the Qtip before making other changes. If it is cracked and you don't replace it nothing else will solve the problem.

@Angealy thank you sir! Baitcaster strikes again! My girlfriend and I went to Valentine Lake for almost 2 hours and not even a bite. Very disappointing. So we left and stopped at Sonic to get a shake and headed to Buhlow Lake. Wasn't much happening there and it was a little too hot for my girlfriend but I noticed a spot that I like to fish from had become vacant. So we drove down to it and my girlfriend stayed in the car in the shade. Even though the spot I was going to was fairly shaded too, she didn't feel like walking over to it from the road. I told her I wouldn't be long unless some bass catching was going on. I only took my baitcaster with me with the white chatter bait/sprayed grass sweet beaver trailer tied on. No tackle bag or anything else. About my fifth or sixth cast got a hold of this about a pound or so bass. Continued to cast a few more times to see if anything else was biting but the trailer didn't want to stay on. That happened earlier also after catching the little guy I posted a few hours ago. Sucks those things only last for one catch using as a trailer. Is there something I can do to keep the trailer put so as to stop this from happening? Anyways, third day learning a baitcaster I seem to have it dialed in pretty good for a 3/8oz chatter bait with a sweet beaver trailer, didn't have any backlashes or birdnests. That makes me happy and I caught two bass with it too! Still no big un but it was a great day regardless.

Baitcaster is officially broke in, catching a bass with it that is! Haven't been to Valentine Lake yet today. Family things come up and delayed it for a bit. So I went to the smaller pond by my house only taking my Lew's spinning rod and my new Lew's baitcaster. 3/8oz white Z-Man chatter bait with a sprayed grass Reaction Innovations sweet beaver tied on to baitcaster and a 1/4oz black and blue Strike King swim jig with an black and blue Arkie crawfish jig trailer tied onto my spinning rod. I was alternating between the two to see what the bass wanted. No bites on the jig and got one bite on the chatter bait. So I tossed it out there more. Finally got a solid bite on it and brought in this little fella marking my first ever baitcaster bass. It looks like a turtle or something took a bite out of him down towards the tail. Not sure though. Kinda sucks all my firsts are little ones but at least I caught them. Been getting a lot of firsts here lately, thanks to this site and all you awesome folks on here. So glad I joined this site. Thanks a million everyone! ?

new pb went 4.45 caught on a tube @ 930 in the morning. Had been a slow bite, saw some shad skipping and threw my tube in behind them. I thought I hooked a tree when I set the hook and the she jumped and bout had a coronary. Anchored my limit of 8.33 and big bass. Can't wait to break 5lbs now!!!

No idea, I have used PostImage for all my photo sharing needs. Free, easy to use, you can resize the photos, then just copy the link in your post and you are set.

Cool thing about CA is if you want to chase a DD there are a number of lakes (plus the Delta) where you can be confident they're in there, and if you want numbers you can usually find them in those same lakes by downsizing your baits and hitting the high concentration areas. I've had some bad days over the years but we probably have 20+ good trips for every bad one. As far as I'm concerned we're pretty spoiled with how great the bass fishing is here.

You go, @Chance_Taker4!!! While I probably will never buy a Carrot Stix rod (too rich for my blood), I can still appreciate a well-written, objective review. Too many times on here I see terse, fanboy comments, pro or con, about a product with no real rationale for the comment. Thanks for taking the time to explain WHY you have formed your opinion. Excellent job!