Shad_Master

I would suggest, read grimlin's post - read the articles - then go fishing and leave everything at home except your jigs. It's easy to get frustrated and switch back to what comes natural for you. It just takes practice to understand what the bite feels like and as has been said it is not the same every time. Once you get the hang of it, it's like riding a bicycle.

This has been an issue for me for several years as I am an avid braid fisherman. I always get grief from other guys about the "visibility" of the line and the negative affect this might have on bass hitting my soft plastics. My argument has always been, have you ever considered how much crap there is in the water already? Do you really think a thin piece of line is going to stand out? However, last year I gave in to the pressure and started using a leader. Had a pretty good year, but can't say definitely that this was the reason, but why screw around with success. So now I use a flourocarbon leader for all my T-rig and weightless rig applications. I typically use 12# flouro, about 6', and join it to the braid with a uni-knot. you might occasionally feel a tick as the knot goes through the top guide, but that is not really a big deal (at least to me). You do need to check the leader for signs of abrasion during the day and they can be a female dog to re-tie in the wind. But that is just the nature of the set up.

Another option could be that there was some subtle problem with your lure - size, color, etc. - you were close enough that they wanted it, but not enough to commit. Make a subtle change in your lure and see if that changes anything.

Check out Parsite Clips - you can pick them up at BPS - don't know how they work, don't know why they work - only know they work.

Being a frugal (read - cheap ****) fisherman, I find myself holding back when throwing high dollar cranks into timber, especially submerged timber. However, a couple of years ago, I saw some $1.99 cranks in the bargin bin at BPS - bought one in every color and knew that I wouldn't hesitate to throw them into the thick wood. Since then I have caught lots of bass on these lures and have only lost one or two. Maybe what I'm saying is confidence with your favorite CB may go along way.

I experience sort of the opposite, especially in Club Tournaments - to hear the reports from the water, you would think we were fishing the Dead Sea - nobody has caught anything, until we have our check-in at the end of the day. Several years ago, when my Son was about 10, he fished as my partner in an informal tournament. I was struggling on the day and, to hear it, so was everybody else. With about an hour to go, I managed to hook one that was about 14" - after netting him for me, my son said (trying to be like the big boys) - "D**n Daddy, you may be winnin this thing" - I told him, "No Son, wait until you hear what these other guys who said they weren't catching anything actually caught". He has been confused about fishing tourmanents ever since.

It's a spotted Bass - no really, as I understand it those are the result of pigment sort of like some people have birth marks. This comes up from time to time around here and that's what I have been able to figure out anyway.

Nothin much surprises me anymore - just find it interesting

If you are just getting started - and I assume you are fishing mostly from bank - I would suggest starting out with either a Senko or a Lake Fork Tackle Ring Fry. These can be fished weightless and will give you pretty good results. I would also encourage you to consider a buzz bait (especially for early morning or late evening). A chatter bait can also be a good starting lure, but it does take a little longer to get the hang of it, depending on the water and what the fish are doing at the time. A Pop-R is another early or late lure. Hold off on the jigs until you are feeling comfortable with what you are doing - although one of my favorites it is usually not for the novice. The main thing is don't try to do it all at once. Get some high producers, like Senkos and LFT Ring Fries and build on your success. Before long you will need to add a wing on your house to hold all your stuff.

Thanks Brent, I kind of figured that was the reason - just can't seem to come up with a formula as to how long/short they should be. By trimming off an inch, that still leaves you about 2 inches - right?

I was just wondering how long/short you trim the legs on hollow body frogs and why. I'm talking about like the Spro and Koppers for instance. Thanks for your input.

Being from Omaha, I am wondering if you guys had any thoughts about the new ballpark?

The immediate answer to your queston is "Yes". It really depends on the mood of the fish. Sometimes they want a smaller finesse type bait and sometimes they are so aggresive they will try to eat the outboard. It all boils down to what presentation will work at that time. Factors that can affect the outcome are things like weather, water temperature, fishing pressure, etc. Don't limit your pony to just one trick.

