paul.

great catch, especially after not fishing for a while. you'll be busting double digits soon. i can just feel it.

very nice man. sounds like you're really on 'em!

9 lbs. 2 oz.

12-2 - deadly swamp rat (foam mouse) 10-0 - 1/2 oz. willow leaf spinnerbait. glimmer blue skirt 14-2 - strike king jig w/ zoom brush hog trailer 11-5 - strike king jig w/ yum craw trailer 10-6 - strike king jig w/ 3x chunk trailer 10-5 - strike king jig w/ 3x chunk trailer 13-8 - oldham's trailer hitch jig w/ brush hog trailer 10-6 - 1/2 oz. rattletrap 11-4 - flw jig with 3x chunk trailer 10-15 - rapala x-walk these are the top 10 fish i've caught on lures. you'll notice that 6 out of 10 came on the jig including both the teens. i don't think that's a coincidence. i don't do the trophy hunting thing much anymore, but even now i still love to fish a jig b/c i have found it to be a great numbers bait as well in the right situations. i guess it just comes down to what you have confidence in. all these fish were caught in TN. hope this helps.

what makes you think i'd fish something like that? i mean that's just out in the middle of the lake, not even close to a bank. fish don't live out there, do they? heckuva guess though.

now that's a big ole hawg right there bud. whatever it was that told you to fish there, i'd make sure i listened to it in the future. can't argue with results like that!

thank you so much Steve for all of the free, yet PRICELESS expertise you were willing to share on this project. there's no one in the world i'd rather consult with on matters of jigs, heavy cover, and big bass. amazing fish you got there. and you are right, this hook will dig a hole to china on the hookset. yet fish stay buttoned up so well. i thought i was gonna have to use a jackhammer to dig it out of a few.

great pb. a big congrats to ya.

jig 'n monkey wins! got this one plus many more today on the brand new "Big O" brush jig from Gman at Siebert Outdoors. color to be announced later. ragetail space monkey trailer. this jig is everything i hoped it would be and then some. thanks Mike!!!

love these jigs more and more every time i fish 'em. another great day using 'em today. the hook is an absolute monster. strong as can be, but sets with the ease of light wire. and this hook holds a point like nobody's business. even after weeks of hanging fish after fish (and the occasional tree ), there is no noticeable difference in sharpness between the ones i've been using and the brand new ones i've got. and i've yet to jack or roll a point - something i've done all too often with other so called "premium" hooks. even using 7 foot rods, 50 lb. braid, and wrecking ball force hooksets, this jig comes through unscathed time after time. and best of all, i've not lost one fish that i've put a hook in. i've put this jig through some serious torture, and it's come through with flying colors. i've not lost a single strand of weedguard and it remains as well anchored in the jig as it did the day i took it out of the package. the paint job still looks great. this baby is built like a tank. fantastic job Mike!!! you've really outdone yourself on this one.

"Side note - we hit a grand slam the other night, catching a bass, catfish, bluegill, turtle, and racoon all in the same night. That coon was not very amused." you've been on quite a rampage here lately. no aquatic creature is safe. seriously though, you've had a great summer. that's awesome because summer fishing can really be tough sometimes.

http://ragetalk.com/index.php?topic=3033.0

2 suggestions. have you tried punching through the hydrilla with heavy jigs or pegged t-rigs? the fact that you can see the bass suggests you are fishing in open water. especially during the hot part of the day, there will be fish holed up in the thickest vegetation. dropping something on their head is a sure way to get bit. the other suggestion that i would make is try fishing faster baits like a rage shad or rage toad accross the top. fast presentations will often force a bass to commit since they don't have a chance to study the bait.

so many rewards come from pond management - the pride of accomplishment, the satisfaction of overcoming challenges, and the sheer fun of catching fish you've raised yourself. but for me, as well as many of y'all, the biggest reward is the abilty to pass something on to those you love. here are a few pics from a little outing with my niece and nephew this spring. i was so tickled to see them enjoying themselves at the pond catching these nice bass. many folks would tell you that kids are not supposed to catch fish like this. it creates unrealistic expectations. it makes fishing seem too easy. it sets them up for disappointment. really? well, if i've got my way, these kids will always be able to catch fish like this. they won't ever be disappointed when they come to uncle paul's pond. they'll ask every time they see me when they can come back and catch some more fish. sadly, this pond was ruined in the flood of the century shortly after these pictures were taken. the water got so high that the vast majority of the fish were washed out into a field through the overflow. there was so much water coming out of the pond that i found dead fish over 100 yards away from the pond once it stopped raining. it was kind of brutal to see all those dead lunkers out there in the field. i won't complain though. many folks lost much more in that flood than just a few fish. i have since rectified the problem so that i won't lose any more fish due to high water. i have been in the process of re-stocking. the setback has only made me more determined to succeed. i have scrapped many of my old techniques in an effort to improve. time will tell. but if i have my way, i'll be seeing plenty more pictures like this. hope y'all are catching some too. http:// http://

