redboat

We recently learned that zebra mussels have been found in a second Texas lake, Ray Roberts. We've been told by TPW that zebra mussels are invasive pests that will ruin fishing on any lake they get into by gradually killing the microscopic plankton that forms the first link of the food chain. Shad and other baitfish then die out followed by larger fish until there's nothing left but the mussels - or so the story goes. I saw a map that showed the zebra mussels were spreading from east to west and north to south. So this is more of a question for you northeast guys: If you have zebra mussels in your lake, how have they affected the fishing? Do they really kill everything as we've been told? Not that the fishing in NC Texas is all that great but I'd hate to see it go to zero.

I had some small weedless Gamagatsu (sp?) circle hooks, about a #1-0 I think. I used a small swivel, small enough that I had to jam the split ring onto the main frog hook, the split ring at the other end I threaded through the eye of the circle hook. Like I said, it worked pretty well but all I caught was little bass so I gave up on it. With the small weedless hook it wouldn't get hung up even in lilly pads or heavy slop.

Navionics has one; I have it on my phone. I never use it though.

I went to a local class a couple years ago that a pro does from time to time. He explained how to rig a frog, where to throw them, etc. Pretty good stuff. So for about a year I kept a frog rigged, threw it a few times to an hour every time I went out. It got hit pretty regularly, but I could NEVER get a hook set no matter what I did. I told a buddy about that; he suggested I try a trailer hook. I rigged up a swivel and a weedless octopus hook as a trailer - then I hooked up EVERY TIME I threw the frog. Problem was, the biggest bass I caught was about a pound. I don't throw frogs any more.

Interesting thread. I've been a member for several years but you'll see I have relatively few posts. That's because if I post something that doesn't follow the current "party line" someone or the other jumps all over the post, explains how he disagrees, how wrong I am, what an idiot I am, how I expect to catch a limit every time I go out, and so on and so on. One of those folks who seems to feel the need to jump on me every time I post is a moderator. So I come here almost every day, there are some AWESOME videos (thanks Glenn for showing me I've been rigging worms incorrectly all these years) but mostly let the forums alone. By and large I think the moderators do a good job, but I wish people here were a little more open minded.

Thats a good choice, I've been using this on jigs with good success. Alternately, I'd throw a Grande Bass Rattlesnake on a 1/8 oz Spot Remover shakey head.

Cool - I've had my 'bird for a year and a half and my I-Pilot Minnkota for a couple months. Both are awesome - can't wait to get them hooked together!

I could never get a hook set on a frog no matter what I tried - letting them take the frog under, counting to ten slowly, "crossing their eyes", nothing worked. I finally added a small weedless circle trailer hook and got them all on that - but the biggest one turned out to ba about 1/2 pound and ten inches long. I quit fishing frogs after that.

Interesting; this is the same logic I used two weekends back when my wife and I were fishing Toledo Bend. Water temp was around 88, and I knew a couple of creek channels that swung close to the bank and some 25-35 foot points we'd had success in the past. We fished all that deep stuff for two days, threw deep cranks, C-Rigs, T-rigs, jigs, and got NOTHING, nada, zip, zilch. My wife had been bugging me all day to go try shallow water so about an hour before we had to leave . I finally said, "What the $^$#, I'll show you how wrong you are, there's no shallow bite when the water's 88 degrees, there are no clouds in the sky, and its noon!" So I drove over to a shallow point and she caught a 6 lb bass in about 10 minutes in two feet of water using a weightless wacky rigged Senko. So much for "common sense".

Yeah, I'm from Texas, two hours without a bite is nothing - in the summer around here its more like two months...

I don't have any arms or legs; I hafta hold the rod in my mouth and thumb the reel with my nose. I learnt to work the crank with my eyebrows. I switch from left eyebrow when I cast to right when I reel in. You should see me drivin' my boat at 85 MPH down the lake, everybody gets outta my way...

My former fishing buddy would be on his 90% of the time, it got really aggrivating. Always to his girlfriend, "I LOOOOOOOVE you baby! I MIIIISSSSS you baby!" Was enough to make you barf.

I have the free version that came with the chip also but had previously bought their premium PC app, about $100 at Navionics. It is light years beyond the freebie, which is of limited use in my opinion. Don't waste your time with the free version.

I fished some "working man" tournaments a couple years ago. Every single bass my partner and I caught over 14 inches over a three month period were caught before dark. We could catch little dinks after dark but that was about it. It was like somebody'd flipped the "bass switch".

