bigbill

I know there are bigger bass there because where do all the baby bass come from? This place gets the spring run off from a larger body of water too. I hate losing ground in places that are accessible to handicap fishing. We do not have many places were I can fish from the back of the car. This is a very wide bridge on a dead end road. I can actually park and fish from the rear of the car using a chair. It's an old stone bridge were the water flows under it.It's small like a covered culvert. I'm going to push the issue soon. I like it to practice my presentations when I can see what the lure is doing. Plus the fishing is decent.

I keep in contact with my jigs and Carolina rigs. Because the strikes happen as they fall with the Carolina rig, we get the slightest nibble on the Carolina rig in the open water along side the weedlines, if the line isn't taunt we can miss this strike. and when the jig is up off the bottom as we move it up and down. The amount of weight were using determines the line tention. The main thing is I let the rod tip follow it up and down.I leave the rod tip slightly up as I follow it down on the cast if the water isn't that deep. When I fish keeping my line taunt I watch the rod tip very closely for the slightest movement. It's the smallest nibble sometimes. It's like in trout fishing.

My old co-worker swears by them. I have them but never found the time to try them yet. It's my fault being stuck in a crankbait rut.

I been trying the money minnow and my most success came on November as the snow was falling as I practiced my fall dying minnow presentation. I also have the caustaic bad spelling sorry, the 9" trout which I try often while it swims great nothing big on it yet.My most success has been with the money minnow but I haven't tried the others yet.

Just some more question. If I go to a heavier brass weight like a 1/2oz, or 3/4oz, or 1oz weight. What line test do you use if your carolina rig Is not part of your rod setup? Remember my CR is separate from my rod line. Right now I have 17lb test red Cajun line on my rod setup for the CR. I use 12lb. Test on my 1/8oz weight on my CR. DO I need a heavier test line for the heavier weights? Using 12lb test doesn't look right. Does using a heavier pound test effect the rate of fall on the plastics? Meaning the heavier weight will drop faster then the plastics. Is this a good thing or not? Do you adjust the rate of fall of your plastics by changing the line size? Does it matter or am I making it worse than it is? Forgive me I have only used my 1/8oz CR for all these many years from shore. We can rent a boat now so the game has changed. I'm thinking of a bass boat possibly next year but that's another post.

The DEP doesn't want any trouble with the land owner I think. But I never seen any land owners there in a decade. Till I got asked to leave. Maybe it's another lost fishing spot . One more lost fishing spot means more to follow. I wonder if some nice fresh steaks would seal the deal?

Ok in fishing a swamp near the road surrounded by private land. On a low bridge and not on there land. I was told that no one owns the water and if you can access it without being on there land then you can fish it. The local state DEP guys say I'm right but it can cause problems. So what's a person with disabilities suppose to do? The land owner says to leave. But I'm not on his land. The state DEP guys say I can fish there but it's not worth fighting for? I been fishing there for over a decade before I was told to leave. I caught many smaller bass but never seen a big one yet. I did catch a 30" pickerel there. There has to be big gals there. Is it worth fighting for?

I'm not that hot headed but my older brother was really bad. He could press with one arm from the floor 175lbs. To the ceiling. Thank God we never ran into the People Eating Tastey Animals I do not know what he would of done. He was like a human pit bull but the nicest guy you'd ever meet just don't make him mad. He was my mentor in taking me fishing and hunting. He also taught me about sportsmanship ethics too, we don't shoot game birds on the ground they have to be in the air that's a fair game. If we miss they live. He passed away and now I'm left with my son's. It's almost there turn now to carry the family torch in outdoor sports.

My problem is I set the hook on my topwater lure when she strikes and down she goes into the weeds on faster than I can lift her with the weak upper rod section. I hope it's not a combination of me being slow too? It's funny on one side of the low bridge I lose rapalas to very violent strikes. On the other side me and my buddy lose topwater lures. My buddy broke his new rod trying to get the same fish up out of the weeds. She is a porker. I'm willing to be shes a new state record. I seen her upper section out of the eater and it's a big bass. With the fish that rips the rapalas off my line it does it to everybody. This fish has a box of our stolen baits. I never seen a strike so violent. It seems to strike full steam ahead from the side not head on. But it keeps it speed up and stays going? I may try using a steel leader. I just hope it's not an otter with my rapalas.

