D4u2s0t

I'd love to get my hands on those roosters...

that's my preference with them. You really need the weight to get it to swim on the fall. I was about ready to throw my space monkeys in the garbage, and then at the advice of big-o picked up some keel weighted hooks, and what a world of difference. I went from never catching a fish on them in literally months, and on tons of lakes, to it being one of my favorite baits. Texas rigged with a weight is great as well. I got 3 nice fish yesterday on the space monkey, and I recently ordered a few more packs. I now have a space monkey tied on at least once every time i hit the water.

well my area is way different than yours temp wise, the hottest it's been in the past few months in my town is high 70's, with most days still being in the 60's. (I live on top of a mountain) We can still catch plenty of fish in the shallows, but they are typically much smaller. I have pulled almost all of my bigger fish this year out of the middle of the lake, where other fisherman almost never go. The shores get pounded, but you rarely see someone out in the middle.

as the water warms, the fish will go deeper. I'm sure in texas where it gets crazy hot, the fish will not be in the shallows or along the shore so much.

I see similar activity on my lake, and an extremely high percentage of times if I throw my bait right into the frenzy, and just let it fall, i get a fish. The bass, like most predators, will go after the easy meal, and if you're bait is slowly falling in a mix of fast moving fish, it will be the easy target.

you answered your own question! in the process of fishing, we often tend to overcomplicate what we're doing, and miss the simple solutions. Depending on a few factors, water temp, weather, etc., the fish may be deeper than you're getting to. I've been doing well out in the middle of the lake around the underwater ridges and mountains. Haven't had much luck in the shallows after spring. Once the weather warms up, the fish seem to move out to deeper water. The problem is that many bass fisherman don't move with them.

my faves are from ***, in no order: trick stick 6" fluke brush hog I also like the space monkey. I almost always have one of these 4 tied on.

it's hard to say. I have caught fish, got the bait out of it's lip, and had it back in the water in a few seconds only to find it belly up in 5 minutes. I've also caught fish, taken rusty hooks out of it's mouth that had been in there for god knows how long, taken out my bait and put it back to watch it swim away. chances are the fish will be fine though.

i've never in my life had an "expensive" pole, and have never had one break while fishing. I've broken them in car doors, stepping on them, dropped them in the lake etc. but have never snapped a pole on a hang up or fish. I also never have problems with the line on the reel. I'm not saying that a cheap pole will always perform as good as an expensive pole, but from my experience it's more how you handle it. And especially for someone planning on fishing maybe 3-4 times a year, I don't think it's necesary to get something too expensive. For someone that is going to fish 4 times a week, and fish in tournaments, and really put alot of stress on the pole, i would say to get the best you can afford. But i'm out probably 4 times a week, and have never had a single problem with my 2 "cheap" poles. I also catch just as many fish as my buddy who has a $300 loomis, and I have alot of fun doing it. I've always been a firm believer that it's not the equipment, it's the person using the equipment, to an extent. I do video for a living, and have a very expensive camera and editing setup, more than most in my industry. But that doesn't mean i can't take my parents $100 camcorder and make a nice video.

that's my thoughts. When i'm out with other people, we tend to cover tons of water very quickly... that also means not too thoroughly. I prefer to go to a spot, hang out, and really go through the water.

I think i'm the complete opposite of most here when it comes to superstitions, if I get a fish on the first cast, I think it's going to be a GREAT day!

If I have a spinnerbait tied on, the other pole almost always has a plastic. I have had great luck following one with the other, even when not getting a strike. Many times i'll throw the spinnbait a dozen times or so, and not get any hits, switch to the plastic and get a fish. I think my style and preference is to fish a little bit slower, i'd rather throw on a fluke and take a minute to crank it in real slow than burn a spinnerbait all day. I have thick weeds in my lake, and anywhere within 30 yards of shore if you don't burn it in it's just getting caught on all the slop. doesn't happen with a weedless plastic. I have very good experience with spinnerbaits, and enjoy fishing them, I just prefer the slower fishing of plastic baits. As far as what's working and not working for you, if something consistently doesn't work, and never works, time to stop doing it! Unless you want to keep not getting fish. Different lakes you need to use different strategies, what works great on one may not work great on another. Bass will typically go after anything that moves in the water, that explains why there are so many different favorite or "best" baits to use. The things that need to be taken into consideration are how much pressure is on the lake, what other activity is going on, (there are a few beaches by my lake, try catching somethign in the day when everyone is in the water. good luck! on a slow day at the beach, or at night, there's some great spots there.) and focus more on a good presentation. Anyways, you can search for fish with plastics just as well as spinnerbaits or crankbaits, it just takes a lot longer.

no, i have not. Like mentioned, i don't have the time, money, or resources to be on the water 100% of my waking hours and fully dedicate my life to fishing. it's just a hobby. but, that doesn't mean that i can not continue to improve and become a better angler. Will I ever win angler of the year? haha, not even close. But that doesn't mean that i will not become more accurate with my casts, and be able to cast longer, and learn more about fishing in general, and catch more fish. Do you think that you are done learning, and can no longer improve? I hope not. Same with everyone on this board. my point was simple. There's always something to learn, and there's always something you can improve. I'm not saying that anyone in the world can be the best at what they do, but thinking that someone can not improve their skills or knowledge is absurd. your level of skill is related to the time, money, and resources you have available. I'm fine with being a decent angler, I do it as a hobby. It's not a career, just something I enjoy doing.

catching one on the first cast and then getting nothing after, or small ones, is better than getting skunked! opening trout day, got one on my first cast. there was a tangle in the line when I casted, so i was getting it out, and got the fish. pulled the line in bare handed lol. I went on to catch my 6 fish limit in 6 casts.

