ClackerBuzz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX60m9CxIoo

in my experience small public ponds don't have the forage necessary to support an 8lb bass

glad to hear a good fishing journey. there are plenty more good times to come. try a drop shot when there's an algae bottom. the weight drags in the muck while the soft plastic stays elevated and clean. typically you slow drag and pause on the bottom. but always experiment and don't leave w/o swimming it along the bottom like a spinnerbait. and bouncing it thru the tops of weeds. 1/4oz casts far but might be too heavy in a clear/stable/algae pond. 1/8 or less is better for still water ponds. or if ur spinning rod is light enough tying on a 1/16 oz bullet weight can get you started today.

a lot of tournament guys use the saying "never leave fish to find fish". sounds like you found at least 3 different locations with fish. this knowledge in itself is gold. i'm super happy if i get get a bite or blow up b/c that fish gave away the secret location where there are more fish. as soon as you catch a fish or even miss a fish toss a marker buoy over board or mark a way point on ur electronics. you've just found a fish zone. back off the buoy and cast different lures from many different angles. often slowing down to a bottom dragging technique like jig, drop shot, shaky head, T rig, C rig etc will start to land you larger fish. as long as that location is producing fish i won't move to 'find' more fish. if you caught a dink on a spot keep working it till you figure out what it takes to catch mama. Also if I catch 20 dinks in a row on a spot I usually just move perpendicular to shore into deeper water to find better fish. Same thing with bait fish. If I'm catching or seeing a ton of crappie or bluegill near weeds or structure I'll work the immediate area but have a tendency to start catching bass once I move deeper. Overall it sounds like you did a great job locating bass with reaction/search baits. Once a dink gives away a location I would stay there and go slow n' low with bottom contact lures to try and upgrade to better quality fish.

be happy my friend, it can get a lot worse. i'll feel bad for ya after you've had 4 outings in a row eating skunk pie

i've pre-rigged 10 rods and packed lures for a specific lake the night before and got skunked. i've also grabbed two rods and a fanny pack full of lures for a spur of the moment trip and killed it. now i don't spend near as much time preparing. true fishing with all it's adjustments needs to take place on the lake and that's what i look forward to....being on the lake and in the moment

I used to subscribe to this theory until I spent more time on the water. then i'd fill up on humble pie day after day. trying to cast with purpose is almost purposeless until you have experienced eye's. and even then it's still hard the bigger key is to catch a bass and then stop what you're doing for a few moments/minutes to analyze the who/what/where/when/why/how that bass was there. what variables made that location desirable? depth, shade, current, weeds, retrieve etc? finding out those clues help you make future casts that day and hopefully many day's to come.

I'm with ya on the screw holding plastics tight. and they don't tear apart during battles. I buy Mustad 60 degree jig hooks in bulk b/c they're stout and cheap, then just attach a Do-it Hitching Post. Peg a bullet if you need weight. Works great for punching also. you can flip/pitch endlessly w/o the beaver slipping or tearing.

holy advice. i had ur exact problem 2 seasons ago. so much open water, where to start?! do not just troll the shoreline and cast parallel to shore (most guys cast to shore and only fish the top 5 feet of the water column). keep ur boat against the shore and cast out like when bank fishing and keep Wayne's advice in mind. cast 45 deg out and work ur lure back so you attract fish from deep and shallow. jig's are your friend ie depth finder and structure identifier. if you need to move ur boat deeper only move out till ur farthest cast lands in structure less/muddy bottom. 90% of the water is useless and this is no-man's land. bounce your jig fast thru the muddy bottom until you feel the first sign of rocks or weeds. now slow down ur retrieve b/c you've just entered the fish zone. work ur lure from here uphill. maintaining bottom contact is key. the fish relate to cover/structure and lures banging into it instigates strikes. all the other stuff is fun and visible: weeds, docks, lay downs, stumps, lily pads, bridges, rip rap etc. have a blast with it.

if a fish fell over in the woods and nobody was around to hear it, would it still make noise? i'd count it. what if a bass comes unbuttoned at the boat but ur partner has a net underneath and catches it? it would be flipping awesome, would count and you two would be high fiving the heck out of each other. your story isn't as glamours but it counts

the new generation rods 'suck' and the previous generation will soon be selling for the price of your first born. now if i could only do this at the casino

for detailed rod/reel comparisons try tackletour.com

removing chartreuse from the equation will help loads.

