merc1997

table rock is getting quite a population of loons during the winter. they eat a lot of fish. i have never had one take in my lure while fishing however. bo

i just think that if they are going to allow that many baits in the water at the same time, they should allow trolling. not much different. the a-rig has proved to be a very effective fishing tool at the right time and conditions. but, as happened at beaver lake, there were rigs with what looked like to be 20 baits. it used to be that a tournament was a fisherman using one rod with one lure, not multiple lures. as with ever type of sporting event, there always has to be some that operate in the gray area. i do like how flw's other tournaments that can use the a-rig, they defined just exactly the limits of what it could be. bo

you are not any longer confined to what you can fish from the shore. one thing that you will need to work on is boat control while fishing. you can not catch the first one if the boat is never where it should be. also, learn the seasonal patterns of not only the bass, but the food sources. i would also suggest that you look up tom youngs cosmic clock. it will help you immensely in being able to eliminat unproductive water for the different times of the year. bo

a whizjig is a good choice to switch to when bass are hitting blades. this bait is a jig with the blade attached to the hook. most of the time when they hit the blade they will also get the hook. bo

catching fish is fun and the name of the game. trolling is a geat way to cover water and catch fish. there is also a lot of technique and knowledge to trolling, especially to be very precise with it. most bass tournament do not allow trolling though. however, since they allow multiple lures to be fished at once, i really do not know why they just do not allow trolling, and the use of live bait. bo

they work great. you need to use an old reel that you no longer use, and use trotline staging or some old 80lb. braid. spool that onto the old reel, and tie the retriever to the line. it also makes is easier to use if you have an old handle to mount the reel to. bo

depth 15ft. jig rubber skirt, black and blue, pork trailer, no rattles new moon time 4pm

retrieve of a jig can be done in many ways. first off, you need to determine by trial, what type of retrieve is getting you bites. as a general rule from my years of fishing, a coasting type retrieve is best suited for sping type water temps and colder. during warmer water conditions, have had more success with a retriever where you lift and let the jig drop straight back down. this is done by maintaining a bow in the line while the jig is falling back to the bottom. i know that wrb has had great success using a crawl along the bottom type of retrieve, and you can not argue the effectivness of that retrieve by the numbers of giant bass he has caught. the bite on a jig is rarely that traditional "tick". most ofter something different happened that should not have. hook sets are free, and you will be amazed at how many bass you begin catching by setting the hook anytime you even think something different just occured. i have witnessed many bassers miss an opportunity to catch a bass on a jig by starting to feel for it, and actually let the bass tighten there line up. most often that results in a miss or poor hook up. keep fishing that jig. try different trailers. although, in my opinion, when hunting a big bass, pork is still the best option for jig trailers. keep swinging and you will begin to better discern those next to nothing bites. bo

i still rip their heads off, and i set with slack in the line so there is more impact on the hook. bo

when i am pretty certain that i am putting a lure in front of a bass, and i am not getting any strikes, i will begin to change speeds first. if that does not work, i will use a different profile, such as a bigger or smaller looking jig or worm. then i start the speed process all over again. the right combination of depth, speed and profile will trigger strikes. bo

making your own jigs can be rewarding, but not always cost effective. but, you know the old saying about "necessity is the poppy of invention". i have made and designed lots of stuff over the years because i wanted to make something that would work better. bo

i will have to agree that lakes with high water temps do no equate to longivity for a bass. falcon is a great example. because of fishing pressure, low water, and high water temps the size of bass out of falcon is shrinking at a very fast rate. extended growing season is a must. food source and deeper cool water also fits into the equation. fishing pressure is another factor. bass to grow a long time and get big, need to be able to escape fishing pressure. i am not familiar with lake baccarac in mexico. given growing season, food source, water depth, if that lake has all those right elelments, maybe. but, how many big bass are taken home to eat by locals, and netters? bo

since you mentioned that you just purchased this reel, we will assume that the worm gear and pawl are not worn out. here are some things to check. release your spool, and use your thumb to see if you can slide the spool from side to side. if so, you need to adjust tension knob down to slack out of spool. this will be prevent spool from wobbling from one side to the other which can cause bunching. next, go out in the yard and let out all of your line, and rewind back onto spool with tension. this should get everything back to a more level fill. if it still continues giving you trouble, i would contact pro reel service in wichita. kevin rush can probably help you out. bo

if the jars have not been sitting out in sun, they pork should still be soft. if it happens to be a bit tuff, sometimes a bit of glycerin will soften them back up. bo

they do make slip sinkers at least as small as 1/16oz. as i have some. slip sinkers can be pegged with a piece of rubber strands. the rubber strand does not damage or flatten you line in anyway. in using this method, it is really essy to adjust how far from the hook to put your sinker. i have not used any, but i can see how the mojo type weight would be very snag resistant. bo

since your issue is in the left wrist, casting has nothing to do with it. it would help you quite a bit to hold your baitcasting rod, while fishing, in front of the reel, instead of palming the reel, or fishing holding behind the reel. you will stress your wrist less setting the hook. the advantages are better feel because you are directly on the rod. you can or should run the live underneath your thumb resulting in being able to even feel a slight change in line pressure. and, you have much more leverage setting the hook because you have the weight of the reel behin your hand. bo

i rarely use the traditional c-rig. instead, i use a three way set up. i have used it for years, and all of my friends have converted to it. you use a three way swivel. to one ring attach the main line. to one ring attach a short drop with weight. on this drop, i do not just use weight. i use a slip sinker and jig. on the last ring, tie your leader and hook. this set up is easier to throw, easier to detect strike, and a much better set up to set the hook. if you are confused on how to rig this, pm me and i will send you some you tube links that i did on the set up and how to use it. bo

grwoing rate also depends on how many days of the year, there are warmer water temps. obviously climates with warmer weather such as southern ca., fl., southern tx., bass have a year round growing season. bo

my opinion to getting better with other techniques is to practice, practice, practice. one thing to keep in mind, is that some particular techniques are not always fish catchers all the time. use it when things are in favor of catching fish using the technique you are trying to get better at. bo

i know this will be hard to believe, but ketchup will do a nice job of cleaning your blades back up. as far as the rust on your hooks, a soak in cider vinegar will take off the rust. do not leave them in there too long though. after cleaning up the hooks, take a good quality mill file and put a new edge on them. bo

none of the above. bo

i am going to disagree with wait for the fish to give you a sign. bass get rid of a bait in the blink of an eye most of the time. you need to know what your jig should be doing at all times. this means time to get to bottom after pull, feel of hitting bottom, feel of coming over limbs, ect. anytime something happens different that it should have set the hook. i fish holding the rod in front of the reel. this not only gives me better feedback through the rod, but it allows the line to run underneath my thumb so i can feel a change of nothing more than difference of tension on the line. you also have a much faster and powerful hookset in doing this because you have the weight of the reel behind your hand. time fising is a great teacher. keep swinging, hooksets are free. bo

you have to let the bass tell you which wobble they prefer on a given day. one thing to remember that wobble also has different speed perceptions. it is all about having the right combination of depth and speed to trigger strikes. bo

one of my buddies always says that if a bass can not find a brown crawdad, it will starve to death. with that said, and you are trying to look somewhat like a crawdad, skirts in a brown or green pumpkin hue work well. sometimes you need to look more like a bream or a shad. understanding what the current forage is at the time you are fishing will help you get in the ball park. colors are fine, but it more important to be fishing in front of a bass. i always put more emphasis on fishing at the right depth at the right speed. bo

WATER bo