bigbill

My craws in ponds and lakes have black backs with red sides. In the rivers / streams they look beige like stream craws. Look at Sieberts outdoors for your color. Mike is very flexible maybe he can make your color if you ask him? Color matters, bass see certain colors under certain lighting conditions. Sunlite, hues in the water influences what colors the bass can see at that moment. I try to match the natural bait colors in clear to slightly stained water. Match the hatch in fly fishing also goes for bass fishing.

Please get your prostate checked for cancer. It's hitting men now in there teens too. Women get a mammogram and check for lumps. Either way early detection is the key to survival don't wait get them checked. We need everyone here on this great forum. I'm not done asking questions yet.

It felt so awesome making long casts again. Walking the dog never looked so good. It was great to be bass fishing and alive. Now soon it's up at 3:30am shower, eat breakfast grab a coffee and hit my local hot spots.. I'm ready now. I was told the meds would wear off and I'd be my normal self again. I starting to feel better everyday. I have some new rods to break in and wear out. God bless everyone. My buddy topwater spook too we been through it together brother we made it, it was a tough road that tested our faith and strengths. Thank god our families supported us and the guys and gals here prayed for us. Prayers do work. God bless.

I fish from shore. A topo map will tell you how to fish that area. Or a hummingbird cast out portable fish finder will tell you the depths, bottom structure and where the fish are. I fish in the evenings as dusk approaches or in the early am in the dark till around 9am. The bass turn on during these times but being stealthy is the key(very quiet). Try topwater, shallow cranks, inline spinners, spinnerbaits, split shot 6" plastic worms, c rig brushogs, c rig senkos. A shot of scent is a plus too. Change baits and colors till one works. Don't rush the presentation go slow so it looks like a easy meal.

After being sick I have the cleanest tackle boxes on the planet. The cleaned and lubed reels with new rods n line ready to use. I don't go out much(bad lower back). But my son took me out for fathersday. The newly opened water shed lake has a small dock. I put my two tackle boxes in front of my chair. I had a blast throwing lures and watching my presentations. I didn't lose the art of the presentations I was spot on with every bait. The new rods and reels worked flawlessly. I was like a little kid trying every bait. It was a blast just casting. I didn't catch anything but need to learn this new place now. The area around the dock looks like shallow flats. Next trip it's the hummingbird cast out fish finder to check the depths. And the bottom structure then I know how to fish it. My point is take your dad or mom or sister or brother, cousin, relative or friend / coworkers fishing. Take the time to give back to this awesome fun sport. My other son's buddy, I asked if he fishes? He said he doesn't catch anything. That's about to change soon. A dozen night crawlers with some live minnows can change that then once he's hooked well switch to lures. The bass will hook him on fishing for sure. I missed a lot of fishing the past few years but I'm back now.

Every time I put on a discontinued BPS topnocker the magic seems to happen. It's the greatest top water bait I have in my arsenal to date. I regret not buying more of them. Now every time I have a lure that works I stock up on them in all colors. I even have the Mann's dragunfly plastics. Another hot bait. The little purple dragunfly split shot rigged presented in the open weed pockets like a hatching dragunfly works awesome. Do you stock up on your hottest baits that you can depend on?

I change swivels often. I use Wal-Mart swivels on my c-rigs, worm rod. I use the more expensive quality ball bearing locking swivels on my crankbaits, spinnerbaits and topwater setups. I'm sorry I can't tie knots. Lost fish? My name could of been in the state record books a few times. I'm above the water about 3' looking in the surface weeds. I threw my topnocker on a long cast from shore. I put in a opening in the weeds. I seen her back out of the water when she slapped my lure. She turned like a PT boat and took it. I set the hook but couldn't hold her I made too long of a cast. She went into the weeds and was gone. My 15 minutes of fame ended. Lost fish....ug

Carp isn't my problem it's snapping turtles. When they come around the bass bite is done.

Since I been sick very little. I think I just spend 2k per year in the past between up grading everything At brannans bass shop in Texas, Sieberts outdoors etc. No boat too.

You really only cheat yourself. You make your credibility look bad too. He should be expelled from the club.

For heavy baits I'm into light inshore rods(saltwater). I throw the castaic 9" trout swimsuit sometimes.

Ok, on my senkos and other salted plastics I use no scents at first. If I get a strike and a miss my weedless barn comes up open if it was a strike. One shot of scent on the next cast is a definite hookup. My used plastics go into there own zip lock bag. I don't want them to contaminate my new baits. When I got heavy into bass fishing I purchased every scent at the time to try and compare them. Estimate was my first one to try. Works awesome. So did YUM, BANG, too. If your using a shad or a bass scent with zero results switch to a garlic.

I run the spinners where there above the sight line and then slow it down so it's below the sight line.

