senile1

Ah . . . . a blast from the past. I had forgotten about the Moss Boss. I had a few in the 70s and 80s but have none now. Thanks for the reminder.

You took the words out of my mouth. A lot of statements here indicate that a man needs a woman who likes to take part in his favorite activities, but I see little about how a man should like to do some things a woman does. Double-standards aren't a good thing. It is all give and take. It is good to have some things in common and it is good to have some things that one does on his/her own. The balance between those two categories is different for every couple. Each couple has to find that balance for themselves, but it is a two-way street and some men need to show an interest in some activities that their significant others participate in also.

Yeah, I would think the most likely usage would be stimulants.

It is normal to have some vegetation around the jig head or your t-rig weight when fishing thick grass. A lot of bites come on the fall so the grass causes no issues on those bites. Once your lure hits bottom, let it soak for a bit and wiggle it. Then as you slowly work it back to the boat, it will pick up some veggies on the way. At times during the retrieve the lure may be down in grass and can't be seen by fish. At other times it is visible. With patience, time, and experience you will catch bass in vegetation. As for your dropshot bait getting covered in grass, use a floating worm and make sure your leader is long enough for the bait to be just above the grass. With regard to lily pads, pitch and flip into the holes and gaps. When flipping or making a short pitch, you can wiggle and work the bait in a very small area with only a short amount of line out. When finished you can slowly pull the lure up and out without catching the pads. On longer pitches try to work the line between the edges of the pads. You will catch pads and grass on your lure but that's part of it. When the bass are buried in the thick stuff you have to present your lure where they are at.

Very nice Fish! Congratulations to your son!

I would pick a dock based on where I found fish in the Spring. If you had a couple of spawning coves where you had a lot of luck in the Spring, look for docks that provide stopping points between the shallows and deep water. Docks that have cover on drop-offs into deeper water nearby are what I would look for. Not only should you fish under the dock, but fish the drop-off and below until you find the fish. There are also large marina docks that extend well out into the lake. If you find any channels or structure under those that lead to spawning areas they can be good as well. Keep in mind there are rules of thumb we can give you but bass behavior doesn't always fit these rules. I was reading something recently from an Elite angler who was finding fish on gradual sloping points rather than points that drop-off in the Summer on a particular lake. I suspect there were breaks along that point that created a path from shallow to deeper water which is why the bass used it. Finding out why the bass use a particular structure is all part of the puzzle and I am far from an expert at it. I also noticed that you are in Minnesota. A lot of my experience is on reservoirs which are just about all we have in my area. If you are fishing natural lakes it can be a bit different though cover, grass lines, and drop-offs near deep water are still key. I rarely get to fish natural lakes.

If you know there are fish in your lakes, then the issue has to be location and patience. I would fish vegetation and brush in shallow water with deep water nearby, or I would fish deeper water with a path of breaks and breaklines leading to spawning or shallow water feeding areas where you caught fish in the Spring. Fishing docks can be good, but the docks have to be the right ones with the proper structure beneath them and around them to hold fish. If you are unfamiliar with a lake and it covers a few thousand or more acres it can take time and lots of work with electronics to find the right areas so hang in there. The heat of summer can be tough. I've found that if I am punching, flipping, or pitching shallow water cover such as lilly pads, milfoil, and brush piles that lie near deeper water I can usually catch a few every time I'm out - sometimes more, sometimes less. I tend to favor jig and craw, t-rigged worms, and creature baits for this type of fishing. Also, I can often pull one or two in with a lipless crankbait in the grass even when they don't seem to want a fast presentation. If that isn't working, I find a deeper ledge or break near these areas. Underwater channel intersections are productive for me as well, but again, it can take time to find the right ones. Make sure you know how deep your thermocline is in the lake you are fishing because there will be no bass below that depth. Hopefully, this helps.

You guys are doing pretty well! Lots of nice fish there.

And I would add that I like the fact that you were humble enough to describe the other group of anglers who were catching fish while you hit a drought. I get tired of the stories where the angler pulls up to a spot where someone else isn't catching fish and then proceeds to slay them. Funny that we rarely hear the story the other way around.

Very nice fish!

If you don't know, or don't remember, the moon phase when you caught your personal best go to this site: http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases_calendar.phtml and enter the month and year when you caught your fish in the calendar. Make sure you choose the correct hemisphere. Then look for the day of the month. If you aren't familiar with the symbols used for the different phases, click on "moon phases explained" in the menu on the left.

I'm not dreaming at all. If I were approached by 100 PETA members and my comments only got through to one person it would be worth it. We win the battle by changing hearts and minds. It's much easier to get someone to understand your point of view if you can find a reason to respect them. I think we can find something to respect in most people we disagree with, except for those psychopaths and sociopaths we occasionally encounter.

