little_stephen

HAHA aint that the truth! I HAVE FOUND THE ULTIMATE WAY TO KILL THE TACKLEMONKEY!!!!! are you ready!?................... be drop dead broke!!!! best way in the world to not feed it at all is to stuff it so full the first time it bursts and out pops ur wallet, completely empty! ;D

same here...... and i lost a spro to the evil pad bed from hell yesterday and i literally wanted to cry.... friggin expensive.... whatever Ill wait till we get a bad storm, then go pirate the lake for bobbers, floating worms, and hopefully my frog will wash up on the flats at the far end of the lake. thats the awesome thing about my lake, it all comes full circle.... what you lose, you can get back when the pads get blown around.... and i agree, short of plugging it, has anyone found a good way to keep the water outta the scumfrog?

*more than I should* i dont catch fish, i just like tossing plastic baits into the water and reeling them in...... lol ;D

i dont know how the weeds are there.... but if theyre like the pad beds here youre better suited not trying to work thro them., or over them..... here in ohio, the pads grow WAY outta the water, like a foot on average.... and theyre SUPER thick. Ive tried throwing just about everything on the market at them...... the thick ones keep what you feed them. basically, if a tornado hit my little home rinky dink lake, my favorite pad bed would be firmly anchored down by all the jigs and such ive lost to it..... my best method so far has be to leave them alone, but i have used a bladedancer tipped with a berkley beast riged so it has a profile of a bluegill..... add a skirt in the mix and it makes for fun..... i pull it along the edges of the thick pads..... make sure you really work it into the nooks of the edges.... the bass smack it here. but then again, i never catch the fish, i just tick it off by dragging a bait infront of its face....... seriously, who catches fish!? I thought we all just were in this to thro plastic things in the lake and reel them in.!? ;D

yea the verdict is that the spot is an awesome toold..... its not my only tool, but its awesome. what i mean by im not sure when to present is that my lakes limited cover, theres not alot of fish there either, and they burry themselves in the pad beds...... so if i cant get that bait right in the line of sight when theyre taking intrest in it, no catch. thats harder to do than alot of you realize..... i dont own my own boat, and i dont have any electronics..... so im fishing blind. literally, my home lakes ALWAYS a muddy mess.

oh.... and if it helps...... Im using alot of zoom trickworms, yum bigshow paddle tails..... gambler flappin tail worms.... ive been useing my new favorite, the spotremover jighead, and the baggley shakey heads...... i dunno how much that matters.... but i am now a new fan of gambler soft plastics! ;D

well..... ive gotten the idea that shakey head fishing is going to work for me.... it seems adaptable enough, i get bites when i use it on the outter edges of the pad beds at my favorite lake, and then when i goto the bigger local res. i use it to fish off the riprap and its gotten me nibled on. but i have a tendency to not catch those fish anyways..... but my question is this, when i cant tell where my bait is compared to the cover i cant see, how do i know when to "present" and when not to....? Im using a baitcaster, a medium action rod, and since my gear is limited to what i can carry, and my other rod are my light line spinner, my ultralight, and my braided line baitcaster im stuck using my general purpose 10lbs trileneMAXX help me get the most outta this rig PLEASE!!!

no help here, im stumped, these ohio early summer storms kill my patterns.... i shore fish, so I cant get to the fish right after it dies down, that goes for my favorite local res. and my favorite lake, a small lake (large pond) thats only ten feet deep at the deepest..... Im not sure what to do.... but heres a new strand off the original...... whats the best way to attack really unstable weather patterns..... we get a day or so of nice weather, then we get POUNDED for two or three days, then maybe a few days of really hot sunny days, then as soon as i make it to the lake, it thunderstorms! so what i need is a good post front pattern that can be easly adapted to the quickly changing conditions.... any ideas?

my worst mistake, not watching what i was doing because a CUTE girl was walking down the pier, i whiped back the rod, snapped forward intending to impress her with a really long cast, and heard a nasty metal chunking sound...... my rod came forward just fine, but my favorite spinner bait went sailing off into the sunset... taunting me with a nice little polp as it hit the water, i just pretened i was letting the lure sink until she walked off..... iu blushed, i never blush.... most common one i see at my local lake..... weekend warriors who dont have a clue what theyre doing open up a new rod & reel set from walmart, cast a bobber and crawler into the lillypads and then curse up a storm when they cant get it unstuck.... then the one I always here them say is, "this line is junk, what a rip off, it can't even pull my hook outta those lilly pads...... what a rip off..." I just smile and nod.... (I ussually end up in a pair of jean and boots a week later collecting free bobbers, hooks, wire leaders, you name it from my favorite highpressure shore side pad bed...... Its a gold mine!) to my credit tho, I often times donate that gear to kids who have subpar equipment, or whos dads wont even help them hook their bait so they sit there and cry and frown.

