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I caught this one at one of our conservation area lakes. It hammered a green Freddy b. This lake is covered in Lilly pads, and has all sorts of aquatic vegetation. For me it's one of the best places in the world for frog fishing.

All about the Top Water today! Some good fish. MegaBass Pop-X did most of the damage. A few came on spinnerbaits as well.

Been a minute since I hit the pond. Lipless crank and black/blue Dinger still getting it done.

Our opener was today (finally), got a late start due to the weather, but hit the water about 9:00. Fished for about 4 hours, caught over 25 and lost another dozen or so. No big ones today but still a lot of action, almost all were on a topwater frog so it was pretty exciting. A great start to the season with my main fishing partner. Average size today. This made me laugh, anyone in a canoe better keep away from these beavers!

There's no industry standard for reel sizes. Anything in that range should be equally suitable for all around use as a bass reel.

#1 most productive lure Doug Hannon's Answer Plastic Worm (Texas rigged) It's a long, thin shape resembles the profile of a wide variety of forage in the world of the bass, including earthworms, snakes, eels, and baitfish. Its action is almost entirely dependent on the contours of the bottom; and the rod movements of the fisherman, making it very random. It moves with little noise; the noise that it does make comes mostly from the random clicking of the sinker as it hits bottom. Bright colors and larger size can be used to increase its attracting qualities. Because of its basic resemblance to a wide array of living forage, this lure presents very few negative cues, and is hard for big bass to learn not to hit. Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a BASS CANNOT REMEMBER! That is, a bass will continue to strike a worm even after repeated catches, whereas a bass will "turn off" to other lures, spinner baits and crank baits etc. after wearing them out on them. That's why you cannot continue to catch them on your honey hole with the same lure over and over. Bass will stop eating that which will eradicate them. Not true with the plastic worm, however. Although we all know bass will prefer a different bait at different times (i.e. "the pattern") you can always go back to the worm to catch them.

Got on a frog bite at my favorite pad covered hydrilla pit in the woods. Stuck 4 on the black scum frog. All right around 12 inches (there’s gotta be some studs in there, I won’t give up on the spot!)

Accidental tiger muskie when I was bass fishing yesterday morning. Smoked a buzz bait in 8 feet of water. I initially thought it was a pike. Measured 33 inches, and released fully alive.

Ya can't catch fish if your lure aint wet! Books & videos are nice for learning techniques, the rest comes from actually fishing.

your most used rod

My kid got a nice one today.

So I have officially got my first true frog setup! Can’t wsit to go out and slay some hawgs .. or hopefully some hawgs ?.. heard nothing but good things about both, the IROD genesis 2 Fred’s magic stick and the REVO 4 SX.should have no problem hauling fish out

Living in the northeast members who fish there can help you. You need to take some and learn the following types of aquatic plants growing where you fish. Starting from shallow water and working out to deeper water the common plants are; Wild rice lily pads Elodea Reeds Nitella Chara Tabacco Milfoil Carbomba Vallisneria Curly cabbage Broad leaf cabbage Coontail Skunk weed Everthing else is junk weeds Enjoy your research. Tom

A good fishing partner goes a long way. I can get discouraged after a couple hours by myself, but when I have a partner we can fish for 8hrs during a tournament for 1 bite and laugh the whole time

