the reel ess

When you see a laydown or overhanging brush and think it's just too gnarly to fish, fish it! The big ones live in there and they think they're safe. Get a heavy stick, spool with 30# braid, use superline hooks and go get 'em. Pay attention because often the bait never hits the bottom.

I think about this too. What we consider to be trash and pollution is just the neighborhood to a fish. They're captive in the environment. They don't know any better. I've fished places that look like postcards with nary a nibble then caught bass from a quarry or tiny hole. Also, bass in small waters will be so shallow sometimes you wonder how you don't see their fins.

I have one place where bass are really prone to doing this and I have no idea why. The biggest bass I've caught out of my friend's pond quietly slurped a Chug Bug that was just soaking before I started the retrieve. I saw the bass before it bit. The strike was silent and the bait just disappeared.

I stopped buying any BC reels with lower than 7:1 ratio. My rationalization is that I'd want to be able to use that reel for anything in my arsenal if I needed to and I can always reel slower. But get a slow reel and you can only reel so fast. But more importantly, needlessly making more effort.

What lure do you troll? That's never worked well for me while paddling, except for crappie. It works great for those if you can find a concentration of them. I even put 4 quick-disconnect rod holders on my rails for them. I also cast before I launch my kayak. I've caught some big bass doing this. You are often just screwing up a good spot when you launch, especially in a remote place or one that's not pressured. I'm also rigged up before I go with whatever I think will do the job (often you're wrong, but it's a timesaver) I make sure to wear my hearing aids and listen to everything around. No music, it's a distraction from the sounds of nature. I also usually never drink beer while fishing alone. When I'm out for fun with a friend, which is rare, I might have a couple. I do my dead level best to not spook fish. I know people say noise doesn't bother them, but the big ones got big by not being dumb. I'm sure it has worked in my favor to be quiet. It's the attention to little things that get the job done when they aren't biting well. When all else fails and times are tough, I'll go out with a topwater, a finesse C-rig with a small lizard and a Senko. You'll be surprised how many smaller bass just pass up your "big bass baits". They also love those little pre-rigged worms you see in convenience stores with two exposed hooks or a propeller. I try to show fish something they may have never seen. Instead of a frog, I might throw a lizard or a toad or a Johnson spoon with trailer on the pads. You can get bites when it falls off the edge that you can't with a floating frog. Be prepared for the strike!

When I was a young guy idolizing Bill and Roland, I thought I wanted to fish tourneys. But I figured out I like to enjoy my time on the water. If I want to fish topwaters all day for 2 bites, by golly that's what I'll do.

These work great and will catch you some big ol' crappie as well. Probably stripers too, but there are none where I've used blade baits. I would suggest heavier braid. I lost my only 2 baits the first day I used them. When, not if, you do get hung up, try going back the other direction and giving a gentle tug before just yanking. It will sometimes loosen up and free the hook. I like the gold Sonar. I only raise the rod enough to feel a vibration, then let it drop back down. They'll strike on the drop. Set your drag a little looser because you're using braid on a fast action rod.

LMB is my favorite and watching Bill Dance is what made me want to catch them. I'm not the kind of guy who can be good at a lot of species, so I settled on bass. They were the most exciting fish I could catch in my region besides stripers, which can be very hit and miss and don't exist in every body of water as bass do.

I have bought two and they were both fine. one was an el cheapo 2-pc from KastKing so of course it came broken down, the other a 6'9" Falcon. It came in a good quality tube. Not that I recommend it. I just was fortunate.

I bought 4 or 5 last reels through Amazon Prime. I buy a lot of stuff from them. If you are not satisfied, just ship it back. But the reels were exactly what they said they were. You might find it a little cheaper somewhere else, but you have to drive there and get it.

When I was a kid we chased stripers & white bass that schooled. We would troll when they were in the area, but weren't surfacing. There were the occasional catches of bass, often good ones off structure. My buddy has caught some of his biggest bass trolling for crappie on the trolling motor in colder months. He's also seen some big bass chase the crappie to the surface while he's reeling them in.

I like it for that, pitching/flipping but also spinning tackle because it has less twist tendency. Basically, I like it for single hook presentations. But I go 30 lb for the T rigs and jigs, 50 lb. for the frog and 20 lb for spinning gear. I still use mono for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits because I want the fish to take the bait and not pull it away.