first off, welcome to the forums, second of all, my 5 step plan for you..... step 1.) stop taking pictures step 2.) reel in fish step 3.) throw fish in live well step 4.) cast again step 5.) catch all his friends!!!!! again welcome and for the grater good of the forum, Im a hypocrite, I dont catch fish, I just like casting baits at where they live...... who catches a fish, seriously!?

haha.... good stories all around, heres the problems: I CAN label your call spanish speaking only, and in a few weeks you'll be very confused when a spanish woman calls you! and I will say this, I actually do care about peoples day.... Ive broken the rules a number of times because if I want you to listen to me, I have to respect you..... plus, I call businesses only.... and I actually do believe in what I call for..... so that helps........ but for the most part, the average joe telemarketer is an *** who wont work that job for more than a few weeks... if you want a trip, collections callers! WOW..... theyre freakin rude!

so i know this is a pointless comment, but I feel its something i want to say. I understand your frustration, while i cant realate to exactly your situation, I know how it feels to have the world turning against you. bass fishing brought me back from the edge where the razor on the bathroom counter looks like a way out. depression ahd me and it was pulling in faster and faster. one day i decided to go outside and go fishing, which i hadnt done in forever........ Ive been getting better ever since...... heres where I want to give you a dose of tough love........ you should really save a little bit of money, and chip EVERYTHING of value to you...... I grew up with a thief as a best friend.... hes doing time because he stole a highend stero out of a parked bmw. the guy had basically chipped the unit with a kind of lowjack...... they had my buddy locked up in a matter of hours. it sucks that people would do that to you.... and I would give you anything i have to help you out because on the water, everyones family, everyones friends....... and I wish i could help..... but to semi quote a good movie, "I have no bird, I have no bush, God has taken my bird and my bush" well i have no boat, no motor, nothing. So, All I can say is this, life pays back those who put others before themselves..... You put the happiness of your daughter first, that makes you the best dad anyone could ever have. my respect to you there. So if you ever want a pack of black horny toads.... ;D I have a box of 50 packs i "legally" bought at a flea market for 25bucks...... so let me know! best wishes........ let me know how things work out for you. ;D

so...... Im a telemarketer by day. i know you guys all hate us, but we have to make a living. PLUS, i only call bussiness to bussiness calls. SO...... I recently got promoted to a full commission sales rep after only have working the phones for two months.... and besides the fact that Ive called a few tackle companies, a few charter services and a few sporting goods stores and used idle chit chat about fishing to get them to give me the info i needed.... recently i was sitting in my sales class, and i realized how a sales call is just like fishing....... When were fishing, we have different tools to do different things. Our baits are all "brushes" and they each make a different mark, -finese worms are for the slightest working over on a fish. -crankbaits are for digging up the reactions that you then capitalize on..... ie, finding the pattern. -buzzbaits are for reaction strikes and aggitating the fish into doing what you want it to (strike) -topwaters are for pulling the fish in with curiosity -jigs are for muscling them into biting then, hauling them out of their safezone kicking and screaming..... ect these all have a part in my sales calls... -buzzbaits-reaction responses....... when someone argues with me, i through an answer right in their face so they dont have a choice but to do what I want them to. -finese worms- confidence building responses, I feed you what you want to hear in little doses mixed in with what I want you to do until you see it my way. -jigs- hard rebuttals- I toss a falacy in your arguement you cant ignore right in front of you, then muscle you into the sale any way I can. I could go on and on, but long story short...... fishing has made me a beter sales rep. and strangley enough, I go straigt to my real confidence bait on the water in my calls. I "buzz" the buyer with arguements and facts until they bite, that gives me something to work with, a notch in their argument I can latch onto and exploit! Its freakin awesome, when I look at my rebuttal sheets tacked to the sides of my booths, I dont see: Rebuttal 1-situation:...blah blahblah.... I see a power worm...... lol or a Rebel Popper.... It made my training SO much easier ;D so if you've read through this all, heres something to reward you..... if a telemarketer calls you at work, or at home.... NEVER HANG UP ON THEM INSTANTLY.... to us that means call back, they dont know who was calling. unless its a collections call & u owe someone $$$.... ask them who they are calling with, and what their name is..... then POLIETLY ask them to take your number off their call list. They should say "yes sir, you have a nice day." If they dont, then ask them a bit more firmly, then leave it at that. If they call back again. Then get their info......confirm its the same company, and ask for a supervisor, you might just be on your way to court to earn some $. thanks for listening. I thought it was exciting but Im a loser! btw: the national do not call list exepmts the following.....: -calls to any number listed as a bussiness-home bussinesses included. -calls from non-profit organizations -calls to persons who have had a "recent business relationship with a company." ex: if goodyear calls you, its because u had a car serviced at one of their locations, or bc you bought tires from them.... so just relax next time they call..... let them spit out their name, company, and why they are calling, then tell them to drop your number.... then smash down the phone! ;D ----->dont tell my boss!

