paul.

y'all please forgive me if i don't tell the exact bait this time, at least not for a while. it is just such a great bait and no one around here is using it as far as i know. i'd kinda like to keep it that way as long as i can. you can tell by the way fish commit to and hit this bait they are totally fooled by it. they want to EAT IT, not just strike it. i always wondered why cali bassers spent so much money on swimbaits when there were perfectly good "tried and true" baits around for much cheaper. now i think i'm starting to figure it out.

way to go fpb. another recruit to the swimbait army. nice fish bud.

man i have been wanting to get on the swimbait bandwagon for so long. to tell the truth though, i've been kinda skeptical about whether swimbaits would really work around here. it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, or so i thought. i guess it just took going a while without a big fish to get me to try one of these high priced suckers. honestly though, i took the easy way out and got a regular sized one just to make sure i caught something on it to build my confidence. didn't take long though. as of now, my confidence is officially built. after having this bait only a few days, i got a nice one today. and this is in addition to all the regular size fish i've caught in the short time i've had it. yeah, i'm hooked. thanks a lot lbh, your post was the last straw. ;D i just had to get a swimbait after that. i've gotta say i have been super impressed with my very limited experience with swimbaits so far, and really i'm still very much in the learning stages. for one, i've been catching fish in the heat of the day on 'em, when you are "supposed" to be fishing plastics this time of year. for another thing, i am amazed at how easy these are to use. last, the versatility is really cool. there are things you can do with these baits that you just can't do with others. well, here's the pic. 7-3 on the digital. my name is paul and i'm a swimbait addict............

nice catches. glad y'all have found a bait ya like.

that's great man. what a fat, healthy looking fish. congrats big time.

very nice. big congrats to you and your boy. i know y'all are both proud.

very, very nice dude. great fish and pix.

very good stuff paul. i really like the way you think and i've learned some new words and enriched my vocabulary by reading your posts. ;D ;D ;D i think when it comes to bassin', you really know your stuff. i agree with that totally, but i think there may be more to it than just the food factor. for what it's worth, here's my take on structure and key bassin' areas. many folks key on certain cover or structural elements in terms of being prime areas. this works and certainly there is nothing wrong with this approach. but i have always viewed the best "big fish areas" in a broader sense. i think at a minimum, all animals have 3 basic needs - food, reproduction, and security. bass are no exception. when you find an area where all 3 of these needs can be met within close proximity of each other, in my opinion you've found a bass goldmine. in the lake i fish the most as well as other lakes i have fished, bigger bass can be caught at a variety of locations depending on seasonal factors. yet there are a precious few select areas (roughly within 50 to 75 yards square) where big fish are consistently caught regardless of seasonal factors. why? because within these small areas, the fish can meet all their needs so they tend not to stray too far away. i view these areas almost like a "bass house" for lack of a better way of putting it. there is a bedroom (a cove or other good spawning area), a kitchen (a feeding area, usually a flat or a point they can move up on) and a living room (deeper water sanctuary, preferably with a structural element to it ). i think fishing areas like this and finding the "sweet spots" within them really increases an angler's odds of catching a giant fish. i've heard all my life there are 3 factors to consider in evaluating real estate value - location, location, and location. obviously it's the same with bassin' real estate. find a good lookin' hump or ledge? great. is it close to a grassy or stumpy flat? even better. is there a point nearby? better still. you get the picture. the more key features that are crammed into an area, the better it is in my book. sometimes it's not so much about the structure itself, as much as what the structure is close to. some may disagree, but that's my $.02.

beauty! way to go.

cool day. flukes are great. that one will be the first of many, many more i'm sure. congrats.

that's cool bro. way to stick 'em gavin! fantastic job.

thanks for the nice words as always y'all. i was using a big chunk of hot dog for bait. the cat went back in the lake. brats and sauerkraut for my supper. yum, yum.

man, that's awesome kent! i'm sure y'all just sit there and ate lunch while he held on to the pole. with a fish that size, you're gonna be there for a while even on fairly heavy equipment. ;D a fish that big on 6 pound test is quite a feat no doubt! i didn't weigh this fish buddy. i'm guessin' in the 12-15 pound range. if only i could get a bass that size this afternoon. yeah, right. :;D

yeah, yeah, i know it's a bass forum. ;D but honestly, the bassin' has only been so-so here lately for me. decent numbers most trips, but no real size to 'em. decided to go after something that would stretch the string a little more today. lucked up and got this nice channel cat this morning. to put the icing on the cake, i caught it on fairly light spinning tackle. as usual with this kind of gear, i sorta wondered who had who for a while. this kitty gave a real good account of herself with several LONG drag burning runs. well that's a pretty good beginning. i'm gonna bass fish a while now so we'll see what happens there. hope y'all are catchin' some too.

very nice. you are catching a very good grade of fish for our neck of the woods and doing it consistently too. much respect to ya.

cool combo and very nice fish. way to go buddy.

very cool post kent. great insights buddy. one thing i have learned is that you cannot "make" a big fish happen. you put yourself in the right places and situations at the right times with the right equipment and baits. then you "let" it happen. and sooner or later, it will. but you cannot be preoccupied with your previous cast or anxious about the next. you have to fish the moment. when you try to "make" it happen you push, you press, you hurry, you make mistakes. you give up on spots and baits too soon. hawg hunting is many times a waiting game. but no matter how long the wait, whether hours or months, the reward is always worth it. there is absolutely no feeling in the world like knowing for a fact that you tricked and caught the biggest bass swimming in a given body of water. i wish everyone the best of luck in the noble quest for their "fish of a lifetime".

very nice. way to stay on 'em man.

plenty of times i haven't gone fishin' and wished i had. very few have i gone and wished i hadn't. as you've shown above, it doesn't take long to realize that it's about a whole lot more than catchin' something. real nice post and sorry about your loss.

more great fish. stay on 'em buddy.

roadwarrior wrote a good thread a while back on techniques to catch fish using senkos and ikas when all else fails. i always start with lipless cranks to cover water and pick off the active fish. this also gives me some pretty quick feedback about several key variables. once i've found my key areas for the day i fish them with a system of going progressively slower and lower into the water column using spinnerbaits and plastics among other things (unless of course the rattlebait is producing and then i stay with that.). one mistake i have seen a lot of fishermen make is to misjudge the mood of the fish this time of the year. a lot of guys start off slow and when they don't get bites, they slow down even more assuming the fish are inactive. in reality, the opposite may be the case and speeding up your retrieves may be just what the dr. ordered. i've seen many a bad day salvaged by a rattlebait. hope that helps ya buddy.

very, very nice. way to put the smack down on 'em.

good 'uns!

i know this will sound pretty hollow right now, but i guess it's better to have fought a monster and lost then never to have fought one at all. truth be told, even having a fish of this caliber on is something many, many great anglers will never experience. losing 'em sometimes is all part of the game man. it happens to all of us. like any other sport there is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. as you see, sometimes these extremes can come within seconds of one another. my advice is USE THIS!!!! let it light the fire in ya and motivate you like never before. before this experience, you probably never thought a fish like this was within reach. now you know she is, or another one like her. time, intelligence, desire, and technology are all on your side. at least you got to share this moment with your dad. that's worth a lot right there. sounds like y'all did everything you could. the only thing i'd throw out there in terms of a suggestion is to consider bringing a net next time. i know it's inconvenient for bank fishin', but sometimes it can make all the difference in the world. sorry for your pain buddy.

great post man. sounds like a great time.