the reel ess

I've got a Lew's Tournament MB reel 7.5:1 reels and the Cabela's 7'3" Tournament ZX Frog model rod. About $230 for the combo. You can sometimes catch the rod on sale for $75. I like the reel so much I have 3 of them. The rod is good for heavy cover. I usually fish frogs in lilies, so that works for me. If you were fishing them in more open water, I'd probably want one with more tip.

If your wife asks what time you'll be back, tell her when it's too dark to see. She'll eventually assume.

Buy some Trick Worms and use them.

They've been shallow since mid Feb here. But the month of April is generally when most of the spawning happens here as well.

Did you attend Clemson? Are you an SC native?

Then you're a really good specialist.

Some guys I used to work with had trouble pronouncing my last name. So I got the nickname The Ess. Later another guy with that nickname came to work there. But since I had been there longer, I became The Real Ess. Since this is a fishing site I changed Real to Reel. Thus, The Reel Ess.

I learned that fish will start bedding well before the water temp is ideal.

We had a really cold late fall. Then we had a warm December. A really cold January, followed by a very warm February. Fish started cruising shallows in late Feb. Then we had a cold snap. I went to a friend's pond yesterday and the water was uncomfortably cold. But there's pollen on the water and some leaves are already breaking out. Cherries are blossoming. Pear trees already shed their blooms. The signals are really mixed this early spring/late winter. Well there were 5 beds and a bass on one. I caught it. Usually, that's almost an entirely April thing around here. I guess the takeaway from that is that water temp is only one piece of the puzzle. The temps we had in Feb were so warm for so long, I think some fish reached a point where they found it difficult to turn back. Others turned back.

BD, Roland, Jimmy. Among active pros (I know Jimmy still competes too) Rick Clunn still inspires me. He's such a student of the game, so to speak. He's no spring chicken and he says he's managed to stay competitive by using his mind and always being open to new ideas and techniques. He's definitely one smart cookie. I've really enjoyed following Takahiro Omori's carreer as well. The first I remember hearing about him was in a documentary about the sport. He had requested through an interpreter to spend some days in the boat with Clunn. They met and Omori went with Clunn in the boat and he only observed. He didn't even bring a rod. RC said it was really odd being watched like that all day. But the two became good friends. I grew up in a similar place (not far from you). And my dad also had no use for catch and release. He had this idea that if you didn't eat the fish, it really was never caught. LOL. You don't get to choose where you're born and grow up. But looking back on my early life, I would not have chosen anything different.

I have two built in rod holders and a crate with 5. I usually take at least 6. Sometimes 7. I have 4 BC combos, 2 spinning combos for bass and sometimes I take a light spinning for panfish/small bass. It never hurts to come prepared.

Every bass stomach I ever cut into was either full of shad if they were present or minnows or smaller bluegill if it was a pond or they had nothing in them. I did catch one bass with a crawfish claw hanging out the old back door and I caught one with about an 8" bass sticking out it's throat and another that spit up a 4" shiner. So I must assume seafood is their diet. But they're like the feral cats of freshwater. If something wanders into their territory under the right conditions it must pay with its life. They can't help themselves.

I forgot, I have their frog bait too. The price is right at $2.99 and it would do in heavy cover. But it's harder to walk in the open and the material feels harder than Booyah and more expensive frogs. I bought on a whim because I didn't have a black frog. I'm sure I could catch some fish on it. A rod with a little tip action would help it out. I have a frog-specific rod that's stiff enough to shoot pool with. I may give it another go on my 7' MH jig/worm rod sometime.

Every pond I fish is different. I would echo the post above. When you know nothing about a pond, a Carolina rig is a good choice. If it's as shallow as you say, you don't need a mega size weight to fish it. I like a bullet weight and a Zoom Trick Worm or Finesse Worm. The C rig can be called the poor man's fish finder because it tells you depth, the composition of the bottom and it catches fish even if you are initially casting blindly. The cool thing about a pond is you KNOW some fish are seeing your bait. If the C rig doesn't pat off, try a wacky rig or weightless version of the same worms. When the sun is high, bass will more closely relate to visible cover. Often, they'll pounce on a weightless Trick Worm dropped beside a stump or log. I have yet to find the pond where this bait won't catch something. Throw the kitchen sink at those locations when it's sunny. I don't know what the weather's like there, but the water is still cold here. They may turn on when the water warms. I fished one small clear pond when I was young that you could see big bass swimming around in. I mean there were multiple potential PB's in that little hole. I only ever got one strike on a spinnerbait. Nothing else ever. I should ahve gone back with nightcrawlers at dusk or dawn, but I didn't have access that time of day.

