Leaderboard

Biggest fish I've caught in a while. Didn't have scales. Somewhere between 7 1/2 and 8 we guessed. Made the ole lews bb1 scream.

nice work everyone! spent about 4 hrs on the water saturday, had a wintery week leading upto the weekend so wasn't expecting much as the water is still very cold. Continued to move and eventually found a nice largie, hit a lucky flash pointer in the shallows. So satisfying to feel that pop on the pause, the only bite of the day. Crappy pics as I was in a precarious landing spot. 3.74lbs

The sportshow was a success?? Rod is a Tatula Elite AGS 7'6" flippin rod by Ish. Dug around and found a NIB T3 Ballistic the guys basically gave me when i bought the rod. Okay im done...till summer

A wonderful time of year

Hahaha first day fishing with Heritage!!!!!!!!First cast caught 2 pd 5th cast caught 2 fish on same lure ,a d**n double !! Then caught this monster See pic. I can edit my profile now to bigger size in my best section.And before the jokes start. Yeah I was happy

Two casts! Two fish! This was the second. Bass were going airborne in 40° weather crashing on shad, but They were picky and wouldn't bite a lure for nothing. Finally got a few on jerkbaits, then two in a row on an underspin. This one was big of the day.

Stuck a good one pitching, only fish I managed to land for the day.

Caught this fatty or a white biospone worm. Texas rigged with a 5/16 oz weight. Really slow.

I love my crocs. All day comfort, water friendly. You just need thick skin for all the croc haters.

How far can you cast a baitcaster? All the way down to a bass's mouth! On the serious side I do complete in bait casting competition for distance & accuracy; at 75 yds I can consistently put my lure in a 2' diameter circle.

Headed out on the river here at WVU for a couple hours this evening to try and get a couple walleye for dinner. The bite was slow out deep where I normally catch them this time of year, so when the light started to fade I made my way to some shallow rock and picked up the trusty ol' no.7 shad rap. Things got ugly pretty quickly . My little Calcutta 50 got quite a workout, but boy is that thing perfect for throwing a shad rap!

Copy and pasted from an old thread: 1. Giving it soft but quick twitches as soon as it hit hits the water. This will keep it on the top of the water and present a more subtle walk the dog. 2. Allowing it to sink to the desired depth and working it like a jerk bait, just with softer twitches. You can pause as long as you want between twitches, this is probably where most of my strikes occur. 3. Dead sticking the fluke for 10-20 seconds at a time, hop it, then repeat the process. 4. Target casting. Just get the fluke right on top of your desired target and allow it to sink all the way to the bottom. Give it a few twitches then work it back to you. 4. Carolina rigged with long pauses. 5. Dead sticking on a wacky rig. In freshwater I never fish my flukes with a jighead, but I'm not worried about current or depth typically. In saltwater jigheads are the norm and they still catch fish, no reason to think that wouldn't apply to bass imo. If you're stuck on color try watermelon red, pearl, or Arkansas shiner. I'd also up the hook to a 4/0 like @Burros said.

I think a small tube (2.5”-2.75”), like this Gitzit tournament tube (Brown Craw in pic below) is the most underrated spawning bed bait around. It’s so fun to sight fish and watch the males go tail down when you drag one across the nest. Landed 2 decent ones this late AM.

Lakes in Mexico are great this time of year. Tom

2 inches, yes that is absurd, but 2 feet is reasonable.