I have seen the same thing happen with blue gill and bass. There is a lake near me that has an overpopulation of blue gill. When throwing a soft plastic bait, it is common for there to be a lot of BG bites - but if you see your line moving off w/o feeling a strike, just wait and if you see it change directions, set the hook and you will usually have a bass on the line. They are competing for the forage and are forced to school up together.

When my son was 2 1/2, I took him to a local AAA team game - my company at the time had box seats about 6 rows up even with 1st base. His mother had warned me about giving him peanuts because she had read they were a chocking hazard for small children, but you can't go to a ball game and not eat peanuts - so I told him to chew them up really good. In about the 5th inning, a foul ball came in our direction and I was able to snag it on the first bounce, sat down gave it to him and the crowd cheered. Then I looked up on the jumbo tron - he was sitting there holding the ball and I noticed his cheek looked like a squirrel getting ready to hibernate. He had been chewing the peanuts I gave him and storing them in his cheek - I told him it was okay to swallow them after he chewed them up. We got the team mascot to sign the ball.

I fish with Lake Fork Tackle Ring Fries a lot, but will work with any "french frie" type bait - rig 'em weightless and them stick a nail weight in the "butt" of the lure. It causes them to back up when you twitch 'em and will draw strikes like you can't believe.

As one of my fishing buddies used to say - "don't throw what they were biting on yesterday - throw what they are biting on today".

As dangerous as the hooks are, weights can be dangerous, too. A couple of years ago, a guy near here was fishing a drop shot on the dam when he got hung in the rocks - pulling to break the line the rig came loose and flew back hitting him in the eye - he actually lost site in that eye. A good idea to wear good quality sunglasses when fishing.

Don't be afraid to let him experiment - when my son was about that age, I let him be my "partner" in a club tournament - when we got to our spot, the wather was like chocolate milk - I had planned to throw a spinner bait, but felt like the muddy water (from a rain that morning)would not be good. He tied on a Chug-bug. I had just finished explaining to him that this was more of a clear water lure when he hooked a solid 3 pounder (so much for ole Dad's advice)

While watching the weigh-in on BASS.com today I heard one of the guys (might have been Kevin Wirth, but not sure) say he was held in the "penalty box" for a period of time (like maybe an hour or more). Does anyone know what this is about?

I think the issue is that Denny had this area staked out and JVD just moved in without asking him if it was alright. There was a similar thing a couple of years ago with Aaron Martens and Byron Velvick that almost broke out in a fist fight on the water. There was also talk today on the BASSblog that some guys were fishing right on top of each other, but everybody was getting along. That may change as the weekend draws closer.

Change of underwear for the passenger, please!

Don't overlook a Chatterbait or two

If you are just fun fishing the "last cast" is just the one before the "next cast" - but in tournaments you have a hard line to check in - a couple of years ago, I was fishing from the back of the boat in a club tournament and my partner had his limit and what turned out to be the biggest stringer - I had four (one short of a decent limit) - we had fished almost 13 hours the day before and had fished for almost 8 hours on tournament day - I was getting a little punch drunk when we saw a fish swirl up against the dam - we figured 10 minutes to check in from there so I had about 20 seconds to catch that fish and finish out my limit - my arms felt like wet noodles and I made about 10 "last casts" to that fish and finally got him landed just as my boater got to 2 on the countdown. I measured the fish as we were heading to check-in.

Our small club has an optional buyin for tournaments. $5 for big stringer and $5 for big bass. The big stringer pays out 1st, 2nd & 3rd place - while the Big Bass is a winner take all. We usually average 8 to 14 boats and the payouts range from 3rd place $5 (get your money back) to $35 for 1st place. While Big Bass can range from $35 to $70. My argument has been that it is harder to put together a winning stringer than it is to land a big fish (just one lucky cast) and so the stringer should pay more. How do other clubs handle this type of thing?