ClackerBuzz

^good to know. for .09c a pop i'll keep a close on them and toss'm when compromised. maybe someone will recommendation a better one

i use 4lb red label and can't believe the difference between it and 6lb. every time i touch it i swear it's 2lb. as mentioned knots and abrasion are a sensitive subject w/ 4lb. i use a super sticky fine wire hook: Do-it Wireguard Wacky Jig 785. it's supposed to be for a flick shake jig mold but i just use it bare. it's sorta EWG w/ 60 deg eye so you can perfectly skin hook a Zoom finesse worm or 2.5" tubes. i think someone told me they are Mustad hooks. maybe someone can confirm. i learned the hard way to not put rod pressure on a bass with that light of line. if he makes a run while ur pulling with the rod it's game over (tho i was using heavier hooks and had too much drag set). you can also back reel. don't be afraid if she runs b/c the drag system still works even while back reeling http://www.***.com/Do-it_Wireguard_Wacky_Jig_785_Hook_100pk/descpage-DI785WW.html

troll perpendicular to shore (toward deep water) while using a jig, shaky head, drop shot etc to find the deepest weeds in the lake. keep casting/trolling until you only feel sediment and no weeds. park/position ur boat where you can cast past the deep weeds to sediment and drag ur jig/shaky head back till you feel the first sign of weed growth. stop ur lure there and wiggle at the edge of the deep weeds. someone should poke their head out to say hello

no they don't 'run but they 100% go on guard. the majority of the time the bite shuts off when frogs sound the alarm.

ESPN hook sets

I have a pond identical to this. Spooked bass will return once the spot settles. so to expand on A-Jays advice I cast a 6" senko or 10" ribbontail as far as possible to deep water. It even spooks the big bass sitting on the drop off. but I'll wait 3-5 min before starting a retrieve. it's easy to outsmart them if you have patience. if you ever spook a bass at the shoreline stand perfectly still like a tree for 5 min and they will swim right back up to you. some bass/bait will even use ur shadow for cover. when staying shallow I used a modified 1/8oz Mepps spinner. there are plenty of 3-5lb bass in this pond so the stock hooks are way too small. I'll add a size 1 to 1/0 treble hook on the back which gives me much better hook ups. the small spinner blade is the only thing i've found that won't shadow spook them. it even has opposite effect in that they are mesmerized by the flash of the tiny blade

little more info needed here before i'd recommend buying a $200 rod. why are your rods breaking? even cheap rods shouldn't break on the hook set so i'd learn to correct ur hook set with 'cheap' rods before spending more money. expensive rods are easy to break too

i say spend away also. a bad crack habit will cost you ten times that in money...and ur soul

to expand on Rogers great advice, I work more perpendicular to shore than parallel when looking to locate bass for the day. and i always start at the deepest weed edge and work my way shallow. but in regards to parallel, pay specific attention to the ends of giant weed beds. a 300 ft weed bed has a beginning and an end. often times you might notice the 'beginning' is near a cove entrance. and the cove has a feeder stream coming in. now you have multiple variables that make this a prime location. in my mind it's now a 'weed point' even tho it's attached to a football field bed

i'll address something that will sting for a second and move on. learn how to use your baitcaster. take the time to learn how to use your equipment w/o back lashing. you shouldn't be burning through that much fluoro or mono or braid and/or breaking line that often. just know that most of us are guilty of it and have gone thru it ourselves. you are not alone. over the years i've lost lots of lures and fish to poor mono knots, then poor fluoro knots, then poor braid to leader connection knots! it seemed never ending. there was a learning curve each time i changed equipment. i was heartbroken each time i lost a lure let alone a bass. but never once did i blame my line. i knew it was 100% my fault b/c my knots weren't right or i didn't check my line often enough and it was nicked, or i picked out a back lash and didn't want to throw away 60ft of line but paid the price when a kink broke on the hook set. like others i made the decision to learn how to correct all the problems and learn my equipment. imo there are 4 kinds of backlashes: 1 stopping ur cast short. say ur cast goes from 5 o'clock to 12 o'clock (12pm being ur target). stopping abruptly at 10pm will definitely cause a backlash. you have to follow thru every cast to 12 o'clock/the target. it's simple muscle memory and makes a world of difference. 2 back handed casts. i'm a rightly and after I got that down i realized i was far more likely to back lash on back handed/lefty casts. the problem and fix is the exact same as #1. I wasn't following thru on my cast. after taking the time to analyze it the fix was easy. 3 not adjusting the spool tension knob for each new lure tied on. a jerkbait has far more wind resistance and needs more spool tension than a rattletrap. take the time to adjust ur spool tension according to each new lure you tie on. there is no such thing as one setting all day. it will lead to constant backlashes. 4 the need for distance. trying to get the maximum distance from every single cast will lead you to open up ur spool tension and/or magnetic brakes causing tons of backlashes. be happy making slightly shorter casts while learning how to properly tune ur equipment. these issues will have to be address regardless of which line you choose. good luck

you can lead a horse to water... for the sake of all things holy at least rig one rod with braid to leader.

