bigbill

I collect everything from old steel telescopic fly rods, to old steel bait casting rods/reels to old lures and early plastic lures too. Even my old stuff from the 70's is collectable now too I have seen my old DAM Quick spinning reels that i still have and they still work in antique shops for double the price i paid for when they were brand new? I kind of cherish my old stuff now. My misses found a bag of stuff at a clearance sale at an antique shop in Maine while we on vacation once. It was full of 50's and 60's stuff from reels to lures. Even the old steel tackle boxes are worth something now too. I got an old wooden mouse lure for $2 once then i seen in for sale for $30 right after. You just never know what this stuff is worth its all not listed, so i buy and save it anyway no matter what it is worth if its cheap and affordable. I'm sure 30 years from now my new stuff nowwill be worth many $$ too well a few more $$ anyway. BigBill

I haven't used the combo c lector since i have tested it for color selection once i found out it worked it has just sat in my garage ever since until this year I use it for random checking the PH when the fishing is bad. Its the older combo c lector its the round meter. BigBill The PH was 4.3 and 4.6 in the open water this is why the fish are deep in the weeds were the oxygen is the best. I haven't pulled one fish yet out of the open channel near the weedline I figure its the PH causing this. I'm very interested in when the fish don't bite to what is wrong and what causes this to happen at times. It can be the PH, it can be your using the wrong color lure that the fish can't see at that time too. It can be the change in the barometer too with a front comming in. I just want to learn it so i can adjust to it when its tough. I see so many guys catch 2 or 3 bass and their happy with that this is when i ask myself why just a few? While one lure color will catch a few fish picking the right lure color will load the boat. When the bite slows down just change colors and see what happens.

When i was working i would fish at night and weekends but since i retired its eary mornings at 3:30am everyday looking for one more big hog. I find myself much like the movie "grumpy old men" you know those guys were after "catfish hunter"?? The one i'm after I had hooked a few times now and maybe i'll land her soon i hope. I can only fish for an hour or two each day but i make the best of it. BigBill

I'm not sure I have used the Combo C lector that selects the lure color for the waters condition at that time and its been correct when i tested it. When it chose red only a red crankbait worked and no other color did and then for two days after it chose green and brown the next day and they were the only color to work at that time. i have had other days when all three colors work at the sametime too. Which leads me to believe somedays one certain color is important and others it doesn't matter. Which makes sense when Bill Dance said the bass can only see certain colors at certain times or there wouldn't be a minnow left in the water if they could see them all the time. It also leads me to believe this why some lure colors don't work or if they do we catch two or three bass in an outing when if we picked the right color we could of loaded the boat?? I don't use the Combo C Lector all the time I like it when the fishing is tough and i use it for checking the PH too. The fishing was off lastweek and i wondered why it was so bad where i was fishing the PH was 4.3 to 4.6 a few days later it was closer to 6 and the fish were active and the bass bite was getting better. Also when the PH is off that much the bass are deep in the thick weeds were the oxygen is the best for them. So Jig & Pig's or heavy carolina rigs work the best. I have also noticed the weeds were boiling with topwater action at dawn too then as the sun came up the bass went deeper into the weeds the topwater action stopped. At one place the bass were eating little sunfish so i purchased some red dear colored cranks and I caught bass after bass on it. So it leads me to believe the bass are seeing colors and color does matter. I think it all works together lure size, lure color, lure speed and lure smell(scent) and when we do it right we catch fish. I have purchased so many different crankbait lures just to try and test them and i have found out one by one they all will catch fish sooner or later its just a matter of time they all will work. Its the samething with the topwater stuff too. Now with spinnerbaits its me I have caught very few fish on spinnerbaits so far. I'm not sure if there is a certain time here to use spinnerbaits or they work all the time?? I still throw them often. My best baits so far have been topwater(spooks) crankbaits, senko's and brush hogs. I have just started using plastic worms and i keep on missing the strikes but in time i'll master it too. We must master how to use every bait the more baits we know the more fish we will catch. At the sametime we must learn each presentation too. I like to watch video's to learn, read about it here or in magazines and then go out and try it. Nothing beats time spent fishing. Orange colored bottom baits and baits that match sunfish colors seem to work the best here. Its not luck in catching fish its SKILL!!!!

