little_stephen

0lbs 0oz Im still hunting for my first catch. Learning as I go tho. Im getting alot of bites lately. The first one should be coming this summer! And I picked up on your photoshop skills as soon as I saw that picture. Ive worked in Graphic Arts and was raised on adobe programs. If you arent in the graphic art field, you should look into it. Thats a nice layout.

So, yesterday I could have gone fishing..... the skies finally cleared here in ohio, and the weather had turned for the better for a day or two.... but I didnt. Instead, I took my long time gf to a HUGE country concert in Cleveland. It was the Poets & Pirates tour, but thats beside the point. I think everyone needs to spend some time at home this weekend. In general, the fishing community is known to be a little obsessive. We have all droped everything once or twice when a buddy calls and says the bites on at a local lake. So Take some time out this weekend and spend it with the people you love. Recently we lost my to be father in law..... He was a fishing adict like myself, and I was even planning a trip for us to go smallmouth fishing on erie. But while I was sitting there yesterday between sets it occured to me that I shoulda gone fishing....... but then I realized how precious the time I was spending with my girl really was. How often I overlook the people around me to persue Mr. Bucketmouth, and it dawned on me that there is no better time to spend with those people than right now. BESIDES, Its a long weekend. Ill go fishing on monday.... lol So, everyone post up what they did besides go fishing here. Just take a second and look back and smile at the fact that we have time to spend with them. And that we will have more time to cast that perfect cast, to the perfect spot and land that perfect fish. But right after some more hotdogs opn the grill, and a trip to get some ice cream! Happy Memorial Day to all. And thank you to any of you who have served our country, young and old alike, and to those of you who have given a loved one for the better future of us all. You are our real heros.

oh.... one thing nice this guy did do...... he got so mad he chucked his ultralight rod into the lake after he lost a crappie he had hooked.... then stormed off the pier (seperate day) and i looked over, saw that the line had hooked on the railing.... and pulled out a NICE ultra light setup...... this 10 year old was eyeballing me with that pole. I asked him if he wanted it..... ;D that kid went home with a new fishing pole! lol the next day was when that guy got banned from the county park system for life for drinking on the same pier....... ;Dmade that little kids day!

Ive got a mixed oppinion here.... first of all, I proudly wear my B.A.S.S. patch on my tackle bag, so keep in mind that you represent any club, or goupr that you may be in, and not only that, but you represent the general fishing populus...... So ive found it best whenever you handle things really calmly and respectfully. If it gets to yelling, youve gone WAY to far, back of and call a ranger. Second of all, that guys breaking all kinds of laws doing what you said, turn him in. I wouldnt hang around if i saw that, Id walk to my car, call the authorities then leave once youve identified him to them. I will say that Ive confronted one guy on the simple grounds of common curtesy. He was smoking and swearing and getting in the way of a group of younger anglers at my local lakes public pier. Turns out he calmed down, but the ranger asked him to see his lisc. later and he got tossed. It's our responsibility to help the authorities identify trouble, not to start it. But I think you handled it well, I wont lie.... I woulda made sure he saw me toss the fish back. Bottom line, it pays off to be educated, I carry the Ohio Fishing Regulations packet with me in my tackle bag for a reason..... Its come in handy more than once. Just use common sense and let cool heads prevail. Then go back and fish the spots he missed once hes gone....

I was in your shoes once, but I just started buying stuff... lol. didnt bother to ask anyone. When it comes down to a good begining level reel. I got my pflueger President on sale at Gander Mountian for under 40$ i do recal. And Id go with a Gander Mt. Guide Series Rod, theyre really cheap.....really nice, and I havent had any problems with mine yet. but I mean You cant go wrong with a good old ugly stick, those things can take a BEATING. I absolutely LOVE Berkley Trilene Maxx line. the stuffs strong, relatively decently priced. U'll learn alot being on here. I already have.

ok, so I know you guys all said spinnerbaits, but Ill admit that it isnt my goto confidence lure like most people, but Im going to give it a shot..... about the muddiness, its ALWAYS nasty.... lol makes for great summer feeding conditions tho..... so heres another ? How do I work the senkos? just rig them whacky and weightless and let them drop? or what?! Ive tried to pitch them up onto lilly pads, twitch them a bit then let them fall in and drop. But the problem is the pads up here rise about four or five inches outta the water, and then "tilt" to one side or the other, so getting a bait to stay on the pad is borderline impossible. Im going to try the spinnerbait tho...... Colorado blades right?! more displacement and "thud" than willows........ and on the note of braid, Im not going anywhere near those pads without 25lbs spiderwire or 15lbs fireline tied on.... is that ok? -plus im only using 12lbs mono when im working baits outside the edges of the pads... should I switch to fireline there too?

first of all. Ive seen a bass attack, obviously not eat, but attack....repeatedly, a full grown canadian goose. I was in a jonboat I had rented at my local rinkydick lake and a pack of geese were uplake from me, one strayed away and was eating up on the shallow flats by an old dock I like to fish, when outta nowhere the goose freaked, I look over and see a fish going back into the lake, a big one too(for ohio). The goose hung around, and got smacked three other times before it moved on. My best guess was it was trying to eat the fishes fry, because it was late spring. I was happy, freaking geese are pests up here. now, eat, probably a hornet that was buzzing my bobber once when I was fishing for bluegills. I switched to a plastic work REALLY quick! but to no avail. That bass must have been no more than a foot from my bait the whole time. :-/

