papajoe222

Give me a bunch of small ones. If I caught an eight pounder it would have the same effect as my having relations with a hot sixteen year old; my enjoyment would be limited by the heart attack.

Welcome to the board, it's always a pleasure to see a new 'face' around here. Only you can determine what a good, everyday bait is for you. Suggesting a spinnerbait, for example, would be a waste if you either have never fished one or have absolutely no confidence it them. The same goes for soft plastics. There are a number of good suggestions here. Pick one that you are comfortable with and fish it exclusively. Two things will happen. First, you'll learn the lure. The way it feels, reacts to different rod/line movements. Second you'll gain confidence in both you and the bait. Once you master both the lure and catching fish with it, it's time to move on to a different bait. Hopefully, you'll reach a ripe old age before you can say you have mastered all the different style baits out there

The biggest obsticle to overcome when targeting big fish is the desire to catch fish. By that I mean that you can't go out to target big fish and expect to catch fish every outing. It's very discouraging to put time on the water without anything to show for it and that's the downfall for many anglers. They'd like to catch bigger fish, but they still want to catch some fish so they abandon their quest for bigger fish to fulfill their need to catch. I just spent six hours on the water in search of another 5lb+ bass which is the benchmark I use as a big fish in my area. I had three bites and zero fish in the boat while others within eyesight were catching 2-3lb. fish with regularity. I know I could have caught a good number of fish over the course of six hours, but I made up my mind to target big fish. When you can totaly focus on your goal, catching fish looses it's attraction. The easiest way I've found to do that is to set aside outings to satisfy my desire to catch fish. The reminder that you have the skills to catch fish goes a long way toward obtaining the mind set necessary to be a true hawg hunter.

Despite what you may think, cranks are fairly snagless. The nose down attitude during the retrieve puts the lure's body between potential snags and the belly hook. Fat bodied cranks and those with square lips hang up less than standard cranks and were designed with that in mind. The other thing that will help reduce the number of hang ups you encounter AND put more fish on the end of your line is to stop reeling when your crank bumps into something. This allows the bait to rise up away from the object and also it also allows it to deflect irratically which is a major triggering effect. By continuing to reel, you are setting yourself up for getting hung up as the deflection will often put the bait on it's side or at an angle to the snag. Give it a chance to right itself and you'll eliminate the majority of snags. One more thing...............get a plug knocker.

I stopped adding dressed trebles to the back of all sizes of spooks because of the loss of action. There were only two advantages to having a feathered treble on the back. One, of course was the added tail action at rest, the other was also the disadvantage of the added drag. It allows you to work the lure in a small zone for a long time, but it hinders forward movement . If I add anything to the rear treble now, its a little flash-a-boo or tinsle and little is the operative word. This material doesn't breathe like beathers do, but seems to draw some added attention from hesitant fish. Two changes that will have a positive effect are adding a red treble to the front and a split ring to the line tie. Topwater baits are the only ones that benefit from the addition of red hooks, and the split ring makes the lre that much easier to walk. Oh yea, on models that don't have split rings on the hook hanger, add one.

I know many of us were raised to be on the water when the sun comes up and we also were told that sundown was an ideal time to be on the water. I'm lucky to have the option to take advantage of both of these prime times on the same day as I no longer am limited by that nasty four letter word. I know, however, that not everyone has that fortune and was wondering which you prefer and why. Personally, I am partial to sundown. If I could only be on the water for one hour a day, it would be half an hour to either side of it. My reasoning is simple. First and foremost, I don't have to get up early (yes, I'm an old fart that doesn't get up early.....go figure). What's more important to me is the fact that aside from my PB largemouth, I've caught more lunkers as the sun was going down than at any other time of day and I'm not limiting that fact to one species. Bass, pike, walleye, musky, even crappie; it just seems to me that sundown gets the big ones active.

Sounds to me like your rigging the bait off center or with some twist. Try lying the hook alongside the bait to determine where it's point will enter and exit the plastic both at the R bend and in the body. Be sure to center the hook's point to the center of the bait . If it goes in or comes out off center, your bait will twist when moved through the water, even if it's hanging straight.

I recall one publication, FishingFacts, that was responsible for not only rekindling my interest in the sport, but it helped create the passion in me that I still have to this day. I hung on to those early issues for years and would read them over and over. Those magazines and Jimmy Houston are what my kids grew up with.

A newly designed spinnerbait by MegaStrike, called the StrikeBack™ Of the nine, all but one was with this bait including all three hawgs.

I've been using a new spinnerbait for about a month now and I have to say, I have never had a bait change my opinion about a new design to an old standby as this bait has. StrikeBack™ spinnerbait by MegaStrike is the only one I've had tied on my spinnerbait rod for over two weeks now and I don't intend to cut it off except to retie. Needless to say, it has not only become my favorite new design but my new favorite all around. A number of things about this bait jump out at you when you see it for the first time. The swivel head that pivots and the dimpled, painted blade are just two. I've been a fan of hammer finished blades for years and have been painting my own for a number of years, so that feature wasn't anything new to me or the market. The pivoting head is what sets this bait apart from others. I don't think the person that designed it actually realized it's potential. Aside from keeping a hooked fish from gaining leverage to throw the bait, it allows you to burn the bait without it rolling on it's side. That eliminates changing baits to something heavier or with smaller blades. This was the first thing that impressed me. What impresses me the most is the enjoyment of fighting a fish hooked on this bait. It intensifies the fight you experience similar to the way braided line increases sensitivity. When a fish shakes it's head, because of the head design, it's able to swing more and when the head stops pivoting the angler feels a pronounced thump you just don't feel with a standard spinnerbait. Trust me, the first time you hook a fish on this bait, you won't believe the enjoyment you'll experience bringing it in.

