papajoe222

I'm not familiar with the HMG series, but you may be able to answer your own question based solely on the lure weight recommendations. What weights do you normally fish with your soft plastics? Add that to the weight of the bait itself and the rod where that combined weight falls somewhere in the middle of its recommendations will suit you best. Then look at the action of the rods. A mod/fast will make casting a bit easier, but for single hook baits a faster tip will give you better hook sets.

Here you go. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1931262&categoryId=0&parentCategoryId=0&subCategoryId=0&indexId=0&itemGUID=571249daac10845944bc41b1654531e4 The 665 and 705 are both lightweight and sensitive and available in both 1 and 2pc. versions, Plus they have cork grips

Three lures for summer casting....Single willow blade bucktail, Depth Raider and Top Raider. Best bass lures... Mepps Giant Killer, #13 Husky Jerk and a Whopper Plopper For trolling, I like a 1-1.5oz Saftey pin spinnerbait, a Swim Whizz (or Believer), Five of Diamonds spoon and I forget the name, but it's a larger version of a Lazy Ike.

I prefer standard gauge wire hooks for topwater as they don't alter the action of the bait by adding weight and not as much force is needed for the lighter wire to penetrate on hooksets with mono. If I want to upsize I go with http://www.basspro.com/Mustad-UltraPoint-KVD-Elite-Triple-Grip-1X-Treble-Hook-2X-Short-Shank/product/10205312/#desc-tab otherwise it's http://www.basspro.com/Mustad-UltraPoint-KVD-Elite-Triple-Grip-1X-Treble-Hook-Standard-Shank/product/2233696/

I don't ever recall using anything other than a Texas rig with larger worms (10in.+). I work the larger worms slower than I do the 6-7in. ones and in order to get action out of the tail on most, calls for either working the worm with your reel, or having enough weight at the nose to activate the tail movement as the bait falls. Hook choice depends entirely on you and the conditions you are fishing, whatever you have confidence in. I throw mainly thinner worms like Mann's and Culprit and opt for a 3/0 to 5/0 hook. If I feel I'm getting short pick-ups, I'll thread the worm up past the knot a couple of inches as I find it hard for me to wait when setting the hook. (I really can't say that it helps, but I think it does) You can get a similar action to a shaky head by pegging the weight and working it like one.

The first thing to look at is the recommended lure weight range of the rod. Both rods you mention are MH Fast action and aren't ideal choices for lighter fare. The second thing to look at is; what are you comparing your casting distance to, or who (whom?). Although casting distances with baitcasters can approach those of spinning rods in the hands of an experienced caster, accuracy is one of the main reasons many of us use them. Third, practice.......practice.........practice. You'll likely be practicing undoing backlashes, but that is also a lesson in what not to do, so try to learn from that also.

. It's called a topography map, or topo map for sort. The ones he shows appear to be Fishing Hot Spots. Each line on the map indicates a change of depth the amount of which is shown in the 'legend'. The closer the lines are together, the faster the depth increases. You can do a web search for whatever lake you're interested in and likely view a map of it online. The actual maps can also be purchased online and at some of the local tackle or bait shops. One thing I'm going to mention here and it may be obvious to many here, is he is highlighting potential spawning areas. You always need to take seasonal movements into consideration when looking at maps. For instance, the areas he highlighted aren't areas you would be looking fo during the winter.

Catt, What is WOT? As for graphs, I turn down the brightness also, but I also tilt the displaly down. If I'm anchored, I'll turn it off.

I fish them two ways. I'll use a very light jig and a floating worm and work the tops of the weeds with subtle hops. When working the bottom, I like to use enough weight to be able to maintain contact with the bottom. I'll drag it a foot or two, pause and try to twitch it without moving it. If I feel it bump anything, I'll do the shaking and if I don't get bit, give it a short hop and just dead stick it for 20-30 seconds. I'll shake it again before continuing with the drag and pause/twitch. If I'm working an area quickly, I opt for a worm with some salt, but if I need to slow down to get bit I opt for a floater dipped in scent.

It was likely the bream on beds, or possibly crappie. It happens to me a lot during bass post spawn, but rarely during the summer or fall.

I, too have found that different bodies of water have different activity periods. On some, the twilight is the trigger and on others, it is closer to an hour after all the natural light is gone. I have found that in shallower bodies of water around here twilight is prime time and many of the deep quarries don't turn on until well after dark. I'm close enough to a major city to have the benefit of its lighting in all but the most remote pockets on the water, so headlamps and flashlights are rarely necessary. I do keep a hand held spot light for emergency situations and illuminating the launch when approaching. Until one becomes familiar with night fishing their lake, though, portable lighting is your friend. Nice job A-Jay

What techniques do you feel are your strengths? Find spots where cover is present on the drops, or just off them. Fish your strengths in those spots even if you don't think they are the ideal presentations for those conditions. If those humps have any kind of gravel or rocks the smallies likely will be close. They will come up a good distance for a bait, so some shallower water baits can produce, including topwater. The LM will also respond to many of the same presentations you use for the ones in shallower water, but the deeper fish will relate close to the bottom. Find an area with cover on, or close to the structure and don't forget to fish both the structure and the cover. Often times they will hold on the structural changes and only move to the cover to feed. Add some weight to your T-rigs, drop shots and jigs, go with smaller blades on your spinnerbaits, and maybe add a couple of flat sided deep cranks like a Fat Free Shad. Learning to fish deep water structure is a challenge, but it's well worth learning. If you know someone that can mentor you, sharing that pond of yours is a great way to learn.

