SammyLee

Me and a buddy, he has a Basscat boat, are leaving Memphis in a few minutes. We'll fish this afternoon and tomorrow. He is not part of the group so we will just fish and look around to see if we see anyone. What the heck, give me a call if anyone is around . 9-0-1---2-3-7---2-6-4-8

I told the wife she needed to take a few days off and relax. You know, somewhere without the hustle and bustle of large cities, maybe on a lake somewhere. she of course agreed to this fine idea and I had a lake in mind. Guntersville. On the weekend of March 20,21st. Sooooo, anybody know of a good place on the water, like a cabin or something? I need a place that will allow us to bring our two smallish dogs. I'd like to spend around a 100 bucks a night.

Great story. Is she one of us? I mean a with a BR name and all. If so, she (along with her BF) should meet us at Pickwick. That'd be fun for sure. Anyway, she says a lot of things that I feel too, although I really can't say how to compare buying a Chronach to a handbag feels. Never the less, I do love bass fishing. In fact, so much I think I'll quit typing and go fishing. The arsenal is ready and so am I.

I must add my kudos as well and agree with others that this is one of the best videos around. It gives us some insight to a real professional along with some good tips and techniques. Outstanding.

No! No! No! I've had reservations for a great camp spot at Lake Ouachita Arkansaw for the last few months. We arrive tomorrow around noon and I have a reserved fishing boat (16 foot, 15 hp motor, 24 mph) for Saturday. Last I looked the lake was at flood stage and .4 feet more. I've got too much invested in this to not try hard to get bit. I am thinking to jump fish for both LMB and strippers. If I can see zero action on the surface I am going to go deep with jigs and even see if I can pull a few up with some deep cranks. I am even thinking of drop shotting some whacky stick worms with a half ounce weight. If none of that works, I am going up into the creeks and run buzz baits and shallow cranks over grass. I will also try my strength, finesse worms in 5 to 20 feet. I have the rods ready and the tackle box loaded and a 3 day permit in hand. I may not get another chance any time soon so I am going to give it my all. I will have my float and hit the water around the state park tomorrow afternoon and Sunday morning. These fish are going to be tempted if I can find them. I have no depth finder but I do have a topo map and good map reading skills. So, come hadies or high water, they're going to get all I have this weekend. Wish me luck.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to fish the church lake and got my personal best, weighed on Rappala digital scales. Below is the email I wrote to the manager. -------------------- Tim, I got there about 2:30 and things were kinda slow. I caught a one pounder at the dam and then pretty much nothing. They were splashing and cutting up over by the dock so I walked over there and got one that weighed one pound 6 ozs. Which was a nice fish. I was getting tired and dehydrated and walked back around to the grassy bank and made a few casts. I picked up a 1 pound, one ounce fish and walked closer to the dam and caught a 3 pound 10 ounce fish that I thought would be the highlight of the day. He was a whopper. I then walked over to the dam close to the overflow and got another one pounder and then cast into the middle of the lake. My lure just disappeared from the surface and I set the hook on what felt like somebody's pet hog. He ran out taking drag but I finally turned his head, then he ran to me! I was reeling in as fast as I could and he jumped. I almost wet myself. It was the biggest bass I have ever had on a line. I fought him with all my skill and finally got him up to the bank at the dam. By this time I had stepped into the water up to mid-calf as I knew I'd never lift him out but needed to just grab him by the mouth, which I did. There was a car parked at Iona house and I hope I did not break any prayer or meditation with my yells and shouts. I sounded like a movie warrior who had just won the battle! He was so big I really thought he was gonna be a two digit fish but in fact weighed 5 pounds, four ounces, weighed on Rappala digital scales. What a perfect fish he was, no scars, marks or blemishes with perfect markings. I was careful with him the whole way and after a dozen seconds of admiring and weighing him, I got the hook out without any damage to that coffee can mouth. I put him back in the water and he finned away without seeming to be very excited about the whole thing. Praise God, what a fish. If anybody catches him during the picnic I will be suggesting that they release him, strongly. Anyway, thanks again for giving me the chance to catch the bass of my lifetime. (so far!) Warm Regards, Sam ---------------------------- From Tim: Thank you for the update and letting me know you had a great time. Don't be surprised if you see this in the church news.

