Bass_Akwards

Yep.

Dude...how well do you think the fish would hold to the sloping end of the diving pool? I mean would you be in the shallows and throw a deep diving crank and have it follow going from deep to shallow, or would you go shallow to deep? OR would you throw a spinner bait and hit each level of the water colum? Running it just below the surface to slow rolling it across the bottom???? Yep. It's a sickness and I'll be seeking help right after the fishing season ends.

Was bass fishing two summers ago. Threw a 3/4oz Rattle trap out. Before it hit the bottom I thought I felt a tick so I yanked hard. Setting the hook felt like I set it into a heavy immovable log. I felt it shake and my line started running. The fish half spooled me before it slowed down. I was verbally saying outloud "Oh my God please let me land this fish" I must have said that or something like it ten times while trying to get this fish to shore. I 100% could not controll where it went, or when. It was on for 5 minutes minimum and all I could do was try reeling it in as close to me as i could. Every time I got that fish within 30 feet of shore it woulld just take off again and take 40 yards of line with it. I thought i felt it getting tired and had it to about 20 feet from shore when........... BOING! My rattle trap came flying at my face at 200mph. UNREAL! No lost hooks, no broken line. Nothing. I'm guessing I perhaps snagged a 25 pound carp or something? Either that or I really did have the Colorado bass of a lifetime come off somehow. The way my rattle trap just came flying out of the water, I'm thinking I probably had snagged the fish in the side or something. I'm not sure. I remember being so darn mad though not being able to bring that fish in. I yelled a loud obscenity 5 or 6 times and threw my rod in a bush kinda hard. I actually made a couple posts on bass resource when it happened and asked people what they thought I hooked. I also posted about if anyone gets as mad as I do when they lose a big fish. Most people said "No." Guess I'm a little hot headed when I lose a monster.

Frankly no matter what bait I'm using, single hook or treble, I find that I'm doing a sweeping hookset from left to right. It goes from 8:00-2:00 on a clock. I very rarely lose a fish once i have it buttoned. For vertical fishing, like when I drop shot short casts from the boat, or even when I'm flipping and pitching short I do a 6:00-12:00 hook set. Use the correct sized Gammy hooks for your baits, they're super sharp. At very least, always sharpen your hooks every handful of fish you catch. Especially cranks that you've been pulling through timber and such. Make sure you're setting the hook at the right time as well. If your timing is early, you're screwed. Some baits you have to wait a 1/2 a second longer to set the hook, buzzbaits and frogs for example. Perhaps you're a little anxious to catch fish on this lure. Experiment with letting the bass take the bait longer before setting the hook. Don't get cute either. Have a hard, committed, "I'm not screwing around" type of hookset. Let your hands get "soft" when the bass is on. Don't squeeze the rod like you want to choke it to death. Have soft hands!

.....And if you don't catch anything, how ticked can you really be? Wouldn't you rather be on the water TRYING to catch them as opposed to sitting on the couch watching TV?

You're probably right but watch. I'll go fishing tomorrow and see some guys using a "Crankait and Pig." Nothing like slapping a Yum Super Chunk on the back of a Rapala DT-10. I'll probably see some dude putting Jig skirts on a 10'' swimbait, or drop shotting a spinnerbait.

Dude don't sweat it, I do the same thing when I drive by the local pool. THAT'S when you know you need help.

Sick! Thanks!

I thought stroking your tube in public was illegal!

I like that one section on the straight up North side of the lake where it goes 5/10/15/20/25 feet. that's where I'd start. Bass like those flats with deep water access. Park the boat near shore and make casts to the deep water and bring the bait up to the shallows. See what happens. No guarentees but I like fishing spots like that in the spring. Also, that sick little spot smack dab in the middle of the lake where it's only 5 feet deep and then drops to 25 feet on one side and 45 on the other. VERY interesting spot there imo especially because it's right off a fat point. I like it.

1. How does he feel about the fact that a world record has to be 2 ounces bigger than the last world record to be an actual solo record? 2. His most productive artificial bait over the years as well as his most productive live bait for big bass? 3. How is his life different than it was before he caught the world record?

Yep. Over at Pit D's smaller pond I see those bullfrog tadpoles by the dozens just sunning themselves on the rocks. My friend and I have always wondered how they could just sit there all day, seemingly not even worried about being lunch and/or dinner. I've seen large bass just swim by them without either one even flinching. They must taste like they look.

Hey Paul, do the people at the Department of Zoology, at Eastern Illinois University make these observations in the basses actual habitat or in an observation tank? I've always felt that science and nature sometimes don't parallel each other. Not saying that in this case obviously, but I'm curious just the same. How did Mattlures learn of this? Experience bass fishing or some other way?

Just wanted to see who the shore anglers are and who the boaters are at BR. Do you own a boat/float tube or fish from ONLY from shore? If you have a picture of your rig, put it up here please.

Are you absolutely 100% positive that the things you hear and see jumping are bass? I see fish jumping all the time at my ponds and many times it's really hard for me to tell what's actually jumping because it happens so fast. MANY times those jumpers are carp so if that's the case on your lake/pond, try moving to another side of the fishery and try your luck there. If you ARE 100% sure they're bass, take Catt's advice and understand that sometimes these shad hunters won't even touch an artificial bait. Try fishing in your spot again for 20 minutes with a Senko or a Ika and if you still can't get bites MOVE.

