Team9nine

Yes and yes, but arguably it's that lighter line gives better action to, and control of, the bait when used appropriately. -T9

They added a bunch just a few years ago, so they should start showing up next year as they outgrow the white bass...and yes, this one came on a 2" crappie tube on 3# line Seems to be a mixed bag depending upon lake and species composition. I've heard others mention them hurting big bass populations, but that's been anecdotal. In some of our lakes they almost never live past 4 years old in any numbers, and in others I've seen them go 7-9 years. If they're going to stock them, I figure you might as well just make the best of it -T9

There is no fluorocarbon "problem" - there is only inability or inexperience as an angler. -T9

Well, it sounds like you've trashed that spool of line, so while you won't want to use it for fishing, take advantage and use it for practice Hard to say exactly what you should do because we don't know your setup and what you're trying to throw, as well as your experience level. That said, start by tightening your control knobs, turning up your magnetic brakes, and using all your centrifugal brakes (pushed all the way out) - depending on exactly what reel you have. That will make it difficult to cast, but also difficult to backlash. From there, just start slowly loosening and playing with the various settings while you see what works best for you. I doubt it's the line - for example, I use everything from 8# to 25# fluorocarbon on the majority of my baitcasters for a wide variety of presentations. You simply need to keep practicing with it until you get more comfortable with everything. -T9

Wasn't sure if any made it through the winter, but managed this 26.75" hybrid yesterday on an otherwise slow, post frontal day.

Cataract bite has been pretty good with decent keepers being caught. Much better than Raccoon at the moment for size. Best bet after a cold front is live bait slow and in their face. Jig bite usually slows down a bunch right after a front. -T9

Just about everything will eat a jig tipped with some type of live bait - bass, walleye, crappie, bluegills...a jig and minnow is a good tactic for clear, cold water bass. -T9

Black is the standard when it comes to night fishing, but that is usually because it silhouettes better. However, that really only happens if the black object is being contrasted against a lighter background, often the sky. In cases where you might be fishing under the fish, or where they have to look down some of the time to see your bait such as a jig or worm or slow rolled spinnerbait, a white bait might actually be the better choice because it will likely stand out better against the dark bottom, especially if the water is clearer and there is surface lighting (lamps, moon, etc.). Then again, you could simply ponder the question of whether you think bass stop eating silvery baitfish at night because they can't see them as well

My first suggestion is to shorten your leader to the point that it won't go into/past the first guide on your reel, and especially onto the spool itself. That will solve most all of your snagging issues. The other comment is that aquaholik is on the right track. For lures that light, dropping down to 6lb braid/fused superline with a 6# leader will help a lot with casting distance. Unless you are fishing around heavy cover where you would have to stop a striper from running, that combination will easily handle the random by-catch. I've landed numerous larger fish, some up to nearly 40# with that light of a setup. A 16" striper wouldn't be any issue at all if played properly and/or your setup is adjusted correctly. -T9

Seems to be an inherent behavior with many species of fish...as well as dogs and cats Simply type 'laser fish' into the YouTube search box and you'll see a plethora of videos on a wide variety of fish species, all willing to "chase" the laser beam. The fact that baits like the "Laser Lure" and others haven't set the fishing world on it's ear tells you that it isn't necessarily as simple as putting a laser beam/LED light into the water. -T9

Depends upon the type (species) of vegetation you have in the lake. Some are already starting to die off with water temps now below 70 on many local bodies of water, while other more hardy veggies like coontail, sandgrass and curly leaf cabbage will persist well into the late fall and early winter. Look for the shallowest stuff (algae mats, milfoil, water willow) to go first. -T9

I've got a couple fly rods and plenty of flies - a nice change of pace for something different every once in a while, but I'm not overly fond of the technique. Actually did more Tenkara bass fishing this year as I finally grabbed one of those poles. Accounted for my largest smallie of the year so far -T9

These aren't collectors items for me - they're tools. All have been hand tuned and I fish with them. The fish could care less whether they're all tossed in a box or not saves a lot of space that way. I have paid, on average, around $20 to $25 each for these over the years, so that $1500 for all of them wouldn't be too far off.....but I figured you were just kidding about buying them. -T9

I do a lot of trolling - anytime, anywhere, at all depths regardless of conditions. It's a great teacher. Read anything by Buck Perry/Spoonplugging, or check out some of the walleye fishing sites or videos. Bill Murphy also devoted a chapter or two in his "In Pursuit of Giant Bass" book on the subject if you have it. -T9

"Senko" "durability" - two words in the English language that should never be used together I believe they're called 'oxymorons.' BareHook listed the options... -T9

"Baby Bass on Chartreuse" - Bagley also made a "Baby Bass on White." I've always loved chartreuse baby bass colored crankbaits. Bomber also made great Chrt BB crankbaits, both in the Model A (chartreuse belly) and the Fat A series (chartreuse sides). $1,500 TYD - I'll cover shipping right about 40+ baits in there. I bought that one after finding an article with Rick Clunn holding a nice spotted bass up and that bait (color) clearly visible in its mouth -T9

According to the dictionary, Bay definition, a body of water forming an indentation of the shoreline, larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf. But similar to Catt, to me, a cove is more long/deep than wide and frequently has a larger secondary creek running through it, while a bay is more of just an open water protected pocket (large or small), about as wide as it is deep/long, often containing a larger percentage of shallower water (as in, "spawning bay"), and frequently containing smaller drains as opposed to one large creek channel. -T9

I get a backlash about 1 out of every 10,351 casts...but who's counting As for the latter question, time and experience -T9

Ditto on Strike King doing the copying Here's a few of my old DBs, most with the brass hangers and lead tuning bills Great baits!