#1 reason I didn't catch many jig fish my first seasonal attempt: overworking the lure. just like a senko slow dragging with lots of pauses works wonders. good luck!

x2 senko T rigged. put a glass bead on the line and it slides thru weeds like butter. don't forget to add some jerkbait/fluke rip now and then. i can't count how many times i've got bored slow dragging a senko only to give it a fluke rip and instantly got bit

probably similar to a guy A trying to compare his live bait PB is equal to guy B artificial PB. obviously one guy had to work harder than the other. the other day a guy at the lake was bragging and showing me pix of his PB. I see a live bull frog hooked in the bottom corner of the pix. I didn't mention it b/c he's a stranger so there's no need to stir the pot. imo he wasn't forthcoming when he told me he caught it on a 'frog'. no doubt the public lake guy has to work harder/learn more than the private lake guy. often experience sportsman will differentiate their private PB from public PB, and their live bait PB from artificial PB

$300-400 is nothing compared to an auto body shop bill for fixing all the bumps, dinks and scratches I have on my car from cheap racks (in all fairness I live in the city so both my bumpers are destroyed from people's bad parallel parking so my roof was the least of my concern). I finally settled on a used Yakima but my buddy got a nice aftermarket rack for $100 from Walmart

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/media/video/study-says-fish-use-whole-bodies-when-they-eat/2856887.html

that ain't right)

fishing from shore? only fish areas that have deep water access. that quickly eleminated 90% of ur water

flat out really bad advice. just b/c ur willing to risk a trip to the ER doesn't mean others should. clearly you've been luckly so far...so far. wrap braid around ur hand and try to break it free if you'd like a small taste of what a forearm full of veins and arteries is in store for

i guess one of two things... 1 you're back lashing. but ur braid is so light that it snaps before the big birds nest occurs so you don't have visible evidence. tighten down ur spool tension knob and/or add more brakes. 2 you're stopping ur cast short. make sure to follow your cast thru to the target ie 12 o'clock. braid is unforgiving so stopping short at 2 o'clock will cause that crack sound we all hate.

depends stricktly on ur fishery

red/green confusion is most popular. i think i read 10% of guys are effected. it definitely hurts my fishing but i've learned many ways to overcome it. i can't sight fish like other guys can. guys in the boat will be pointing to a bass and i have to struggle to see it. i can only see shallow beds when some guys are seeing beds 10ft down. but i've become stronger in many ways. my casting is more accurate than most guys. i can't see if there is a bass hanging on a piece of timber so i just assume there is an make the most accurate cast possible the first time. and i fish the cover thoroughly whereas other guys will move on quickly if they can't visually see a bass. i'm neurotic about slack line management whereas a lot of guys around me are lazy. i have a lot of slack out of my line before my lure hits the water and if the water is deep i know how to have the slack out just as it hits bottom. i'll know if i get a bite from the slightest tap on my line. also i only use braid to leader b/c it's so sensitive. and yellow braid makes all the difference in the world. i struggled to see the green line jump on the surface from a bite let alone run sideways from a sneaky bass. being colorblind made me a line watcher but switching to yellow made all the difference in the world. casting into the wind and sun is so productive it trumps normal vision let alone colorblindness. i don't care about lure color anymore. the majority of the time if you have the right depth and speed a bass will hit 10 different colors let alone 10 different lures.

no boat title in my state is easy. you fill out a form and request one. the only catch is they run the hull number and if it comes back as 'stolen' you are SOL. no title for the trailer? i stay away b/c it's a PIA in pa b/c you have to go to a special mechanic that is qualified to inspect it, let alone go thru paperwork to register it. in other states any mechanic can inspect it. just like a car it's safest to exchange money at an auto tags shop that will transfer ownership on the spot. having a guy sign the back of a title paper can end badly unless you know all the rules