I throw the joesfly 1/4oz bass size spinflys in firetiger apache in cloudy low light rainy days. I also throw his blacknat silver blade too. I also throw a strike king inline spinner #3 silver blade black fly. Don't feel too fast. Just go fast enough to make the blades spin. Don't be afraid to throw a chartruese color on cloudy over cast days. This frenzy happens when the weather is correct. I'm not sure if it's tied in with the moon phase too. This feeding frenzy happens before the rain hits, and during the rain or when it's between the rain showers when it calms down. I been trying to figure this timing out for years. Most fisherman never witness this. I swear they would bite a bare hook. I caught smallies during this time when I never caught a smallies there before. Mainly LMB only. Standing on shore once I caught 19 bass while skip fan casting. Bass after bass. I also caught two weird pink and white Sun fish shaped fish too. My older brother my mentor and fishing buddy always told me to stay going and sooner or later they will turn on. After he passed on I had it happen finally. I believe it happens more post spawn. Sometime between post spawn and the hot weather. I need to get more weather equipment to figure this feeding frenzy out.

floating crankbaits. they dive to a certain depth depending on which one you have but since it floats it can be twitched topwater. propbaits, spooks, top props, inline spinners, spinnerbaits, , minnowbaits (rapala) are good too. going to the bottom into there hiding places its jigs, Carolina rigs ect. Its not just one bait. We need to be flexable, more educated on all the different baits, patterns and presentations we become more rounded knowledgeable fisherman.

I remember when gas was $0.29.9 a gallon. Ten gallons of gas, McDonald's was $0.15 hamburgers and $0.20 cheeseburger and the drive in was $5.00 a car full. A saturdaynite date was cheap. The kissy, kissy, huggy, huggy was free.Check around for good prices. I save when I can and spend were I can't save it all comes out in the wash and keeps me fishing. I still have my very first bait caster a $12 Shakespeare. It still works. I caught my first bass on a jig with it.

Here in the northeast on party boats out of PT Judith, westerly,RI. We fish for cod, Pollack, weakfish, flounder. We use a Penn reel with a large rod with heavy pound test. And a 20oz weight. We drop it till it hits the bottom them reel iT up a foot or two and wait for a bite.

You need to find the rod that you like and meets your needs. What I use you may not like.

A Rapala f7 original floater match the color of the baitfish. Blue or black. Joesfly firetiger apache 1/4oz inline spinner.

A Mann's classic 1/4oz double gold Colorado blades in a chartruese skirt with a mister twister chartruese 4" split double tail grub as a trailer. When it comes time to change to change the chartruese skirt I get the hot chartruese skirt. Don't forget a squirt of scent.

Line twist 1.spinning reels We put line on a spinning reel from the end of the spool of line. It's the face of the reel to the end plate of the spool. 2. Bait casters We have the spool of line parallel to the spool in the real. I follow this rule and don't have line twist. I do close the bail on my spinning reels by hand. I use Excalibur silver thread line. I don't use baitcaster reels when in the hunt for big bass there too noisy with that click when the handle locks into the spool.

I find the 5:1 ratio perfect or as close as you can get it. I feel everything slow. I started leaning by saying the number 1,000 slowly as I make one turn of the crank. I feel just slow and steady enough to get the best lure action at the same time it looks like an easy meal. I more my spinnerbaits, inline spinners, and spinflys just fast and steady enough for the blades to just spin. The higher speeds are ok for certain baits to burn them but I get tired fast using the 6.1 & 7.1 reels. Look at the way you crank the handle. Focus on making a perfect circle with your hand. Your presentation needs to be a even speed not fast then slow. Slow reel to the 1,000 beat, practice it and make a full perfect circle on the reel handle. Most 99% of my success from shore is from slow and steady. Sorry if I bore the experienced fisherman but I like to help the new to bass fishing people too.

Oops sorry, Rebel BIG CLAW CRAWFISH crankbaits. The chartruese one is very hot here. I cast it out, do a sweep back with the rod so it dives to 10' then reel it fast enough so it stays down. The slower you reel it the shallower it will run. It's a floater so topwater is good too. These are hot lures from shore and in rivers match your local crawfish colors too.

Mepps Anglia #3 silver blade gray dressed Mepps Anglia #3 gold blade brown dressed Mepps XD3 silver blade white dressed. Joe's fly 1/4oz bass size firetiger apache Joe's fly 1/4oz bass size blacknat Joe's fly 1/4oz bass size white Miller Mann's classic 1/4oz gold Colorado blade white skirt spinnerbaits Mann's classic 1/4oz gold Colorado blade chartruese skirt spinnerbaits With mister twister 4" split double tail grubs. Bomber model A redapplecraw size 05 Bomber model A firecraw size 05 Bomber model A greencraw size 05 Bomber model A browncraw size 05 One shot of YUM scent.

Mister Twister Top Props. Mepps Timber Doodle. Plastic worm weedless hook. Grubs weedless hook. Ned rig Sometimes I put on a larger treble hook lure on my strongest rod setup and open up what I call "Shotgun Alley" I remove the surface weeds so I can fish it, with cranks and spinners. One narrow straight casting line will work the next day.