Your tips and tricks

[bazzelite19]

- the lightest practical line and the heaviest practical lure will facilitate longer casts.

- the dirtier the water, the shallower the fish

- when Texas rigging, thread the plastic along the seems so it is straight. Especially with ribbontails- so they swim better. 

- when rigging a grub be sure the tail curls below the hook so it swims correctly. 

- use a toothpick for many things. Poke through your texas rig eye to keep your plastic up. Push one through your jig chunk crosswise above the hook so it holds it on. Use them to peg bullet weights in a pinch. Dont twist and break it off to keep from damaging line. Just snip it off flush

- to remove a backlash apply pressure to the spool with your cast thumb. Turn the handle while pushing with thumb . pull line out. Repeat if it doesnt work at first. Dont try to force it out and yank on it. You'll damage ur line. Especially with fluoro.

- to skip Texas rigs smash a lead weight with a hammer with a toothpick in the hole so you can skip it. 

-when spooling up a whiffled spool, all you have to do is stick the line in a hole and simply wind it on.. No knots 

- to make a rod stiffer in a pinch wrap sections of tape around the upper blank bet. Guides

-to practice skipping make a short cast and wrap electric tape around the spool. No more backlashes really deep

- practice using a hook hone to keep hooks sharp. 

- use lures in unorthodox ways.. Slow roll a jerkbaits instead of ripping it. Let a buzzbait sink by a dock then rip it hard and let it fall.. What bass actually has seen that? Carolina rig a floating rattletrap.

- try using a swinghead jig over a t- rig in sparse cover areas.

- to get better action with your texas rig dont peg it.

-carolina rigs are still good. They can present a weightless bait deep even in windy conditions. Nothing else can do that.

- stop tying full carolina rigs. Use a bobber stop instead of a swivel so you can adjust leader length. And even instantly slide it back down to be a texas rig. And then back up when you need a c rig. If you dont have a bobber stop then try a top brass peg it.

- tired of buying neko weights? Try collecting some wire hangers. Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch sections to stuff in plastics. Works great. 

[Bigassbass]

Have fun, enjoy being outside, do what ever it takes to catch a fish. 

[GreenPig]

Make some kind of journal. I use my phone and take pics of my truck dash when I arrive at the lake for air temp, depth finder for water temp, and every fish with the lure it was caught on. My phone automatically logs the date, time, and location. This is very beneficial after a couple years of fishing a lake. I just look through my gallery the night before a trip see what I caught them on last year and the year before around those dates and adjust for warmer or colder water temps. I tried the paper journal but failed to maintain it after getting up a 4am fishing all day in the heat or cold then drive home, parking the boat, feeding the cows, and eating supper, I wound up napping for 8 or 9 hours. 

[scaleface]

Heres a trick I came up with for fishing the Stanley Ribbet . First , when reinserting the hook do it a little bit short which causes the belly to bow  down slightly ,like a canoe . This will negate the bait from flipping over and coming in upside down . Also I punch out these little  rubber disc from a bicycle inner-tube. Place one on the hook before reinserting the hook in the toad . Place the point in the slot then position the disc against the body . Skin hooking will not be necessary . Its just enough pressure to keep the hook positioned and also slide down easily during a hook-set.

[billmac]

Enjoy yourself.  If you enjoy fishing even if you don't catch anything, then paradoxically, you will catch fish.

 

I have often returned home wishing I had caught some fish, but I've never come home wishing I hadn't gone fishing.