Ratherbfishing

Nice build-although I don't think you used stout enough tires. ; )

The best soft/hollow body "frog" I know of is the Snag Proof Moss Mouse. They aren't as "glamorous" as some of the other frogs on the market but they get hit well and the hookup ratio's are really good.

I'll have to see if I can get some of the new tube worms. They were/are awesome. I had a fairly large number of snakeheads but I don't know what happened to any of them. Would like to get those back.

Wow, at LEAST you caught some nice bluegill. I rarely hook any bluegill when they torment me.

WHEN the bluegill drive me crazy, I simply try not to set the hooks on the rapid tap tap tap bites. This is hard to do, though, and the bluegill can still yank the tails and pincers, etc. off of soft baits-even without my help. Sometimes I will tie on a straight tail worm or something that else that doesn't have any appendeges. The bass may still like them but bluegill tend to leave them alone more. And when the pesky bluegill do grab them, there isn't anything they can yank off.

If I read the OP correctly, there are a LOT more low percentage areas in any given body of water than there are high percentage areas. Therefore, you'd have to have a LOT of practice days in order to fish all the low percentage areas and then confidently say what remained were high percentage spots. And even assuming they could, by process of elimination, remove all the "less productive" water, even the pros cannot always figure out immediately what techniqes and/or baits would be most useful for those high percentage areas. Finding the fish is the biggest part of the equation (see a different thread) BUT technique and choice of baits is also important and there is only so much time. I don't think even the best pros can confidently say where and what is going to work best. The only caveat to finding the good spots is to then not OVER fish them so as to not pressure, educate, or otherwise spook the fish you want to CATCH and weigh in on tournament days.

Around here, true bluebird days usually occur "post-frontal" (otherwise the usual humidity is so high as to cancel out the "bluebird" effect). In other words, HOT weather and "bluebird skys" don't usually correlate (the conditions the OP describes don't usually go together). Maybe they do in some locales but not usually around here. Having said that, when it is a bluebird day (post frontal), I generally SLOW DOWN and do not try to force bass to chase (when they have no proclivity to do so). In other words, no crankbaits, no spinnerbaits or chatterbaits, no topwater. I use almost exclusively soft plastic (or jigs) and pick through cover as slowly as I can stand it. On the other hand, on bright HOT days I believe bass are susceptible to regular feeding periods and "reaction" bites and that opens up the possibilities (bait choices and techniques) considerably. The limiting factor being primarily BRIGHT sunlight. The jury is still out for me as far as to WHY bass mostly avoid bright sunlight. Perhaps it is because it is irritating to their eyes OR because they would rather lurk in the dark and/or in edges where they can hide and grab unwary and unlucky prey. So, either the bass will be deeper water, in murkier water, or in shade provided by cover, vegetation, etc. OR when waves disrupt the penetration of sunlight. But in any event, There is a plethora of baits that will work in these conditions, assuming they are used appropriately. Periodically, I witness fishermen who choose a bait or technique because it's what they WANT to do (or because it's what they saw on tv or the interenet the day before) rather than what conditions mandate. I've been guilty of this myself. Just not as often. Hopefully not as often. This is a very long winded answer but the question begs and necessitates such an answer. There are always exceptions but they are just that-exceptions.

Dumb question (but maybe not): Is your transducer possibly hanging up on a lot of vegetation? Have you made a lot of adjustments to your settings? Perhaps try to go back to the factory defaults and then tweak from there.

I just KNEW that KVD would agree with me on this one. ; ) (Right spot)

Some products within certain companies can be great while others, not so much. My biggest issues have been with soft plastics which are too thick or the plastic is too hard/stiff. Conversely, certain plastics tear too easily or refuse to hold a hook securely in place.

Retired and now work part-time in the fishing department of a sporting goods store. It's a lot more fun buying stuff than "selling it."

"Spare the rod, spoil the dog." This may be a harsh way of saying you need to let your dog know, in no uncertain terms, what is acceptable and what isn't. My dog, when it was a puppy, growled at me when I took his dog food away from him. He learned very quickly that this was NOT acceptable and we got along fine after that. My cooworker (who spoiled her dog) was almost half afraid of him because of it.

