thediscochef

We got a taste of that down here near Dallas this year. It was 10 below on my porch. It was kinda cool the first day but I like having power and being warm. And fishing. I don't know how y'all do it. I'll take the 105 degree/45-50% humidity days on the river if I never have a freeze like that again lol

I tried but it was like 5pm and dark But yeah that was my first inclination

I'm going to be extra curious until I can know for sure. It was close enough to net from above and given how it was acting I don't think it would notice until it was too late if I did it carefully. I'm very eager to go try and figure it out. It made me think it was some kind of carp for sure, but then the color. Then again, the staining of the pond plus the early sunset might have been making it look different. Hard to say but it's officially where my focus is right now lol

I was at a local pond today and saw a tailfin sticking out of the water. The tailfin had the shape and color of the bass I have caught there - semi translucent and rounded off points. However, the body it's attached to appears orange. It's huge. But the pond is super muddy and has a lot of brush and vegetation so I haven't gotten a good look at it other than the tail. It tends to swim its head close to the bank in the vegetation and is uninterested in lures, and doesn't react to much else other than touch. I believe I'm dealing with a multiple-pound goldfish but the tail shape is really making me scratch my head. It was so close to the shore I could have had it with my net which I intend to bring next time. I'm gonna be gone for a few days so this is going to eat at me. What do yall think?

It's a good day. I'm having a good time.

So as it were I had this backwards - bunching at the bottom means you remove washers. Problem solved. Thanks for the time of yalls I may have wasted some of

Hey all, I'm having issues with a brand new xt 35 spinning reel where it bunches at the bottom. I had to fix this with my daiwa fuego so I'm familiar with what needs to happen. The Fuego washers fit the president 30 precisely, so I used them on that. But the president 35 has a fatter spindle and they won't fit, so I need to find a very slightly larger washer. I'm having trouble finding that online. Any help or guidance is appreciated greatly as my next step is to contact Pflueger. Thanks! PS I am a daiwa guy, these are for backups. Got them on a sweet deal but I need them to not knot. ?

It's a good day, I had a good time.

Hey congrats!! That's a pretty fish you got there, looks heavy. I love to see it. Way to go!

It was Dink Day at Ray Roberts - Isle Du Bois I hooked seven about this size, landed five in roughly 68 minutes before it was time to meet the lady for lunch. Good times.

That 5'6" slingshot plus a 2500 shimano is all I used for a while when I was figuring out 1/8oz baits. I caught many largemouth bass up to 2.5lbs, catfish up to 5lbs. I've moved on to more expensive and longer rods but I caught plenty on the slingshot. It handles much like an ultralight and you can't really manhandle it but you will catch fish in the size range you're describing. Great for small brush openings and limited car space.

The same plastic but in White Lightning Caught me a personal best LMB and several 5-10lbs blue catfish

I use this Bruiser McMinnow in smoke black purple flake quite a lot. Does particularly well for me on hot days or in clearer than usual conditions. Excellent for a bare lead ned rig or a smoke chrome chatterbait micro.

At this point my only 'new lures' are new colors of 1/8oz chatterbaits, and various plastics I can rig them with that will impart a lot of action. Always looking for new plastic shapes and colors. But thats about it. I have one lure, one technique. If that's not getting bit, I'm better off changing location before changing techniques. My lady doesn't really fish so that's not been an experience yet.

This. I have a 7' BPS Tourney Special and I hate hate hate the guides on it. It's the rod that made me realize I care about the guides on rods. I saw where you don't have an academy nearby but if you can spare an extra 20 to get an H2OExpress tac40, those are great rods. I have the 7'1" MF as well as the Tac40 V 6'10" and throw 1/8oz baits almost exclusively. Both of those rods are outstanding and currently $79.99. I haven't done much with rods between 20 and 60 dollars, but a bit in the 10-20 and 70-100 ranges. If you want something really cheap, the Zebco Slingshots and Hotcasts will do fine with a decent reel. I figured out 1/8oz chatterbaits and 1/16- neds on a slingshot with a shimano fx2500. Not pretty but it will catch fish just fine. That aside, I can second the Daiwa Aird-x and the Shimano Sellus

neat, that led to some interesting googling. I've seen bass with those spots at BPS Dallas before but never caught one. Cool!

