D4u2s0t

my question is if you have a rod you love, why are you looking to switch to something different? If you like it that much, and want another pole, why not just get the same one?

Def not glamorous but a very good way to show the fishs true size. Good looking fish btw! well some people would hold that fish out and say it was 7 lbs lol.

thanks guys! I like to hold the fish right next to me so it's not deceivingly bigger. less glamorous, but you get a better idea of the size. beautiful fish!

it makes it that much better when you get one! I have probably not caught bass in my last 4-5 times out... and when I got one today, I was almost jumping up and down.

nice video... but seriously, blurring the baits? have you found some magic bait that nobody knows about? come on mang.

I would never fish anythign expensive from shore, and I don't fish anything I'm not willing to lose. majority of the time that means plastics, and maybe spinnerbaits. But I don't throw 8 dollar crankbaits or anything equally or more expensive from shore, because I know in my lake i'm almost guaranteed to get hung up and lose them. May as well just walk down to the water, dump my wallet, and go home lol.

so the bass fishing has been pretty slow these past few months, been doing some trout fishing. When all else fails, I break out the ultralight and worms for some bluegills and perch lol. But it just figures, I spent all morning in the boat, all over the lake, and then got this one from shore after I put the boat away. almost an even 4.5 pounds (i'm holding it right next to my head, it's not held out at all) and a pretty big fish for my neck of the woods. (d**n southerners and their BIG fish lol) Took a quick pic, and got it right back in. On top of catching a great fish, it was my first with the baitcaster, and also my first on the smokin rooster. Tripple bonus! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30451862&l=bfa64ce227&id=1003390062

I don't think i've ever had a good buying experience at bps, so i don't buy there anymore. 8 dollars for a bag of plastics is insane imo.

I use mostly ewg 3/0's for my plastics, and have never had one break, bend, or do anything else that prevented me from using it.

don't be afraid to break the "rules". If there's anything i've found over the years, it's that fish are not always predictable. I've caught some of my best fish of the year in places where people laughed for me wanting to go there, at times they said were no good. If they are not hitting shallow, try moving deeper. One of my biggest fish was in the middle of the lake, mid day, around no structure, no cover, nothing. Was just a completely *** backwards place, out of pure frustration. I was so aggravated, I said to myself if i'm not going to catch anything anyway, I may as well just cast where I "know" there's no fish..... WHAM!!! fish on. From that point on, I no longer followed the "rules". And many times I outfish other people on the lake simply because i'll try somethign different that they "know" won't work. Just like at one point in time, I myself "knew" it wouldn't work. So long story short, don't be afraid to get creative. If something isn't working, change it up.

congrats!! looks great

when fishing baits like flukes and other soft plastic swimbaits, I ALWAYS use a keel weighted hook. It will stop the bait from spinning. Without them, if you want to avoid tangles a much slower retrieve will work. It's when you pull it hard that it starts to spin. Also, make sure it's hooked 100% straight.

here's a few tips from a pro vidoegrapher that knows a few things about cameras (not as much as video cameras though lol) don't get sucked into a megapixel war. Most people think that more megapixels means a better picture... not true. But, since most people think that way, companies are eager to have the highest out there. I own a 5mp that will wipe the floor with some of the 10 and 11 mp cameras out there. Keep in mind that all more megapixels will do is allow you to print bigger pictures... and let's be realistic... are you planning on printing out 45 inch pictures? More important is the quality of the lense, and the internal processors. think about if she will actually like it. If you're using the automatic settings on a camera like that, you're not getting anywhere near the quality of pictures you can get using the same camera with manual settings. What does that mean? Unless she is going to want to learn about photography, lighting, color scales, and how the camera actually works, it's way overkill. It's like buying a racecar, and never going over 25mph. lame. also, I bought my gf a nice camera a while back, and one of her big complaints is that it's big and doesn't fit in her pocket or her bag like a smaller digital camera would. She ended up going on ebay and getting a tiny little camera for like 40 dollars, and that's what she uses. Go figure.

team pampers = young guys team depends = old fogies so what are the guys that are in between? lol. great idea here, what a way to give back.

I love going out with my lil 2 tray tackle box, and seeing the guys with the 200lb bags say "That's it?" It's better to have a small selection of baits that you know will catch fish than to have a hundred million baits and keep tying new ones on imo. My philosophy is simple... if it catches fish, it goes in the box. If it doesn't, then there's no reason to have it or buy more. And if I have baits that work perfectly fine, why bother with anything else. No bait monkey here lol

I've been using the rage lobster, and love it.

yea, def could have been worse lol

They throw more water than many buzzbaits that are out there. Seems like a solid all around bait. I have never caught a fish on them yet, but to be fair I haven't caught a fish on ANY topwater this year. But I am still impressed with the action. I'm a new big time rage fan.

Lund explorer gave some great advice. It's frustrating when you spend time on the water searching for good spots, and then share that info and they get up your butt about it. Especially in a tournament. Just follow the simple rules that lund said and you'll be golden. Going to someone's "spot" like that has always been an unwritten rule, and it is especially true in a tournement. It's like you friend saying he's going to ask out some girl, and you jump in and ask her first right after he told you that. Not cool. About your friend's dad, was he joking around? Me and my buddy and his grandpa do that all the time. When we take him somewhere, we tell him we're giong to blindfold him so he can't go back, and he tells us the same lol. We're 100% joking though. Fact is, some people get very secretive at tournament time because they put in alot of time and effort to find those money spots. Then to just have someone show up that they are friends with that didn't put the time in is like a slap in the face.

keep experimenting. There's no one way that's the "best". If one technique is not working, switch it up. Try to stay focused, so that when you get a bite, you know what was happening. Was it just sittign there? Was it on the fall after you twitched it?

I take people on an individual basis. Just because they've been around a long time doesn't mean they are great fishermen, and if they're new it doesn't mean they're bad.

Fish the same colors, and same techniques you would during the day. People seem to think for some reason that fish somehow know it's night, so they decide to act differently. If it works in the day, it will work at night as well.

if it's that heavy, best bet is to flip or pitch. long casts will be a nighmare, unless you can rig something to be very weedless, in which case depending how thick it is you'll still get caught on the pads.

I can't wait to get out in the boat with it. thanks for another great bait!

game plan is to troll a rapala out to the d**n, which has some shallows near pretty deep water, and a pretty rocky bottom. Sounds like an ideal spot. Then i'll rig a pole with a worm, and continue throwing the rapala. I've only fished for walleye a few times, so i'm by no means an expert. If anyone has any advice, feel free to post up!