CeeJay

Have you gone back out carp fishing lately? I might try to catch some this week on the river. Exciting fish to catch no doubt

I remember reading an article in In-Fisherman years ago about that. Smallmouth being pulled up from the depths of the Great Lakes would be "fizzed" before being released. I'm guessing most of the deep water guides out there know how to do it. Fortunately I've never had to do that

I have no explanation for why some anglers don't have much luck with the Senko. I'm sure we all have a style of lure or two that for some reason...just doesn't work for us. Could be flat out bad luck I suppose: wrong place, wrong time, etc. For me it's lipless cranks. Never caught a single bass on one, ever. And believe me I tried to make them work. Senkos however, well I love them because they work for me very consistently. Not 100% of course, as no lure ever made is a guarantee. But I have great confidence in Senkos. It's strange...our choice of lures, what works for us and what doesn't. One of the mysteries of angling I guess

Dance has always been one of my favorite anglers on tv. Yeah he definitely pampers his fish

It's funny but I talk to the fish as well haha. I'll say things like "easy there big guy", or "just relax bud" as I remove the lure That's cool you and your son thank the fish.

I'm a light tackle angler so a hard hook set would snap my line. All of the cranks (1/16-1/8oz) I use have only one or two small treble hooks so it's not usually a problem for me. I flatten the barbs on many of my hooks as well. And I fish from the bank, so I don't have a livewell. I understand your point though. Accidental injuries do happen, but I just try to do the best I can to avoid carelessly harming a fish I plan to release.

Refusing to hit a Senko? Haha that's a wily bass you got there It's my confidence bait, but like all lures it will fail at times. On days where I'm not fairing too well, I always wonder how many fish were out there just staring at the lures I was tossing. It's interesting that you get to see that bass up close and how it reacts to your lures. I bet if you dunk a minnow it'll strike

I hope you have a great time getting back out on the water I only recently got back into my favorite hobby after a break of nearly 7 years. It's just like riding a bike, one never truly forgets what they learned in the past. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. Lots of wisdom and food for though here. To be honest, I resented posting this thread the second I hit "post"...but now I'm glad I did because I've learned a few things. The replies also show what a great group of folks we have here...I was worried my post would step on a few toes but it looks like all is well and I'm very happy about that. I got started fishing relatively late in life in 1996 at age 20. I became addicted and was soon fishing almost every day...even before morning classes at college very early in the morning. I had no mentor. I learned from just talking to the anglers I'd meet at the lakes and ponds I fished. I learned a lot one day talking to a bow-fisherman. Another day I met a guy with a 15 foot cane pole fishing with crickets. I learned to keep the lake shores clean, picking up piles of tangled mono line, hooks, sinkers etc that were left by previous anglers...I learned that from a fly angler. My fishing ethics were picked up over the years talking to and observing these other anglers. Anyway I appreciate the feedback. I was very curious to hear other peoples thoughts on this. Thanks my friends.

Trout are stocked even in suburban park lakes and streams all over the eastern states.

Very well said. (Unfortunately I tend to ramble on and get distracted when writing/talking and forget my original point).

You and K_Mac above have hit the nail on the head about ethics. It's very true that what I consider cruel may be considered ethical by another angler's standards, and the other way around as well.

haha More likely they feel embarrassed by being caught I just think people whether catch and eat, or catch and release, or tv show or whatever, should treat the fish ethically. And when they don't do so it just bothers me.

It's about ignorance, not knowing how to respect your prey. I didn't say anyone is doing it for some evil purpose. I was referring to the professional tv anglers who love bass as much as I do.

Your avatar shows the bass being held perfectly as well....there has to be a slight angle of course, or else the bass will never stop moving and would be impossible to grip. I'm just talking about dropping, throwing or injuring the spinal column of a bass by improper lip holding. haha I'm not trying to start controversy, I thought it was all common knowledge.

Yeah that's what makes it more baffling to me...bass anglers are pioneers of catch and release. Some publications refuse to show any trophy fish unless it's held correctly for the photo. But on tv I see this neck-bending grip way too often. The way that bass in your avatar is held for the camera shot is perfect, by the way Plus it shows the fish in all it's beauty to support it just as in your pic.

