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The water levels were low so the fish were extra spooky but I still managed a few. This was the nicest one at 2.5 on a wacky GP 3” Dinger. Saw several 3-4 pound fish but I spooked them and they got tight lipped ?.

What's are Bottom feeder? CATT is ? Once the boat comes down off of plane the first thing I grab is a Texas Rig, Wacky Rig, Shaky Head Weightless T-rig, Carolina Rig, Jig-N-Craw, Mojo Rig, Rage Rig, Drop Shot or anything that takes me to the bottom. I'm gonna be casting, flipping, pitching, punching, hopping, dragging, shaking, dead sticking, or skipping. I don't care if its grass, brush, timber, rocks, docks, pads, lay downs, shore line or off shore. I don't care if its pre- spawn, spawn, post spawn, summer, dog days, fall, winter, morning, noon, or night. Give me 2 rod-n-reels with any of the above techniques & I be happy, happy, happy!

braved the summer heat to try for deep water SM. Ned rig in 25ft of water did OK. Nothing big but a lot of fun. Here's one of them

This is a tough one. One look in the rod locker indicates there's a lot of 'favorites.' While I do like to Chunk & Wind quite a bit, I'll say that my "favorite style of fishing" is putting the pieces together and solving the puzzle. The excitement comes from the anticipation & expectation of getting bit over & over. A-Jay

Had a few hours to kill today so we went to one of our favourite lakes. Caught over 40 bass, about a 50/50 mix of smallies/largies and that’s with a couple swim breaks in between?. Today the fish were schooled up big time, almost like in the fall. Almost every fish we hooked had multiples of either species following and attacking the hooked fish, trying to steal their “prize”. We had multiple double headers, all we had to do was drop anything over the side and the other guy would hook up too. It was a pretty neat experience for my son. Fish were caught on KVD size 300 jerkbaits, 1.5 squarebills and wacky rigged Berkley Max Scent generals. The kid won the bet for first fish. Got a few nice ones as well. Same fish, they’re healthy in this lake ? This one followed one of the kids smaller ones to the boat trying to grab the lure, it hammered the stickbait.

I must admit that the bat, duck, rat, etc. looking top water baits have , to me, seemed a bit much but now, maybe not. We were out fishing an area between an island and the main shore, maybe 30 ft. between the two. My wife says " what's that in the water? " I caught a glimpse of something as it ran onto the island. A while later she says " there it is again." We moved closer and saw it was a red squirrel. The darn thing was swimming back and forth between the island and the main land. Nothing got it, but it sure looked like it would have made a good meal for a LM. First time I've ever seen a squirrel swim.

@Paul Roberts has pretty much covered it above. One comment I'd add is that water temps around 88-90 degrees seems to be at or just over the temperature at which bass feed most (the higher temp/higher metabolism thing). Above that, several studies suggest that feeding slows down or even ceases as you approach maximum temps at which bass can survive, generally pinned to the 98-102 deg range. This ties with the behavior mitigation Paul mentioned. Short term survival is more important than feeding in extreme cases. Likewise, it has been noted that it is possible for bass to move down into or even below the thermocline to cooler temperatures but with low oxygen levels on a temporary basis, both of which likely curtail feeding in exchange for energy conservation.

This is true, but runs roughshod over some important details... Also bc bass are cold-blooded, they can forgo eating for extended periods. Metabolism is a balance of energy in (food) with energy out (maintenance and activity). Activity is always the most costly. So, behavior can mitigate potential outcomes. An awful lot of bass lose body weight during heat waves.

Usually, that's from fishing them too fast.

Not a fan of the no co-angler rule change. It just goes to show you that the co-anglers are not the amatures they make them out to be. They had to have lost a good revenue stream from that change. Likewise their venues will lose a lot of revenue from the co's booking rooms and traveling in to stay in hotels, food, pre-fish etc. The marshals will be like the elites and just be locals who want to get another perspective on their water. Dangling a carrot to be able to win cash and possibly a boat is no more than selling raffle tickets where you have to be present to win. I've always said that the coanglers were not the newbs they were made out to be and many, many of them could compete from the front as well.

