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I've been meaning to post this. I was down on Falcon Lake, TX a few weeks ago when I got this 11.38 lb. bass. Caught on 10" worm, half-ounce tungsten weight, 25-pound flouro. line. Fishing in 28 FOW. My new personal best.

Had my personal best today on St Clair, 3 fish over 5 pounds and 2 around 4. 23 pound bag and all on Ned rigs.

Recently I posted about trying to help my soon to be 12 year old son get his PB and how he can be a bit stubborn at times. The post was all in fone, but the quest to help him get his PB is real. What started off poorly for him yesterday ended up being a great day. My son had a half day of school yesterday and to celebrate that time off he wanted to go to the ballpark and work on some pitching for a while and then go fishing. But as we're about to leave he tells me, "Daddy, I think I left my pole at the lagoon last week." Dad is not happy. I just bought him a new reel a few weeks ago. We fished with friends last week and in between fishing and the kids goofing off he forgot his gear. So after his bullpen session we head back to the lagoon and sure enough his rod and reel are gone. Lucky for him he does chores for a number of our elder neighbors and he has the money to buy his own replacement. In the meantime, I give him my Pflueger President /Ugly Stick combo to fish with and this time he immediately puts on the spinner bait I told him to fish with the other week. On his fourth cast of the day he gets a strike and he can tell it's not like any fish he's hooked before. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" "I've got one! I've got one! A BIG one!" At this point the fish is really fighting and he's having a hard time reeling it in. Now a little panic starts to set in. "I don't want to lose it! Daddy, Can you help?" He's got to learn to land his own big fish so I tell him to take his time and keep tension on the line. I know there's 50 pound braid on the reel because I had been using that rod for frogging. He gets it close enough to shore where he can get a fleeting glimpse of the fish in the stained water. His eyes get real big as the fish tries to run parallel to the shoreline and then tries to dart back to the deep but he keeps the tension on and the fish has nowhere to go. Unfortunately for us, our net broke earlier in the summer and I have not replaced it yet so now Matt has to land this fish on the bank without a net. He gets the fish near the bank and steps forward to try and grab it - the line slacks. For a fleeting moment that fish must have thought it found freedom and it picked up speed and breached the surface almost coming eye level with my son at the shoreline. "She's a HAWWWWWGGGG!!!" he yelled. Thankfully he had set the hook deep and he landed his personal best. The look on his face (and probably mine, too) was priceless. It weighed in at 5.8 pounds and as he pointed out right away that was 0.05 pounds better than my biggest catch this summer. He once again declared himself the "Fishing Champion". That's OK, I'm happy to turn over my title to him. For me, this is what fishing is all about.

Yesterdays best.

Well it wasnt a monster, but Dad finally caught a bass in my boat. It took three trips, but he finally did it. Havent seen him smile like that very often, really cool experience.

Uh, this fish came the tail end of November. It's not over. Once the lakes freeze, you can fish tribs for steelhead all winter.

Dad and I won our first team championship with the Northern NY Bassmasters trail at the end of September! Knocked out 21.46 lbs of smallmouth from the St. Lawrence on day 1 then backed it up with 18+ of largemouth, anchored by a 6.01 hog, from Black Lake on day 2. The local paper did a cool write up for the event also. Super fun weekend! http://www.ogd.com/ogd02/falcons-soar-to-club-championship-20170926

I was on the delta bass finishing and decided to punch some grass edges and this is what I caught!

Weather not the greatest here in the Omaha area, but I was able to get out for a few hours and catch four (4) bass. Here was the biggest at 4.16 pounds and just short of 19". Caught on a weedless 1/0 wacky hook using a weightless 5" flat dawg worm. This is the biggest I caught this year and it sure felt good.

Impossible! Now repeat after me "Ned rigs only catch little fish!" Don't be spreading those nasty rumors around!

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

We can rant all we want or complain about the cost of fishing. But it really pays off for us in the bottom line. Think about it we don’t waste money. We get to use everything we purchase. I can’t think of a better hobby to spent my time and money on. It can be addicting at times. i don’t drink or use drugs, I Hardley drive now. All my mad money goes on fishing stuff every so often. When ever I find a new bait to me that works I do purchased one for everyone in the family who fishes. This keeps my family interested in fishing too.

I wouldn't even quit after one skunk. The water would have to be hard. Until then, there will often be that one fish.

