ClackerBuzz

i wouldn't do a second set...rather focus on a better first. drop rod, reel in ALL the slack, firmer snap of wrist while sweeping rod back. AND tweek ur ewg hooks by bending the point up some. it will help ur hook up ration alot. use off set round bend hooks if its possible with ur plastic of choice. worms work fine with them and u will instantly notice a better hook up ratio. good luck

are you used to using mono?

i can't believe you guys don't understand their logic. "Only a 10lb fish could break my 8lb line". Bucket fisherman teach amazing lessons if you're only willing to understand grasshopper

Thats what she said.

oh yea....get a kayak or canoe!!! i fished heavy from the shore 2 full seasons. it was great b/c i really learned how to read a body of water. i can roll up to an unknown body now, w/o a map, and read it well. after awhile i just couldn't take being on shore anymore b/c i could literally see all the great spots i was missing out on (HeavyDulx: you obviously feel the same pain looking at good weed bed you can't fish effectively!). It's been pure heaven getting better angles, better cover, deeper water access points from a kayak. i imagine its the same going from a bass boat with no electronics to buying a depth finder. opens a whole new world

great advice. 1-don't walk up to the waters edge and make a cast. stand 10ft back from the water and softly pitch a senko in the waters edge. that way you can catch the fishy sun tanning instead of spooking him. 2-in the spring and fall make distance casts as mentioned. long casts retrieved 45 deg or parallel to shore will keep you in the strike zone the longest when the fish are getting fat on bait fish. 3-find the coves with the most muck/algae/stagnant water in the summer. go back in the winter and cold spring day. those coves warm the fastest b/c there is no water flow or wind blowing. its usually great fishing after the rest of the lake is cold. 4-if/when you get hung up in a tree: don't pull on ur lure with the rod b/c it loads and sinks the lure deeper. point the rod tip directly at the lure and tug back. you have a 50% better chance of yanking it free. 5-always find the feeder stream and fish it (esp on hot summer days b/c its like a/c for them). 6-always find the exit stream and fish it. 7-at any given point, one side of the water/shore is better than the other. thats b/c the original stream flowed thru with a zig/zag effect from shore to shore. find out or imagine where the deep parts and under water stream banks are (if one side has heavy algae/weeds breaking surface or lily pads, the other side is usually clear deeper water). 8-commit to a cast ALL the way back and be prepared for a strike up until the last second. i can't tell you how many times a fish smashed my spinnerbait 5ft from shore after a 60ft cast. its the moment they need to make a decision and strike or let the bait go free up the shore. one time i was finished reeling and was lifting my spinnerbait up out of the water and a fish struck. i literally swung her up and out of the water. it was wild. 9-get a topo map of ur larger bodies of water. you can rule out 80% of the water to fish b/c there is a 100ft+ flat. you will never be able to cast far enough out to effectively fish the area. focus on: the bends where the original creek flows against the bank, feeder streams, points and secondary points near deep water, weed beds near deep water, fallen trees near deep water (deep water theme!). good luck!

bucket fisherman--"10lb test is plenty"

every time i'm leaving shore.... someone coming in says "They are bustin' on shad out there". best part is half the places don't have shad

hilarious

it was a great read and i'm looking forward to more.

great post nick

nice fish. i fish south jersey too and have been stuck in the 2-3lb range for july and august. i've been fishing alot of small dammed ponds that heat up way too much. i found an amazing spot that i'm looking forward to going back to in the fall. i swear the water was close to 90 deg when i stuck my hand in it. i could barely get them to take a senko when i was there. the bite always turns on for me at dusk. next season i'm going to get electronics and fish much larger bodies of water in the summer months. i'm really looking forward to this cold front coming in. its like the first taste of fall fishing!!!

nice post. 60 post welcome to ya!

i'd tell you the story but i hate re-living how i got my nick name '2 fingers'.

hmmm ru sure that was a flat bottom? i've been a 30yr old canoe like ur describing but it was a sears 13' fiberglass with a V-hull . it couldnt have been more than 25" wide and would almost tip while sitting. most newer canoes start with at least a 35"+ width and are flat bottoms. i think my radisson is 38"+ and i can literally walk around in it. i'd highly recommend borrowing a canoe AND kayak from friends. or buy one cheap/used this winter off CL. if you don't like it you can re-sell it in the spring for more than you paid for it. some fishing/hunting stores will even let you take them out on the water for a test. i also have a 9.5' perception swifty kayak (dicks sporting). my back gets sore, and legs cramp after 2 hrs... reason being i can't stand up, or stretch. i would choose my canoe over my kayak any day of the week.