Another Mepps fan here. Arguably the greatest white bass angler in Texas is Dennis Christian. He actually has an article published on the Mepps website about his technique using a plain, usually silver, Aglia in a couple of different sizes (depending on the size of shad at the time). There is a link to a YouTube video showing very clear and specific instructions on how to use his technique. Must viewing for anyone who likes to fish white bass on major lakes or during the spawn up in rivers and creeks. I used the Mepps Plain Aglias during the white bass spawn on my home lake. It works a bit differently when they are up in the shallows but just as effective. I caught a couple over the lake record, in the 19" length range, several over the lake record of 3 lbs. More important to the black bass "specialists" among us, while I was catching the sandies, I also caught quite a few LMBs, so these little inline spinners will catch all species. One photo'd below is measured up against my 14" boot. And, a small LMB caught on the same Aglia, same day. I think over that 3-day weekend, I had just under 50 sandies and 4 LMBs, a couple of crappie over about a total of 6 hours of fishing. Brad

The standby Berkley 10" ribbon tail in black w/blue flake. My personal favorite is Uptons Customs 9" dragon tail and 13" straight tail in Midnight, Night stalker and black grape-blue neon vain. I fish these with brass n glass (black brass 3/8 oz & black 1/2 tungsten bullet weight, 8mm black faceted glass bead) 9" and 10" worms with Owner 5/0 #5103, 13" with 6/0 #5132 screw lock Owner hook. Tom

Froggin. The anticipation coupled with the blowups are the best. Froggin can be tedious but it pays off, usually with quality fish.

What may surprise you is bass fishing isn't my favorite game fish to fish for, they are the most abundant fresh water game fish close to where I live and challenging to catch giant bass. My favorite fish is Marlin followed by tuna, both big hard flight salt water game fish. You think a top water strike is impressive, try Marlin fishing. My favorite fresh water fish are musky on bass tackle, problem for me they are nowhere near where I fish. It's been over 20 years since I have fished for big musky. So we go to giant largemouth bass and my favorite presentation is using my hair jigs with pork trailers followed by swimbaits. Hooking bass 15 lbs+ on the tackle I use is exciting, when they jump it's heart stopping because they are so rare and take so many hours to hook and have a chance landing. It's been way too long since I have put a 15lb+ giant in the boat. Tom

Oh I dug through my archives and found it. I've never met you but I trust that you won't tell a soul about and upon seeing it will immediately delete it! Remember....not a soul.

These guys must have misplaced their calendars because they aren't supposed to show up like they did until October! I had quite the time playing this guy on my swimbait stick with a Cardiff 400. I had never caught a big one before, I was very impressed by the power this fish had

Caught me a butter balling ditch panda on a tiny swimbait today. Pandasaurus rex is a strong animal, and tried to get away by bending out an ST-36. Not on my watch, not today though!

and there's always the chance Bigfoot is packin'

During periods of low light - A frog around the pads & cattails. Rest of the day - two baits: A Texas rigged weightless stick worm (Senko) and a very light ( 3/16 or 1/4 oz) Medium size Texas rigged skirted craw or creature bait; worked painful slow along the bottom. A-Jay

Jig is the wife. Spinnerbait the mistress. When im throwing the wife I’m thinking of the mistress...sometimes vice versa

To add to Brian's post... Peak metabolic efficiency studies put that number at 82 to 88, with majority of them down at the lower end of that range. The variability is probably due to population variability. One would expect southern fish to be able to handle the heat better. But, I'm not aware of any studies that have looked at that. There are, however, studies that looked at the opposite -cold resistance- in which northern fish excel and southern transplants... die. Interestingly, FL Largemouths (floridanus) have shown a similar range for peak metabolism with northern fish -in the low to mid 80s. Lethal temps for all -when metabolic enzymes collapse- is around 100F. Acclimation temps weigh in heavy too -just what the starting temp was. But, the above numbers are pretty sound as fish never experience the drastic alterations that can be tested in the lab. All this CAN be moot however, when there's food involved. Bass have been known to feed in water >100F in power plant lakes, but for very limited periods. The problem with a high or peak metabolism is that while low to mid 80's could allow for maximal growth, the fish has to eat enough food to at least cover maintenance, much less grow. And that's tough to do in most waters. And they have to expend the energy to catch that food. If there's enough food, you may find a good bite in 90+F water. I believe Brian has found just such a thing on his shad filled reservoirs. In my vegetated bluegill based waters, things can simply shut down for periods -at least during the daylight hours.

I use a big Dark colored worm. I Don't let it sit as long as I do in the daytime. I reel it about 6 feet or so, let it sink, wait maybe 10 seconds, pick it up, and repeat back to the boat. 2nd choice is a booya pc. Frog. Also have done well with a devil's horse but Not crazy about the trebles at night either.

