Bluebasser86

That 3rd one is a fattie! Very good day indeed!

I'm assuming what you're seeing are cruising fish at this time of year. Cruising bass are usually really tough to catch but for me a small soft plastic jerkbait like a super fluke JR is about the most consistant producer. It is very exciting and a real challenge to fool a bass that you can see. If all else fails a live nightcrawler with a very small hook through one end and no weight is a great last resort.

Shiner, I've caught some close to a foot long out of ponds on inline spinners and small crankbaits. Great big bass bait.

Sunfish are hardier so I usually use them but sunfish or bluegill about the size of my palm are what I use when I use them. I like to hook them behind the dorsal fin with the smallest hook I can get away with. Clipping the spines off helps sometimes but it seems to kill the fish faster also. I freeline them around an area where I think a big bass might be and if I don't get a response I move on to a different spot. If there are bluegills in your lake than the fish eat them, you might have to make a few trips before you find one the right size though.

Shakey head if their deeper the 5 feet, wacky rig if their shallower or I need to skip my bait.

I decided to take advantage of the Curado being discontinued and bought another one the other day. Got it home and took it apart to soak the bearings and regrease them. When I put the reel back together the reel handle turns for maybe 1/2" and stops and will not budge either direction. If I leave the rollar clutch inner tube out it seems to work after I put the reel back together. After I drop the tabs down into place in the key washer the handle stops. I thought maybe it had something to do with the tabs on the inner tube catching on something but there is nothing for it to catch on? That has lead me to believe that the clutch pawl is hitting something on the frame or part of the frame is preventing the reel from working. I've taken my other Curados apart to maintanence them and had no problems. I feel that I'm either forgetting to do something simple or possibly I just got a bum reel. I haven't lost any parts or broken anything because I'm very careful with it and working on a white table cloth and short white carpet just so if I drop anything. I've got the schematics blown up so I can see exactly where everything goes. Any of you guys that work on your reels a lot with any ideas it would be greatly appreciated!

Looks like a cheap Renegade minnowbait to me. Wal-Mart usually has them in a dump bin for a couple bucks but I've seen a bunch of fish get caught on those cheap baits.

Lucky you! I'd love to try the Hardgill but I just can't talk myself into popping for a 50+ dollar swimbait. If I ever find a deal like that for one though you can be sure I'll have it!

For me it's always a crankbait or rattle trap banged around heavy cover.

Looks like plenty of room to me. I have a 70lb Maxxum on my boat and I don't know if the area it's mounted on is any bigger than that. I think it only has 6 mounting screw holding it on but it's never budged through all the stumps and rocks it's banged into.

I wish I was going fishing with my dad tomorrow. Unfortunately we work different shifts and have different days off so we almost never see each other. I'm glad he'll be changing days off soon so we'll at least have one day off together. I know enough people who have lost their dads suddenly to know that if I keep saying we'll go fishing sometime, I may run out of time.

Nice fish, what he'd catch it on? You keep it? They must not have advertised the night fishing out there very much, not that it would have mattered since I was at work from 8pm-8am.

It is some pretty nasty dirt roads getting out there. If you go to 359th street to Somerset you only have to be on dirt roads for about 4 or 5 miles. I just stop when I get to Somerset and put all my rods in the cab of the truck so I don't give them dust baths and go. With my aluminum boat I'm not really worried about trying to keep it shiny.

I can cast pretty well with both hands. I can reel with either hand on a spinning reel but only right handed with a baitcaster. If I have to reel lefthanded with a baitcaster it looks like I shouldn't be allowed outside without a helmet.

You might try letting your line out behind the boat and reeling it back up. Sounds like it is digging into itself causing the bungee effect you're getting so letting it out and reeling it back up should make it lay right again. I'm sure there are ways to keep braid from digging into itself and causing this problem to start with but I'm not sure how to prevent it! I don't smaller line is your answer here though.

^^ What he said. No reason to use a loop knot on a split ring. That's like clipping a snap onto a split rig or putting two split rings on a bait. You'll be fine if you just tie a palamar or whatever knot you use directly to the split ring and then you don't have to worry about it slipping!

Looks very nice! If that works I have a LC 1.5 and a couple others I'm going to send you lol (no really).

1.Green Pumpkin 2.Black 3.every other color I use

I've had several pairs of expensive glasses but I love my Costas. I have 2 pairs, one pair of Fathoms that I got for $80 and another pair I can't remember the name of that come with 3 pairs of interchangable lenses that I got for $100. They are great glasses and I keep them on a Chums floating lanyard in case the got dropped in the water. They are an investment but you won't be sorry! If you have never used a pair of nice glasses you don't know what you're missing!

Sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, you're going to loose some fish. I'm not an expert on swimbaits but I've never heard of bowing to them on the jump? Seems like that would just let the bait flop around more and at least make the hook hole bigger and maybe flop out. Keep your rod low and the fish in the water if you can. I'd be trying to keep that line tight if you can. Also knowing what rod/reel/line you're using would help. If the rod is too light or a number of other things isn't right it won't help your chances of landing a fish any.

As others have said natural colors are usually best in clear water. I have seen times when bright chartruese or white colored baits get killed in clear water too though. Being stealthy helps a lot. Keep your noise to a minimum with help maximize the number of fish you catch.

I think Texas Roadhouse is more about that butter than the rolls, I'd buy that butter by the tub if they sold it!

We have 3 shelties and they are more like children than pets. They all have their own personalities and I hate to think of the day when they're gone. Sorry about your loss.

My thumbs doing alright, a little scratched up still but I'll survive. I've heard from others that have been to Miami lately that it has been hot! If you want to go somewhere that is easy to fish and catch a bunch of quality fish I would try to plan a trip there soon! It seems to me that getting there early is best because the topwater bite is usually pretty good and it gets a little tougher later in the day, like most lakes do.

It does work, sometimes better than a regular spinnerbait. Getting it balanced right so it doesn't roll can be tricky though.