Very nice work, Glenn. I'm working now but I can't wait to check all of these out.

I have never been approached while fishing or hunting by an animal rights activist. On one hand, we can all laugh at some of the extreme views and actions of some PETA members. On the other hand, there is always something to be learned from everyone, even the most unlikely of sources. We should avoid leaving fishing line in our waters and on our shores. We should handle fish with as much care as possible to avoid removing their protective coat. We should try to avoid hooking fish in the gullet. We should limit the amount of time the fish is out of the water. We should respect the resource and many anglers do. Should we stop fishing just because these things happen from time to time? No. It is an imperfect world and sometimes fish will be injured. I don't stop driving just because people are injured in wrecks. If I were approached I would try to find common ground with these responses.

How deep was the fish caught? 9 - 10 feet deep in 11 - 12 feet of water Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? No. Lure was a spinnerbait. Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? chartreuse/white If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? 3rd Quarter

Cisco just held their Cisco Live event in Orlando and approximately 20,000 people attended and that's for just one company. All kinds of special amenities were provided to those within the industry who had tickets, including renting Universal out for a night so all the rides, etc were free. For that evening Cisco provided all the free drinks and eats one would want, and Journey also performed. Throughout the week there were other free events and food and drink were provided. There is a lot of expense that goes into throwing these events and I assume ICAST is similar in some respects, though I doubt they throw the party that Cisco did. You want to provide free amenities for those in the industry who will sell and service your product. You don't want to provide free amenities for the world at large. Those people in attendance will then go out and sell your product for you.

It's all about locating fish, and good electronics would be helpful if you and your buddy don't know the lake very well. You will have to find the deep water routes that the fish use to reach the shallows and work your way back out to deep water from those areas. Look for shallow pockets and coves that have breaks leading out to deeper water. Underwater creek channels and underwater channel intersections are a good place to start. All of us have been guilty of just fishing the shoreline at one time or another. Those fish that tend to stay in the shallows of a busy lake have seen just about every lure. Unless you are punching some thick mats or fishing some thick brush that other anglers bypass, the fish that stay shallow all year may not fall for what you are presenting.

I meant no disprespect to Powell rods. I have six of them myself and have encouraged others to try them out on this forum since 2006. For rods less than $200 or so, I think Powells are right there with the best of them. However, I also have a few G.Loomis GLXs. There is a difference between Powells and a GLX/NRX level rod, though once you reach a certain price the improvements become less and less. I'm thinking Powell is trying to create a rod that competes with that class of rod and if it is anything like their previous rods, I'm sure it will. I think you and ec1 may be onto something here. The main complaint I have heard from others about Powell rods over 7 feet long is that they are somewhat tip-heavy.

If I am reading this correctly the winners are Speedbead - Largemouth Dwight - Smallmouth (What a surprise.) 200racing - Spotted You are too kind, A-Jay. I guess if we had more people involved we could do that but I do like the idea of all of us competing against one another, state vs state. Some states may have a better chance than others, but the percentage format evens it out as much as it can be.

Before this year I had gone ages without breaking a rod. I think I had only broken one before and that was caused by slamming it in a truck door. I broke two rods this spring and both were absolutely due to carelessness. I was aware that both rods had been stepped on and felt a little uneasy about it. I accidentally stepped on the first one, a Powell Max 702, while fighting a fish while it lay on my deck. A few casts with it after I stepped on it and it snapped. That was back in April. I saw my wife accidentally step on the second one gettting in the boat after I dropped her off for a bathroom break. That one, a St Croix Avid, broke on a cast as well near the end of May. Rod breakage is almost always caused by misuse.

Oh my. It sounds like Powell is going to step into the high end rod arena. I'm looking forward to a review. ICAST can't come soon enough.

. . . . and the quest continues. That's a chunky 4 lb'er A-Jay! What's the next step? Stitchin' a Huddleston? Drop shotting a spinnerbait? Lay it on us, future Zen master.

Everytime I go to this pond I take Raid with me. If I forget the Raid I give the boat a full inspection before sliding it into the water. There are a lot of big field spiders at this place. I know they aren't poisonous but it's hard not to jump when you find one crawling on you.

Very nice thread, Sam. Everything operates and functions based on mathematical principles. However, I suspect that the set of FLW and Bassmaster Elite Anglers will reflect the normal bell curve of intelligence that is found in the average population. Higher level math explains everything, but that doesn't mean that those involved in the activity know how it is applied and how to explain it. Math and physics apply in football, baseball, basketball, and every sport you can think of. I am sure no one really believes all of the people involved in these sports are mathematical wizards. But somehow, the human mind has an amazing ability to make basketball shots, hit baseballs, judge where a football is thrown, and catch fish without knowing the principles behind it all.

Congratulations, Speedbead. That is a beautiful fish.