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she absolutely smashed my new popping pirch, only caught three this evening but this was one if them

Hello! I wanted to give a little story of my fishing trip this past weekend. I went bass fishing on the Alabama river for spots and large mouth, but I was also planning to try catfishing for the first time in decades. Well, the bass fishing wasnt going well and I only got one bite which I missed. So I decided to try catfishing. Catfishing went worse than bass fishing due to numerous rookie mistakes. I had problems with the newly spooled catfish line, the wind was blowing, horrible bait selection, etc. Well, just as I was about to pull the anchor and head to the boat ramp I hear a big commotion behind me. A school of shad got hammered by what seemed like a school of game fish. I spun around quickly, grabbed my rod with a spinner bait, and cast right into the ruckus. Within a few reels of the spinner lure, it was fish on! This guy was fun to fight, mainly due to his running. Im guessing he was about 5 or 6 pounds, and I believe it's a striper, but not sure. Not a monster by any means, but I was just as happy to catch him! (I was going to upload a photo but it says the file is too big) So what started out to be an unsuccessful fishing trip turned out to be wonderful fishing trip!

My personal best this year. Beautiful bass pushing 18 inches. A little over 3 lbs. Oh yeah...

Just picked up some things geared more towards my heavy saltwater fishing. Headlined by the Fin-Nor Lethal.

The wife was busy and let me have a day to myself. After sleeping in I headed out to the Mississippi River just to try it. The water is raging right now about 4 ft higher than normal and going about 7 mph. All the cold nights lately have dropped water temps to 52 degrees. I tried a jig first thinking they'd want something slow and subtle. Didn't work. Then decided to throw the new Strike King Magnum 4.0 Squarebill. Its big for the bass we have up here, but ever since I started using it I've had more bites than the 1.5 or the 2.5. Its weird that they wanted such a big bait. Even in Fall when temps keep dropping. I only got 2 landed but lost 2. Nothing over 2.5 pounds. But at least I caught something. With the temps warming around here might need to get out again before the water gets into the 40's.

Congratulations qualifying for the tournament. I drop shot whenever fishing with a partner who likes to do it. My preference is to slip shot rig because I can cast and cover more of the bottom structure. Verticle drop shot is a precise presentation that works when you are on top of the bass. If the boater is drop shotting, then it's a good time for you to drop shot. If the bottom structure is free of brush or vegetation you can nose hook a finesse worm using size 1 Owner mosquito or Gamakatsu drop shot hooks. If there is something to snag on then use size 1/0 Owner 5133 down shot hook weedless (Texas) hooked. Distance from weight to hook depends on how far off the bottom the bass are? I would start with 12" in deep water and use a 1/4 oz tear drop drop shot weight. Use whatever type of line your prefer, I use 5 lb Maxima Ultra Green mono, slip shot or drop shot, if FC use 7 lb Sunline Sniper. Line twist shouldn't be a problem unless you are drop shotting for several hours. If that is a problem , re spool line each night. Slip shoot I use the Owner 5133 hook with 1/8 oz mojo weight. 30' isn't an issue with either presentation. I would use Roboworms 6" in Morning dawn for spots and MMIII for LMB. Don't over work a drop shot and simply slowly drag the slip shot rig. Set your drag at 2 to 3 lbs! Good luck. Tom

Well, I got out on the lake before work today and I was able to successfully "eliminate more water".

You need to learn the hook removal technique with line. Saved many a day on the water!! I've seen hooks pulled out of the tops of heads all the way down to feet. It works!!

When I want numbers and few bigger fish thrown in, I just throw plastic. The right plastic will work in any water anywhere. Mike

Always surprises me just how much flex even a graphite stick will yield on a decent hurl. A-Jay

You know, this answers so many questions I never knew I had. Like, "Man, what if there's a hot propane tank bite?" " What would I need to cast a propane tank?" and "What did I miss by not watching Jaws 6?"

Not a giant, but my first popper fish. Caught on a black Yamamoto Shibuki Popper.

not exactly a pic but a couple from this year, the last fish hooked was a 4.16 the sd card was close to full and stopped recording halfway through the fight also not trying to promote myself here just thought this was a little cooler than a picture

For the second day in a row I arrived at a full boat ramp to find a tournament taking place which meant TUFF fishing, plenty of boat wakes, and a good bit of pressure. We found a couple pretty brown ones though!

Oh the places we will go..... 1st order from siebert outdoors! ?

