Kendammit

it depends. With a worm, you're more often than not using a little bit of slack line because the bait will not hold a tight line, due to the weight of the lure. With a jig, its usually easy to get a tight line, in which case you'll feel the bite AND see the line move at the same time. On the other hand, sometimes a fish will pick up a jig pretty softly and carry it, so you still need to watch the line for any ticks or movements in it. They are pretty similiar, but I do think a jig allows you to feel more bites than worms do.

Jig was the only thing I could even get a response on when I was fishing yesterday. Oddly enough, the trailer and jig color were completely oddballed. I was using a black and blue arkie matrix jig with a watermelon super brush hog trailer using a swimming technique with a few wiggles and hops, and I got my only two bites of the day with it. Hooked up on the first bite, by the skin of the fishes teeth..literally, and the second one I missed..too quick of a drop for me to set the hook. Heres the way I approach fishing any lure...don't be caught up in "the right way to fish it". Do what you feels right to you and don't be afraid to try whatever comes to mind. Of course, not all baits can be fished in any way..but whats the worst that could happen if you fish it your own way? You might discover something new that works like a charm and lands a lot of fish. All that said the "right way to fish it" is the way you feel is gonna work the best for whatever situation you're in.

you dont' need too much to catch some fish. You dont' need the most expensive lures, or the most expensive rods and reels. If your reel or reels are able to take in line, and can hold the size line you need for where you're fishing..then don't give up. Always find a way to catch a fish on something. Dig up worms, catch bluegill, and re-use them as livebait.

as far as I'm concerned, hooking a turtle is bad business. I definitely won't get close enough to unhook the little monster (snapping turtles galore here in KY), and I don't want to lose my stuff by cutting line on a turtle, so I avoid tryin to catch em. they are a big time annoyance, though I threw a tiki stick back in early summer to a spot 3 times, and each time I reeled it back in, all but an inch had been bitten/torn/ripped clean off. I'd vote for bitten though because it was shortened with almost surgical precision. No rough edges whatsoever, and tikis don't really wrap around any vegetation.

basspro has it. I think water clarity is one of the most important but overlooked factors in bait selection. Unless you know for sure theres a fish sitting where you're casting..a silent worm will be hard pressed to get a fishes attention in muddy water. A spinnerbait, crankbait, something moving faster and with vibration and/or rattle will definitely get some fat fishes attention in the haze. Just as he said though, if its colder, a slower moving bait will have to be the ticket. as a general rule, the less visibility, go darker, but sometimes a bright bait can work pretty well. Clearer, go natural.

has to do with the light, for sure. Catch a bass late into the night hours and it'll be much, much lighter than daytime fish. Catch one in the middle of the day in shallow water and see how green it is. Of course, the water would have to be kinda clear during the day for it to be green. A pond I fish right now is stained to muddy water, and all fish are a pretty pale grey or very light green color. Earlier in the summer when the water was clear due to no rains, the fish were all very green.

its hard to put on a list of 5, but focus and patience are very big factors in catching fish. One has to be focused on what they are doing, where they are fishing, how the conditions are and how they are changing, and have the patience to last through the trying times in search of the fish.

I must have smart fish! Bass in my pond will rarely hit a senko or a tiki stick now. I haven't yet figured out if they just got the idea of the hook in them, or if its time of year. I'm the only person fishing the pond with senkos or tiki's, and only one other person fishes the pond at all. Kinda sucks because after one or two good days of catching fish, I basically have to switch to an entirely new bait for effectiveness Anyway, senko's really do work well in ponds, as do frog lures like zoom horny toads. I also have a lot of look with rooster tails and road runners fitted with 3 inch grubs.

really unfortunate that such a great looking fishing spot would cost so much just to repair. I don't know a lot about dam building myself, but I am sure theres someone here who has to know something. My guess would be that if theres a lot of cracks in the dam all the way across it, you are probably right. Replacing the whole thing could save you a headache or 10 in the long run.

it doesn't have to be : just put the question out there to drag more info into the discussion to maybe help the guy out...sorry about that.

was it an earthen dam or what?

could also be eating frogs, bluegill, or whatever other soft bodied creatures are in or enter into the water.

Well see...the job is supposed to be done b y the Park security, but all that guy ever does is sleep in his car and drive to McDonalds. I've written to the city about the problem, and they told me they had corrected it, but did not. I wrote them again and they never responded. KDFWR has reported that there are a "few 19 inch bass" in the lake, and that is good enough for them. The Bluegill are less than 6in. long, and thats also "healthy". I've tried talking to them about more supervision of the water, but as of yet, I have not seen anyone there except during the spring when people have an issue with licenses.

It takes a lot of help from the general public to keep fishing well, and unfortunately that doesn't happen in my town. The lake here, although its not a very good one, has been severely mistreated and abused and its not even 15 years old. Theres not a soul anywhere around it to monitor what people are keeping, and sadly this has led to many, many people taking fish below the limit without having a care about it. I don't know how it is where you guys are from but we desperately need someone watching over the catches of fisherman to get the bass population back to "healthy". Its so bad now that the lake almost seems dead to fish. I haven't seen anyone catch a thing from a boat or the shore in all the times I've been there this year. moral is...take care of your waters and they will take care of you. Sorry for the rant..but this has been irritating me tonight.

from the moment I notice a strike, its usually 1-2 seconds to set the hook. In that time I'm reeling down to tight, feeling the weight, and then setting the hook.