Ratherbfishing

Forget the cursive. Just be thankful you got cash and weren't gifted a "Jelly of the Month" club membership.

I approach it by turning over and shutting off the alarm. ; )

Just for giggles my friend and I have different "prizes" awarded for most fish caught, largest fish caught, etc. but the most important prize is the first fish caught (aka the "motivational prize" and the "didn't get skunked prize"). It gets the juices flowing. Even a blind squirrel sometimes finds an acorn but it seems to me EVERY bite tells you something. What it tells you and how significant it is depends on the remainder of bites. But the first bite is a start.

As in business and real estate, it is: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Bucktails are great, as MarkH024 states but if you have the option, use a baitcasting reel with a slower gear ratio. Otherwise, you'll wear yourself out in a hurry. At least with the bigger bucktails.

In addition to being "spot on" it is also important to be thorough. A friend and I will often cast to the same spot and sometimes only get bit after 5 or 6 casts (each). This is easier to do when there are fewer targets to throw at but I think it's best to treat each piece of cover as though it's the last or only target in the lake. This is especially true on cold front days or when you can't get reaction bites from aggressive fish.

I have a medium action Berkley rod (can't remember the model) which, if I recall correctly, says something to the effect of "Wormin' rod" on the handle. It's nearly ideal for crankbaits and spinnerbait rod but it's definitely not perfect for worming or jigs. If I had forgotten everything else at home, would I still use it as a worming rod? Of course. I'm not about to go home. It just isn't ideal. I usually carry 4 or 5 rods with me. I try to have at least one rod for worms and jigs and one for crankbaits and such. The rest (redundants) I carry simply so I don't have to retie all the time.

Unless that fish is a southern transplant (which I seriously doubt), it must've been really old and fed well to attain that size! Great job (with that fish and the others)!!! You might be the sole and founding member of the local chapter of bass addicts anonymous.

Does she have a sister?

I dunno. As i get older I find it harder and harder to drive long distances for a single day of fishing-especially during the hot months when it's almost unbearable to be out during the heat of the day. My remedy, I think, will be to find a few favorite lakes and get set up so I can camp and relax when I'm not on the lake. As far as fishing itself goes, continue learning how to fish deep water structure and learning better how to predict seasonal movements.

It takes real talent to be THAT bad.

I, myself, have a couple of ugly sticks. Don't use 'em ever but I have 'em.

This may seem silly but I'd kinda just like to find a small mountain creek where I can find and catch some brook trout.

You're not alone. We just tend to keep a low profile-lest people think we're crazy. Sometime I think I'm crazy.

Depends on the lake and depends on the pond. The river here is so susceptible to high water and staining that it's completely hit or miss (mostly miss it seems).

My dad brought me and my 7 siblings trout fishing in a pay lake a dozen or so miles from home. Then, riding my bike, I fished for bullheads, carp, bluegill and channel cats in the river near home. A friend introduced me to wading for smallies and rock bass in a rockier stretch of the river and I decided this was much more desireable than the sit and wait approach. I was mesmerized by the Virgil Wards fishing show and I imagined myself doing similar things when I finally grew up and had the chance. I'm (much) older now but I still haven't grown up (entirely) and I still haven't fished most of the places Virgil Ward did. But the enthusiasm and imagination of youth must have sustained me into my adult years as I still pursue my finned quarrie. But to answer the question, it was a combination of lots of reading books and magazines, watching fishing shows, perusing sites like this one, learning from some friends, and LOTS of trial and error. Probably the fish have taught me the most.

Pinch on a small split shot below and, if you so desire, above the bullet sinker. If you place the bait on the hook straight and proper-like, there should be minimal line twist-negating the need for a swivel. (If you ask me, two extra knots (and their inherent weakness) is not a particularly appealing trade off). The wasted time spent tying a "proper" carolina rig could better be spent actually fishing-at least until you determine if the rig is going to be effective. Oh, if you can get your hand on some speed beads, they will work great in place of split shot.

YEARS ago, I was razzing a friend because he needed to change his line-which was looking pretty shabby. Anyway, he hooked and broke off a better than average fish. Even though I wanted to say "I told you so", I refrained from doing so and we kept fishing. After awhile the fishing died down and I decided to fish a night crawler under a bobber. After a few moments my bobber went under and I hooked, fought and caught a pretty respectible smallmouth. In it's mouth was my friends Rooster Tail. I just kinda smilled and handed it back to him. He was like, "Yea yea, I don't wanna hear it."

I'd say we're all suckers!

Do not try to force feed or relocate bass. They may not be "smart" but you still have to find them and give them what they want.

It depends on how sure I am that the area is good and if it looks like the weather conditions will remain constant or change. In one lake which is trolling motor only, I will use a fair amount of battery power just getting to a flat of submerged cattails and I'm not about to leave before picking it apart pretty well. On one day (which was hotter than Hades), only two pockets held catchable fish but I'm glad I stuck around to find them.

I'm always a bit skeptical about the inherent value of a college education these days however, if you ARE going to go to college you should remain focused on your studies. This isn't to say you can't also fish or even tournament fish (it beats the heck out of hanging out in the bars) but don't jeopardize a career for a pipe dream-which is really what professional angling is. I don't know how many planets and stars have to align for someone to be successful as a tournament fisherman and fewer still can really make a "comfortable" living at it. This isn't about you, per se. I would say the same about anyone.

My girlfriend talks trash like "fishing isn't so hard" etc. and then wonders why I almost always catch more than she does. She didn't come out last year because she refused to buy a fishing license and I responded with, "No license, no fishee." She seems to think it's okay to risk having all MY fishing gear taken away.

I bought a tacklebox from a friend which had a hodge podge of different baits in it. Among them are about 6 Poes crankbaits. some are cracked and crazed and others seem to be okay (for now). I've heard plenty of bad things about the poor quality of their paint and how they are all destined to swell/split/crack, etc. once they are subjected to much water. My question is pretty straight forward: Should I be proactive and provide another coat of sealant or, more drastically, should I strip them completely and repaint them? Or should just fish them hard and ignore the inevitable?

I'm surprised I haven't seen the following in an add: "If you can't afford Gulp, Berkley may be able to help."