hawgenvy

So, everyone here always uses a trailer with a chatterbait, as do I. On the other hand, a spinnerbait is generally fished without a trailer. Clearly a spinnerbait and a chatterbait are similar in many ways. So the original question is a good one. In fact, nobody here has admitted that they have fished one without a trailer. So the question remains whether people use a trailer because it is customary or because it is truly and always better. I think Anantha Patel ought to stay open minded and fish it both ways, every other cast, and let us know which way is more productive.

I cast with my dominant right hand and then switch the rod to my left for the retrieve so I can reel with my dominant right hand. But when I'm flipping I toss with my left so I'm ready to set the hook right away. I've been able to get into a really good pitching rhythm with the left hand pitch. If I were younger I would try to get used to a left handed reel -- just makes sense.

Maybe with the light rod you'd do better with a thin wire bare hook, without the weed guard.

Why not get great jig trailers for free? I've been hoarding my used soft swimbaits, and flipping creatures after the nose is torn up by bass. Anything with rear end action is useful. Just trim the damaged nose with scissors and use it again as a trailer. Same goes for many plastic worms that have swimming action. Just trim the used ones down to size. I have lately been going through a lot of Texas rigged Gambler Burner Worms. I might end up with a handful of torn up worms after a spring outing. The usually undamaged rear third of these make particularly effective jig trailers.

Thanks, Catt. Now we're back on track.

Seems like here in SoFlo it's the tilapia spawn that comes after the LMB spawn. Probably bluegill, too. And then the oscars and Mayan cichlids. And snakeheads. It's all screwy here in south Florida -- mostly because of the invasive species. Now they're sayin' on the news that they've found Nile crocodiles near Miami. Alligators are as docile as bunnies compared to Nile crocodiles. The big crocs can take out horses and cattle. And they love people -- for dinner. They can be 18 feet long and weigh a ton. I've never been scared of the gators or the pythons. But Nile crocs, that's a whole different ballgame. (Sorry moderator: I've strayed. But I'm finished for now.)

Gorgeous fish. It is interesting how the Mayan cichlids and the Peacock bass have such similar color schemes. That their native habitats overlap is, of course, part of the reason. Gotta love the blue stripes.

Thanks, friend. It'll only get better. Tight lines!

Hi Mike. Glad to see you're enjoying the spring fishing in beautiful NH! We're about done with the post spawn bounty here in SoFlo. Was out on a boat along Alligator Alley in the everglades yesterday in the 90+ degree heat and glaring sun, and we tried every trick in the book and caught zero fish.

Well, you asked. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2012/03/12/us-ocean-fish-stocks-an-excellent-return-on-investment

Fished Alligator Alley this AM. Started at 7 and tried every bait and technique in our bags of tricks -- only 2 dinks. Quit after 11 am. Maybe it was the full moon, or too much current, or the recent rain, or us. Who knows.

Maori bone fish hook.

I agree. Unless it's a tournament. Then don't deviate from what's working when the bite's on. In a tournament you might try something new only when nothing else works. The tournament turns the tactics upside down.

My non-bassing friends, and my wife, are amazed at my arsenal of rods and baits -- all for just a single species in the shallow waters of south Florida. I've been bass fishing for a couple of years only, and I've been tying hard to become more efficient, and to learn how to utilize effectively every category of lure that might prove useful. I do not have my own boat. So, I often go out alone in the evenings to fish the shores of local ponds with a single rod and a single bait, often one I haven't used much before, to learn how to use it to catch fish, and to avoid the temptation to switch to one of my confidence baits. I learned to fish jigs that way, which hadn't worked for me until I tossed it for countless hours. Now it is a confidence bait. When I'm fishing in a local club tournament as a co-angler I bring 6 or 7 rods if it's okay with the boater, and a 3700 size plano bag packed tightly with probably 20 pounds of tackle. I want to have everything I might possibly need to make a good bag of fish, and when the bite is off I change to something new every 15 or so minutes. I try not to use the same bait the boater is using unless he's hot, and then I hope to have with me the same bait or something very similar. That all means I need as much crap as I can pack in my bag. I am hoping that with time, with the luxury of fishing through many changes of seasons, that I will learn through experience what type of baits are likely to work in each type of condition, location, and season, and boater. Then maybe I'll be able to bring a bit less stuff.