I was in a local bait shop and he had a few $1.99 spook type lures and an orange tiger one caught my eye. I picked up a few different colored ones and one morning as it became light the orange spook caught fish. All I can say is just try anything different that breaks the norm that most guys use and BAMM its fish on!!! It doesn't matter what it costs its the color and how you present it!!! Its good to have a mix of stuff. BB

I have had my best fishing with worms splitshot rigged I take a 6" or 7 1/2" worm and put a #4 snelled hook it I thread it in where the large lump is in the worms body. Then i put a splitshot where the loop is on the snelled hook. While it isn't weedless years ago this method seemed to be the best productive way of worm fishing to this day. This way of doing is so old it was used when just Creme made plastic worms.

My biggest bass so far is 10lbs she was caught in the shallows about 2ft from shore at first light(dusk) the sky was just starting to light up. At first It kind of scared me to see a bass this big, I have only seen fish this big in saltwater. I never expected to ever catch a fish this big. I was constantly on many 3's, 4's and 5lbers in this spot. At first when i seen it i said holly cow i got a hog on. I fish about 5 places constantly and in 2 of them i hold the record between a few guys for the biggest bass caught. One of them old timers who has fished all of his life(a lot more than me) told me to this day it was the biggest bass he has ever seen.(10lber) I mainly fish from shore in small places you would normally drive by even small swamps that hold plenty of bass and most of them are still unfished. And don't pass up those little manmade condo ponds too even a 1/8 acre one can hold bass like 3lbers too. They are really made for drainage but the fishing can be awesome. My 10lber hit a Rebel BIG CLAW Crawfish Crankbait #D74 in Chartruese its hard to find and the biggest one Rebel makes too. I like to use the smaller ones in rivers the bass kill this lure. Its one of the hottest lures I have ever used so far in bass fishing. My other hot lure is the BassProShops topnocker in color #25 it has caught some big bass too and the largest pickerel i have ever seen too. I have seen pickerel do out of the water back flips to hit this lure. BigBill Its kind of odd too i have only caught small bass up to 6lbers and then a 10lber with nothing inbetween no 7's, no 8's, no 9's at all. I went right to "10"??? But i have lost larger fish in the same spot too, one grabbed my 7 1/4" BPS Stick O Worm but it was the first time i have ever used it and i only had 3/0 hooks and i seen her swim up and take it and i missed her on the hookset. Another one took my topnocker like a torpedo at 100mph then on the hookset she went down in the weeds I fought her for about 15 to 20 minutes, everytime i got 2ft of line she took back 3ft. I finally lost the fight fishing from shore. From what i saw of her she was quite a bit larger than my 10lber was. At another place in November just when you think the pond is asleep I got an itch to go fishing so i grabbed my rod with some large flukes and went out and on my very first cast something took it, i set the hook and the fight was on again but she bent my rod in half like no other fish has done in the past too. But again it wasn't mean't to be I lost her too. My big bass curse was on for quite sometime I just kept on losing them. I believe i finally broke it this year by landing a 6.1lber finally!!! I hope. ??? My motto now is always expect the unexpected!!!! Be ready on the first cast all the time, have your drag set on the loose side mainly because i have lost lures on violent strikes from big smallies no matter were my drag was set so now i leave it just tight enough to get a hookset you can always tighten it during the battle but most of the time i don't i just play her slow now mainly because you never know how big they are till they get close. I had a 4.9lber once give me a tour of the body of water i was fishing and i never seen her till she was at my feet. She just never quit. The strangest most exceiting strike i have ever had was from a 30" pickerel it was on a man made dam a drop off and as i just tuned and got my very first spinnerbait working(with Glenn's help here) I changed blades/trailers till i got it catching fish a big pickerel swam up parallel to the shore and inches from the shore as i was taking it out of the water and just ripped it off my line, as my heart sunk as i just witnessed losing my hot new tuned fish catching spinnerbait. I caught a lot of fish on this spinnerbait. I have caught many big pickerel like 26", 27" and 28" and all i can say is what a fight it makes wonder how the northern pike and muskie are to catch.

