hoosierbass07

The UPS truck (delivering on Saturday because they could not deliver to me the last three days) finally delivered my package from Tackle Warehouse. So I got one of those bait balls. I bought the square bill version. It comes nicely packaged and it has a sticker on the package that says "Best New Hard Bait ICAST 2013". Looking at it, hmm, I don't know. When I ordered it I figured it was more a gimmick than anything else. Now, I'm still thinking it's more a gimmick. I almost didn't want to open the package. I was thinking it's so unusual maybe it would be a collectors item some day. Then I got to thinking - don't fishing gimmicks come along every so often and really nothing but junk? This might be one of them. Still, I'm glad to have it. I'll try it out later this spring when I'm out on the water on my kayak. It's packaged nicely though. I don't think I'll be buying any more though because $15 for one lure is a little too high for me.

I Just got back from Walmart and looked through the small fishing bargain bin. I usually don't look through it. What did I find? Two bags of Yum lizards for $1.98 each. I got them both. Sweet! And the cool thing - I've been looking online for some lizards to order because I want to have a nice little collection of them to use when spring gets here. Sweet!

I saw a new Bill Dance episode last night (his new 2014 episodes are now on) and he featured the Booyah Boo Teaser Rig. Now that thing looked like a bait ball. It looked small and compact. I definitely want to try it this summer.

I've placed two recent orders form some new on the market lures (maybe the Duo lure is not all that new) - one for some Duo Realis Spinbait 80 for spybaiting and another for one of those live target bait ball crankbaits. I ordered three Spinbait 80 lures and already received them. I think they will work for me catching bass. I have not received the bait ball crankbait yet but when I ordered it I figured it was more a gimmick than a real good lure. That's why I only ordered one bait ball lure and ordered three of those Duo lures. I'm pretty sure the Duo lures will work for me. The bait ball, I'm not sure. Then again, none of them may not work for me. I only have faith in soft plastics. Everything else, little faith.

One bag of Yum-Dingers in watermelon seed for $3.00 plus tax and a bag of Berkley Power Worms in electric grape for a round $4.00. One pack of hooks and pack of billet weighs. All you need. All I need (rod and reel too of course).

Ok, during my first year of bass fishing from banks during 2013, all I used were plastic worms. I did catch two fish on a jig and two on a spinnerait but all my other bass were on plastic worms. One thing I have not done yet is catch a bass using a top water lure. I almost caught a bass on the top when I was standing high on a bank and threw a rooster tail into a stream and a bass splashed out of the water and grabbed it but then let it go. It happened so fast it really shocked me. Anyway, I did buy a few walk the dog lures over the summer but never used them much. Maybe a few times. Now that I have a kayak and plan to be out on the water more I'm thinking of ordering a few nice walk the dog lures. My questions - when is the best time to use one of those lures? Are they mainly a morning time lure when the sun is coming up? Are they mainly a spring/spawning time lure? Will bass go after them in the summer? Morning, noon, evening time? Fall time? Thanks!

It's that simple? Cold water slows down those fish that much?

I've been recording all the new (and some old) fishing programs on the sporting channels the last few weeks. Iv'e been seeing a lot of ice fishing programs. There is something I find perplexing about the ice fishing programs I don't understand. Ok, when we catch a bass in the spring and summer you usually takes some effort/fight to reel them in. I've never done muskie fishing but from what I've seen in the spring and summer it takes some effort to reel them in. Now these ice fishing programs on TV. First they did a hole in the ice. I understand that. Then they use small rods. But then when they get a bass or muskie/pike on the line all they do is grab the line with their hands and pull the line up. Were is the battle from the bass or muskie? I mean, when they pull the line up it looks as if there is hardly any hard effort needed to pull the fish up. Why is that? Why don't the bass or muskie, when hooked, run off away from the hole in the ice the way they do when it's summer and run off for open water/cover? Are the bass and muskie in winter very lethargic or zombie like? Thanks

Hmm... I'll check them out for sure.