I was being facetious. I think 15' is a bit much. While you're getting firewood I'm going to go rid my yard of leaves so there's room for the leaves that will fall this afternoon when the wind picks up. ? NHbull I'd get the Ultrex if feasable.

Here's another picture from yesterday. Only if all fishing days were that good but it's what keeps us going right?!

At what point does a shallow water anchor no longer exist as a shallow water anchor? Not that I have a problem with holding position in 15 feet but that's why I have a Terrova. Now, I'm not mathematician, scientist, or engineer, but I was a journeyman pipefitter in a previous life. I have to believe physics plays a huge roll in the design and success of these anchors. I would think the longer the anchor with an equal pounds per square inch of force applied to the bottom from the weight of the boat, plus current, plus wind, plus and the distance of the mounting bracket from the point of force, = the pressure placed on the mounting point will be exponentially greater. I imagine the effect of pressure would be similar to that of adding a cheater bar on a pipe wrench to loosen a joint. The longer the bar, the less force need be applied to break the joint loose. Hence the longer the anchor the more force on the transom the better chance of talon and transom failure. I'm done being smart for the day. Going to go pick up a face cord of firewood.

I don't know your specifics but I'm also setting up my " last boat ever " and I have a bad back. I'm going with the Ulterra. The last thing I want to do is ruin a day of fishing because I ginched my back pulling up a trolling motor. Jim

Went old school and have started buying the pre-rapala era wiggle wart sub sets. Got this magnum and have a wee wart coming any day now too. Gave it a test run at a local steelhead spot and after tuning it to run straight, had a 6+ lb male smash it but threw the hooks on the surface. Might need to replace the stock hooks.

I believe you are thinking of the Ultrex I have a Terrova and would opt next time for the Ulterra

Tackle warehouse has them on sale right now I think they are about 45 Little stop on the way up tonight picked up something I've wanted to try for a while now

I've been known to shovel off the ramp.

I wouldn't give up just yet - Yesterday was decent. A-Jay

For sure the truth in those power plant lakes. I think the real feeding binge just doesn't happen when we feel like it should. I usually do better in late October through most of November when water temps range from the high 50s to the mid 40's. All through the 60 degree water temps it's usually pretty tough though.

Not sure about how micro the guides are, but I have Avid X and a 2017 Legend Elite that also use micro guides and have very little trouble with uni-to-uni connections using 30# 832 to #8 - 12# Hybrid. The only micro guide rod that I have that gives me some trouble is my one remaining Rage, and even that isn't too bad. The FG really seems like the ideal knot, but it also seems like a knot that'll take me 10 minutes to retie on the water if need be, so in the practical world of cost-benefit analysis, I've stuck with the Uni and still enjoy good castability and knot strength. I think any reasonably slim connection knot works, but the ability to tie it well is probably the most important thing, regardless of guide size.

When your buddy catches 3 fish while your peeing off the back of the boat ?

