Hammer 4

True story. Some years ago, I was fishing a city park pond, which has/ had some nice bass in it. So the bluegill spawn was in full bloom. I'm throwing a 6" hudd in rainbow trout. There was a neat little mini point I thought may be hold a bass or 3, so I cast to it, which is about 30 yards from where I'm standing, so I can't see in the slightly stained water. Anyway I start my usual slow, bottom bouncing retrieve and I feel a Tic.. and I sweep set, only to find a chunk bitten out of the dorsal fin of my bait about 1 inch long. So just for fun I toss my bait back out there and again another tic, same thing except this time one of em took a chunk out of the tail, which is weird considering the size of the hudd tails. So, I have a 20.00 bait ruined lol. Needless to say I changed casting locations. Just goes to show how aggro those bluegills can be.

Take a look at the Irod gen III. Well made, very light. Customer service is one of the best. I have a Tatula frog rod, if it ever breaks or gets lost, it will replaced with an Irod. These run $ 150.00 at TW.

Location..like Tom said.

I would have to disagree. July, 110 degrees, gin clear water. Was fishing a small club tourney, tossed a 7" jointed hard swimbait in about 4' of water that had a riprap. Wound up catching a 6 1/2 lb'r for a kicker that won the tourney. Granted, it can be tough, and in conditions like that, I try to toss something that I'm thinking no one else would. Think outside the box.

Caught a 6+ lb bass on a 75 degree day with blue bird skies on a 1/2 oz. white spinner bait. The bass actually breached the surface to get the bait before it hit the water. So yeah, no rules even under those conditions.

Call Last Chance Tackle in Hemet, they can tell you what you need to know about DVL..

I'll use a feather on a popper, If it came with one. I also have a feather on my lunker plunker.

I use to fish with a group of guys, both fresh and salt. Not bragging but 99.99% of the time, I caught more fish, and more often than not, bigger fish. Did I feel bad, absolutely Not..?

Broke my right wrist 2 times. Both due to M/C crashes. After about a week, I jumped back on my dirt tracker and rode sorta easy, with no pain. Then after my Doc changed casts, I started to rider faster, which means more work on parts of your body, including my wrists. About 10 months later I had a bad get off at about 130 mph, broke the same wrist again, plus a couple of other things. I stayed off my bikes for 1 1/2 months, and no fishing. Doctors orders..To this day, some 48 years later, my wrist gives me trouble, I really sharp pains if I move it wrong, or put too much strain on it. My advice, let that sucker heal up, let you Doc tell you when you can fish and do other things.

If you are in fact using a leader, then I agree with RW, that 12 lb fluro would be fine. If not then let us know if your going to use all fluro or..?

I voted tight line. Which 99% of the time.

The hologram shad has caught me some nice bass, including the one in my avatar. It was a 4" fished on splitshot. They do work well on a dropshot also. Also I keep a few bags of the 4 and 6" worms.

3/8 oz would be a good all around weight. Mine go from 1/4 to 1 oz, depend on conditions.

My Son who is now 47 yrs old, is a drop shot fanatic. He might try a couple of different baits, but always goes back to the DS when things get slight tough. Me, I like to power fish, and I explain to him that while he may catch more bass, and usually smaller ones at that, I'm looking for the larger Mom's in the water, and as such that are not nearly as easy to catch. I then remind him that all the lakes we fish together I've caught the most and biggest bass.. he hates it when I bring that up. All n all, I much rather fish with him than fish solo, and the important thing is, we always have a great time, no matter even if we both get skunked.

Always called them thangs a weed wacker. Makes some gardeners lazy nowadays.

That was my first thought also.

I only use quality spinnerbaits that are wire tied, have quality skirts, and good components. Tried the wallyworld ones years ago. The band that holds the shirt desenagrated within a week and the skirt went with it. I have War Eagle baits that I bought 10 years ago that are still like new, sans some scratches on the blades. They do cost a bit more, but will last Way longer.

Diawa Tatula 300, if it's in your price range.

I've seen those Big bass mounts in person, pic's do not do them justice. Tom is imho a special person, talking with him, he is very generous, is a wealth of knowledge, and is an all around Nice guy. I made the drive to his home to buy some gear, and could have listened to him talk about fishing for hours. I just wish I'd met him sooner. When Tom talks, I listen. Greg

I wouldn't swear to it, but I think it was a Mepps inline spinner...Way to long ago to remember back that far..lol

Sounds like your doing a Great job at the hotel. Making the kids happy is the best.

They are showing the Tatula 300 reel priced at $ 256.99 ? They do show the Coastal at 218.99...

And I'll third this..

I like to bottom bounce them. Slow retrieve, while letting the bait hit the bottom, then slowly lift the rod tip just enough to get the bait about 4 to 6" off the bottom. This mimics a dumb baitfish feeding. If the bass are aggressive, and willing to chase, try swimming it a couple feet off the bottom, all the way to sub surface. Ultimately the fish will tell you what they want. Good luck, and happy swimbaiting.