Marty

It's not just bass, it's all (or most) animals. They won't expend more energy chasing prey than the energy they'd receive from said prey. I don't care for the word "lazy" when applied to animals. Laziness is a human trait; animals are pretty much hard-wired to behave in the ways that they do, even though it appears to be lazy superficially.

I used to do a little pouring, mainly because I wanted a grub that wasn't available commercially. If you're just pouring for your own use, you probably won't save any money, but by all means, go ahead if you want to pour as a hobby. As to melting and reusing, the color loses luster. It may catch just as many fish, but doesn't look as good and may result in loss of confidence. One exception to this melting problem is one of my favorite colors, black. These melt and look just the same after repouring and I've done it numerous times.

I love to try topwaters in a light rain.

I'm older, been fishing for 36 years and have the same wish. :-[

Raul, how'd that "not" slip in there?

I haven't read the article. Yes, absolutely crankbaits work and work very well. Spinnerbaits are a versatile bait and are big-time producers. Plastic worms catch the most fish because they are attractive baits and feel edible, so fish hold on unlike quickly trying to spit out hard baits. They also catch the most fish because they are so widely used. As to why he said worms take a lot of patience, perhaps because they are a slow moving bait compared to crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Eventually, if you need to have something to show for your efforts, the satisfaction of the catch will more than suffice. I personally always thought largemouth tasted like garbage, but different strokes for different folks. There's nothing wrong with keeping a few here and there, but I hope the ones you're keeping are the small ones and that you are releasing the bigger ones. That seems to be the conventional wisdom for maintaining a good fishery.

I fish Trick Worms weightless with a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad hook with the keeper. As to followup baits, my personal experience says that fish don't hit again if they've come in contact with the lure the first time. But followups can be very effective when a fish boils and misses a topwater. YMMV.

I'd try the riprap. Being on the north side, it gets the direct rays of the sun and rocks hold heat. Good luck.

You don't absolutely need a boat. Bass fishing from the bank can be good in many bodies of water. Naturally, a boat expands one's horizons, but it's not necessary to catch fish.

They're all great. Largemouth are cover-oriented and those are three good types of cover. Just experiment on your body of water to establish which one they're most likely to use in that water.

I fish the banks of a canal that's loaded with rocks and I get hung frequently. The type of retriever that has a weight slide down the line did not work at all for me, since it's sliding down at an angle. Then I got a telescoping retriever which works great, but that's only because the vast majority of my snags were within its range, 20 feet.

Based on the fairly new (less than two years) Rochester Gander store, you folks around Terre Haute should find your new retailer a very welcome addition to the tackle buying scene.

If and when you find a lure that pike might not like, let me know and I'll call you a liar. I've been fishing for 36 years now, and having pike and pickerel around is just a way of life. Here's something that works for me: after I'm sick of biteoffs, I put on a steel leader and from that point on all I catch are bass. : (That's actually true to a large extent).

I use a so-called "stream thermometer" which works out very well. They are usually found in stores or catalogs in with fly fishing stuff and are in the vicinity of $10. I have one of those Vexilar units and it did not work well either for temperature or depth.

Don't worry about it; it's no bargain and you're not missing anything. I'm another one who doesn't place a big premium on colors. I've fished a lot in NY's Erie Canal, whose water in my area is murky green with 12-18" visibility at its clearest and I've seen no difference between the colors that are traditionally recommended for dark water and the colors that are not recommended. Conversely, I've seen too many fish in clear water caught on very unnatural looking colors and/or the same colors that are recommended for dark water. I can't make any sense out of it whatsoever. Another thing about the canal--conventional wisdom says to use wide-wobbling baits with rattles, yet my #1 or #2 bait there is a Shad Rap, which has a narrow wobble and no rattles. Go figure.

Sinker, I never get out to Point Breeze; used to go out there when I was a birder and photographer, but never for fishing. I've had a few repairs done at Hollow Grinder, but they never had anything that interested me. Are they still in business? The store that I was talking about that's gone down the drain over 35 years is Jay-Ve. I think B-E in Ontario might still be a decent store, although their prices are a lot higher than they used to be. I haven't been there in 7 or 8 years; it's a 40-mile round trip and just not worth it. If Dick's and Gander don't have what I need, I mail order.

No. When I started, I used stuff like Sonics, Lazy Ikes, River Runts, Hula Poppers, Beno Eels, Daredevles, Mepps spinners, and others that I can't remember. These days the only one of those lures that still gets wet is Mepps spinners.

Good fishermen don't always back off, since you hear about this crap taking place on high-level tours, as well as among the common people. Maybe it's part of ugly side of human nature. Water skiers and jet skiers do the same thing all the time; buzzing boats when they have the whole lake to do their thing. I don't condone fishermen crowding others, but I can understand it better, as they may feel they need to fish that particular cover or structure. But the skiers don't need that; all they need is water.

Our local shops (what's left of them) are of no use to me. Their selection is so pitiful it's a joke, and prices on what little they have are out of sight. It doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others. It's part of the evolution of society. Corner drugstores are gone, as are mom-and-pop grocery stores, family hardware stores and so many other types of business. It's nice to romanticize about the old tackle shop fisherman-owner who could tell you where to fish and what to use, but those days are gone forever, at least around here. When I started fishing 35 years ago, the leading shop in town was a beehive of activity, with huge selection and great prices. Today you can't even find a pack of Power Worms or Super Flukes in there, or a pack of EWG hooks, not to mention a decent rod or reel. It appears that they subsist on bait sales. Of course, when I started out, Cabela's was just getting started, there was no Bass pro Shops, Wal-mart, Dick's, Gander, or whatever. Quite a change, to say the least.

I suppose it depends on the individual. There's a lot of absolute nuts out there and confrontation has its risks. For me, discretion is the better part of valor, and I'd have probably given the guy a dirty look and let it go at that. Or maybe asked him to give me some space before he started fishing. But once he caught the fish, it's too late for much of anything. Sorry it happened; I read a lot about that kind of stuff these days.

No. :'(

Why not go to the better places and don't worry about embarrassment? Nobody starts out an expert and you may find some fellow fishermen there who will be happy to give you some tips, as long as they have no reason to feel threatened by you, for example, if you keep good fish, you probably won't get much help. Good luck.

I'm with Will, you're probably at the wrong depth/wrong location. There's also a possibility that the body of water doesn't hold many larger bass. I think most waters do have larger ones, but I fish a pond near home that's loaded with small bass; I've caught over 250 of them and have seen just two over 14". Have other people caught bigger ones where you're fishing?

I have used small duolock snaps for as long as I can remember and have 100% confidence in them.