Yo .. so .. last Friday I couldn't wait to get off work to go fish w/ my gf. I got her into her, she loves it now. I go almost everyday after work for ~4hrs. Off at 2pm, on water at ~330 til 7 or til I just get tired, sometimes I just go for 2hrs cause I just want to cast, its not always about catching fish - I just love to be on the water. Catching fish is cool when it happens. Anyway.. she goes to Cabelas, buys me the 3 crankbaits I asked her to get earlier in the day. Comes over, pack up, now were on the water.. THIS IS WHERE THINGS GO SOUTH. We go to our fav spot, LITERALLY ON MY FIRST CAST.. I noticed the bait never made it out and I hear, "ouch, WAIT!", so I panick, realize the crank is stuck to her yoga pants, I'm like "oh crap, can you pull it out?" shes like, "um, its not moving", i say, "omg did it go in?!" and it sure did.. right in the side of her thigh. I panick a little, cut a small circle around the 1 treble hook thats hooked into her top layer of skin and try to get it out, no luck without hurting her. so. shes tough. shes a girly girl. i didnt expect her to be that tough, she was actually more ticked off we werent on the water for more than 5 minutes and now have to go to Patient First to get it out.. which took like ~2hrs.. went home and all is fine. I felt like an Ahole, she didnt care, she understood.... happen to anyone else?

Fall to the bass isn't a human calendar period, it's all about changes in their environment. Bass being a cold blooded animal water temperature, not air temperature controls thier activity along with light and dark time periods that combine to change the water temperature. If you go to the store to get some food and the shelves are empty you go to a different store. Bass go to where the food was and it moved, they follow to where it is now located. Fall to bass is a change in water temps that affect their body temperature in most regions of the country that is a change from 68 to 58 degrees, colder water is the basses winter. Tom

Cotton Cordell's "crazy shad" and also the "boy howdie"

I have no idea what part of the country you are in. Maybe its not really "fall fishing time" where you are. Fall is not a free for all bass catching frenzy. It is easy to get that picture in your head by reading articles and watching videos. In my experience the bass are not as spread out in the fall. You really have to find them. When you do find the bass you will catch more and the fish also tend to be fatter. Its not about shallow or deep, to me. I look for Food + Healthy weeds or wood. If I can find the 3 together that is even better. Wood is normally easier for me to fish so I prefer that. I find schools of bait fish then find the good cover (healthy weeds or wood) and fish that. If the area is void of bait fish I keep on looking. If your body of water does not have schooling bait fish than I would skip right to finding healthy weeds. Food will be in those.

That's about the worst possible thing that could happen, so you better just go ahead and marry her now. Young hot shot dude pulled up to the ramp in a big fancy Nitro that looked brand spankin' new. His little trophy blonde hopped out beside him and you could tell they were already annoyed at each other (Not good). He was kinda talking to her like she was an idiot which made me feel bad for her. He backed the boat in and told her don't touch anything, just stand there and hold the rope and don't move until he gets back. She's like ok whatever with an eye roll. I noticed the boat didn't look right. The transom started going deeper and deeper. After a few minutes when the dude got back he started yelling at her WHAT DID YOU DO....... She said NOTHING YOU HORSES ASS I HELD THE ROPE. Homeboy for got to put the plug in. She walked right to the truck and got in. He loaded up and off they went. I guess that was the end of their fishing trips. I laughed about that for weeks.

wow!!! nice brown!! I LOVE BIG BROWNIES!!

Let's see what Hank says...

If y'all look at the map of Slaughter you will see a point almost dead center. Notice the creek "Y"s on both sides of the point! My absolute favorite piece of structure for finding larger than average bass would have to be an intersection. Intersection Defined: Spots where two creeks intersect or where a feeder creek intersects with the main river. Intersecting Logic: Around the ”Y” created by the intersection are found multiple forms of structure such as channels, points, ridges, ledges, sharp drop-offs, slow tapering drop-offs, and humps all in one location. The Best Intersections: Depths of 12-18' inside the ”Y” is my #1 attractant but this depth on all three sides along with timber and/or grass would be the prime example of a Honey Hole. Fishing at the “Y”: With my boat positioned inside the “Y” (usually anchored) and casting from shallow to deep with Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, Swim Baits & Jig-N-Craws I'll find the bigger bass. In winter months fish these areas with Jigging Baits or Drop Shots in 20 to 30' of water.

Fish often scatter in the fall and get into a funk. The whole "fall feedbag" thing rarely is a real thing for me.

A little surprise finding one of these guys in the very back of a cut in 1' of water along a weedline. Thought it was going to be a catfish at first.

They are pure gimmick and do not catch fish at all when other lures aren’t working. PM me to get my address to send all your unwanted Ploppers to. Thank you - -

Fall is change time for the bass. Doing the same thing in the same places as the summer is a recipe for failure. You said you're fishing ponds, so finding them isn't the hard part. They are there. A big change in the fall that guys tend to overlook, especially on ponds, is when fish feed. Dusk and dawn may be great in the summer and dead times in the fall.

She likes things that disturb the surface!

This universal mania? Corporate Address: Universal Mania Inc. 1031 Robeson St. Suite A Fayetteville, NC 28305 www.yelp.com/biz/universal-mania-fayettville Looks like nothing but 1-star ratings. Then there's this one... "9/29/2017 The owner was recently convicted and sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit goods. I have a feeling that this business isn't operational any more."

