shimmy

I hope this thread doesn't go unnoticed. I think this is a great idea. I don't think you should do it by age, might take the fun out of it. Second, it should be by state, it would become more interactive on this site because yeh, some states are going to have to forfeit during the prespawn and not even make it to the spawn! 1. Do it by state, get more interaction on this site and more people involved, plus more fun! 2. have a recording of the day and weight. (not a picture) -i know, many of us catch our bigguns when the camera is not with us or we forgot the scale, but the videos would be authentic and a lot of fun for us to watch. 3. Have a spring champ, summer time champ, and a fall time champ. I know i would love to follow a thread like this or even a section if we made it specifically for the task. I am pretty sure everyone on this site would love to check a thread as such. More interaction, more advertising opportunities for Glenn and all, everyone wins! Sets the hook, and its a big bass. Shimmy

as i was typing it out, River beat me to the punch. He is a great source of knowledge from what i have seen about jigs.

Even though Sam covered it, yeh the casting jig can be used for any situation really, however it is used predominantly as a slow retrieve. Pitching jigs are used for heavy cover because they have a thicker wire hook. However, these jigs can also be used for other situations. The swim jig is supposed to be fished like a spinnerbait like Sam said. However, this jig can also be fished slow but it's main purpose is to worked back to the boat swimming (reeling in at a faster speed). Then you have the finesse jig and they are a thinner wire hook used for an easier hookset. However, with an easier hookset means an easier bent hook. Every jig can be used everywhere IMHO. The finesse jig is probably the least versatile because of the thin hook because once that big fish pulls hard or if there is cover, you will have a difficult time pulling the fish out.

...the question was floating worms. Not sinking worms that are called floating worms. Not sure about the defensiveness there. Sometimes it's ok to be corrected.

Maybe a third of the time i will only take one type of lure with me to a lake. I use nothing else but that presentation. I bring several of the same thing in case i lose it. Forces you to stick with it once you purchase it and give it an honest chance.

Hey guys, this was my boat for a year! I have taken it to some nasty tree filled lakes and survived. I have been stuck on trees in gotten off fine. This thing has helped land a lot of big bass for me last year. So i will give you an honest opinion and not some random judgment. Pros: -This thing is extremely quiet and can sneak up on anything! A 30 pound trolling motor can get it around any lake 500 acres and less. -Get the boot cover. This thing has saved my life many times. -i have had the 360 fish hunter and have had 4 people fishing in it. -takes a total of 20 minutes to inflate, put boot on, place floor boards inside, electric motor on, and on the water fishing. -you can drop this sucker in ANYTHING. Any pond or lake. -this whole setup fits inside my small nissan sentra and i have save hundreds, if not over a thousand dollars just on gas by using this instead of towing my aluminum boat. -you can get into any pond, and unload everything by yourself. -more stable than a Yak CONS: -a 5mph gust of wind will send you flying so learn how to use an anchor at all times. -the drain valves are a weak point for the raft on the bottom. Very thin material and through the year, i had a hole near two of the valves. However, since it isn't the main ones, i still put the floor boards down and fished perfectly safe. I usually stood anyways on the board. -you will be afraid of the thing getting a hole! You will be paranoid. But, i have never had a hole in the main compartment and i have gotten stuck on some nasty things. The main thing is, this is the best boat for getting into waters that many people can't get in. If you have a jon boat and can afford to fish the waters and can get into them with it, then this boat isn't necessary. But, if you can't afford the whole jon boat setup and have difficult time with transportation, this is the boat. This boat kept me fishing all year and i am a pretty rough angler. It will be hard to find another setup this cheap and effective. Just my ten cents. Oh, and i only did bass fishing from this.

I tried the wire leader before. It was between 20 to 30 pound test and was 12 inches long. I would pull back on the hook set with my worm and the stupid snakes would still snap my line above the leader. I really do not know how they did that. But, they are evil, they find a way

I remember a while back reading this which triggered my curiosity. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eskY0ihNrpwJ:www.virginia-outdoors.com/lakeanna.html+lake+Anna+largemouth+bass+record&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Am i hearing this straight?? Are you complaining about not breaking the 12 pound mark for one bass or a daily limit? Sounds to me like one bass. So, as tradition in the Southeast section of this website, you threw out the number 12 so now you have to provide a picture... :

There is NO way i would throw a hard swimbait in MN waters. Just a suicide mission. I don't doubt one second that they would work with the bigger bass, i just think it would be rare that it actually made it to the bass. I have nightmares of those snakes. You know what gets me, how can you cast a lure and reel it in and NEVER feel a tug or anything but start reeling in slack line. That intrigues me. How do they do that? Just terrifying.

