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Late report, been a crazy busy week. 1AM as I'm writing it as is what I guess is the end of my Wednesday still and have to be back in to start my Thursday in a little over 6 hours. Fished a new to me lake Saturday. Got a roadrunner tournament coming up that I thought was the same as last years but found out it's completely different. Last year, we could fish in 3 different counties, any public body of water. This year, it's any state lake in Kansas, which rules out all of my favorite lakes as all of our state lakes within a reasonable drive of me are absolute garbage. So now I'm scrambling, trying to find a state lake that is at least decent to hopefully make a good showing in this tournament. Made the 2 hour drive to this lake, caught probably 40 fish but the biggest was only 17.25". Maybe it had the fish I will need, but the bank pressure was insane. It was only a 90 acre lake but there was no less than 20 shore anglers from the time we arrived at 5:30AM. It made a small lake even smaller. One of the state lakes I like but isn't particularly known for it's numbers of big fish was on the way back, so we decided to head there with a few hours left in the day to fish. I like the lake because they eat the jig, and sometimes I catch a good one there. This time, I got both.

Come fishing with me and you wont have to worry about gut hooking fish, and you will get a full day of casting practice.

Women were banned from fishing the Bassmaster professional trail all the way into the early 90s. Roland’s first wife, Mary Ann, once tried to enter a B.A.S.S. tournament, but Scott tore up the check, proclaiming that, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before a woman ever fishes one of my tournaments.” If the Feds hadn’t stepped in and forced the issue, there’s no telling when/if women would have eventually been allowed. Helen Sevier tried to open up the BASS trail to women a couple years prior when she owned the org. and was met with fierce opposition and protests, and eventually had to back down. It was pretty obvious the women weren’t welcome there (to compete). Ironically though, as I understand it, BASS still gladly accepted their membership checks during this time. Women’s tours like Bass’n Gal were in their prime in the 80s, and I have no doubt a few of their top professional pros could have competed back then against the men if allowed. Many of the women had no desire to compete against the guys, but a few wanted to. Most women simply didn’t have enough time on the water to compete effectively, but anglers like Chris Houston (Jimmy’s wife), Linda England/Fredda Lee, and Burma Thomas had both the experience and the sponsorship backing to have made it work. Glenn just posted above a few others that were very competitive and successful in other local and regional circuits that did allow women. Another name you could add to that list was Elaine Vickers, who won the all-around individual title in the 1959 Texas State Bass Tournament, I believe the only woman to have done so in some 65+ years of competition. Presently, given the format setup and the level of competition to try and grab the few available slots the major tours open up, I don’t see any women being able to qualify for the tour. I could possibly see the BPT selectively inviting someone based on their history of selecting who gets in. I don’t see it happening at all on the Bassmaster circuit since they moved to a 9 event qualifying process. Perhaps if they did similar to the past and created an exemption slot or two, similar to the legends exemption they still allow, or the old WBT exemption when BASS had a women's tour. Having a couple anglers like Kristine and Hilary (Scott Martin’s daughter) on tour would be a big industry and PR positive IMO.

So I haven’t been able to fish the last few months. Even my fishing license had expired. So a buddy of mine wanted to go night fishing the other night. So I said what the heck got my fishing license, 4 rods ready to go for the big night. Within an hour, I broke a rod and two hours later, major rat nest in my reel. Needless to say, can’t wait to get out there again. Just wanted to share.

Usually I go to the pond in the early morning before work, but decided to try my luck on the river today instead. Made it to the spot about 6 AM, and right away caught a fish. I didn't know I had a fish until I got my lure back in because he was so small. I thought I had just wrapped my line around one of the trebles or something. I then absolutely set the crap out of that lure on a submerged log and had to break off. 😭 So I switched to top water. Lost one right away, but then hooked another at the very end of about 100 yards of line downstream. I doubt it was actually that far down, but it was a long way off. Not a monster, but what with the fish using a pretty strong current to fight me, and having that much line out, it was the longest fight of my life. Poor fella was worn the heck out, but he seemed to revive pretty quick and splashed me as he swam off. After about 30 minutes of fruitless casting, I switched to a #5 Mepps Black Fury. Another absolutely tiny dink bit. I finished the morning with the Crush City Mayor on Owner's underspin hook. Missed two fish who seemed to have lazily swiped at it. Then I finally hooked into a really good one. A nice 16" smallmouth that leap as high as I've ever seen a fish jump. Twice. But EWGs hold really good, and I landed him with no problems.

