the reel ess

Here's my little secret. Zoom Trick Worm. Don't let it get out. Catches fish all year. It's effective weightless when you can find fish shallow. Use it on a T rig when they want it slow. Use on a C rig when they're deep. I know I have one tied on now. Don't be afraid of the loud colors in any kind of off-color water. If you really can't buy a bite, rig up a lighter C rig with the Zoom 4" Finesse worm on a smaller hook in a more natural color. This is my modern "do-nothing rig" that can be rigged weightless. I really don't like to "go small' when bass aren't biting because it's really fishing for small bass. But when you've been fishing and gotten skunked a couple times, it's time to break out the finesse and occasionally, there will be a good one mixed in. I haven't used the Ned much but when I have, it has produced bites. If I'm at a place with a lot of wood cover early or late I'll throw a dark color buzzbait and make contact with the cover. Don't be afraid to "show them something new". I caught some decent midsummer bass in the middle of a hot day on a bait I bought at the beach for reds and sea trout called a Trout Trick. I rigged it on the aforementioned finesse C rig.

Well, we fished for crappie before sonar was really popular. We either put out the fish attractor or we know who did. Most were near shore so landmarks helped relocate them. The state also put out some and marked them with buoys. But ours were almost always better. As for bass, we would pound the banks in the spring when they would bite until early summer. You could blindly fish general areas where you saw others fish and narrow down the good spots that way. Now I fish smaller bodies of water that you can pretty much mentally graph with your lure. A C-rig is a good depth finder and fish locator and will tell you the composition of the bottom.

This looks good to me http://www.livetargetlures.com/freshwater/golden-shiner-swimbait

In a deeper lake probably a C rig with an 8-10" ribbon tail worm. But where I fish now, it's shallower. And it's pretty much just "summer". So I go later and try a spinnerbait and some big topwaters. I recently bought some big soft plastic swimbaits so I'm going to go after only bigger fish for the rest of the season.

You might get ticketed for dumping without a license.

I only have one, the field mouse. I have obnly gotten one fish to blow up on it. The SPRO Rat is a better bait, but they aren't meant to be used in the same places. As for frogs, I prefer the Booyah Pad Crasher and Poppin' Pad Crasher.

Here they can just call in your license using your driver's license number. If you have one, you're good to go. When the wife and I were dating she agreed to go crappie fishing with me if I'd bait her hook. Well, I did and she caught fish off our dock so fast I didn't get to fish. By the time the bite stopped I only caught a couple channel cats. I used to occasionally plan to get off work an hour early and drive an hour to fish the evening with my dad at his lake house when we knew the bass would be at a certain spot in huge schools where we could slay them in good numbers. Well, he would show up an hour earlier than me and go catch all the bass off the spot then come get me at the dock, leaving me with a few backup spots.

If you're going to fish alone, I would suggest not going with the canoe. I got one and it was almost too much for me to paddle and fish alone. A transom mount trolling motor would make it more useful, but that requires registration as a motorboat in my state. Eventually, I succumbed to the kayak craze and never looked back. Even got one for my daughter.

Hey from the Piedmont of SC! Are there smallmouth in the Tyger?

Haha. Here it used to be NC boaters. They were inevitable bass boaters. They would come off plane and fish their way from the mouth of a cove or creek all the way to the back. Then they'd crank up and run full blast from the back of the creek all the way out, ruining that spot for some time for any other fishermen in the creek. We were primarily crappie fishermen back then. You can't convince me fish will ignore a 250 Mercury running full throttle in a narrow cove.

You'll get scratches. You'll have fun though.

You can put in at the landing below Lake Wylie. If you want to float down you can go down to River Park. But you can just stay near that landing. I have a friend who has caught some really big bass along that stretch. I wouldn't eat any though. Sewage spills are pretty common there.

I hired a guide out of Little River once. It wasn't worth the $$$. We couldn't find any reds, flounder or trout so we caught some sharks off a nearshore reef. That was fun, but not $350 fun. You can drive down to Huntington Beach St Park. There were people fishing on the beach last time we went. There's parking, bathrooms, etc. I think there's some freshwater there too because we saw some gators on the way in/out. We usually stay in Pawleys Island. I take my kayak and put in the inlets behind the island. I've caught a few flounder and a toadfish. I have seen reds swimming there, but couldn't catch any.

That's near my stomping grounds. What interstate? 77 or 85? I wouldn't get off to myself alone in or near the heart of Charlotte. The company I work for is located there, but I work remotely in SC. It's a great place to get robbed or worse. I guess if you're always packing heat it could be OK, but not advisable. Whatever you do, don't stay on the West side unless it's the airport hotel. Drive on down the interstate to Fort Mill or Rock Hill, SC and stay at a hotel off an exit. In Rock Hill, they have a River Walk on the Catawba River that's a long walking distance from a hotel. The Ramada looks possible, but I don't know anything about the quality of it. Comfort Suites in RH is where all our customers used to stay when in town for dealer's meetings. It has a good reputation but isn't near the river. There's a pond behind Lowe's there that looks like you could walk to it. You might get run out. Charanda's is near there. That's my favorite Mexican restaurant in RH. The Baja fish or shrimp tacos are fantastic. Ask for Cholula sauce. If you want upscale food, the Pumphouse is in the Riverwalk area. Another fav. good luck.

