fun_all_wrong

This morning I went out and did ok, about 12 fish (None that even would have been keepers if I were going to keep them...) Some were caught on points with a spinner-bait, a few on the same points with a rattle trap, and even one with a popper and one with a tube bait. The other way I caught fish: This lake has standing timber in it so I would cast past it, let my spinnerbait sink, then run the spinnerbait into whatever was there.... What else do you like to throw around standing timber? (I have thrown a jig/craw and a tube at standing timber too, but no luck.) I also tried fishing some of the docks in the area, doing everything from casting a spinner bait down the side of the dock just before I troll past it and running the spinner bait under it to skipping tubes/flukes up under it. I even throw topwater right down the side of the dock... I hear about people catching around boat docks, any suggestions? Thanks again...

Somehow everything seemed easier in a little river with a jon boat... or fishing from the bank in a little creek..... I figured bigger water and a "real" boat would mean more fish....

Here are a couple... You get mad when you have to pay 3 bucks a gallon for gas for your truck/car.... but its somehow its not so bad for your boat.... When you meet a girl "do you like fishing" can either make or break the deal... You spend more time looking at fishing tackle than you do looking for clothes, food, and all other entertainment combined... You have ever had to set yourself a fishing budget..... You have ever said "It is a great price and I could use a topwater, flipping, crankbait... etc rod anyways....

That looks a lot like the bass that I broke off with my flyrod a few weeks ago... It didn't have a dry fly (I think it was a mosquito....)in the upper right corner of its mouth did it?

Thanks, From what I have seen at these lakes it seems there are more shad there than anything.... (so I have thrown a silver tube bait, and silver rattle-trap) Part of my problem might be having the lure land with too much splash in the water.... but the little chop on the water I thought would cover that problem. Talking to other people is what got me to throwing the rattle trap to start with... Normaly they stay in the tackle box with me... I have been out in the evening, thats when I caught one of the fish with a popper... As far as structure fishing- I have just been spending extra time fishing points (where the land makes a point, thinking it will come out and make the same shape in the water.....) Other than that I have just "beat the bank" I don't anything else about what to look for with structure or where to find it.... I have looked online for maps and such.... no this website is about as helpful as it gets but the map isn't all that detailed. (Im still not positive what Im looking for) Hope that helps.... Thanks again

Ok- I recently bought a new boat, I like it but now there is a problem..... I can't catch fish....(not good fish) I have always been able to catch atleast one keeper fish back in the rivers back home... but these lakes southwest of Dallas/ Fort Worth are killing me. I have thrown- Jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, rattletraps, zara spook, brush hogs, poppers, a jig, tiny torpedo, weightless skirted jig, and a tube bait, even a buzz bait... Normaly Im not a big fan of spinner baits and rattle traps..... but people claim to catch well on them..... I havn't caught a keeper fish in lots of fishing.... I caught 1 fish with a jerkbait, one with a popper, one tiny one with a tube, and one white bass with a rattle trap... I use 4 different rods.... my tube bait rod and jig/worm rod are rigged up with 20# fire line.... my topwater and jerkbait rods are rigged up with 10# power pro... I have fished rocks, stumps, tried points (structure fishing is new to me....) thrown around boat docks.... I have even tried two different lakes... I can't catch a keeper... you figure at some point after my line was in the water for that long a keeper fish might yawn and my hook could fall into its mouth or something.... But all jokes aside, Im getting frustrated.... any tips? Any ideas?

All of the above. I will fish for nearly anything :-D I have even went out and set up especialy to catch gar. So nothing is off limits to me! So far all of you have covered my "dream trips"- esp. South America

With topwater- to me it usualy isn't about reflexes. A few things: Are you using a trailer hook? Did you try speeding up or slowing down? (fish miss it sometimes when its going too fast- slap it when going too slow) Are you waiting until you "feel" the fish before setting? or do you set when you see the splash?

I get my suplies from Netcraft. Ya'll are brave to do cranks and jerks I tried it once and the think kept turning over onto its side... I would take a little off one side then it wouldn't be enough- so I would take a little more then it would be too much... Then the bill wouldn't be perfectly straight... then they eye was off center...... get the picture? Maybe if I had a leigth (spelling... you know the spinning thing that you can make things symetrical with rod builders use them) Painting and hooks are not hard at all painting is something I do sometimes even to factory baits... I have concidered going into soft plastics but everybody says its quite a hastle.

I was wondering if anybody else carved/made their own lures. I have made a few. My two latest are: 1) Devils horse a little longer than the factory ones. 2) Nice little walking bait a little longer and fatter than a zara puppy but shaped more like a shad... (It walks nice!) The trick with a walking bait is getting them weighted right.