J, this is long but it is worth printing and framing and hanging on your wall next to your desk. So here we go. Keep a log of every outing. Note the sample fishing log under "Tools" in the green bar at the top of this page. Make copies; date and time each; complete as detailed as you can for every outing; and put them in a three ring binder for each body of water you fish. Go into greater detail with these forms, that is...add the footage off the bank where you got the strike; the depth of your bait when you got hit; snags and where they are; and any other details you want add. Then, map each body of water by walking around it and making a diagram. Use your spinning rig with light braided line (6 or 8 pound test), a tungsten weight (half or one-ounce to keep it on the bottom) and cast every five feet or so to feel what is on the bottom. You can also use the "fan" pattern to feel the bottom, casting left to right and then right to left in one foot segments. Add (draw) all data to your map. Braid + tungsten = excellent feedback on what is on the bottom. And if you get snagged, great! That is what you want to do. You want to get snagged as that is where some structure is located and where the bass will hold. So don't get angry that you lost your $50 tungsten weight. Just cut the line and put on another one and keep at it. You do not fish when you do your mapping. Your goal is to map the body of water where you fish as best you can. And that is the goal for the day or week until your mapping is completed. Yes, it will be difficult not to give into the urge to fish, but you will learn so much as to what is on the bottom that you had no idea was there. Always wear polarized sunglasses when fishing and mapping. Always walk about 50-feet from the bank when you move to a new location when fishing. Be a phantom. No noise or vibrations when moving along the bank. Float like a butterfly. Keep the noise and vibrations when you move from place to place as low as possible. You will be surprised as to how many bass you can startle by walking 5 to 10 feet off the bank, causing them to take off. Never throw your shadow onto the water unless you have no option. If you can see the bottom or any fish in the water, they can see you. If they see you, they will scatter. If you see them first, drop a wacky Senko or a finesse worm within five feet of them, with a quiet water entry, and odds are they will hit it. Remember, they are aggressive animals that are inquisitive, too. Wear dark colored pants, shirts and caps. Bright yellows, whites, pinks, greens and the like will be seen easily by the fish. Be a phantom. Think "quiet." Be like in class when the teacher asks a question that no body has any idea of what the teacher is talking about and you sink down in your desk. Watch where you walk so you don't step on anything and get it angry. As for forage. Try to determine if the basic forage is bluegills, bream, crappie, minnows, or crawfish. Now, for part 2....how do we figure out what to throw, in no specific order: 1. Gut feelings. From experience and your fishing logs information. Plus any information you get from others who have fished the same waters. 2. First, you throw to the top water level using top waters, be they buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Sammy's, RICO's/poppers, spooks, frogs, or an unweighted trick worm, usually pink or white in color. (NOTE: When throwing unweighted trick worms on a spinning setup, put a curve in the bait to make it move like a snake. Also, if you want, you can purchase a #1 or #2 cork stopper (Joann Fabrics has them or a wine shop), cut it's tip into a small 1/4-inch section, use a nail to make a hole in it for your 6 to 8 pound monofilament line, and put it in the front of the trick worm using a bobber stopper to keep the cork in place. This will help keep the trick worm on to top of the water. Way old pros trick dating back to the 60's and 70's. Of course, I was told this as I am only 29 years old and never have seen it used much these days. Keep it a secret so the other guys won't know about it.) 3. Then throw to the middle water level with spinnerbaits, spy baits, jerkbaits, 1.5 square billed crankbaits, lipless-crankbaits, Chatterbaits, flukes, tubes, swimming jigs, toads and other baits of your selection using those colors you believe will mimic the forage in the water. (NOTE: Sexy Shad is always a winner) 4. When the top and middle water columns efforts fail, you go to the bottom column, with the understanding that your mapping will show you where the underwater structure is located. You throw your wacky rigged Senkos/stick baits, trick worms or Swamp Crawlers on shaky heads (Provider shaky head jig heads are fantastic), drop shots, Texas rigged finesse worms, lizards, creature baits, Biffle Bugs, Ned Rigs and anything you have for bottom fishing. Use spinning gear as you are now in the world of finesse fishing for bottom exploitation. And consider using a 1/0 or 2/0 weedless hook to avoid snags as best you can. Mustad and Eagle Claw have some good ones. 5. Use scent. It is a confidence builder. MegaStrike is very good. Any scent of your choice is good. 6. Use a lime colored Spike-It dip or JJ's Magic for the tails of your plastics. Lime can work better than yellow but keep that to yourself, too. You do not need much color on the worm or plastic. About a quarter of an inch will do on its tail. 7. Throw to a target about 10 to 12 times. 99 out of 100 times nothing will happen. But that 100th time you could nail your personal best. In other words, don't throw to a target once or twice and give up. As Woo Daves says, throw into the kitchen, then the front room, then the bedroom, then the den. Hit the target a few times. 8. Plant your own brush piles. Throw in dead bushes and Christmas trees. Don't walk into the water to do this. Put some weight on their stumps to keep them in place and throw them into the water. They will be fish attractors in the future. Map their locations, too. 9. As for plastic's colors, here are three basic colors you need: Watermelon for clear water; Green Pumpkin for stained water; Junebug for all water clarities. You can expand to watermelon red or green pumpkin with black flakes, or any colors that you wish or that work. Just keep a log as to the water conditions and water temperature for each color you use and its outcome. 10. Weight. No, not your weight, the bait's weight. Learn how each plastic feels while on the bottom. If it feels "different" or "heavier" you SET THE HOOK. 11. Put a dollar in a Pat O'Brien's hurricane glass every time you set the hook and nothing is there. You will have a great college fund started for girls and parties. (Check out the Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Glass on the Internet and get one) Remember, it is you against those little green monsters with brains the size of a pea and you usually lose. You are entering their world where they can see, feel and hear better than you can. All you can do is hold a finger on your line and try to figure out what is going on in the water. The bass have the advantage and all you can do is fish, fish, fish and fish some more and make notes, notes and notes so you will know what works and what doesn't under specific weather, wind, sun, cloudy, water clarity and water temperature conditions. And always keep an eye on your line. If the line stops after you cast it but not far enough to hit bottom, SET THE HOOK. If you feel the "tap tap" (other than for a frog) you SET THE HOOK. If you see your line starting to move from left to right or right to left, you give them two or three seconds, reel in the slack, and you SET THE HOOK. If the bait feels heavier than normal, you SET THE HOOK. So take a week and map the areas; start your fishing logs; and experiment. And in the immortal words of one of our great leaders of the century, Ike, "Never Give Up!!!!" Good luck. Have a great summer. And go out and nail some of those little green monsters who are now laughing at you.

