OmegaDPW

I would really like to learn Spanish to better serve my community and church. Preferably on-line and free or really inexpensive, but neither is a requirement (my work or church could possibly cover the fees). Does anyone have any experience doing this or can push me in the right direction as to where to look?

It's still my main one. I've used Bing some in the past and the old Yahoo one but Google is still better than those two. Usually when I search something, it's going to be fairly specific and I like to use the "site:" feature to filter out the fluff and just search a specific site (like this one).

Pocket knives and fishing are my main hobbies, but I work full-time and am very active in the Knights of Columbus, so not much time to do the other things I like.

Any new body of water I fish (which is rare now) always starts with a Beetle Spin. Yeah, I know it's kinda "hokey" and old school, but it's what I've done for 40 years of fishing. If I start hammering bluegill and crappie right off the bat, I can at least figure out where fish are and then go from there. For me, my next step would be to throw a weightless worm (stickbait/Zoom Trick or Finesse) in close proximity to where the bluegill were.

I've told the story here before, but I was attacked by a donkey when fishing a farm pond once. I think I'd take a broken reel over that again. 😃

Another bank beater here. Same specs on both rods? I probably wouldn't notice much of a difference between the two. Personally, if there's any trees around where I fish, I go smaller. My best rods for those situations are between 6'0 and 6'6 and I usually stick with the 6'0. When you're trying to cast around trees and wind up "short arming" the cast because you can't get it situated well due to branches or whatever, it kills whatever advantage the longer rod would give you, regardless.

Ha- my kid did exactly the same. Big magnet from Amazon and went a couple of times. Never got anything but absolute junk and has never mentioned it again. Those YT videos of lures, flashlights, murder weapons, pocket knives, etc. are either staged or must take months to film. My kid never went anywhere that was highly populated, though. Just hunted creeks and bridges around the neighborhoods.

KISS is my main idea, too. Mine is a curly tail lizard- weightless and weedless for my ponds.

Creme worms and those little shad minnow things.

I hate pads like that. I probably wouldn't fish there at all. If I absolutely had to, I'd probably look for holes right near the bridge and drop a weightless stickbait or lizard in the hole (like ice fishing I guess). Jig it a couple times and move on. I don't normally fish any heavy gear, so casting into that stuff would just ruin my day.

I fish from the bank and usually call it a day at my favorite pond after about 4 hours or so. I bring two rods. One for bass and one for panfish. The bass rod will either have a weightless worm or lizard. The panfish rod will have something like a black Beetle Spin grub or a small swimbait/curly tail grub. I only change these out when I get hung up and snagged or the fish tear the bait. Like I said in a similar thread recently, I have fished this pond for 20 years. I've learned what they like and won't look at. Even on the off chance that I go to a different pond, these rigs will start (and usually finish) my day off. I usually catch fish with them. I wish I had found this "minimalist" approach years ago. I have boxes and bags full of soft plastics that will probably never be fished. Hope my kids get some use out of them one day.

I have a favorite pond that's right down the road from my house, so it's where I go 99% of the time. I've fished it for over 20 years. The bass like weightless worms/lizards and the bluegill and crappie like tiny baits- similar to the black grub with no tail Beetle Spin. They rarely bite with the spinner, so I have given up using it with one. So, 99% of the time I stick with what I know they like, too.

You got that right. My favorite pond is full of weeds on a good day and almost unfishable on days like now. My PB 10lber was caught about 4 feet from the bank where there is no noticeable grass, cover, etc. I only threw there because I was tired of pulling green slime off my lures after each cast. For me, all of my fishing is a crapshoot. My skill set is limited, even after 40 years of fishing. I attribute 99% of all of my catches to just dumb luck. 😄

Good afternoon friends and neighbors! It's been at least two months since I've been able to log on here and just as long not fishing. Father in law died, had to move my mother in law to my town, just a real mess. I hadn't even driven by my favorite farm pond but had the chance to go yesterday. The water is extremely low. Never saw it this low before. Weeds and some sort of vegetation have appeared where they never were before. In all actuality, it looks horrible. This pond is where I've always caught large bass but the crappie and bluegill populations were hit and miss. Usually miss. I think I found out why, though. Caught this pic of four otters swimming and playing near me. They're probably tearing up the bluegill population. Overall, was a pretty good morning though. Caught 15 fish- a mix of bass and bluegill. Caught all of them on tiny swimbaits (less than an inch), a tiny jighead with a #12 hook and fished about a foot under a weighted bobber with a steady retrieve. That was the only way I could keep the lures above the weeds. Couldn't find the crappie- if they're even there anymore. Biggest bass was about 4lbs. Hopefully it won't be another couple of months before I get to go again. Good to be back (here and there!).

