Felix77

Learn to add a FC leader in clearer water and you are all set! Good luck!

I use Fluorocarbon on all my rods except one. That spinning rig has braid with a FC leader on it. Spent all winter learning the Alberto Knot. Before that it was the double-uni. Alberto is better! I love me some FC!

Fishing from a boat adds another dimension to your fishing and that's navigating, boat control, fishing deeper water etc. If you are up for those challenges then by all means get at least a canoe or kayak. When you are not up for that you can always go back to hitting the banks from shore.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/how-to-fish-the-double-fluke-rig.html

Working your buzzbaits I bought from the Suffern show is what prompted me to put this post up in the first place.

Picked one up yesterday. I will update you on anything I uncover when tossing it around.

I love me some Keitech's!

Wow ... as always Bassresource.com members educate me! Can't wait to try it this year! Thanks to all

This is so true! When I first started learning to fish I remember thinking that distance was the key to success for some reason. Meaning that if I can get the lure out the farthest then I somehow have a better chance of catching the fish. Length of time in the water ... bla, bla, bla. As I observed my boater (I'm a co-angler) I noticed how short their casts are generally in compared to mine. As I learned about leverage and the "quality" of the cast vs. the quantity(length) my catch % grew exponentially. Now there is a time and a place for long casts but it's the exception and NOT the rule. My go-to cast is far enough to keep control of my bait! With a spinnerbait it can be very long, with a shakey head not so much. That results in a better presentation and thus more fish IMHO!

I have used spooks and poppers in open water with marginal success. Has anyone ever used a buzzbait in open water situations? An example is fishing a hump in deeper water as opposed to shallow around pads or wood. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Here are some pics I took of my setup to help you. Hope this works for you. I caught a ton of big pike on this rig too so it definitely holds up!

Welcome ... you have come to the right place!

Looking to work with the drop a lot more this season. Is a particular type of bait more effective than others? You can put almost anything on a drop shot. Just curious about which do you feel works better than others.

The pic is too small to get a good look at it but congrats. I love me some SMB. They are so much fun to catch. So aggressive. I caught my 1st one fishing from the bank the other day. I generally catch them in deeper water on the boat.

I use small medical tubing. Cut a tiny piece off and put it over the end which holds the line. I then put it on the snap. It keeps it from sliding up the line. I always keep extra tubing in my tacklebag just in case I lose the tiny piece.

General DEC regulations state that you can catch Bass in NY between December 1 - Friday preceding the 3rd Saturday in June as long as you are using artificial bait. and practice catch and release. You can't KEEP them but you can sure fish for them. I don't understand people who say you can't catch them year round in NY. Please tell me if I am wrong. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31421.html

4" robo worm and a split shot about 12 inches above will catch them all day! My goto from the bank!

x2 on 1/8 - 1/4. Leave a tag you feel confident in. I don't think it makes a difference to the fish. The weeds and muck is another story however.

... and Jameson!

Mine are officially tournament tested now. I took my S11's out on my Pike tournament this past weekend (Lake Champlain). I also brought my old glasses with me to compare/contrast what I can see. It was a night and day difference between the two. When fishing submerged grass I was able to see it much, much farther out than with my old glasses. I also compared them to the costa's my partner was wearing and there was a marginal difference between the S11's. Not worth the over $100 price tag IMHO. I am SO glad I bought these. Made me feel so much more confident with what I was throwing over those weeds. Namely because I could see them soo much better.

I got a deal at my Wal-Mart on Spinshots. $1 per pack of SpinShots. I bought all their #1's. Needless to say I have a ton to go through. I do like them but they are expensive compared to the VMC's and spinshots haven't let me down yet.

Mine is called Lennay like Manti Te'o's girlfriend. It doesn't exist.

As a tournament fishermen (co-angler with multi purpose rods) I am always trying to find ways to save time when it comes to tying up new hooks/baits. With the VMC spinshots I noticed that it takes quite some time to rig them up if you switch up tactics or happen to lose the whole rig. Here's what I came up with to save time out there on the water. Tie on your leader and weight to your favorite spinshot. Take a plastic fishing license holder and label it with the hook and weight. Put the rig in the holder. My drop shot rod is already filled with Fluorocarbon so all I need to do is tie on the top of the spinshot, throw on a bait and I am off and running again. Thought I would share. I know it helped me.

I'm of the opinion that every fish caught helps you decipher the pattern. Catching NO fish can tell you something as well but not as much as catching at least something. So I would say no.

Right now its a spinnerbait to find them and a split shot rig to clean them up.