Senkos aren't exactly lightweight, they weigh about 3/8 oz. That's what I was going to say. I use spinning gear for weightless plastics, jerkbaits, shakey head, and dropshot. Hmm, then that's probably why I can cast them I'll have to try some really light baits and see what happens. I'll give a wieghtless little worm a go this evening and see. Plus the wind is blowing directly into me from where I'll be casting, the reel test. haha. My noobness still shows for sure but I've come a long way for six months.

If there is a direct causative relationship here, the solution is practically impossible. Water treatment systems to remove these very small amounts of pharmaceuticals would be very expensive, I would guess. I would like to see the ppm in the water in the Potomac vs. ppm in other places, like spring water in North Florida followed by microscopic examinations of fish reproductive organs. Is it truly causative? There just is no doubt that 5 billion humans on this planet have a negative effect on the ecology, so what are the top ten priorities to try to fix with limited resources? I can see it now, if you take drugs for your health, you must urinate in this special commode which is designed to remove pharmaceuticals. I hate to see that our fish have reduced reproduction capabilities. I want our waters just teeming with game fish. Not so many that it becomes easy to catch them, that would be no fun, but a "target rich environment" would be a pleasure.

As my baitcasting skills improve, I find that I can cast very light weight baits like wieghtless sinko's just fine. I really never thought I would be able to do that. It may be coincidence but that new level of skill seemed to coincide with upgrading my reel to the Chronarch. All of my casting got easier after that. That's one reason I usually recommend folks just starting with level winders to buy a good one.

I bought a Zebco Omega spincaster on a Cabelas 6' medium for those who are beginners. I have a BPS qualifier spinning outfit for those guests who are just a bit more advanced. When they watch me cast a topwater lure to the far side of the lake with my baitcaster and want to learn, they can use my best. I still get a kick from my great nephew watching me cast, "How you do that!?"

Maybe all the changes suggested above will work but when my local lake (40 acres) went to full stop, nothing I did worked. This lake is just a few hundred feet from my house so I can and do go there almost every day. I threw every darn thing but the tackle box itself in all the different ways I knew, to all levels of the water column without getting bit. This started the first week in August. I fished it nearly every day with my wife getting tired my complaints when I got home. The last few days of August, I started getting a few on worms at night. Within a week, it was back to normal. I can walk down there after work, catch two or three and be home before supper or go in the morning and still be ready for church on Sunday. It was not me, it was the fish/lake/weather/water or something other than that which I can't imagine. Kinda funny others are saying to give it a rest. My neighbor said to me the other day, "Man, you don't give them a rest do you?" Heck, when it turned back on, I wanted to catching bass on that day, not the day after.

There's been a whole big thread on the stretch or lack there of for fluro. It seems some good tests indicated that it had the same as mono for the most part. That was a surprise to me as my 10# fluro seemed to have much better hooksets. I'll never believe that fluro has the same sensitivity as mono. With fluro I can feel a worm touch a twig or a dink's kiss.

If you're often getting big strippers, like over 15 pounds, I might suggest even a heavy 7 footer vs MH. I'm guessing sensitivity is not that big a deal with cut bait. The smaller ones will come to you just as easily. Just a thought.

I just learned BC's a few months ago and my first night effort resulted in backlash city. A couple of weeks ago, I was fishing at sundown and they were still biting and I kept casting. No backlash. I can now do it consistently. As they say, it's just practice and paying attention. Also, upgrading my reel seem to help all of my level wind casting.

Gee whiz, I need to just copy this whole thread and save it for things to try. I thought finesse was my strong suit but it seems I am still in the first grade. I simply t-rig or small jig-head a six inch, usually dark green, curly tail worm, cast into the deep water and slowly bottom bounce it up the slope back to me. I usually can pick up two to three dinks an hour this way, even when nothing else works. The bass in my pic, my personal best, was caught this way except in my float it's bank beating.

Well heck, you're invited to Memphis! We could fish Sardis or Pickwick or anywhere you'd like. You could stay at my house and I'll take a few days off. No kidding. I love to fish and meet other fisherpersons. PM me if you feel like coming this way.

