vatech

I'm not sure of the reason but I catch bass in water like this using an entirely different approach. I t-rig, wacky rig, or throw a weightless zoom trick worm in watermelon color with a chartreuse tipped tail. I throw it and retrieve it super slowly and even let it set for 10-20 seconds at a time. This offers no/very little water displacement and I do not use scent. The only thing I could possibly imagine the bass being attracted too is the high contrast of the tail. I pay careful attention and usually within my first 5 casts I catch a fish - often bigger than what a spinnerbait produces for me. So far this summer this technique will be good to kick me off with a starter bass but usually never produces a second fish.

That looks like a good idea. I'm real newbie fisher ... got any recommendations on color, hook size, etc. for the senko? I usually use 3/0 owner hooks or 3/0 red EWG gamakatsu hooks. Can go up or down an aught.

Why do you say it's not the brand? I feel like usually super cheap line (non-brand name) usually pops off like this.

I love the look of the eeliminator the most. The first thing I thought of its action was much like a swimming mouse.

Playboy Mansion grotto

I wanted to enhance my spinnerbait variety. I currently only own 3 spinnerbaits all with double willow blades. Ideally I would like to be able to customize my spinnerbait for the moment I want to fish it. I guess this would mean I would need some jigs/pins, some skirts and a variety of blades. Could anyone recommend a good way to cover the full spectrum of what I might need on the water? I guess it would be good to have willowleaf, colorado and indiana in a variety of sizes. Copper and silver are staples, but I feel like it would be good to have yellow as well. What sizes of jigs? Should I put on rattles? I saw Kevin VanDam on TV once using a yellow with sparkling flakes in the paint but I've never seen these at any store and wondered where to get them? Is there a place online where I can order all of this stuff? Thanks for any help!

Get off work at 4pm, start fishing at 5 or 6 til it's dark or I can't stand the mosquitos anymore. All the fish at my local lakes seem to bite around 7 o'clock.

Collected from ESPN's 20 Questions The question asked was: Do you have any fishing superstitions? Denny Brauer No, I really don't. But there is one thing I like to do before I hit the road. I have to have my rig washed, have all my tackle organized, my rods re-spooled and hooks replaced. I need to be ready to go when I get where I'm going. Rick Clunn No, you have to believe in luck to have superstitions. Boyd Duckett Red shoes. I've always worn red shoes and have gotten a lot of flak for it in the past, but now I think everyone is more accepting of them. I've made a conscious effort to make them part of my ensemble to keep my self confidence up. Superstitions are an artificial way of creating self confidence, and there are so many variables out there you may not be able to keep up with your superstitions. For example, some guys take it really far and have to launch their boat on the left side of the ramp, or have special cookies before an event, but what if you lose the cookies or can't launch your boat on the left side? Then what? Your tournament is toast. I've taken my superstitions and put them into one thing, the shoes. I've done this for two reasons First, at any time I can look down and they're there, and secondly, I don't have to worry about other things like putting in on the left side, I can always control my superstition. I usually keep about a dozen pairs with me in several places when I'm on the road, that way no one can steal them all. Jami Fralick I have a stinky shirt. If I do well in a tournament on Day 1, I won't change it the next day and so forth. If there's a funky smell around the weigh-in, it's probably my shirt. Greg Hackney I don't fish with a banana in the boat. I heard once that that was bad. Davy Hite My most famous one is my lucky underwear. I had a pair I was wearing when I won my first Angler of the Year title a certain pair I wore a lot. I eventually wore the elastic out of them, "rebuilt" them with more elastic, then when the second elastic wore out, I had a piece of them on me when I won my second title in 2002. Alton Jones I'm not superstitious. I love eating bananas before tournaments and tossing the peels around for fun. Bobby Lane I like to see a bird flying in the morning while we're listening to the national anthem. It can be any old bird. Hearing that song gets me fired up to go out and have a good day. I also like to think of my wife and kids before we head out. That always puts me in a good mood. Roland Martin Not really, but I used to kid with my partners in tournaments. I'd say what bad luck it is if you catch a fish on the first cast. This one time, I just kept pounding it into his head. After an hour run down the lake, we get to a cove, and I pull out a white spinnerbait I had to beg from my wife because she'd been killing them with it, and sure enough, I get a 2-pounder on my first cast. I get it in, and start saying how I'm not going to catch another fish the rest of the tournament; then on my second cast I get another one. Man, that guy must've thought I flew off the handle with the scene I was making. 'Oh, this is double bad luck! I'm done!' He just sat there wondering. Sure enough, in four minutes and 20 seconds, I had a 13-pound limit, all on consecutive casts. It was unbelievable. That old boy stood up and seemed kind of upset when he said, "Now wait a minute! I thought you said it was bad luck to catch a fish on the first cast?" Kevin VanDam It's not that I have any superstitions, because I don't, but we do have a lot of fun with the [chocolate chip] cookies (baked from a family recipe by his wife, Sherry). I'm good friends with Scott Rook and Davy Hite, and we stay together on the road sometimes. I'll share some cookies with them. Davy's got his lucky drawers, though. Mike McClelland I do have one, yes. I have Jeff Kriet to thank for it. We were rooming at a tournament, and I had a bad day one day and he asked me what color boxers I was wearing. They were red, and he said, 'Ah, there's your problem.' He swore up and down that was why I didn't do good. He believes in it 100 percent. So I don't wear boxers that have any red in them. I even had my wife quit buying red ones, or ones with any red at all. Bryand Schmidt No, not really although I may have a lucky coin now. My friend J.P. Greeson gave me a Ray Scott coin before the final day of the 2009 Classic. He said it was good luck for him, so I carried it on the water and had a really great day. When the Classic was over, I gave it back to J.P., but then he mailed it to me and told me to keep it. I might start carrying it on the last day of tournaments. Peter T Not really, but there is one thing I'll do before each day of each tournament. I think it's bad luck to catch a fish on the first cast, so I'll take my bait and throw it out somewhere into dead water or at least water I think is dead. It has backfired on me before. I just can't bring myself to throw out a 3-pounder, even if it is unlucky. Dustin Wilks I used to. A long time ago I had this old set of pliers that was rusted shut, and the whole time I had them, I won every tournament. This was at the local level, mind you. Then one day I finished second and threw them out. That was that.