In the March/April 1975 issue of Bassmaster Magazine, Ray Scott, in his Scott on the Line editorial, introduced the concept of fly-fishing tournaments into the fold of the Bassmaster Trail. “You can count on a one-day ‘Flyrod Only Tournament’ before the regular pro national tournaments in April, May and June. This maybe the most fun we’ve ever had at a BASS tournament. We expect most of the BASS pros to give it a whirl, we’ll probably see a few previously timid flyrod ‘experts’ jump in the contest since we’ll be using weapons of their liking.” The 1975 season added a new concept in bass tournament fishing – a one-day fly rod tournament that anglers could choose to participate in or not. The advantage that the fly rod event gave was an extra day of practice and also much needed points towards Classic qualification. Because of this, most anglers grudgingly fished the fly rod events. For the 1976 season, though, the fly rod competition was discontinued, probably due to complaints from the anglers. On the Fly Rod Front Bull Shoals also marked the first fly rod-only event of the season. The tournament was held the day prior to the regular tournament with 63 anglers participating. Eleven fish were caught and weighed with Ricky Green taking the top honors with two fish that totaled 3-04. His fish netted him an extra $1,400 dollars. Ron Deardoff and Austin James each took big fish honors with single fish weighing in at 3-03 along with second and third place honors. Russell Breckenridge (brother of Rayo) collected a fourth-place check of $300 with one fish that went 2-05, while Roger Moore held on to the fifth spot with one fish that weighed in at 2-04. Other anglers who caught fish were Bill Dance, Billy Westmorland, Rick Clunn, Jim Nolen and Walt Sawicki. In all the 63 anglers caught 11 bass. Kerr Fly-Rod Only Tournament For the second straight event, B.A.S.S. hosted a fly-rod only tournament the day prior to the main event. This time Jon Hall took the winning honors, besting 65 other anglers, with five fish that weighed 11 pounds. He caught his fish on a 4-inch blue Mann’s Jelly Worm. Dick Busby placed second with two fish for 8-02. He too didn’t conform to traditional fly rod baits, catching his fish on 1/4-ounce spinnerbaits in the trees. Although Don Shealy didn’t finish too well in the main event, he did bring in two fish for 6-07 and 3rd place. He was the only angler to utilize conventional fly gear, catching his fish on popping bugs. Ricky Green (5-03) and Tom Mann (5-00) placed 4th and 5th respectively. Santee-Cooper Fly Rod Only Event Although Don Shealy stunk it up pretty bad in the main event at Kerr, he came back at the fly rod only event held at Santee-Cooper. Shealy weighed an impressive 10-fish limit that went 17-10 and also created a new fly-rod only tournament record. He caught his fish His fish came on a combination of popping bugs and plastic worms. Bo Dowden finished in 2nd place with 12-14 and Johnny Morris weighed in 12-03 for 3rd place. Jon Hall, who won the Kerr fly rod event, placed 4th with 9-04 and Bill Dance placed 5th with 8-05. Source: Bass Fishing Archives Part 1 Bass Fishing Archives Part 2

So I'm trying to picture this...is the side where you're catching most of your big fish with the sharp break also the side closest to the deepest water (the 30' hole)? Does that drop-off you mention fall into that deep hole, or is the 30' just out in the middle somewhere between both sides you describe? -T9

B-I-N-G-O Think of blade choice in reference to depth and speed control and you'll be way ahead of the game -T9

That's fine, bring on the longer rods again. As long as they keep that Alabama Rig banned the bassin' world will be fine. Actually, now that the Elites no longer have co-anglers to deal with and only marshals in the boat with them, they should also reconsider allowing trolling -T9

Is there an award for oldest post ever successfully resurrected??? ...oh, and Palomar, hands down -T9

I guess the one thing I'd push back against is that "putting aside terminology" ends up ultimately confusing the matter and making things worse. Call me "old school," originalist or a caveman, but as a teacher, Buck defined the terms to have specific meaning in this regard, thereby allowing for the successful transfer of knowledge from one angler to another. The lack of adherence to this over the years/decades has lead to such a dilution that it's hard to even attempt a discussion on the subject any more. You do, however, make a great point with being able to look at water differently once you develop some type of understanding in this regard. My experience over the years is that some people simply are not capable of ever reaching or understanding this way of looking at the water differently - Catt's point of being able to take a 2D image and "see" a three dimensional world. I guess that's why shorelines were created -T9