You know... some guy is going to have his g/f or wife read these threads about lipstick and get himself out of a LOT of hot water about his last "fishing trip"

I see my nephiew do that. He will get on a bait, it will get hot for him, and that is all he will want to throw, forgetting the things that have worked for him a few weeks ago. I suppose I do it too to an extent and I suppose nearly everybody does. I have tried to become a situational angler. Find different things for different situations. I can see why fishing a jig or worm in the weeds don't sound great, I don't throw them there. Around weeds I throw (depending on water depth and depth of the weeds) Jerkbaits, topwater, spinnerbait, senkos.... you get the idea... So just keep in mind that every lure has its place and don't let your confidence get shifted in a lure because of where you are fishing. Also- just because you or the people around you lack confidence in it doesn't mean its not a good bait. I have probably the ugliest jerkbait I have ever seen, I catch with it.... I didn't have much confidence in it to start with but after a couple of fish I got some pretty quick.

The funny thing about catching two fish at once, is you never really know what you have. most of the time the fish are fighting each other so hard that they don't really fight you all that hard. The two bigger fish I got just felt like weight...

Bill Dance #30 maybe.... I can go into any kindgergarden classroom in the country and find 10 kids that can catch lots of big fish in Bills Big private pond....

you might say that.... http://bassresource.com/cgi-bin/bass_fish/YaBB.pl?board=Fishing_Tackle_ID;action=display;num=1116513139;start=6#6

I like watching tournies- seems that nearly everything else is staged. Every once in a while I get something usefull but like the points have been made- Bill Dance has his stocked pond, Roland has his infomercials... Actualy I pick up more from some of the smaller shows. There is a show they show here called "Fishing and Hunting Texas" I picked up some sight fishing stuff from it.... I pick up a little here and there and on this sight.... maybe someday the fish will quit outsmarting me...

Probably the feeling of watching your popper get smashed, or watching your line "tick" after pitching your jig up next to that stump. Or maybe it is watching your line start to swim off after making that perfect cast right next to that huge rock in the water... Then reeling down setting the hook and.... well your guess is as good as mine...

The best time to set the hook is when the fish has the hook in its mouth. just kidding.... Obviously with these lures I don't know when to set the hook either..... Unless I see the fish hit- then even sometimes I miss and get the tail ripped off. I missed a BIG fish.... (I seen its side and I would say atleast 5" from back to belly) Then I missed 2 more today. Then caught a little keeper.... (Im not using REAL Senkos, not even Tikis, these are Lucky Strike Jogger Worms... who knows what would happen if I used real lures.... I might even catch fish

I usualy change it up depending on what Im fishing or what I have rigged.... also on what fish are doing. stumps brush- brush hog- yum wooly hawg tail lay downs- worm/brush hog rocky bottom/ skitish fish. I fish a tube on a different rod than the above baits because of the way I rig it (usualy) so I will throw it sometimes too- but not much lately- its been cold on me...

You might want to change colors.... or instead of slowing down- slow down for a second- then burn it.... You might also throw a fluke or one of those senk.... I cant even say it... Tease him with it until you really get him fired up... That is what I would do.

I got a 10' Outlaw Pontoon boat with a small trolling motor 150 bucks- good deal? (going to use it to fish smaller rivers)

I talked to a few people who fish the river most of them are using 17+ pound mono. So that makes me wonder- my diameter is smaller... The other part of it I fished each bait like you are supposed to- many of them in different ways- so maybe it was just the fish not wanting plastics- turns out nog much later a storm hit (48 hours) Im thinking that day they simply didn't want plastics- like ya'll said- fish what catches- not what you want to throw..... Thanks for the advice

ok- more info- the water isn't that deep nor is the river that wide. The deepest water is maybe 15 feet- and a lot of times we are fishing 3 foot or so. The River is small enough that we put our boat in the middle of the river and can fish both sides. (Its a small boat- dont' even have a motor- 14' I think. The fish were also not hitting flukes, trick worms, or joggers, so Im not sure Im getting under them because I fished these at all different levels. Top, middle, and close to the bottom. Im thinking my problem might have been the 30 # fireline- I think they see the line, thats why with my "jerkbait/topwater" rod I catch (spooled with 20# fireline. So now Im going to throw 20# fireline on my big baitcaster- 16# fireline on the big spinning and 10# power pro on my light rod... Maybe this will help

Last few days I have been fishin in the Guadalupe River (up by Kerrville) and I have thrown just about everything- but I cant catch on most any of the soft plastics. Nothing caught on my Culprits, nothing on the tubes, nothing on my baby brush hogs, nothing on the flukes (and a knock-off) nothing on my jogger worms, nothing on my trick worms, nothing on my twin tail ribbed grubs... The only exception is one 12" fish on a zoom horny toad (and even it didn't catch as well as I would have liked it to) We have however picked fish up on jerkbaits, poppers, and torpedos... what gives? Isn't that backwards? Arn't plastics your "money" bait?

I have heard of people dipping their own tubes- is there a website I can go to to learn this? Or do you just heat up old plastic worms and dip a stick into it then cut the skirt yourself?