senile1

;D You gotta' be kidding me.

LBH, I watch your videos and I can't think of anything to say that hasn't already been said. You should be doing a fishing show. I did think of one thing. On your next video, what do you think about showing the less experienced anglers how you pinpointed the deep structure or cover on your fish finder, and how you positioned the boat relative to that structure? It would be like a mini fishing show and it could help a lot of the guys on the forum since locating the fish is the biggest hurdle that any angler faces. Just an idea. Great video and beautiful, beautiful fish.

;D I love reading The Onion. It's great for a release from all the disturbing news. Great post.

Hey, Muddy. You're going to get a lot of different answers on the brand, but I would use 30 lb test or higher on a baitcaster. The diameter is still small compared to mono and the thicker braids won't dig into the spool as much. In fact, 50 or 60 lb Sufix Performance Braid will hardly dig in at all. I believe Sufix is the best, but you can't go wrong with PowerPro either.

I agree with Roger (Rolo). In the case mentioned, it might help to go to mono, but with adjustments you should be able to fish topwater on fluoro or braid as well. If you're only carrying three rods or so, it's difficult to impossible to have the "perfect" line on for every application, unless you like to cut line and change lures all day.

Yes, indeed.

I'm similar to Cart7 but I probably have 5 or 6 baits which cover most situations that I'll fish more than others.

Welcome to the forum!!!

Cool story, Avid. I love watching the great blue birds but it never occurred to me to try to feed them.

There are enough facts to worry about in life without worrying about wearing the right hat, wearing the right shirt, or wearing underwear with one inch skid marks. I don't believe in superstitions, but I do believe in the power of belief. If you have a strong enough belief in something, even though that something has no power at all, your belief will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Forget your lucky hat, and it's in the back of your mind ruining your confidence and causing you to think about the hat, rather than the methods you are using to catch fish. If you are thinking you will fail, you probably will. It's the same concept that applies when chasing members of the opposite sex. If you think you will be rejected and dwell on that thought, you, either won't approach the target or you'll be so nervous you make a fool of yourself. Failure is often the result of thinking that you will fail.

Well, guys, I'll be more prepared next time. I've been hacking my head off for over a week due to the drainage from my head. (Is this too much information? ) I was running a fever over 100 for a few days, but today I'm starting to feel much better. Don't ever forget your rainsuit and make sure you're wearing water-proof boots. Lesson learned.

Speaking of salmon, I was fishing for salmon on the Snake River one time. I hooked into a nice salmon and then suddenly it got really heavy and the water turned into a series of tumultous, thrashing waves. A grizzly bear had swallowed my salmon. We landed him and had a big dinner that night. I did lose a couple of friends getting him into the net. :

Your jerks should be made when you have slack in the line.

nieten7642, don't give up on "walking the dog." Get the right lures and use the suggestions given here, especially what George Welcome mentions above. When bass are hitting topwater, walking a Zara Spook or similar lure has got to be one of the most fun ways to fish, at least for me. Between jerks, you will turn the reel handle to retrieve line but not much. You want to leave enough slack to allow the lure to cut side-to-side on your jerks. Also, remember that when a bass strikes, wait until you feel him before setting the hook. Bass will often swipe at these types of lures without taking them in their mouths so you'll miss them if you set the hook immediately. After 15 - 30 minutes of practice, or possibly even less, a lot of this will come to you.

Adjusting your drag from experience is nice. (When you have experience.) Laggyman, if you're not familiar with adjusting your drag during the fight, using the weights is absolutely a great idea to create a starting point for your drag settings. After you become more accustomed to the equipment you are using, you will eventually use some of that valuable experience to adjust your drag further. A MH rod should have no problems lifting the weights you mentioned. I would be concerned about the drag system on your reel. A Daiwa Procaster should be able to lock down and not slip on 3.3 lbs of weight and even more.

Be careful what you ask for, LBH. To achieve world peace, human beings will have to become extinct and that would put an end to our bass fishing.

GMAN, next week its my Chiefs against your Rams. I'm a St Louis Cardinals baseball fan but in football its Chiefs all the way, ever since the football Cardinals moved to Arizona. I know I live in K.C. but I grew up on the other side of the state and I can't leave my roots. Anyway, it should be a good game.

Ditto. Muddy_man, you said it all,

Fishbear stated: Most people didn't pick up on that so quickly, fishbear. That's why it is considered one of the best "horror" movies by many. I like horror movies that are done in a fairly intelligent way. Usually, this requires some kind of twist at the end that shows some intelligent thinking was used in the movies' creation. Of course when I was very young I liked a lot of horror movies but things change as you get older. Some of my favorites are: Sixth Sense, The Others, Signs (which actually is about faith but uses horror as its vehicle), and the original Saw. Like others have stated, when I first saw Jaws at age 13, I was scared senseless, because nothing had ever been done like that before. The Exorcist was the same way. I watch these movies now and they do nothing for me, but at their release, they were some of the best.

fishingJ: That sounds like some good eatin'. In the future, be careful, because I think deer have to be more than 60 inches from nose to tail to be a keeper. Some states have slot limits and I believe you also must catch them on artificial baits as well. After the D.A.S.S tournaments at my local lake, there are generally a lot of deer swimming around near the docks after they are released. After they have been released for a few hours they'll usually bite again.

That sounds like some good eating. Glad that you had a great time.

Well, the smallest bass I ever hooked would be a world record, but, d&*$, if it didn't shake its mighty head and throw the hook at the boat. I'm still seeking to beat my personal best in this category. :

rocknfish, I would be looking for deep structure if your water temps are 40 degrees. The fish in the deeper water will be less affected by your high winds as well. Of course, if the wind is 35 - 40 mph I'd stay off the water.

Part of the problem for St. Louis is that, as a city, it cannot annex any more land from St. Louis county. It is surrounded by suburbs that are thriving in St. Louis County, but I believe it is the law for that county that St. Louis must remain inside its existing borders. Since the city has aged, much of the area within its borders has become run down and has become a haven for crime, as occurs with the oldest areas of any city. Other cities can annex land and spread out into new areas. These new areas have very little crime compared to the core which lowers the crime rate for those cities. St. Louis is not able to do this. St. Louis has done a lot to improve its downtown but this area is still surrounded by slum and ghetto areas.

Fishbear, only you can choose which line is best for you and it will probably take some trial and error. Your post states that you've read a number of threads regarding different lines, so you are probably already familiar with the applications at which each line excels. All that is left is to buy a few spools and try them out and see what works best for you. If you need further explanations about the pros and cons of each type of line, let us know.