basspimple

both have ther own niche. even though both are mostly bottom contact techniques(a loose statement) they both alure fish in very different ways. for ex, jigs are ultimate crawfish imitators, and i believe most fish will bite a jig with the intention of eating it. a worm on the other hand, doesnt exactly imitate anything, but apeals to a basses senses it lots of ways, and just looks like somthing alive. just my 2 bits. -j

well, in most impoundments these days, there are many more types of forage than just "baitfish" that bass will feed on. that probably explains why you can have fish on riprap that could be keying on crayfish, and on the other side of the lake have bass chasin schools of shad on flats. but to what your talking about is open water baitfish, like shad and the like. im pretty much in the same boat with ya on that one.

well, if you think about it, the bass eat the baitfish, thus what ever the baitfish do or move dictates where the bass will be. fishing would be a lot harder if the bass had the baitfish in check.

x2.

used diawa millionaires (can get em cheaper than 70 bux easily)

as owner of 3 berkley lightnins, i say the new lr are not as good as the older ones. they are light, and sensitive, but just to brittle for my liking. broke one just recently.(was a new one) now the old ones are TANKS. ive yet to break either my 7'mh casting and 7'm spinning. the cork breaks down fairly quick, and are lil heavy, but are plently sensitive and are quite comfy. again, this is just me. i end up breaking most of my rods anyways. ;D

believe it or not, i use a flipping stick heavy action. get the lure to cast farther, and the rod takes a lot of punishment they dish out. i dont really believe im using more forgiving rods when fishing big cranks, i can never get a fish to hook up on em. :-?

i personally like round reels better. ive got an old diawa millionaire cvx, and its quite small. it works well for both pitching and casting. ive got a couple of lower end lps, but i just dont like the feel of them as much as a round.

my local creek is like that. the waters so low, the water is barley going over a local dam, so the water backs up and that scum just chokes it. i fish a jig RIGHT next to the bank, is some sort of "secondary" cover not through the the duckweed. im talking 6 inches of water. its funny seeing people fishing in the deeper water not gettin a bite. they ask me "where did you catch that?" *point at the bank* "right there", lol.

eakins jig, 5/16 with a zoom super chunk, both in green pumpkin. i would say a 5" senko wacky, but i have just started using this jig for the last month or so and i am having some great bites with this bait, its my new fav. twitch it, pitch it, swim it, i just love fishin this jig!

i am by no means a jig pro, but this is what i generaly go by: i would use a jig with less bulk, at least in the skirt. colorwise, i just stick with black/blue in stained/muddy water and green pumpkin-watermelon hues in clear. white if im swimming it. if the fish are finicky, as most bass are clear water, try a smaller trailer, or one that doesnt cause quite as much comotion. i try to go as natural as possible in clear water. just go out and try a couple of different things, jigs can be fished in more ways than one. -j

well they really are good rods, ver light and pretty sensitive, but i guess where they reduced the wieght they sacrificed the durability at the same time. i guess im going with a medium action so it loads up better on the cast. only reason i got it mh was to skip docks with, but im not using huge hooks anyway so i guess it should be fine.

so i bought one new a few months ago. 6', mh spinning. didnt have any problems with it, then went out today fishing, flicked the bait pretty hard and SNAP! the tip is gone. i have the old lighning rods, and they are still truckin. the new ones are just to brittle. anyone have same problems with it as i have? or am i stuck with some seriously bad luck? ;D -j

WHAT? they are worth that much? lol. im wondering the same thing, lol.

i think really color does work to some extent, like fishing natural baits andcolors for finicky fish, but it mostly comes down to if the fish can see it or not. i read in a book once about creature baits : "fish look at em like people look at airline food: they dont know what it is, but they eat it anyway." as long as it looks alive and moves the way they want it to, they will eat it.

this is why i love this site, ;D thanks all, i think i might be good now. ive always fished docks with soft plastics, but its gettin to that time of year where these fish are movin around a lot. im thinkin hardbaits are the way to go. search the area with a spinnerbait, then slow down and pick em off with the jig. wish me luck! -j

catfish are fun, if you can find em. in a pond is the easiest way that i know of. a no brainer rig to use is a slip sinker rig, kinda like a carolina. thread a good size egg sinker anto the line, tie a swivel, put about a 1-2 foot leader on it with a pretty stout hook(i personally use trot line hooks ) on it and bait it up and let it fly. if your planning to not keep the fish, try some circle hooks, much easier on the fish. i personally dont use em much, because i just let the fish swallow the whole thing, hook and all. since i keep pretty much all the catfish i catch, i can just get my hook back later . im not to picky when it comes to bait, although fresh cut 'gill or shad seem to be more consistent for me. crawlers, hot dogs, dough bait all works well. i tend to shy away from dip baits and the like, to much hassle and produce smaller fish imo. just go out and give it a try, night fishin is wonderful. even if they aint biteing, a cooler, pack a smokes and a buddy makes it a worth while and a memory to. -j

thanks for the input guys. im gonna try using them w/a zoom chunk trailer around some docks at my local lake. i hammer em on senkos and trick sticks, but im out :'( ive never fished docks with jigs before, just for prespawn. any tips on fishin em round docks? ive heard target different areas(pillings, front of dock, ect) until you find where the fish are located, and concentrate on those areas. any more input on this? im pretty set on trying to catch a big fish in this lake, and figured jigs are a more well rounded big bass bait just from reading articles and such. im on a quest for a monster ;D -j

if you can find some, some company makes inline spinners with a single hook. try to use the smallest lures you can get by with, for the trout at least. rock bass are not very finicky, and you can catch them on just about anything if you can find em first. idk about travel rods, but i dont see what the big deal would be to use some sort of small, light action pole around 5 ft. good luck man! gotta love the smokies! -j edit: nm on the pole, i seen you were backpacking.

wow thats huge for ky! good job man.

white for high light, black for low. use somthin green when fishing is slow. color is good, but its mostly the action. add some beads for added attraction!

just bought a pack a wally world. they gottem on sale for 4 bux a pack of three. any one have any input on em? thanx -j

flouroclear is an excellent line. good stretch, not a lot of memory, and casts like a dream. only thing ive come to find out wrong with it is its abrasion resistance isnt the greatest.

baitcasting for sure. once you get the hang of it, it becomes almost second nature. not to say spinning are not good, but they all have certain niches they fill.

catfish are some of the toughest fish you will ever catch. if they are small you can lip em, but if they are as big asyour talkin about, you would be better of holdin em the way bchlr stated. i have had catfish out of the water for 3 hours or more and released them (some were to small to keep) and with a little coaxing swim away just fine. good luck! catfishin is probably the most easy fishin thats out there!