That bass fishing starts with location. If there's not fish there, you're not going to catch them. Also that you can use tackle however you want. It's not stupid if it works. Oh and how to tie a double uni knot in the wind reliably

Two of the larger fish I caught today, out of 6 total in about 2 hours of public pond fishing. I've had days of 10 bass in 2 hours at that pond, but the last couple weeks it's been 0, 1, 2. It was refreshing and assuring to get 5 fish above a pound. All caught on a super beat up chatterbait micro, skirtless, with a BPS split-tail stik-o on the back. The one with black spots was new to me, hadn't seen anything like that before. I'm guessing scars from an old injury?

This I feel good when I get a 2 pounder...until I get a 5 pounder. Great fishes bud!!

The number of types of baits I've snapped off in brush and rocks this year alone without getting a single bite has to be at least five Like the cloud nine crankbait I just snapped off in rocks after 2 hours of ownership. RIP my interest in crankbait fishing, 11/16/21 - 11/16/21. We barely knew ye.

I am also shorebound so I feel you. I would probably also point to the head weight...I always use 1/16 or 1/32. As shallow as shorelines tend to be a 1/32 works great for parallel movement, 1/16 if you're casting out a bit deeper. You may just have too quick of a fall on 1/10 or higher, I know I've never caught anything on a ned over 1/16 much as I have tried. So you may be telling yourself the truth ?‍♂️?

That's odd. Have you tried any of Ned's other five retrieves?

I haven't found a place where I can fish alone either, always someone nearby. I would suggest using something like a chatterbait micro or maybe a really small spinnerbait in the stained places; I've found that a ned rig and similar quiet and subtle techniques don't do as well in stained water unless there's some flash or noise with it. The smaller sized lures have done wonders for enticing picky fish, too. Think "Power Finesse" - compact and easy to strike, but also attention-getting. I've not caught anything on a plastic larger than 4 inches in any of my local waters. Always a small plastic trailer. A slower retrieve than those around you will also sometimes help. I prefer the chatterbait micro because it does all of the above AND can give plastics a swimming motion like an actual baitfish. Blending the ned concepts of compact and subtle sizing with just a little bit of noise and flash of a power lure was revolutionary for me. I've not been completely skunked anywhere since; if there's bass they will eventually eat it though my retrieve may require modification for different bodies of water. The goal is to always look like an easier meal than the actual meals nearby. In the clear lake, maybe a Finesse bug from zman on a weedless ned. The flat belly of the bug should help keep you out of the netting but still near the bottom. Hopefully this giant text wall is helpful, I went through the same issues blaming myself for being bad at fishing until I found something that worked for my specific needs. I don't think there's many bad fishermen out there, just people who haven't quite learned their local lake language yet. That usually only comes with time spent on the water and a good amount of frustration. A lot of lures rely on clear water and you have to get a little creative when everything's stained. You got this!

Everywhere I fish always has some eagle claw or zebco packaging trash left around somewhere; there's just so many people in Dallas/Fort Worth it's hard to find clean public access. June's Bassmaster at Ray Roberts left so much litter that I only stopped finding it in late October. Sickening. I'm still pretty salty about how the park was treated during that event. What kind of water are you fishing? Stained, clear? Lots of fishing pressure, or are you the only person? Both of these will affect how I normally choose baits and retrieves

The few times I've gotten off the shore I've brought my shore stuff and been just fine. One plano 3449 double-sided. I have about every lure type I have ever used just in that one box. Whopper plopper, chatterbait, jointed bluegill, rebel popr, pad crasher Jr, TX rig stuff, and live bait beak hooks. I only ever use the chatterbaits tho