the ragetail baby thumper proved to be the perfect bait for my dad last week. with his arthritis, he cannot consistently sink big hooks, especially with the spinning tackle he has to use. and in the stuff we were fishing, exposed hooks are out of the question. so i rigged him up with the baby, a picasso pro metal 1/8 oz. bullet weight, and the tiny but deadly owner 1/0 cutting point. it was as if he'd magically lost 20 years as he connected with fish after fish on the t-rigged baby. the design of the bait means there is very little plastic to come through and the consistency is of the plastic allows hooks to easily penetrate without tearing up the bait. i'll guarantee ya that for a few chaotic hours, my dad forgot he even had arthritis. when the smoke cleared, we had whacked 'em and stacked 'em to the tune of 50+ fish. and dad caught most of 'em. he said it was the best day of worm fishing he had EVER had. that encompasses 70 years worth of fishing, so that's a compliment of the highest regard to this amazing bait. the baby thumper is the perfect bait for old folks, kids, folks with physical challenges, and newcomers because it allows for a big margin of error in the hooksetting department. in fact, with the rig i described above, you can consistently sink the hook just by reeling and keeping steady pressure on the rod. there's just not much that the baby can't do. for a few precious hours last week, it even turned back the hands of time. thanks for another wonderful memory Steve! http://

my favorite havoc bait. great on a t-rig. even better rigged "sideways" and used as a swimbait with a keel weighted hook.

1. ragetail rage craw. 2. bullet weights in assorted sizes. 3. 3/0 and 4/0 owner hooks. 4. 3/8 to 3/4 oz. jigs. 5. super spook. 6. 1/2 oz. xcalibur xr50. 7. 3/8 and 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits. 8. rapala x-rap, x-rap shad, and dt series in varying depths. 9. senkos 10. zoom mag II worms. fish these properly at the right times and right places. if you don't get bit, go home because all the bass in the lake are dead.

you're on fire. sounds like you put the hurt on 'em. keep up the good work man.

i can tell you're a proud dad, and you should be. y'all had a lot of fun it sounds like.

one day when he's winning tournaments or catching 10 pounders, you'll look back on this day and remember how it all began. good job man. way to get him out there.

that is a nice healthy fish right there for sure. i'll take 'em like that any day of the week. twice on sundays. stay on 'em man.

thanks y'all. i was just barely inching the bait along the bottom on a light 3/16 oz. tungsten t-rig with a 3/0 owner long shank offset hook. (I'm not a big fan of the EWG hook style). they wanted it very S L O W. one interesting thing about this trip was that i intentionally left the graph at home. of course that's not a big deal on a small (about 130 acres) lake that you know fairly well. but for some reason, it just seems like i usually catch more/bigger fish when i either don't bring the graph or i just ignore it. i think for one thing it forces you to be more in tune with your senses and what is happening on each cast. for another thing, you have to fish more thoroughly to determine if there are fish in an area or not instead of just glancing at a screen (which can be misleading). it is this type of deliberate, methodical approach that i think is often conducive to getting to getting the big bite. by leaving my electronic brain at home and dusting the cobwebs off of the real one, feeble as it is, i was reminded yesterday of some subtle little things that can make a big difference. for example, you can often tell by the way fish are hitting a soft plastic and taking off with it (or not) whether there are other active fish in the area. oh who the heck am i kidding? i just left the graph at home because i'm lazy and i hate having to hook up extra crap.

just a few thoughts come to mind here. first and foremost, fish how you wanna. the great thing about this sport is that everyone can do it in the ways that make them happy. if you wanna target 8+ bass with spinning gear and 10 pound test, power to ya. but really big fish seem to come along so rarely. when they do, it's nice to be able to put 'em in the boat. sure spinning gear and light line will get the job done IF you do everything right, IF you don't have equipment problems, and IF the terrain will allow. those are 3 very big if's right there. a big fish will quickly expose the weakest link(s) in your tackle. so imo it's best not to have any weak links. not only that, but you have to totally wear down a big fish with light tackle. in the summer with hot water and thin oxygen, that can be a bad deal for the fish and it increases chances for mortality. the chances that the fish will die are further compounded if you break it off and leave a hook in it. in the long run, it's probably better for you and the fish if you beef up your tackle a little. either way, i wish you nothing but luck and hope you get her next time. wanna see a picture when you do.

glad you to fish some. bad weather can be frustrating, but also very productive. nice fish and that's a pretty sweet looking swimbait setup.

congrats big time to you Clay. you caught a huge fish and you've got one of the best fishing buddies in the whole world.