ClackerBuzz

nice fish, pix and records!

very cool story LM. its always nice to hear about the good people in the world.

I found a Rapala in a pond and could use some help identifying it b/c I’d like to buy more. I lost it before I looked at the name on the bottom (Now I know why they call it Berkley ‘Vanish’). I’ve since stopped at Dick and checked Raps’ website but got lost trying to wade thru all their lures. Can one of you Rap guys give it a shot? It was: 1-Small (2- 2 ½ ”) 2-Suspending (I’ve never seen a lure suspend that perfect. It completely froze in the water column when I stopped retrieving and it drove the bass crazy). 3-Had a rattle. (It sounded like one or two balls as opposed to many little ones). 4-I think it was their “Glass Clown” color. 5- Ran about 3-4’ deep. I looked at the smallest Husky jerk, Minnow Raps, and X-Raps. Unfortunately I couldn’t take them out of the package to hear their rattle. Let me know any suggestions and/or if you like something similar from a different company. I’m using it up in the shallows on my light spinning gear when the bite is tough. That suspending action was priceless. Tks

i would say something politically correct to them like "Can I ask if there was a problem with my service? I only ask b/c you didn't tip". that will rattle them and i'm sure they will buck up

ouch. sorry to hear you ran into so many cheapskates in one day. i hated getting stiffed when waiting tables and bartending. go put in an application at ur local catering company. its a MUCH better area of the hospitality industry. the hourly money is great no matter what position you start in. and after working enough weddings..and people calling in sick...you eventually get offered to work behind the bar, which great money.

I'm a PQ fan and also have 5 of them. I bought Carbontex washers for all of them (tks DVT) but only changed out 2 of them so far. Honestly I don't notice a difference which is why I haven't bothered changing the rest out. Ima with Ima Bass Ninja and happy with the stock bearings. I do flush them every winter with acetone. And I service my reels at least twice during the season. That keeps me plenty satisfied. Give me an update if you try the bearings.

x2 on Mend It. as soon as a plastic is compromised i put it away. i sit down and fuse them all back together with mend it at the end of the week. it saves me a boat load of money just between crawls and worms

are you using Internet Explorer? do you have ton's of "toolbars" at the top ie yahoo, bling, 'xyz'. abort the mission and switch to Google Chrome. it uses far less add-on's so ur web won't jam up as much. and chrome is much better at blocking spam than IE. you can choose to import all ur bookmarks when installing

RW!

if i'm catching fish i stick with 'that' color. when not catching fish i throw every color in the kitchen sink at them. the colors mentioned are great. most times changing ur retrieve and/or location is more important than changing color.

couldn't have said it better myself. you compromised the line in the backlash. my advice: stop backlashing. all joking aside...if you don't know how to cast w/o backlashing you need to add another set of centrifugal brakes and/or dial the magnetic brakes up more. once you are consistently not backlashing you can slowly subtract brakes. how much depends on which lure you have tied on and the weather conditions. big double bladed spinnerbaits have more wind resistance so you will need more brakes than when casting a 'bullet' lipless trap or fat ika. and you will need more brakes when casting into the wind. get to know your reel better. take the time to fine tune the brakes for each lure you tie on and you will have more success. also you will need to adjust the spectrum of ur brakes alot more if you are trying to use one 'multi-purpose rod'. its hard to not backlash if using one 7' MH rod to cast every lure in ur box. going from a senko to jig to spinnerbait to trap to a t-rig all on the same rod would have me dialing the heck out of my brakes (i don't miss the old days!). did you every consider using braid for ur main line w/ a fluoro leader? braid is much easier to pick out w/o damaging. i spool about 90% braid w/ 10% Seaguar InvizX leaders and make out great. i just ordered their Red Lable to try b/c its so much cheaper but need some time on the water before i can comment on it

don't forget swallowed hook removal: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/12981-how-do-i-remove-a-hook-a-bass-has-swallowed/page__st__15

welcome. nice fish!

i agree you should not have a rod in ur hand b/c its too tempting to fish. if you want him to catch fish use live bait or senko's. if he catches lots of sunnies with live worms switch to 5" senkos for a better shot at bass. i've tried spinnerbaits, swimjig's, buzzbaits, chatterbaits and Mepps spinners with a nubie and it was a disaster. reason being they don't know how to: 1-cast with accuracy 2-lock the bail or reel at the end of cast so the lure starts spinning upon entry of water. basically they bomb the lure 20ft in the air, it plop's down REALLY hard into the water and then sinks 4 ft before they ever start reeling. not attractive to fish.