Sometimes the stars are lined up in your favor and for me, last night was one of those time. On a quick night outing I boated nine, three of which were over five pounds. All this in under three hours on the water. I've had nights that produced higher numbers, but never one that produced the monsters I got last night.

I haven't yet, but am well on my way. My goal is to catch more big (5lb+) fish than I did last year. Last night I landed three which means I'm only seven short of that goal. Last year I didn't have three until my annual July musky trip. One tactic I'm using is getting out more often, even if for short outings. I figure if I can put 20 hours more on the water this year vs. last, it will up my odds.

Welcome to the board. There are plenty of recommendations on how to use most if not all lures on the site. I recommend you use the search function, there are posts and videos archived for you. Plenty of usefull information geared toward both the novice and seasoned angler. Questions do get answered, but ones that cover a wide range of baits, presentations, colors, etc. would require a member to write an article. Refine your questions to one topic and search out answers on the site here and you'll be on your way to becoming a well informed angler.

The other thing you could try that's readily available is twist ties. Pick them up at your grocer's produce section, wrap one around the mid section of your worm and tie it. Cut off the excess and you're good to go.

If I have confidence in the spot, I will exhaust all avenues prior to moving on. If I don't know the area, but it looks promising to me, I'll give more than one technique a try before moving on.

I saw a guy launch and then tie off to the dock, get in his car and park. The lot was maybe 300yrds. from the launch. Then he hit the porta poddy to make a long distance phone call, all the while his boat was blocking others from using the launch. Who knows, maybe the guy had the runs and intended to come right back and move it. I was maybe fifth in line, so I got out, walked on to the dock, untied his boat and moved it to the end of the dock where it was out of the way and tied it off. He returned as I was getting off the dock....................Never said a word to me.

If you want to up your game, but are hesitant to fish deeper structure for whatever reason, you could always apply your strengths to other areas of the lakes than shorline shallows. Unless I'm reading the map incorrectly, there are a number of off shore shallow areas and although they don't have docks, other cover may be present to offer you a similar opportunity.

I don't own a PadCrasher, but I trim the legs on all my hollow body frogs. I want the legs to swing back when I pull on the lure and stick out to the side when it's paused. I find that I don't get many misses, even in heavy cover with the legs trimmed in this manner. The only way to know that is to tie one on and work it. Don't trim too much at any one time, unless it's a BPS Kermie.

Back in the day when cloth diapers were in style, my dad used diaper pins (a large version of a saftey pin) to hold hooks, swivels, weights and the lips of his loudmouth offspring shut. I didn't say much until I moved out, but I digress. It's always been a good idea to keep organized and this idea has always been on the top shelf. Thanks for sharing.

There are two key factors to becoming a better fisherman. The first is to know your quarry. The second is to know the body of water you're fishing. You have, I assume, a knowledge of both even if it may be limited. Okay, now apply that knowledge to what you know about catching; You can't catch them where they ain't. 'They ain't in the shallows after they spawn.' Now apply that information again to what you know about your quarry; Active fish will be where the forage is. What's the prefered forage in your pond? Now determine where that forage will be when the fish are active. Chances are very good that the forage will be in shallow water near some sort of cover. So, you determine that you need to fish where? The shallows (for more than one reason in your instance). When? When the fish are active. Generally that period fluctuates, but low light penetration usually accompanies that activity. Early morning, late evening, and dark skies give you the most advantages to cash in on actively feeding fish. See, you knew the answer to your question. You just convinced yourself that you couldn't catch them after the spawn and early spring. Now, go get 'em and prove that you can become a better fisherman.

In answer to the topic title, Yes you are. The rest of us that do the same as you aren't crazy because we don't worry about silly stuff like this. Now if you're talking winding the tag end of your line clockwise vs. counter clockwise when tying knots, that's something to worry about.

NetBait puts out some decent,affordable products. The only downside is their color selection is very limited.

I try to make life miserable for the ones that are responsible.

I'm becoming a fan of circle hooks as deep hooking a fish is a concern for me when using this technique. Also, they don't hang up as readily as other exposed hooks. There are a number of good hooks made specifically for wacky rigging, but to be honest most styles will work, some are just better suited. If you're hooking just under the tubing (there's no need to hook through the worm in this situation), you can use the same size hook for both sizes.

There could be other reasons also. Too much, to heavy lb. test, type of line, etc. It sounds to me like you applied the line to the spool correctly, or you'd have line twist problems before you ever noticed the line jumping off the reel. Before you go removing brand new line from the reel, try soaking the spool in water for a while if it's mono. The difference in spool sizes between the one the line came on and the one on the reel is likely different and mono has memory. Soaking the spool will allow the line to acquire the memory of the reel's spool. Braid will save you money in the long run as you won't need to respool as often and you don't need to use all the line on a new spool when you put it on. I don't recommend using the same mono for three or four years as mono does have a shelf life that shortens with exposure to the elements. It would never last that long on my reels anyway as I'm constantly retying and I have to respool some of my reels before the season is over.