There are some good topics on BR today. People are really bringing it.

When I started fishing (late 70's & early 80's), I learned from my dad and his fishing buddy first. I did everything they did to be successful. Then I read magazines all the time. I subscribed to F&S & SC Fish & Game. I watched Bill Dance & Virgil Ward, LOL. I thought they spoke the Gospel about fishing. Only later did I realize they sold equipment, tackle & boats. I still read Interwebs articles and watch YouTube all the time. There's always something to learn. I really love to get an MLF show on the tube on Sunday afternoon. I usually kayak fish smaller waters, but that doesn't mean I can't learn something by watching pros. There's no substitute for time on the water if you want to improve. My wife commented a few years ago how much better I've gotten at fishing than I was when we met. The skunk was my regular fishing buddy back then. I did two things that greatly improved my "luck". I started fishing from the back seat of a knowledgeable fisherman's boat. This is a guy who probably fishes 4X a week on average. And I started fishing smaller bodies of water when I'm in the kayak. At least I know I'll drag a lure by a fish when I can paddle the whole place in 3 hours. Even so, every year, just when i think I have a grasp on the fish and what they're doing, they show me there's more to learn. Stay humble and keep digging for knowledge.

Nah, I'd keep trying. But I'm stupid like that. The skunks make me want to go back even more. Fishing in very cold water can be extremely slow and often you're lucky to get one bite. You have to look at being outside as its own reward and a fish would just be a huge bonus. So don't stop paying attention. You don't want to miss the only bite you're likely to get. I believe a few posts up, someone suggested a jig and bobber. That's really a great idea because fish aren't looking for much action right now. Barely move that jig, and only intermittently. If you catch another species, that's OK too. Any action is better than none.

Do you use braid for this bait? I'm seeing a lot of people recommend it now.

I have about 6 private places within 20 miles that i can kayak fish. One of them, I can use the big boat, but not the gas motor. I can fish a few of them anytime I like and a couple require a little logistical planning (call ahead and get a key or let the owner know I'll be there so he doesn't shoot me ). And there are 2 public no-gas-motor lakes in that radius as well. So I rarely drive far to fish anymore. I used to like fishing places I hadn't been to before. But now I like catching fish. There is a state managed public lake (big pond) about 10 miles away that has been closed for several years. They had a big fish kill there and drained and restocked it. They supposedly added cover and structure. It's been closed for 2 years. It opens in July and I really want to hit it because the fish will have never seen a lure. I'm not sure how big they could have gotten in a couple years though. It was all but forgotten before the kill. All that said, every body of water that I ride by, I imagine is a trophy bass fishery that no one else knows about.

Braid by a long shot. 20 lb braid has the diameter of 8 lb mono, but the strength of over 20 lb mono. But it has another attractive property. It all but eliminates spinning gear line twist. For that reason, a lot of people, yours truly included, use only braid for the main line on bass spinning gear. If I need another type of line for the technique, I tie on a leader.

Well, their reviews are good. I have these 2: https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-jointed-sunfish-35-in-swimbait#repChildCatid=22567 https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress™-lcr-5-8-oz-lipless-crankbait#repChildCatSku=026272351 The swimbait looks like really good quality. But it sinks fast. If you don't reel it kind of fast, it's swimming nose-up, which looks weird to me. And it helicopters when you cast. I have yet to catch a fish on it. I had one good day with the lipless crank. But the next time out, it got spanked by the Cordell Spot my buddy was using. I had to switch baits to catch anything. Mine is the gold/black color and the finish started coming off. I haven't caught enough fish on it for it to be looking beat up.

I did forgo the $50K bassboat. I guess so.

There are tons of variables. But if you think or know there are fish there, throw the kitchen sink at them.

They make decisions based purely on profits and nothing else matters. They couldn't care less how many fish we catch. But necessity (our desire to catch fish) is the mother of invention. If there's a market vacuum and it looks profitable, someone will eventually fill it.

Finally got a double, but not what you imagined, huh? Bass will try to use anything for leverage. Poor turtle didn't scat quickly enough.