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Yeah if they're biting something - I'm sharing with everyone and telling them where to throw it. No fun not sharing. 😎😎😎🎣🎣🎣

If I start catching fish and the other person in my boat is not I gladly offer up what I’m using to get them on fish too. I want my boat to catch fish.

Another couple days of slow fishing this weekend. Fished dawn until 1pm with my son and a friend of his on Saturday. I only caught a few 1.5-2.5# largemouth, my son caught a nice smallie that was long and surprisingly light at 3.4# (take a look at the photo and tell me what you think the two dents could be from?). Wes’ buddy caught only one 1# largemouth early on. The boys are both 14 and when the fishing proved to be slow they got acting goofy, not listening and then Wes was whining about how hot it was (it wasn’t hot). His friend was casting very aggressively and thought all the bluegill nibbles were big bass he had to violently hookset then say oh, I missed it that was big. I tried to coach him a bit, but he didn’t listen so I gave up and concentrated on not drowning anyone. 🙄😒#yerbugginme Sunday I took a good friend and his 13yo. son to a favourite small lake. My friend used to fish the lake with his dad, and his son had only been there once before when he was young. They were great guests and it was a pleasure to take them to experience that together. His son has a great sense of humour and despite slow fishing he stayed in good spirits. We had some good natured ribbing when he declared it a tournament and kept changing the rules when I was winning. It was a weird day and seemed I caught the first and only fish at each new spot, then there’d be no other bites so we’d move to a new weed bed or hump and I’d do it again even when I hung back and let my guests take a few casts first.🤷🏼‍♂️ I caught 1/2 doz. including one solid bass and a pike that could swim through the eye of a needle - he had some gill damage (not from me) and was obviously struggling, but still fought like a pike does. My buddy got 1 pike and unfortunately his son struck out (had one pike bite him off, that was it). I’ll be trying again to get his young lad out for a better day. 🤞🏻

I launched at a small, boggy pond this morning, the pond where I caught my PB last spring. I have gone there again and again looking to catch that girl again or her big sister, but other than a few four-pounders, I have failed to dance with a big mama. This morning appeared to be perfect conditions with calm and fog. I caught 26 total, but my first 16 were the size of this bass, which was my first: Finally, my 17th bass was bigger: I was working weed fields: My 19th bass was solid too: I also caught some that were short, but fat: And one more thick fish. The requisite pretty pic: I finished the morning like I started, with another cookie cutter, smallish bass:

Took the family to the lake Sunday to meet my MIL with her pontoon and jetski. We got there a little before the rest of the group and caught some fish before they showed up. Once they were there, the kids hopped onto the pontoon to go swimming with their cousins. It was triple digit heat indexes but not awful with a good amount of wind blowing. Mrs. Blue and I had the rare chance to get out and fish by ourselves and the fish were more than willing to bite despite the heat. Not a lot of bigger fish, but lots of biters and hard pullers.

Black bucktail, banana head jig with a black Uncle Josh pork eel caught this one in 1976. Still works today!

The key word you used in my eyes is 'friend'. If it's a friend of mine, not only is it okay, but I'll do everything but cast their rod in hopes we both catch fish. Not much point to fishing with a friend if you aren't willing to share knowledge, baits, and locations.

Everything I fish is “oldschool”😎 Tom

If I’m getting them on a particular bait and my fishing partner doesn’t have one, I’m giving him one of mine. It’s happened many times. Same thing the other way. My fishing partners often share baits with me when they are working. One of the reasons I’m not a fan of fishing as a competition, is because I don’t see my competitors sharing baits that are working with me so I can catch more.

I'm with Alex, Pat, Al, and GRiver. I'll even hand you my rod if I only have one of the hot lure. If you're in my boat, I want you to succeed. Like Pat, I'll tell you where to cast too...if you want the help. If you don't catch fish in the bow of my canoe, I'll feel like I failed, regardless of what I catch.

Omnia's having a Labor Day sale - 20% off sitewide with code LABORDAY20

@WRB thats cuz we're old school!

Heddon- Torpedo, Crazy Crawler, Zarra spook, dying flutter Rebel - Minnow, Spoon bill minnow, Pop R, Jumpin Minnow, Deep WeeR Fred Arbogast - Hulla Popper, Jiterbug, Mud bug Bomber - Long A, Model A 7A, 6A, 5A, Fat Free Shad Norman - Deep Little N, DD 22, Fat boy Cotton Cordel - Spot, Red fin, Big O Bill Lewis- Rattle Trap H&H spinnerbait Mans- 1 minus, Jelly worm, Little George, Deep 20 30 Mister twister- Phenom worm Creme - Scoundrel Here are a few I have or have had. I'm sure there are many more great old baits that still work today.

Charlie Brewer Slider/worm and Buck Perry Spoonplugs and related baits…but what do you consider “old school?” Shad Raps are now over 40 years old and still work great, as are similar cranks like the Bomber Model A. So many baits I could list that are still made and sold.

