corn-on-the-rob

Awesome thread, it puts perspective on things and is very motivational! 1) Keep progressing at the same pace as I have the last 2 years since I have started trying to learn and get better. 2) Put myself in a position to finish high in the 2017 national college championship at wheeler, unlike last year, I need to take more risks at that level. 3) After my last college tournament (mentioned above) in the spring, provide value as coach to my university's club and help them continue to grow and succeed. 4) Start branching out into local tournaments, potentially some bfls. 5) To help anyone who steps on my boat to try and break a PB of any kind.

I reserve the waterproof boxes for any soft plastics that I like in a 3700 box, you can safely add attractant with out it leaking. That being said, the 3 latches on the waterproof boxes are a bit incommodious and take more time and effort every time you have to get in/out of the box. I bought about 6 of the Plano waterproof boxes and I had read a few reviews before buying that mentioned the latches breaking off, but decided to proceed anyways. Within one season of gentle/proper/moderate use 2 of my 5 boxes are now not water-tight due to latches shattering. The plastic they use is a bit too weak to withstand the cycles of moderate/heavy use, especially for the tension they are subject to. Other brands, I have not had experience with yet but the concept is a good one.

Awesome. So if that is your biggest of the year, I gotta ask, what the heck is your PB smallie?

Hopefully your next outing shows improvement! You mentioned that the fish you missed were all big ones. It is most everyone's instinct to go easy on a bigger fish, but in this case you have to man handle him just like you would a dink and drag his butt to the boat!

Interesting write up! The A/U-rig is one that I constantly struggle with confidence-wise. The research and preparation only go so far with me, once I start lugging the heap wires/baits out on the lake, it's gone. Have you yet used rigs that have blades, and if so, any significant results?

Welcome! Ohio has been rough this year for whatever reason, I feel the unusually warm winter/spring had a bit of something to do with it.

Non-Flapping: Zoom chunks - very durable and cheap Flapping: Netbait Paca chunks - very durable and cheap While I have caught plenty of fish on both, am I the only one around here who really doesn't like flapping craws nearly as much as non flappers?

Like most fishing concepts, it comes down to preference. Because fishing tournaments, and state/world records go by weight, that is what I prefer. Obviously length tends to correlate with weight to a significant extent but like others mentioned weight can vary significantly at the same length. I have caught a 13 inch fish that weighed 13 ounces, I have also caught a 13 inch fish weighing very close to double that. So when someone tells me they caught an "n" length fish, that doesn't necessarily tell me the actual size of the fish unless I make an assumption based on averages. So in a scenario where two fish are close in length and weight, ask yourself, which fish is bigger? 20'' - 4.5 lbs or 22'' - 4.25 lbs In my opinion, even though the other fish is significantly longer, the heavier fish is the bigger predator, therefore weight dominates my perspective.

I am in the cleveland/akron area as well. Mosquito is a tough one for sure!

Wecome! Where at in ohio and what lake!?

Time out. If you are fishing main lake (deepwater, or breakwalls, or rip rap), and you are interested in catching ANYTHING (bass, drum, catfish, etc) throw something directly on the bottom. Grub, or tube would be my suggestion, make sure it is heavy enough to hop or drag. If you are main lake and want to decrease the amount of junk fish you catch, go with the drop shot. Spinning rods are your friend in this case. If you are fishing inside a harbor or not mainlake, fish it like you would fish for largemouth in any other lake. Watermelon seed is the go-to color up here, but just about anything will work. I typically stick to watermelon, green pumpkin, and smoke variations. Edit: Where are you launching?

Sweet craw. Anytime. Anywhere.

This can also happen frequently if you accidentally missed a guide when threading your line. Double check, happens to the best of us sometimes.

You seem to be set up with the right equipment so like WIGuide said, are you setting the hook hard enough? Also, after the hookset you need to be dragging is bigmouth butt up and out of the cover immediately and with force.

Top of frog, not really unless in very clear water, but the bottom color can make the difference between them crushing it and taking it down, and those half-hits they like to do. If you are getting those half-bites and no hook ups, change color the right way, and they will try to drown it. Of course, down/up size if necessary and vary your cadence until you find what they like.

If they were the same price, most people would choose tungsten. Even at an elevated price, using tungsten for heavier texas rigs and punching is unrivaled and borderline necessary. One situation where using lead can be a huge advantage is if there are tight nooks and crannies in rocky areas where a larger sized weight won't get lodged as easy as a smaller piece of tungsten. I use tungsten bullet weights starting at 1/2oz and above, any less gets lead.

if you have gone through the colors, try the junior size frogs.

Color/Profile is what comes to mind for me. Sometimes they will decide at the last second to not indulge and their momentum will turn into those half-as** blowups. Cadence can also be very important. It is my humble fishing opinion (anecdotal experience) that the majority of the time a quick, but TIGHT (meaning lots of movement without moving the frog a far distance with each jerk) walk works more often than a cadence with a lot of pausing. While pausing can work exceptionally well at times, keeping the frog moving gives the fish less time to think, less time to get a good look, and gives your frog a "fleeing" appearance, and we know fleeing draws good reactions from bass. Use less pausing to start, and when a fish misses your frog, keep moving as if it never happened (fleeing) gets me the most re-strikes. Hope this helps.

Make sure to squeeze the water out ever once in a while. If the frog gets too torn up it will hold water frequently, might need a fresh one. In my experience, when more than a couple fish are consistently missing your frog, a significant color change almost always remedies the situation. Using black? Try white, etc.

I highly recommend it, my experience has been nothing but exceptional.

Fishing in college can mean a few different things. Joining your school's club or team is the first step and you can fish with them even not being a full-time student typically, beyond that are the big circuit college series' which are optional, not all clubs/teams participate. For the FLW, you must be a full-time student at your college and an official member of their club/team. Similar for BASS. The clubs/teams will select eligible members and organize the trips. Just talk to your school's club/team and ask for information on how to join, requirements, and their tournament involvement, is the best option.

Sometimes there is nothing you can do about it, but your description tells me a few things might help. When you let the bait fall or sit, make sure you stay "in-touch" with it. Use only semi slack line so that you can see/feel it get hit, and if it gets picked up and swam away with, you will see your line moving, whereas if you give it full-slack, you won't know what is going on until much after the fact. Regardless of how you fish it, make sure you frequently check your bait by picking it up slightly and moving it, or simply applying enough tension to the line so you can feel if something has it. With the right tension you can check without moving the bait if you wanted it to stay there. I hope this helps!

Not quite what I was expecting, went just under 8lbs on the scale. Lucky Craft!

I don't wanna talk about it.

Even Ohio's record largemouth is 13.13 lbs, a homegrown private fish. Breaking 10lbs either species in ohio is beyond extremely low, unless it's a test tube bass.