Deadsticking is done mainly with minnowbaits like rapala's and smithwick rouges you drop them straight down and twitch them. I have used the Rapala countdown jointed in the bright blue/yellow color with great success around bridges and deeper channels(10'+). I have also used plastics like worms and brush hogs carolina rigged too. The jointed shad rap rapala's have a great fall rate with a snap swivel too.

I fish by the moon charts on outdoorlife. I have caught my biggest bass going by these excellent/best times to fish if the weather conditions are right too it can pay off bigtime. I go anyway wether it says good or not but i pay special attention to what i'm doing during the excellent times to fish. Just match up the moon with a front comming in or during the rain what a frenzy that happens. Just stay going and sooner or later it will happen. BB

Guys your missing my point I'm hoping i can motivated some guys and kids to shore fish more and just maybe they will catch that fish of a lifetime or up their personal best or set a personal best thats the key to my post. You don't need a boat to enjoy bass fishing. I fish mainly were no boats are allowed and these places are unfished too. And if the place is fished most don't know about bass fishing so they aren't throwing the right bait or using the correct presentation this gives guys like us an edge!!!!! BB Stop wishing and start fishing!!!! Stay focused!!!

We have a 17' fisher boat and its been sitting for over a year now. I fish mainly from shore its a fact the big bass are feeding close to shore in the low light conditions so early AM and fishing in the evenings till dark is the key from shore for the bigger gals. Now what else I have learned is that big bass are smart too they know the dangers of boats too they also learn our baits too so in fishing the same places every year we must change our baits often. Like what works this year (success) won't be so successful next year in the same spot. The fish actually record the wobble/vibration and they will recognise it again and won't strike. I have also found out that being stealthy from shore matters too we must be very quiet the least little noise out of the ordinary we make will spook these bass. Fishing from shore is no different than a boat its only backwards and i think we have an advantage from shore because of stealth. Walk up to the shore very softly too and don't step on rocks or roots from trees they send vibrations into the water too. When we do everything right we catch bass. I did it right one day and landed a 10lber at 5am so trust me they are out there but there very smart and hard to catch but if your stealthy enough you can and will do it. On good days i average 5 to 10 bass in about 2 hours of fishing. Trust me you don't need a boat to catch bass you need to learn the body of water were your fishing. A hummingbird portable fish finder will teach you how the bottom structure is made and where the dropoff's, flats and what directions the points go as they go deeper are too. It helps because knowing this tells us how to fish them correctly. It tells us where to cast at that point to go parallel to it rather than making many casts and spooking everything when one cast will do it remember stealth is the key so fan cast gently too don't crash the water too you will spook the big shy gals. Shore fishing gives me more freedom to move to another plave 1 mile down the road too quickly too. Plus i'm not far from the car were more baits /rods are too. We can have great success from shore if we fish it right!!!! BigBill Its not luck in bass fishing its SKILL!!!!!! Don't be afraid to cast at that point from different directions too. I use the shore to my advantage too i will hit that point from the right and the left as well as bring my bait straight up it. We must break the norm too think about it most fisherman will cast straight out, this is where i move a few feet down and hit the some spot from the right or left this can make the difference too "a different direction" of the lures path is also a key thing and it just may trigger a strike too. Work it over then move on but comeback later. I keep a few rods baited too and sometimes a miss on one bait will land a fish on another bait so i switch rods quick to catch it. You can have an awesome time shore fishing too and so many miss out on this awesome action. You don't need a boat to catch bass all you have to do is to know the place your fishing and how to fish it.