oh, and btw, im sure theres more here im missing, but since youre both right in front of my face here.... Brian_Reeves & Korea_Bassin thank you for everyting youve scaraficed for our contry! as far as im concerned you can never be told that enough!

telemarketing sales rep by day (NEWLY PROMOTED BTW), tacobell by night, mascot by summer weekends........ its a never ending cycle my friend

^ thats for sure. ^

So in general what you guys are telling me seems good..... sorry that the pictures didnt come up auto. i think theyre not loaded right.... heck if i know,. that would have cleared up some confusion.... for clarification. Im tossing big colorado bladed spinners because the water is nearly completely muddied. I did just buy a hart spinner with the doubble blade..... the one thats riveted together for Extra Thump... Ill give the idea a try! ill be sure to let you know!

haha. i meant the color represents the path i threw the lure... lol not the color of the lure.... lol

it doesnt even have to be in a large body of water..... I fish by myself on a small lake, 90acres.... the rangers can see you all the way around (for the most part) but I fish in a metal john boat or a canoe. You just have to be careful........ If you ask me the solution is a three step process. 1. required boating saftey classes for ANYONE who wants to be on ANY body of water no matter how large or small. 2. personal flotation devices or general life jackets need to be cheaper and easier to get. It isnt a fashion statement either, Its a matter of saving your life. 3. we all need a fishing buddy! ;D Im the biggest hypocrite around by saying this, but we all need to not go out on the water alone... *biting tounge* im such a hypocrite.... but my situation is that I dont have any fishing buddies..... lol. Ill shut up now..... such a hypocrite :-X

Ok, So...... I hit the lake this weekend. And i didnt land anything, but I managed to get myself good and cofused..... Im fishing that same lake I gripe about all the time. Shallow, mud bottom, stained water, TONS of lilly pads. those pads are the only form of cover on most of the lake. All other cover is POUNDED by shore anglers unwilling to be like me and rent a boat. The spots I focused on were the places where the pads lines formed irregularly and where they had distinct transitions between the tight packed tall pads that sit about a foot off the surface, and the looser surface pads. Here's what Ive tried and how it turned out: -Buzzbaits, Chatterbaits, and Spinner baits with big colorado blades havent worked, but they stir up the fish in the tight pads and I can see the pads jerk about when they move. Its even easy to follow them around the pads that way-but once I stir them up, they wont bite when I present plastics to where I see them. -Senkos tossed up on the pads then allowed to fall weightless havent done anything, I dont think the fish can see them.... I think they need to feel them more, you cant see a neon chart. senko over 6 or 7 inches in this stuff. Ive also tried jerking/ swimming them thro the low pads and along the edges without success. -Shakeyheads havent worked on the root systems bottoms..... -even my best jigs are getting snagged in the root systems, Ive spent more time with the plug knocker some trips than my rod. -Horny toads and other frogs (including bigfoots and floaters) have gotten me boiled on. And I caught my ONLY fish on a zoom horny toad, but that was under ideal circumstances........ other times the fish dont show ANY intrest. I think its got more to do with the constant frontal changes..... Problem tho, when I cant get the boat, or I have to take it back, I only have access to a section of tall pads that the toad has so far proven useless at staying on the surface in. -Poppers along the edges have gotten attention, but no bites, plus durring ideal hours for them its almost impossible to get a boat. -my own special home made contraption consisting of a tube with a floater in it and either a roboworm tail, or trick worm tail glued into the oppening so it floats has gotten attention, but no bites. I jerk those around the edges they make a GREAT bit of comotion and the action is awesome. -Ive been sticking to a basic color pallete because of the water clarity that doesnt exist...... whites, blacks, chart. some firetiger patters the zoom toads im getting swirled on alot with the pumpkin seed with chart on the bottom..... # 49 here.... http://image.basspro.com/images/images2/14000/14235.jpg Im sticking to colorado blades, and big ones..... but I tossed a spinner and reeled it in, it got to about two feet outside the boat right before i pulled it up and I actually saw a bass SMACK, and I mean Smack and Run that bait sideways, that means that sucker came within inches of the surface, like were talking 4-5inches. but that was all I got. -Poppers are basically all chrome with blue or black bits -I have tried briefly tossing a white mag trap around the edges..... with little , well no success..... Heres a nasty diagram I scribbled out, Its of a decent spot where theres some shore cover I can try to skip under, some debris, and lots of pad transitions, but in retrospect, I think i needed to back off a bit and fish where I dropped anchor.... It was what I guess u could call the narrowest point at the end of a "channel" formed between two long rows of pads. The cross hatches are the taller pads, the circles are the surface ones, the other stuff is the debris and tree I talked about <a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/sdsmith823/?action=view&current=forum1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/sdsmith823/forum1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> blue is the spinner bait paths I threw. Oragnge Is the toads and frogs. Pink is where I tossed the shakey head rig to the root systems. Green is where I tossed and retrieved the popper PLEASE help me unlock what these fish want to see in front of them to ****** it...... I just cant keep chucking a horny toad and praying that theyre in the mood to suck it under....... I mean yes eventually Ill agravate them into it, but its alot more fun when theres actual skill involved...... so lets hear it. (sorry so long)

