Rebbasser

Everstarts here, too. No matter where I fish there is a WalMart close by so I can replace them if neccessary. A few months back I discovered a dead cranking battery the night before heading to the lake. 10 minutes in a 24-hour WalMart at 5AM and we were on our way.

Welcome to the forum! You can add suspend dots and strips, but the easiest thing to do is get baits that are designed to sink/suspend. A suspending jerkbait isn't any more expensive than a floating jerkbait.

I have to quit going to Staminac. I started making my own spinnerbaits from the components from there and the bait monkey is beating the crap out of me ;D!

I use several garlic scents-Kick'n Bass, Carolina Lunker Sauce and YUM garlic, and they do make a difference IMO.

Good Job! Glad you hung in there, and it paid off. Congrats on the fish, and I hope they just keep getting bigger!

I use Action Optics. Cost about $80 and worth every penny.

Great...That's JUST what I wanted to hear ;D Thanks for the tip-I'll keep my eyes open. I started using Low Riders earlier this year and really do like them.

DD, you have no idea how happy I am to read this on Saturday night AFTER the sale is over! If I'd have known........ ;D

Welcome to the forum! You can ask 100 fishermen that and get 100 different answers. Try the black worm, but fish it weightless. Cast it out and work it slowly with gentle twitches of the rod tip. Here is a great link for someone just getting into bass fishing: http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

Nope. As long as you can rig it why not use it?

You and me both, DD!

Welcome! You will find a lot of friendly folks here, so jump right in and make yourself at home.

I used to use one but got out of the habit. I do use a trailer hook more often than not.

Crankbaits-I have a ton of them, just don't throw them very much, and I need to get better at fishing deep water structure.

There may be a lot of branches at the base of the trees that have broken off and settled to the bottom. A T-rig or a jig-n-pig at the base of the trees might be just the ticket.

One was a catch and one wasn't-of which I was real happy. First the catch: I was fishing an electrics only lake and was fishing a flooded tree on the far side. I pitched a jig-n-pig into the tree, felt a thump, and set the hook. From the way it pulled I knew it was a BIG fish-and it was. Turned out ot be a 20 lb flathead cat. Now the non-catch: A couple weeks ago I went with a buddy to some stock tanks (Farm ponds) south of town. As I was reeling in a watermelon candy brush hog it went over aome matted weeds on the surface and a 3-4 foot allogator grabbed it. Fortuately it only grabbed the tail-not the hook!

I this is what I'm thinking of, you start with your rod tip low to the water with the bait hanging maybe 4 inches below. Move the rod tip in a small, quick circle and when the rod tip is at the bottom of the arc let the lure go. As you start the downward arc turn your wrist out so the handle is pointing at the water. The wrist turn gives added power to the cast, and the lure will shoot of the rod tip. It takes a little practice to get your timing down, but it is very effective for short casts in tight areas.

Here's mine-fishes pretty good!

You won't regret it. I'm pretty much doing the same thing.

I keep soft plastics in individual binders-worms, lizards, flukes, etc-in one of the rod boxes and 3600s in the square storage. In the other rod box I made a rod box organizer using a plastic cutting board and the tubes used in golf bags-keeps the rods from tangling and really works well.

Good to see you over here, LCL!

I agree with the Palomar. If you are using mono ALWAYS wet the line before pulling it tight. If you do not wet it the line creates friction as you pull it tight, which generates heat and really weakens the line.

Artist's rendition of the bait monkey using Bugs Bunny for scale:

Just happened to think of something. If you are watching some of the bass shows on Saturday morning and see a pro with their rod in one hand and you see their other hand extended all the way out at arm's length and bring it into the rod fishing right up next to cover they are flipping, and if you see them in the same type location making underhand casts they are pitching.

Welcome to the forum! Not by a long shot, Kyle. If there is anything bass fishermen like to do almost as much as being on the water is talk about it, and when someone asks a question we love to answer it. I have long believed the only dumb or in this case naive question as you put it is the one that isn't asked, so ask away! To add a little to what Chris said, I have found that engaging the spool before you make your flip can save you some trouble. If you have a flipping switch on your rod eliminates the need to turn the handle-it engages as soon as you let up on the thumb bar. If you try to set the hook with the reel in free spool can give a bad backlash-learned that one the hard way ;D. I would recommend braid for flipping-very strong and no stretch. I find myself pitching more than flipping-the difference is pitching is basically an underhand cast where you start with the bait in your hand and pendulum it forward as opposed to holding the line with your "off" hand. It is easy to do, just kind of hard to describe how to do it.