Sorry i'm a little late here but in the rain i have noticed that inline spinners can really catch bass I mean load the boat when their on. My favorites are Mepps #3 but the new Joes Flies in the super striker 1/4oz bass series in the firetiger apache color in the overcast low light condition is an excellent color. I have wornout may of these new lures so far too. While one bait may catch a few bass picking the right bait for the right conditions will load the boat. There's a certain time during the rain they just go nuts after inline spinners. BigBill

When i was eating bass i did notice salad in the tummies?? They sure must take some in when feeding in the weeds. If the vegitation is that bad this is when i go to the weedless stuff there is plenty of weedless stuff made plus you can make any plastic worm type bait weedless too. Mepps Timber Doodle is another great bait for weeds don't ask me how it works it looks weird but the fish do go after it in the thick stuff. In my very first year of bass fishing when the places became weeded over i went into research mode for weedless stuff!!! For Weeds think weedless!!! BigBill We must overcome and adapt to continue catching bass in weeds its easy. Salad in their tummies with my garlic scent??

I feel your pain!!! I have lost 3 bass that were 10lbs + due to weeds and a long cast. I was using 8lb test and when it hit it looked like a torpedo was going after my BPS topnocker I set the hook quickly and it dove into the weeds I kept my rod at 12 oclock and tried to lift it and keep it up but it was so big it was incharge it was telling me this while pulling like a truck the whole time. I lost the topnocker and the fish. I first seen her charging thru the weeds with the baitfish on their tails infront of her many times. I hated to make a cast that far from shore but i had to try. I lost two other fish that were just as big too. I got rid of the 6' med action rod for topwater stuff and i'm at 7' MH action now with 12lb test for my topwater baits. I bumped the reel up too from a S300 to S400 Fin-Nor and with the larger spool it casts just as far as the 8lb line did. I haven't sunk it into anything big yet but i'm ready now(I hope). I did everything right, I set the hook and held the rod at 12 oclock while cranking her but it was all drag. Everytime i made any headway like a few feet of lifting her she pulled double back. I had a 5 gallon bucket full of rocks on my line!! I also have another rod with 30lb braid too just for this one spot. My buddie broke his rod and lost the same fish too. It just gets away and i'll release it after pics and the offical weigh in. Weeds and big bass don't i know!!!! BigBill If i had a boat i'd use stainless steel wire like they do for bluefish with a giant penn reel!!!!!!! Kidding but i hate to lose lures that way. I'm being educated that one rod can't do it all too.

In the heat at night and low light early mornings the bass are near the shoreline ambushing the baitfish. As it gets lighter they move to deeper cover then when it gets to dusk/low light condition in the evenings their back again in the shallows. During the day its either heavy weighted carolina rigs or heavy jigs from a boat to break thru the weeds and heavy cover to get them in the deeper water. Early mornings it can be topwater, crankbaits and weedless rigged flukes and worms ect. over the weeds its what the condition is where your fishing too. BigBill

Smallies like plastics with chartruese tails. BigBill

Im in Ct. andf i fished everyday this past week from hot to cold and I readjusted to the front and i tossed topwater in the heat and shallow crankbaits after the cold and caught bass right thru the heat & cold, the rain and the only thing i adjusted was my presentation. We learn how to fish it if we pay attention to the fish. The very first day of the cold I was throwing cranks and i just put new line on my reel so i had one tangle, as I fixed it while my lure was in the water as soon as i started up again it took it so that told me a stop and go presentation was the key and it has worked everyday since. But as i slow reel i twitch it too besides adding a pause. Sometimes i just stop and deadstick it too. When the weather changes its all about your presentation its a matter of how fast or slow they want it moving. BB I fish thru it all the heat, the cold, the rain and even the snow too its never a time not to go fishing so stop wishing and go fishing!!! I just need a defroster for the eyes on my rod??? HINT: The hogs still have the feed bag on even in November too!!! Try a fluke and be ready!!! And you think the lake is sleeping?? Its tough to go deer hunting when its still great fishing.

