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A few days ago we were out on the lake fishing. As we only fish during the week the lake is usually more quiet . That day we had the lake to ourselves, except for a couple of guys in a Nitro with a 200 hp. something or other on the back. I knew there was a tourney coming up that weekend so I guess they were practicing. I couldn't help but feel sorry for these two poor guys. The lake is not that big so it was easy to watch them thru out the day. They must have had motor trouble because it seemed to be stuck in WOT. They were zipping along at full bore everywhere, close to shore, thru no wake zones, close to us, you name it. Also they seemed confused, like they couldn't figure out what to do. They would zip here, cast, cast, cast, then zip there cast, cast, cast, over and over and over, like mosquitos buzzing around. I felt so sorry for them, the whiplash and wind burn must have been horrible for them. Meanwhile my wife and I were on a long submerged weed line. I had set the TM to slowly move us thru it and we were catching fish after fish. I am actually grateful to them. Catching all these fish is tiring, and if it wasn't for the big waves they generated running past us 25ft. away at WOT, we might have fallen asleep. Later on we were putting by the marina and I saw them tanking up their boat, and heard them complaining how bad the fishing was. Those poor guys. I hope after gassing up that big boat, they had enough money left to fix their motor so it wasn't stuck in WOT, and hopefully enough left over for some meds to handle their whiplash, wind burn and frustration. Meanwhile, my wife and I caught plenty of fish, and had a wonderful day. Jim

i had taken the little johnny in for some engine work and went to pick it up yesterday. i decided to give it a test run so i put in at Lake Norman State Park, which was on the way home. i also just happened to have my rods and worm bag with me, wink wink. i caught 4 spots and this bonus largemouth in a couple hours of fishing. the boat ran fine too.

A fish knife!

On May 8, 1945, Allied Armies across Europe received a simple message in Morse Code. Dot Dot Dot Dash, or V for Victory. The Creek Chub Victory Bomber, circa 1946.

If a tournament angler asks you to move, find out who the tournament director is, and report them. That is grounds for DQ in any club I've been in.

I'm pretty sure everything is illegal in California, including plastic straws. So....

Monday night, Boudreaux put his lil’ 3 year old daughter Clotile to bed, tole her a story and listened to her prayers – an’ what she done said was some kinda somethin’… “God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and God bless Grandma and goodbye Paw-Paw.” Perplexed, Boudreaux asked, “Mais cher, how come you say goodbye Paw-Paw?” The little girl said, “Shoo, I don’t know, Daddy. It just seemed like the thing to do.” Paw-Paw died on Tuesday morning. You probably ain’t surprised that Boudreaux thought it was a strange coincidence. An’ then four Monday nights later Boudreaux put dat lil’ girl to bed and listened to her prayers which went like this: “God bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and goodbye Maw-Maw.” Tuesday afternoon, Maw-Maw done died. “Mais what?” thought Boudreax. “I got me a daughter what’s in contact wit’ dat other side.” Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the dad heard her say: “God bless Mommy and goodbye Daddy.” Dat done gave Boudreaux a good case o’ de frissons. He practically went into shock. He couldn’t sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay. He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day, he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound. Finally, midnight arrived, and Boudreaux breathed a sigh of relief and went home. When he got home his wife Marie said: “Mais, I never seen you work so late. What’s de matter?” “I don’t wanna talk about it,” Boudreaux replied. “I done just spent the worst day of my life.” Marie said, “Mais, you think you had a bad day, you never gon’ believe what happened to me this morning. You know Thibodeaux, de golf pro at de club? Dat po’ man, he dropped dead in the middle of my lesson.”

Chartreuse spinnerbait did it again!

I still don't believe Glenn even exists. I've never actually seen him in person, only grainy video. People have searched for him everywhere and only found footprints. He's just a hoax. Your pal, Bigfeets

WolfyBrandon

As mentioned, coming out the back is a bad seal, coming out the front, it's too much grease. Only put enough grease to cause the fitting cup to lift and float a little, no more. A set of bra's help keep it contained. Another recommended action, if you tow very far, when you get to the ramp, give them enough to float the fitting cup. That way when it hit's the cold water and all the warm grease contracts, it won't pull water in. If you grease them cold, the friction heat causes expansion and greatly increase the problem of pushing grease out.

