senile1

I have to go with with the "old" moderator on this one. Bass Resource continues to accumulate informative articles and videos. Make sure you look at those as well as the forums for knowledge, because if you don't you will miss out on some great information. Welcome to the forums!

You and I are both in the same boat with regard to music. But we also have other careers that pay well. We didn't just decide we were going to go for broke with music and not have a plan B (or a plan A2).

The problem with following your heart is that you have to have the open-mindedness to gauge if you really have the skills to do what you have your heart set on. That's why many people who chased really big dreams are living check to check. They aren't very good at assessing their abilities. So . . . . if you have your heart set on something, you should also analyze yourself to see if you have the inherent skills and mindset to make that dream a reality. Otherwise, come up with a different dream, or at least have a plan B if plan A doesn't work out. I know a lot of musicians who never made it and had no fallback plan. Careers in dishwashing aren't very lucrative.

Crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, chatterbaits, topwater lures, and possibly some lighter spinnerbaits would work with your medium power Ugly Stick. You might grab some Senko type worms as well though you will need some worm hooks for those. For a standard 5 inch Senko type worm rigged Texas style but without a weight, I would go with a 2/0 or 3/0 EWG (extra wide gap) hook. For wacky rigging in the middle of the bait I would use a 1/0 octopus style or wacky rig hook. You can use your rod to fish anything, though presentations requiring a highly sensitive rod would be better with a heavier power rod . Also, longer rods (7 foot or more) are better for slow bottom presentations requiring a lot of line to be moved on the hookset. Oh . . . . welcome to the forums!

I think the evidence in the report is strong, though circumstantial. Now the Patriots and Brady have come out with the story of the deflator and inflator being terms for each of the employees whose desire was to lose weight and gain weight respectively. If that were the case, why did it take a few days to come up with this story? I call BS on that one. Brady is guilty as charged. Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. To me, there is no debate on that one. In 2006, Brady and Manning successfully lobbied the league to allow them to provide their own footballs. All teams now do this. I highly suspect others of cheating as well. This doesn't get Brady off the hook though. Similar to speeding, some get caught and others don't. You are still guilty of speeding. Lastly, Ray Rice gets suspended two games for knocking his girlfriend's lights out on video. Brady gets four for cheating. What a statement that makes. The NFL needs to get its priorities straight. I don't want to decrease Brady's punishment, but increase Ray Rice's.

I have had a few snakes swim up to the boat. Once they get to the water beneath the gunwale my wife really freaks out. I feel a bit uneasy myself when I can't see what they are doing. I've never had one try to get in yet. If she sees a snake coming towards us and I don't move the boat she isn't happy.

Gotfishyfingers?, on 14 Apr 2015 - 4:46 PM, said: Our media does quite a poor job in many, many cases. In the case of pythons, however, they may very well be affecting the Everglades ecosystem. See the article below. Just because you don't see a snake doesn't mean it isn't there. http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4158&from=rss#.VS6np_nF8WI

If you are just asking how long to stay with one bait before moving, or how many baits to use before moving, that has been covered in a number of threads. However, if you are really keeping the question broad as it is in the title to the thread, then I like the question. It's a good one and could spark much discussion. There are many aspects to covering an area. The first item on the agenda is finding an area worthy to be covered. Finding structure that is used by bass for movement is covered in a lot of threads too. Once that is accomplished, how does one fish that structure to find where the fish are located on it? Is that what you are asking?

No. Over the last three weeks we have thawed and Smithville lake has gone from frozen to surface temperatures of 42 - 44 degrees. Some small ponds have already hit 50 - 52 degrees, but we are encountering a slight cool spell over the next few days with lows in the upper 20s and highs in the 40s. I'm sure some of you further north would give anything to have temperatures like that so I am counting my blessings. I have caught a few fish but nothing bigger than 3 lb 2 oz so far.

Congratulations, Senko Lover! Nice fish.

Words fail me. Excellent catches!

Congratulations on two very nice bass!