Texas Rigged Why: Nadine likes em

Strange nobody has mentioned the LBAA yet (Ladies Bass Anglers Association) - A female-only pro tournament organization. It's been around for decades. My wife competed in it as well as the WBA (Women's Bass Association) which was a short-lived all-female tournament organization ran by B.A.S.S. Many great anglers in those organizations - Melinda Mize, who now runs marketing for Bajio sunglasses, and Pamela Marten-Wells who made it into the Classic. Kim Bain is another outstanding pro angler that also competed in the Elites. There are many more - too many to list. FTR (Fishing Tackle Retailer), which is THE fishing industry publication, is owned by Angie Thompson, who was part of the original executive team that developed the FLW Tour. She was also VP of sales for B.A.S.S. Then there's Samatha Gay, a former pro angler who is still very active in the fishing industry. And of course, my dear friend Carol Martens, Aaron Martens mother. It was actually HER that was big into fishing and got Aaron into it. The two competed for 10 years as a team, winning many championships. Then they both competed individually and won many more tournaments and championships. I've had the pleasure of fishing with Carol several times, and she's a sunrise-to-sunset diehard angler, even in her 70's! She has also written numerous articles for BassResource. That's a start.

My confidence is in the next new bait I just can't live without. I can't catch them with what I got, but that new bait I saw on You Tube will turn me in to a pro. Now that's confidence.

I have confidence in my knowledge of bass and how they relate to structure and baitfish seasonally. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😎😎😎 Baits? Yeah they're fun! Just about all of them in the right circumstances are dynamite when presented with skill which simply takes some practice. Pick ones that look fun and throw only that every day until you can catch bass on it! You'd be amazed how well this works.

When it comes to fishing, the word 'confidence' means mental bias to me. I try very hard not to have mental biases. I don't start with tackle; I start with a hypothetical fish. For example, I might say to myself that there is a fish on this point. She's in 10 feet of water, facing into the current, on the backside of the point. She would probably enjoy a shad for lunch. Maybe it's just an educated guess that the fish is there, or maybe I can see the fish on my electronics. Once I have a target in mind, I start thinking about how I can present a shad imitation to that fish. What bait will imitate a shad at the desired depth? Do I have the line, rod, and reel to fish the bait? I think it's a common mistake to start with your 'confidence' tackle and look for a fish you can catch with that tackle. I should add that while I try very hard not to have mental biases, I know I still do. It’s human nature.

Pat Don’t know what your favorite is, but if you haven’t already give the Culprit Fax Max a try. Trust Me Nadine’s sister Bertha Loves those Magnum UV Speed Worms!!

@PhishLI suggested a Snagless Sally after reading about how I had a bass break my spinnerbait in two. So, I bought five. If I manage to fish this evening, I'm going to give Ol' Sal a try. I think I can pitch it into just about anything. Here's Sally:

Since we are couple, Now I am purchasing two of everything 😅

Slow day today. Slick calm, mostly sunny, and clear water. This chunky 34.75" smoked my spinner in the 8 early on, then I only managed three follows the rest of the day.

Suggestion: add a Zoom Swimmin Chunk. Thread it on like the spoon below. When Uncle Josh made their swimming chunk I used that.

Amen. I'm totally old school. Some of my reels are more than 30 years old and some of my lures are 50 years old. P. S. - I'm also old too.

Thanks, Gimruis. You are definitely not a he-man woman-hater like Spanky:

I ordered a Zillion from Digikita a couple years ago. It got to my address in the states in three days. I did not have to pay any shipping or duty. My only complaint is it was way to easy, and the price to cheap. The Bait Monkey has been on my back whispering Zillion Japan in to my ear, over and over every day for over two years now. Before you buy a reel from Japan, remember the road to bankruptcy starts with one small step.

I'm a big ribbon tail worm with a heavier weight and larger hook on heavier line kinda guy but I also very much like a stick bait on braid weightless or a shaky head trick worm. Hard to beat fishing worms if you like catching bass and not just practicing your casting.

