Eric J

This may be contrary to most of what's been said but I do speak from experience and a lifetime of obsessive hobbies. Sometimes you just need to take a break from something you love to do. Burnout is a real thing and it can sap confidence, desire and will and become a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. Take a break for a while, do other things. Try not to think about fishing. Come back to it in a few weeks/month and I think you'll see a difference. Tight lines and good vibes...

I hear ya.... But if it wasn't for the opportunity to get the free rig I doubt I'd be jumping in. Lord knows we all find enough to spend on with standard bass fishing gear. I'd like to start learning and see how deep I want to get. I'm an obsessive personality and go in deep on my hobbies. Between fishing, Tabletop Wargaming and Endurance racing I can spend some bucks... Work hard, play hard... and sneak the new gear in through the back door...

Do you Spin/Baitcast as well? And if so how do you find going back and forth between the two styles?

Flyfisher: Description from site; Eagle Claw Water Eagle; Lightweight reel with click drag, 8'6" composite fly rod (2 pc). Reel holds one spool of 7-8 lb fly line. Slow action5+ tip wire guides.

Through a rewards program at work I have amassed enough points to get free swag. Turns out I can get a Fly combo gratis. I'm interested in Fly fishing for bass and maybe beyond that. Nothing great, an Eagle Claw Water Eagle combo. I love Topwater bass fishing, (along with every other form of bass fishing) and Fly seems to be the epitome of Topwater. Am I crazy? What am I about to get into? Should I run? Any info is appreciated...

I have stayed on a single body of water for 4 hours trying to figure things out and end up catching a hog. Summer's can be tough but being out fishing gives me much needed time away from the world. This morning I ended up with 2 Perch and a dink. Came home relaxed and looking forward to Sunday, my next day out...

Thanks for the input gentlemen. I pass it on my way back from my main local so we'll see. It's a nice quick last cast spot on my way home... ?

Not more than a couple feet at best

I started fishing a pond a business acquaintance told me about. A couple acres with a healthy carp population, turtles , birds etc... plenty of shade, some overhangs. I've pulled a couple dinks out on jigs with Gitzit tubes but nothing more. I've tried topwater without a single hit but one that was likely a turtle. I'm trying to figure out if there are big bass in there. Is it possible the bass population is small because of feeding competition? Is it just summer slow down? No real vegetation and stained water. Any clues to this pond?

I keep reading about or watching videos with people using fully skirted jigs with trailers in vegetation. I own a couple but am reluctant to use them as my locals are like jungles with heavy submerged vegetation. Any advice, thoughts suggestions?

Lunkerhunt popper is my go to topwater. It blue top and soft white under. Has a great rattle and produces nicely for me. Generally the topwater bite in my locals is either on, and I mean on! Or non existent. I do better when rigged on a spinner with mono than on my caster with braid...

Now I have to figure out how to explain the rods and tackle in the car the next time we go to visit my daughter or see a show...

Moved out of NYC (Manhattan) 28 years ago for the Hudson Valley. Never even knew there were fish in Central Park till this season... I gotta get there one of these days!

I'm pretty d**n good with a spinner. Distance, accuracy and line control. Pretty d**n good. Then I got my first Bait caster this season.... What an unbelievable difference. I still love my spinners but man, Casters are a whole nutha level...

It's a tale as old as time....

What LCJ said. Some days a tube dropped into and around submerged vegetation works and others its a ragetail lizard, while others its a Berkeley sinking minnow. If I'm on one of my local pressured lakes I like to talk with other anglers and hear/see what they're using. I usually go with something different to get that reaction. Watch videos and learn different presentations, hook set ups eg Shaky heads, jigs etc... And yup, retrieve can make or break... Good luck and try to enjoy the journey even when the frustration starts to set in...

I don't know about all the rest but my local DSG store is amazing. Fantastic customer service, pretty decent and stocked fishing department and the two times I had a product issue they didn't even blink. They replaced without question. They have me as a loyal customer...

Sounds like a form of pole fishing. Lots of people use the technique for parish. Ten foot pole with line attached that you are essentially drop shotting.

I'm a big Lunkerhunt fan. Initial success has me going back to their poppers time and time again. Great action and sound. Nothing like an explosive hit on the cast landing. Go into any hobby shop and grab a small pot of Matt black and a clear coat. Buiild lots of tabke top models and they take a beating so I can tell you the paints are resilient.

I'm shore now but plan on investing in a Kayak for next season. This is my first baitcaster and yeah... game changer. But why so down on spinners?

Hey all... With this being my first season back in some time I have been content to stick with a spinner on a 6'8 Med/Lt rod and a Baitcaster on a 7' Med/Hvy. Both are the Lew's Carbon Fire combos and I love them. I'm ready to add to the toolbox. Any suggestions as to what to add next would be appreciated. I'm asking about rod/reel types more than brands. (I also have a Lt and an Utra Lt for panfish and trout)

MAN! There is nothing like coming out of a dry spell!! Skunked the past couple weeks, heat, storms all o' that. Got out yesterday for a good amount of time. 2 lakes and a pond later without so much as a follow and I get back home completely down. Last night I watch some Bass Resource videos almost out of desperation. One talked about the hot summer season and he was tubing. Tubes are my favorite go to. But he made a big point of SLOWING down. Got out this morning and hit my local again. Go to one of my spots and start with topwater... Nothing. I go deep, nothing. I hit the dock and same thing. I go over to a bank that is by a dam and has a long hurricaned wall of rip rap with heavy submerged vegetation in front. I grab a tube and cast far out towards the wall where there is shade and remember BR words; SLOW! First cast nothing so I slow down even more. Lures probably about five feet from me and THERE'S THAT FAMILIAR TAP!! Wham! Fish on!! He's barely hooked and I start babbling like Bobby Lane... "Stay on...stay on...stay on...". I barely land him. Couple casts later and the line gets heavy way out and I'm thinking its a mess of vegetation on my hook. So I give it a tug to pull the tube clear and BAM!! Fish on again!! This bad boy gives me a helluva fight, I mean jumping up, going deep, running for grass. AWESOME! Finally land him. A Beauty!! Ain't nothing better than that hook set!

I haven't fished worms in a long while. Just felt nostalgic I guess and picked up some nightcrawlers...

I'm heading out tomorrow to hit a couple spots that have different populations. One is Smallies, trout and panfish while another is LM, chain Pickerel and Crappie. So I picked up some nightcrawlers to cast out a lazy rod...

Ha!