dman

I tried the ika recently and unfortunately had no luck at all :'( Fishing from shore at one of my local ponds i know of a "Spot" that i always get afew nice ones. Not sure if its a brush pile or a drop off or what but anyway, i was throwing the Ika out there and not getting anything, not even a nibble, went up and down shore with it = nuthin. Tossed on my powertube (Same color as ika) and started getting them. No idea why. I fished the ika weightless \ texposed with the legs up top near my line. Not sure what was wrong but I havnt given up on it , it must work because of how people rave about it. Just having a hard time tying one on because of that experience. I'm thinkin i would have better luck in the River with it.

That is harsh!

I agree, check hook sharpness and size. maybe the hooks are too small (?) are you loosing them on other lures? I have had a lot of jumpers this year and havnt lost any from jumping yet. Gotta be something with that lure

I was wondering this myself the other day and was curious how long after being caught would they wait to eat again? If i just caught a real hungry fish and it wasnt an ugly deep hookset would he just go out and grab a minnow if one swam by him? or would he be waiting a few hours, days?

Thats a nice fish for sure, but there is absolutely no way that is a 12. I woulda guessed between 6 and 7 pounds....That is one busted scale!

Me Too! i woulda guessed somewhere closer to 9

ballsy little bastages arent they! When they hit lures bigger than they are themselves is when i admire Bass the most!

Exactly, i dont even feel the need to set the hook when using spinnerbaits, they usually hit it so hard they seal the deal on themselves.... I can however see using them with a Buzzbait since its tough getting topwater bites (up here in the north it is anyway, in fact i cant recall EVER even having a bite with a buzzbait, but then again i dont use them much, but because i dont get bites!)

I was out earlier today castin a ratltrap....After this one cast as soon as i started to retrieve it i could see it was getting dragged across the top of the water. I knew my line must of gotten tangled in the hooks on the cast, so i start rippin it across the top to get it in and get another cast out there but then i thought "let it drop a few feet see if untangles itself" the split second I stopped it got clobbered. Big splash and all, he came right out of the water after it. Nice healthy 2 pounder. Totally surprised me. Anyone else had any strange bites?

I would say about 3 pounds as well....Maybe your new scale might be off showing your new catches as 2 1\2 when they might only be 1 1\2

Go on ebay and get three years for that price Even better, here is 2 years for 99cents plus $5 shipping! no hidden costs, user has great feedback: http://cgi.ebay.com/Bassmaster-Magazine-2-Year-Subscription-22-NEW-ISSUES_W0QQitemZ230169381984QQihZ013QQcategoryZ22696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem $6 for 2 years, come on ! great deal

my last time out on Wed, i only had about 45 minutes. I was catchin dinks almost every cast on a watermelon senko.....Once that little strip of shore i was fishin stopped hittin, I went to a watermelon power tube and took a 2 1\2 pounder first cast.....Weather wise is pretty similar today so im give it another go.

what do you guys do with the frogs? I had a huge bullfrog on a senko yesterday and thank god he got himself off! Do you just cut your line and say goodbye to your lure (though i have no problem doing that with a senko)? Or do you try and help the frog out and free him from the hook? Doesnt seem like it would be easy!

nice smally, congrats!

dang! thanks for all the help!

thanks roadwarrior, i'll give it a try. I never tried these but arent they just a solid tube? what would make these effective that a tube cant do?

Got a pond that i just started fishing, maybe 7 acres. No boat right now so im fishing from shore, been doing ok with the largemouth though nothing too big. A few of the guys there say they catch more smallies than largemouth. ive not caught one and usually where there is smallies - even though i fish for largemouth i tend to get a few. Been using spiiner spaits, jerkbaits, jignpig, rubberworm, tubes, senk....nuthin. Its pretty much 7-8 ' deep the whole pond. Always dirty\muddy. Not really any cover to fish that is accessible from the shorelines. I wont enjoy using livebait so got any ideas. thanks!

Thanks for the opinions guys, good to know about the fishinder, thanks aaron

Sorry, im new to the forum, didnt see it. Ill try to search better next post. 8-)

Great reply gajpb, thanks! (by the way, i dont know anything about motors either) any other opinions would be appreciated. I dont need a speed boat but would it be ok for tubing? Heres the one i got my eye on: http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.home&boat=2111

Got a few questions for you guys......Ive been fishing my entire life (36 years!) And fish mostly bass, catfish since im a shore fisherman. However, these past 2 summers ive been addicted....Sometimes i go before work, even on my hr lunch break i gotta 3 acre pond 5 minutes away i go to catch 1 or 2. My point is, i think its time to invest in a boat. I want one in the worst way. Bass trackers seem relatively cheap with models in the 10 - 12,000 range. But would these be good on big choppy lakes? rivers? or would they get tossed around like toys? Never had a boat and never drove one, should i hold off on a tracker and pick up a used boat to learn for a few years first? A tracker is not out of the budget but it would convince the wife a little better if we could do other things with it ( pull the kids in a tube, swim ect) ? What do you guys think?

hey islandbass, thanks for the reply. I guess if i really wanted something i could order it online, i meant just window shoppping. when i see them at Dicks or even Gander Mountain had not one left hand crank model at all last week. The salesman just said that "people just dont use 'em, not sure why" i said "me either!" its very wierd. if people have become accustomed to it then why would they still use left crank model spin reels?

When it comes to baitcasters, its tough to find a left handed crank model.....why? Most people are right handed like me, its my stronger arm so i like the rod in my right hand for setting the hook, its a bit more cordinated as well for workin lures.....People always hafta cast with their strong arm (right) and then move the rod to their left hand to crank with their right. But then they pick up their spinning rod and reel and the crank is on the left!!!! So please enlighten me, why do a lot right handed people prefer to put the rod in their weeker arm but then swith back to normal for spincasting....it is so awkward to me, i just cant figure out why people do it. (its really bothering me because i cant get reels that i want in left handed crank meodels)

maybe your not the only one that noticed this last year and its now getting overfished??

my best guess if your not even getting bites is time of day and location.... Fishing off the bank, make sure to look for some cover, lily pads, stumps, just anything thats different in the water....>From shore i always cast down or up the bank, never straight out....Try just bumping a rubber worm along the bottom to bring out those lazy hogs.