I just got in an order from Tackle Warehouse. This was an order for giant plastic worms! 1. Zoom O'L Monster. I didn't know it when I ordered but Walmart and the local Gander Mountain carries these. If I had known that I would not have ordered them from Tackle Warehouse. 2.Yum 10.5 inch Mighty Worm. Oh Yeah! I can't wait to try this one out this spring. I'm a big fan of Yum worms. I Love Yum! My favorite is the five inch Yum-Dinger. I can't want to use this giant sized Yum! The next two brands are new to me: 3. Mann's 12 inch jelly worm. I heard Mann's was the first mass produced popular U.S. plastic worm and very popular up to the 1980s. I can't wait to try this big worm out too. 4. NetBait 15" C-Mac. I've never used NetBait lures before but read about these worms and so I figured I would give them a try. They are fifteen inches and the largest worms in my whole fishing collection. There is just something about collecting and using plastic worms that is fun fun fun! I know some of you love jigs and crankbaits. But for me the number one and only lure worth throwing is the plastic worm! They are awsome, sexy, pretty, cool, neat, effective, productive, cheap, easy to use, and they catch bass! I'm pumped even though we just got five inches of snow. Three more months till we get to April. I really hope spring arrives here sooner than normal.

This past year I only Texas Rigged my plastic worms/lizards. This coming (2014) spring/summer I want to try Carolina rigging. But what is the standard way to fish it? Do you slowly reel the line in without moving the rod? Do you lift the rod up, lower rod and reel in slack?

I have the Mudhole catalog and also Janns Netcraft catalog. They have rod blanks listed for spinning and baitcasting and fly fishing. Can you take a baitcasting blank and make a spinning rod out of it or must you pick spinning blanks for spinning reels only? I ask because I know medium baitcasting rods tend be a little heavier than medium spinning rods. I would like to make me a spinning rod that is medium but matches the medium of the baitcasting rod.

I stumbled upon a rod building site last (Mudhole) and ordered their free catalog. Wow, their catalog is very nice and it also make rod building look like fun and not too hard. I have some questions - I've never made a rod before. If I would it would be a spinning rod for bass fishing. Can someone who has no expericne with rod building actually construct a decent looking and functional rod that will stay together and not fall apart for a few seasons of bass fishing? How hard is it to make a decent spinning rod? Also, can I get some recommendations of any good books or DVDs on rod builing? I'm a complete newbie and no nothing about it accept for what I've seen in the Mudhole catalog. I would like a book or DVD that is very thorough and easy to understand. How long does it take for some new to rod building to build their first spinning rod? Thanks!

At least the days are getting longer!

So when I get to a spot to fish, either bank fishing or kayak fishing - what worms should I start out with? The giant worms or regular sized worms? I don't want to get to a spot and throw the giant worm and scare off all the smaller bass. Would a giant worm scare off many of the smaller bass? Or should I start with the regular five inch/seven inch worms and after a while try the giant sized worms? I love worms and can't wait to cast these giant ones into the water!

I would have gotten the Ascend but they didn't drop their price after Thanksgiving. I think for Thanksgiving week it was around $299 or $399 plus shipping. I waiting after Thanksgiving to think about it more before I committed to buying and they did not drop their price. I found the one I originally wanted - Ride 115, for $675 with free shipping off eBay. I figured if I'm going to pay $400 for a kayak plus another $100 for shipping I might as well put out another hundred or so and get the Ride I want. But I was definitely looking at that Ascend and may get one in the near future. I already know I'm going to have to get a second kayak for my relative that I take fishing with me.

This year I caught 99.9% of my bass using regular sized (five to seven and a half inches) plastic worms (Texas Rigged). Most of the time I caught most of the bass using five inch to seven inch worms. My main plastic worms were Yum five inch Yum Dinger and Berkley seven inch Power Worm Power Bait. During the end of summer/early fall I picked up some Culprit 7.5" worms in Fire and Ice. I mostly picked them up because of the crazy looking color - I thought that color was nothing more than a gimmick and no way would a bass go after it. Well I went to my favorite state park and was bank fishing. I made a cast at a limb sticking up out in water and after four or five casts a bass ran off with the worm! I messed up though and lost it because I was messing around with my drag. But the important thing is - I found out bass will go after those Culprit worms. Another thing I discovered - the Culprit worms I used were 7.5" long. This winter I've been buying more and more plastic worms and finally got to buying giant sized ones - ten inch and larger. So this is my thinking - if the bass I go after will go after a 7.5" plastic worm, shouldn't they go after ten inch worms and twelve inch worms? One thing I don't want to do is throw too big a lure. But I do want focus on catching large sized bass in 2014 and not small bass. I ordered four packs of plastic worms last week and they range in size from ten inch to fifteen inches. So my questions - do you fish giant worms differently than regular sized worms? I Texas Rig my worms and usually cast it out, let it sink, pull the rod up, lower rod, reel in some slack, and repeat. Sometimes I will swim/reel in the worm too at different speeds. Can giant worms be fished the same or must they be fished slower or faster? Can a one pound bass take a ten inch worm? What about twelve and fifteen inches? Thanks

Number one: Plastic worms.