I have great long distance eyesight but terrible vision for working up close. My progressive lenses on my Maui Jim's are different than the glasses I use for all my reading and computer work. The reading section is only 1/4 inch at the bottom for tying knots while the rest of the lens is built for my long distance vision. This allows me to see everything normally with polarized lenses while still being able to tie knots with the small section at the bottom of the lens.

I think this tool is definitely useful for older eyes when threading very small hook eyes. I do think the price is a bit steep for the basic functionality provided but I would probably buy it at some point.

On a more serious note, I have towed in a couple of boats in my time on the water.

One time a guy fishing near me hooked a bass. I saw it leap a couple of times and it was huge. He was fishing among some trees and the fish eventually wrapped him around a branch so he was struggling to bring it in. I pulled up in my boat and cut his line so he wouldn't break his rod.

It is a little tricky. The angle of the shot appears to be from a lower vantage point. Good luck, everyone.

Sweet! That's a lot of fish in one day. Congratulations.

Very nice work, Blue. I don't normally buy a Kansas fishing license but I think your winter success has convinced me. I need to go over there and fish those powerplant lakes in the winter.

There are some reasons for weighing bass other than competitive reasons. After you weigh a few bigger fish, you have at least some idea of what a big fish really is in your area. That way you will know when you have a big fish on, rather than being like some who call a 3 lb fish a 5 lb'er. After weighing a few, you know which ones deserve to be weighed and which ones can be release immediately for the most part. Of course those that are on the cusp of being large get weighed so that you know for sure. Weighing fish also allows you to gauge your improvement. If you are one whose goal is to catch bigger fish, you need some empirical evidence so that you know if you are reaching your goal or not. For someone like me, it is also about competing with myself and sharing the experience. I don't get on the water enough every year to be as good as some of the sticks on this forum; and even if I did, who's to say I could ever be that good. The numbers of big fish I catch are far less than someone who puts 100 - 150 days a year on the water. Anglers with that experience know what they are doing and it would be quite hubristic of me to try to compete with them. However, when I catch a decent fish I will post it and share it with everyone. We all enjoy pictures of nice fish no matter who catches it and it is enjoyable to give each other a pat on the back for nice fish. It is difficult to pat someone on the back when the fish looks to be 4 lbs and the poster states that it weighs 7, though most of us do without saying a word. Using a scale allows us to avoid these situations.

I'm similar. I don't weigh every fish but when they start to get chunky I want to be accurate when I tell someone a fish story. Pictures help too. Honesty and integrity require it. And we all take pride in catching larger fish which is nothing to be ashamed of. Whose heart doesn't race when he or she realizes they have a huge fish on the line. I want to know how big that fish really is. I don't want to guess and I surely don't want to overestimate. If I am not telling anyone about my fishing experience, then I guess a picture and and actual weighing of the fish aren't necessary because there is no chance of providing inaccurate information in that case.

That's a pretty good tournament record.

It is difficult to put a grade on it and I noticed some others didn't give themselves a grade. I can provide a grade for different aspects of my fishing but as A-Jay stated, "if you get to do it every fishing season is a total success." My time on the water is often limited due to the work I do, which can be very frustrating. Over the last few years that is an aspect of my fishing that would be in the D range as I have only been able to fish between 20 and 40 days a year. Last year it was only 26. The number of fish I caught last year between 4 and 7 lbs was approximately 8 percent or about 1 in 12. Where I live, fish of this size are good chunks, though not personal bests. I would give myself a B - to a B on this one. For numbers of fish, I was on the low side in my opinion though every outing was decent and the fish were larger. I avoided the skunk for the first year in awhile. I would go with a C here. I'm getting much better at finding and pulling fish from 30 - 40 foot depths in the deep, clear lakes like Table Rock. Sometimes in summer the fish can be 60 - 80 feet down so I still have a lot to learn there. For what I have learned I would give myself a B - for that too. As for a comprehensive grade, it depends on what you emphasize. If you like numbers, I didn't do so well. If you like big fish, I did ok for my region. I did enjoy every minute of it and can't wait until I have more time to devote to fishing. I hate to wish my life away, but retirement can't come soon enough.

That is one heck of a spotted bass! Keith Bryan didn't get to hold the record for long, but I love to see records fall in bass fishing.

Congratulations to Casey on the win.