senile1

How was the fishing at TC, Gary? Sometimes a bad camera shot doesn't do a fish justice. I'm sure the one you're holding is in PB territory.

Nice fish!

Are these guys exceeding the creel limits set by your state conservation department? If so, you should report them. If they are not breaking the law, you can only change what you can control. A 100 acre lake is large enough to have a few prime spots for bass. With a boat it shouldn't be that difficult to work on discovering new areas to fish. Unless your meal hunters are pulling fish out of there many times during a season it is difficult to say whether they are having that much impact on the fishery. If you suspect they are, you may want to find another fishing hole.

Live bait provides advantages and disadvantages and there are circumstances when artificial baits will out-fish live bait. Ignore the naysayers. Fish the way you want to fish, within the law, and have fun.

Very nice. Too bad you didn't have a scale. That thing is huge.

Nice fish! That's a chunk and some change.

Make sure you are fishing where the fish are first. Check the following thread out, especially the part regarding how a bass doesn't seem to become conditioned to plastic worms. I'm not sure why this would be but I have read it in a few articles. Try a very slow, finesse presentation with a worm and see what happens. Or you could try something that is unique and the bass haven't seen before. Other things to keep in mind are to avoid bumping the sides and bottom of the boat, and to avoid being seen by the fish. Anything you do that could spook the fish should be avoided.

I echo Fluke's sentiments. The fish don't care but the probability of losing a fish increases. avid, I haven't been available to post much lately, but noticed that you were hanging out again. It's good to have you back.

I try to fish until the water gets hard. The last three or four years we've had a couple of months of hard water. Our big lakes only get thin sheets of ice but the ice in the coves and near the ramps is thicker and pretty much eliminates any fishing when the ice is on.

That's a nice catch for Bass Resource.

I can give you some generalities to apply to your pond, but as they say, the bass don't read the same books we read. The bass in your small pond are probably the predator at the top of the food chain in that body of water. The forage will try to find the best places to hide from them so any vegetation, or cover is where they will be. The bass will hang around near that cover at various times during the day to feed. Fish near the edge or in any cover you can find using crankbaits, spinnerbaits, worms, jigs, etc that are either similar to your forage or that will provoke a strike. For example, I have a pond that I fish occasionally where the main forage is bluegill and green sunfish and they are always up near the cattails and in the coontail moss. If they were out in the middle of the pond they would be sitting ducks for the bass. At this time of year when the water temperatures are in the 60s I have a lot of luck at this pond with jigs and craws, worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. The bait that works for the day depends on the weather conditions and how active the bass are. If the bass aren't very active and I am fishing a worm or jig, I usually move it by crawling and never move it more than a couple of inches at a time. I never have my best luck with larger hops using worms and jigs.

Congratulations on the PB. It always bums me out a little when I forget a camera and catch a nice fish.

Ah . . . Thanks for the clarification, Packard. I have to pay more attention to posts, or just not glance at them while I am working.

Those are some nice hawgs, Randall. Varner continues to produce.

How about sticking your head in its mouth like a lion tamer? Nice Fish!

That's a nice smallmouth. Congratulations to your wife.

There is a "Flea Market" forum on this site. That would be the place to post the sale of your rod.

I have been considering this place for about 5 years now and I still haven't made it out there. Reading the website and their documentation it sounds like a great place, but when I read their fishing reports it doesn't seem to indicate that it is any better than any other lakes I fish so I end up going somewhere else. Also, in their reports I often see statements about fish breaking off and it makes me wonder why they lose so many fish. (Is it just a tactic to make you think there are huge fish there?) If you or your buddies try it out let me know how it goes.

I have Marathons on my trailer. They are two years old now and they still look good, but I haven't checked the country of origin.

I would add Mozingo and Bilby Ranch lakes near Maryville, MO. These lakes have good big bass populations.

There are lots of braids that I am sure would work and you will get a number of answers here other than the two you have mentioned. Is there a reason you have narrowed your choices to these two? I haven't tried Sufix 832 yet because I am very happy with Sufix Performance Braid. I switched to that from PowerPro a few years back. However there are other fine braids as well. And if you use PowerPro I believe you will like it too. Some braids are rounder and won't dig into the spool as much but I think that once you become accustomed to a particular braid and its handling characteristics you will know what size to use to avoid digging into the spool. I rarely have issues with Sufix Performance braid but I know there are braids that have been released in the last few years that will probably out-perform it during intense testing.

I vary my soak time. I would start with varying the time between 5 and 30 seconds, increasing it until you get a bite. Only after not getting bit would I increase it to a minute or more.

Right on, G-Man.

I have a few favorites from G-Man. I regularly use the Grass jigs, Elite Wide-Gaps, the Finesse jigs, and the MATA wide gap (MOP). My favorite regular colors are the Missouri Craw, Grasshopper, PB&J, and Black/Blue and most of the time I use a Rage Tail Craw, Rage Tail Baby Craw, Rage Tail Lobster, or Chompers skirted twin-tail grub as a trailer. I always have a G-Man jig of one kind or another tied on one of my rods every time I go out. Three years ago or thereabouts I decided to give Mike's jigs a try because his prices were good, he was local to my state, and his posts seemed to indicate he was a good guy. Except for some Shaky-head jigs, his jigs are the only ones I buy now. Thanks, Mike, for an outstanding product, great service, and for being an all-around good guy. (I forgot to mention the standard green pumpkin color. A green pumpkin jig and a Rage Craw in Summer Craw color kills when I fish lakes with 2 feet of visibility or more.)

I agree with you about staying quiet because most of the time it ends up being a fight. I haven't read every post on this thread but the ones that I have read seemed to keep an even keel though. Have some posts been removed? You are correct about where most people get their information as well. However, good, non-partisan, factual information is out there if one wants to find it but it won't be found listening to pundits as they pick and choose the facts they want you to know. For those who want to be informed of the facts to the greatest extent possible, there is a way. Start with some sites that have proven to be fair such as factcheck.org. (I know of at least four or five others but you need to make these decisions yourself.) Everyone has some bias but if you read enough non-partisan information you will be more able to derive the truth. Seek out information that contradicts what you believe also. If you stick with an information source that is known to be biased one way or the other, your opinions will always be shaped by someone else. Most people stick with a source because it backs up what they already believe. Try to read non-partisan reporting daily. Read enough of this stuff and you will be able to weigh it in the light of the evidence. In my opinion, it requires almost a daily vigilance to not be misinformed and a desire to know the truth even if it conflicts with what you currently believe. As for Grundlelove's misquote of Buffet, Buffet stated the percentage of his income paid in taxes is lower, not the amount. His rate of taxation is lower. See the link below. I am finished with this thread. I've stayed in the middle though I have some thoughts about what needs to be done and some people won't like them. So before I am tempted to cross the line I'm bowing out.