A full moon may make it easier for you to see, but I don't feel it has much bearing on the activity level of the fish. I do find that, like windy or overcast conditions, I can get away with sloppier presentations. What changes for me and why I prefer fishing at night in the summer, is I tend to slow down. What I mean by that is I don't jump from spot to spot. I'll work the area I'm in from top to bottom starting with reaction type baits and more subtle presentations before moving on. I know the water I'm on and I also don't make long runs from one spot to another. To avoid doing that, I pick an area that has multiple, potential spots. As for baits, if it's black, it's packed in my night fishing bag along with insect repellent, a hand held spotlight and a pen light. I only use the pen light when re-rigging and the spot light is for illuminating potential obstructions that I may pick up using my night vision. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust after using any light, so I avoid using them as much as possible. Last, but certainly not the least, I wear a PFD the entire time I'm on the water and carry a miniature air horn. Someone knows where I am and when to expect to hear from me.

If it's a baitcaster, you can pick up a cheap one from BPS. If its a spinning reel, you'll likely need to get a replacement from Quantum.

I used a 3/0 EWG on the Culprits and Ole Monsters, with good success, for a number of years. I went back to offset shank worm hooks in 4/0 a while back. Neither of those worms is what I'd consider thick and there is plenty of gap in that hook for the way I fish. You may be concerned with that big bait balling up in a fishes mouth and having to set the hook through more worm. If that's the case, go bigger.

She's Hooked! Congrats to both of you, it sounds like you timed the trip perfectly.

Spinning, or baitcasting? With spinning, I rarely go over 10lb. braid, or mono. For a baitcaster, take into consideration the baits you'll be using and go with the heaviest rating you feel comfortable.

I've been using UltraSoft in 6lb. and 8lb. for jerkbaits and cranks since last season and I really can't say anything negative about it. It handles extremely well on my baitcasters, no issues with knots and it gives me more awareness to what the bait is doing compared to mono. Even with line conditioner, I had issues with fluoro. Not so with Hybrid. I almost forgot to mention, it costs a lot less too

Rub your finger nail across the spool to loosen the top layer of line. Unless there is a backlash along with the line digging in, that should allow you to pull it out though you may need to do it multiple times. I'm also assuming you meant 30lb. although the only way I could see it digging in would be if you had been pulling hard after getting hung-up on a snag. Most current reels lay the line on the spool in a pattern that discourages braid from digging in.

Your friends are likely not giving you bad information about bass lures, The information (and lures) may not fit the situation you are fishing. Conditions change, not only from season to season, but day to day and sometimes hour to hour. It's a learning process, so don't expect to take it all in overnight. There is no magic lure that will catch fish every time. There are some that come close, but in some situations, another lure is a better choice. After all that, I'll mention two lures you should learn to use as they will produce under many circumstances. A jig and trailer and a plastic worm. Glenn put together a very informative video here on how to detect bites when fishing a worm and it applies to jigs as well. Click on the video link above and you should be able to find it fairly easily. As far as jigs that are good for skipping under docks, I'm the wrong person to ask. The majority of time the only lure I skip with is a tube jig.

How do you want the bait to perform? If you're looking for a crank that will dig bottom and stay down when paused, the DT series should fit the bill. I'm not familiar with the Berkley line, but the Norman baits are a good, buoyant choice for fishing timber and ticking the tops of grass beds.

I don't know about the rain bringing them shallow, but chances are good that they'll be more active/aggressive. That's a good situation to catch some fish hanging around shallow cover as their strike window will be bigger. Non-finess tactics rule under those conditions, so break out your frogs and spinnerbaits. Wishing you the best.

It sounds like the majority of the fishing time will take place during daylight. If that is the case, one of you should target the upper water column while the other works the bottom. A 4in. tube dragged or hopped along the bottom or a drop-shot would be good choices for the latter. A buzzbait is a good choice for better than average fish and with the water temps you mention, a frog (hollow body) could/should produce.

I was in an accident years ago that left me with the inability to turn my wrist upward (killed my career ). It left me with few options when it came to how I held a rod and how I worked a bait. I had to change the way I did things or cut my fishing outings short. I did two things that helped; ibuprofen before hitting the water and working the bait differently (no more rod down or up). After a subsequent mishap a few years back, I found out I also had carpal tunnel issues. I've since had surgery to correct both problems and don't have issues of wrist pain. I still work most of my baits with my rod held pointing to the right so that my wrist is straight. Take the opportunity NOW to get it checked out. Worse case, a shot of cordizone will prevent it from getting worse. Best case, a little physical therapy and you'll be paddling and walking the dog better than before.

I'm stuck on two. Stanley VibraWedge and MegaStrike StrikeBack.