So after a long day friday at work, 8 hours on the phones at the call center.... then an 8hour shift at taco bell until 5am. the sun was cumming up as we headed home from cleaning the store. So I figured, hell Im hopped up on mountian dew and sugar, I might as well go fishing! So.... I drove to the lake, rented out a boat, and got on the water, I was just doin my thing when I saw two cranes fly by close on my left, looked up at the mist on the lake and realized I was in my own little paradise with noone else around to bug me! Tell me this isnt beautiful!!!! <a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/sdsmith823/?action=view&current=pic2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/sdsmith823/pic2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> I felt so free that day, noone hit the lake at all, I had everything but the shores all to myself! It was great. woulda been better if I coulda landed any of the fish that hit my lures... but thats in another subject. ;D lets see your spot! post em up!

im a drummer and i type all day, the last thing i need is ANY scrapes on my thumbs..... haha. thanks tho......... btw. the sub story, i brought in three little catfishes that day too. the gloves basically stayed on my one hand the whole trip! lol so quit harrassing me! ;D

hey, here it is, finally got my first one!!!!! I want to thank you guys for the advice that led to this catch! I caught it on a zoom horny toad. I was shaking so bad i could hardly snap the photo! Sadly, my phone ended up in the lake when i decided to unexpectedly fall in. so this fish basically cost me a 300$ cell phone lol but the first wordsout of my mouth were, "I WANT MORE!!!!" the other pics are of the lilly pads I fished, so ehres my dilema, when i cant rent the boats, i have to fish the tall pads that rise almost a foot out of the water, but i drug that toad over tphe low pads to get my fish, so how do I draw them outta the highpads, the zoom horny toad just isnt working there.....?

So, I know this is dumb, but I just had to share this story with you guys. I took a few hours of down time sunday and went to the lake around sundown, just intending to toss a few casts into the lilly pads and see what happened. As always, my favorite bank fishing spot was being used by novice weekend anglers, and I politely asked if theyd mind me fishing "in" the lilly pads, of course they were really stunned when I chucked my frog into the thick of it. I took a half hour or so and explained the idea as we fished, got to be really friendly chit chat. Then kinda suddenly the guy warns me...... "Oh by the way, watch out for the snake!!!!" I fish this ratty little lilly pad filled 88acre lake all the time, and the black snakes that swim around in it are nothing new to me. So I didnt think twice. Im chucking this custom rigged tube bait with a roboworm for a tail around the pads when I hang it up on a big chuck of roots, I pull twice and it pops free, flys thro the air and lands about five feet out from me in about 2 feet of water, and this HUGE black snake comes flying outta the pads after it...... I freeze. The snake was about 3feet long(big for this part of Ohio in an sub-burban area) and it just pokes its head up and stares at me. I of course not wanting to extract my hook from a snake just try and scare it off, but it wont budge!!!! I swing my rod tip at it, yell at it, toss pebles at it (which it tried to strike at) I even resorted to throwing a rather large stick at it, but it wouldnt go away. So finally, I jerked back hard on my rod tip, and the tube smacks the snake in the head and comes hurtling up on shore. The snake takes off into the pads. About three mins later, the idiot came back for more!!!!! I was amazed, If i was about to eat a big juicy lambchop and it suddenly smacked me in the face, Im gunna run the other way and never come back!!!!!!! But no! this guy wanted more..... this time im throwing a PopR. So i jerk hard again, the snake gets sprayed in the face with water, and he takes off down the shoreline towards my new friends. This guy next to me says, "Hey, thats going to be dinner!!!" in his thick british accent(didnt ask where he was from or why he was in ohio!) So he tries to take off after it along the shore, throwing rocks, sticks, even stabbing with his rod tip at it. These three old women on the dock a ways down flipped out when they saw the snake running and no joke one of them threw thier whole tub of nightcrawlers, lid, worms, dirt and all at it, smacked the snake square in the head, and that was the last we saw of it. Has anyone else ever had an expierence like this!?!??!?! I thought that snake woulda made tracks the other way after getting whacked in the head! All in all tho, I had a GREAT time fishing with those folks! Heres one to all the people who make our fishing stories all that much more entertaining!

welt he forums. have fun, get some good tips, and hit the water! Be grateful you live down there, the fish up here in ohio are A. smaller, and B. only catchable a fraction of the time they are in the south. again tho. welcome ;D!