Rattlinrogue

He's that addiction(monkey on your back) that we've all got for more and better fishing gear.

Welcome Darrickp,You need to use plastics(I love those floating Rapalas too!).Worms,lizards,tubes,senkos,etc. As far as "how to" ,look in the articles section and you're sure to find a multitude of articles that will teach you how.I've been bassin' for 32 years, but I've added a lot of new ways to catch a bass from reading the articles and asking questions on the forum.Again welcome!

Carolina vs Texas...hmmm.Carolina in basketball,Texas in football,C-rig for covering all types of structure,and T-rig for more precise presentations to specific cover.(at least for me)

I use all kinds of retreives.My two favorites are the following:Throw or pitch the spinnerbait into laydowns,especially when there are several matted together.The thicker and nastier the better.Just pitch it in the thickest matt of wood and bring it out.When I hit a limb or any other piece of wood I kill it for a moment and then keep it coming.When you pause after hitting wood the blades flutter downward like a dying baitfish.I catch a lot of bass this way.I rarely get hung up,and if I do I can usually get it free without going in after it.My second way is to cast in open relatively shallow flats that are dotted with stumps,thick with grass,and having two creek channels down and through it.I try to keep it just barely above the submerged grass and often snag it on grass and rip it free.On floating grass I'll cast and retreive it along the edges of the mats,and I'll also pitch and retreive it into and through holes and open spots in it.

Where I fish the shallows are swamped with grass.The shallow water bass are a darker green with coal black back.The deeper bass that I catch are pale in comparison.

An approaching storm system comes with a barometric pressure that is dropping which most all believe(including me) turn on the bass.Also this time of year overcast skies will have the bass cruising around looking to feed.Sunny skies cause bass to drop down into deeper water. It also causes shallow water bass to hold tight to cover.Sunday morning it was overcast for a while and I caught 3 bass on a LC Live Pointer 80-MR in 4-6 feet of water. Then the sun came out.I pitched watermelon candy tubes at floating grass mats and caught 4 bass.I never felt a thing .Just saw my line moving and set the hook.

No,mine has a suction cup that sticks to the side or transom of the boat.

I took my two oldest children(now 23 and 20) bass fishing at ages 10 and 7(they'd been bream fishing since they could walk).My daughter who was 7 took to it right away.She caught 3 decent yearling bass on a T-rigged plastic worm of all things(a grape shad Culprit).I just told her what to do and how to tell when a bass had taken the bait(tap,tap,tap).She listened very well.I think I caught one or two.My son caught a bream on a Beetle spin.

I use a Hummingbird Pirhana max 10.It gives me depth, water tenp, and bottom contour which is all I expect out of it.Totally satisfied.

In Ms you can get a 3 day license or a week license, but a whole year's license is only $7.00.

I've fished Tiki stiks and Kinami flashes(Senkos).I've caught fish on both,but I do like the Kinami bait better.

Good suggestion! You are a bass whizzkid!

When everything you own from shirts to underwear to your watch to your ring(you get the picture) has an image of a bass on it.

Been there nofish!It's a big step from shorebound to out there on the lake(no matter what the boat looks like).When I was 20 and got my first ole beat up,leakin' jon boat,I loved that thing like a Ranger.As time goes by you'll upgrade.Enjoy being out there on the lake!

I'm no expert on outboard mechanics,but my father-in-law always took used boats he bought out on the water and gave it this test:go from zero to full throttle and see what happens.

I've found that color has MUCH to do with it,although the technique itself is what makes it work.Some colors catch more than others.

I haven't actually named mine,but I call her "Ole Nelly" for no particular reason.Probably because when I hook her up to the truck it's usually 4:00 AM and I'm still not woke up good and a little out of it.

For $1500.00,You could get a used jon boat and trailer for $500-$700(much less for a used jon boat only,but get a trailer).You'd be surprised what you can do with that boat with the extra $700-$1000 you'd save.I'd look for that cheap,used J-boat and trailer and deck that thing out:FC trolling motor,seats,floors with carpet,portable DF,maybe a good used outboard motor.Do you guys have many cottonmouths where you fish?I'd honestly be scared to death to fish in one of those where I fish.We have gators,cottonmouths,alligator gar,and big snapping turtles.

I really like 'em both,but as Matt Fly said each is most useful under differing conditions.I prefer the drop shot because it keeps my bait above the submerged grass which is really thick down South and gets worse as it gets hotter.By the way,drop shotting is known for deep water presentations,but I use it in very shallow water conditions,also(3-6 ft).

My most successful bait selections are 3x lizards in green pumpkin and watermelon seed,and a 6" FLW or Renegade finese worm in the same colors.A black with blue tail Zoom lizard is also an outstanding bait,but that color is hard to find in stock down here(probably because they're always sold out!).I use the 1/8 ounce Bullet weight split shot that is shaped like a regular worm weight.It really slides through the grass easily.I pinch the split shot as high as needed to get above the submergent grass.It's usually around 18' above the hook.For me,it's just a downsized version of the Carolina rig.I think the worm weight shaped split shot is called "Bull Shot".I can't remember off hand(I don't keep my tackle box by the computer...LOL.

I really like that show.Joe is like a fishing buddy not some "better than you" pro,It covers the Tour which I love to keep up with,and I really learn from his strategies,tactics,and bait selection(which he explains in a way you can understand).Keep on keeping on ,Joe!

Bassin' is by far the best "how to " bassin' mag out there,and it's cheap to boot.I also like Bassmaster and FLW Outdoors.They both have some good "how to" articles(Bassmaster has the most),and they both cover the pro tours,which I like(some like NASCAR:I like Bassmaster and FLW Tours).If you're really hard up for a fishin' read In-Fisherman is not that bad.It's only drawback is it covers all game species ,and I'm only interested in bass.

When a lake is pressured,my trick is to fish the lake when nobody(or very few) are there.I go at night or very,very early in the morning.I voted topwater,but I also like to downsize a spinnerbait.

Same as Avid.Use different retrieves until I find the one they want.

I fish mainly state lakes that range from 100-1000 acres.Even the smallest have launch ramps that'll take any size bassboat.I also fish a few small lakes on Camp Shelby military reservation.The ramps are dirt,but I've had no problems getting in.I have a canoe if needed.