senko_77

I have 2 strengths that really stand out in my mind: 1) I can make my lures land in the water incredibly quiet. I watched a KVD video a about a year ago and he was showing how to make the lure land without so much as a ripple. I PRACTICED it like crazy and can now be absolutely stealth when casting to pressured fish. 2) I seem to get better when things get worse. When its noon out, blue bird day, and 110+ degrees, I'll be catching while everyone else is struggling. But it's vice versa, I usually get spanked in the mornings, but that's ok because I feel midday fish are usually bigger because you fish so much slower. I also have some serious weaknesses that I am always working on: 1) Confidence in myself. It sometimes really holds me back 2) Knot breakage. I know that sounds bad, but it's something that has always been a problem for me. I've pretty much switched to the palomar, and I've definately seen it improve, but I still have no confidence when I'm playing a fish because of the countless times I've broken off. I think it's gonna take awhile for me to reverse my mindset. Cool post idea FC

Awesome fish Randall. I haven't been to Varner since the last time we went out there. Those pics make me wanna get up there a.s.a.p. Is all the paint gone on the wagtail I traded you? Sounds like you've caught them good with it. I haven't caught any on the beast yet but I haven't given up. LOL. BTW, I still have some tickets left for seussical.....HAHAHA ;D

I don't really think there is a "best" carolina rig bait, but I would say a lizard or a brush hog would be most popular. I mainly throw a trick worm or lizard. Good luck in the tourny.

Take a weighted hook and rig the frog on it. The weight keeps the belly down and will solve your problem.

Definately would be a 1/2oz Diamond Dust Rat-L-Trap and a Yo-Zuri Rattl N' Vibe in baby bass

I'm at a fat disadvantage because my state holds the WR. lol. But I am still incredibly grateful for my p.b. My 14.7 comes out to be 66% of the state record. I think that LBH can top him. His PB is like 9 something and R.I.'s record I beleive is 10 something. Cool idea D.M.B.

Oh and $10 that we'll be seeing that release pic on a t-shirt in 6 months ;D

Speachless! What an incredible story, and INCREDIBLE pics. Perfect lookin bass, awesome realease pic, and then her super soakin you. Also, I love how you get your sponsors in your pic. It's perfect. I hope one day I can get photos of fish as well as you. Congrats again!

If you truly want to "match the hatch" as close as you can, then a soft plastic swimbait like the California Swimbabes Baby E or an Osprey Inline Full Body 4" would be tough to beat, especially in gin-clear water. But jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and shad colored cranks like the ones mentioned by the other replies will work too.

What a great post! I can't wait to see some of the replies. I started fishing about 3 or 4 years ago. The biggest change I've seen is the transition from the majority of the bass world power-fishing, to mostly finesse fishing. I went through the same change. I've definately upgraded my gear. Not so much tackle, but more rods and reels. I basically stick with the same tackle so that I always get better at that tenchique and I dont have to get to caught up in lure selection and colors and all that jazz. Technology has helped, but the technology was already there, it just took me some time to learn how to use it to catch more fish. By technology I'm talking about electronics and also about using the internet Fishing hasn't changed who I am, but it has changed what I do. I am who I am and I will always be, but I fish ALOT. My weekends are taking up by tournaments and my weekdays are taken up by work and pre-fishing for the tournaments...basically, all my gf's hate me! I'm fishing way different then when I first started. I have a boat now, and my whole arsenal of techniques has been fine-tuned to better suite the way I like to fish. It used to be where I would chunk whatever lure looked but now I establish patterns and stick to my guns. I consider myself a full-time tourmanet angler. lol. I absolutely love the thrill of tournaments but I also really appreciate the times on the water where I can relax and just have a good time. My friends parents always ask me why I would wanna pay an entry fee to fish.....they just dont understand Fishing becomes more fun everytime I go out. Sure there are days on the water where I'm stressed because I cant find them, but everytime I come home from a trip, and I start thinking about the day, what I could have done, how I absolutely killed them, etc. it just makes me wanna get back out on the water even more Fishing has definately improved my life. I have had some serious family hits in the last few years and fishing has always given me an outlet to just let my mind wander away from reality and to vent some things. I dont know what I would do without being able to do that and I've also met some great people through fishing that have changed my life. I'm very appreciative to god for allowing me to get involved with the sport. When I first started, it was a hobby...now, it is a lifestyle

3/32oz watermelon Picasso Shakedown Jighead in with a watermelon/gold Zoom trickworm.