Depending on the bait & or the presentation / technique, supersizing hooks in plastic can have a tendency to alter some of the baits 'action'. However, as long as one is still getting bit and is utilizing gear that can drive it home, may not matter. A-Jay

If those anglers were in a aluminum boat teller 40hp doing the same thing would you feel the same? Waves are waves, bad boating manners are not resevered for expensive bass boats. Tournament anglers can be a pain in the arse but so can pontoon boaters. The difference between recreational fishing on your own time table and tournament fishing on a limited time is night and day. When the tournament starts and you only have that 1 weed line to fish, someone will be on it before you get there and you need other options. Pre fishing is all about establishing multiple areas to fish with as many different presentations possible that work and elinimating water that doesn't work. Tom

I have had very few issues with other bass fishermen, or anyone for that matter. However, last Saturday dad and fished an open tournament that our club puts on. I had done some pre fishing for this event and had the bite pretty dialed in, however we were taking off about mid pack. When we got to spot #1 I was relieved to see no one was on it. This is a rail road bridge in a river, the two sides are 150 yards apart, so there is room. I’m about my third cast in with a buzzbait and another tournament guy shuts down in the middle of the river. I didn’t think anything of it, I just figured he was going to work the other corner. Naw, a whopper plopper, comes flying in front of me. I look over at him and my exact words are, “really dude!?” “I wouldn’t do that to you”. I proceeded to brush it off, keep a positive mental attitude, and catch about a 3 pounder in front of him. We had a very good day. I really wanted to have a conversation with him when it was done, just to work it out, but I seen him leave right away. I love tournament fishing, but I am not going to jeopardize the integrity of the sport bydisrespecting others. There is a lot of water to share.

4.24 Pound , 5-6 Pound and 1.5 Pound

Enough of these (fun size) around today to keep me on the water most all day. Just couldn't find any plus size models. A-Jay

Joining the swimbait game ! Also have 3 hudds comming 68 special perch and trout colors ! Can’t wait to start using them and man! These Keitechs are huge!

I've never heard it personally. On many waters up here, we're so used to fishing close quarters, these aren't big issues. I also have no problem fishing so called "stale" or "fished" waters. The worst thing I see is out on the big lakes (Ontario or Erie) and you find a spot way out in nowhere, and all of a sudden you have three or four boats around, following the bent rod pattern.

Sage Advice ~ A-Jay

On a 5" senko I use 3, 4 or 5.0 Gamakatsu EWG. Not the Superline series which are the thicker flipping hooks. I use the different hook sizes to get a faster/slower fall rate and to compensate for wind or tide. I have no problem rigging with these hooks and none affect the action of the bait. I would say that with a 6" senko I would not use anything below a 4.0.

Try the Gamakatsu Offset EWG Worm Hooks Black. Think you'll like it. A-Jay

Table Rock can beat anyone on any day. I had a trip there a few years ago I worked hard for 8 hours to catch 4 fish, 1 was 20", the other 3 wouldn't have totaled 20" if they'd been laid nose to tail. It's still one of my favorite lakes to fish though and the scenery is fantastic.

Many Bass Anglers (including myself) consider Fishing a sport or even an art; and most don’t find chumming for Bass to be very sporting. And if it’s really only about catching Bass and not how they are caught, then why not consider dynamite or electroshock equipment. because you will have your limit in no time.

I'd echo what J said that 15 is the best all around size for me. I have not had any issues with breaking or abrasion, it's been incredibly strong and difficult to break when it does get snag and I can't get it lose (SDJ knot). I've gotten several fish out of places I had no business getting them out of with 15lb line as well.

The fun of the game is figuring out how to catch them with artificial baits on that day, that hour. Chumming waters and sitting there waiting for them to come to you,would be like watching paint dry. I would rather sit home and watch TV. If that's what excites you, then go for it. For me it's just not exciting enough, and the sense of accomplishment just would not be there. If it came to that, I would give up fishing, and take up shuffleboard.

