MarksHooked

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/ this was very helpful for me. Also the 'Articles' at the top of the site have SO MANY great tips on there, I swear if everyone read those these forums would have a lot less questions. As Sam mentioned, advice from your area will always be super helpful, but if you're looking for some good reading on soft plastics, and getting back into bass fishing let me suggest these: http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/becoming_a_better_fisherman.html http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/Timeless_tips.html http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/worm_fishing.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/worm-fishing.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/worm-fishing-1.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/patterns.html Happy reading and have fun!

I like watching Ish Monroe both catch and miss fish lol. I also really enjoyed following Casey Martin in the FLW Circuit Breaker episodes

I look back through the forums, search by Most Viewed or Most Replies to find some great topics and old disputes and conversations on various topics. Every weekend I try and convince the wife we need to drive out to the nearest BPS, or a local shop. I keep buying a few things every weekend, I find that helps pass the time lol. We had the Toronto Sportsmans Show last weekend, but I wasn't impressed with the fishing related section, next weekend is another Boat and Fishing Show in Toronto so hopefully that's a little better. I've been spending a lot of time practising knots, filling up the bathtub and watching the movement of lures. Tried Ice fishing a couple of times, bought every fishing magazine I could find, and doing research on local Bass Fishing Clubs to try my hand at co-angling this year and hopefully learn a lot more! COME ON SPRING!!!!! We've got until 3rd week of June for Bass season to open here , but plenty of fish around here to tug on the end of my line and keep me happy until then!

I've never met him, but Roadwarrior taught me how to target and catch my first bass with his post 'Guaranteed to catch bass' I found that article through Google, practised setting up a weightless texas rig, and then went out and caught my first bass. After that I spent a ton of time on this website, and every technique I tried last year was taught by the members of this amazing group whether they knew it or not!

Welcome to Bass Resource! Most folks around here will most likely want to know more about where you are fishing, and what gear you are using, to help give you the best advice possible! From my very little experience, I think that as the ice melts, and bass are in 'pre spawn' you may have a tough time getting them to attack a wacky rigged worm. Try downsizing to a 4" Stick type worm for creeks and streams, and you may have to just 'deadstick' and work painfully slow, and also don't neglect Jerkbaits, I have been doing a lot of research on them and they sound like an excellent bait to use once the ice has melted and those bass are still very lethargic. Good luck!

Great collection, puts my tackle bag to shame lol. Come on BPS Spring Classic sale!

cool video all about Dottie. I first heard about her here on BR

KVD Line and Lure Conditioner New Sunglasses Wacky O-Tool and rings Digital Scale PFD I saw advertised they were having their Spring Classic sale towards the end of this month, don't forget about that

Congratulations! Rodney Gary Lily Sonny River ....Seven

I can't wait to check out Google Earth! I had been using Google Maps just on my browser in the past, time for me to step it up! Being able to go back in time, (One picture above showed you could go back as far as 1998 wow!) and noticing structure is going to be so useful for someone like with me with no boat or depthfinder! Great tips here

I was excited thinking somewhere Bass season was opening lol. Lucky you on the new BPS! There are only 2 in Canada so far, luckily I'm only an hour and a half drive from the one in Vaughn. on another note.....142 days till Bass season opens in my area.

I'm also in southern Ontario, be careful where you fish for Sturgeon, most or all of Ontario is closed all year long as they are a threatened species. I believe I've read they can take 50 years to mature and, they were heavily fished around here back in the day and are now few and far between. http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/2ColumnSubPage/247339.html Not trying to rain on your parade I don't know much about it I've never fished for them myself. Worse case scenario, we still have plenty to fish for around here!

Like a lot of other 'newbies' I did exactly what Hootie mentioned: I read over hundreds of opinions, and try and make the best decision I can from that. I am thankful there are so many opinions about tackle and gear on this site, it has helped me choose my new set ups for this year, and every single bass fishing technique I tried last year was learned on these forums and various articles. Thanks BR!

I'm going up to Lake Simcoe again tomorrow, and have also gone the past two weekends. We rent a hut for the day, it has everything you need inside except the flasher. Holes are drilled, the heaters are on when you get there, and they drive you right out to the spot. This is a much more casual type of ice fishing than the guys who are out there with their own equipment, drilling holes all day and actively hunting for fish(which also looks like a lot of fun). I took my wife out to one of these huts and we had a blast catching one small perch after another. Minnows are supplied, all we have to take are rods and reels, and some jigs and terminal tackle. It's comfortable, relaxing, and definitely satisfies that craving of a FISH ON feeling

I have tried a lot of Fishing video games, and I think what's missing from a lot of them, is what most real anglers want: a fishing SIMULATOR, and not an arcade fishing game like we see out there. I'd love to play a fishing game where I don't get to see underwater presentations and fish following my line while a timer counts down. I would be happy to sit for 15-20 minutes without a bite, worrying if I need to change the lure, or the colour, or the size, and reach into my tackle box. The only thing close to this for me, was Bass Pro Shops The Strike; Tournament Edition for Nintendo Wii. I had to borrow my brother in laws Wii when I picked up this game, but when you set the camera to above the water, it's does a good enough job of keeping cabin fever at bay for a couple of hours at a time. It allows you purchase BPS lures and rods and line, and you can earn money from tournaments to upgrade your gear. I believe it's also available for PC, but I do like the feel of 'setting a hook' and 'reeling in' with the Wii

Excellent pictures! Thank you for sharing

weightless stick worm! Seeing my line take off to the side, or feeling that tap and setting the hook and feeling a fish on.... nothing beats it! I haven't been fortunate enough yet to catch a fish on top water, I will be trying again this year because everyone raves of how exciting it is. I do a lot of bank fishing, there is a long stretch of Lake Ontario near a boat launch that I can spend all day walking down finding different areas of cover, and trying to figure out where any structure is. It's a beautiful site in the morning as long as you keep your back to the huge Dofasco Steel factory

wow my buddy and i have been using snap swivels for most things like total 'noobs'! I did feel like we were being lazy, and would benefit from directly tied soft plastics and such. I didn't even know there was such a thing as snaps! d**n I've gotta start paying more attention, can't wait for the ice to melt! Look out fish!

Yes to both questions! seems to be there are multiple opinions on % of mono to brad. Today I'm going to try splitting 150Yds of PP on two different spinning reels, will probably have to do about half mono half braid to accomplish that. 75yds is plenty for the fishing I do, and should save some money this season so the bait monkey will be well fed

Thank you for the input. I've been focusing on 7' rods, I'm 6'3 mostly bank fishing. I will continue to try different rods/reel combos at my local shops until I find the perfect set up for myself, might need to take a look at something a bit shorter

Apologies I should have specified spinning gear. Thank you for the response.

I was taken out for sunfish and stuff when I was growing up, but it was spring 2013 at the age of 28 when I really became passionate and started trying to soak up all the information I could.

Does the # test of the mono backing matter at all? I will be using 10lb PP, will that dig in too much to mono backing or have any other problems?

Also welcome to BR superdumper!

I just purchased a President 6930 and went with that over the 25 due to the balance it gave me in the rods I was trying out. I really like the feeling of the rod tip sitting at 10 o'clock naturally for those finesse applications, and the smaller size felt a little tip heavy, which some prefer. although maybe I just need to try it on better rods. not to derail the topic too much but Darren M, which rods do you pair your 1000 and 2000 size rods with, and how does the balance feel in your hand with the smaller reels? I place my entire hand above the reel seat to try and keep the weight towards the back