Rebbasser

I prefer to go with a buddy, but I'll go alone if I can't round abybody up to go with me.

I base it on water temp. When the water is below, say, 45, which isn't too often in South Texas I like real pork. Above 50 I use a plastic chunk, and when the water gets above 65 I use either a plastic chunk or the back end of a creature bait like a brush hog or baby brush hog. I like plastic simply because it is easier to use and less messy than pork-no brine to spill and much easier to get off the hook.

Sounds like panfish to me. They like to grab the tail and trying to swim off with it.

What Raul said ;D

Good questions, Nick. Walking the dog is a retrieve used with a topwater bait like a Zara Spook. You cast the bait out, reel in the slack, and give it a jerk with your rod tip. When you jerk it the bait turns either right or left, and jerk it again and it turns back to the right, then left, etc. It takes a little practice to get in rhythm, because after you jerk you need to crank the handle a little bit to take up the slack. It is a real effective way to fish, though. Fishing over the slop is a little bit specialized since a lot of baits won't work because of the weeds. However, you can fish it real effectively. There are baits like frogs you can use, but you cn also use worms, lizards-just about any soft plastics. Just fish them with no weight. Some of the frogs have enough weight to get some distance on the cast. For your pond the algae would be cover, but without weeds, etc. I would throw a crawfish colored crankbait that runs deeper than the water you are fishing so it would dig into the bottom kicking up a mud trail, or a Carolina rig which will also dig up a mud trail.

Been using XL for years-does the job for me real well.

Great story. For those of y'all who's dad is still around take advantage of it! I lost my dad back in '02, but I have a lot of great memories. My one regret is he passed about 8 months before I bought my bass boat and he never got to go out with me in it. But, since we are talking about dads here is one of my favorite memories: I was fishing with my dad in a 15ft fiberglass boat with a 25 horse engine. I was in the front and foul hooked a small shad so I decided to put it on a hook and drop it on the bottom for catfish. This was in January I think, and while the water was a little chilly the air wasn't-usually isnt in South Texas . We had one of those old, MASSIVE tackleboxes, the one that is green aluminum hip roof with about 20 trays on each side and it was wide open. As I stepped off the deck, I stepped on the tackle box and lost my balance. As I was falling I grabbed a swivel seat (the operative word here is swivel) to break my fall. Well, the seat did what it was designed to do: swivel. As I swung aroung I hit my dad from behind. You guessed it. The next thing I knew my dad was gone. Then, a hand appeared on the side of the boat immediately followed by my soaking wet father's head. His hat was gone and his glasses were hanging from one ear. He had this look of disbelief on his face that was so funny I couldn't keep from laughing. I then asked him the first thing that came to mind: "Hey Dad, how deep is it". His response was pretty straight forward: "I DON'T GIVE A D*** HOW DEEP IT IS, GET ME OUT OF HERE!". Here is where we started to have trouble. I could hardly get him in the boat because we were both laughing so hard. I still bust out laughing when I remember that.

Good idea Abelfisher. Thanks!

Seymour, a Senko is a soft plastic stick bait. there are a number of different brands now, but the Senko was the original. I prefer Tiki Sticks which are made by Wave Worms. Here is what one looks like: I fish them rigged either weedless: Except I keep the point of the hook buried in the plastic rather than "Texposed" like the picture shows, or rigged Wacky: In both cases I cast them out, let them sink, and work them with gentle twitches of the rod tip. I also fish them with no added weight-the way it sinks is one of it's fish catching qualities.

The bass fisherman's dilemma. I finally had to buy a boat to hold all my tackle, and it still isn't big enough ;D. When I get to that point, usually with soft plastics, I determine what I will or will not use and remove those I Will not use. I put them in a plastic box on the shelf in the garage and occasionally end up rotating baits when I go through the boat again.

