CRFisher

The moderators most likely like to fish too. Do a search, this has been covered many times. It's in the posting rules. Since it has the thread will eventually be closed by the moderators.

I think of sluggo's as more of a jerkbait while senko's are more of a pick up and drop type of bait.

A good pair of shoes helps, be prepared to walk. Learn to cast underhand, sidearm, pitch, etc. with accuracy when that's the only way you'll be able to get your bait our there. Downsizing helps, especially in the heat of the summer. A small plano and a bag of plastics are enough and you don't have to worry about carrying a lot in the heat. The machete idea isn't a bad idea. One place where I fish the low hanging trees where killing all the shore fisherman. Finally, I grabbed my tree lopper, cleaned out a branch or two and gained about 4 lures and the ablity to cast normally at that location.

I have the cheapest rod and spinning reel you can imagine and have no trouble pulling bass out of the pads. As long as it's not a light setup you should have no problem.

1) no boat 2) lack of equipment 3) not enough time Seriously - 1) getting plastics/jigs through slop/weeds with decent presentation 2) locating fish/structure from shore 3) patience with soft plastics (I tend to fish them too fast)

Congrats. I never fished a jig until late last year. So far in limited fishing only a few fish. The best thing is that jigs are relatively inexpensive compared to other baits.

I don't see how a fish is going to bite a bait based on how confident you feel. Unless a lack of confidence impacts the action of a bait I don't see it making any difference. There may be just as much impact as being overconfident in a bait.

They should be fine in the original bags, however, I've heard a drop or two of mineral oil helps. You should be able to find at any pharmacy for cheap.

Wally World had some jointed redfins for $2. I was actually surprised by the action. I reach for that now instead of a jointed rapala.

I was wondering the same thing. I had a fish hit a spook this weekend, hooked in the mouth with the front treble and the rear treble stuck into it's throat. It tossed the front treble on a jump, so landed with only the rear. Is that considered "foul hooked" or not? I would say no, as it wasn't snagged but wasn't sure what constitutes a record.

The wake baits are pricey, the paddletails are $9 for 3 of the 5". Their fluke looks interesting.

If you want something with a segmented body I've heard many good things about Lake Forks Magic Shad. A lot cheaper to give them a shot too.

The state lists advisories for fish comsumption by water body. http://db.state.ma.us/dph/fishadvisory/

Mepps spinners - #2 or #3 blade.

I have just decided to fish every lure in my tackle box over my next few outings. Started this am with using a popper and a white buzzbait I've used maybe once since I got them. Will move onto all of my jigs, minnows, spoons, etc. Once I've fished everything I'm getting rid of half of them and going shopping.

I would suggest where you find pads and shade from trees. My best luck post spawn through summer has been in the pads, near large sunken logs, both anywhere from shallow to deep, and deep where there is grass. Even if the current is slow they'll still like anything that shelters them from it (coves, sunken logs, etc.).

I'm going to have to make an afternoon free so I can take the hour drive to BPS (so 2+ hr round trip) or the 40 minute drive to Dicks. Figure someone would realize there is money to be made. All Walmart has is an aisle full of Joe's flies, Trout Magnets and swivels that absolutely no one is buying. I am up north, but we have other fish other than stocked trout.

Problem is there isn't a Dicks close to my house (or a Cabela's, BPS, Sports Authority or tackle shop). The only other place that's convenient is K-Mart, but they mostly only carry saltwater stuff. These same Walmarts had lot's of selection there last spring, but just crap this year.

I've had luck with the cheap floaters (Manns, Scumfrog) and Ribbits and the Hardnose Swim Toads. I think once the water temp get's right you can't go wrong. They'll all catch fish. Go with a Spro frog and I doubt you'll have any issue, as the action has to be better than what I've been throwing. I think any of the "buzz" frogs/toads will do the trick, but Ribbits and the Rage Tail seem to be the favorites.

Anyone else have the lure selection at their local WalMart go down the drain? There is nothing at the two stores near my work worth buying, they only have a few bags of Zoom plastics, no hooks or snaps, some Luck E Strike kits and a whole bunch of trout and ultralight lures that no one is buying. The only good thing is they had some cheap Smithwicks and Redfins, but they seem to have replaced the Renegade line with Cordell and Rebel castoffs.

somewhat true, as I have a bunch of cheap lures that I never throw filling up my tackle bag and a few key baits that I keep replacing.

A lot of people must think so or else they wouldn't sell any. Buy a few and let me know I'm too cheap to give the pricey baits a try, especially fishing from shore.

Gill Trick - http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/index.html I can't remember who posted this originally but it has come in handy.

I switched to mostly using 30lb braid because I hate losing lures. I still lose some but I also haul in some branches and lose alot less. However, I am fishing on 10lb flouro at the moment and fishing a lot of plastics. I need to whittle down my collection so I can restock

I swear some fish just know the drill. As you land them they almost seem to open their mouth so you can easily lip them and don't fight or anything as you unhook them. It's like they know what's going on from being caught so much and are just waiting to be thrown back.