Hello, fellow popper addict here. I've been in love with the popper for over 20 years so I'll answer with my personal opinions in the order of which you asked.. 1. I pick a popper when it's overcast/cloudy and calm. With cloud cover the fish are roaming around a little more and will come and investigate a popper more often than if it's bright and sunny. Overcast mornings or overcast late afternoons are usually the highest percentage for the ole popper. If it's bright and sunny you CAN get fish on the popper, but you'll need to fish the popper a lot closer to cover vs out in open water. If it's sunny I'll fish a popper right along visible weed edges or around docks. They will come hit it in the sun, but you'll need to put it closer to their safe spaces. 2. I fish the popper painfully slow if the water is very calm. You'll always get bit on the pause, so why not pause more? The commotion gets the fish curious, the pause gets them to eat. So I pause.. a lot. If there's a bit of chop, i'll pick a popper that also walks very well like the Megabass Pop Max. Work it a little faster but still give some nice pauses now and then. 3. I've always had the best luck with the prop bait (xprop is my fav) with a little chop/wind. Dead calm the prop bait doesn't produce like it does with a little surface activity. 4. Some days fish want walking the dog so I'll toss a spook-like walking stick.. some days they want a super slow popper presentation. I don't think there's a specific tell with the particular conditions... just the mood of the fish that day. I will say that the slower I work a popper, the more effective it is. If the conditions "feel right" for a popper bite.. but they aint hitting the popper, then out comes the whopper plopper or the spook. If they don't want it low and slow, I'll try giving it to them fast and noisy. The only poppers I use these days (in order of favorites) are 1. Chug Bug 2. Pop Max 3. Rapala X-pop (for when I want to downsize). Seriously don't think i'll ever buy another popper other than those 3. Chug Bug is the king though. Forever and always. I ALWAYS change out the tail hooks with ether the VMC or gamy feather hooks. The stock tail hooks on all poppers SUCK.

Black crappie.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

My longest cast was also my most painful cast. I had the wind with me, blowing about 50 MPH on a very calm day and I was throwing a Ned rig with a 2oz jighead. I fired the cast so far that it circled the globe & hit me in the back of the head, leaving me with a welt that required 200 stitches. Best thing about it was as the lure fell in the water behind me, it was engulfed by a bass well over the 25lb mark. I didn't get to weigh him because I had to go to the grocery store for band aids for my wound. Yeah, that's the ticket...

Over the years, I superscribed to many theories. As my fishing (for several species including bass) has evolved, I have come to believe that one theory in particular has quite a bit of merit. Additionally this theory often improves the chances of some of my 'other theories' actually working out. Fishing in bodies of water that hold numbers of above average fish, improves the opportunity to routinely catch above average fish. That's my theory, and I'm stick'in to it. A-Jay

One of my own pond cats. Caught some live craws out of the creek and used them as bait. Not the best picture... I killed it pond side, cut the rakers, and was bleeding it out as I carried it back to the house as I didn't have my phone with me while fishing. About 16" and right at or maybe a little over 2 pounds I estimate: Fileted and ready for eating!

Went out night fishing tonight, threw a spinnerbait a little bit but switched over to a zoom curly tail junebug worm. Fished for a good while and caught a 12 incher but didn't seem to be getting the response I was hoping for so I switched back to the big black spinnerbait and moved further down the bank. I was just rolling it along, not burning it but not slow rolling it either when at about 5-8' out from the bank it felt like my spinnerbait was just sucked in....well I loaded up on her and here we go!! I clicked my head lamp on and when she got close to the bank and I saw her I was scared to death I was gonna lose her! It didn't actually take long to work her to the bank and I was able to lip her. She went 9.44 lbs. 23" long and 20.5" in girth. I tried to make the pics snappy and get her safely back in the water where she swam away strong! Man what an awesome night!!

If I posted my fish pics in lates cathes pic thread everyone’s fish would make mine look bad so I post here

At TW it is typically 15% off the order (some brands/product don't apply). Sometimes 20%.

Well if everything is stated is true, you all cast quite a bit farther than I do on average! Granted I rarely throw more than 3/8 oz though, usually closer to the 1/8 to 1/4 range. I'm more concerned with accuracy, too bad I'm not really that accurate especially when trying to pitch or flip. My pitches and flips have minds of their own. If I'm within the general vicinity of where I wanted it to go then I consider that a win.