I can tell you what I use. If there is fog on the water I toss a topwater, mostly a Heddon Torpedo. The buzz is something smallies can't stand and hit it aggressively. When the fog burns off I throw a jerkbait. Could be a hard plastic jerkbait like a Rapala Husky Jerk but for me nothing beats a Zoom Fluke or some version of it. Because this time of year most of the weeds have died you can use it with an exposed hook, making it easier to hook up with the actively feeding smallies.

I'm not rising to the "bait". FM

I keep a spring loaded clip in my bag and use the clip to attach the braid to my shirt. This allows me to see and use 2 hands. Can tie the knot in 60 seconds

throw them around big rock piles

Another successful year of Fantasy Fishing on BassResource has come to a close. This year we had 92 participants battling it out. It looks like BamaBass squeaked past Ubfishy in the final event and beat him by a total of 7 points to take the season win! Congrats to the top 10 performers. 1. BamaBass 2. Ubfishy 3. xclaya 4. dirtyeggroll 5. Gundog179 6. blckshirt98 7. worminken 8. Shovelmouth83 9. nascar2428 10. yotone I hope everyone had fun and I look forward to doing it again next year!

I call those guys the spot jockeys. They're entertaining to watch at times. I'm not really sure why they're under the impression that if you don't catch a fish within a couple of casts that there aren't any fish there. I've encountered them while fishing in my kayak, but there under full speed trolling power at times. I try to keep at casting distance from my target to not spook the fish but then one of those guys will blast right thru under trolling power dropping jigs and worms and not catching crap. On more than one occasion I've thrown my lipless crankbait behind them and caught a 4-5lb bass. It's a double reward catching the bass while seeing the expression on their faces, and hearing their vocal displeasure.

When fishing a tournament I once saw another competitor tell a fisherman and his son that he "was fishing for money and they needed to move off a bank" I told the competitor and any one fishing tournaments that you must let guys that are fishing for their own enjoyment always have the right a way if they were there first. If tournament fishermen continue to mistreat recreational anglers tournaments will soon be no more. It's about having fun and respecting others - golf, (I don't play) has done a great job instilling integrity and respect into their sport - I believe bass fishermen should strive for the same levels of respect for the sport, the fish and the recreational anglers that are the bedrock of it all.

Today I caught my PB with a whopper plopper 110. 5lb 7oz and 22.5”. Keep throwing it!

A bit too windy to launch this morning. Even in the Lund

Took an old neighbor of mine fishing this past week. Her son passed away this past year and she doesn’t have access to a boat now. She’s not a novice, absolutely nuts about fishing, but all she can do is fish from shore these days. Took her out on a nice day and taught her how to skip wacky worms under docks. We had a blast, nice to see her smiling!!

Been super busy on an internal medicine cardiology rotation, so it’s been 22 days since I’ve wet a line. Had yesterday off and got a little ahead on my studying so I snuck away to a small 150 acre local lake late in the afternoon. This lake has a handful of 5+ lbers and is loaded with <2 lbers, and has the occasional pike. I got there around 5 PM and sunset is around 7:40 these days. Started off in a little arm of the lake that’s super shallow and has thick grass and caught one on a frog. Fished a lot of grass around the lake without another sniff until I made it around to the old creek channel lined by standing timber. Made a cast to the outside treeline with a shaky head in about 4 ft of water, when my line kept looking like it was sinking like it is was much deeper. I reeled down a little and the line took off sideways. I’m thinking it’s a little dink or panfish carrying it off so I give a weak little half hookset and the line goes tight and doesn’t budge at first but then tugs a little. It really felt like whatever was on there had me wrapped in the timber. Then I notice I am making progress toward me, but it still feels the same and I realize it must be a decent fish, although it had the dragging feeling like a stick. Bzzzzt!!! Starts peeling drag (luckily away from the timber) and the fight is on. Whatever it is it just feels heavy and doesn’t seem to be giving a lot of head shakes, not really like a bass, but more like cat fish or a pike or walleye. I finally get it close to the boat when it surfaces and to my surprise it IS a nice bass. After a few more dives under the boat I net my new PB for this lake 4.21lbs. As the sun started to set the surface activity really started to pick up so I threw a frog at a grass line near the creek channel and caught 5 more ~2lbers. Fun evening.

Chloe is ready to go fishing!