Lets say it's middle summer and you are fishing for bass in lake. The bass are neutral and you want to use finesse fishing lures (Texas Rigged plastic worms). You have to pick one rod/reel: 1. Spinning reel with 8 pound mono clear color. 2. Spinning reel with ten pound braid green color with no leader. Which one would you pick? Mono or braid?

As a bank fishermen, I've been looking to cut down on all the stuff I carry. Now with this kayak and it's carry capacity, I see I will probably be able to carry all my tackle with me in the thing.

Well, my brother and I went to the shipping company to pick it up. I was supposed to inspect it first. The kayk was wrapped with cardboard and plastic wrap. It first looked OK but I walked around it and saw some cardboard dented in and then I opened the area up and found a scratch. Looked sort of like someone driving a forklive might have scratched it. I inspected the scratch and all it seemed was a scratch. I pushed in the plastic and it did not feel structurally weak or anything. I kept looking for more scratch and didn't find any. One way home we stopped at a gas station and I was looking at the kayak again, inspecting it. I found two more smaller scratches on the bottom. They were minor though. I was thinking of refusing the kayak because of the scratches but thought - they seemed minor surface scratches. Plus I figured I'm getting a good deal for $675. So I brought it home. After taking it inside the house and taking off all the cardboard and plastic and inspecting it more it seems to be in good shape. It is heavy though, very heavy. I'm surprised at its weight. You can't really see the scratches unless you are looking at them with good light and they could probably be sanded smooth. Overall the kayak looks good. The thing is heavy though. I'm thinking this Ride 115 will not only be good for small ponds but big lakes too. lol. I'm not sure I would buy another kayak from the seller though. I'm not sure what the going price is for a 2013 Ride 115 in kayak shops. I assume they would be higher than what I paid - $675 with free shipping. So maybe I would buy another kayak from the seller if again they offered a good price and it's one I wanted. The really bad thing is I have to wait till spring to try it out unless we get a few warm days in January. What I expect - I will be having a blast in it this spring and summer. Although heavy, it looks plenty stable to stand and fish and plenty big enough to carry lots of tackle. I'm not a big lover of displaying the American flag but I do have desire put an American flag sticker on the nose of the kayak. It's my ship and I want the flag on it.

I picked up my kayak. Wow, this thing is heavy. HEAVY!

Wow!!!!!!!! Nice going!!!

Most people including me know about Bass Master magazine and In-Fisherman magazine. I know there are other bass and fishing magazines out there too. But I recently stumbled upon another magazine and fishing club that I never hear about until a few weeks ago. I was looking on the iTunes app site and found an app for the North American Fisherman club/magazine. I looked them up and started reading their online magazines. I am sort of impressed with their writing style. Their articles, at least to me, are easy to understand and simple and not too wordy. Have any of you out there ever read the magazine and if so what did you think of it? Did you join their organization? I believe it's $12.00 a year. I was thinking of sending them a money order for one year but wanted to get opinions first. From their online magazine articles, I really like their writing style. Any opinions of this magazine and organization?

The exact reel in the video - it's my video! lol. I didn't mention the rod in the video because I'm not exactly sure what exact rod I used most of the year. It's a Shimano rod and it says Aeroglas. I tried looking up Airoglas rods and all I find are trolling rods. So I think it's really made for trolling. It's built like a tank but light. That Sahara 2500FD on that rod with Sufix 6 pound clear mono was/is my favorite set up catching small bass. As for Pflueger, I bought a President at Gander Mountain and took it back the next day. I did not like it compared to my Shimano Sahara. So I exchanged it and added twenty more dollars and got the bigger Sahara 4000FD. I don't think I will be buying a Pflueger again any time soon.