Hey guys, I've been a member for a little bit, but mostly just read topics and how to's, anyway's I have a first impressions review of a pair of Hammer Rods I received. I have ordered 7 Hammer rods total within a week form Brian @ Tackle TrapTrap, seems to be a good guy to deal with, I received the first 2 out of the 7, they are both 7ft heavy casting rods. The first thing I noticed is that they are a little on the tip heavy side, similar to a couple older IMX rods I had. Balances a little better with a reel mounted but still a bit heavy in the tip (see the balance point in the attached picture using a Lew's BB1 Pro) Rod feels light and sensitive, although I have not fished them yet and may not just yet, but more on that later. Second is the build quality it's decent, reminds me of bass pro shops rods quality not terrible and not excellent, some of the guides aren't straight, the epoxy wrap isn't super clean in some areas, but all in all not too bad for a 150-200 price range rod but not above average in that price range either. The rods are supposed to be made in the USA yet they have no markings or labels stating the fact, which is a little strange, I always like buying a USA made product and seeing that statement or a image of the flag on the item. But I have two major issues. The first issue is that with the two rods side by side and lined up the rod guides are off by about a 1/4 inch, which to me is unacceptable for any rod that's over 20 bucks, I can see a 1/16 inch difference at the most, but 1/4 inch variance between two rods that are supposed to be the same model is not good at all, which brings me to the second issue. Both rods that are supposed to be the same model have to different actions and power, upon closer inspection the blanks are slightly different thicknesses which could explain the guides being off and the actions not matching, I believe one is mislabeled from the factory, which is not Brians fault, no way of knowing till they are fully unwrapped and inspected. I'm disappointed in the variance issue between both rods, this could be an isolated incident but I do not know, I'm receiving more Hammer Rods rods next week so I can compare them all. Other than the issue I'm having they seem to be very good rods for the money, just from my observation, they are definitely more sensitive than the St Croix Avids and Premiers they are replacing. The missing "Made in USA" or on the rod is alarming for a product that is supposed to be made in the USA I feel, hopefully they didn't start suddenly producing them in China. Sent a email to Brian about the problem, so he should be getting back to me. Till then stay tuned for a more in depth review once I have all the rods. Here is the list of all of the Hammer Rods received or on the way. Two 7ft heavy casting rods (received) One 7ft medium casting rod (shipped) Two 7ft medium heavy casting rods ( on backorder) One 7ft medium heavy spinning rod (shipped) One 7ft medium spinning rod (shipped) UPDATE: Brian got back with me and gave me some measurements to look for, so according to my caliper, one of the rods is mislabeled, I received a extra heavy labeled as a Heavy, which explains the offset guides when comparing both rods, they are two totally different blanks. Also he said to maintain the same price point for this new year, they had to omit the flag icon and also other labeling, which I'm guessing is the line and lure ratings. Stay tuned for the resolution, and also remember I have more Hammer rods coming so a more complete and in depth review will come once, I have them all in hand and actually fish with them. UPDATE #2 I'm still missing the remaining two medium heavy casting rods I paid for, but I should have them by next week. I have fished the 5 rods I have so far, they are fairly sensitive, as sensitive as rods costing much more. Casting with them is decent but not great, they do not load up well, in fact I have a old 2001 era medium heavy shimano rod that I found myself grabbing more often while testing out these rods, it's just better overall. The quality issue was not an isolated incident, the other rods I received after the initial review are not built well at all, one of the rods creaks badly at the reel seat while casting, out of all the rods only one is on par with a BPS rod which isn't saying much, and that's one of the first two I received, the other rod as you've read above was mislabeled from the factory. Overall, if I could do it over, I would not purchase these rods, nor would I recommend them, if the style interests people, then I would suggest looking at the Falcon Bucoo micro series, better built rod, with a made in USA label actually on them. This is a honest review, and not the review I was hoping to give on these rods, the sensitivity is pretty awesome for the price, everything else though needs a lot of work. FINAL UPDATE: BRIAN AT TACKLETRAP HAS REPLACED ALL THESE RODS WITH AVID X'S GAVE THE HAMMER RODS A GO, BUT THEY JUST AREN'T BUILT GREAT, TOO MANY FLAWS AND ISSUES.

We visit snow and ice in the mountains and enjoy bass fishing year around in sunny SoCal. What is sad is all those snow birds who flock down here. Tom

Hold on to your seat. Them thar salmonids put up a fight like a big bass but with more stamina and therefore a longer fight. ?

@A-Jay man so awwsome. Especially fishing lakes with no other bass boats lol. Felt good compared to Arizona where every weekend is like bassmaster classic and forest wood cup is going on. ?.

I wasn't to concerned with the small guides, the big guides can be reduced in size on a jig and drop shot rod saving a bunch of weight. I'm talking a 10 J frame, 8 V frame, a 6 ceramic fly and the rest 3s. Like I said the rod lost no casting perfomance with braid, or 8 lb. fluorocarbon blend. I build to the needs of the situation, not to some general formula. Not all rods need a 16, or 20 first guide.

8ft generation 1 mounted direct to transom with a homemade spacer and a tilt bracket. @A-Jay has his mounted with sandwich brackets. Consider type/location of mount, tilt bracket, security locks, quick release handles, hard wire straight to battery or use plugs. There is an optional foot controller, I do not have it but A-Jay does. Unit comes with 2 remotes and the remotes are "learnable" I have one I wear around my neck and another mounted on the dash.

I got a dual athletic scholarship to college in Golf and Tennis. I would much rather teach my wife tennis than golf.

Spend the money and get the Ultrex. My father did and it is incredible. The spot lock works great and the foot pedal reacts much like a cable drive. I can feel where I am driving pretty well without paying attention to trolling motor head.

I got lucky,,,, since my favorite topwater bait was discontinued by BpS topnocker I been bummed out. I found three in new condition. I have a full set of them in all colors plus now. Time to get some painted.