First I notice that big bass don't strike on live minnows because their main diet is sunfish and bluegills. I started throwing lures that match these colors sonetime ago with great success. Think about it a BPS Topnocker in color #25 matches a sunfish and its one of the best topwater baits I have ever used. I also use norman thin "N" crankbaits with great success too the bluegill one is a producer too. All the Thin "n"s I have tried so far work awesome too. I reel then slow and add a little twitch so the fish can't get a good look at them and hang on. BigBill I have had big bass steal the sunfish off my hook too many times. If you want some exceitment let one of your buddies fish for sunfish and as he reels it in toss a crankbait right behind the sunnie and make sure you set the hook quick. As the sunfish is reeled in it gives off a distress signal that the bass can hear and that rings a dinnerbell to the bass so they come in quick for an easy meal. I have watched the sunfish on their tails out of the water lately being chased by the big bass too.

I use a senko type bait differently I like a little line tention. I like it with a carolina rig with 1/8oz brass weight with a clicker bead with a 24"+ leader.(note; Those new adjustable little plastic barrel sliders from BassProShops are awesome they were on a Woo Daves Video you can adjust your leader length in half a second "no tying" its the hottest thing to hit fishing since the fish hook) It falls still slow but when it stops on the bottom I move it back up and repeat. Having the weight gives me another advantage too I can slow reel it "very slow" reel it and it will run at a certain depth depending how I control my reel speed. I also use a snap swivel were my bait is too it gives me the advantage of quick changing baits. I use creature baits, plastic worms and grubs on my carolina rig too. All my senko's are used with Eagle Claw weedless hooks and wacky rigged they are worth it in the weeds. The weedless keeper is also an indicator when your not sure of a missed strike or the weeds hit it, when the weedless keeper comes up open its a missed strike I like that sometimes you can tell. BigBill Remember to play on all the bass's senses like sound(clicker bead), smell(scents) and sight(using the right color for the water condition) that spells success in any order you put it. Success in bass fishing isn't luck its SKILL!!!!!! The more you learn and then go out and apply it the better fisherman or fisherlady you become. You will catch more bass!!!!!!!

I fish mainly from shore and in the early mornings when it turns from dark to light its my best time to fish. The bass have the baitfish near the shore ambushing them. My bigger bass have been caught in the early am from shore but less in numbers. The bass's eyes adjust first to the changing light before the baitfishes eyes do so they are easy prey. As it gets lighter as the sun comes up the bass head to deeper water cover to hide. Its the midway point between shallow and deep is where they are during the day. Now at 10 to 12 midday the plants in the water give off plankton in the hotter sun which the baitfish come out from hiding to feed on thus the bass will come out of cover to ambush them again. This is why and how the midday fishing works. I fish in the evenings too but the bass are more in numbers for me but smaller in size. But catching the light conditions changing is the same thing. Night fishing "no light" is another thing the bass just like the animal world they own the night. Anyone that has fished at night knows the woods comes to life too in the dark. Everything puts the feed bag on the bass too. BB I like fishing the early mornings and the late evenings too. In the mornings I can hear the coyotes howling and wild turkey's gobbling as the sun comes up. In the evenings Its the coyotes howling or a bobcat will pay a visit as i'm fishing. I have seen in the mornings as it became lighter the freshwater otters splashing the two baby fawns with water as they tried to get a drink with the doe nearby watching them. My point is look around at nature while your fishing too its awesome too!!!! I always see the otters at first light too everywhere i fish.

