IndianaFinesse

That was kind of my point.

Skip the flouroclear and get something better like red label. I tried flouroclear last year and had more break offs in a month than I normally do in a year, and the second it touched any rock it snapped. If you are on a budget just get big game.

I catch bluegill all the while bass fishing, usually at least two or three every trip on the ned rig. I once even had a big 9 3/4 inch bedding green sunfish break his jaw while trying to eat a half ounce brush guard jig.

Throw a topwater for "pike". I have actually caught a lot of pike on topwaters, so it really is legit to fish pike with topwater and you will probably have a few smallmouth mixed in to.

Great idea! I am definitely going to try that modification next time i'm out.

50# braid. It floats, it makes it easier to set hooks from a distance, it's stronger than mono, and it cuts through weeds like a knife.

Try a finesse wormz. I have done pretty well with it on both a Ned rig and a shaky head.

As others have said, nothing beats a trick worm.

It really depends on what I am after. If I am fishing for quality with big swimbaits, then my target is one fish every hour and fifteen minutes. Anything less is a poor day, and anything more is a good day. But if I am throwing a Ned rig, my average is 10-12 bass an hour. Under ten bass an hour is a slow day, and anything over twelve is a good day of fishing. My personal record for numbers off bass in a four hour trip is 96 bass, frustratingly close to 101 fish. That being said any day on the water is a good day, no matter what I catch.

Fished for about two hours today. It was kind of disappointing catching a bunch of little dinks and only a couple over fifteen inches after getting used to Michigan's good fishing. I caught eighteen bass with only three good ones and the biggest measured twenty inches. All fish came in the trd fished with a swim glide and shake retrieve in four to eight feet of water. Most were on steep rip rap shorelines near and on points, with some underneath docks when the sun was high. Water temperature is up to 76 degrees here, so the bass should be moving to there summer areas soon.

Oops, I meant to say that the veritas was fifty dollars. Thanks for catching that.

Not a new sale, but still a killer deal. FFO has the fenwick aotos for 75 bucks, the villain for 72, the veritas for 50, and the lightning for only 18 dollars.

Why did you put the jerkbait down after that fish?!

Just got back from a trip to the u.p. The answer to oddchase's question about if fishing is much better in other states, is definitely yes. The bass are just starting to spawn up there, and the average size bass we caught was just over three pounds. I caught more three plus pound bass in less than one week than I usually do in a month, with the largest 4.9 pounds! Most were caught on a pop-r fished through bulrushes from a kayak, witch makes it even more fun seeing the big bass blow up on the surface and then tow you around. And I know people complain about all of the pike, but personally I love having some mean old pike mixed in. Most of the pike were just little snot rockets, but a couple were good sized fish. I also booked a charter trip for walleyes, and in less than a half a day we caught 25, and for the last hour trolled for pike. We didn't catch pike, but three tiny~15 inch muskie nailed our spoons. It was nice to just get away from people and enjoy nature, plus catch some really nice fish.

As jar, t-9, and mojojo said, they do have a disclaimer on the packaging warns against keeping elaztech with other plastics.. Just keep them in there original packaging and don't put any other plastics in with them and you won't have any problems.

I use a 6'3" medium heavy rod, I plan on saving up for a second bait caster for swimbaits but don't own any other bait casting rods yet. Which color of the spro rats do you like best? All of the reviews recommended purple, but if throwing a rat isn't strange enough a purple rat seems even stranger.

I spent about five hours this morning trying to get some fishing time in before the dreaded pleasure boaters came out. I left everything home except the savage gear 6 inch swimbait, and ended up catching four bass on it. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of fifteen to sixteen inch fish it catches, the smallest fish was only 15.5 inches and still choked the swimbait. It was a big change going from catching ~ten bass an hour to only four in five, but they were of a much better quality and the largest weighed 3.4. The bass were for the most part on points and sharp dropping shorelines near the channel, but one was in the back of a cove. I swapped the baitcasting reel on one of my spider rigging poles out for the one on my baitcasting rod that i use for bass, and that actually worked ok and was much lighter and easier to palm.

Not a fan of the regular 6", but the 68 is great. The line thru Savage Gear is a different style of bait though. Is the action different enough to justify getting a huddleston 68, or is the savage just as good?

On a side note, is the huddleston deluxe six inch trout any better than the savage gear trout?

See, he came back! I own a lightning shock series rod and use use the m/mod as my cranking rod. It isn't the most sensitive rod, but it doesn't need to be for crankbaits and for that price range I haven't found anything better.

It depends on how much cover you fish in, but ten pound is what I normally use unless there is much for cover.

Berkley Big game mono.

Can't answer the first question, but I learned how to bass fish in a clear water gravel pit with 15'+ visibility. The fishing is far better at dusk, dawn, and night. Another great condition is rain or wind, the more the better as it limits the amount of light penetration. The biggest bass that I have seen was caught in the middle of a rain storm during the middle of summer. Good lure choices are baits with a lot of action, like swimbaits, 10" ribbon tail worms, jerkbaits, Topwaters, etc. all work well. The bass usually (but not always) are a little deeper than normal because of the amount of light penetration and the weeds grow much deeper, which helps keep the oxygen level up in the deeper areas. Another thing is that you should always keep a sight fishing lure tied on in clear water, at least in gravel pits you can sight fish in fifteen feet of water. I usually use a trd as you can deadstick it in front of there faces till they bite, and it can do just about anything to match the fishes mood. Anyway, I fished this morning before the storms came in for about five and a half hours. For the first three and a half hours I threw a pop-r at rip rap banks working it very quickly for the active bass because of the approaching storm. It caught 38 bass, most were again just little 13-14 inch bass but it was till fun seeing them blow up on the bait. Only six bass were over fifteen inches. Then for the remainder of the time I forced myself to put down the pop-r and just use a savage gear line thru trout. I hooked three bass and had five followers. I only landed one nice ~20 inch fish because the drag on my reel decided it couldn't tighten past about three pounds of pressure, so I had to thumb the spool to make up for it. Even with that it was extremely hard to get a good hook set though, so I guess I am going to have to find the cash to get another reel. I have no idea how that could happen, It used to get tighter than that but it is an old reel. I still figured if the drag was going to go it would altogether lock down or be on permanent free spool.

It is.

I only use the Alberto knot, but t-9 is right about using whatever knot you tie best.