I fished my pond for two hours this afternoon. Less than ideal conditions, as it was sunny and mid-day, but I managed to catch nine bass and because I only caught nine, I'll show them all. The first was 18", caught on a Molix titanium spinnerbait. It looks great in the water, BUT it only caught five bass before breaking, which is worse than my less expensive stainless steel spinnerbaits. I own another four of the Molix spinnerbaits and I sure hope they outlast my first one. Speaking of first, here's that first bass, caught on my second cast. A chunky girl: The second Molix spinnerbait bass also came about five feet from the shoreline. Not as long as the first at 17 inches, but also thick: Then I caught three smaller bass, all on the Molix. Timeout for a pretty pic! I then caught a dink. YIKES! The next one was an upgrade. This bass was short, but thick and powerful. Again and again, she tried to reach the woody bushes on the shoreline. I finished strong. I wish they'd just hang when I lip and grip them, but they're nearly always twisting and flopping. They fight in the water, in the net, and in my hands. I caught three of the final four on an underspin with a chartreuse Crush City Mayor. By the final fish, I had bit off the head of the the Mayor and lost the spinner blade. I also caught one bass on a wacky worm. I lost a nice lmb who jumped and a rare (for my pond) smallie on its third jump. I wish I'd landed that smallie because all the uncommon smallies from my pond are fat. I'm fishing the fog tomorrow morning and I am super excited about that! Fingers crossed for a big girl.

All of the above But the ones that stand out to me… Black Jitterbug with orange dots Hula Popper Mepps anything Beetle-spins A plain ol worm Mike

If, like many of us, you fish plastic worms, spinnerbaits, or top waters, etc, your fishing old school lures. Almost everything we fish today is the same, or a slight variation of a lure that was invented at least fifty years ago. Today's baits have better hooks, better paint, better skirts etc, but the concept is the same.

Still ain't got enough likes For years it was a friend of mine, now it's my grandson Aiden. When one of us is on, y'all in trouble. When both of us are on, y'all donated your entry fee!

Mepp's in-line spinners. The Aglia and Squirrel Tail versions will catch just about anything that's worth catching.

I don’t see anything wrong switching to the same. I will offer if I have extra usually, they will do the same.

Maybe a green heron? They prowl right along the bank in shallow water.

So you think this bass thought that this lure would fit?

Woody is right. I don't know the names of lures like most do at Bass Resource, but I can hit the pockets without making a racket. Some pockets are so small that it doesn't matter what lure you're using. Bass in tight quarters don't have time to study a lure. Their bite is a reaction. I've caught many fish where I felt I'd cast into their mouths. The lure hit the water and the bass was hooked. I fish best when I cast without thinking. If I think, "Gosh, that spot is tight," I might not hit it. Here's where I fish. I hit the opening or I don't, just as the bass hit my bait or they don't, as they've only a quarter second to do so: You'll see in many of my bass pics where my canoe is up against a shoreline. The bass pull me there and they're not pulling me from the middle of the pond/bog, as I'm nearly always close to shorelines. They're in cubbies, waiting to ambush. An ambush is a reflexive attack. If you can't hit the cubbies, you can't catch 45/55/65/75 bass in Maine many mornings.

Well, that's a wrap on my Traverse City trip! I caught some big fish, but it took a lot of patience to get them. The area I was in on the Old Mission Peninsula has a shallow shelf that extends 100-200' from shore and slowly descents to about 10' of depth, before dropping precipitously into over 100' of water. A lot of this shelf is just bare sand, but there are areas of rock, boulders and short vegetation. The drop-off tends to be pure sand, but in some areas has biocrust or that very short grass. I was able to catch fish both in the shallow rocks and on the drop. In the shallows, I mostly caught them in the morning. The edge seemed to be any time. I never caught more than 2 fish in the same spot at the same time, though I did find a spot in the shallows where I caught 3 fish over 4 days. It looked just like everyplace else in that rock garden, not sure why they liked that spot. Along the dropoff is where I might catch 2 fish within a couple casts. The spots that held fish were either points or pockets in the dropoff, or areas where the drop was more gradual or created a little shelf of sorts, especially those with some plant life, even if it was sparse. Spot on the spot. Despite trying many different baits, I caught 1 fish on a hula grub, one on a Ned TRD and one on a swimbait. The rest were all on a drop shot, and all of those were on a Berkley Flatworm. Thanks for the help folks.

My new Twin Power C3000XG on GCX 853S.

We have a WINNER!!!

Yup, when I take people out, it's all about putting fish in the boat. I'll intentionally have us all start out on different baits. But when I see a pattern, we all switch and all have fun. Never a competition in my boat.

Creek Chub Pikie Minnow, Arbogast Hula Dancer, Heddon Sonic, Bass Oreno, Tin Liz (if I still had any), Johnson Silver Minnow, River Runt, Johnsonite Feathered Spoon.