First day, sunny, about 75 early, 90 later in the day, light breeze (10-15MPH). Second day much the same, less breeze. We were on the lake at 6 Saturday and off at 3; ,7 Sunday.and off at noon.

My wife and I fished Toledo Bend last weekend, Saturday and Sunday. We'd been there four weeks prior; saw a lot of hatchlings in coves being guarded by males. The females had moved off the nests; we caught several in deeper drops and creek bends next to shallow water on Carolina and Texas rigged plastics and jigs. Conventional wisdom says the bass would now have all moved to the deeper water, so we decided to fish the drops and offshore structure again. Well, we spent the better part of two days throwing jigs, T-rigged plastics, Carolina rigs, deep cranks, etc. at every drop off and main lake point we normally fished, and a few we'd never fished before, and NOTHING, nada, zip, zilch, not even a nibble. We were about ready to bag it on Sunday, it was 11 AM and we needed to get on the road by 1 so were about ready to head back. I'd seen a spot, shallow with a little grass sticking up next to some trees. I thought maybe I'd map the spot, return there next Spring or maybe later in the Fall when the bass moved back shallow. After about ten minutes my wife hooked a 6-2 LMB on a wacky Senko in about two feet of water. That was the only fish we caught the whole trip, but it was a really nice one. We fished that same area for another half hour but nothing else. I'm trying not to get discouraged about structure fishing - I know nothing works all the time but there are obviously tricks I don't yet know. We're going back this weekend; think I'll mix up structure with shallow water stuff and see what happens.

Wacky rigged Senkos, Flukes, Grande Bass Rattlesnake (any color as long as its pumpkin seed green). Three good baits to learn with. You can find the first two just about anywhere. Grande Bass are available online or at Academy Sports.

In the North Texas area there is so much fishing pressure that finesse techniques work better from late Spring until Fall - in other words, when most people are fishing. I've found the shaky head works best during this high pressure time. Other times a Texas rig - using the exact same bait - will produce better.

My fishing buddy I.M. Haungup is in the military, and does National Guard the first weekend every month; can't interfere with that. Otherwise his problem is his girlfriend, her family, and occasionally his family. Between antiquing, entertaining relatives, etc. he can't seem to get out much. I advised him to tell 'em (1) He had to participate in a bombing raid on Canada because they are a buncha dweebs anyway; or, (2) Just pretend he has the flu then once the GF pulls out to go antiquing he can break and run for it. Coming back, he had a high fever and hadda go to the ER. You REALLY need to learn to lie creatively, bud!

Stay away from Fouro line until you have confidence in the baitcaster; flouro is going to be worse about backlashing. Stick with heavier baits; less than 1/2 oz and you're probably better off with your spinning rig anyway. Get some practice plugs and throw across the street at a mailbox for a while. Reel Magic on the line will help with the backlashes; spray it on the spool befor eyour first cast of the day. BPS has a Johnny Morris reel, supposedly made by Pflueger, that they put on sale from time to time for $80. The Pflueger version is supposedly around $200. Anyway, it has both centrifugal and magnetic drag, is a very nice reel for the price. I tried one a year ago, now have four. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

They're a little less than that around here - around $1.25 a hook - but still expensive. I thought they were too pricey also but bought a pack just to see what all the fuss was about. One thing I noticed is, the Trokars don't seem to rust like some of the others. Since I throw out probably 3/4 of my hooks because they're rusty that makes the Trokars work out to be less expensive for me. You might want to order some Trokars from this outfit - $7 for 5 to 7 hooks, depending on size: http://www.basspro.c...10205306/137951 Not to say Owners are bad - I've used them also; they are good.

I caught several near a dam one morning on wacky rigged Senkos. One had a big ol' crawdid hanging half out of his mouth, pincher still working. They were feeding on crawfish around the rip rap but hitting Senkos.

try this: http://stores.intuit.../Categories.bok Or this: http://www.locrbar.com/ I have the first one; it works ok. Saw the second on Edwin Ever's boat a couple years back when he wass at Bass Pro, and the next week he won in Florida. Dont know if there was a connection but who knows, maybe!

We recently emerged from a killer drought in Texas. At the height of the drought back last Summer I caught a three pound catfish - but once I pulled all the ticks off him he only weighed about pound...

As I understand it, once the fuel separates and water settles out there is no additive that can return it to its opriginal state. If things go that far your only choice is draining the gas and throwing it out. Or donating to your brother-in-law with the hotrod Mustang. So, you are trying to keep it from separating in the first place.