gefiltefish

I don't know Bill Siemantel but from writeups about him he seems like a good fisherman. But his book Big Bass Zone is worthless in my opinion. He gave no information of any use on techniques or on using lures or on structure fishing or patterns or anything else in that book. Its more like a 300 page pep talk than a fishing book. Really disappointed with it. I think he just phoned it in when he wrote that book because from his magazine writeups he does seem to know a great deal about fishing.

You could try using a circle hook on wacky rigged senkos and plastics. Instead of a regular set you just reel and keep the line tight and the hook usually gets them in the jaw even if they swallowed the bait. If you gut hook the fish on a regular hook you can reach in behind the gill slot by the white gill rakers (not the red gill part) and pull the hook eye so its facing out of the gill. This will reverse the hook barb in the fish's gut so you can then reach into its mouth and cut it or pull it out. In fisherman had pictures of the procedure on their website but took it down. They pictured it in one of their magazine issues within the past year or 2 I think. Here is a good article about gut hooked fish http://southhoustonbassclub.com/Documents/Gut%20Hooked.htm

The all time classic on structure fishing is Spoonplugging your guide to lunker catches by buck perry. A really good book on fishing technique is Charlie Brewers book on slider fishing. Add to that any hunting fishing library bass books and the in fisherman bass books and you're set for winter reading imo. I also would recommend the kvd and guy eaker books.

Thanks Matt. Its nice to hear the story behind that fish.

Do Jeb Budda and Mac really run out early to grab the rental boats and get to other peoples spots ? Thats how it was reported that they got the record bass. Spied on another fisherman who was on the fish and then ran out early next day to beat him to the rental boats and his fishing spot. They sounded like really poor sports when I read how they go about fishing in sowbelly and the articles written about them.

In fisherman, bassin, bassmaster, flw outdoors, bass west and yamamotos inside line are all good.

It seemed to me like Jed, Mac and Budda came off looking bad. The book (and a fishing show about them that I watched) makes it seem like they observe other anglers fishing good spots and then run back early the next day, rent a rowboat, and steal the spots other people found by hard work.

You could probably find the details in a book, article or website on bass bug popper making.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest what size snap swivel to use on a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait as a replacement for a split ring swivel. It seems like it would be so much easier to change blades this way but no companies do it. Is there a big difference in debris the snap swivel picks up or something ?

My picks would be: Basics: Babe Winkelman Largemouth bass patterns. Bass Fishing fundamentals Ken schultz Basic structure fishing: Buck Perry Spoonplugging. Practical black bass fishing bill dance

Buck Perrys book is called Spoonplugging. Its considered by many to be the bible of structure fishing.

My picks would be: Classics: I agree with Lane - Bill Dance Practical Bass Fishing is a classic and easy to buy cheaply. Also I'd recommend BassNObjects by him. I also like Lunker by Bob Underwood but its not as easy to find. Spoonplugging by Buck Perry is THE classic on structure fishing - he also has a home study series thats available on fishingfacts.com. This is the best way to learn the basics of bass location. Charlie Brewer's book on Slider Fishing is the best book on jig and worm technique out there. Good Books: Homer Circle has an older book called The Art of Plug Fishing thats also good. The Hunting and Fishing library makes great books that sell cheaply on e bay. Kevin Van Dam has 2 books that are fairly good. Denny Brauer also has 2 I know of. Rick Clunn World Championship Bass Fishing is pretty good. Bass Myths exploded by Jerry Gibbs is good. Any book by In Fisherman. For smallmouths: Tony Beans Smallmouth guide is hard to find but excellent. Billy Westmoreland Them Ol brown fish is not as good as Bean's but ok too. In Fishermans Smallmouth book

Most of the crankbait snags I get happen when it wedges in rocks. The luresaver hasn't made any difference there. Maybe in wood cover it would help ? Also, why not get a lure retriever or retriever pole instead- they're only a little more than a few packs of those luresaver rings.

Susquehanna fishing tackle ships pretty fast to NY/NJ. Couple of days for me to get the order at most usually.