LOL that. I was at the local full service gas station where all the old men sit around and lie when up drives a HS chum with a big bass in his cooler. He showed me and said "guess the weight!". I immediately said about 5 lbs. because my fishing buddy always underestimates fish by a pound and he's usually closer than me. He said "Shoot! That's the biggest bass I've ever caught. I'll weigh it and have it mounted." I saw him again a few weeks later and asked the weight. He frowned and said "5 lbs even-not even close to my PB. I ate it."

All other people annoy me. How dare they go fishing at the same time and place as me! That really grinds my gears!!! Really, if someone mishandles a fish that's a pretty minor offense. It's a fish. Most ponds have too many for the good of the pond anyway. You can try to explain it once, but if they aren't listening, let it go. Plenty of fish in the sea, so to speak. I don't like the bucket brigade asking me for my fish. They can take all the eyeballs they want but I'll do what I'll do with them regardless of their desire for more meat. I had a guy ask me if I was going to throw back a trophy size fish once and I let it go in front of him for spite and said "Yep." Later learned the guy was trespassing, sneaking in by driving on a pipeline right of way. He had permission once but it was revoked. Don't know specifics. Trespassers annoy me. If the aforementioned bucket brigadier had followed the rules, he would not have been banned.

It does seem that pond bass react better to critter baits like a mouse, rat, duck, frog, etc. I guess it's shallow and they can see the surface better. Being shallow, a pond can't hold as much forage fish, so they'll take what they can get. at least that's my theory and it does seem to work out that way. When I primarily fished a larger lake, any time I decided to check a bass's stomach contents it would always be threadfin shad only.

Actually, I've asked 7 people if I may fish their ponds and have only been flatly turned down once and that was because the lady's daughter and son in law use the place as a stay-cation home. She told me she would have been cool with it otherwise. I only fish three of those places now because most ponds are not that great. If neglected, they usually turn into a pool of stunted minnows. Or they think of their fish as pets and don't want any taken out, which leads to the same dink issues. I have noticed that, the older the owner is, the more likely they'll want you to fish their pond. They like to come down and talk with somebody and like the idea of the security of another set of eyes on their property and someone actively managing the fishery. If they like to eat fish, set up a basket and put your catch in it. Or if you eat fish, clean them and give the owner half. Try to come to some arrangement that benefits the owner. One more idea. Do you have a local fish hatchery? We do and it has a managed pond on it. The DNR manager uses people doing community service to mow the grass and do a few chores when he can get them. You could offer to help out once in a while in exchange for fishing permission. If you can't come to an arrangement, don't do the chores.

I dunno, I put out fraser firs for years off the end of my dad's dock in about 8' of water at a lake and a lot of them are still there. I haven't placed any in about 6 years. The needles do go away, but that's mostly an attractant for minnows for crappie. Bass won't "get in" those trees until they're sticks. At least that's my experience. Catfish will stay around them too because of the constant attraction of minnows. As for the crappie, they're seasonal (spring spawn & fall) unless you sink them in very deep water. If you use them, tie them with the trunk in a cinder block or concrete, standing up. I'd still prefer the pipe method for bass because you'll get hung up less on it and they will never rot. I'd place them at different depths in different sizes and shapes. You might also make some rock piles at a couple strategic spots and maybe a logjam or two. You'll learn where they all are and you'll be able to eliminate areas with no cover or structure. I'm envious. It looks like by the time I can afford to do this, I'll be too old to enjoy the fishing.

I started a thread the other day about the Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke about the durability issue. Someone suggested I try Z Man Elaztech Swimbaits. I bought some 6" Swimmerz and man, do they look good! I'm excited to throw them. But it was apparent as soon as I opened them I don't have a swimbait hook this big. If you're using these, give me your specific hook and size, please. Thanks.

This is true. Confidence comes through success. There are a lot of baits I thought were gimmicky or designed to catch fishermen until I used them successfully. We don't crave failure, so if a bait doesn't work three times...to the bottom of the box it goes, making room for the productive stuff. I know a tourney guy who has zero confidence in spinnerbaits.

They still sell the Shyster around here in mom and pop stores. The blade is not concaved, but wavy like corrugated tin. If it didn't start spinning your cast was wasted. But it was deadly on schooling white and largemouth bass with the occasional crappie and bream.

I haven't bought one since I discovered War Eagle.

I have one and caught a 5 pounder on it in a pond not known for big fish so I left it alone. I was on the fence before.

This one has always been a head scratcher for me. I was catfishing in the rain. I tossed out a small section of hot dog weiner and stepped back under some shelter to wait. I saw my rod bend and went to set the hook. I could feel a short fight, then it changed to a little dead weight drag. I reeled up a dead catfish head, hooked in the mouth. I could understand if it was freshly killed, that a turtle had bitten it off, but it was dead a while. It was nasty with glazed over eyes. The only thing I can imagine was a turtle was munching on a dead cat and I dropped a nice fresh Oscar Meyer in his face. I told my parents because I was a kid and they declined to believe my story. I asked them why I would make up such a stupid lie. My dad and I caught the same bass. Not consecutively, but at the same time. It bit my worm, swam right over and bit his and we both reeled it up. Only time I've caught less than one bass, but more than zero. I think we threw it back because it was such a rare occurrence. Back then we didn't throw much back. My dad had the idea that if you didn't eat it, you didn't really catch it. Old bucket brigadier. I miss him badly.