Red

peanut butter and dill pickles peanut butter, cheese, bologna, and mustard on toast, nuke for a few seconds, this one is great for breakfast!!

....about Cliff the unprepared, idiotic angler! First let me say this. I know some of you probebly know this and maybe even live by this rule when fishing. Always be ready, you never know when that one big bite will come. now the story..... i have been out fishing all day today and me and my buddy managed only a couple small fish, we had tried everything and they just were not biting very good. but we kept at it anyway. now the average catch for us recently has been about 1.5lbs, which is pretty good for this tank. occasionally we get one 2.5lbs or so, fun either way. well we were talking about leaving for the day cuz we didnt figure we would catch anymore. i grabbed my other rod(mistake #1, crappy rod and not too powerful, i dont like to use it but i do on occasion to avoid re-tying so much) and i threw out the lake fork live magic shad into very shallow water that we have not caught any fish from in a long long time, they have all come from deeper water. i start crankin it in and i am not paying any attention to my fishing(mistake #2) and i am sitting on my butt indian style(mistake #3) and yappin at my buddy about who knows what(mistake #4). and then it happened, my magic shad gets slammed, and i mean SLAMMED!! literally less than 6 feet from shore!! it surprised the crap out of me because of mistake #4, i get in a sorry excuse for a hookset because of mistake #1,2, and 3. i see the fish and immedialy get to my feet and realize that it is a freakin monster!! now you can think what you like, but i am not exaggerating when i tell you this fish was pushin 10lbs!! i have never caught a fish that big, my PB is 4.1lbs, but i have seen the many hawgs posted on here and this fish was a giant!! so anyway i am fighting the fish now very intently due to a big log nearby and the fact that it was so big and so close to shore i obviously know i is not tired, then i feel the lightness of my rod and see my magic shad flying back at me!!!! then i look and see this fish just sitting there staring at me, as if to say "haha good try sucker!!" i got a really good look at her and she was so freakin huge!! 26 inches or better i bet, and fat too!! now for a few questions for you guys first here is a pic that will give you a good idea of where i am fishing, i threw my bait about ten feet to the right of the two trees you see in the background. thats in about 2-4 feet of water, it drops down to about 10-12 feet if you go about 25-35 feet to the right of them, thats where we have been catching most of our fish, in the deeper water. do you think this big bass had a bed in that shallow water? is it even time for spawning and what not? i dont know much about that. i am determined to go back and catch that fish, but what are the chances it will still be there? what should i throw to increase my chance of her biting again? any info you can give me will be great! lesson learned tho, you wont catch me being unprepared for that one big bite EVER again!! Cliff

i have an S and just love it!! Cliff

i have no boat and no spinning gear, no problems for me ;D

eakins jig for me...5/16

ok thanks, i am gonna send you a PM fletchero

i would love to build my own rod, but i wouldnt even know where to begin? is there a book or a website i can take a look at? any additional info would be great. thanks Cliff

neither, been goin commando for a while now ;D

Not if you have Reel Mech build it! or alpster!! ;D

i am sure the reel will be out of my price range, but his haircut isnt!! i'm gettin one!

Roadwarrior, you wanna get this one? ;D

i did this recently with 12lb pline floroclear...crap!

normally i shave it all off, but you will never see me like that again, not since my nephew(who lives with me and my wife) told me i looked like his daddy(who i despise and is a worthless P.O.S.) its a long story, and my hair is soon to be long as well. Cliff

well i would be happy to check them out, but i am still in the $100 market, would your rods do me any good to try? like if i tried your St.Croix rod and liked the feel of it, then maybe i could look for a rod with a similar feel in my price range? or is that not even a good idea? i think my main concern like you mentioned is the length, i have always used 6' rods, and occasionally a 6'6" rod....so maybe the jump to 7' would take some time to get used to, i am not opposed to that, but if there isnt an actual NEED for the extra length, then why bother right? does anyone make a 6' heavy rod? thanks again Cliff

that sounds good, but where exactly on/in belton would you like me to go? ;D also, i dont know if i should test out any St. Croix or G. Loomis rods, cuz i will never be able to afford them!! anyway i would be more than willing to try out some rods before i buy, but there is only academy here, and they have kinda crappy selection in my opinion thanks for the info guys! i will keep you posted as to what i am looking at Cliff

i do but it is very "generalized" here is what i entered after my last trip this past weekend 2-24 Golf course, morning, sunny and chilly. caught three fish over two lbs. a 2-0, 2-12, and a 3-3. all on jig except the 2-12 was on a magic shad in the very small tank. great day! i just copied and pasted that right from my log....as you can see i dont get into much detail...i guess if i was on a boat with a graph i would record more info, like temps and stuff....but for me this works ok. i did it last year too, but i wasnt very disciplined with it and i missed alot of trips, so far this year every trip has been entered. Cliff

mine is broke, so if it gets cold, you turn it on until it is hot, then you turn it off. if it gets hot, i turn on the window AC(with the remote ;D) when i first moved here the electric bill was well over $200, i went around and caulked all the windows, it went down to $130 and hasent gone back up! Cliff

i fish mainly from shore, but i plan to get a boat this year. i am looking into buying a new rod to use specifically for jiggin. from shore i dont typically fish very heavy cover, but if i was to get a boat, i might find myself in the thick stuff more often. think i should go ahead and get a heavier rod just to be preparred, or go with something lighter for now and worry about that issue when it happens? right now i am using my custom 6' MH for just about all my fishing, i have a daiwa procaster-z that needs a rod, what length would you recommend that will also be usuable from shore(casting room is not an issue)? what would be a good power and action to use in the event that i do end up with a boat and fish heavier cover? also i cast and pitch my jigs, depends on where i am. any tips and info you could give me regarding a jiggin rod will be much appreciated. also, i am looking to keep it around $100, feel free to make a recommendation of a specific rod! or should i just use my current rod for this and buy something totally different? thanks a bunch! ;D Cliff

for me this year is gonna be the year of the jig.....i did ok with it last year and have been doing good with it so far this year, but i really want to get it down pat......i also want to catch a 5lber plus. my PB is 4.1lbs...also would like to do better with buzzbaits. Cliff

i had that happen but on a much smaller scale, a 36 inch muskie ate my ten inch walleye, i caught them both!!

welcome to the forum, i am in Waco and the fishing has been pretty decent around here the last couple weeks, i fish mainly golf course ponds here locally Cliff

my PB

i look for areas of the shoreline that are easily accessible with the golf cart (so i dont have to walk to far) and dont have too much crap in the way of casting, and have good areas that have sturdy ground to stand on ;D Cliff

sorry to hear it...terrible news for sure. Cliff

actually forget it, i forgot i have no public waters that are worth my while for this, i only fish private stock tanks and golf course tanks....thanks anyway! Cliff