the reel ess

You can use that for just about anything. I don't use a BC reel under 7:1 anymore. I don't use any big deep cranks anymore because most places I'm fishing are shallower. Life's too short to turn the crank more than necessary.

Bump

I watched this YT video and decided to follow his advice and always try a jig every trip, all year round. I put it on my worm rod so I would be sure to use it every time I go. I started with an Arky jighead and a Chigger Craw. One thing I discovered was that most bites happen either on the drop or when the bait is still and often they don't feel like anything. I was only noticing the bite by the line moving. Keep the line tight. To me, it doesn't seem like a bait that will get a lot of bites on most trips, but they'll usually be solid fish. I try to toss one to all the wood cover and overhanging trees I can find. My setup is a 7' MH Falcon LowRider rod (because it's by far the most sensitive I have), 7.1:1 reel with shallow spool and a good drag, 30# PowerPro braid and I use a leader of 15# mono a little shorter than the rod. I like the mono just in case fish actually care about the braid visibility. I've caught them on straight braid as well. I ordered some custom hand tied jigs form another forum member. Not really necessary but they're wire tied and the skirts won't be coming off anytime soon. I've had a jig tied on for more than a year and I caught a new PB (6.92 lb.) on one a little over a month ago.

I was going to say not to go too cheap on your first baitcaster. But it looks like you have that covered. As for the braid, I'd go with 30 lb. You can then use a leader of mono or fluoro if you like. But you might want to start with some cheaper mono until you have the hang of it. Big Game is a good cheap line that you can cut out and replace in case of a professional overrun.

If visibility is that low, I'd probably slow roll a black spinnerbait with Colorado blade and try a black/blue jig and trailer with rattles. Work it slowly. Seems like you got a bite when the bait wasn't even moving so you probably can't go too slow. I'd still stick with the frog. You have to try one every time you go to a pond ringed with weeds or lilies-it's the law. If all else fails, go somewhere else. The bite just sucks every place at certain times.

Most times I've tried it, it hasn't worked for me. Black/blue, black and purple have worked better. I guess it's because of water color.

For the longest time my dad's lakehouse on Google Maps had my truck and trailer backed into the water with the boat off. I was gone fishin'.

I've used it to chart the distance of some kayak float trips. Rivers in this area flow an average of 3 miles per hour so you can estimate a float time if you know the distance.

Then you can't get hurt on the deal. Our Dick's never has what I go looking for. I only go in because my wife goes to the craft store next door and there's nothing of interest in there for me. Dick's fishing department is like Big Lots. You can always find something to buy, often on clearance, but you can't go in reasonably expecting them to have something you specifically need. And they thin out the fishing department by half during the offseason. I don't have an offseason. There's an Academy in the same town that kills Dick's.

Welcome! Yeah, this site is the best, bar none. I used to be on the Bill Dance Outdoors board, but it dried up. You could ask a question in a new thread and someone might answer it a few days later and there was some acidic snark. Once I discovered this one I never went back.

I try to fish in a real boat when the water is really cold. But I will go in smaller waters wearing the aforementioned muck boots, I wear thermals underneath and sweatpants, black to soak up some sun. If it's mild I'll wear a long sleeve tee and a hoodie over the thermals. If cold, I have a Cabela's Guidewear zip hoodie that does the trick. I also have some Guidewear gloves. But honestly, I try to wait for some really mild weather in the winter and go to some ponds where I can walk the banks. We get pretty mild winters here and a three day warming trend can be just what the doctor ordered.

Not really sure of the question. Bass will be in all of the pond at some point. I'm assuming it gets a lot of pressure, being in Manhattan. Soft plastics will be a good assumption, year round. Maybe even smaller ones. Try to do things other anglers don't or won't. They have to eat. @Mike D from Lunkerville did a couple episodes from Central Park. I love seeing people fishing in Central Park right across the street for the Ritz Carlton. From that video, I'll bet perch patterns work. Go in the rain, even.

There's a good spot on our local hydroelectric lake that used to be a well-kept secret. It could produce a good bit of the year. Once the secret got out, on tourney days, there would always be a boat on it and a boat "staged" waiting to get on it.

I use 15 lb. mono on my trebles BC combo. It floats well for topwaters and allows some stretch so you don't yank the bait away too soon and it's forgiving at the boat when they're thrashing around. I still have it on my spinnerbait/buzzbait combo as well, but I'll probably change that to braid at some point. I've switched to braid on my spin combos for the lack of line twist.

Why do you say "Dang"? They're awesome. I've discovered they'll last a lot longer if you put them on a jig or palin jighead.

That's why I fish private waters and usually alone. I have a boat I don't use except in the winter in one of those private places. There can be other people in one of them because there is other access. But it's big enough that often I just see them from a distance.

This reminds me of another current thread about favorite plastic craws. Someone said it seems bass are just as/more likely to bite a plastic that resembles a craw as they are one that looks exactly like a craw. Well, I have a couple Vudu Shrimp baits I bought for redfish and never used that I think I could probably catch a bass on even if it has never seen a shrimp.

In one of the last season episodes of Bill Dance where he answers viewers' questions, he said that research shows that the days around no moon were the best for catching huge bass. He gave the stats, but I can't remember any specifics. Not that you had to be fishing at night, just during the phase change from waning to waxing.

My dad used to call bass fishermen in high powered bass boats "gnats on a turd" because they couldn't sit still. When one would come screaming by us at full throttle he would say "Hope he hits a stump." And I've seen it happen.

Does anybody know if this company folded? I got a sample pack of each of their baits in different colors from them as a Christmas gift from a salesman I worked with. I can't find a site for them now. They seemed like good enough baits. I ran out of Trick Worms once and used their black and pumpkin worms with good results. They advertised "Spongebait" technology, though they felt pretty much like other soft plastics.

When mine has gone with me she catches all the intended species and I catch channel cats. But she quit going with me right after we got married. She said "I don't mind if you go or how long you stay, but I won't be going with you anymore." I said OK, deal. I really like going alone.

If you're going to use treble lures (1/8 oz. Rooster Tail) for bluegill, bring your pliers. They somehow get all three hooks inside the mouth every time. A week old dead snapping turtle smells awful.

If you sell baits and have a website, PM me. I'd love to take a look.

I like the Zoom Super Speed Craw. But it isn't available everywhere so I've switched over to the Berkley Chigger Craw. I like it better. The smell is about what you'd expect a small crustacean to smell like and fish will hold it a long time, giving you ample opportunity to get a hook in them. I don't use it as a trailer as much as I just use it plain. I like it on an Arky weedless jighead by itself. I caught my current PB on that rig. I've got some of the Ultravibes and Yamamoto Hula Grubs as well and they work great. The Chigger Craw just seems to get bigger bites for me. Therefore it's my confidence bait. I know that's anecdotal evidence, but I'm 110% convinced.

Check this out. This guy has the best topwater videos from some great trophy fisheries. Usually, I take conditions into account. After you've gained experience, you'll have those guidelines to draw from. But, as with any other technique, just when you've figured something out, bass will show you you don't know anything.