SammyLee

I am lucky in some ways. I can walk 5 houses down and be at the lake to practice. I am still working on the art of the level wind reel otherwise known as a baitcaster. Within the thread I think, I have a question. Do you practice/cast one handed or two? Seems like the pros distance cast with two hands. I seem to be better with two also. I can use my left hand for the energy of casting and my right hand to thumb the spool with less effort and more finesse. ps I was casting a chigger craw with the new BPS finesse BC and doing a super quick retrieve just to get in more casts. On about the 10th one, WHAM! a really nice bass swollowed the craw and took off. Nice for me I mean, maybe 1.5 pounds. I really thought the craw was to be slow fished and bounced off the bottom.

If it's just one thing, it would be how to fish plastic worms really well. If I could add another, it would be how cast a BC really well. Those two will catch em if they are there to be caught. If I had wishes it would be that my Dad would have been a bass fisherman rather than the crappie he loved. Although he did catch a big LMB and had it mounted. He was so smart and skilled that if he had gone after bass he would have been able to teach me a thousand things that I am just now learning in the "autumn" of my life.

I don't even ask (or shop much for tackle) at Walmart for that reason, plus I like to give my business to the local mom and pop stores around here. I had a similar story when I went to buy some mollies for my aquarium and asked for three females. The fellow said, "Sure, which ones are those?" I was stunned that he worked in a pet shop and could not tell the sex of fishes. I mentioned this to the manager who said, "Yep, you're right. By the way, do you know of anyone who really knows about fish and would be willing to work for 6 bucks an hour with no benifits?" He kinda had me there. I'd love to work in the tackle section of BPS or someplace like that, although all my earnings would be gone before I could cash the check. I just love great tackle or any nice precision machine. I'd also love to learn ALL about it and sell folks exactly what they needed. I have gotten some good advice from both employees and customers at BPS. Plus you can hardly beat the return policy. I was kinda on the fence about the Fishing Buddy fish finder and the tackle manager told me, "Heck, buy it, try it out. If you don't like it for any reason just bring it back." I said, "Just because I don't like it?" He said yep, no questions asked, no problem withing 30 days. And I did bring it back. It just was not handy for a float tube. Now the float tube? I LOVE that thing. I've caught more fish in that thing than I ever did from shore or even a boat. Dinks FEAR me! Well, not really cause sometimes they practically jump in my lap. But I love them. They do make me wonder about what happens when a 8 pounder gets hooked. The little ones give me a workout! Fight their little hearts out for sure.

Christmas trees with rocks tied to the base, old tires with rocks inside and sank upright, me and dad every year. They made spring time fishing great.

I was there in 1969 when the USA landed on the moon. My parents and I went over to the hotel to see it on TV. While we were camping near the lake, I noticed the lake had bunches of large goldfish and pointed them out to my dad. He told me in a few years, all that will be left of them is carp. Seems he was right. It is a pretty lake and one I want to go back to.

Saturday I took the float tube down to the neighborhood 14 acre lake and finned off the bank right at sun up. I brought only the spinning rod as I knew exactly what I was looking for. Schools of dinks churning the surface. I had tied on a green/gold lipless crank that could run pretty close to the surface. I have seen and caught them before and they usually really get going about an hour after it gets light. Saturday, they were really on. I was literally getting wet from being splashed by the aggressive bass chasing minnows. I could see individual bass after individual minnows. I was that close. It was my assumption that these fish would all be about the same size, around .75 to 1.5 pounders and that was mostly true. However, I got one that felt like a 3 pound fish. I am not sure he was in the dink classroom though as it was a late bite a few seconds after the surface action. He may have been a cruiser attracted to the action of his smaller buddies. All in all, I unhooked and released over 20, including two "stripers" between 5:30 and 9:30. After the surface action slowed, I started kicking back to the car but switch to a topwater popper just to cast as I went along. Bang! Nice big dink to end the fishing day. A thirty second drive to the house, a cool one and a nap in the AC with dreams of dinks dancing in my head. Real fun day.

Just had PBS spool up some P-Line 100% Fluoro 10# on the new BPS Finesse baitcaster. Fished yesterday and today with it and like it alot. Kinda hard to tie knots (seems stiff and hard to bend) and if you don't spit on it and tug on the tag line to tighten it, it will cut itself. Maybe line conditioner would help, I've never used it. Hook sets are good; just wait till you think it's the right time and quickly lift the rod. Clean lip/jaw hooks on all fish so far. Well of course, between yesterday and today I only caught 7 smaller LMB so my history is shallow. Spooling P-Line braid on the spinner which I like so far.

I use 20# fireline crystal and it is white as flour and looks like an anchor line that floats. I am going to switch to 10# fireline to a 15# fluro leader.