Again, mainly river fish but my average weight on a t-rig is 1/2ounce In current and around structure you gotta get that bait on bottom and in front a fish quick, plus you want just enough weight to keep the current from dragging your weight or you'll be tieing hooks all day. I also like the fact in a lake or a pond with a heavier weight I can drag bottom and mentally get a good perspective about how the bottom looks along with structure. Some people shy away from heavier weight but I prefer it. My heaviest bass came out if 8ft of water on a 1/2ounce pegged t-rig.

I used to bank fish Squaw Creek Reservoir, a power plant lake in Texas, and I'd make long casts to try to get out in a creek channel in the middle of a particular cove. To make longer casts, I'd use a slightly heavier weight. Most of the time in early mornings, I'd catch several bass where the T-Rig would hit the water and they'd be on it before it fell more than a few feet. I'd say if there is a bass in the area, feeding aggressively and competing with other fish, they react so fast that they can grab a 3/8s oz. weighted T-Rig before it falls much more than 5 feet. Hungry bass are super fast. I often forget how fast . . . but we've all seen it when we release one off the side of a boat and watch it flip its tail and move away at torpedo speed: one second it is there, a split second later, gone out of sight like a ghost. Not that bass can't be spooked, but for every case where they are, I see other situations, like schooling bass where they are actually "activated" or "energized" by splashes in the water. When I am paddling in my kayak or canoe, I am convinced that the schoolers working in the area hear me and get "competitive." Brad

Sometimes giving them them a longer look at it allows them time to pick up on negative clues given off by your lure or you.

Great quality brand. I don't have that particular model, but my favorite SB is their double willow leaf, 3/8 oz. in gold shiner pattern.

And there's another thing too: The more you fish and catch, the more you will actually make sense of what you watch and read. You'll become more observant when you watch a video because you'll know what to look for. You will attach terms to concepts that you now have more direct familiarity with, like "feeling the bottom", and "semi-slack line". When you read a description of conditions or structure or cover, you will be better able to mentalize what it refers to, from your experience on the water.

Fished Silver as well today. Not to the best, but got a few in the boat. Was talking with @ww2farmer on the lake, and the 3 min we were chatting he puts one close to 5 lbs in the boat without missing a beat.

It could be a bowling alley. ? I entered a contest on the Twitters and ended up winning a $100 gift card to Bass Pro Shop. I’m needing a good baitcasting crankbait setup. What would you do with a $100 gift card, I’m needing some ideas.

Does your high school have a bass fishing club? Are there any clubs near you that you could join? Experience is the best teacher but getting experience with an accomplished angler is invaluable. When end all else fails, throw a senko.?

I've been watching MMA and am now a lot tougher .

I look for what's under the grass first, this tells me where to start. Then I look at the grass itself for indication of what's under it. Thick matted areas usually indicates shallower water while sparse grass indicates deep water.

I hope this pattern continues through the Sunday tournament

Just a little largemouth with odd coloration. Easiest way to tell if you're not sure is to feel them, a largemouth is smooth, spotted bass scales are noticeably rough.