This happens when my Father fishes with me frequently. The difference is that he regularly refuses to change his approach because he’s old and stubborn.

Depends on how bad I want to catch a fish 😉 Nothing wrong going either route.

I know this one! A black Jitterbug. I've had a lot of anglers call it an old fashioned lure.

The talons tell me that's some sort of predatory bird...... quite an aggressive bass. Check out this aggressive bluegill I caught this morning. Just hanging on to the tail of keitech trailer, not even close to the hook.

This thread got me to thinking. In it, the OP is outfished. If you were fishing and a friend was tearing them up on a given lure, would it be improper/rude to change lures and tie on a similar/identical model? Or do you keep using something else so as to not step on their toes?

If it fits it ships.

👍 I fished a lot of Team Tournaments where both anglers are only allowed to weigh 5 bass total. One angler is allow to catch 4, the other has to catch 1. A key to winning is having 2 anglers with similar skill sets. Once a pattern is established the 2 switch to the same lures & hammer on em.

I'm turning the boat and not giving them clean water. I'm keeping all of the juice for myself. -"Majority of boaters I've had in tournaments"

I don't if there's some weird etiquette you should follow, but if I was tearing them up and you weren't, I'd be begging you to do what I was doing.

@NorthernBasser has a good answer. My case could just be me, decades of IM6/GL2. From finesse jerkbaits to Mirrolure, I stick more fish on a moderate mid. It's not in the tip or the length, because I've had big success on 8'6" GL2, 8'2" Lami Classic Glass, and 8'2" Yamaga Blanks (even a 9' Lami G1000 ML). I added a Valleyhill solid tip MH, 7'5", which casts a quarter-oz into next week, but the XF mid is just too fast for the way I like to work the bait. When I put that rod down and fish my 7' Crowder IM6, I stick more fish. The one place I prefer XF mid is metal slow jigs (which I fish down to 3 g and 25 mm in winter).

Spinnerbaits - legendary

No because as soon as I change to what is working, the bite on that bait will shut down. I would not want to ruin my friends fishing, even though I no he will brag about the day his favorite lure out fished my whole tackle box for many years to come. I will just smile knowing I did the right thing. If the situation is reversed, I will cut my lure off and give it to him to use. I know if it can work for me, it is a special day with a very special lure and will work even better for a fellow angler.

Thanks, yeah it was an easy process. Never made a return through them before. Just gotta drop it off at a UPS.

Didn't have one with me or I would have.

I don’t know how improper it is. To each his own. But you could tie what he has on and still do nothing. I love fishing with my two older grandsons. That’s regardless of how well we do that day. But while fishing none of us has the same bait or color tied on. I believe the multiple looks has some advantage or possible advantage.

Improvise, adapt, overcome.

This is what I thought of, but I didn't know the name of it. I can see a young one going down to the water's edge after a sunfish, and a big bass going after it.

I wouldn't ask the other guy if he has another bait, but if you already have one just like it in your tackle bag then I say go for it.

Thanks for sharing Ski. Reminds me of my grandson. If it doesn’t move he eats it, if it does he kicks it.

Tried and True baits? 1000% Tried and true locations? 1000% Presentation is where I get them to slip up and I pride myself on trying to fully appreciate and exploit the nuance of making my baits dance in funny ways they ain't seen 😉 Why? Because I am of the mind that certain baits always work with certain conditions and I got that dialed in pretty good depending on how the fish are setting up on my lakes. No point in messing with it when it works.

Got some *catching* up to do 😏😏😏😏 Got some fish on my Bobby's Perfect Frog in the 'Hot Mess color yesterday middle of the day bluebird skies. Ultra fun. Missed two huge ones and some buzzbait bites but we had a great time. GoPro batteries ran out and sadly didn't capture the action this time. Got on a fun jig bite at the snotty pond the other day with Jake. They also wanted the golden shiner frog in the shade. And some nicer ones on the golden shiner scum frog in there too 😎😎😎😎 A speedworm fish to round it out. Smashing success came out on the big lake! Had a really solid day on the boat with this 4 lb 12 oz kicker on jigs off of deep timber. Jake went back to school today and I'm counting down the hours til his bus gets home and we can get a line wet after chores and homework. It was a fantastic summer full of bass and memories.

Went joyriding with the wife today along some crazy mountain road neither of us had ever been on, luckily it ended up just above a dam where I had been before and I got to stop and fish. Tossed a fluke and saw some small bass and one large one. They chased but wouldn’t hit it. Went back to the car and grabbed a senko , got it fairly quick blind casting with 50 lb seaguar tactix and a 4/0 gamakatsu nano alpha round bend hook also got a rock bass in a different spot in a small creek, picture just for @gimruis. Missed/spooked many smallmouth in the creek also saw a cool waterfall that was fairly dried up