Jay, I sent ya a PM

I second these. Everytime I've fished with LBH, he's proved to me how affective they are.

Valascus, you keep your head up man. I know you know this, but everything happens for a reason, and like you said, in the end everything will ok and you will be a stronger person. you have a ton on your plate and from what i read on that second to last paragraph, it sounds like your handling it perfect considering the situation. im glad you feel like this forum is a family extension. i feel the same way. its a great place to talk and get support i will keep you and your family in all my prayers and i know that you and your wife will be ok!

I have mixed opinions on it. It almost seems like the spools are inconsistent. Some are awesome, and other's break like butter. I have never had experience with straight Vanish, I have always used Vanish Transition. It always seemed to get abrasion very easily, but I loved how it handled when casting, and even though I always got abrasion, I never had breaking problems at the abrasion point. Whenever I would break it, it would be at some random spot throughout the line. As far as the Transition being like $16.00/spool, I think the regular Vanish is a better deal, but all my spinning reels have been switched over to braid/flouro leader and that is the most money smart thing I have ever done. Also, the Wal-Mart at my house had spools of Vanish on clearance for $4.00 That was an awesome deal and I bought everything they had.

HAHAHA!!!

After seeing a post that Dan made in the Outing section where he wacky-rigged a swimmin senko, I went out and tried and and slammed them. The senko bite that I had found has kinda tapered off but while it was on, the swimmin senko caught tons of decent fish for me. So when I do fish them, I fish them wacky.

Definately Zoom Trick Worms. My staple colors are Watermelon/Gold Flake, Black, Castaic Choice, Green Pumpkin, Red Bug, Watermelon/Green, and Mardi Gras.

Dont forget clear skirts. If the water your fishing is truly gin-clear, and clear skirt with some gold or silver glitter can be awesome and is as realistic as they come. Shad in clear water appear transparent, and when you rip a clear skirted spinnerbait over a bass's head, they dont get a great look at it...pure reaction strike. hope this helps and good luck!

When I want a slightly faster fall or I'm fishing deeper water I'll take a 1/32oz Tru-Tungsten worm weight and peg it to the hook with a Tru-Tungsten Smart Peg. The smart peg doesn't damage your line, and a 1/32oz tungsten weight is so small that I can still fish dense vegetation without it collecting the cabbage.

Muddy, even if I know the body of water inside out, I still always have my electronics on. Although I already know the depth, my electronics will show me if bait is present, the height of the vegetation, and temp. I racked my brain for a minute and the only times I can think of when I turned my finders off this year has been when I'm bed fishing and I already have a visual on the fish, and when I'm fishing super shallow flats that stay a constant depth over the whole flat. The flat I'm thinkin of is about 4ft deep and my finder would not help me locate bait.

Lol. Me and my mom and friend Rutledge went to Athens which is about an hour away so she could go to a bible study and we could fish. On the way home we hit one in Athens, then Loganville, then Snellville. I was freakin stuffed full of floats. yum

Soft Plastics: Zoom or GYCB Crankbaits: Lucky Craft Topwater: Lucky Craft and Tru-Tungsten Jigs: Gman's Senko77 special Spinnerbaits: Tru-Tungsten

Here's how I would do it. Place fish on top of foot. (keeps the dirt off) Take a 5 lb or bigger rock. Smash with maximum force. Bass will die real quick. You know the sad thing is, I had to read it a couple times to figure out what was wrong with that. The 1st time I was like..."yeah, I guess that could work" but then I was like..."wait, something is wrong about that" God I'm not to bright.

As far as where your fishing them, I dont think your doing anything wrong. You probably just haven't found that perfect retrieve that the fish are hitting at that moment. Sometimes they might want a stop and go and other times could be as fast as you can reel. One of my sure fire ways of catching fish on traps is to take a 1/2oz Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap in Diamond Dust and throw it over grassbeds. When the trap nicks a piece of grass I rip it out of there. That's a retreive that will work throughout most of the year because it is a pure reaction strike. As long as there is grass, then you can catch them by ripping it through. Like I said, vary your retrieve until you hit something that gets them going, or find some grass and rip it through it. Hope this helps and good luck!