My guess is that there are 0 pro's that would throw away their chance at $120,000 to help their marshal win the $2500. Plus kicked off tour, loss of sponsors and the black cloud that would forever be over their heads if they were caught. Too much to lose on the Pro's side to be involved with something shady. That being said there will always be someone that tries to cheat.

^^^this^^^ I would bet an entire paycheck that no one will every cheat in this situation...but that's not the point. I have been a police officer for 27 years. If I was to receive a $2500 bonus at the end of the week for having the most arrests would I arrest more people that week? Absolutely not. My job is to be fair, help those that need help, and search for justice for all. I do my best to follow 1Thessalonians 5:14-15 every day that I work. At the end of the week if I had the most arrests and I got $2500 cash would that put doubt in some peoples minds? Yes. Most importantly, would it have accomplished any positive benefit? I don't think so. People will want to be marshal's without the questionable prizes. I know I would do it!

I think this is a good move. There is one thing in the announcement that I found very odd. "Marshals will be eligible for a top cash award of $2,500 at each regular-season FLW Tour stop based on the combined weight of the pros they are randomly paired with." Isn't the marshal in the boat to keep the Angler honest? Does it make sense to reward the marshal based on the angler's performance? I don't think cheating is a problem at this level and $2,500 to the top marshal is not a lot of money but still I don't get it.

The only rub I have is with myself. Sometimes I read several pages only to find that I was 12 yrs old when the OP was made. (Slight exaggeration).......but that's on me

I doubt that, if it hurt their bottom line they probably wouldn't do it...The Marshal fee will likely be the same or similar to the co-angler entry fees and all the Marshals will still be booking rooms and all that other stuff. They also won't have to pay out winnings to the co-angler field. The money aspect is probably a wash for FLW. I don't think a professional level tour should have co-anglers, so to me this is a good move for FLW. BASS Opens and FLW Costa are still high-level tours for co-anglers to compete in. I think the prize stuff is kind of cool. I wouldn't really be interested in marshaling for FLW normally, but with that added I might do it...It's obviously like a raffle or lottery, but it's enough to make me think about doing it if they come to a local spot.

In fact, in warmer water, they have to eat more, because they're cold blooded animals, and with increased body temps comes increased metabolism.

Thanks guys! I knew I ended up in the right place. So far, I'm more than impressed with this forum, lots of good knowledge and respectful people. A rarity on the internet these days!

From my childhood and youth reading Field & Stream and Sports Afield magazines, such great little rustic ads in those days from little mom and pop businesses all over our country selling all sorts of things, some also indicating "looking for" various needs. It is seemingly long gone today, so much more commercial. Old-timers will remember these old small ads: chinchillas, hunting airedales, chicken egg incubators, raise quail for $$, "how to" manuals, "we buy bulk . . ." and on and on. A kid could dream for hours and hours just reading these ads sprinkled throughout these mags with a whole section of classifieds at the back as I recall. *So, I received a Mepps catalog after an order not long ago and, I'll be danged! They have something in it looking to buy quantities of squirrel tails (ostensibly to be used to make some of their lures). You'd have to really be a squirrel hunter to have the sort of volume Mepps was looking for, like 50 if I recall, but how great to see that there is still sort of a barter going on for such items. Whether squirrel shaped lures would work, or not, their tail hair is still being actively sought out. There is actually a market for them. Greatness! Brad

Anything that will float me away from the bank. -Jon boat -Old detached floating dock -canoe -kayak -pontoon -ski boat -inner tube -and currently my modified Bass hound which I love

First you live in a state with more waters than most do. Seriously you have miles and miles of rivers, creeks, streams and parks with lakes in them. I lived near Duncannon for 5 years back in the 90's. I had many miles of the Susqy River, many small lakes and other big lakes to choose from. Having said that, most of them are best accessed with a 15 to 17 foot aluminum jon boat with a 9.9 hp outboard. I am not talking a fancy 20 foot- $50,000 fiberglass dream machine. Just a simple old jon boat. Yes a fancier rig with a jet is better, but not needed. Up by you, I have also fished Belltzville and down by reading I fished Blue Marsh. I fished Lake Wallenpaupack too. Take a few minutes using Google Earth and research your streams and rivers near you as well as a ponds. Consider getting a canoe or jon boat. Kayaks offer great opportunities too. Down near the town of Duncannon there is a place called Riverfront campgrounds. They rent boats and canoes. You rent them and they transport you upstream and you float and fish your way back down. Another good source is to check out your local fishing tackle stores. I do not mean Cabelas or Bass Pro, I mean the local shop. They always know the area and share with you opportunities. Just remember to spend a few dollars supporting them. One very good one (not local to you, but very informed) is Susquehanna Fishing Tackle in York,PA.