Welcome Steve. This is without a doubt, the best forum related to real fishing I've ever seen. No real question is without THE answer. Some of the best fellows and gals are on here and willing to share much more than anyone should expect. I'll be going to Lake Ouachita on the 25th and 26th. I'll be renting a fishing boat from the marina and you're more than welcome to join me. Just send me a PM if interested. I could use some tips about the lake as I got skunked last time! Anyway, welcome and post away.

Man, I wish I was as healthy as that bass. What a beauty! Watch out now, this bass fishing makes drugs seem like child's play. I go to sleep thinking of them swimming around a half block away and how I'm going to catch them tomorrow. And I just love the fish themselves. Such lookers and fighters. I caught one Friday that hit and fought like a pit bull on a cat. It was vicious.

I got up at 0330 Saturday and hit the road by 0430 and was in the water in my little float at the boat ramp at the Pickwick Dam State Park with all the lures etc. I could pack into the float along with two bottles of water and a ham biscuit. I really can manage only one rod in the float so I took the Browning Citori rod with my Chronach Mg D7 loaded with Yo Zuri hybrid 10#. The boat ramp was surprisingly empty. My plan was to jump fish near the marina as I had had such good luck and fun the last time I was there, taking RW's advice to fish this area. Being so early, I thought I start with topwater plugs and made a few cast as I finned my way along with no strikes. I got over to the marina and to the far side casting into those broken down slips with no luck. There was no surface activity at all. So much for jump fishing. As the morning wore on, I switched to a crank and moved over to the "boat pathway" side of the marina near the trees. I was still not getting bit and my feeling was that the fish were deeper than my setup so I switched to a medium sized, fairly heavy gold and silver spoon with a feather tail. I cast it to the bank, quick retrieved until it got into some deeper water, even letting it bounce on the bottom. BANG! I got bit, set it hard and he was heading straight to the bottom. I mean, directly down, taking drag which was set pretty tight. Whoa baby, what is this thing? No bass I've caught fought this way. I had him either taking drag or coming to me and pretty soon, I have this weird looking fish on the surface. I usually just stick my thumb into their mouth but this sucker had a small mouth, almost like a carp. Hmmm. So I just reached and got him by his body. The darned thing grunted at me! He had a mouth like a carp and a body that reminded me of a Florida Redfish. Sort of a solid golden brown color and more flat than round. He was so weird I forgot to weigh him before I released. (looking on the Internet that night, I think I caught a buffalo) I stayed over in that area and got a couple of LMB, too small to be worthy of the scales. By lunch time, I was getting hungry and finned my way over to the marina dock at the far end, climbed out, ate lunch, called the wife and took about a 20 minute break from the water. When I got back in the float I realized how tired and sleepy I was so I finned my way to shore. I put my ankles up on the shoreline with my legs and butt still in the water, slid my hat over my eyes and nodded off. All of a sudden, something bites the fire out of my left leg! Man, did I wake up in a hurry. It felt more like a fish than a turtle with a scraping kinda bite. It did not break the skin. Dude, I was fully awake then! I finned my way back out to the cove near the marina and saw some surface action. I switched back to the pure silver popper and positioned myself where I thought they might resurface. In about 20 minutes, they did and I landed that plug right in the middle. WHACK! A perfect two pounder (exactly) was soon in my hands. What a perfect fish, no scars, scratches and beautiful colors and form. I hung around and got a two or three more that way. I was fishing near this "thing" just under the surface. I guess it was a log and someone had tied a soda bottle to it as a warning to boaters. Now, float fishing at Pickwick at the marina is a trip. These 50 foot yachts were motoring by and everybody and I mean everybody was like, "Hey man, that's cool!" "Having any luck?" etc. When I was in the cove, boaters would cruise by to see what the heck I was. But they couldn't get too close cause I was up in the hydrilla and shallow water. Places they could not go. Two fauns were feeding on the shoots and leaves near the bank, just about out of their spots. I snuck up on them so that I was just about 40 feet away. They never noticed until I got bored watching them and starting casting. Man, were they surprised! At 5pm I was really getting tired and started my was back to the car. I had been in the water for ten hours when I got back to the boat ramp. It was completely full. I dragged the float up and out and deflated it. Strange looks I got is an understatement. All in all I had fun. I did not catch as many or as big as I had hoped but still, I caught fish and learned more of our art. It seemed like a long drive back to Memphis and I was ready for some supper, I promise.