Yep, you are hooked. Welcome the the obsession! If you have a question, ask away even if you think it is a dumb question because when it comes to bass fishing the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked. Meantime, here is a great site that has a lot of great info for someone getting started. You may have alredy seen it, but if not: http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

They sure would. Glad it didn't get broken. Those things aren't cheap.

Welcome to the forum! I kind of doubt it, but you never know-that is an unusual name.

I usually do both. If you work it from deep to shallow with no success, try it shallow to deep. Another tactic is to work your bait along the ledge working it shallow to deep or vice versa. You also cover more water doing that.

Hey, even the pros get skunked from time to time. I spent today hauling water and getting blown all over the lake, and I sure ain't no pro. Guess that's why the call it fishin' and not catchin' ;D

Should have done that today. Or stayed home and slept late. Post frontal conditions+30 MPH north winds make for a less fun day on the water. Notice I said less-it still beat working ;D

That water temp would lead me to think they are in pre-spawn mode. I'd tie on a rat-l-trap and work the edges near the flats where they spawn. The NW side of the lake will warm up fastest, so if you fish that end of the lake a fluke or a senko would be a good choice, and if you can see some fish cruising in the shallows try throwing a lizard. Hope this helps and good luck!

I really don't have a go-to for rain. The fish will usually be shallower and not so tight to cover because it is cloudy, and the rain can add oxygen to the water and make the fish more active.

I use a pair of side cutters I found at Sears. They have about a 30 degree bend in the handle that allow me to cut the hook off flush with the fish's mouth leaving nothing sticking up to interfere with the fish eating.

Right now the closest one is outside Houston, about 2 1/2 hours away. That's the downside. Upside is they are building one about 15 minutes away-already clearing the land-and a new Cabelas about an hour north of here is about to open. I drive by it almost every day so my commute will soon get a little longer ;D

Here is a way to get the hook out. Fortunately I haven't had to use it yet, but from what I hear it really works: http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/

I'd say fishing the shade is a good bet. A few weeks ago-I'm in South Texas-we were fishing a sunny day and all our fish came from the shade-we fished the shadows of standing timber and caught fish, but none from the sunny side. Water temp was in the upper 60s and air temp in the 80s. The shade also makes for a good ambush point-the baitfish can't see the bass lurking in the shadows.

How about some specifics? For example, like John said, water temp? Clear water? Muddy? Cover-flooded trees, docks, pads, hydrilla, etc? Give us a little more info and we can point you in the right direction.

A spinnerbait with a big, single Colorado blade. I don't fish muddy water without one

Bassman, if you figure out how to fix that flaw, let me know ;D. You present two possibilities: Stay with the same lure and change locations, or stay in the same location and change lures. What I try to do is both. For example, if I am fishing an area I know has fish either in or around it, I will change baits to see what they want. I usually have 2-3 rods rigged with something different that I can try at different times to see if I can find what they want at that time. On the flip side, a few weeks back I found the bait early-they were hitting baby bass/pearl swirl Tiki Sticks. However, the only place I could get bit was in areas where hydrilla and cattails met, right next to the cattails-a foot away and no hits-they wanted it right at the base of the cattails. Doesn't really answer your question, though. I try to give each bait and each location a fair chance, but if I feel I have worked a bait long enough I chnage and if I feel I have worked an area hard enough I move. There really aren't any hard and fast rules-just work a lure or fish a location enough to feel satisfied you need to try something else or move to another location, and don't be afraid to change. No it didn't. You are just getting caught up in what other people are doing-you see somneone doing something different and start doubting your ability. Fish YOUR way, not somebody else's. Not always easy to do, believe me. You know what will work and won't work in just about every situation you see on the water, so play to your strengths. I'll give you an example: I have a buddy who is a crankbaiter. Head to head he will stomp me into the mud with a crankbait, but give him a soft plastic bait like a Tiki Stick or a Fluke and guess who gets stomped? Fish your way, but keep an open mind-change and experiment if you need to. My goal is to become a better crankbaiter this year, and my buddy is working on soft plastics. We both are working to be more versatile. Good Luck!