Casting treble hook lures at night from shore can be a nightmare. Whatever you use it needs to be weedless or single hook. Nothing has caught more bass in the dark then Berkleys Power ribbon tail worms, both 7 1/2" & 10" in black w/blue flake, T-rigged with sliding bullet weight. Lots of sift plastics to choose from like Zoom Brush hog etc. If you can't fish slow then a buzz bait is a good option. Tom

I use the zoom ol monster for a ribbon tail worm. the magnum trick worm for a straight tail worm. not sure why, but the trick worm often out fishes the ribbon tail around here.

Blue fox vibrex. You can cut of the treble add a split ring then add a single hook if needed. The firetiger color with brass blade on the inside is killer for all species.

That's the one that scares me. When my hair gets fluffy and my line jumps lol

This ~ A-Jay

They're tools. You need to use the right tools as the situation dictates. I have no favorites. Only focus on being proficient with both in order to exploit the advantages of each whenever I can. Having favorites only limits my productivity.

texas rigged plastics

Have you ever found any good usable tackle at garage sales or estate sales? In the last 2 yrs I bought a mint St Croix med heavy casting rod, and a almost unused zebco cardinal 4 spinning reel. A few years ago, bought 6 bags of assorted plastic worms- mostly culprits for 2 dollars. Most times it's junk, or so worn out its unusable, but occasionally you get lucky. Sometimes some cool vintage tackle as well. Anyone else found any good deals?

I like pitching Texas rigged craws and creatures. Fast paced, in your face, hand to hand combat. Heavy rods, line, and big hook sets. I used to love to throw wacky rigs and still do at times. But give me a 3/8 to 3/4 ounce weight, some 20Lb fluoro or 65Lb braid, and a 4x strong hook and I'll go to town on some green fish!

I think one of the worst traps I fell into last season was to latch onto only a few techniques and baits that I enjoyed or otherwise thought was cool for some reason. I have made great progress this year by learning to use techniques I thought I'd never try. I own two spinning setups which I hardly ever take, but truth is it would make me more effective to use them. I will still use casting gear whenever it is even only slightly possible. I may not enjoy the act of using spinning gear, but I sure do enjoy the act of catching fish.

Same baits, same techniques, on the same structure as I do in daylight.

Had my previously mentioned tournament on Conesus today. I finished 5th with 17.24lbs. 21, 20, + 19 cashed, 17.30 was 4th, and then me. I gave it away.....at least third, I doubt I was getting to 20 lbs, but I had two noticeable upgrades get off due to operator error. One was a big smallmouth I high sticked the hook set on when the bite caught me off guard, I had it to the boat, but she just opened her mouth and out came my 3/4 oz jig. The other was a big largemouth that bit me under a dock, and I was day dreaming............NOT looking at the bikini clad hotties on the next dock down....nope, not looking at them at all, and I never noticed this fish pick my bait up and swim OUT from under the dock into the grass with my line wrapped around two posts. By some act of god, I got the fish back under the dock, back around the poles, only to have my leader break when it made one last surge at the net. Those metal posts did a number on my 17lb FC leader...thats what I get for gawking at................I mean day dreaming. Anyways, other than those two bone head moves, it was still a grind to get to 17.24. I had a limit in the first hour on a swim jig worth about 13lbs, then proceeded to struggle for the next 6 hours not catching anything that would help. Then in the last hour made several culls to get to where I was. The two boo-boos happened at the end of the day too about 20 minutes apart, and in the last 1/2 hour. The only saving grace today was that my bag was at least good enough to take a slim lead in our AOY race two events into the season.

Flamers don't last long around here. We don't like that kind of behavior. Some wit may say Holy Resurrection Batman, but that's about as bad as it will get.

Or.....take the rod to a local tackle shop and have done for about $5-$7. Tom

with all the new, great, topwater lures out today I still use a jitter bug. I've been using them for over 50 yrs. and the gurgle sound they make brings back so many memories, and is still effective.

This is why I don't buy anything just because some pro is pushing it. Best example is the dancing eel that was out a while back. It didn't catch fish 30 years ago the first time it came out and it still doesn't catch fish.

Bass fishing was fairly lackluster today. After 5 hours in the sun with only a couple 16 inchers and a boatload of dinks, I had enough of it. So over the course of the next hour, I first reranged and then plusoned a bunch of crappies. Just glad that I released almost as many as I kept. I forgot that cleaning fish isn't half as much fun as catching them.