I'm running 20# fireline on my spinning reel. It is so visible I am sure I need a leader. I have just tied on some 12# Cajun red to a small barrel swivel and tied the braid to the swivel. I made the leader about 20 inches long. There must be some balance between leader length, casting difficulty, strength and visibility. I am mostly casting 3/16 to 1/4 ounce lures. So far, casting distance seems low. I switched to the braid to help with hook sets with a ml 6'6" fast action rod. That part seems to have helped as I've lost fewer fish. Suggestions on a leader?

Here in Memphis they went from the beds to "scattered". I've had my best success catching them schooling on the surface but that is just a chance kinda thing. (but what fun when I am at the right place at the right time!) Other than that, no big numbers but the ones I've caught have been near the bank in the evenings on the drop offs and around structure like docks and lilly pad bunches. All have been between the surface and 10 feet. Shad like lipless on the surface and jigheaded craws and t-rigged worms for cover. (also weightless sinkos, I'm thinking to try drop-shotting next time)

Maybe three times in 40 years. I travel a good bit and always buy short term out of state licneses. Not too expensive but not free for sure. I was in Arkansas a month or so ago and met up with the wardens at the rental dock. I was almost wanting them to ask me for it but NO, just how ya doing? I guess I look like I buy the darn things. Like RoadWarrior, I too wish they would check more, especially those who seem to be drinking more than fishing. Game and fish need more money and that's one way to do it. I used to deer hunt with no success. I often joked, "Can I just send you the forty dollars and stay at home this year?" Once I bought the dang license I felt obligated to at least take a walk in the woods with a gun.

No, not so far but if I could get a 5 pounder or bigger, I'd kiss its butt in front of the First National Bank at noon on a Friday. Do ya get the feeling that I really want a good sized one? ;=)

It ain't much better here in Memphis, air temps in the high ninetys and the water surface temp was 88 on Saturday at the lake by my house. There is a thermocline about 8 feet down at least. My special secret lake has turned brown and the water is low and where I caught 30 LMB 6 weeks ago, Satuday I got 3. Man, hard times.

Fall, from early Fall to late. I love the weather, nice and crisp, clear dry air. The leaves turning color, the lake usually clear. The fishing improves or at least I can stay out there longer without sweating to death. Sometimes a jacket feels great.

Well, I'd be competing for that title too I think. Had my first tournament yesterday and got skunked where other boats got plenty of 4 pounders. All the advice you've gotten is good stuff, give it a try. Also try to consider any outing a "potiential" and don't put pressure on yourself. Any fish I catch is a bonus. Sometimes it is just a matter of time. I used to only catch a bass as a sort of random luck, odd day kinda thing. Friday morning I was sitting in the middle of schooling bass on the surface and I could not catch and release quickly enough. Random luck there? Yeah, maybe but I've been to that lake many dozens of times. Fished it hot, cold, rainy, dry and everything in between. Keeping a lure wet even when it is just a "day out of the house" helps. Don't give up yet. Heck, at your age, if I was catching them at all I'd have thought I was big stuff. ps, I second the motion of t-rigged plastics. Really, a go to bait.

Yeah, that's right. The local lake management team is having a tournement from 6pm till midnight. I was out there this morning tearing up the dinks in schools from my tube float when he came over and invited me. 15 bucks to enter and 5 dollar big fish. Weigh your best 5, as usual. They want to clear the lake of little ones so they are going to give the fish away. (Keep all you catch) So, 2 1/2 hours of light and 3 1/2 hours of dark. 6 hours in a float tube so I guess I'll be wrinkled up! My arm and shoulder are already sore from casting this morning and I've still got to take my nephew fishing this afternoon. I wonder if I can make some money fishing today? Must be a whopper of a first prize with that big entry fee and maybe 6 or 8 boats.

Fabulous fish! And what a whacky lure! Oh, just kidding but man, you were surely hunting for the big ones and dang, you got one. I am a little puzzled by these big fish you guys catch. The little ones I catch put up a heck of a fight, break lines, jump and shake their heads, etc. I'm not sure what I'll do when a real lunker bites.

When I start trying to remember back as far as I can, I remember being at a lake with my Dad. The boat was on the beach and I was trying to fish. I found a picture of that day and it was dated 1959. I was born in September of 1954. I must have been about 3 and a half. A child's brain and mind are being formed here and honestly, I think these things affect our personality for the rest of our lives. Good for you and your son! We all need to take a child fishing. Most will love it forever and it will give them a gift to their spirit. Children - Pay attention to them, be kind to them and take them fishing!

