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I don't feel you need to let the fish run with your bait. You feel the bite and a pressure on the line then the Bass has it in its mouth. I believe someone on here said "they don't have hands and fingers".

A Bed Bandit on a 24"-30" leader.

Sorry to hear about all that bad luck. I was going to say "any day on the lake is better than being at work", when I read the topic description but after all that I am sure you would have rather been at work.

Always loved the Pop R's!

Looks like a good time! Nice Fish.

The Bed Bandit was designed around a certain appearance and tail design. The fins are actually sloped upwards 10 degrees from the horizontal to provide lift. The author of this thread is asking about fishing with lizards more than which brand is better. I think he got the answer to his question.

How much action does a senko have? Sometimes more action is less attractive to a Bass.

Thanks Roadwarrior, I wish I could be there. As for fishing lizards I fish them anywhere I would fish any creature type bait. Most people associate fishing with these types of baits during the spawn, but they are excellent pre and post spawn baits.

The beads on the carolina rig serve two purposes. One they help protect the line knot from abrasion that can come from contact between the weight and swivel. Second they produce a clicking sound when twitched that can help draw the attention of a Bass and help it find your bait.

I never use a snap swivel to connect my line directly to the bait. Snags on grass easy, inhibits the baits movements, and stands out too much for my taste. I would stay away from the boat ramp if there is allot of traffic coming in and out of the lake. Try different spots that you can reach, maybe a point or better a point that has a creek channel near it, if you have a map of the lakes bottom. If you get there on a slow day, sometimes at a boat launch there will be a wash out in the bottom were boats come in and out. Try crawling a worm or craw type bait over the bottom real slow and see if you get bit!

Were these Bass cruising around or setting near a bed? Sometimes when they are in cruise mode they are not interested in feeding or worried about killing an egg predator. If they are near a bed try dropping your bait in the middle of the bed and let it set for awhile. Don't get too close to where they can see you. Good Luck!

My step daughter called me about her washing machine leaking and soaking their carpet in their new apartment when they tried to wash the first load of laundry. Her and her fiancee hooked it up but I couldn't imagine it 'leaking" that much water, so I asked if they hooked the drain hose into the drain in the wall. Her reply "I know what happened!"

While fishing with a live crawfish in a farm pond I caught a bullfrog. I casted over my target into some weeds and while I jerked on the line to free it from the weeds this large bull frog hops over and swallows it. Not much of a fight.

How was the fishing pressure on the lake that day? Remember if you can see the fish, the fish can probably see you, and if they have seen several dozen boats that day they can be very wary. One thing you can try is to mark the location of beds holding Bass and move out of the area for some time and then come back and remain out of sight from the bed and cast to your markers. Good Luck!

Sounds like you are not loading the rod and releasing either to early or too late. To load the rod you want to start your backward motion, then stop the rod and as you feel the rod flex from the butt to the tip in a backward motion you can start bringing your arm foward. This is causes the rod tip to flex back and allows the tip to do most of the work during the cast Then practice your release point on spool to direct the cast where you want it. I would start off a short distances for practice and work your way out to longer casts. I use a 3/4 arm cast motion most of the time. Just a little time is all it takes!

This rain looks like they will have to start opening flood gates before it is all said and done.

You can fish spinnerbaits many different ways. When fish are holding to shallow cover you can keep your rod tip up and retrieve them fast enought to keep the blades spinning at the surface and create a wake with the spinnerbait. When fish are holding on deeper cover you can let your spinnerbait fall deeper and then keep your rod closer to the water and use a slower retrieve to keep it down deeper. I fish black at night and white and chartruese during the day in water with decent clarity. You can use darker colors as water clarity becomes less. They are very versatile baits and cover a lot of water. I would suggest using a trailer hook on all your spinnerbaits.

Drop one of these near the bed. I am positive you will be happy with the results.

Soft plastics are effective anytime of year. They work great for slow moving/falling natural presentations especially in heavy cover such has pads, hydrilla, and timber. Also great when working deep water. I choose colors based on water color and depth. Darker more stained waters or deep water I'll use darker color plastics while clearer and shallower water I'll use colors lighter more natural colors. When you get a chance check out some our plastics and their applications.

Welcome Wookieejedi! I heard someone got a green hawg from Caney recently. I have never been there either but it is on my list.

Black and Blue are good. Junebug Red is another color I like to use in muddy/stained water.

Hello and Welcome! Being from Louisiana myself I know you have plenty of good fishing holes to choose from!

I made a trip to Toledo Bend Thursday and Friday. Thursday was spent fixing a trolling motor and by Friday I had a sinus infection. I managed 5 fish on Friday. I caught two on beds and they were not on the bank. With the water level rise there is plenty of spawing cover away from the banks. I also caught fish off a shallow flat on the edge of a creek channel. I plan on going back this week hopefully without the sinus problem!

Best: "Jimmy Houston"-- Every cast you make increases your odds of catching a fish. Worst: I wouldn't go fishing, it's suppose to rain. The last is more of an opinion of some people but if I had to wait for the "perfect" day to go fishing I wouldn't get to go very often. Here is my advice. Go fishing every chance you get!

Pointing the rod tip down and applying back pressure is a way to try and stop the fish from jumping or keeping it from jumping very high and if it does breach the surface then the back pressure helps keep your line tight.