hawgenvy

So you know you can't catch fish on, let's say, the Ziggle Monkey? If you're like me, and you're out there catching lots of fish on Old Faithful, you're just not going to change baits. It's because you're having success already. But when the bite slows maybe then you'll then try out the Ziggle Monkey. If you don't catch fish on it, even though intellectually you know it's because they're not biting, you will subconsciously lose confidence in it. You may never try it again. Or maybe you'll try it once more, when nothing else works, and since nothing else works, that will reinforce your negative feelings about the new bait. You are highly unlikely to try it again. Now, someone on the other side of the lake starts out with the Ziggle when they're really biting, and catches several bass. He may eventually change baits, but knows forever that the Ziggle Monkey is at least a decent bait. If he once again uses it when they're biting, it becomes a very good bait. Maybe that's why some people feel they can't catch fish on a bait that is the favorite of many other anglers.

Have you read this article about the guy in Valdosta, Ga? He fishes all night long with a buzz bait. The bass turn on at certain hours of the night. If you want to do it right, fish all night long! Maybe you too can catch a thousand 10-pounders. (Me, I'd just get bitten by mosquitoes all night, and catch a thousand colds.) http://www.gon.com/fishing/1113-giant-bass-and-counting

Bass anglers tend to get fixed in their ways, and are superstitious too. But there may be techniques that bring in great fish that they haven't tried, or they tried once or twice and it didn't work and now it's never going to be tried again. It is true that it's daunting, all the possible ways to fish for bass, all the types of lures, lines, rods, techniques. You just cant try everything, but it is important to break away from the tried and true every once in a while to have a go at something completely different. That's the beauty of fishing with (if you can on occasion) a guy who has more or different experience than you do, like a local professional guide. It can be a real eye opener to see new techniques that produce fish. Also, tournament fishing gives you the opportunity to compare your skills with many others' and see what worked better than your technique that day. Although I am still somewhat of a novice, I try to get experience with a great variety of lures, just so I can become, to varying degrees, proficient in each one. Who knows? Any lure I'll learn to use now could some day bring home my big mama, or bring in the right five for a local tournament win.

I think I get a lot more bites with fluorocarbon. Especially in "finesse" type situations, like with a weightless Senko or fluke or dropshot. But most the time I end up fishing with braid anyway, because I'm usually fishing thick cover where braid is more reliable because it is much stronger.

In the blistering days of August in So Florida, a fluke is about the only bait I can catch a LM bass on. Funny how things work so differently for different people in different situations.

It might. If the water is stained or muddy it probably doesn't matter. But if the water is clear use fluorocarbon.

All braid starts out white and then color is added later. Apparently, there is no way to colorize the polymer that the strands are made from (that are then woven into braid). The colored dyes are added later and end up just on the surface of the fibers, which is why the lines tend to bleed and slowly lose color. It makes logical sense to purchase white braid, which is the natural color anyway, and ought to be cheaper. But it's hard to find. Stren has a white braid but I don't really like it because it seems very stiff. Anyway, to tell the truth, white braid freaks me out because it seems too visible, so I end up blackening the final several inches with a Sharpie. Theoretically, white should be the least visible to the fish when used for top water applications, because the sky looks white from under the surface. But that little bit in front of the nose of my frog or buzz bait that the fish may see from the side bothers me so I blacken it. I don't like to add a mono leader to my braid because, besides leaders being a pain in the butt, I have had in the past a couple of lines break at my uni knot when setting the hook. So now I'm permanently superstitious about directly tied leaders. There is too much superstition in fishing. I guess we can't help it. It's a vulnerability, and tackle sellers take full advantage of it.

Thanks a lot. Your post, which has several of my favs on the list, has now got me hanging sad and droopy. But I'm not yet suicidal -- because I know that the characteristics of the jig itself, and the action imparted to it by the angler and by the current, can reanimate Mr Droopy into a lively bug that waves over Mrs Fish and says "Eat me."

Just spent all afternoon organizing my reserve inventory of soft plastics, hooks and weights in my wife-designated fishing tackle closet in the garage. Whew! (God only knows why I have a pack of lavender flukes.)

awesome.

