Marty

I have read never to weigh a fish by putting something under the gills and I follow that advice. I don't like making a hole either, but then, I don't weigh many bass, just a few per year that are at the heavy end of the weight spectrum of what I catch. Insert the hook immediately next to the hard part of the lower lip so the lip supports the weight of the fish. This I do off center, since the center of the jaw is too hard to stick a scale hook through.

Yep, wildlife sightings are definitely an added bonus. I used to be an active birder and an active wildlife photographer and I'm always on the lookout for anything that moves.

Welcome to the forum Dan, and welcome to bass fishing. Check out the Beginners section on this site; lots of useful information. http://bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html The knot you were shown is the "Palomar", one of the strongest of all the knots and probably the most widely-used one in bass fishing.

Perhaps, but I'd love to catch something every time so I'd get first-hand experience in determining how boring it really is. :'(

That first one is a lipless crankbait, a type of lure of which some of the best-known are Rat-L-Trap, Spot and Rattling Rapala. They are very productive and can be fished in a variety of ways. The articles can explain them better than I can. Go down about 12 articles and you'll see some articles about Traps and lipless cranks. http://bassresource.com/fishing/features.html

Largemouth, 5-14, just 10 days ago on a Sizmic Toad used like a buzzbait. Smallmouth, not weighed, 20", estimated to be just under 4#, on a Jitterbug.

Congratulations on lifting yourself up and becoming a success. I hope you can help others in your former position to similarly succeed.

First, be proud of yourself for the ability to find fish, since you say there's always something hitting the Senko. Finding the fish is supposed to be the hardest part of fishing. Always start off with a different lure and give it a fixed amount of time before you switch. I'd also follow previous advice to try one of the knockoffs that cost half the price. If none of this stuff works, I can think of worse problems than always getting hit on Senkos. By the way, me answering a question about patience is akin to Saddam answering a question about human rights!! :

In my personal fishing, virtually all my strikes on soft plastics are detected by seeing the line move without feeling anything. Once in awhile I'll feel something that will make me think it's a bass. A tap-tap means sunfish for me and I don't set the hook. I learned that by trial and error. Felt the taps, set the hook, never felt resistance and put two and two together. But once I think a bass has it, either from seeing the line move or the occasional feeling something, I set the hook without further waiting. I think if I wait, two things can happen, both of them bad: the bass either drops it or takes it deep.

Exactly, it got his attention, but it didn't trigger a strike. I suppose there are a number of things you can do, but the one thing we know for sure is that you need to do something DIFFERENT. Different speed, color, size, bait or whatever, but something has to change.

Smallmouth, including good ones, will hit the full gamut of lure types. I agree with Bill that they seem to have a special liking for chartreuse, but they will also hit a variety of other colors.

I repair some plastics by holding them over a candle and sealing the holes. I used to pour some baits and also remelted some to be repoured. However, remelting usually resulted in a degradation of color. But black was perfect for remelting because the color stays the same and black has always been one of my favorite colors anyways.

I agree with Shad_Master that you did something at the end that was slightly different and triggered the strike. This behavior is very typical of the pike family, but regardless of species, it can startle the h*ll out of you.

I don't own any red hooks because I haven't seen any credible evidence that they are superior. And yes, the fish can see that hook in the worm, but can't possibly know what it is. All we know is that the whole package is something it wants to investigate. And, of course, on hard baits, there are two or three trebles in addition to split rings and maybe a snap, and this doesn't deter strikes either. So I don't worry about a hook eye or a tag end on a knot that might be 1/8" too long.

Two different lure categories here. Slug-Go was the first soft jerkbait, while I believe Senko was the first soft stickbait. The Yum Dinger is one of the million or so Senko knockoffs.

Check your regs, as others have advised. I've been told they're illegal to use in some states, but they're legal here in NY, at least the way I interpret the regs.

Always hold bass by the lower lip except when hooks in their mouth would pose a threat to you. Hold them vertically; if you have to hold them horizontally, like for a picture, support them from underneath with your other hand. The point is not to bend the jaw and put weight on it.

Shad movement influence = 0. That's because we have none, at least of the threadfin variety. :

I've read many statements by scientists that say the sunlight hurting their eyes thing is a myth. I shore fish a lot and it's not unusual to catch my best fish from that pond under bluebird skies in mid-afternoon in July or August. Perhaps that's more common here than in the south because our water rarely gets as warm as the low 80s.

I just saw the top five on TV today, but I forgot the details. But it was 13 something. This just covers the high level tours, not the Opens. I think a 14 something was caught in an FLW event.

I haven't kept a fish in almost 20 years now. But I always thought largemouth tasted like garbage, while smallies were fairly good.

Pretty simple answer to that one. Build one!!

As far as I know, Orlando retired after his show wasn't renewed. Bill has always had a good show. I know, lots of people complain about his well-stocked private waters, but he's an engaging guy and is instructive. Roland's clearly a great fisherman, but at times, his ego has raged so out of control, I've had to change channels. Lindners have always put on good show, plus they're different--who else will teach you how to catch carp? I watched Charlie Moore once. Not the stuff I'm interested in, but I can see how it would be entertaining to some. Hank Parker I can take or leave, that show does nothing for me. I don't dislike Shaw, but his high-pitched shrieks drive me crazy.

Welcome Scott. There was some recent news that the powers that be want to eradicate bass over there. What's the status of that?

Beats me. I can't remember the last time I got up early like that. :