But I have different plastics pre hooked ready to go in storage bags. I just change them out with a snap swivel on the bottom of the Carolina rig. I also have different weighted carolina rigs in storage bags too. If we're in a boat and go to deeper water or thicker weeds I can go from a light Weight rig to the heavier rig in seconds by having a double eye swivel on the upper part of the rig and a snap swivel on the rod. It's time up front to make it but it's time saved during fishing. I hate wasting time when I'm fishing.

I use the eye to eye swivel up front. It gets connected to my line on my rod by a snap swivel. This gives me the advantage of changing out my carolina rigs to different weight setups I have pre made up ready to go. I just ventured out of my norm and tried multiple small brass beads after the weight for a different sounding ticker. It actually sounds like a ""BB" low pitch sound I get from the bomber cranks. I'm on the right track now. Can my fish catching carolina rig be made better? I think so.....by changing the sound of the ticker by adding more smaller brass beads. I learned something new tonight. Now I'm thinking what if I use the larger diameter brass beads and how much will the ticker sound change. Since I seen the spook lures with a high pitch sound and a low pitch sound being offered in the same colored lures I think there on to something. I believe the smaller beads have a low pitch while the larger beads have a high pitch.

I'm using a 7' MH spinning rod now for topwater.

I been browsing for a fishing rod. I'm thinking of a heavier rspinning rod with the mid to upper being stiffer for stronger hooksets. Without trying it out in the store it's hard to purchase a rod off the net not knowing what it feels like. Maybe what I want isn't made in a bass rod. Maybe I should be looking into a salmon or steelhead rod. I'm looking for more backbone with more upper strength. Fishing from shore is challenging. When these bigger gals hit I can't get there head up on the longer casts. Because of the upper part of the rod being too flexible and weak. I need to keep there heads up somehow. So what do you rod experts think? Do I need a light saltwater rod? Do I need a stronger baitcasting rod for topwater? Btw, What makes a rod so special It's for small mouth , bronze backs? My point is what the difference between a small mouth rod and a large mouth rod??? Is this diffrrent labeling true or false, have I been out of the buying and information loop this long? I know I'm outdated somewhat but one rod for small mouth only? I'm confused because I have a rod marked BASS is it small mouth or large mouth? (Kidding) Times have changed for sure. I'm understanding the different action rods rods and line test for different lure performance. I do this myself too.

If your switching hands to crank them it may feel awkward. I can fish with any reel with the crank on either side. I can adapt to anything. Or maybe I'm too busy fishing to notice it. I just never thought about it. I do use baitcasters from shore too. I like them with my jigs and slower fished baits.

From an engineering and manufacturing stand point it looks like there cutting corners and raising the cost. I've seen colt cut there quality control for decades now. It shows in the products. After all were the end users and we expect the best quality product that our hard earned dollar can buy. Plus how many people really fish as hard as we do? The flaws will show up when we push it's limits. I do maintenance and hope it holds up with any reel. Let's face it the bass can be hard on equipment too. If it's not of decent quality it will fail. Unless it's not being used that much.

Fishing from shore it pays to bring an extra rod when throwing lures that float. If something should go wrong and the line should break the extra rod setup can retrieve it.

I haven't been approached by the anti's yet when hunting or fishing. I do not hunt in my home state it's not safe too many guys with guns think it's a time to shoot at the forest instead of going to the range. Being an ex logger I was never in the woods during hunting season on Saturdays it's not safe. Hunting in Vermont I have the highest respect for the green mountain boys and they respect me once they find out I'm a logger too. There kind of tight lipped at first. I feel safe with these guys too. I leave the forest the way I find it. I find its those out of staters who leave there garbage behind them. Who do they think is going to pick it up? Fishing before first light till 9am I never see anyone. But in some areas of the lakes I find the shore fisherman's garbage that's left behind. Like coffee cups, sandwich wrappers and empty worm containers. This garbage left on the banks and In the forest gives our sports a bad rap. My point is let's not give the anti' s more problems that are caused by a few of us to use against us all. Take your garbage out with you when we leave it's that simple.

I used the two loops thru the eye and cinch knot for eons. For the past few years I do a three loops thru the eye and cinch it knot. I find that the three loop thru the eye lasts longer. It works for me. What knot you you use? How often do you retie your knots? I retie my knots often and right after every bass over 3lbs+ is caught. Just to be safe when that new state record strikes I have to land it. Fishing isn't luck, it's skill, it's my passion. Let's raise a retie awareness.........don't forget to practice it often.