I love the chatter bait! How it's all hairy like a jig, it has that cool fluttery blade, and you can stick on all different kinds of enticing trailers. And, man, you can feel that vibrating action just ajitterin' all the way up the line and through the rod. I'd bet all that chatter can call over a fish that's a mile away. I always keep a dark blue one and a white/chart. on hand ready for the toss. Now, one of these days, maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, a fish is actually going to bite the darn thing!

This is good! We're gonna get some Olympic hopefuls right on this thread!

I was just kidding about distance casting becoming an Olympic sport. But if it were, I'd sure as heck watch it!

I think it could be an Olympic sport. Like the javelin or shot put.

I believe bowfin were once maligned as a sort of introduced invasive species, and although they have indeed been deliberately introduced in areas, bowfin are North American natives and do little to harm our environment. Of course, as predators they will compete with bass just as bass compete with them, but it has been shown that they are unlikely in natural circumstances to deplete the bass. Choupique, as everyone called them back in my Louisiana days, can be eaten; usuallly, however, it's accepted just by poor folks. I think I once had it fried and it tasted fine. The roe is sold as "Cajun caviar" and sometimes called "Choupiquet Royale." I haven't tried that! Anyway, at least bowfin are fun to catch -- except during a bass tournament!

Thanks, roadwarrior. Hadn't heard of the 16-20 before, found the name intriguing, and looked it up. Pretty interesting, especially the origin of the name "16-20." Found this on ***.com : "How to tie the Pitzen Knot. The Pitzen Knot goes by several names: Pitzen, Eugene Bend, 16-20 Knot. It was even at one time simply called the "Fisherman's Knot" by fly fishing legend Lefty Kreh. The Pitzen name derives from credit to E. Pitzenbauer of Germany. The Eugene Bend name credits the knot to Ken Eugene of the San Jose Fly Casters Club. E. Richard Nightingale wrote about the knot in American Angler Mag. (March-April, 2002). He called it the "16-20 KNOT" after the so-called, "16-20 club" of fly anglers who had caught a 16 lb. salmon on a #20 fly. Regardless of which name you call it, the Pitzen is an effective method of tying a lure, hook or fly to a fishing line. It is said to retain 95% of the line's breaking strength. It is easier to tie in lighter line or tippets than in heavier line. A derivative of this knot is the San Diego Jam Knot, with the only difference being that the tag end is run through the bottom opening prior to the loop at the top. This step adds another pressure point in the dynamics of the knot, which allows the San Diego Jam Knot to be used in slippery braided line."

I have a Dobyns Champ 682C that I use for weightless senkos and flukes, and for small jerk baits. I like it a lot. Fun, light, and easy to use.

San Diego Jam -- single, not double -- for line to hook eye for all types of line. It's really pretty easy once you get the hang of it, though I can't do it with my eyes closed. Haven't had a knot failure yet, at least on a fresh knot. Went to it because of issues with palomar knot slippage with braided and FC line. Clinch slips too. SDJ simply doesn't. (I snell flipping hooks.)

In South Florida our crawfish are blue, and not easy to spot. Sometimes in the Everglades they are seen migrating over land, over a small levee with a dirt road, for instance, and at night, in large numbers. We often have success with blue jigs. Maybe this is why. Blue crawfish

Landing a bass over ten pounds.

You poor guys up north are going stir crazy in the freezing weather. I'm originally from NY so I feel your pain. Wish you could sneak down here to Florida for a week and try that rat in a lake. I bet it would get hammered.

I have tremendous respect for good guides. If I had the skills to be a guide, I wouldn't have the patience or fortitude. To put up with days of no fish, of horrible weather, of horrible weather and no fish, of mechanical problems when a client is on board, of clients who are jerks, or who are complete novices, or who don't tip, who get sick, or get drunk, or get a hook in the nose, or eyeball, or fall overboard, or steal your spots, or steal your stuff, or backlash every cast, or toss constantly into treetops, and drop rods overboard, who bring whining kids who hate fishing, and who bounce checks, and who think they know more about fishing than you do. And there are the engine overhauls, the lawsuits, boat out for repairs when clients are booked, mounting debt, no-shows. No thanks!

Welcome, James. You are lucky to live in Coral Springs, where there are tons of bass in every direction.

I agree. Sensitive rod: definitely. Sensitive line: maybe. Sensitive reel: irrelevant marketing concept.