Since I've never caught a bass over about 2 pounds, you'd think I'd want the biggest one. Yet, I just love the way a healthy bass looks. All these small ones I catch down at the local lake look so pretty. Their markings and shape are just gorgeous. I keep them out of the water for just seconds and am very, very careful with them yet they burn into my memory. I'd take the 10 pound beauty.

Haven't tried it at night but I was worried about the wind with my tube float. It was pretty windy this morning but with those huge, expensive, split fins I could keep myself anywhere I wanted to be and move to another spot very quickly. Kinda hard to cast into the wind when your elbow is 3 inches off the water. I just fin kick upwind and cast downwind. I had a 16 foot Larson ski boat that I used to fish in all the time back in Charleston. Until the waves got to be around 3 feet, I pretty much did fine. I did get my arse handed to me and almost swamped the boat in some 4 footers. Got ten or twelve small ones this morning, all on the surface.

Hit the local lake in the float tube about 7am this morning with two rods, one ultralite with a crappie crankbait and a ML spinning reel with a chigger craw, more lures in the tuperware. By the time I got in the water, I could see small schools of bass tearing em up on the surface. I fin kicked myself to the middle and cast the crappie crank into the middle of them. Wham! A pounder quickly to the float and released. Three or four more like that and finally one that was much bigger. I was casting pretty far out to the moving school and had the drag set pretty tight on the six pound mono. I was mostly using the rod and line stretch to absorb shock. When I got this bigger one, maybe a two pounder from the looks of her, up to the float, she decided she was going to the bottom. With the rod in nearly a U shape and only 6 or 8 feet of line out, it broke the line. Dang stupid mistakes! I switched the spinning outfit to a white lipless rattle trap and kept it up. With this, I could really haul them in. I am using 20 pound braided fireline with a 12 pound mono leader. I get four or five more and it slows down and I decided to switch back to the craw and fish the lilly pads. No real luck there but they started churning the surface near me and I just cast the craw into the mix. Wham! Another pounder on a craw at the surface! I was using it like a topwater bait. More and more schools were out in the middle of the lake and I still had the broken line on the ultralite. Just for fun, I tied on a three inch topwater popper in gold and green and cast it a country mile. When the lure touched the surface, I had one on. I think these fish would have hit a bare treble hook. Three or four more like this and my phone rings. It's my wife at work and her pants split and I had to take her another pair! Good grief. Well, it was getting hot and I had landed 12 or 15 in two hours so who should be greedy? I think I'll take a nap and go back down there this afternoon. Ahh, bass on the surface and a day off! Life is good. Woman to friend, "Yeah, he's a real go getter. When she gets off work, he goes and gets her."

Maybe an ounce over 2 pounds, LMB. I know, just a big dink for most of you but a heck of a nice fish for me. My day is gonna come because I am not going to quit trying. I'll hit the local lake at 0500 tomorrow in my float and Saturday, I am going to the "little" lake at Meeman State park where most folks don't or can't fish. I'll bet there is a fish I want to meet for a few seconds swimming there right now! It's about 96 degrees outside right now but I'll still go.

Yep, wide brim hat, sunscreen and long pants. I need to wear better sunglasses. When I was about 13 with my Dad and a guide in Panacea Florida, we were coming out the bay into open gulf when the guide said, "Boy, do you see a red bouy out there?" I said, "You mean the one about 200 feet away, tall as a house, off to our right?" He goes, "Yeah, I'm kinda sun blind from all the years on the water." Wow, I'd hate to loose my vision, too many pretty things to look at!

I had a similar deal the other day and I tried any lure that looked remotely like a small brim with no luck. Out of desperation, I put on a watermelon swim sinko (one of my favorite baits) and cast beyond the fish action and did a quick retrieve with the sinko tail making a little wake and splash, fishing it almost like a topwater. Got three before I wore out my welcome. What made them hit a worm when they were feeding on goldfish sized panfish? Hmm, just cause they're bass.

Man, if we didn't have days like that, it just wouldn't be real fishing. We gotta try hard and often to make it what is. Although sometimes I feel like somehow I don't seem to have much choice! I just gotta go fishing! I used to water ski when I was in my twenties with some really good skiers. They used to tell me, "If you don't fall often, you aren't trying hard enough!" Keep it up. Both you and your son will have a day on the opposite end of that spectrum. Those days will be burned into your memories and lives. During the last days of my Dad's life he said, "Son, do you remember when you were young and wanted to go fishing, and I took you and taught you?" I replied, "Yes sir, I do. Very well." He said, "Well, now my health has failed but I want to go fishing. Will you take me?" I tried and tried but he was unable to walk at all or hold a rod. He finally said, "It's ok Sam. You did your best." The last thing he wanted to do before he died, was to fish. Fishing was one of the great pleasures of his life and now mine.