Not as frightning as pulling both those things up on two consecutive casts to the same spot, but I get your point.

Sounds good. 101 please.

USA TODAY WOULD READ Radunsky was overheard by other anglers on the lake as he reeled in the 25.12 pound goliath saying "OH MY GOD!" "lOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT BASS! "I OWE EVERYTHING TO THE WONDERFUL ANGLERS AT BASS RESOURCE!"

Read RW's (or was it LBH's) writeup on how to catch fish with a Senko and/or Fat Ika and follow it to a "T" Since you're stuck on shore and since you have no topo maps of your lake, and since you have no clue where and what the structure is on your lake, you have to do some guess work. If I'm you, I'm spending a truck load of time walking around the lake with polarized sunglasses. I'm going to be looking for things that matter to an angler and a bass. Things like humps. Things like brush under the surface. Rocks and boulders. Changes in the surface of the bottom like if it goes from rocky to sandy. All these things can be seen from shore at the right pond or lake. You should also be paying attention to what's going on on land as well. Take a windy point for example. This is a feature that matters to bass, and should matter to you as well. Dont just walk to the lake or pond aimlessly while thinking of all the difficulties of the day, or who won the playoff game last night. Be thinking about BASS! Notice as you are walking to your lake, how perhaps a 100 yard long grassy area on the South shore suddenly turns into a much more rocky area, where there's lots of big boulders. When this happens on land, many times it's continuing/extending out into the water as well. Bass love these spots sometimes so you might as well notice them, and fish them while you're there as opposed to just throwing in some random spot and preying. It's not "Lure" advice you should be worried about. If you're "on fish" you're going to catch them once you thow some baits at them. Worry about WHERE you're fishing, not WHAT you're fishing. Lastly, we're in the spring time. It's spawn and pre spawn time. Start fishing flatter areas that have access to deep water. Fish those edges, and fish cover and any noticeable structure near spots like that and see what happens. Go out there with a plan of attack. A strategy. Use correct tactics within your strategy and it will come together.

Absolutely 100% no doubt about it yes, I'd want my name attached. The fish can still be the focus. Look what happened with Mac Weekly, Jed Dickerson, and Winn. Dotty became the most famous bass in history arguably, and those guys had a National Geographic documentary done on them. They became bass fishing legends, and so did the fish. I work my arse off learning how to catch big bass. I spend countless hours on the water fishing in spots where the big fish live. This means I can go a few outings without catching a darn thing (rare but it happens), when I could be home with my fiance or working on my business, or playing poker, or skiing, or doing some other thing I love. If I'm going to give up doing a ton of things I love, I'm going to want some love and respect when I finally achieve my goal of a state record, or God for bid a world record. Maybe I'm a narcisistic little punk. Maybe my need to be noticed is to high, but I don't care. If I catch a 12 pound bass here in Colorado, I'll be damned if everyone on this board, as well as all my friends, as well as all the Colorado fishing message boards, won't know my name and see a photo of me holding the monster fish with a gigantic smile on my face. To me, it takes skill to consistantly catch big fish, and for ME, maybe not anyone else, but for ME, catching a record would be a cumulative thing, where all the work I've put in, and all the hours of studying I've done and all the reading about fishing I've done, and the thousands and thousands of casts I've made and the hundreds of lures I've lost, and countless bass I've caught in the past, all added up to catching a record. With all that sacrifice, I would want the recognition. Maybe if I was some lucky weekend angler who just turned 16 and caught the record on a live worm on the 86th cast of my life the recognition wouldn't matter as much, maybe not, but the fact is, I would want to tell my story, and make sure people know that my catch wasn't a fluke. If possible, I would want my name in lights in times square, and on the little ticker thing on the bottom of the TV screen on CNN if I happen to catch "The One." I can picture it now on the cover of the USA Today! Boulder Colorado angler Todd Radunsky catches world record Largemouth bass in Mexico!!!

So you're definately sure it's cold water then? If so, is it a circulation thing? Why do some bass take longer than others to get rid of the red teeth?

Caught this 16 incher and this Just over 17 incher tonight. They were caught 20 feet from each other about 10 minutes apart. Water temps in mid 60's. One red teeth, one not. So weird

Headed to BPS in a little bit (got two gift cards for my birthday). I'm buying my first baitcasting reel. I want to spend about $100.00. Should I get something like the Pro Qualifyer? Or should I go with another brand entirely? I was listening to Rick Clunn talk about how insanely important it is to have a killer breaking system to avoid most backlashing so I guess I'd want a great breaking system being sort of a baitcasting rookie and all. Also, what line should I get to go with the reel you recommend? I fish lots of different cover like weeds and timber and rocks. I like making long casts with cranks and short casts to pitch and flip to heavy cover so a versitile long casting line that doesn't get nested easily would be great. Thanks guys.

Don't ever trust any sources except those that actually matter. If you hear something insane like that, take it with a grain of salt and call the next person who'd know like you did in the case of the Denver Bassmasters member or the fisheries staff in NY. Otherwise you'll drive youself crazy. Never believe this garbage until it's honestly confirmed. If it's not absolutely 100% truely confirmed by the people who really are in the know, I consider it BS. That's lame that our C&R record is bogus. Can't we get that taken off the books? Can anyone just BS and say they have the C&R record? Don't you at least have to have a picture or a witness or something?

Fishing heating up here in Colorado. I rarely post my fish for some weird reason, but here's a couple pre spawners, Boulder Colorado style.