AD USAF.

It must have been a walleye.

On a day where the bite was tough, this was the ONLY fish landed. It came on a cast where my brother rainbowed his line over a branch and this little guy jumped out of the water to grab his senko as we were trying to undo the mess. Unconventional, but kept the skunk away nonetheless!

Get an Ultrex. Point the bow into the wind and you'll sit still.

I don't have it, but I started fishing with a bamboo pole, a length of kite string, a cork, and a tin of hooks. The line was tied to the tip of the pole with a three or four foot tag end. about a foot from the tip, a clove hitch was used to tie the tag end to the rod. What was left of the tag end was tied another foot away from the tip. And, if you had enough you'd repeat. This was insurance in case the tip broke. A lengthwise slit was cut into the cork about half way through. This was the bobber. The distance between the cork and the hook was set by sliding the cork along the line to the desired distance. That rig was eventually replaced with a fiberglass rod and a baitcasting reel with a one to one ratio. The handle was attached to the axle of the spool. No gears, no anti reverse. We'd dig worms in the orchard and turn over rocks looking for lizards.

I think the Tatula 7'2" H/F would be a little bit too stiff for what you need. For most of those lures you will want a MH/F fast rod. I'm not personally familiar with the Dobyns Champion 734C but I gather it's more inline with a MH rod than a H and should be suitable for these lures. I do know that Dobyns owners are generally very pleased with their rods as well. I primarily fish from shore and here's my setup. 6'10" MH/F Tatula with a Tatula SV 7.3:1 ratio reel, find me fishing a lot of jigs, frogs, spinnerbaits soft plastics and chatterbaits. 7'2" MH/R Tatula Glass cranking rod with a Tatula SV 6.3:1 reel - crankbaits, an occasional spinnerbait or chatterbait. Two spinning rods, both M/F, one with 12lb line and one with 8lb line for finesse. I often carry only one, depending where I am fishing and what I plan to fish. Often a texas rigged senko or a drop shot.

I love St Croix. I have Triumph, Bass X, Mojo, Avid X, and LTB which covers most of their spectrum. Their customer service is great too. You won't be disappointed.

I have been wearing cheap rain gear for years UNTIL a recent tourney where I had to run 10-12 miles in a bad storm. I was soaked from head to toe making the last 2 hour of the tourney near unbearable. Luckily it was summer time and did not have to deal with cold temps and being wet. SO--I researched rain gear for a couple weeks before making a purchase. I ended up with Bass Pros 100 MPH Gore-Tex Jacket and bibs. $100 is not going to get you much in the way of quality. Depending on how/when you will use a rain suit spend more and get a quality suit that will last you a lifetime!!

You might want to check the local laws on keeping local fauna. In some places it's against the law, and if you're caught, you lose your fishing license. Seems kind of dumb, but just want to let you know.

get some super small hooks, like #24 and dice a hot dog into tiny tiny pieces and use that. Im assuming you want a small one to watch grow plus it will be easier to feed at first.. If you use a #8 or 10 hook and a half a nightcrawler or a whole redworm you will catch the full-grown ones.

I'm with you on that. My biggest bass was when it was wet and cold. Then, one day in August, mid 90's, water levels were very low, high sun, no wind, water was like glass. I stopped counting bass catches around 25. The smallest was about 15" with a 21", 19", 18", 19" on four consecutive casts. I bet every bass in this pond was right where I was fishing.

Use actual leader material. It's much heartier,

i just purchased some Cabelas Guidewear gore-tex pants for $99 on sale. I got the tall and they are actually almost too long which doesn't happen for me very often. They were regularly $250. Great deal. I then bought the Rainy River Gore-tex parka for $129 and used my coupon for @20 off. I liked the softness of this jacket over the guidewear which seemed too stiff to fish in. Have used this gear 3 times already in pouring rain and stayed bone dry. Gore-tex is magic. No sweating and dry. I would recommend these if you can find them on sale. I just checked and the pants are still on sale for $99, but they only have XL sizes and above. I am 6'2" and 215 lbs. and bought the large tall and they were perfect. I have tried and still own Frogg Toggs and they work, but nothing compared to a quality gore-tex rainwear. Good Luck and stay dry!!

When your best depth finder is a crankbait.

You know your old when you have a box full of lake maps .

You know you're old when...... wait. What are we talking about again?

You know your old when: You you can't trust a fart. You wake up twice to pee at night. You GO to the garage at 10:00PM, and when you get there, you have no clue! Its just wonderful getting old! Lol By the way, I have a 1964 Mitchell 300, my first serious fishing reel.

LOL ~ Fixed that one for you . . . A-Jay

Then buy lots of tackle so you can reminisce 40 years from now.

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Although is only yet available for pre-order . . Check out the newest St. Croix Legend Tournament Casting Rod 6'9" Med Hvy Sounds like it may be what you're looking for. A-Jay