I use cheap snap swivels on my carolina rigs were movement doesn't matter. On my topwater and crankbait setups I use the barrels snap swivels because they hinge the side to side wiggle of the hard baits more easier. Plus in the low light and In the dark I have a hard time seeing the line to retire it. Now as I get older check I can't see it in the day light too. I still tie some spinnerbaits but I'd rather use the ones with the closed loops. I guess the spinner bait manufacturers aren't old enough to realize it's harder to tie and retie as we get older. We need more closed loop spinnerbaits. Even as these smaller lines get harder to see in the water there hard to see on land too.

I just lost favorite fat gal she was my 145lb rottie, these big gals get a bad rap, because she was a gentle giant. I never seen her upset till we got the yellow lab pup. When my black lab passed away we waited months before replacing him. I told my kids she has two personalities just don't make her mad and you'll never see her bad side. But the yellow lab pushed her buttons. A part of me died with her. I loved that big gal. We had so much fun howling at the police cars and fire engines when they passed. Me , my black lab and my rottie would howl together. With this very hot weather my yellow lab gets a fan to cool off the wife takes him swimming every night. The rottie would go too when she was alive. She would dunk her head in the water to cool off. I guess she was my best friend. Soon I'll get another rottie pup. The love we give them we get back double. I want to come back as a dog in my family when I pass on. My kids grew up with my rottie and the day she passed they all were here for a wake. They all respected and loved her. My big gal I miss her. Bill

I read a few years back our government did a survey about what fish we can remove with hurting the population growth. The results were to take the smaller bass to eat and leave the bigger bass to continue spawning. Don't the crappies taste better than bass? When I was younger we ate what we caught. Mainly panfish for breakfast with eggs when we were little kids. This was growing up in the mid 50's. The fresh caught catfish is the best on a wood fire. When fishing at night. With all this eating fish talk we had fish and chips, plus stuffed clams and whole belly clams tonight, yummy. I was a bad boy with my 1300 calorie diet. It's suppose to be 2,000 Calories but I lost 60lbs since January. I have another 100lbs. to lose yet. Tonight I thought of a to me from me present for losing weight and eating less. I'm thinking a new corvette, na that's not me, a new truck, na that's not me too. I thought of a bass boat tonight. I should be around 225lbs. By spring.

A carolina keeper is a round piece of soft plastic with a slot in it. You can slide it up and down the line to adjust the length of the leader. It very quick to adjust. I just showed my son how to make a carolina rig and he is trying fishing with senkos for the first time. He is good with crankbaits and the topwater lures now it's time to get him into plastics. We tend to get stuck in a rut when we use what works over and over. I do the same thing at times. I hurry to fish because my time is limited(disabled) and I can't stand for too long. So I throw what I know will catch fish. But for years I been breaking this bad habit and trying to add more patterns and presentations to my arsenal of baits. I still like testing new lures too. My oldest son is really good at focusing on the presentations. The student always turns out better than the teacher.I do expect that.

We fInally have slot limits. But I do practice c&r most of the time. But my rescued kittens and cats do enjoy some fresh fish time to time. Just maybe twice a year they get a break from dry and canned food. I like all fish but my favorites are cod, Pollack and catfish. The misses does stuff the cod and Pollack with a Ritz cracker stuffing with crab meat. I prefer my catfish cleaned, gutted and tossed on a wood fire. Just some salt and butter when it's served. For blue fish and weak fish my mom would bake them but drain the oil off the blue fish once then add basil, oragano, garlic salt and tomatoes and bake till done. Black fish taste good too this way. I know some who eat every fresh water fish even the boney ones. They make fish cakes from them. On Christmas eve we have mostly seafood from king crab legs to stuffed clams. Don't forget the spagetti with the anchovies, garlic and olive oil. It's a non stop buffet. What a family tradition.

There are some awesome videos on you tube from the bass resource sight. Yup there made by our guys right here. Lots of info. I listen to what they say but at the sametime I watch how they handle the rod too on the presentation. Reading the articles here is another great way to start or refresh on your favorite lures and presentations. In the winter when the snow is falling and cabin fever is about to set in I start reading and watching the videos too. It's a great time to learn or just refresh. Nothing can match the time spent on the water using and applying what we have learned. If we stay focused and motivated success will happen. We read it then hone our skills to it.

I need to learn how to do pics, soon.