i'd go cheap when learning a new lure b/c you'll lose a bunch to logs and sticks. don't bother changing out the hooks until ur more experienced with not sticking the trebles in everything besides fish. it sucks breaking them off when ur fishing from shore. its at least better if ur in a boat and can rescue them half the time. i still use cheap cotton cordell super spots. sometimes i change the hooks out. if i didn't i know to just the play big fish more with my rod

i have a 12' and 14' Radisson and LOVE them. I have no problem standing up and fishing in either and I don't have stabilizer bars. they have oar locks u can slip the oars into and paddle it like a row boat. i can blow other guys away that have a single paddle. and they help me get awesome angles on casts. i've been in a lot of kayaks and canoes and this one beats them all for comfort, speed, and lightness. as mentioned the hull is thin so no white water rafting near rocks. Also search ur CL for "sportspal". different company, same canoe.

take a deep breath and step away from the tackle box lol. what are ur best 3 techniques so far? how can u build on them with complementing techniques? ie ur patient and successful with a wacky senko. next try a jig. its weedless so u can pitch it in cover, swim it back, access more holding areas where most guys don't even go, and use ur patience to twitch/dead stick it when the bite is tuff. WHAT isn't nearly as important as WHERE. learn to read water and locate holding areas. there is a good chance a bass will hit any of 10 lures if you bounce them off his nose . there is a ton of great info and posts here. your job is to sift thru it and find the information that relates to ur fisheries and climate. be aware of the size of water where people are having success and how it compares to ur water. august in a 10,000acre lake w/ 50-70ft depths is much different than aug in a 150 acre lake that maxes out at 12ft. also what time of year it is. ur in Pa like me so don't get caught up on someone's advice b/c they are killing it with a particular lure the same day over in CA. its a totally different climate. find out what ppl in ur region are using this time of year

that is a small pond. i would stick to soft plastics--wacky 5" senko. maybe a 1/4oz jig. i would probably cover the whole pond in under 20 casts w/ reaction baits (mainly in spring or fall)---and use a chatterbait, lipless trap, or spinnerbait if they want noise/vibration. or swim a normal jig to see if they want a silent reaction bait. pretend its a square pond and run the baits across the corners (u can draw strikes from deep or shallow). and burn them parallel to shore on the longest stretches of bank. use buzzbait anytime of year at dusk or dawn. i stop at a private farm pond that same size and work in thoroughly in an hour. the LM max out between 3-4 lbs. Once I've caught/released one its like sounding the holy s(** alarm for the other fish. but they are less effected in spring when feeding heavily and spawning. good luck and let us know how u make out

its alot easier to catch fish on a trap (or any new lure) from a boat b/c you can cover more water, get better angles, have more access to deeper water points, and motor over when u get the trebles stuck. burn it along the outsides of weed lines, tick it over the top of them ripping it free when u get caught, parallel the shoreline etc. from shore its all about long casts to keep it in the strike zone longer---i like a 45 deg angle from shore b/c it draws fish from the shallows and deep. its a great spring/fall bait when bass are feeding on bait fish. i like gold b/c i catch so many fish on it. i also found an red one in a stream that basically turned white/bone. put some new hooks on it and bone became my new favorite color for awhile. i used nail polish to make a black one which i'm looking forward to trying. good luck

throw it this fall and you'll be successful. slow steady retrieve with a periodic speed up tossed in. ru fishing from shore or boat?

all great advice. i use the process of elimination technique. reaction w/ blades and noise are fun to burn along. but if their not hitting i try a silent reaction (swimjig, silent crank etc). if no takers i slow down to finesse. thats how i like to fish. the trick is knowing how fast to change lures. if i known i threw a spinnerbait in two awesome locations (along a great weed line, along a tree know to produce, etc) and it netted me nothing, i know to change quickly....no matter what season it is I'd be less likely to tie a spinnerbait on in the middle of august in a small farm pond w/ 88 deg water temp. but more likely to tie it on in a 1000+ acre reservoir w/ a tree w/ 20ft of water near by.

I always miss great clearance items b/c the stores don’t stock or label items correctly. I'd loose my eyesight, and mind, trying to read the SKU numbers and then find the corresponding product hanging somewhere. I usually take my 10 favorite items up and just ask them to scan them to tell me what’s on sale. I do it several times lol. This time I asked the guy to come back to the fishing section and bring his wireless scanner. Not only did he but he broke the Dick’s Da Vinci code for me. Sale items have a red sticker Clearance items are NOT required to have a red sticker but their price ends in a “.x3” or “.x7” ie $5.33, $3.47, $3.53, $7.47, $6.23, Its payday if you find a red sticker that ends in 3 or 7. In the end none of this matters as there are still clearance items hidden at the end of the rainbow. I had a pack of SK Rage Tails in my hand and asked him to scan it for sheets and giggles. Originally $5.79 a pack. They came up…$1.73. I cleaned them out. Lots of Dicks have an additional 50% off clearance items this week so check it out

be careful trying to learn a new technique in the wrong season. how big are the bodies of water ur fishing? you're not going to hear great spinnerbait stories in the middle of august. u can all but kiss them good bye in a small pond that had 85-90deg water temps. thats when soft plastics excel. ur swim jig is also a fast/reaction bait. both bites will slowly start to pick up from this point forward. you should kill with both of them in the fall. good luck

nice smallies!