Will Wetline

All fine fish. Congrats!

Congrats!

Well done indeed. Congrats!

I've been using rotometals' bismuth/tin alloy since MA changed the lead regulations in 2012. Here is a link to this alloy: http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/lowmeltingpoint281alloy1.htm It was a big surprise that I couldn't get the finished jig out of the mold after my first pour. Then I learned that bismuth is one of very few metals found on our planet that expands as it cools. It is essential that you use mold release and you still want to pull the jig from the mold as soon as you can. Belated thanks to Jig Man and tholmes for mentioning this product in a similar post a couple years back: http://www.barlowstackle.com/Casting-Release-Spray--P361C62.aspx This alloy melts at approximately 281º F so I've been sticking with vinyl paint rather than risking a melt down with powder paint and the required heat to apply and cure. This winter I'll be trying CS Air Brush Paint which is an acrylic formulation. Also new for the upcoming 2015 molding season will be a Lee Production Pot IV. One final detail for you, Mike, use nippers rather than the sprue cutting tool in the photo - this alloy is hard and brittle rather than malleable like lead. The transition from lead to bismuth/tin is easy (and expensive). Have fun. Be safe.

Scissors, then if you must, a brand new X-acto #11 blade until that divider is perfect. (I understand this compulsion, brother.)

What a day! Congrats.

That is a fine first smallie. Congrats!

Yes. Got one at Wal Mart a couple seasons ago for $29.95 and have fit several 4+ lb. bass in it just fine. I like the shallow depth and flat bottom and, best of all as you know, that hooks do not penetrate the rubber.

This is a well told tale about a hard earned fish.

Talk about expertise in video making . . . It doesn't get better than this one! Thank you for posting it, Jeremy.

Don't know how, but the insert fell out of a St. Croix Avid rod tip top. I called St. Croix and, since I had spent five minutes registering the rod after I bought it, they sent me a replacement kit at no charge which consisted of tip top, glue and instructions. Glue comes in powder form these days (years ago it was a stick you melted) and all you do is stuff the base of the tip top with it, heat and align. You can (carefully!) reheat to realign if you don't get it right the first time. This rod was back in action in 10 minutes.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/141326-wacky-worm-question-hooks-for/

Big smallies, Steve! Well done.

Gamakatsu Octopus hooks and Owner wacky hooks have both done the job for me. Use size 1 for 4" soft stick baits and size 1/0 for 5". Also try the Gamakatsu or Owner circle hooks which almost always hook fish in the vicinity of the mouth rather than down deep. You must remember, however, that you do not sweep set with a circle hook. Reel down tight to the fish then start to reel faster. The hook will likely penetrate the corner of its mouth.

I particularly like a phrase that Bluebasser86 used, "problem solving skills." Successful fishermen become, over time, more patient, observant and find an optimum pace for a given activity. We also learn to "change up" an approach that's not working. Too, I have a growing sense of gratitude for what I've got both in a material sense and otherwise. I've been wetting a line for 50 years.

Yes, you may bring a portable fish finder. You may not use an electric or outboard without it having been "sealed" per the DCR regs which you can read on the link below: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/water-res-protection/watershed-mgmt/quabbin-reservoir-fishing-guide.html#Prohibited I get to the gate at 5:00. It opens at 6:00. At this time of year you'd probably still get a boat on the weekend if you arrived at 7:00.

Really??!!! You need a name for this most unusual presentation. Let me suggest "The Duck Dropping Technique."

I call this fine tuning a presentation and sometimes it makes the difference we're looking for.

"Bassionably late" is as bad a pun as I've heard in I don't know how long. (Puns are one of my character flaws as well.) Re extending a bite . . . y'know they move in and then they move out. You'll get 'em again, maybe next trip. Welcome to BR!

Here are a few pics of fish from Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts: This one was cruising a dropoff at the end of a sand flat and had an appetite for a 5" Senko, wacky rigged: This smallie didn't want the Senko but slurped a GYCB 5" Hula Grub off the edge of a rock pile. And here's one more that thought the Hula Grub was a real meal. It came from a depth greater than 20' among rocks and sandgrass and weighed 4.0 lbs.

I was looking at expensive, synthetic material summer shirts and passed on them because I wasn't sure the material would breathe. Thanks for the post, JellyMan! I'll stick with my old, white, cotton dress shirt.

Excellent report and tourney strategy.

Lots of good advice here. From my experience, I would say the problem stems not so much from your hook size or brand but how you set when you get bit. Try being more casual. Bass will hold a soft stick bait and mosey off with it. When it's clear you've got one going, reel down to it and once you've got tension on the line sweep set firmly. That should do it - you're not setting a 5/0 heavy wire hook. Using circle hooks this season, I tighten down to the fish and then just start to reel. The circle hook will likely lodge in the corner of the bass' mouth.

steelhead!

Wow . . . Those are some big fish! Good catching indeed.