Rebbasser

Wondering if anyone else has done this-you see a specific piece of cover or whatever, and say to yourself or your buddy, "There is a fish on that ____ and I'm going to catch it" and then do it? I've done it twice-both with a spinnerbait. Once was a rock in a gravel pit and one was a lone clump of weeds in an pond that looked like chocolate milk. The one off the rock was only about a pound, but the one off the weed clump was about four pounds.

I've got one he custom made for me as a web promo when he first started out and it is a great bait. I do know some guys that have ordered from him and have heard nothing but good about the baits and the service. I do need to order a few, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Here's the website-looks like some good lessons: http://classicpatterns.com/

Madhouse, take a look here-he can probably fix you up: http://www.heavycover.com/

Truth be told, that is the reason I got them-for deep water.

My problem is I tend to fish a spinnerbait too fast. Guess I need to concentrate on slowing down. I think I have the right bait, though-a couple weeks back Cabelas had a special on Terminator Heavy-T's, a 1 oz spinnerbait. They will be great for that technique.

If you are fishing 80 yards from the ramp you are plenty far away. For that matter, if no one is launching I don't see a problem fishing right next to the ramp-you are not interfering with launching or loading. That guy must have had a bad day and took it out on you.

Lipping a gar? I wonder which would be worse: A couple of weeks ago I went out with a buddy to some stock tanks (That's Texan for farm pond ;D ) south of San Antonio, and as I was reeling in a watermelon candy brush hog over some weeds on the edge a 3 foot gator grabbed it. Fortunately it didn't get the business end, only the tail, but that was close enough ;D. Regarding the original question-I like this site to both pass on info and to learn new things-just a bunch of good folks, and I would not want to put one above another.

Welcome to the forum! Take a look here: http://www.tackleunderground.com/ Good place to learn and links to sites to get components.

Welcome to the forum! I use this rule of thumb: Clear water-natural colors like watermelon, watermelon red and green pumpkin. Stained water-add some color like chartreuse. Muddy water-depends n the cloud cover. If it is cloudy-darker, more natural colors. If it is sunny-bright colors.

How you doing, hoss-good to see you over here!

Welcome to the forum! I've fished quarries like that in the past. What worked best for me is to fish real close to the quarry wall in the deep parts, and if you have any tailings or rock piles they will be good fish holders. Use natural colors-watermelon, watermelon red flake, green pumpkin-and light line-6 to 8 pound test. There can be some great fishing in those flooded quarries.

Raul, East Texas doesn't know what a mesquite is-it's mostly oak and pine over there. Matt, I don't worry so much about the type of timber as I do the way it looks-it can tell you a lot about what lies below. For example, if you see two trees leaning towards each other it is a good bet there is a creek channel in between them. If I see a single tree leaning over I always fish the base of the tree on the side it is leaning towards. There are usually some branches that have broken off at the base of the tree that can hold fish.

You are going to give him a swelled head, bassackwards ;D.

Not to mention the fact that as near as I can tell is the man who coined the phrase "bait monkey" ;D

A lot of guys rig their baits "Texposed"-this is what it looks like: I like to back it back in the plastic, but if you aren't fishing an area where you will get hung up it helps with the hookset. If I need it more weedless I back the point back into the plastic where it has a pre-cut channel to go through on the hookset.

Yep-go with a square bill. Just about all the manufacturers have one. They don't run real deep, but the square bill deflects off the brush better than a round bill.

Welcome to the forum! You ask some good questions. 1. To keep them from jumping, lower your rod tip. You can even stick the rod tip in the water. 2. My guess would be you were seeing bluegill hitting the surface. 3. It is always worth a cast when you see one jump-you never know unless you give it a try. 4. They may not have been feeding on the shad, although I'm sure they were in the area. In a case like that I try to match the hatch-a small chrome blue back lipless crankbait like a Rat-L-Trap can be deadly. I pull it not only through the school, but below it as well. One tactic that has worked well for me is pull it into the school, then stop it and let it fall towards the bottom like a wounded fish. 5. If it is a tough worm I punch the point of the hook all the way through the bait then pull it back in the bait-makes for a better hookset with the pre-cut channel. For better hookset on a worm I use braided line-real sensitive and no stretch.

If you lay the buzzbait on a table with the blade closest to you the wire will resemble an R. Tie your line in the round part of the R.

Palomar for most applications, but I do use the Trilene knot on big cranks occasionally. The Trilene knot doesn't get tangled up in the treble hooks like Palomar sometimes does.

Here is another way to get the hook out: http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/

Tie directly. I used snap swivels years ago until I watched my favorite crankbait disappear into the depths due to it coming open and I did not know it. Now the only thing I use a swivel is a Carolina rig and a floating worm, and those are barrel swivels. If you want to use swivels use a locking swivel

Different tools for different jobs. A T-rig is better for fishing a particular piece of cover, and a C-rig is better for fishing deeper and covering water.

Palming is a way of holding a baitcaster. You put the side plate in the palm of your hand with the trigger of the rod in between your middle and ring finger and reel with the other hand-at least that is the way I do it

Seeker, I haven't used Fireline since I have been so pleased with PowerPro. I don't use it for everything, though. I use it for worms, jigs, Carolina rig, and Flipping/Pitching. The pros and cons- Braid has almost no stretch, which makes it extremely sensitive and makes for a good, solid hookset. It is much stronger than the same diameter mono. The 50 lb braid I use has the same diameter as 12 lb mono. To give you an idea, February last year I pitched a jig over a flooded treetop and set the hook on a 20 lb flathead I never would have pulled through that treetop with mono. The cons-the no stretch can be a disadvantage with baits with treble hooks-some stretch is good to help keep the hooks for tearing out. It is also more visible than mono, which can be a problem in real clear water. flourocarbon-low stretch and invisible under water. I never use a flouro leader, but a lot of people do. Bottom line is it comes down to personal preference-just use what works for you. I use three lines-braid for the reasons abobe, mono for baits with treble hooks, and flourocarbon for weightless soft plastics like flukes or Tiki Sticks. Hope this helps! Just read your post again-for the real heavy stuff I use braid for weightless soft plastics in addition to the other applications. sometimes you get in the real thick stuff that would tear up mono or flouro.