Sure it imitates a craw. But a craw looks just like a craw. Hey, I admit fish bite jigs. I've used them with success. I just don't feel like I need them to catch bass when I have a T rig tied on. I did say it was my hot take. 😀

It's just a confidence thing. Keep trying. The fish don't care. What is a jig supposed to represent? And crawfish don't wear skirts. But I like jigs and slither rigs as well. I just tend to lose more jigs. Your name says it all. LOL. I think it's just a matter of confidence. The cool thing about the T rig is it can be any plastic. I caught my PB pitching a pegged T rigged Senko. They also love a lizard for a change of pace. The T rig is so much more versatile in that way. I'm a firm believer that placement is more important than the specific choice of lure. I do like the Trashmaster when I actually use a jig for its weedlessness.

Here's a hot take. T-rigged plastics do the same thing for way le$$ and are more weedless. And you need a soft plastic anyway with the jig. I don't normally fish a jig in the open as I would a T-rig, so there's no need to retie or have another combo rigged. Big bass will take the standard size plastic same as a jig if you pitch it in their face.

Start looking at eBay, Craigslist, FB Marketplace, etc. for an idea of what the stuff is worth. Terminal tackle like weights, swivels and the like have next to no value. Old lures and reels will probably be the valuable stuff. Most rods of that era are usually not worth much, but it's worth a search anyway to be sure. Once you gather an idea of the total value you can try to sell it online as a lot or separately. I'd like to see some pics of what you have. I just got into collecting old lures. I'm old enough that some of my lures are old. LOL.

5" black/blue flake Yum Dinger. I got my PB pitching it to lilies at the dam of a small lake. I bought a 100 pack off Amazon dirt cheap. T Rigged Craw, usually the Rage Bug Whopper Plopper But doing the same thing gets boring sometimes and there's usually more than one way to skin a bass. If I had my way I'd only fish topwaters. But you gotta do what they want more often than not.

OP: In places with deeper water, the Sonic shines over the lipless crank, especially in winter. It sinks quicker and puts off more vibes. Even though it's cold you sort of fish it fast. You rip it up just a foot or so and let it flutter. The fish generally hit right when it starts the flutter. Tip: I lost three before I started using it on straight braid.

I saw one in an antique mall Sunday for $25. LOL. Ha! Here's a video of Roland using one recently.

1. When I was young, that's what there was. 5'6" was the standard and there were a few up to 6'6", but they were end heavy. When guys started flipping they had someone make their custom 7 footers. I got my first longer rod with a straight handle I guess in the early 90's. 3. Yep. 4. Double Yep. I don't think I own any fluoro right now. 7. I've lost two and caught zero.

I went from a fish n ski to a canoe to a kayak, to a better kayak. The canoe is OK with two people. I didn't have a trolling motor and a stiff breeze could turn the canoe unless I sat in the middle seat. It's just so much easier to handle my kayak alone either in or out of the water. I do kind of wish I'd kept the canoe though. Every tool has its purpose.

I fished two days with a guide in So FL once for largemouth and peacocks. I'd guess I caught 100 fish. Second day my hands were like hamburger. I told him he needed to carry golf gloves ion different sizes to ease the suffering. I discovered Chap stick works great for chewed up hands.

I have yet to find any Z Man lure I like. I'm sure they work, but by the time I get to use them, they've melted and are garbage. Same goes for Live Target.

I would neither replace plain hooks with red nor replace red hooks with plain, unless something is wrong with them. To each his own. Whatever works. Someone on this thread mentioned the Whopper Plopper being a gimmick. I've caught a bunch of big bass on that gimmick.

When graphite and boron rods were a recent development my dad showed me how you could feel vibrations from a speaker through a graphite rod that you couldn't through a glass or composite rod. Those were the days before Super Wal Marts. I worked at one a few years later and I would take the rods over to the automotive dept, which was right beside fishing and test them with a car stereo speaker that was mounted on the wall. I was a broke student and always on the lookout for a deal, so my buddy at the sporting goods desk would tell me when they were going on clearance and if I wanted one, would take it behind the desk until they were severely discounted down. I bought two that way.