12" Zoom Magnum Ol'Monster with a 6/0 EWG hook weightless. The worm not only catches BIG bass but also stays together even after multiple fish. I can usually catch 5 or more bass on 1 worm. So it does have a sorta economical side to it lol

Late hookset = more time for the fish to swallow the bait. That's a given BUT I've had them swallow the bait instantly on the hit. Those gut hooked fish softened you up. Might go bigger on the hook and flatten down the barb. Hook pulls right out with least damage. I like the ewg offset. The idea on the ewg offset is that it might grab something before going lower into the throat. Get your confidence back. Shake it off.

They're a legit brick & mortar family owned shop on Lake Lanier in Georgia. Been around forever. Not the first to misspell Daiwa, and they probably mispronounce it just like they spell it. https://www.hammondsfishing.com/pages/our-story (Not an endorsement of security on their website, just saying it's a legit business)

I have the advantage of a PhD thumb - really, it's a reflex - casting Ambassadeur weightless 40 years ago, understanding the physics of casting and backlash implicity, long history of tinker-casting 100-y-o NLW reels for grins. (hump photo dropped from link below) I build my own reels, and know how to set fixed mag for the lightest thing I'm going to throw, and fixed centrifugal for the heaviest. Done, nothing to adjust again, it will never backlash. Stock Zillion SVTW, Stock 1016 SV Boost spool, 12-lb fluoro, I get consistent 90' casts with 1/8 oz. That should be a target for you, set your mag brake there, and don't mess with it again. If you leave it there, you should be getting longer reliable casts with heavier weights. The rod loading properly is always part of the result - if the rod won't load the light weight, you can't blame the reel. If you want lighter and farther, for now, go to the spinning tackle. Later, you may want to consider an aftermarket spool that will let you set up an ML reel with threadline braid or lighter fluoro. But you don't want to go here until backlash is history.

One of the most impressive skills in bass fishing is being able to remove a backlash like a pro. The only way to get proficient at such a revered skill, is lots of practice. Backing the brake off of a bait caster for no good reason, is a rite of passage for all serious bass anglers. Nothing like the feeling of being on the very edge of a total blowup, just one notch away from complete free spool, and launching a perfect cast 20 feet up the bank, trying to catch that elusive air breathing four legged walking black bass. That one extra long cast is worth picking out a dozen back lashes.

Long, lean 44" today. I also lost a high 30's and had four follows. This fish didn't have much belly, but it was thick across the back and has a big head. Kinda makes me think it's a big male. Time's running out on me to achieve my goal of 100 ski's over 30" in my first full year of chasing them. I only have six more days to fish before August 10th, and I'm currently 14 fish short. I need to go on a tear.

Alright guys and gals. I'm having a serious problem. And it's getting really upsetting. So weird too. Here's the backstory.... I never fished t-rigs. Blasphemy...I know. Just never had luck until this year. Then it quickly became my favorite technique. Weightless. Used it around memorial day weekend and never looked back. Been catching the most fish iv ever caught. No issues. 7-8 fish in a quick 3 hour morning trip. Then boom. I'm out in early July and I gut hooked somthing like 3 out of 4 fish. Got pretty down. Must be having an of day? Delayed reaction time? I don't know. Got a bit busy with work and didn't fish for a few weeks. Got out this weekend...gut hooked 3 more fish. Whats going on? Out of no where. And it's not like a 1 time deal. It's happened enough that in such a short time somthing is up. I'm not doing anything different which is why I'm troubled. I had assumed I was delaying my hookset. It's pretty common for me to feel a few tick ticks before setting the hook. Never had an issue that way. Tried setting the hook early and now I'm just not catching fish. It really gets me down. I'm not trying to hurt these fish. And I'm almost nervous to throw a weightless trig now. I find it so extremely odd though that it just started happening with such consistency out of no where. Not really sure how to proceed. I gave it quite a bit of thought. And I got two possibilities in my head. Trying to make sense of it. 1) I'm waiting to long to set the hook. Which honestly dosent make sense to me since I'm not doing anything different. But maybe. 2) I tend to use smaller worms or creature baits. Did the fish just start engulfing these lures that by the time I feel them they are already swallowing it? I really don't know but I need help. I feel really guilty and don't want to throw a trig again til I figure this out.

