senile1

Kent, were these fish mostly smallmouth or were there largemouth mixed in? There was an episode of "The Bass Pros" early in the year where Jason Quinn was wacking bass with a Hopkins spoon and he gave some good pointers. When the largemouth fishing isn't going so well on Smithville Lake, a spoon is always good for catching a few white bass if you're in the right spots. I haven't caught many black bass on spoons but the whites eat 'em up.

I would possibly mount a state record or a world record, but then again, I can't say for sure until I'm in those shoes, which isn't likely. Donating a state or world record to an aquarium and getting a replica mount sounds like a great idea too. For all other fish, it's take a picture and back in the water you go.

That was some time ago, Kent. I was a Royals and Brett fan, but I've followed the Cardinals from my youth, so the Royals take a back seat to them.

The Series starts tonight. Who's rooting for whom? I'm looking forward to it but it's not really a big deal to me who wins or loses.

My condolences, RW.

I don't like to pick just one. It all depends on where and when you fish. I fish Rapala Husky Jerks and X-raps, Smithwick Rogues, and Lucky Craft Pointers and have some luck with all of them. But if I have to pick one, I agree with FBL. I seem to catch fish every time I use the 100 DD.

Hmmm . . . . there wasn't much to speak of really. I broke my 19 year personal best slump. I fished for white bass with my daughters, who are 22 and 19, and are not regular anglers. They caught some fish and had a blast. This was my favorite trip of the year.

This is the best post I've seen in a long time.

Burley, I thought I may have misunderstood you. I agree that balance and, to some extent, weight affects performance. I still stand by my statement. An ounce or two difference between rods doesn't make a difference for me, at least regarding how tired I am by the end of the day. I guess that would be a subject for another thread.

Rays versus Phillies. Cool. It's kind of nice to have some teams, other than the usual suspects, in the Series this year. It's been a long time for the Phillies and, of course, this is the first winning season the Rays have ever had. Love it. Just for perspective on the Rays, check out their historical record below. Year League Record Finish/Rank Manager High OPS Low ERA Year 2008 AL East 97-65 (.599) 1 Joe Maddon Longoria Shields 2008 2007 AL East 66-96 (.407) 5 Joe Maddon Pena Kazmir 2007 2006 AL East 61-101 (.377) 5 Joe Maddon Crawford 2006 2005 AL East 67-95 (.414) 5 Lou Piniella Cantu Kazmir 2005 2004 AL East 70-91 (.435) 4 Lou Piniella Huff Hendrickson 2004 2003 AL East 63-99 (.389) 5 Lou Piniella Huff Zambrano 2003 2002 AL East 55-106 (.342) 5 Hal McRae Winn Kennedy 2002 2001 AL East 62-100 (.383) 5 Larry Rothschild and Hal McRae Vaughn Sturtze 2001 2000 AL East 69-92 (.429) 5 Larry Rothschild Vaughn Lopez 2000 1999 AL East 69-93 (.426) 5 Larry Rothschild McGriff Witt 1999 1998 AL East 63-99 (.389) 5 Larry Rothschild McGriff Arrojo 1998

I agree, Burley. I think I could use any combo all day and not have any issues with one combo tiring me more than another. At least, I've never noticed any differences in the ones I've used. We're not slinging sledge hammers here.

Cool article!

Joe Maddon is absolutely the manager of the year. Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays on making it to the World Series. (And for winning quite a few more than 70 games this year.)

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Wow, sounds like all of you caught some nice sacks! What a day!

Sweet fish, NitroMan. Congrats!

I'm beginning to see that Toledo Bend is Catt's living room. As a newbie to that lake, I don't think I would go out on it without consulting with him first.

I could get to the limb, but not out onto it. It is too thin. It is too thick to break the limb with my line and a hook, but not thick enough to support any weight. You could still climb the tree and place your weight on the limb while holding on to the trunk that the limb is attached to, thus breaking the limb with your weight. Then climb down and retrieve the lure.

That about covers it. You can cast a creature bait, worm, etc without any weight on a baitcaster due to the weight of the lure itself.

I'll fish in the Winter but I can count the number of times per Winter on one hand. What holds me back is my boat. My boat storage is not heated and is outside. I worry about water freezing up inside the motor so I'll fish from the bank. For those of you with boats and outside storage, what do you do to keep your boat going when air temps can freeze the water left in the motor?

How is hooking a fish good for it? Burley, your logic is profound.

Nice thread, Eddie Munster. I kind of wonder about some of those who are always correcting the people laying fish on the ground for scale though. (I see it all the time in the "My Fishing Tournament or Outing" section and sometimes it is done in a condescending way.) Holding the fish by the mouth and under the back portion of the belly is considered proper but it also removes slime. Many people recommend rubber nets to protect fish but guess what? They remove slime too. I agree that we shouldn't lay fish on the ground though I have done it once for a picture. We all care about these fish but I'm sure we've all removed more slime than intended at times. It is an imperfect world where I live.

I'm not. But I'm learning. Just a great break from all the crowds,heat, and monotony of summer time bass fishing. I'll get back to bass fishing for about a month and a half next month, then I think its gonna be stripers, steelhead and trout until february. This year round bassfishing that i have been doing got old! It looked like it was getting too easy for you. Every few days you were posting 35 - 45 lb bags. Those breaks from the crowds are awesome. I love to hike in the mountains or any wilderness where I can get away from it all. Once in awhile you can find a bass fishing place that is secluded but it is rare for me.

Whatever the weight, it sure is a fatty. Nice fish!!!

That's some breathtaking scenery fourbizz. I didn't know you were a fly fisherman as well.