Share your bizarre/wacky/unique fishing superstition!

I FREAKING LOVE MIKE!!!!! HES A FISHING GIANT!!!!! HE IS SO FREAKING COOL AND AWESOME!!!!!! Seriously tho I do like Mike and his book. I record his show and enjoy every episode. Plus he supports/makes contributions to the Jimmy V Foundation, a truly amazing organization. I especially like his stone jigs, they catch me mucho bass!

At the start of summer I purchased the BPS Pro Qualifer combo to begin learning how to use baitcasters. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_102398____SearchResults This combo is causing me hand pain. At the start of the day, my first cast causes me so much pain that I think I might not be able to fish. Gradually the pain lessens until around after 10 casts I no longer notice anything. The pain occurs at the base of my thumb in the thick fleshier part of the hand and partly along the thumb. I saw that some weight balancing kits exist at the store but none fit my particular rod. I'm thinking I could add some weight with washers and ducktape to the bottom of the rod myself but I would enjoy not having a ghetto looking rig. Is this even the way to go?

Hahahaa, I fish similiar ponds in my area and the last two posts sold throwing a frog for me. I usually t-rig (tex-pose) a senko or various rage tail plastics with a colored tungsten weight for my lakes but it's nice to have alternatives. Anybody recommend any particular brand/type of frog? I currently have some rage tail toads and think I would rig them with a 4/0 or 5/0 hook.

Oh ya, another alternative if you have some time is to wait and see if you can't land a deal on a place like Woot.com or steepandcheap.com. Steepandcheap especially puts up costa del mar frequently and you can get them at a real fraction of the cost. I use a little widget notification at the bottom of my browser that I can just roll my mouse over and constantly see what deal is hosted that moment on S&C.