I don't need confidence because I'm not afraid to fail.

Got out to the lake this morning, didn't get much of anything for an hour, and then it came an absolute flood. Waited it out in my car and moved down the lake and spotted a bass chasing some small bream in the grass bed. Problem was I would have to cast over a very thick pile to get to it and there would be no way to lip or net it there. So I decided if I hooked it, I would work it down the bank and into an opening in the grass that led to some rocks to step on so I did that and kept my rod up while fighting it to keep enough tension on it. Paid off. 7'0 Lew's Speed Stick handled it beautifully. I missed a good one the other day so it was nice to get this one in.

Depends on where you order them from - I get my Digitaka orders delivered in 3-4 days.

Recently moved to a new apartment complex, and there is a huge pond out in front of it. Decided to go give it a try. Caught 5 large mouth and even a couple catfish, nothing huge, but decent fish.

I've never had a floater. Then, again, I fish very shallow water. I've heard that bass sometimes don't fare well from coming up from the depths. I know Josh Jones says he's had a number of floaters out at O.H. Ivie, which is a bummer because he usually brings up giants! If they come in bleeding badly, I usually put them back in the water before hook removal, long enough to settle things down. They all seem to swim off lively. If they're bleeding that bad, or if unsure about things, it's better to just cut the line as close to hook as possible and toss them back.

texas rig for me (weighted and pegged in my case) Lots of grass here from may to October so an open hook is a non starter. Depth ranges 0-20' so covering all of that efficiently with one setup means weighted. Beavers have been my best for a while (get through grass and pads efficiently, can pitch them into wood, can also fish them hopped on the bottom).

Copy Pasted my response to basically the same question in another thread recently: 'Gut hooking fish. If you fish a lot - it happens to you. No angler likes to see it - but eventually you come to expect it to some degree. Baits I have killed bass with for no reason whatsoever that I could even detect (blood pumping out of the fish profusely even though the bait was in a lip): Chatterbait Spinnerbait Buzzbait Football Jig Lipless Crankbait Squarebill Frittside Many Jerkbaits of various sizes and brands. Baits I have gut hooked bass with (hooked the skin at the back of the mouth past the chompers resulting in a fish death): Weightless Plastic Football Jig Frog Popper Lipless Crankbait Squarebill Frittside Jerkbaits Basically I have seen fish that should have died do well and make it AND I've hooked fish in the lip that nicked themselves grabbing the bait in some way that was fatal. We don't have a ton of control over the situation - we just driving a hook point into an animal that's biting our presentation. What you can do if you care is bend the barbs down on your hooks. This will ultimately completely eliminate gut hooking a fish. The ones that nick themselves fatally going for the bait? Yeah I got nothing there. It's a freak show every time that happens and it sucks. The best thing we can do in any of these unfortunate situations is honor the animals life by taking her home and nourishing our bodies or our gardens with her. Leaving her for the turtles is okay too - nature spares nothing. I just prefer to take em home and feed my family.' It's just one of the not so fun realities of sticking hooks into a living things head and or throat and then wearing them out with a long arduous fight. Sometimes they don't make it. Get back out there and keep fishing. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😎😎😎

Wrist-snap is the worst bad habit people bring from spinning tackle. It comes out at the worst possible time - when the desire is to cast farther, because that's what always worked with spinning tackle. If you read my linked primer above and analyze your backlash, you can figure it out.

4 inch yum dinger, weightless, texposed on an EWG. Put it in wood, drag over pads and drop in holes, skip under bushes and docks.

Don't beat yourself up too much over it. It's part of fishing. Sometimes, you're gonna gut hook fish no matter what you do. I've gut hooked plenty of fish while burning or trolling a crankbait, so you'd think they had no time to swallow it, but apparently they do. Sometimes it's something you can adjust to correct. Sometimes it's not. But yeah. Watch your line. Sometimes you can't feel a bite, but you'll notice something going on with your line that's not right. Like maybe it should have hit bottom by now, but didn't, or the line is slacking faster than it should. Basically, anytime you see or feel something that doesn't seem right, set the hook. As they say (or something along these lines), "I don't know what a bite feels like, but I know what not a bite feels like. So anything that's not not a bite, gets a hookset".