Good post Tony. There's only so much physical and mental shortcomings that determination and practice can overcome. The saying 'you can accomplish anything you put your mind to' isn't entirely true. I will never run a 4 minute mile, be able to dunk on a NBA reg net, or throw a 98 mph fastball. I will also not discover a cure for cancer, invent a longer lasting light bulb, or invent a hydrogen propelled car. However, with dedicated practice I can become a scratch golfer, throw a football 30+ yards accurately with either hand or read up and repair most electronic/mechanical things. Each according to their gifts. Funny though, some people who are blessed with natural ability for certain sports never reach their full potential as they don't appreciate the gift they have. again, i disagree. you will never run a 4 minute mile because you will never try, and never train for it. It's the attitude that "i can't do it" that holds you back more than anything. Granted someone with bad knees and a banged up hip will never do it, but your average healthy person can IF they want it bad enough. that being said, we're talking about fishing here. We're not talking about dunking a ball, or a 98 mph fastball, we're talking about learning bass behavior, and acurate casting. If your arms are not broken, you can learn to cast accurately. If you're not mentally challenged, and have a learning disability you can learn more about bass behavior. Even if you are mentally challenged, you can still get better at something. What most people do is get decent at something, get comfortable, and stop pushing themselves. In regards to fishing, no one here knows everything there is to know about it. There's always something to learn, or improve upon. Like i said before, the people that are the best at what they do 100% dedicate they're entire life to it. Your average person doesn't have the time, money, or general resources to do that. If you think you can only get so good at something, and then you're done, you can only blame yourself for not improving. Saying you "can't" is just taking the easy way out.

I would say it depends on how often you plan on fishing. If you likely wont plan on fishing much after this trip, theres no need to spend over 200 on a pole. My setup was about 80 dollars, has tons of hours on it, and i have never had an issue. I often outfish other people on the lake with my 18 dollar backup pole, which is also holding up fine and i've never had a problem with. Plus, the tip is broken. (my fault, didnt break fishing) Got the 18 dollar pole when i first got back into fishing, and just keep it as a backup or with something different tied on. As long as you have the right pole for what you're doing, it doesn't need to be very expensive. If you plan on going fishing every week, and are planning more trips, I would get the best quality pole and reel you can afford. If not, just get something decent and you'll be fine. as far as baits, i do well with stick baits, and various creature baits. the faves on here seem to be the ika, and tubes. I've done well with smallies on space monkeys and brush hogs. If the fish have pretty much never seen a lure before, it should be fairly easy because they havent' been conditioned to avoid a hook. good luck!

I would call that not wanting it bad enough. They CAN go on, but choose not to for whatever reason.

I absolutely disagree. I think that you can be as good as your level of dedication and commitment allows. As far as being on the top, who is on the top? The people who live, eat, and breathe what they do. Practice 10 hours a day, every day, never get comfortable and stop learning. The day you stop progressing is the day you stop pushing yourself. Until you know, and learn everything there is to know, which is impossible, you're not done getting better and growing. Most people that like to fish, won't go home and practice casting in their backyard after a long day on the lake. Just like most golfers won't go to the range for 5 hours, work on their putting for 3 hours, and work on chipping for 2 hours after 2 rounds of golf. And that's why they'll never be as good as the people that do. Not because "that's just the way it is".

read through the fishing articles on the top left, pretty much all the basics through advanced stuff is covered. Then when you ave questions, post them up. Most people are more than willing to help someone that is looking to learn more about fishing.

If you're aim is to stock a pond, why use 1-3" bass? why not bigger? I think you're best bet is a big net. you absolutely can't be serious about actually trying to catch them on a pole with a lure, right? Is this guy paying you for this?

Like WRB said, I just enjoy being out on the water. Catching fish is a bonus! Too many people give up too quickly. But if you don't enjoy being out on the boat, or on the dock, or the beach, or wherever your fishing, you eventually won't like fishing. I've had days where i've gone out and caught close to 100 fish in a few hours with my buddy, and there's days where we go out and get skunked. It's all a part of fishing.

I find that a t-rig goes way further, especially if you're using a weight. Even weightless it will go further though. A wacky rig cathes more air, increasing the drag, reducing the distance.

it's all over the lake. with the lip the crankbait is about 3", and it's fat. Like I said i'm surprised the perch could even get the hook in it's mouth. We also have a very high concentration of perch and sunny though. When I say a high concentration, you can catch them just about every single cast on a live worm.

I don't think it's a bad habit. If you find it easier that way, keep doing it!

While I wouldn't consider myself "seasoned" from my experience it was a good learning tool to use a finger on the line just to get a feel for everything. Once you know when you hit a weed, or hit a rock, or get a bite, and take note of what happens, as long as you're not using a telephone pole for a stick you should be able to tell what's what after a while. Only time I ever still touch the line is if i'm letting something sit on the bottom.