Felix77

I watch the big commercial fishing shows for entertainment more than to learn more now than I ever did. Early on I felt like I was learning by listening to what they were saying. I realized I needed to pay attention to what they were doing, how they were doing it and where they actually are. I think it was one of Gene's videos which said the best way to watch those shows is to put it on mute. I never felt so validated about my opinion on fishing shows. Sometimes what they say has to be seriously adjusted to meet your needs. For example ... When they refer to springtime fishing in the south it's generally a different world up here in the north. Their April spring is more like June/July here if we are lucky. Another example is summertime fishing when the water get's well above 90. I don't think the waters up north ever get that not. At least I haven't seen it yet. The only pet peeve I have is one which is just a 30 minute commercial that someone mentioned. But only those which show hookset after hookset, doesn't explain what they are doing or show how they are doing it. I avoid those like the plague.

LOL ... Boy do I have a little story for you! If you saw the river monsters episode in the Ukraine he was searching for the river monster of the Ukraine. My wife has never seen the show but decided to watch it with me because she is from Kiev in the Ukraine. In Jeremy Wade fashion he dramatically finds someone who is describing the "monster". The native called it the "Psalm" or something like that. My wife yells at the screen "Oh for freakin' sake ... its a stupid catfish". By the end of the show he catches a catfish. She also mentioned that according to Jeremy Wade the "Psalm" weighed something like 200 -300 pounds when the native actually said something like 100 - 200. Fun to watch the show with a native.

I think everyone is going to cheer for their favorite rod. It's all based on the preference of the user. My favorite drop-shot rod is a Rapsody "Drop-Em" Drop Shot rod. It's a MH with a XF tip. Some think that is too firm for drop shotting but I love it. The tip sends back everything that weight goes over. Before this rod I used a MM Fast tip rod which came with my spinning reel and that was good for me too.

The MJ Rig ... deadly. I have a small kit with gold and silver willow and colorado blades just for this.

I recently discovered Keitech Easy Shiners and they are an absolute K-I-L-L-E-R ... no ... I mean they suck! Don't buy them.

1.Your hottest senko colors? - Black 2.Your hottest worm colors - Green Pumpkin 3.Your hottest creature bait colors? - Green Pumpkin 4.Your hottest grub colors? - Smoke

I have a Rapsody Drop Shot rod (Drop 'Em) and I love it! Under $100 too!

I have all 3 ... Black, Silver and Pro. The Black is great for beginners but for an extra $10 I believe I think you will get a better reel with the Silver. Not to mention that it comes with a pitching/flipping switch. It gives you the most options of all 3. With a 6.4:1 gear ratio it's right in line with the average baitcaster speed wise. The Pro max has more bearings and is a 7.1:1 gear ratio. I use it for baits I want to fish faster OR deeper when I want to retrieve line much faster. As someone else said go with the rod/reel combo you can get at Dicks. It comes with a better quality rod (Vengeance) than the one in Wally World. Good luck.

I use 3 techniques with my UV Worms 1 - Buzz it across the top. If the water is slick/calm you can run it across the top. The tail causes a nice buzzing action. You can also complement this a stop/go retrieve and let the bait sink a bit. 2 - As mentioned above. Rig weightless. Cast it out, let it sink, Reel it back a few cranks, repeat. So instead of lift and let drop I reel a few cranks and let it drop. Get's the tail dancing. 3 - Same as #2 but weighted. With this I do a lift and drop ... hoping to get the tail action going on the lift and again on the fall. I use no lighter than a 1/4 oz. It's worth noting that I use a heavier gauge hook for the weightless rigs. The worm needs some more weight IMO and this helps make that happen. Good luck. This was my first soft plastic. Introduced to me by FLW Pro John Cox.

Strike King caffeine shad

Congrats ... definitely a keeper!

Yes ... It's your brain checking out of what you are doing. It happens. I have two stories ... 1) The worst case of this happening was in my first tournament in the heat of the summer last year. Early on I was focused and firing on all cylinders. As the day progressed the heat did a number on me and I struggled to retain focus. I had strikes which I let sit too long, fished too fast, began getting frustrated ... None of which is good when you are trying to catch fish. I learned from that and plan to bring a ton of water, stuff to keep me cool and 2) I try to fun fish after work to decompress. Even if it's for an hour or two. On some occasions I take the frustrations of work with me to the lake and find that I struggle to get into what I am doing (focus wise). My brain is sidetracked and I almost always miss a strike or two as a result. I am convinced that the fish know when you are mentally not there. LOL. You did the right thing in leaving if you were truly tuned out from what you were doing. Try to learn from it and maybe work through it differently next time.

The latest Bassmaster features a question about the double drop shot which I asked. (sidebar ... psyched!) In it the pro describes using it in conditions where he knows there are fish but it's difficult to decipher what presentation they want. He recommended a 1/4 finesse jig/craw on the bottom with a worm on top. In some other research I was doing on the subject I came across an idea of using a texas rigged worm with a drop shot above that. It's one of those DUH moments for me. The best of both worlds.

On the IPhone and Android you can create an icon which will bring you right to the site. That will make it feel like an app

http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/pi/mp2/11382/aHR0cDovL2QzZDcxYmEyYXNhNW96LmNsb3VkZnJvbnQubmV0LzQzMDAwMDUxL2ltYWdlcy80OTYzNHJ1LmpwZw==?src=http%3A%2F%2Fd3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net%2F43000051%2Fimages%2F49634ru.jpg&d=0b69fc799ae125fbddf4fe64ad4d52a1a2d2d5c5

... bassresource members hear from you more than your co-workers.

I use a hummingbird 120 which I fish from my canoe. I kind of cram it on the side of my canoe. Works pretty well. Still need to practice more with it though. http://store.humminbird.com/products/271365/120_Fishin'_Buddy

I am definitely putting this someplace. My problem is that there is so many fun ways to catch fish. I really need to hunker down and perfect a precious few!

Sweet!

IMO you get confidence any way you can! I am "stuck" on the bank most of the time and it's where I do all of my practice for tournament fishing. The key is to practice with a purpose if you do decide to practice a technique. I am just beginning to work with Square Bills too. I focus on being able to feel the bait grinding against the bottom. Once I felt that consistently I began varying retrieves. For example when I hit something hard pause for a moment and begin the retrieve OR grinded it back as fast as I can. Needless to say I began by catching white perch more than bass. I then began attracting larger and larger bass and was rewarded with a pair 3+ lb smallies the other day working the crank. My confidence grew with each catch. I posted about issues I had with the crank and with some fine tuning of the bait the hook percentage also went up. Keep going ... get your confidence any way you can. It will pay off!

One bass eat bass moments is amazing enough let alone two. I guess there is something to that Baby Bass colored fluke. LOL

When I get short strikes I think short lures. So in your case you were using a u-tail worm and they were nipping at the moving tail. Try switching to a 5" senko with a 4/0 hook. Gives them very little to nip on. Another suggestion is a 4" senko wacky style on a 1/0 wacky hook. The idea is go give them very little to "nip" at and increase your chances of making good hook to fish contact. ... and a little Megastrike never hurts. They seem to commit longer to the bait when it's on.

Good advice ... When you are in the heat of the moment it can be easy to forget. Hard to resist setting the hook hard when you get a sudden snag on a submerged log or rocks.

The gear I use for a shakey head and a mojo rig are the same. 6'6" Medium Fast Spinning with 10lb Fluoro (Seaguar InvizX).

Love em! Everytime I end up near a BassPro on my travels I pick up at least one pack. Lame excuse to go to the stores anyway. LOL 4 and 5 inchers. My favorite are the green pumpkin.colors.