flyingmonkie

Not true. Haven't had any tangle issues at all... Except with one of the several fish I caught, and it was an easy fix. Casts great too!

Yeah, I've done some Googling and the 3way rig is the closest thing I've found. I've also used something similar for catfish, but never for bass, and never with a retrieve like this. I'm anxious to get out and there and try it some more. If worked right, the action of the bait should be very similar to that when fished with the traditional method… the bait just stays a foot or two off the bottom.

The LMB in my neighborhood pond love a weightless soft plastic, but with the water warming up, they are far out and deep. It's hard enough to get a cast out that far, and even harder to constantly wait for the plastic to sink into the strike zone. So I came up with this: I can't recall seeing it before, so I'm tentatively calling it the "Jerk Shot"... other contenders are the "Drop Jerk", "Dropolina Rig", and the "C-Dazzle". I've only got about an hour of use with it so far, but the results have been phenomenal. I'm using a 1/2 our 5/8 ounce weight, EWG hook, three-way swivel, and braid mainline with mono leaders. To retrieve, I keep the line tight and use quick cranks of the reel to "jerk" the line with a similar cadence to traditional soft jerkbait fishing. Best response has been to a fluke and trick work; I have high hopes for a senko too, both t-rigged and wacky. Hook sets are a bit tricky, as you lose sensitivity with the two leaders... bites feel sluggish. Surely I'm not the first to try this? Any others?

Yay!!! Somebody actually reads my posts! I too found this study fascinating. Doesn't answer all of your questions, but shines some light on them. http://www.seafwa.org/resource/dynamic/private/PDF/GILLILAND-144-149.pdf I would definately subscribe to Tom's school of thought above...

If nothing else, you'll have a chance to beat the heat for a while and enjoy some cool temps. If I could, I would! And I would think yes to an increase in activity... especially if conditions have been pretty constant lately. Change can often be good.

Amen!

x2 for cussing. If I get a hookset but then he spits it, I just count it and move on.

Summer fishing is great! Just requires extra sunscreen and beer.

BAHAHAHAHA! Seriously, what's up with that hand?!?!?!

Craziness...

Agreed, all around. I'd say most of us on this forum have somewhat of a "strange" relationship with these little green fish, and we want to see them thrive... but it's part of it.

Live action! Little advice from me. I've caught turtles on live bait before, and can usually yank the bait out with pliers. I've caught 20-30lb snappers on trot lines before, and it was an easy decision for me to just cut the line.

Good stuff!

Spilled a little JJ's, and now I've got Mythelate colored hands! The bass may like the smell (worked well on my fluke tonight), but I can't stand it! Any tips? Tons of soap and water and a healthy dosing of vinegar have yet to cut the color or the odor. At least I don't have to worry about vampires tonight...

I guess I don't care THAT much.

That's awesome! The wildlife ponds in my area are junk! Win for public lands!

They are a staple for white bass - would hook an occasional LMB with them. I would argue that they are a good choice for beginners on a spinning outfit, especially if you're not targeting "just bass" as many of us do. I've seen novices catch fish on them when nothing else would produce. As far as technique, it's pretty much cast and reel, cast and reel. Vary the speed of your retrieve, but don't go too slow as they get hung up quite easily.

I had my first child 14 months ago, and my second will be here in November. I spend my days earning a paycheck, and my evenings playing Daddy. It's a beautiful life... but I don't fish near as much as I wish. It can be VERY VERY frustrating at times. I daydream, and do A LOT of research (thanks BR brethren!). Also, I've found that if I can sneak in a short trip, even just 15 or 20 minutes, it can hold me over for days. I took a spinnerbait to the pond in my neighborhood during lunch today, actually. Other suggestions: - Practice your flipping/pitching (if able) - Deep clean your reals - Organize tackle - Play a fishing video game... if you can find a decent one. :/ - And then there's always Breaking Bad! If you haven't seen it yet, that'll keep you busy for at least a month!

If it's a commonality, I would expect the bass to become accustomed to it, just like they do with boat traffic, power plant noise, etc. I would only expect it to impact fishing if it's a rarity. It probably impacts you more... It sure would tick me off!

Ok... so now I'm really curious. To start with, I browsed a few other forums to substantiate my bottom-lip structure theory. I'm not crazy, other people claim it's accurate. That being said, I caught a bass not an hour ago (during lunch break ) that had the jaw of what i thought would be a male, however, the vent was red and protruding. Should be way too late here for any spawn activity... what could cause a bass to have hemorrhoids, other than laying eggs or milting? It did have a good belly on it, but looked like a food belly. I didn't squeeze.

Put this together in MSPaint real quick as I couldn't find anything on a quick Google search. Am I way off base here?

Can you not tell by shape of their bottom lip? I've always used this technique and thought it was pretty accurate. On male bass, the bottom lip has is more pointy, and on female bass, the bottom lip is very rounded off. I thought this was the de facto tale-tell - regardless of age/size?