ACT I: "Okay," (I, to partner), "I have one on," (in a deliberately calm voice I use to communication simple facts -- meanwhile there is all this incredible internal emotion welling up in me, especially if it's a big one.) Then (to fish, begging): "No, no, no, fish, don't jump, stay down, don't freaking dare jump! Oh, oh, ooh, you're coming up, crap, you're gonna jump!" ACT II: Fish Jumps ACT III: "He's gone. I let him spit it. I'm an idiot." ACT III (alternate): "He's still on, bro, see how I hauled his dumass face sideways when he tried to jump, kept the pressure on, wouldn't give him any slack, man. That's what I'm talkin' about! That's what I'm talkin' about! You need like an 8:1 reel and you just haul his face sideways back to the water and it don't even matter if he jumps. One must have CONTROL." (Now, in voice accent of space alien robot): "I am master of bass! I am jump-proof bass master"... and then: "Oh, s***t, he jumped again. Whoa! He spit my jig! He's gone. Oh, man. I swear, I'm an idiot!"

Well, that's a creepy way to reduce fishing pressure. I think I'd feel uneasy taking advantage of that situation. I have lots of Cuban American friends and I know about the justified bitterness many feel. Anyway, maybe salt fishing if I ever manage to get there -- and good food and music.

As you can see, most of the respondents throw jigs around cover -- not open water from shore. But if open's the water you intend to fish, and a jig is what you intend to throw, just do it. If the fish are there and they're hungry and they see it, they'll eat it. Reel in the slack without delay and set it hard. Good luck. Have fun.

Okeechobee can be great, but it's enigmatic. Go out with some of the numerous pro guides a few times and really pick their brains. Because learning where catchable fish are is going to be is an ongoing process in a lake whose landscapes are always changing. The key is learning how to learn for yourself where to fish. And in the shallow bowl lake, your electronics will be useful mostly as a GPS and secondarily as a depth finder. Your eyes will serve you better in picking out favorable looking vegetation patterns, birds, water clarity, water surface characteristics, etc. The best starting point is, of course, fishing where you caught them the day before -- not that that always works, either. But after a couple of weeks of not fishing the lake it can be like starting from scratch. And another challenging annoyance is the fishing pressure, which may be considerable in spite of the huge size of the lake. BTW, bring some serious sticks and lots of braid: at Lake O you'll want to have some heavy artillery.

If I am ever somehow obligated to attach my wife's actual fishing philosophy to her headstone, this quote by Dave Barry definitely sums it up: "Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting." Obviously, I never take her fishing. Regardless, I'll be really ticked if she dies before I do. And if, as I am hoping, I go first, she can, if she chooses, put "gone fishin'" on my grave. But if instead she puts the Barry quote on my grave, I'll kill her.

There are a ton of fishing quotes out there, but for a fisherman's grave none exceed the beauty and simplicity of "gone fishin'."

Normally my bank fishing is a casual evening outing for an hour or two and I'll bring one rod and a shoulder strap bag with various compartments. It's real easy to reach into even while holding the rod and holds a bunch of tackle as well as pliers, clippers, rag, weighing scale, and hook sharpener. But sometimes on weekend evenings I'll grab a fishing buddy and go up to my aunt's house an hour away. She lives on a golf course full of ponds with fish. On spring evenings after the golfers are gone, we'll roll her golf cart out of the garage and load the rear deck with a half dozen rods and a ton of tackle and refreshments. It's basically a bass boat on wheels. We'll go hunting for bass at a dozen prime spots, each with well groomed banks and each having the occasional 5+ giant. There are some spots for big snook, too. It's a blast! Thank you, Aunt!

Well, at least you have us. Eventually you're gonna catch a lot of bass.

I can think of a lot better ways to spend $500

There are all these subtle bites we never even know about. Well, maybe some people do. But even they get fooled most of the time -- so say the experts that observe people bass fishing while scuba diving. Believe me, those guys must do a lot of underwater laughing -- at us. Anyway, these bites we never feel don't do us no harm nor no good. It's like they never even happened. My point is some things in life you just can't worry too much about. Now, I've had some darn good luck jig fishing by feeling those bites that I can feel and settin' that hook hard into that tough jaw. Eventually you'll find a day or spot where they're suckin' down jigs and you'll feel them and catch those ones and you'll start to find it easy and very productive to fish a jig. And you'll get your confidence, and then I'll bet you'll get better at it too. The other thing I want to say is that some people say you gotta set the jig hook immediately but I've pulled too many jigs out the mouth of babes that way and so I like to wait one short second and then slam it home. Maybe my jigs are just more delicious than everybody else's.

#bluegill's post, you see, is postmodern poetry. Your are quite right, A-Jay, about it being entertaining.