SoFlaBassAddict

Gorgeous rod, Steezy. What all do you plan on throwing with that thing?

I believe it was a horny toad.

Get as wide as you can afford and or find. I've got a 36" wide and I can stand in it with no problems. I don't trailer mine and a 36 is easily manageable to pick up and toss in the bed of the truck by myself. That being said, if I had found a wider bottom, I probably would have bought that.

Oh, I don't plan on going out and buying a bunch of them. I think I've got like two or three bags of them and a pack or two of jigheads.

I'd love to see a link to the story on this one. I understand this is a major ecological catastrophe, but I don't see somebody in charge of BP being that callous to say that. They've been exceedingly careful with how they've worded things so far.

Thats kind of what I was thinking. On the other hand, I've had fish chasing them, so something is working. It's kind of like jigs. Not a big popular bait down here. They do catch fish though. This far south a lot of the traditional bass lures that you read about online just aren't effective. It's hard to find info about our area down here. A few hours north, no problem.... It's kind of like looking for a good lake map. They don't exist for any of the lakes around here. Lox, Iso, and Okeechobee aren't an issue. I would LOVE to get my hands on a contour map of some of the large strip lakes around my area.

One of the lakes I frequent is the largest and oldest in my area. It's some a healthy population of large grass carp. Doesn't seem to hurt the fishing at all. My lake on the other hand, has no carp in it. Just Pleco's. The bass fishing here has steadily been on the decline. Theres a thick layer of dead vegetation covering most of the waters on the shoreline now. I know there are still fish here, just not the numbers like when the lake was younger. There probably needs to be a very specific balance of how many carp to the size of the body of water to keep it healthy. Once you hit that point where there are too many, good bye fish habitat.

No chance they have a decent chance at taking it. I think they would be a Cinderella team at best, or a 1980 US Hockey team story at worst. I didn't like how they played in the friendly play two weeks ago. Who knows, maybe Donovan will GREAT and the defense stout. I hope so. Well, in defense of the US team, they didn't field a strong team in that game. Bradley was still working around and playing with his starting 11. Yes, if they won the whole thing it would be a Cinderella story. The defense is very suspect. If Onyewu gets beyond the fear of re-injuring himself, they should be much stronger defensively. Right now he's a liability. Loosing Charlie Davies was a huge hit as well. I think players like Altidore and Dempsey will be able to step up though. Edson Buddle is playing great this year, but thats only the MLS. Herculez Gomez really could be fun to watch, he's having a great start to his season with Pachuca. Tim Howard is never an issue. That guy is a great Keeper. I think the US' major concern will be the questions at defense along with the play of the forwards. Time will tell. The opener against England will be a big test for them. If they come out on top from that match, they could well ride a big emotional high into the second round and beyond depending on who advances.

You need to watch some EPL matches next season, Sam. That truly is the best soccer. Yes, the World Cup is great, it's really something special. But the Premiership is leaps and bounds beyond what the Cup is as far as competition goes. There are teams in the world cup that will be lucky to get a single point. In the EPL though, you really never know what the heck is going to happen.

Fish braid in and around rocks and see what happens.

How do you figure? try using a 5'6"ul rod for punching mats with 11/4oz weights and tell me you will do just fine. there are many more techniques for fishing than just worms and spinner baits, friend. You've got to remember, he said for the fishing he does. He may not need a rod that can hurl huge weights out to matted vegetation. He was just stating what he used for the fishing he does.

Almost anything inherently "dangerous" in fishing is preventable. If the sun is out, wear sun block and appropriate clothing. If you're worried about falling over the boat and drowning, wear a PFD. If you're out in weather that you shouldn't be in, get the heck off the lake. Unfortunately accidents happen, and common sense isn't common. There have already been multiple stories this year about people running into other boats and killing several other boaters. Who can say who's fault it is. Alcohol, lack of proper lighting, etc etc all play a part. Just take the time to prepare yourself accordingly. Check your equipment, go out and have fun. Just make sure you stay aware and pay attention while you're doing it. As far as what those morons at places like PETA have to say, forget them. I'd like to harm or torture some of those goobers from time to time.

One week to go! I can't wait for it to finally get here. Obviously I want the US to win. After the run they made at the Confederations Cup, I'd say they've got a decent chance. They should move out of their group fairly easily, but you never know. Who do I "think" will win? Brazil, Spain, Italy, Netherlands. Germany could be an interesting team to watch as well. Argentina has a shot, but the crappy coaching of Maradona will cost them a win in the end. Portugal will struggle, even with great players like Ronaldo and Nani. I'd love to see France play good, but after how much they struggled to qualify who knows. Thats another loaded team with really poor coaching. Mexico may be the sleeper team of the tournament. They have a very well rounded team, and Javier Aguirre has done a great job with them. All in all it should be a very, very entertaining month. If I were a betting man, I'd expect to see the "big" teams make it through the first and second rounds. Don't look for any Cinderella stories to happen.

x2 I absolutely love the sensitivity of braided line.

Those DOA shrimp are grossly popular down here. I used to use them all the time for snook and snapper. I think they changed how they made them after a while though. It seems like they aren't nearly as detailed or as much of a quality bait as they used to be. I've still got a few of the older ones here in my saltwater stuff, and some of the new ones I've seen look like garbage compared to them. Still a great lure no matter what though.

Appreciate the info guys. Hopefully I'll have a chance to go out tomorrow and use them some more.

Love the couple I have. I'll probably pick some more of them up at some point. Lighter than the Vendetta, feels more comfortable in my hand. I didn't like the Mojo at all. Other people love them, some don't. You've got to use what you feel comfortable with.

So, lately I've been trying out some tubes for largemouth but can't catch one for the life of me. I've had them follow them left and right, no matter what color I use. I realize this type of bait is used far more often for smallmouth, but I've got to imagine that a largemouth would eat them. Tried swapping colors, tipping them with JJ's to add some color, etc etc. I just can't get bit on them... Any tips for retrieves and whatnot for tubes for largemouth?

Sad story right there. You definitely need to pay attention no matter what water you're on. There are some seriously crazy people that have boats now.

I couldn't agree more with what Uncle Leo and Big Tom stated. Buy what you want to buy and enjoy it. Some stuff works for some people, other stuff works just as well for other people. It's not about what you fish with, but how much you enjoy what you fish with.

I use white jigs as a swimmin jig to mimic baitfish. Works great when bass are feeding on schooled baitfish.

Unless the weather's bad, I get out for at least two hours every day. Generally longer.

Sounds good. I may swap out a single hook on some of the smaller baits. The trebles are getting caught together which really irritates me. The larger lures have no issues. My only complaint is that some of them need serious tuning right out of the package. A couple of them were so bad they wouldn't even dive, just dig some water then flip right up onto the surface.

Agreed, we can't stop them from drilling. We are FAR to dependent on oil. What needs to happen is the regulations that are in place actually need to be enforced. The inspections can't be filled out in pencil by some dude on the rig only to be written over in pen back in Washington by the inspector. BP had warning this was going to happen and did nothing about it. The department handling oil related stuff (I forgot the name inside the Interior), needs to be overhauled big time. There are people that worked for the oil companies in government positions that decide how to help out the oil companies. Too much bribery and corruption in the senior members of a department that really can't have that anywhere inside of it.

One easy thing to fix if you haven't checked, make sure you haven't over spooled the reel. If you've got too much line on the spool it becomes very easy to backlash. I'm assuming you've read how to properly set it up after you made the first post.