flyingmonkie

PHEW! Don't know what you'd be punching for with 10oz, maybe crawdads? I would expect an obvious difference in shape, maybe even diameter of the line hole, between a 2oz weight and a 3/8. But I wouldn't expect a difference in a 3/8oz "punching" weight and a 3/8oz "worm" weight. It's probably packaging/branding more than anything. If you're not fishing heavy cover, you usually won't need more than a 1oz. I buy tungsten for 1/2 - 1oz weights, and stick with lead below that. 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 are most used weights.

Breaking on hookset? Getting hung up? Were you fishing around rock? If it's breaking above the knot, it'll be hard for you to know HOW FAR above the knot it's breaking off unless you don't have much line out, your coloring your line, or you watch it break. Right?

TEN ounce?!?! I don't know what the difference would be, other than marketing. Where are you looking?

I've got two beautiful girlies (3.5 and 2), and we're fortunate that our house backs up to a small neighborhood pond. If the weather is nice, we are playing outside, and the pond is a favorite destination for us. I'll frequently grab a rod and take it down there with us. I can usually get a small bass on within a dozen casts, and I always let the girls help me real it in. They love it! When I practice my pitching in the back yard, I make sure and get their Zebcos out and we all practice casting together. Checking juglines at the lake is always pretty fun, and I'm assured my year's worth of pink senkos everytime we go to BPS (they always pick pink). I'm glad you brought this up @whitwolf - I think about it all the time. It is important to get our kids engaged with nature (and if possible, fishing). Keep it fun, keep it short, and keep a smile on your face!

"What are you thinking about throwing out there today?" "I'll probably start with Fishing Lure. If that doesn't work, I might give Fishing Lure, or Fishing Lure a shot."

Not it!

I'm not a big fan of them, but I do fish one from time to time. I think it often gets billed as this "magic fish catching machine". Yes, a lot of folks have great success with them, but the CUR has it's nuances just like any other bait. I personally feel a bit like a cheater when I use it (even though I haven't had notable success with it), and don't particularly enjoy fishing it. You should decide for yourself. To each his own.

Initial reaction is cattail. Hard to tell without a hardier grouping or visible seedpods.

1) Spend all the time I can with the kiddos. 2) Binge bassresource.com, Youtube, Bassmaster.com, etc. Also did a garage "makeover" over the holidays, which included a new fishing workbench, and tackle organization.

Does beer count as equipment???

You can also stick with your favorite EWG or worm hook and add a parasite clip: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Parasite_Clips_Stainless_10pk/descpage-PC.html

There are literally entire books written to answer this question, but generally speaking, my process looks something like this: 1) Develop a gameplan. Before fishing, I combine what I know about the water I'm fishing, the seasonal attitudes of bass, and the expected environmental factors in order to develop a strategy for the day. 2) Execute strategy. Align the baits/techniques I think should work with the places I think they should work and start fishing. I work my way through the day's strategy while accounting for any differences in the current conditions and what I had planned for in (1). 3) Go until I catch a fish. This sometimes happens on the first cast (but ideally, the second or third ), and other times, I zero my way through the whole gamut. The speed at which I work my way through the strategy depends on several things, and is topic for a different conversation. 4) Use what I learn from each catch to refine my strategy until HOPEFULLY, the pattern emerges. If few or no catches occur, my options are to try "something crazy", junk fish, stay strong, or experiment with tackle and electronics. 5) Enjoy the days where patterns emerge, and try to find silver linings in the days they don't. 6) Learn from everything.

Many of our lakes spent 3 or 4 years really low before the last two years of relatively wet (and full pool) conditions. The brush that grew along the banks while low is now underwater. For several reasons, this has led to better than average fishing for us.

Anybody else get the feeling KVD is trolling our boards posing to be DropShotDave?

I pulled a Hoover vacuum cleaner off the bank and hauled it to a dumpster this afternoon. No joke. Vandals, thieves, and litterbugs. UGH!!!

Berkley Big Game

I keep them all in their original bags and keep them organized in an old set of dresser drawers in the garage. When it's time to hit the water, I toss 10 or 20 bags in the boat with me depending on what I expect to be doing.

I rarely used scent until I spent a day on the water with Tommy Martin - he sprayed garlic Bang on his punch rig every 15 or 20 minutes. I don't expect scent to help a fish find my bait any easier... but if it gives me an extra second or two to drive the hook home, it's worth it. If there are attractant properties, that's just icing on the cake.

Many of the ponds in my neck of the woods have muck bottoms. I try not to worry too much about... just leave the deep diving cranks and football jigs at home. Several great suggestions above. I'd add a bubba shot to the list - great way to fish the bottom without being ON the bottom. In a body of water full of muck, the trick is in finding something in the water NOT mucky that the fish will relate to.

My strength is working over shallow cover with t-rigs, spinnerbaits, and jigs. My skill? Stubbornness.

I use a Google Sheet with columns for pretty much everything but lunar cycle. I record about 90% of my catches, and try to record most of the information. At the very least, basic observations and a quick note about my thoughts on the trip. Just started my fourth year of this. MFBAB is right about a couple things: 1) No matter how good/bad the trip was, you forget details quick! Stay diligent 2) More data = greater insight

I agree. When it comes to environmental variables, I'm a big believer that pretty much "everything matters" to a certain extent. He pretty much said that the only things that mattered were fishing pressure, time of day, and wind. My takeaways: fishing pressure, time of day, and wind are the most critical environmental factors... take the other stuff into consideration, but don't obsess about it. PS, i just went through this list again and added all the multi-star books to my Amazon wish list. Thanks for putting this all together.

SS JR, Popper, Frog

Great list! Wow! I just finished "High Percentage Fishing" by Josh Alwine. Some interesting and debatable conclusions.

Proof that bass are still active in cold water! (If you still needed proof)