Like NHbull said, you need to dial down the scope of your research and pick a smaller topic or you will be overwhelmed. I could see a 100 page master’s thesis written just about the physics of casting distance. Fishing info is chock full of anecdotal information based on personal experience, which is not a reliable basis for drawing scientific conclusions. It may be interesting. It might even be correct. But it ain’t science.

I have the Lew's Carbon Fire spinning rod. Bought it a month ago when the had a half price sale. I love the rod. Great sensitivity combined with the split Winn grips makes it a great buy even at full price.

nope, just the bone, its not the biggest - not sure if it's the smallest (90), I think its the middle size. I sort of agree, only with the stop and go. I can cast my buzzbait an absolute mile, I can pop it and create disturbances as far as cadence, I can make it dance on the water in the same fashion as a plopper, a trailer hook if anything helps with the hook ups (but yes, trebles are $). I find the buzzbait still superior though

I agree with @islandbass & add ya aint offered enough information! Medium, medium heavy, heavy, & how about length?

Are the rods comparable application wise? If not, I'd get the rod that fills a needed niche in my arsenal. Tough to decide if the comparison is apples and oranges. If these rods are in the same class, you might want to factor the guides used. I am not snooty but I have a difficult time buying a rod with less than aluminum oxide guides. Or, whichever feels best in your hand.

Big Game country:

I stopped by Academy to pick up some new hooks, but I left with hooks, frogs I didn't need, jerkbaits, swim jigs and lipless crankbaits. Ended up spending nearly $50 on what should have been a $6 stop. Bait monkey sucks.

I had to swat a very aggressive goose with my rod tip this summer, it didn't seem too bothered by it, I think maybe I do need to up my game a little.

Quite agree. I think limiting the area that is fishable should be something they look into for all tournaments. Seems ludicrous to me that people can run 100 miles or more from the launch point. Just from an environmental point of view that promotes a ridiculous waste of fuel.

I believe I got it done without using water or solvents. Q-tips and clean rags seem to have done the job. Won't really know for sure until I take it fishing tomorrow after work. Thank you all for your advice. @Delaware Valley Tackle if it comes down to having to send it off to be fixed or whatever it needs, I'll be giving you a shout. Thanks again everyone.

No, the fortrex won't effect your ability to plane out. You will be adding an additional battery for the 24v Fortrex so there will be a little more weight in the back as well but it won't be noticeable. You're going to top out at around 36-37MPH /w a 60 on the back. You are under powering the boat. Generally, you should always get the max HP allowed for a hull for the best performance. In your case a 75 I think is max for it. You'll appreciate it if you fish larger waters. If you fish a lot of smaller bodies of water, then you won't notice it much and a 60 will suit you fine.

^ Exactly why I thought lever would be a good starting point. Thanks for that write up, Rhino!

Physics deals with forces, movement, and resistance. There are three machines, pulleys, levers, and inclined planes. Think of the rod as a lever, and go from there. Where is the fulcrum, where is the force, and where is the resistance. A class one lever has the fulcrum (pivot) in the middle like a see/saw. The second class lever has the fulcrum at an end and the force at the other end, and the resistance in the middle. The third class lever has the fulcrum at one end, the force in the middle, and the resistance at the other end. The problem with fishing, be it casting or fighting a fish is that the type of lever, and the forces are constantly changing and moving. For instance, in casting the fulcrum can be the wrist(s), or the elbow, or possibly the shoulder, or a combination thereof. The length of the lever (rod) changes as it flexes. The fulcrum can change as well. Most of the time the wrist or elbow will be the fulcrum. Pick up your rod, and go through the motions of casting. Try various types of casts to see where the fulcrum is, wrist, elbow or shoulder. Because these are linkages, the fulcrum may change. The length of the rod will change as it flexes (shortens) or straightens out (lengthens). Then put a weight on your line and imagine fighting a fish. See how the arms, hands, wrists, move. Some levers are static, where things move but the fulcrum, resistance, and force are always in the same place on the lever. Fishing is dynamic, in a state of flux. An interesting assignment.

I have about 10 of those in various colors. 100% Lee Sisson Premium Balsa baits.

Hello all Those are Definitely Lee's lures. I own Mimic Lures. We stamped all the fiber board lips for his baits. I think that bait was called the Skinny P.