Alright, so where I am from in Kansas, Milford lake right off the dam when the spillway is open and the current is crazy, the locals use a big topwater either a walk or popper lure (Ex: “Rebel Pop-R Magnum” or “Heddon Super Spook”) on the main line and remove the end tribble hook and attach about 1 to 2ft of leader 6~8lb test line with a White Crappie Jig 1/16oz (“marabou”) and reel it back by jerking in different cadence. I see people catching Stripers/Wipers all the time!!! ????? And they seemed to not be able to resist the dang thing...This prevents you from losing your expensive top water bait and you usually just lose the jig with the leader if you get snagged. 9 times out 10 when you do catch a fish it’s on the jig. Only bad part is those fish can make the hook weak by bending it out when they fight like crazy? So I would replace the jig after several use. I’m more of largemouth/ smallies type guy and fish more down the stream where the water is more calm. Don’t tell anybody I told you! The secret is revealed online now! Gotta share the Love of secret fishing techniques sooner or later! “Sharing is caring” ? Other then that you will usualy see people trying to catch fish with swim Baits or “flukes”.... But that method doesn’t work not nearly as good as the ones who know how to fish there... Has anybody done or tried this technique????

Welcome Andrew, I went to college in Petersburg, and use to live in Prince George off River Rd by Fort Lee. As always the Appomattox River is always a good place to start. Especially during the spring up by the little power station off of Grove Ave. You can find the shad, herring and striped bass/rockfish plentiful in the small rapid moving water...crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass also can be caught from the same general area by the little pedestrian bridge where the water is more calm, there are some deeper pockets. Caught fish for years! Heading down river a little in Old Towne Petersburg behind the Crocker Spot restaurant, you park on the gravel right by the old railroad tracks. Then just follow the path through the trees and come to a wide pipe that you can walk across (only can do this at low-tide)...then you get to a bunch of clear out spots on the bank and you have reached "Catfish Alley) which is on the Appomattox but is like a 50-60 hole....HUGE catfish, bass, bream, gar fish can all be caught. But for some smaller ponds or hidden gems, Dance's Sporting Goods is the place to go. They can point you in the right direction and also more knowledgeable in that area. Good luck buddy!

You can email it to me and I will do it for you. tdchoppa63@gmail.com It's not porn is it? Just kidding, I am good with either.

Finally made it up there. Fished for a couple of days. Fishing was not bad, not fast and furious. No big fish. Did catch several in the 3-4 lb range. A good bit of 2-3 lb fish also. Probably 20 or so per day. One day they loved the jig, the next day it was all brush hog. Didn't have time to explore much deep stuff. All fish shallow, but not as shallow as I thought they would be. It was nice to be back, it had been over a year since I fished there.

Weight as said above being a big factor, if youre into tinkering it can be done....Im a buzzbait nut but personally dont want fish getting a great look at them- Ive seen bass do some things chasing buzzers in shallow water I didnt know they were capable of- (speed and distance traveled). -You can shave some weight of a larger 1/2 lure w/a file. -Add a colorado blade. It works. I loved the secret weapon brand that came with em when they were here locally. -The side by side models that counter against each other are the slowest out of the box as said above. -Ive tried bending props but more often than not it seems to effect the bait wanting to plane correctly...Total crap shoot IMO.

No sales pitch here guys; no affiliation with any manufacturer.... Don't ever, ever, EVER use any kind of soda on an animal! And if you feel comfortable giving an animal something that is not designed for their consumption, then feed your baby dogfood. 'Nuff said.

I fish a dam with rip rap banks and lots of current . Baits are going to be lost . I like to hit it when the water is low and go lure hunting . I usually use inexpensive spinners like Strike King mini Spins , Road Runners... Cast upstream close to the bank and bring it down .

Man, some spots just require you to donate some tackle if you want to catch fish there, unfortunately. You said you tried unweighted flukes...Perhaps try a lighter gauge hook. Flukes are rather small and very soft. I don't use heavy hooks with them. You could also try a smaller fluke on smaller hook.

This industry is in constant cyclical motion....and every year there are hundreds of new designs and re-designs of tried and trues, which are worth owning. But, on the other hand , I'm a firm believer in getting back to the basics and reaching for the lures you know and love. So I agree, understanding the bass is paramount to being successful, and most times it's the proven staple techniques which catch the majority of fish for any angler , no matter their skill level.