First Colors do matter the bass can only see certain colors at certain times beacuse of the hues in the water and the conditions of light too. Anyone that has used a Color C Lector or Combo C Lector will know this. Bill Dance had a Combo C lector on one of his shows and he explained how it works. There is an article here about it too. There is also an article on the net about Dr. Loren Hill he is the guy who made the Combo C Lector and his tests about bass and colors are on the net somewhere too. In clear water condition; Its smaller sized natural colored baits fished faster. In stained water conditions; Its medium sized brighter colored baits fished slower. In muddy water conditions; Its the largest sized brightest colored baits fished the slowest. In low light conditions like cloudy overcast days and at dusk either in the early mornings or late evenings I have used brighter colored baits with great success. So the condition of the light will influence color too. Somedays I have used red cranks and only red worked, somedays I have used green cranks and only green worked another day it was brown cranks and brown was the only color that worked. Other days all three colors worked. I was fishing the same place everytime so my test of the Combo C Lector was fair. KVD uses a combo c lector sometimes too. I'm a believer in the color thing with bass too while one color may put a few bass in your livewell picking the right color just may load the boat. Never be happy with a few bass, experment with colors too and you will find out what i'm saying is true. BB If a natural colored bait is working for you and its getting dark as it becomes dusk and the bite slows down just switch to a firetiger or chartruese and the action will continue. They can't see the color you used when it was lighter because the conditions changed. QUOTE: Bill Dance once said if the bass could see all of the colors all of the time there wouldn't be a minnow left in the place. Now i gave you the color thing but the weather (barometer)and the PH is just as important too, just as the moon phases are too.

I have used VHS and DVD over the many years during the winter to break cabin fever and to refresh and learn more. KVD and Woo Daves are great ones to have besides some Infisherman ones too. I have most of those 3 now. And some Bill Dance too. I have found with Bill you have to listen and watch what he does with the rod/bait too exactly. I guess with all of them we have to watch them too because sometimes they don't say it exactly what they do with the rod for the bait action. Either way between this site and those videos you will improve. BB

I feed crappies and trout to my homeless abandoned kittens that i find while fishing. I never take bass theyt have to be let go C&R only!!! BigBill

First there's only one guy who made this sport to what it is today and thats Jerry McKinnis he never fished a tornie but he is in the bass fishing hall of fame for his contribution that he made to bass fishing ever since the very beginning. I love to watch his old shows with his home made wooden boats too. Yes it was a time before fiberglass bass boats with all the bells and whistles. He actually made the boats himself and a new boat each year too. All the others who helped this sport are just second fiddle to Jerry. Now lets not leave out the guys at InFisherman either they have spanked Bill Dance many times in Tornies too. They should be on the list too. I think its really the guys like Bill Dance and the boys at InFisherman who we should give the credit too for excelling this sport with McKinnis. I faithfully wathed McKinnis every saturday morning when i was a kid. There was a guy before him too he was called Gadabout Gaddis the flying fisherman he had a float plane and would fly into places and fish from the plane it was another awesome old show too. There was another fisherman at this time too but i can't remember his name. I think we really owe the older guys without them it wouldn't be the sport it is today they have passed the torch to the new guys. But lets not leave out the television people too who had the insite to broad cast the first fishing shows too without them we wouldn't be connected at all. Now who's the greatest angler of all time we have to look at the whole picture? BigBill Greatest Angler; Jerry McKinnis he is the godfather of bass fishing we owe him for his contribution to bass fishing. We must remember too his time began way before there was an ESPN. He is the number 1 guy who promoted this sport to what it is today.

I can surely say those three little words can sure be costly if you need one and don't have one with you too. I fish from shore and who thought i'd ever need a net?? I fishing from a 3' high bank that is a deep drop off(man made road/dam). I thru a crankbait(my Hank Parker special) and i latched on to the surprise of my life. The fish was about 26"+ long and was completely silver and my guess it weighed around 6/7lbs. It seems I latched on to a Salmon because i'm fishing a small body of water thats fed from a large lake. I heard that years ago they stocked it with Salmon. Well as my "no net" story goes rather than try to lift it and lose my lure too I let my line go slack and let it go. It had baby sized square teeth also. I was fishing alone with no way to reach it. So I did the unthinkable and let it go. So the "get the net" really sinks in deep with me. BigBill My Hank Parker Special is the Manns crankbait baby 1 in crawdad brown. Right after seeing HP use it in New Hampshire I went to Walmart and got a few of them. After having success with them I went back to Walmart and bought the rest of the rack of them so my kids have them too. Plus you always lose one or two of your hottest baits so i carry two of them with me at all times and a never ending supply of them at home too. And yes that goes with every successful bait i use i have extra of everything.