I'll often watch tv bass tournaments as well as other fishing shows, which are usually hosted by highly experienced anglers. I am shocked that some (not all) pro anglers still mistreat the bass they land. Some examples I see way too frequently: They will drop them on the boat, hold them up to the camera by the lip at a neck-breaking (horizontal) angle, or "release" them back into the water by tossing the already stressed fish from a height of 8 feet. These acts are much more common among ignorant anglers and kids I've seen on the water while fishing through the years. But most of them have the excuse of ignorance, whereas professional tv hosts and tournament anglers do not. The pro's have supposedly devoted their lives to the study of their target fish...so they should certainly know how to cause minimal damage to bass. Maybe I'm wrong and bass are indeed invincible, but I doubt it. Any thoughts? Am I the only one who cringes whenever it happens? -It's important to mention that I'm not just talking about tournament anglers...By "professional" I'm talking about any angler who has a tv show.

Awesome catch. Bowfin have that cool, ancient-fish look to them. Also cool you released it.

Yep, definitely important to check the thin line for abrasions now and then. Of all the fish I've lost on UL back in the day, I'm very sure most were do to me not checking my line for rough spots above the lure before casting. But even 2 lb test is surprisingly tough considering how thin it is. Wood snags are rarely a problem when you rig weedless on UL. The lighter soft plastics will slide right over and under (usually). By the way soft plastics are fantastic UL lures. As are small spinnerbaits which will deflect off of most types of structure. Inlines are great for more open water but I have lost a few to heavy snags. Topwater plugs and fly-poppers are as fun as it gets. Good quality drag on the reel, and lots of weedless hooks/lures are also key

When it comes to the sporting aspect of angling vs everything else...I always get confused There has been a history of antagonism between various "groups" of anglers for quite some time. -I consider catching a fish on an imitation of it's natural forage to be the ultimate challenge. Yet that goes directly against bait fisherman. -I consider catch and release to fit best with my personal philosophy of life. But that goes against anglers who perfectly legally catch their own dinner. -I believe that fishing with overpowering heavy tackle and the fish having little chance to escape to be "unfair" to the fish. But that's how the tournament pros make their living, and that's fine. In the end, it's all down to personal preference as you said. And it's a shame that there are so many divisions...we are all anglers who love catching fish. Whatever brings enjoyment to the angler (and is legal, of course) is all good by me

No problem. Yeah light tackle angling is tons of fun and very exciting. Unfortunately I'm not experienced with using braid. I've always been a mono angler I'm sure someone else will chime in on that though.

Oh and if you do go ultra-light, try to get a reel with an extra spool. Ideally one would have three, one spooled with 2lb test, the others 4 and then 6. My personal best largemouth was just over 5 pounds and was caught on 4 lb line. My personal best fish of any species was a 20 pound carp caught on an inline spinner with 6lb line. Fun stuff Edit- sorry the PB carp was caught on corn, it was a grass carp that hit my inline

Definitely. It's just that in UL angling everything from line to lure to weights is scaled down. But that's not a problem as there are small and micro versions of just about any and all bass tackle for any rig you want. Also, UL gives you the advantage of casting just about any small-pretty darn large soft plastic weightless. You can just let it slowly and freely drift through the water column. Weightless wacky-rigged senkos are killer on bass. As are weightless 4" plastic worms rigged weedless and twitched through the grass. It's an exciting way to fish. And when you do catch the inevitable panfish, you'll feel their true fighting ability on UL tackle.

Hello. Sounds like you'd like to give ultra-light fishing a try...and believe me there's nothing at all wrong with that. I was in your situation, fishing small ponds and lakes from the bank. I used UL tackle "almost" exclusively when targeting the small bass that tended to inhabit those waters. With a budget of $200 you can get some outstanding UL rods and reels. No question about it, 2-6lb test line with a 6' to 7' UL rod will cast those 1/16oz spinners a good ways. And the lighter line makes even small bass extremely fun to catch

Thanks. Yeah I'll have to kind of train myself not to set the hook too hard when using 4lb, that's a good point.