I ventured out tonight after dinner to bank fish the westernmost point of the Hillsboro Canal, west of Boca Raton. As a result of daily rain causing high water in the Everglades, the gait had been opened, allowing a great torrent of tannin stained water to flow from the Loxahatchee Reserve into the canal. I tossed a Zoom Magnum Ultravibe Speed Worm in Watermelon Red into the swift current near a rocky bank, and procured two glowing 4-pounders in back-to-back casts. This was the first of the two:

Native snakes are not to be feared but should be respected. Sounds like the prankster had a very good time finding out who's terrified of snakes.

I fish everything like it’s bassmasters, even saltwater.

Most of the best times in my life was time foolishly spent....

Well if he would have put them on the bbq that would have not been an issue. Nothing moves after the grill!!!

Thank you sir!

Went to silver today. Caught a decent bass at 7:30 then caught 137,000 rock bass and a large pike between then and around 2 when Farmer showed up. The bass knew he came onto the lake and started to bite again. Caught a 4.3 and another 2 ok LM and lost one at the boat before I left at 3.

Plastic worms catch 70% of my fish. Although they aren’t super exciting to fish they are effective. I wish fish bit my frog and spook as often as a senko.?

If you follow the development of the soft plastic worm you will trace the birth of modern bass fishing. It all started with Nick Creame in the mid 50's and a group of Texans creating a presentation to affectived fish The worms. Prior the Texas rig Creame sold his worms with a nightcrawler rig, 2 hooks on a leader with beads and a small propeller. Creame's worm were so popular in Texas he moved his company to there. Several worm companies started offering soft plastic worms like Stembridge Flip tail worms and Tom Manns Jelly worms, 5 decades later new soft plastics are introduced nearly every week. Thank you Nick Creame and those Texans who showed how to fish the plastic worm. Tom

There is a reason pro athletes all the way down to high school athletes study hours of film. BUT All the knowledge in the world isn't helpful if you can't apply it. Almost no two bodies of water fish exactly the same. Nothing trumps experience.

Quantum EXO Tour Casting 6’10”. Great rod.

I can give you all the info in a nutshell, and that is if you are going to do it long term, than it is worth it. If you are going to pour a 100 jigs, than no it is not worth it. If you want to keep busy and make something custom for yourself in the winter then I would start small. Initial cost with a mold, pot, powder paint, lead etc. is about $300.00 If you want more info Pm me your e-mail and I can give you a start up sheet of what you might need. I can also call you on the phone and go over some of the costs if you would like to that as well. Good Luck

In this order; (multi species) 1 spinning 2 casting 3 ice 4 fly 5 surf

Topped her off with a much needed itö engineering carbon handle. Didn’t feel right without it. Project money pit.

Some Recent Tackle Pickups... - - - - - - - - - - Also just completed my box of Strike King KVD Deep Diving Jerkbaits... WolfyBrandon

Toothy creatures. Sauger was 1/2 inch short (I think...) but The walleye was a keeper!

Went out for a troll on Georgian Bay this morning with the family, slow start, didn’t get fishing till 11:00 and only fished an hour before the heat drove us off the water, but we did alright. My son fought this one in all by himself. 10lbs even on my light rainbow gear, almost spooled him twice! Looks like we’re bbqing salmon for dinner tonight ??

This lake has a healthy Pike population. And judging by the 'teeth marks' on the side of this guy (facing me), At least one mutant pike that tried to EAT this one - Mental note to self ~ No swimming. A-Jay

Got more of these in traditional SM areas than ever before!

St Croix Avid 8' ML/MOD rod, Daiwa RG-AB 2000 spinning reel, 8# Nanofil line, 2.8" Keitech fat paddle tail.

PB Rock Bass. This thing inhaled the jig that I pitched into a laydown.

Fish as far from shore as possible. You have the whole lake to yourself and the number of 4+ pound fish you catch will increase to dramatically it will blow your mind. Also, launch the boat after 10pm. You have the lake to yourself again. Anyone can catch bass in that 2.5lb range and under. When they grow into true apex predators you have to fish where the high value targets live. That's usually not hugging shore. Pre-spawn and spawn excluded.

I tune a lot of reels but don't over sell or make crazy claims regarding casting distance etc. in order of cost effectiveness my recommendation is: deep cleaning drag upgrade super tune(on appropriate models) model specific adjustments spool bearings misc i do all sanding by hand and polish with a soft buffing wheel. I'm a one man shop and do all the work personally. Feel free to call or email to put your mind at ease.