Great question and I think there will be a lot of good but different answers.....I personally would want a 6'6 Medium Heavy Moderate Fast 1/4-1oz rated Graphite BaitCasting Rod paired with a 6.6 to 1 Gear Ratio Reel, spooled with 14lb monofilament or 17lb. This is not going to be the popular choice in Minnesota,(probably you would want medium fast spinning tackle) but for me and my preferred fishing style, this 6 1/2 Rod with a medium speed reel allows me to fish in close quarters and cover higher percentage targets more efficiently.

While I can't speak for all of them, many manufacturers (Strike King, Lucky Craft & Megabass for instance) document hook sizes with the bait descriptions on their websites. A-Jay http://www.strikeking.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=166&Itemid=827 http://www.luckycraft.com/luckycrafthome/default.htm#Products https://megabassusa.com/product-category/freshwater/freshwater-hardbaits/

I got enough problems spelling without autocorrect helping!

What a week at Kayak Bass Fishing National Championships. Finished 65th out of 752 of the best Kayak Anglers in the country. Also while on Kentucky Lake Saturday I won the Kayak Bass Series Season opener. Pretty good pay day to start the year. Kentucky Lake showed how hard she can be. Between the weather, thunderstorms, snow, sun, winds out of the NW shifting Tournament morning to SE and the lake having dropped 13ft in 2 weeks it was a constant challenge. The first day almost 300 People didn’t catch anything. At the end of day 1 I was in 85th. Day 2 I was grinding all day and moved up 20 spots. Learned a lot. Used a lot of what I have been learning over the past 2 years and the hard work is paying off.

I'm picturing something like this..... Only with baitcasters.

Long casts are not brute strength. The key to a long cast is loading the rod correctly. Trying to muscle a long cast is where a lot of your backlashes will come from. It’s no different than the sweet spot on a tennis racket, baseball bat or golf club. The grunt is secondary to the proper form.

The absolute best medicine is to keep the fish in as close to their natural habitat while in the live wells. Recirculate fresh oxygenated water often. The downside to live well additives is that while the fish appear lively and healthy for weigh in, once they are released and the chemical wears off they crash and there is a delayed mortality. How many bad press pictures have there been showing dead fish after a tournament scattered around the release point? None of those fish were dead at weigh in and you can bet there were a majority of them in treated live wells. In the big tournaments they have release boats that take the fish to parts unknown for release. Is that for the health of the fish or to mask any that have delayed mortality? Probably both. Summer tournaments in hot water and catching fish deep without fizzing before release add to the problem. We are all about preserving the resource and I think we have a ways to go.

Spent a very nice last 2 hours of the day on the water . Perfect temp. and wind. The fish are back on the beds again. Got this skinny 4.12 on a pumpkin zoom lizard. Caught a few more on zoom trick worms.

Got 3 the first day of the storm. Waiting for it to clear up again here in Cali.

Layering is where you paint a base coat then use a different color or colors to get the desired outcome you want. On the two baits attached below I coated the entire bait in yellow then painted the belly orange. On one of them I wrapped netting material around it and reduced the black paint for the fade down the side.

Oh man, I wasn’t even thinking it until you said that! i have 1 rod that was a cheap ($40) spinning rod for drop shotting, but it was an excellent all around rod. I broke about an inch off the top, I went ahead and cut it down to the next eye, I’m going to give it to my daughter to use since it’s still plenty sensitive and casts well. I replaced it with a more expensive rod and I’m not sure that I prefer the more expensive one.

In a sport that can so easily & quickly get seriously complicated, it's often be the simplest of principles that yields the best results. A-Jay

You’re going to have to get way more specific...

USMC 6 years, Army civilian 34 years Field Artillery Center

Currently working on some foiled squarebill baits. This is a foiled perch and a new craw I just finished.

Thanks everyone for the interest and nice comments on my baits. Here are some new ones I recently finished for a member.