when all else fails head for the weeds.

fish near the creek channel ie deep water. don't waste time fishing giant flats that require an impossible 100 yard cast to reach deep water. get a topo map and only fish areas where the creek channel comes near the shoreline. it will zig zag from side to side of the lake. if a topo map isn't available learning how to read above the water can tell you what is below. one side of the lake will usually have a steep/rocky shoreline with mature trees while the other side will be farm land flat with small bushes. the creek channel is on the steep side b/c it eroded the bank away over many years.

man those are some beautiful hi def bronze backs!

I'd fish 5-10 outings on that point...during the best conditions. pre-frontal, dusk, dawn, spring, fall, night fishing. if it didn't give anything up i'm like A-Jay and would spend 80-90% of my time off the beat and path. a lot of guys laugh and say 65lb braid is for 'shark' fishing. nothing is more fun than punching nasty slop where the majority of anglers can't go with their 10lb mono, and the big fish live. it's exciting and rewarding. but i will spend 20% of my time covering classic structure/known locations during peak conditions. these percentages change depending on the fishery i'm at.

agreed on teaching her to set the hook. do it in ur yard w/o the excitement of a fish involved. have her let out 50ft of line. wrap it around ur hand and tap on it with a pencil. have her go thru the motion of dropping her rod from 10 oclock to 7 oclock, reeling up the slack until she feels the line taunt w/ you on the other end, and setting the hook/loading the rod with some elbow grease.

imo there is no better/fun bait to aggravate the bleep out of fish into biting

modify ur casting technique. large arching casts allow the line to easily twist around itself and rod tip. try to cast in a straight line. also closing ur bail 50ft before the lure is at it destination will take the slack out of the line. a little slack line management goes a long way with braid. i regularly use 5lb braid but it can be easily managed

this is something i just learned this year and posted on another thread: I made a decision this year to only fish pre-spawn from the bank 25% of the time. everyone knows the fish don't move shallow b/c of water temps but there is another major factor: lack of cover. the banks are barren lands with no weeds for them to hide in. i have been catching all my kayak/boat bass out of dead deep weed patches where they still have cover. i just can't cast to them from shore. all my shore fish have come from water that has deep water access. it actually makes it easier b/c i get to skip 90% of the shoreline and only fish near the creek channel or spillway. looking forward to them coming closer to shore. so my advice to you is to always fish near the deepest water in ur fishery. if you have to fish shallow early in the year try to fish around wood, docks, lay downs etc. later in the season just make sure you're around weeds. if you want to know how big the bass in ur fishery are fish at: dusk, dawn and night.

my redneck mount w/ a $3 home depot hand clamp and section of an old shower rod. I've since replaced the shower rod w/ an old ski pole b/c it's thinner/has less drag. it does occasionally move if i get up to 4mph (my home lake is electric only) + wind/surface chop. overall it works for me b/c i frequently move it from my jon boat to my canoe depending on where I'm fishing. and I can also attach it to my buddy's jon boat. i'm going to upgrade to that Cabelas one when it goes on sale.

1/8 oz will snag far less than 1/4 oz. 1/16 oz snag even less and work great under clear water conditions. 1/4 oz is better for staying down in current or heavy wind. I adjust to the conditions/fishery

agreed. I made a decision this year to only fish pre-spawn from the bank 25% of the time. everyone knows the fish don't move shallow b/c of water temps but there is another major factor: lack of cover. the banks are barren lands with no weeds for them to hide in. i have been catching all my kayak/boat bass out of dead deep weed patches where they still have cover. i just can't cast to them from shore. all my shore fish have come from water that has deep water access. it actually makes it easier b/c i get to skip 90% of the shoreline and only fish near the creek channel or spillway. looking forward to them coming closer to shore

great advice. only thing i'll add is to ask about future visits... "would you like me to knock each time I come?". I had a nice lady proactively tell me not to bother knocking each time b/c I already knew the rules. and "where would you like me to park?"

i heard guys have good results w/ the redneck 5 gallon bucket