Im a model builder when Im not fishing, so I know all too well about plastics and how they tend to do what ever they want to do. molding just makes plastics tempermental. I wouldnt try the microwave, its designed to cook(heat) things differently than regular ovens or other heat sources..... Id use hot water, fill a glass bowl with hot water, carefully put the lures or in my other hobbies case, model part in, let it soak for a few mins, then wearing rubber gloves, take it out and try to reshape it..... If that doesnt work, some times a hair dryer can do the trick, be careful tho. small adjustments are best, ESPECIALLY in water temp. a few degrees and ull trash ur baits. dont forget that the plastic is going to want to twist/wapr back to its old form as it cools. -I could be all wrong about the microwave tho..... let me know how it turns out if u decide to try it. *Sorry for not reading thro the whole string....... happy you got them working!*

Ok, Ive tried everything Ive heard of so far...... PLEASE, just lay your best tips on me.... Im fishing a nasty, muddy, shallow lake thats got more lilly pads than you can toss a lure at in an evening fishing trip. Its a small lake, 99 acres, 10 feet deep, mud bottomed, moderate pressure from lots of anglers who have no idea what theyre doing, and theres lilly pads lining everyinch of undeveloped shore.... help me pull a bass out of these weeds! PLEASE! hit me with your best shot. So far Ive tried the following extensivley to no avail: -Bigfoot Frogs -Zoom Horny Toads -Swimbaits, Grubs, Buzzbaits, Wake bait style Cranks, & Lipless Cranks all along the edges -Topwater Poppers along the edges let me have it........ oh and to compicate things, I have limited evening fishing hours, and once and a while I get lucky and manage to rent a boat with a trolling motor on it. Which ALWAYS has to be in within an hour or two of me renting it. I need a fast paced, highly effective, reaticon causing trick to get these stupid Ohio bass to bite!

im right there with ya about the water temp...... its warm enough to fish in ohio, btu these cold fronts keep knocking just below the unproductive point!!!!

Hey all, wondering if anyone knows of any good small spots in North Eastern Ohio.... theres tons of ponds up here, the old googleearth trick turned up too many to investigate. Does anyone know wheres hot and who I can get in touch with to fish those waters?

hey, Federation Nation pretty much screwed me over and hasnt helped me worth a d**n, so I was wondering if anyone could help me find a bass club in the grater canton, Ohio area..... Akron works too, but canton is home, so.... let me know. And If all else fails, and anyone wants to just upstart a club, again..... let me know!

nope... the rangers really let anyone who gets in the water have it but ill look into it. the other problem there is that I have a tendency to change gear alot..... and i just take alot with me in general. so I cant really go too far past the shore, as sad as it is, theres alot of punk kids who wander the trails and like to mess with peoples stuff. :-/

another prob jut popped into my head, I know that getting to the pads before sun up and staying as the sun sets is the ticket to getting the big ones on top waters..... problem being, I have no boat, no canoe, no kyhak, no nothing..... and the marina isnt open early enough, and i have to have the boats in one hour before closing, which is almost an hour before the sun even starts to go down, the one chunk of pads i can get to is a favorite local shore fishing spot, so yes I can get to it early and "claim" it but its a high pressure spot, and is rarely productive. not to mention, its hard to get into the pads from that spot. theyre a little too far out to productivly cover any water...... solutions!? (I need a friend with a boat! lol)

I guess i should have been a little more specific...... I love my poppers, Im not the best with them, but Ive gotten hits on them. Ive just been getting into frogin. So far the bigfoot floaters are my favorite becase I can twitch and pause them and they stay on top. Ive got jigs..... how do I use them in those pads? the senko thing never even hit me until u guys mentioned it. that sounds like a great idea! besides swiming the edges is there any use for swim baits in the application?

hey guys, new to the forum and to bass fishing...... just got back into fishing last summer..... cant wait to learn. so long story short, i havent landed a sinlge bass yet... my home lake is a bowl shapped natural lake in northeastern Ohio. mud bottom, only 90 acres of water..... avg of about ten feet deep, and maxs out at about 12 ft. I LOVE skinny water fishing, mainly bc I dont have a boat. Theres TONS of lilly pads in my lake, and I want to know how You guys think I can pull that first keeper outta those pads. Let me know PLEASE! ;D

hey, sorry if this is in the wrong board, im new here and i just was dying to get some info out of you guys. I recently traded a cheap crankbait to a kid i met at my home lake for an OLD lure, the poor thing is beat up and didnt have a box with it, it came from his grandpas tackle box, and I have been wanting to start an antique lure collection, so..... i figured, what better place to start then there, I do believe its a bomber water dog.... its a plug with 3 round body segments, a flat diving lip thats kind of round shape, two treble hooks, is painted white with black spots, and has a small spinner on the back. Its got a few scratches and is kinda dirty. Like i said, no box, but i just wondered what you guys know about it. I have little to no intrest in selling, I just wanna know what i got my hands on. thanks.... btw, irony of the situation is I traded the kid for a Bomber Fat Free Fry crankbait I got in a clearance bin......