New Bass Man

Tough choice. Which G.Loomis rod were you look at?

I'd say 7 foot. From the bank, you need something that will get your bait out there. I also like a 6'6 rod too. I think you'd be happy with a 7 footer.

I was wondering if any you guys fish water where there is a lot of peat. Looking into the water, it's jet black. No more than 2 or 3 inches of visibility. How do you fish water like that?

I know it's a bit dated, but the bass at the lake I was fishing was wearing it out. They are hard to find but Heddon still sells them online.

Any you guys fish with a lure by Heddon called the Moss Boss? I was fishing around a guy last week who was using one and he wore out the bass using that thing. He couldn't keep em off it.

Here are a few chatter baits I've been catching them on. When the situation dictates, I add rattles.

Couple of guys catching them on chatterbaits:

I make my own boogee-type baits. I have good success with boogee type baits in situation where I would throw a spinnerbait and some situations where I would throw a crankbait. I think making your own will produce better results than the store bought ones. The trick is to come up with colors that work in your area. I can tell you I have much better success with the ones I make than I ever did with the ones I bought.

Helms83, You are exactly right. Sometimes I think people who have been bass fishing for a long time forget how much there is to learn. After doing pretty much as you did, I started reading various bass forums to see if I really understood what I had read, only to be met with other abbreviations, i.e., tm, crig, trig, etc. But I got it. Your education is not over. You need experience now. So put some legs under all that learning and go out and try to build your confidence. Ask plenty of question. People are great about explaining things without the complicated jargon. Best bass forum on the net.

Hey welcome to the forum. I'm from Maryland too. You should visit www.dnr.maryland.gov. They have all kinds of places listed where you can fish. I live in the Greenbelt area, so I fish the local stuff around here.

I cut the business end of a hook off and use the straight part to push the tooth pick out. Works like a charm.

I would be fishing rivers and some reservoirs. Structure would be mostly blow downs, typical river stuff, flipping docks, etc. Fishing from a boat. I can imagine throwing anything heavier than 1/2 oz. Reel size would be based on what my reel mechanic suggest. I have a round baitcaster that I was thinking about using but am open for suggestions.

What rod power would you recommend for jig fishing?

I'm looking to build my own chatterbaits. Does anyone know where I can find the forms?

The pictures are very disgusting! What's more upsetting to me is that some of these people were awarded state records. For what! The fish had no chance. So a diver can go search out where the man in Califormia returned a 25 lb bass and go kill it, and then he'll have the record? That's not fair to any fisherman.

Depends upon the rod it is setting on, fishing line used, wind conditions, and weight of the bait or plug

Thanks for the tip. I checked them out. Reasonable prices. Looks like a very helpful site.

Certainly not one of the good quality articles we are use to reading on Bassresource.com.

Let me say upfront...I don't own a boat but I'm interested in buying one also. So when I started my search, I found that JD Powers actually rated the boats I was interested in. The information is at: http://www.jdpower.com/boats/bass/ Bass Cat won out. Who knew?

Tucson, I understand where you're coming from. Bass fishing is not easy to figure out but when you are presented with a situation and you make the right adjustment, it gets you excited. That's when you know really know, you're getting it!

Well your premise correct. You really don't need mega $ to catch bass.

Not ready to sell just yet.

I have three of them I bought during the old days. I just love em. I just bought another Curado 200BSF for a little over a hundred dollars. I already have one but I wanted another one. I have two Chronarch 50mg and I tell you the truth....I much prefer the 200BSF over the 50mgs.

Those reels are fetching over $100. What do you think? Worth it or not?

A spinning outfit is better at handling super light lures. Don't buy a baitcaster thinking you're get better performance with light baits.