OCdockskipper

X2 for the bullnose rudder. Nice little piece that looks much better than what I carved out of plexiglass

Like the OP, I like the #900 Red shad laminate on darker, cloudy days. When rigged wacky, it resembles a fleeing crawdad. On brighter days, I like the #926 Green Pumpkin/amber laminate. Most critters in the water have a lighter underside, so this mimics that. I have tried Yum Dingers, Generals, BPS sticks and others and find they fall short of Senkos. I wish they didn't, they are less expensive & some are more durable, but the Senkos outproduce them, especially on those days when the fish are being a bit finicky.

In 1986 at age 23, I got a ticket for fishing a lake that was on private property. Since there was no fencing and no "no trespassing" signs on the walk into the lake, I went back the following day to take pictures as proof to fight the ticket. A private security guard met me before I got the dam and gave me a lift in his truck the rest of the way so I could take the remaining pictures. What I didn't realize is he called the cops when he saw me. After driving me back to the road where my car was, a sheriff deputy was waiting there. I got arrested, handcuffed & hauled off to Santa Ana jail for trespassing. So there is that...

I'm not sure one would be charged for attempted murder for shooting buckshot at someone. Just ask Dick Cheney. Laws vary per state as to what one may do to deter or chase off trespassers and what is threatening is in the eye of the beholder, not the trespasser. Your last statement is a bit bigoted against people who live in the South. Ironically, I have found that generally, southerners are much more hospitable and would be more willing to allow people on their property than those who occupy either coast.

There is a difference between intentionally catching smaller fish when there are larger fish in the lake or river and aiming to catch the largest fish in a lake or river that is predominately populated with smaller fish. The MLF format rewards chasing after lots of 12-14 inch fish, hence why the format is a dinkfest.

I hear you, with the additional frustration that I chose Christie & Atkins for the previous tournament, where they greatly underperformed. There is a rhythm in deciding when to choose or drop anglers and when you are on it, it seems as if you can do no wrong. You feel like you have the Midas touch & it seems every break goes your way. However, when you get out of step, the exact opposite is true. It is kind of like fishing... I know the feeling. In looking at the 2018 & 2015 tournaments, I noticed that Micah Frazier had a 12th place & a 24th place finish. No one was talking about him, he had a low ownership percentage, it looked like a wonderful sleeper pick for a place where experience typically means quite a bit. So the big fish of the day gets caught by Frazier. Unfortunately, it was Marc Frazier, his brother, fishing in his 4th Elite tournament and first on the Sabine River. I just know the two were talking and Micah told Marc "I have this spot that I'm not going to use this time, you can have it if you want..."

First of all, see if you can talk your way out of the fight. Often fisticuffs can lead to someone pulling a knife or gun, which turns a minor altercation into a life or death struggle. If the bass won't back down & really wants to fight, use the advantages you have. Avoid getting swallowed whole, that is typically his best offensive move. Use a lot of jabs, keep moving around and look for the opportunity to end the fight quickly with an uppercut. His eye placement is such that he will never see it coming. Remember also that bass are susceptible to distractions. Toss a plastic worm or jig past his head & he will look away from you & react to the lure. That gives you the opening to tackle him or kick him right between the ventricle fins. If at all possible, move the fight to dry land, you will have the odds in your favor.

(949) 347-1251

I too am 5'11" and my index finger from tip to 2nd joint is 2" long. That bass in that photo is 8 times longer than your index finger to 2nd joint, meaning it is a 16" bass that weighs about 2 lbs. Below is a picture of an actual 8lb bass that measured just over 23". If you believe the fish in your picture is the same size, I'll get you the phone number for Lenscrafters.

There is a way to get free lures without having to spend money and it can be fun. Go to some lakes that are medium to heavily fished and look for lost lures. There are some real finds out there (bluebasser86 is the champ at finding lures) and in a short time, you can build up a starting tackle box. You can even find expensive baits, I have found a couple of Gantrel Swimbaits and last weekend, a Pompadour. This really works for you since you are younger, you are much more agile than us old codgers. If you can get your hands on some type of boat (kayak) or flotation device (tube), it will help you get to those lures that shore bound anglers had to give up on. And as funny as it sounds, a good portion of your success will be in just looking where you may have never looked before. For example, is there a nice shade tree that people sit under when fishing a certain spot? Well, look up in that tree. A lot of beginning fisherman tend to have extremely errant casts that will land anywhere. I once found a Rebel Pop R 20 ft up in a tree that was 30 feet away from the water.

Stand when fishing, stand when fighting fish, sit when landing. Similar to what @K1500 wrote, if fishing is slow & I'm dragging a dropshot around, the urge to sit while fishing is strong.

Don't take this as an insult, but I am extremely skeptical of that claim. Especially when your bio says your PB is 14-15 lbs, yet your avatar photo is of a 2lb keeper. You do know that lbs. stands for pounds, not inches, right?