It isn't so much the length of the worm (or soft plastic) which determines the size of the hook as it is the thickness. A "skinny" worm can easily get away with a 3/0 hook whereas a thick worm may mandate a 4/0 or even a 5/0 hook.

You're all wrong. Looks like a yellow-bellied snail-sucker to me. Warmouth.

One thing is near certain: If I regularly took my baitcasters apart to clean, I'd have the shiniest reels going-because they'd have to be replaced with new ones on regular basis.

Rock bass. And a nice one, too.

It depends upon who it is. If it's a someone who is excessively good at "talking the talk", not only do I not feel bad but I relish in the moment. But I don't say too much because it'll probably be me who gets the next "beatdown." If I'm with a friend who is modest and just trying to learn, I do my best to instruct them on what to do and I may even lend them the bait I am using (unless there's a good chance that it'll get hung up and lost). But I usually don't stop fishing as that can come off as patronizing and, well, I like to fish.

I suspect the ghost of Robert McNamara is attempting to possess your body. Seek an exorcist immediately! Until about 15 years ago, I fished almost exclusively hardbaits. It wasn't that I disliked softplastics. I just didn't know much about them. Since then (after including soft plastics in my repertoire) I have increased my catch percentages considerably (probably by 150 or 200%). It isn't that hard baits don't work. They definitely do. With the right application in the right conditions. But sometimes nothing beats a soft plastic. I've gone through a ton of soft plastics over the past 15 years (even when I've tried to repair them). But eventually the sun is going to burn out and for me, it'll be a lot sooner than that. So I'll enjoy my sport in as full a way as I deem fiscally and environmentally responsible. HOWEVER, do whatever feels good for you. McNamara or no McNamara.

There is a guy I've taken out fishing several times with me. Once we are ON the lake, he is okay but loading and unloading the boat at the ramp, he is next to worthless. Anything at all pertaining to the boat and, well, he seems to play dumb a lot. I've also found out recently that he's complained to a mutual friend that I stay out too long. If I take him out again, I'll have him meet me at the dock so I can drop him off when he wants to leave. If he doesn't want the drive, he doesn't have to come. I've noticed that when I am fishing with someone else, I tend to alter/modify my methods and tactics to keep them happy but when I am by myself, I can stay as long as I want and do exactly what I want. I don't always do better this way but I also don't find myself asking "what if....?" as much either. Still, it's more fun to share a good fish story when there is witness or participant to the event. There are tradeoffs with both styles. Bank fishing, I prefer to be by myself. On the boat, it depends on who I am fishing with.

My vote definitely goes to a warmouth. They are usually found huddled up against rocks (like riprap) and are very agressive (for their diminutive size).

Funerals are all very expensive. (Dumb/bad joke, I know).

My nemesis would have to be Clinton lake which, as fate would have it, also happens to be the closest lake (by a good margin). I hear of people doing well there in both size and numbers but, apparently, the things I normally do to catch bass don't often apply to this body of water. A buddy of mine who is just now turning 80 says he use to go there almost every day (he worked part-time at the Marina) and would catch numbers of nice fish but now he spits on the ground after he utters the word "Clinton." The lake, he says, has changed-and I believe him. I have come to calling the drive home, my "drive of shame." Addendum: I did fish near/under a bridge and near a boat ramp yesterday and managed to catch 4 bass 2 crappie and a big 8 lb channel cat. I suspect it's just trying to seduce me so I'll go there more. Using less than a quarter of a tank of gas sure beats a full tank going to my other "haunts."

One of my best spots growing up was on the river about 3 miles from my house. "Our" section of the river is pretty unremarkable EXCEPT this one place where there is a riffle and then a slight bend where the current scoured out a deep spot on the outside of it and large rocks bordered the edge. Smallies and largemouth hung out there in numbers and size decent enough to actually make it worth my while to walk the mile or so down a farm access lane and across a field (in retrospect, the walk was actually quite pleasant). That is where I got my first real taste of "game fishing."

Yep, don't like the darn things-especially when I would prefer to be fishing topwater baits (pretty much precludes the possibility). The line lays on the surface and picks up cottonwood "fluff" like there's no tomorrow.

Before I scrolled down, I would have called it a "fence." But the thingamajig at the bottom, I call a weed wacker or string trimmer. Usually, it's the former.