Hope you are using a spinning outfit trying to cast a Thin Fin 06, it weighs 1/5 oz with aerodynamics of a patato chip! Tom

Found a little feeding frenzy this morning!

Keeping it simple and basic... Respooled the old green Curado last weekend with some fluorocarbon and then hit the water with deep cranks tied on. Worked like a charm ?

I just ordered a Curado K 8.3. It is replacing the 5 year old Curado on my worm rod that has been acting up. Don't worry about the old curado though. I'm going to bring it to the shop to have it reworked, when I get it back, I'll have no choice but to buy another rod to put it on.

Got to Caney Lakes upper side around 5:30pm this evening. Started off a little slow but caught a nonscorable bass, a 1lb bass and a 2lb catfish on a 1/4oz weighted Texas rigged sapphire blue Z Craw. Then a little while later caught a 1lb bass on a dark green pumpkin Project Z chatterbait with the deal colored Z Man Razor Shad. Hooked into another one but it came unhooked before I could land it. It was getting close to time to go because my girlfriend got back to pick me up around 8:30pm. We smoked a cigarette before leaving. I had changed out my Project Z to my junebug @Siebert Outdoors fogy with the sapphire blue Z Craw trailer while we smoked. I bombed it out there and a 3lb 7oz hawg hammered it. After getting her unhooked and pics taken, next cast out to the same spot another hawg of at least the same size hammered it also. Lost her at the boat dock though. Bummer! A few casts later, same fogy, another 1lber smashed it and when I got it up out of the water it shook off my bait and skittered across the dock back into the water. Another bummer! It's ok though, I had a great evening/night of fishing. Hooked into 8, landed 5 of them. I'm gonna have to stock up on those sapphire blue Z Craws. Them things seem to be what the bass want right now, along with a junebug Sieberts fogy! ?

When your student throws his chatterbait before you even deploy your TM 4.7 LM 4.0 SM

Made the long5 hour Drive to the Maine house. Unloaded grabbed a bite and headed to the river. Got 7 smallies the best weighing 3-14 on a bps bargain bin popper

Good one

I’ll add another vote for the red eye shad

I’ve got several DC 150’s. Really enjoyomg them.

Red Eye Shad

I delivered something to my friend who teaches at St. Michael's Upper School at the end of Hobbyhill Road and their pond is like coffee and cream. At one time the pond was a great place to fish as it was difficult to access. You had to fight your way through the brush from Trinity High School's parking lot. Very few people did this. Now you can drive, park, and fish the pond from the bank as St. Michael's constructed their Upper School adjacent to the pond. I have no idea if there are bass in the pond although rumor has it that St. Michael's did stock it after it was drained during construction. So if you are in the greater Bon Air, Virginia area and want to try your luck in a new pond check out St. Michael's Upper School on Hobbyhill Road and give it a try. You can find the location on St. Michael's Internet site and Google directions as it is not an easy place to find. Even my WAZE unit got confused. So get a paper map if possible or Google driving directions and make notes. Let us know how you do. There is a gate at the entrance onto the school that I think may be closed on weekends and holidays, but I am not certain. Anyway, you can hop over the gate if you want to.

I opted out of the Rapp this weekend and went to Lake Anna instead. I was thoroughly disappointed. There were so many pleasure boats out it was like the middle of summer. Ski boats, Pontoons, fishing boats and wake surfing boats galore. There was a stiff wind and a triathlon or something at the state park that blocked off a lot of the water. My biggest concern was the algae bloom. There have been no-swim advisories up in the rivers all summer but I was surprised to see THICK algae down past mid lake in some of my favorite spots. Seemed like where there was algae, there were -0- fish. I think the almost maxed out development on the lake is taking it's toll. We got into the most fish by drifting the drops being rocked by wind, waves and boats, throwing to pods of fish chasing bait. Keeping in mind 1/2 of the lake was unfishable due to the wind. Positive thing was that I got to run my boat good long distances and blow out all the carbon. The Rapp will be my next trip after I do some maintenance on the boat. Got to replace a part on my oiling system that has been cobbled together, my glovebox fell open on my haul to Wisconsin and broke the hinges. Big story of the weekend came from a buddy who caught a 9.83 on the Chick.