I like a ribbon or curly tailed worm, Texas rigged. The main reason I use it is, it works for me catching fish. Two, it’s weedless, hardly ever snags. There’s a ton of stuff in the water here.

You can not run fast enough to give me a rod with EVA grips.

@gimruis it likes to play it self off as a bass, but it’s no micropterus. Rock bass are Ambloplites, and they share that genus with a couple of somewhat rare centrarchids. They all compete to be the weakest fighting fish, a title known as the rock bass cup.

That’s raw. It’s astonishing to me that would even occur. But I was just a kid at that time too. I had no idea there was such animosity towards it. Quite honestly I find it to be shameful, low, and disrespectful too. Not that it matters 30 years after the fact though.

Then don't do that. Cast with the lightest thing you're ever going to cast, and set your mag dial to prevent mid-cast backlash. You're done - you'll never get another mid-cast backlash. OK, if you're casting into the wind, add 2 notches on the mag dial. If you're getting start-up backlash, it's because you're snapping your wrist and jerking the spool - don't do that either - you want smooth acceleration and follow-through. Spinning tackle rewards wrist-snap jerk with extra distance. On a baitcaster, wrist-snap is start-up backlash - on a fly rod, wrist snap is a tailing loop that crashes the line into the rod. ^ This Means Something ^ Make sure you don't F with the spool tension knob, aka Zero Adjust - its purpose is to set Zero side play and Zero end tension on the spool. You do not adjust a Daiwa Zillion the same way you adjust a 1980 Lew's - ignore the people who tell you to. I have 2 fixed-inductor spools that the inductors are so light, I run them at 12 to 14. And they both cast 2 g past 130' v horse hockey v

Haha they're definitely fun. It's a perfect bass fishing scenario- my farm has a 1.5 acre pond that we stocked with 4 1lb lmb about 10 years ago and it has a ton of native bluegill, craws and crappie as it sits alongside the Cape Fear River and is fed by it when it floods. I try to not fish in it, but sometimes I throw around a popper on the aforementioned pflueger and its usually a fish every cast. At one point we had at least 3 lmb over 10 and now I'd say the average size is about 2-4lb since we relocated the big ones. A few weeks ago I invited a fishing buddy out and between the two of us got roughly 35 fish in a little under 2 hours just throwing poppers. I attached 2 pics of the bigger ones. Not sure on weight but they had some heft. What's the best way to contact you? I have a few reels that definitely need servicing and we don't have anyone local.

It sounds like a light cleaning would keep you trion going. If you’re up to tackle it I’ll offer whatever help I can. Don’t throw the reel away. Worst case I’ll give you a little something as a parts reel.

yeah, a zillion vs an SLX isn't even a choice.

There are less professional anglers (folks who actually make a good living) than MLB baseball players, and just about every other major professional sport. Do you realize how many men try and fail at becoming professional anglers? There are roughly 100 Elite Series spots, and roughly 80 BPT spots. Female derby anglers make up less than a percentage point of all those anglers at the Invitational (MLF) and Open (BASS) levels trying to qualify for the Elites or BPTs. The reason more women aren't represented in pro fishing is because very, very, very few women try to make it. Nothing is holding women back, sponsors would love to sponsor them, tournament organizations would love to have them, and ultimately male professional anglers would respect them if they earned their ticket to the Elites or BPTs on meritocracy.

Don't get the Zillion unless you're prepared to be ruined by that reel. If the Zillion is a choice, then there really isn't a choice, the Zillion is all that and then some.

I'd go Zillion. I don't like fluorocarbon lines in that diameter with centrifugal brake reels. You will almost certainly have to run some spool tension to slow the spool which defeates the purpose of getting a centrifugal reel in the 1st place. It also stiffens up the reel retrieve and puts unecessary wear on the brass shims under the palm plate spool bearing and handle side plate causing dimpling. Also the Zillion can skip. Kind of a big deal for a bottom contact rod to me.

The last 2 days I’ve stopped at my favorite retention pond after work. Day 1 was being harassed by the bluegill throwing a spinner bait so went back an hour later with an ultralight and caught 1 bass. Day 2 yesterday brought a light powered rod with a VMC marabou jig and picked up 3 bass, a crappie, a bluegill and 1 really nice bass for the size of the retention pond. The biggest one was my first catch and it was a blast on the light powered rod 😃