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They sure do seem to like Ned rigs too. When I was a kid, all we wanted to catch was catfish. Between my wife and I, we have caught at least a dozen on Ned rigs this year while fishing for bass. Hooked onto one on a 10" worm too. He finally broke off one me but it was like an episode of Wicked Tuna until he did.

Hi all. I just was advised that I will have a business trip to Fort Worth September 19-21. I am able to stay over on Thursday the 22nd and thought that hiring a guide and hitting Lake Fork would be a good idea. Obviously this is short notice, but I am looking for suggestions. I will not be able to bring any gear with me at all, so I think a guide is the only way to go. Any ideas? Thanks.

Some great ideas to solve the problem, but I prefer this one. Thin the herd. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/38107/barlows-blackened-catfish/

Yep. Beaver aren't shy, do a great job of tree removal, and seem to really like scaring anglers.

While you are learning, pull out enough line to simulate your maximum pitch and the add another 10 feet. Now, toss some tape on the line left on the reel. This will allow you to make mistakes and not turn it into a YouTube "how to remove a backlash" video. This will help build your confidence and show you that yes, you have mastered pitching.

I'm like A-Jay. A day later and your day of fishing is the topic of discussion in my house. How impressed am I? I am sitting at the kitchen table after a terrible day at work, sucking down Sailor Jerry and showing my wife pictures of your catch. Your feat has become part of my mistake day at work therapy. I'm also planning a fishing trip with you in my mind. This does come to mind however.

Buzz baits aren't usually budget busters and as others have stated, to me, it is one bait you should probably explore. I get lazy tossing the Whooper Plopper and amazing myself with how well I can walk my Sexy Dawg (trust me, I'm a legend in my own mind), but buzz bait hits are awesome especially when you are working that bait just fast enough to keep it on the water. I really put frogs in a whole different category since I use a different rod and under different conditions, but those Pad Crashers will do the trick so don't underestimate them. On a side note, I just switch my top water rod from a 7'3" MHF to a 6'9" MHXF I had. I feel as if I have much more control over the bait.

American Legacy just put up some Labor Day specials. Diawa Tatula Type R is $109.95. I bought two of them.

If you have the Navionics app, check out the lakes online. I have four files pending and two of them are 35. The rest are lake six. Lake 6 is starting to fill out nicely but I am anxious to get some of my 35 charts up so I can see them. It is starting to die down there a bit in regards to the number of people so I'm going to start charting some other lakes soon as well.

That's awesome. I had a day of pound and a halfers and was happy. Don't think I would go home if I had a day like yours.

Nice. Now you also know what they like to eat.

I think the debate should be more between ML and Medium. ML can be an awful lot of fun with light baits and heavy fish.

I fish Busch 2-3 days a week and MO_LMB has given some good advice. I'm currently spending some time charting the lakes and uploading all of the info to Navionics, so if you have access to the app, keep an eye out for updates. So far I am filling in Lake 6 in pretty well, but I'll be working on 35 tomorrow morning. 35 is also my favorite and is always good for numbers if nothing else. Biggest I've caught there this year so far was 3lbs 13oz. I've had plenty of 20+ fish days there. Clear water, but lots of vegetation. It ranges from about 2 to 24 feet in depth. There is a lot of timber but you won't find it without getting snagged on it or having a depth finder. There is a cove that has a deep channel (about 12 feet) running through it. No one seems to fish the channel because it's hard to find and tough to pick out the grass edges. When you figure it out though, there will be fish there. Never fished 33. Too many people usually for me, but once the temp drops, I'll hit it up some weekday. 38 is a mini 35 in regards to vegetation. Again, lots of trees and brush. 30 has potential. I've caught several from the bank on top water. Nothing real big but I haven't spent much time there either. 34 is lily pad heaven but I've only fished it twice and the bass weren't cooperating. Did catch a couple in the 1-2 pound range on a whopper plopper near stumps though. The boat keys are not all universal although they sometimes do work on multiple lakes. It is just as easy to go back to the Outpost tackle shop and swap keys. Plus, they really appreciate it because it helps them track the boats. Some lakes have limited boats so if you are tieing up the lake key, but not the boat, it still makes the boat unavailable. Like I said, I am there all of the time, so if you want a tour, let me know. I have my company work van most of the time, so I'm easy to find.