These last few mornings have been a bit cooler, around 68 or so when I get to the peninsula on the lake near my home. Sometimes the wind is dead calm and then the breeze just kinda puffs a few currents of air across the lake to me. The temperature rises a few degrees for a dozen seconds. I realize it's the heat of the lake moving into the atmosphere. How cool (or warm, as the case may be) is that? Can you imagine how many btu's this 40 acre lake holds? It makes me glad as this lake has had a surface temperature in the low 80's and I've been hoping for cooler days and waters to reactivate the fish. August was SLOW. BTW, I did get invited to a private 5 acre lake in Sommerville TN last Friday. We got there about 5 pm and I caught a couple of dinks then it slowed. My buddy got a 5 pound (digital scales) catfish on an crappy rod, ultra lite. What fun. I finessed some worms then switched to a shallow crank, sexy shad. BANG! A 3 pound 14 oz. pit bull of a bass slammed into it. It was getting near dark and I threw a topwater popper. WHAM! 2 pounds 11 oz. These fish fought like they were mad at the world! What fun.

I apologize for my smart donkey remarks but how else can you fish a crankbait besides on a reel? ;D ;D ;D Bassn you could in theory fish it on one of those Cuban yo-yo spools that some of my cousins use. Or tie it to the back of a boat and drive around the lake. Man, I've seen some guys fish with a coke can as a spool and hand cast the lure amazingly well. In fact, I think I'm gonna try that just for the heck of it. I've got a spool of wally world generic mono in 12# I think. I'll put a heavy topwater popper on the end and whirl the lure out there. Wait! I've got one of those wrist rocket slingshots. Maybe I could hold the can between my feet and fire that sucker about 150 yards out to the surface frenzy. I can see it now.

Your exactly right Raul. Big waves come from wind, current and REACH, which is the distance the wind has to act on the surface of the water. Santee Cooper is a BIG lake and with the wind blowing from the NW and me on SE shore, the reach was huge. Likewise, with current moving one way, like an outgoing tide at Boynton beach inlet and a strong wind from the East. Man, that'll put some tall, close waves right on you with a bottom begging to caress your boat. I've never actually gone out at Boynton having turned around several times. Lake Worth inlet was much safer.

Late 70's, 16 foot Larson on the Santee/Cooper lakes. The wind had been blowing from the NW all night at 20-25. At the ramp the waves looked 2-3 from the NW. After launch the wave grew to 3-4 and ten minutes later I was in 3-5. A big chopper crashed over the bow with a hundred gallons of green water. (My guess) Water was calf deep everywhere. In a sudden blast of God given inspiration, I hammered the throttle. That water surged aft and over the transom, taking with it the rear seats and who knows what else. Seeing a break from the big ones, I made a careful 180 and headed back to the safety of the ramp area. Whew....

Same old story. An employee at the pet store did not know a female molly from a male. I had to teach him. When I mentioned this to the manager he said, "Yes, you're right. By the way, do you know anyone who really knows fish and is willing to work for 6 bucks an hour?" Emmm, nope. I don't shop at the Memhis Dicks because the last time I was there they had a bunch of fishing gear with no prices. Everytime I wanted to consider something, I had to ask and they acted like I was bugging them. So, you don't want to sell it? I don't want to buy it.

I was a machinist mate in the Navy for 10 years, mostly working as QA inspector for SSBN repairs all over the world. I developed a love of fine machinery. I bought one of the first Mazda RX-7's to ever be sold in Charleston SC because it was a wonderful machine and it looked great. Today, I want fishing equipment that first works perfectly, or as close as humans can make it (that I can afford) and is a beautiful machine as well. Rod and reels together represent the essence of true basic machines, the lever and the pulley, expressed in a fine presentation preforming a basic task of life, finding food. What could be better? With so many great choices for such relatively low prices, I can demand function and beauty and get it, even on a working man's budget. You can bet any custom rod I buy will look like a million dollars.