i bought the bobbys perfect buzz frog and returned it. when you stop/pause the blade sinks pulling the frog down so you don't get the same subtle presentation of a frog alone. buzzbaits are awesome. frog's are awesome. for me there is no combining the two. you can bang a buzzbait straight thru lily pad stems AND over submerged leaves if you drop ur rod tip and point directly at the buzzbait. keeping ur rod high up will load the rod tip and snag. braid or fluoro (don't recommend mono) will make the buzz bounce off them. blades get caught up in pond scum no matter what they are attached to. also frog hook up's can be touchy as is. buzzbait hook up's are usually effortless b/c of the exposed hook. i didn't like fishing for a 'buzzbait bite' with a 'frog hook up percentage'. maybe others have had better success with it.

great advice. keep some slack in ur line when you pop it...like a spook. it gives it that crazy good action. its about the ACTION and PAUSE. trick is finding what combination they want that day. have fun with it

1- less is more. go light on the elbow grease until you get good. and even then you'll go light lol. try for one skip that jumps 5 ft. NOT 5 skips over 20ft. 2-focus on the first point of water contact aka skip spot. all normal casting and accuracy involves focusing on the final spot u want ur lure to hit. i found that to be counter productive when learning to skip b/c my lure actually landed at the opening of the dock. stare at the spot on the water where you want ur lure to first touch down. start casting to that spot only and getting one or two skips. after you get better... move ur eye's from that stop to the dock and back to that spot again. kind of like lining up a pool table shot...from the cue ball, to the sink ball, to the pocket, back to the cue ball for execution. i don't get too caught up in jig heads and trailers. am i going to change out my jig and trailer every time i come across a new dock or tree? no. you just learn to make due with what you have tied on. spinning gear is MUCH easier. good luck

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/late-summer-bass.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishing-heavy-vegetation.html

nice!!!

nice post!

the bit is usually good/aggressive at dawn so i'd start with a 3/8oz black booyah clackerbuzz...frog/popper...or 3/8oz z-man chatterbait in black/blue for sub-surface. other than that you can can really use all ur normal day time baits. good luck fyi: a spinnerbait is just as good as a chatterbait and basically serve the same purpose. if you have alot of weeds....the chatterbait is much easier to bounce off the tops and rip thru them w/o getting weeds caught on it

all great advice. initially i'm more successful when concerned with whats under the water as opposed to above. ie structure and cover v.s. sun and clouds. start there. there's nothing like hitting a bass in the nose with a lure no matter what the sun is doing. after you get good at that you can fine tune and/or experiment to find bigger fish

I like to whisper...."I am the fish whisperer"

swimbaits have their time and place. i'd save them for large bodies of water not ponds. you're likely to just scare the heck out of everything in the entire pond and shut the bite off entirely...with the exception of a few days in spring/fall when they are very aggressive. and even then you could just use a spinnerbait. casting a "8 Huddleston on a 500 acre lake with 50ft drop off will go over MUCH better. i would try go with lighter finesse to consistently catch fish in small ponds. here is a great threat that was started: https://www.bassresou...s/#entry1173368 hank parker just posted a good article on shore fishing for ponds "Bass in ponds and small lakes prefer smaller lures that make less noise and displace little water. Small-water bass are more aware of their aquatic environment, and small waters tend to be more stable or consistent than big lakes and reservoirs. That’s why a radical lure, such as a big-bladed spinnerbait or a rattling crankbait, can put them on the defensive. You may catch a few on those lures, but I think you’ll be more successful with a subtle presentation." https://www.bassresou...from-shore.html i go with much smaller/finesse baits if: its a small stable pond, heavily pressured fishery, gin clear water conditions, or reservoirs with no structure (they were bulldozed prior to flooding). the fish can be picky at all 4 places but even the biggest bass there love tiny lures. i visit 2 small lakes (under 10acres) that are highly pressured. throwing a 5" senko is like throwing a 5" rock into the water. i have a hard time getting them to bite it even with the most subtle flip presentation. match the environment the fish are in. the closer you are to matching it, the more successful you'll be.

when you hook into a stump...."I thought it was my PB!" when you hook into your PB...."I thought it was a stump!"