I think when you hit the $100-120 mark, it seems to be a sweet spot currently for exceptional value in rods. With that in mind, I'd save up a little bit more. Opens up a lot of options. Most of my rods are in the $100-150 range but I always look for sales and used rods and have made some really good purchases If you are looking at getting a Pro Qualifier and can hold off, Bass Pro always has a PQ and Carbonlite combo special at the spring fishing classic. They are priced exceptionally well. Lot of Black Friday sales coming up soon.

I love rainy day fishing. Good catch.

Most of the time, I'm right there with you. I'm loaded with green pumpkin and watermelon plastics, and my jigs in green and Browns probably out number black and blue four to one. But it seems like I always have a black and blue tied on.

Finally got to fish my Siebert jigs. I like supporting the little guy, and in my case, semi-local business. Can't wait until this weather breaks so I can up the size a bit, but this is my very first Siebert fish on black and blue.

Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, and New Jersey.

Early spring, I like red on my crank baits.

All the brakes in the world won't outdo a well trained thumb.

This is why I like the south. There's no messing around. Fishing in the dark in south Florida is mans work. There are any number of things that can bite, sting, or poison you running around and a few that could eat you. That my friend, is dedication.

I'm not a pro by any means but a week or two back, I had a shallow water hot streak in water less than three feet deep. Water temp was 87. No overhead cover, but it was early and cloudy. No need for me to go deep that day. There were probably bigger fish deeper, but my only competition is myself. I never completely ignore shallow no matter how hot it is if I think there is any thing at all that might be drawing them in. Bass have a tendency to take all of the knowledge that we gain and toss it out the window.

When I was fishing yesterday.....and catching fish......there was one other guy there as well and he was not catching fish. He was using a white spinner. I've got plenty of fish on white spinners before, but I'm telling you, if the bite is near non-existent, you are going to catch something with a Ned rig. All you need to do is figure out the presentation they want and get in an area where fish should be hanging out. Hot summer days I always look for shade and you will find fish. My jigs are 1/20 oz. so they are not really sinking too fast. Many times I am certain that the fish watch them slowly drop and then when they hit bottom, they figure, what the heck, easy meal. The light weight makes it look like a natural meal. Too much weight and I feel that you might take away that tantalizing dinner bell drop. It's like a slow walk down the buffet line for us before we grab a plate and dig in. The heaviest line I use on my spinning reels is eight pounds, but I really don't think that your Trilene is the biggest piece of the puzzle. When you change line, I would drop it down a bit personally, but our "guest" rod has 12 pound Trilene on it because it gets some catfish action, and it has caught plenty of bass.

I can't say that this summer I've caught as many shallow fish as I would in the spring or fall, but there are still plenty that are lurking around under five feet. When the bite is slow, you need to get slow and downsize. I always have a rod ready with a Ned rig because if it is a spot that everything says "fish" and I'm still not getting them, nine times out of ten, I can coax them out with a Ned rig. However, you still have to put in some work. For example, yesterday during lunch, I went to a local pond to try out my new spinning rod which is the one I will be using for Ned rigging and small weightless plastics. I caught five in a half hour, but every one of them bit when I was dead sticking. None of the fish wanted to chase the bait so it required a good five to ten seconds of sitting still, moving the bait a bit and repeating.....obviously with a small presentation as well. Look for any shade. Drag the bait to find grass. That's how I found this school. I find the grass and then toss my bait to the edge and they started hitting it. This might not get you a trophy, but it will get you fish.

Because saving money for retirement instead of spending it on a new rod is so boring.