These two pictures are from a few years ago when i started throwing swimbaits. 1st picture is of me holding a nice 7 pounder caught with a 6" hollow belly and the 2nd picture is of me with a double header on a 12" old school Huddleston with two trebble hooks.

These are great stories. As i read Oteymc's post, i realized how much i have started to enjoy ice fishing. I never thought i would want to make a vacation or tradition out of ice fishing, but it really is a blast and i have found it to be more social than my traditional bass fishing. There is nothing like having 10 family members and friends around the ice telling stories and jigging for a big fish. There is something about jigging your line up and and down and then the line suddenly goes slack as if it has hit the bottom...

My grandparents had a cabin from way back when. My family slowly started making more and more trips through the years up to Fergus falls and now for the past 20 years it has become tradition. Kinda a shame that no one else is piping in on this, i was hoping to read some stories to pass the time...

Well, being the winter time and all, i do not get to fish much and quite frankly, i have not fished much this past year (last year 2010) due to my schedule. And trust me, if i had the leisure time to fish, i would. Nevertheless, i spend a lot of time thinking about my annual fishing trip to Minnesota and wanted to hear yall's annual fishing trip stories. I am not talking about where you fish locally, but the trips you make, whether it be for a weekend, week, or guided trips that are annual and just special gettaways for you and your family or fishing buddies. My heaven on earth is Minnesota. I don't live there, never have, but it truly is unbelievable water. The state record is only 8.15 so we don't get giants but we get plenty of quality bass. Every year, i fish for 1 week in Minnesota with my brothers, father, and brother in law who are scattered across the country and we meet up in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. It is just beautiful. What makes this trip so special is every lake we hit, we are usually alone! Just imagine, memorial day weekend, you arrive at the boat ramp to your secret big bass lake (even though it is public but people don't know it has bunch of big 5, 6, and 7 pound bass caught annually by us) and there is not another trailer in site. Not just that, there are no cars to be heard miles away. It's just you, your rods and that determination to outfish everyone in your boat and catch that beauty! We fish every morning at one lake, then fish every night at another. The lakes are gorgeous, full of lilly pads, floating reeds, and birds i swear i have never seen before. Very few if any docks around the lake; and it is all to yourselves. I love it and can't think of a better place on earth. The only thing we ever worry about is the rotation of who controls the trolling motor and gets the first cast on those beautiful overcast days at your favorite big bass lake. In one week, i usually pull away with 2 to 3 over 6 pounds and close to ten over 5 pounds. This seems to be my consistent catch year in and out and i just don't feel bad about not catching giants in Florida, California, and elsewhere. That is for another time and place and this fishing trip doesn't carry the burden of trying to catch that ten plus. This trip is about catching over 100 fish a day easily and catching a few over 5 daily. That is our mark and it is just flat out fun. It is beautiful, and there are many lakes to be had and several nearby our cabin that we have never even tried after 20 years of fishing. Aint that somethingl God bless Minnesota. And yes, we weigh them all. There are no free bees in our boat. I'd like to hear your annual trip and any details you can. Shimmy

well that is getting right to it eh. That takes balls. The kid deserves a bone with that subtlety.

i'd recognize that place from anywhere.

i like what Francho said. I made that mistake with my wife initially. Made each outing shorter and now she wants to stay longer. Lucky but it can happen. There really should be support groups for this type of situation.

now you can't say she isn't 6 because she looks like she is pushing that border if not a few ounces over. Don't undercut a beauty like that. It is close enough to say that it's a contender. Great fish.

definitely agree. Might be 4 though, nice fish. Your hands are just too big in perspective to the fish and the length isn't 21-22 inches in my best guestimate. But, while i am commenting on how it is not a 5 pounder, you are basking in the glory of catching fish while i stay at home for my finals.

I am just blown away by the art form here. It will be a while till i have time to get into making this and even then, this is truly a work of art. A lot of serious man hours put into this artistic ability. If i had the money i tell you what. Just flat out impressive. Not quite sure where you go from here.

yeh i would put him over 3 and if you are lucky closer to 3.5. Nice catch, keep em comin

we are online on a fishing forum. I figured that was enough to set us apart as obsessed and just outright strange. Easy to make fun of World of Warcraft folk but man, i must say, we are a different group of people.

we are online on a fishing forum. I figured that was enough to set us apart as obsessed and just outright strange. Easy to make fun of World of Warcraft folk but man, i must say, we are a different group of people.

we are online on a fishing forum. I figured that was enough to set us apart as obsessed and just outright strange. Easy to make fun of World of Warcraft folk but man, i must say, we are a different group of people.

80 pounds!! Congratulations on that. Looks like you took that same commitment/determination/stubborn drive of catching big bass and put it to losing weight. That is just flat out impressive. Great fish as well