There is a small lake close to my house, Oso Reservoir, that at times in its history was a membership lake. Built in 1979, it was designed as a "recaptured water reservoir" (i.e., urban runoff) and was off limits to the public. As development in the area got closer, fisherman like myself discovered it was full of chunky bass. Of course, the side effect of fishing it was getting arrested & hauled of to Santa Ana jail (full story another day). After about a decade of trying to keep people off the lake, the Mission Viejo company changed tactics and leased the lake to a company that made it a membership lake. I was able to fish it as a guest and it still produced a lot of healthy fish, without having to ride in the back of a police car at the end of the day. However, I think the guys they leased it to were better at fishing than running a business, after about 4 years they went belly up and the lake was again closed to the public. With housing now being built within 100 yards of the lake, the cost of trying to keep fisherman out was a losing battle. The Mission Viejo Company then granted a lease for using the lake in exchange for security to the Boy Scouts. It has been that way for over 20 years and while the Boy Scout logos are on the entry gate & fencing, I never see any kids out on the water.

I believe either that lake is in your imagination or you are over-estimating the size of the fish in the water . I would suggest you are attributing characteristics to natural selection that don't exist. Largemouth bass have survived for eons not because the females select specific males to spawn with, but because the females select multiple males to spawn with. The females don't have time to interview each male as to his protection ability, instead they just act like the fun girl in high school and give each one a turn. And why do you believe a larger bass would protect fry better than a smaller bass? Smaller bass are more nimble & quicker, able to easily chase off sunfish better than a lumbering lunker. A large bass requires more nourishment than a smaller bass, so a large bass is more likely to be a deadbeat dad earlier than a smaller bass or, horror of horrors, decide to gulp down a few of his offspring to hold him over. If @PaulRoberts tells me that he has seen evidence of what you claim, then I'll give your opinion more credibility.

By the end of the day, I bet that bass is plain tuckered out...

I think you are looking at it backwards. Rather than trying to decide what lure to throw to catch the larger bass, figure out first where those fish are and then use a lure that allows you to make the best presentation. Sometimes that lure will be a larger lure, sometimes it may be a smaller lure. The only reason a "numbers bait" catches a lot of smaller fish and no larger fish is because you are using it where there are no larger fish. If you are able to present a Ned rig around a bunch of 3 lb fish, you are going to catch a bunch of 3 lb fish.

I meant a 2x4 attached to the front so that you gain space out, but attached in a manner so that it is higher than the existing mounting area (creating a new mounting area since the old one would now be too thick). In any case, your solution sounds better. Best of luck.

Yeah, bass fishing in Southern California is very different than the rest of the country. I mean, the bass are the same and the basics that work in the south to catch them work here, but the environment is very different. For example, I can't tell you the last time I fished a laydown here. I visit family in Georgia & Texas, they are in every lake. Here, it is like fishing in a swimming pool.

I understand, that is why I described it as unintentional foul hooking. If Weakley was the kind of guy that would intentionally foul hook a bass while sight fishing, 1) he never would have admitted she was foul hooked (see Mike Long) and 2) he would have done it immediately instead of trying to catch her for a couple of days and then doing it.

I had been looking at pictures of the Pond prowler 2 & not the Pond Prowler 8. The front ends of those two boats are different, hence why I was unable to visualize what you are showing in the picture. You are correct, that is a bad design. If it doesn't look lousy, can you attach a 2x4 to the mounting area and make it slightly higher than the current mount? That will push the motor out to clear the rub rail and give you a new mounting area that is not too thick for the mount itself.

Yes, when Dottie was boated, she was foul hooked, but it is unknown whether or not she inhaled & then expelled the jig and Weakley was late on the hookset. The point was that there are varying regulations as to what makes a catch "official". Using a bluegill as bait is one of those that is legal some places and illegal in others. I know if I caught a bass the size of one of Tom's top 10 and it turned out she was unintentionally foul hooked, I would still consider it my PB.

I have a Motorguide R3 on the older version Pond Prowler that doesn't have the problem you describe, it works great. Can you post a picture of the interference so we can visualize it better and maybe offer a solution?

To avoid the sticky residue, use blue painters tape. I tie the knot & then use the painters tape to secure it further to prevent slipping.

No need to be sorry. Dottie was the only Largemouth bass over 22 1/2 lbs ever caught by rod and reel. That is accepted by everyone in the fishing community, no one doubts that. That makes it a record. The fact that the catch was disallowed by a governing body because she was hooked outside of the mouth is arbitrary. Kuritas bass was caught using a live bluegill, something not allowed in some places, yet it is listed as a recognized catch. Just because a governing body doesn't recognize a catch doesn't mean it isn't a record.

As an aside, why do some groups of people believe that everything that happens where they live is the greatest ever? You see a lot of it in Boston and San Francisco (and to a greater extent Massachusetts and California) when it comes to the historical aspects of their cities/states or the success of their sports teams. Quite a bit of bloviating about anything that involves them. Everyone has civic pride and everyplace has something that makes them unique, but there are a few cities & states in the country whose residents are more than willing to publicly claim how much better their city or state is than anywhere else. It shows a real lack of humility and perspective and seems to be more prevalent on the coasts. The irony is that most of the folks who claim such things often no longer live there. They moved away from the "greatest city" or left the "best state" for greener pastures, yet continue to tout its supposed superiority. All very odd. Bringing the subject back to bass fishing, I would suggest that a 15lb bass caught in Massachusetts is in no way the "greatest catch" when you compare it to Dottie, a bass that grew nearly 15% larger than any other bass ever caught and avoided being caught outside of the spawn even though she lived in a tiny 69 acre lake.