I believe that Kaenon has some affordable prices and many top anglers use their sunglasses. Also, I had someone provide a great sales pitch for 7EYE sunglasses as well. Personally, I own blue mirror 400 lenses CDM and I think I could probably find something better. I think Maui Jim stingrays have great lenses, comfort (for me), and the ability to be worn around town doing things outside of fishing. However, I also am looking for some fishing specific sunglasses and have little regard for their look. One big thing for me is weight. I can't wear Costa 580s all day out on the water because their weight starts to give me a headache. If I'm going to be taking the glasses off after a couple hours then what's the point. Also, while I'm aware Costa's have great shatter resistance/contact protection, at a certain level I am still uncomfortable with having glass infront of my eyes (even though glass supposedly offers the best polarization). Some glasses have seals, some glasses have vents, some glasses have anti fog, some glasses have protection from sea salt air, others you can shoot a shotgun at and they remain intact. I think that I personally am going to give a shot to a lesser mainstream brand next pair I purchase. Old Harbor Outfitters has won an ICAST award the past two years for their technology but I had never even heard of them until I did some research. One thing you can do is get a pair at a place like Sunglass Hut. They have great glasses like Maui, Oakley and Revos (maybe Costas? I dunno) and you can take them out for 60-90 days or something and try them out and bring them back and exchange them for a different pair and compare to see what is good for your eyes and usage.

Lots of time my line is getting beat up from rocks or branches or something so I re-tie often and a snap swivel doesn't offer much to me except one more thing to scare the fish away!

I've heard the same thing about copper/amber colored lenses but I will mention that Oakley makes two fishing specific sunglasses - one for deep water (I imagine saltwater fishing) and one for shallower water. Both are blue iridium and the company claims the lenses still manage to provide enhanced color contrast and optimized depth perception. I think I would pay attention to the technology more so than a particular color but take it with a grain of salt cause they're definitely all just trying to sell you something.

Is there a general concensus/feeling about keeping a trophy bass for taxidermy? I think it's something I would really like having but I guess a good alternative is to take pictures and have a replica made?

On an episode of City Limits Fishing I just watched (I don't know how old it was) Mike Iaconelli caught some bass out of Central Park in NYC. I got a kick out of it for some reason and would love to take some fishing poles there too. Also I wouldn't mind getting some line wet at: -Loch Ness -Niagra Falls -The Taj Mahal Reflecting Pool

I think catch and release is great to help fight against over fishing but personally I'm not opposed at all if someone wants to keep a fish. My grandfather who taught me to fish pretty much never releases his fish back. My uncle keeps many of his fish to feed to his children which I'd rather have him do than release it for another fisherman's sport. I picked up fishing more seriously this summer and have released everything so far but plan to catch a few bass and eat them this summer to see if I like the taste and can come up with some good recipes.

I'm new to fishing and wonder what normally happens to current model reel/rod prices after ICAST? If I was planning a purchase, would it be smart to wait until after ICAST and see if the price drops?

Not true. X2 not true OK, I stand corrected. However, mono does stretch, a.k.a. less sensitive. Anyways, my key point is try some flouro and see what you think before jumping to a new rod and reel.

Sure, plain casting is easy for just about everyone but being a talented caster is not. Watch any top pro on TV and they do some really amazing things. Amazing distance to the spot they want, with no splash to as much splash as they want. Mike Iaconelli in "Fishing on the Edge" talks about seven BASIC cast types that he uses. A flip, a pitch, an overhead, a sidearm roll, an overhand roll, a straight skip, and a pitch skip. A beginner fisherman isn't going to automatically know how to do these, let alone be good at them. Some people don't have an example to emulate other than watching a DVD or reading an article. Plus, for many it's not just about going out there and "doing it." For some people that don't fish full time it's about going out there and doing it efficiently. Why not take advantage of every helpful medium that you can? Personally, I'm looking for tips right now on skipping with a baitcaster. I've been getting a lot of backlashes.

Precision casting is not just helpful, it's a must at competitive levels. What methods/instructional DVDs/books or articles have you used to help improve your casting? I thought this article was great: http://www.insideline.net/il-online/2009/features/09-0225-fagerstrom.html This video demonstrates how truly amazing some people are with their rods and reels: http://www.takemefishing.org/community/master-casters/master-casters-home I feel like it would be helpful to many anglers to develop some form of a drill routine which we could practice daily with a practice plug to make the time out on the water even more productive.

Well... flouro is more abrasion resistant. Plus it's invisible and will help your crankbait run a few feet deeper.

My dad has been saying he'd really like to go on a fishing trip with me but we're having trouble locking in on a location. We live in Richmond and would probably both take off work to fish for a single day somewhere. We don't own a boat or anything. Where would be a good place for us to go preferably in a 1.5 hour radius or less around Richmond? Should we just pay for a guide somewhere?