I stick with my confidence baits way too long just about every time I'm on the water. Sometimes that results in getting skunked. I don't see myself changing, though. 😉

Oh, another thing- if you do use a regular hook, they'll probably spin like crazy and won't run true. Mine are exactly the same but brown.

Check out Float and Fly on Google, etc. You'll find some good ideas. In my experience, get ready to catch a lot more panfish than bass, though.

I bought a couple from Jiffy Jig's when I visited their shop/factory awhile back. Theirs were pre-rigged with a small jighead and a Beetle Spin type of spinner. I've had good luck with crappie by removing the spinner and running them under a bobber with a slow retrieve. Hadn't had a bass hit one yet, though- I run them really high up in the water column and that may be why. As much as I love to fish weedless, I'd stick with the open hook jighead. Yeah, you'll probably get hung up some but definitely better hook-ups than trying to punch through with an aberdeen hook. Mine are fat little jokers.

@Bazoo Guys, my "irreplaceable" knife is a bone handled Case large stockman that my son bought me as a Christmas gift when he turned 16 and got his first job. I was thinking safe queen, but he made me carry it. He's 22 now and that knife has been carried probably more than any other. The CV blades are dark and pitted because of sweat and use and the white bone has turned yellow/tan. I wish I had oiled it a little bit more, but the blades have never needed to be sharpened. It's a great steel. I've never used the lock either way on mine. The humidity down here in GA is so bad that the wood swells and it would be impossible for the knife to open on it's own. On really bad days, I have to use the "rap the bottom on something hard" trick to get the blade to open normally. 😉

I've got the #8 with the gardener handle and the "beast" #12. I actually have a #6 Carbon in my Amazon cart right now. The 8 is Stainless and the 12 is Carbon. I like both. The stainless is better for pocket carry at work for me, but the #6 might change my mind. The 12 is a great camping knife when you don't want to carry around a large fixed blade all day.

I didn't think I was the only one. 😉 That would probably be the Classic, unless it's a rare version named something else. A "classic" it is. My favorite knives to collect. Here's some reading if you're inclined. Great website. https://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php

The only hobby that I have more important than fishing is knife/tool collecting. Started with my Dad giving me a Victorinox Swiss Army knife as a kid and just escalated from there. Probably 200+ pocketknives, fixed blades and multi-tools now. What are you carrying? My "everyday" is probably a Schrade Old Timer Sharpfinger. I use a knife quite a bit for work and many pocket folders just can't handle some of the abuse I give it, so I carry a fixed blade. It works fine and I now carry it away from work. It's small and looks like something a "Grandpa" would have. Granted, I live down South with a bunch of farmers and hunters, so no one has ever given it a second look, regardless. When I carry a Leatherman Wave w/ bit set in a pocket, along with the Old Timer, I can handle just about any emergency that comes up- even cutting an apple... Just curious what others carry (if you do).

Weightless finesse worm. The smaller the better for the real dinks. Probably get some of the bigger bluegill at the same time. This too 100%.

Good to see I'm not the only one. If it's raining before I leave the house, I'm not going. If it starts to rain while I'm fishing, I'll stay a little while longer. I have other hobbies that can be done indoors.

My idea of finesse fishing (which is my preferred way of fishing) is more along the lines of downsized baits and lighter tackle. Technically, I'll fish a 4 inch worm the same way I would fish a 10 inch worm. Weightless, weedless, maybe a split shot rig if I don't get any bites weightless. M rod, 6-8lb test line, spinning reel. Works well for me year round. The slow fall of a weightless finesse worm just screams easy meal to a fish. In winter, where they don't want to move around too much, it's very productive. When you cast and then don't do anything but wait- that's called "dead sticking". I cannot fish that way. I get bored way too easy. I'll do it for catfishing but not for bass. Others have good luck with it.