NateFollmer

I don't usually get mad over things like this, but here's my story (not really anti fishing but it REALLY had me mad): I was going to fish my favorite spot just below some bridge pilings. As I go to start walking away from the Jeep another Jeep pulls in and 3 kids and a dad pile out and RUN (literally run) to get to that spot before I did. No big deal I thought, the rivers big enough for all of us (plus it was kids, so I usually let kids fish before I will). So I fish the other side of the bridge. About 5 minutes after I start fishing, the rest of this guys 'group' comes down. It consisted of 3 adults and 1 little baby (probably only 4 or 5 months old). The two adults proceed to take the baby out on a little flotation device and pull her around (the river was very high, muddy and quick from the area flooding). If that guy would have let go of that float, that baby would have been GONE. But anyway, they were pulling here RIGHT in front of where I was fishing. A minor annoyance, so I move up about 15 yards to a grassy spot I like to fish... Well, the 3rd adult that was with that group decides that looks like a great place to sit her chair... She literally put her chair RIGHT in front of me, half in the water! I asked her if she could please move down just a little so I could fish this area and she said "the river is plenty long, go fish somewhere else!" I had enough at that point and just left. What kind of example are these adults setting for these kids?

I buy my books and keep them because I like to have them for reference. Of course, I'm talking about programming so I usually have to reference everything from theories to math... I have A LOT of math books. Physics books are always a fun read too... Gosh I'm a geek...

What about braids? I use green all the time but usually have a leader on. If I tie straight to my lure though, I like the green because I'm usually fishing near grass and it tends to... I don't know... blend in better?

Smoke Purple w/ purple and black flake for my Senko style baits Blue and black solid laminates for my ribbon worms (usually a Luck E Strike Ring worm) That's about the only 2 worms I use. I like to keep it simple

I dont know but I would volunteer to take an all expenses paid trip to Vegas to get everyone some photos.... GLEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN put me on a plane now so I don't miss anymore of the show! Can you blame me for tryin'?

Nice fish! I'd love to make it to the ocean for a tarpon run. I guess I should probably catch something else first because it looks like tarpon are a pretty tough fight I just use my phone to take pics of fish. I think my wife would destroy me if I took the SLR fishing HA

Personally no. I have used their weights for punching in the past. I know people who have had issues. If I find a product that is made here and its equal to or better. I will AVOID the FOREIGN born products. You want to see the economy change? BUY LOCAL, BUY AMERICAN when you can. Oh I agree with you there, but buying anything from the US, made here or not, is going to help our economy. Yes, it will help more if it's made here though. I wasn't being smart either, I was just asking Some people have 1 bad experience with a company and then swear them off altogether. If everyone did this, AT&T would be out of business! HA but I digress...

I like Spiderwire (Ultracast) and Hi-Seas... Have I tried them all? Nope, but I found something that works and I'm sticking with them! I really don't see why people don't like Spiderwire? Am I missing something? Not trying to be smart about it, I just never have any issues with it...

Have you ever had an issue with Tru-Tungsten gobig or have someone you knew had an issue? I have used just about all of their products (except their soft plastics) and I have never had 1 issue. I like buying USA products also, but I don't avoid products just because they aren't made here. TT makes some really good products and I'm sure Bass Junkies issue will be fixed.

I'm coming to Florida next time I want to fish the salt :-/ Pics or it didn't happen! You were probably just bass fishin' the whole time... :D

I'd buy it though because Chuck Woolery is on the site... heck it's HIS site! No seriously, that thing looks like the fish that came with my kids fishing game... Storm makes some good stuff, but a lot of there 'cheap' lures you can get at Wally World are terrible. I've said this many times, but avoid the unpackaged spinnerbaits and buzzbaits Wally sells. They are cheap and... made cheap and can't stand up to anything. 1 rock bump, BAM they are finished!

SPEEDBEAD. I meant on the topwater lures. Sorry, I should have clarified Like I started to say at the end, I think lures that hang in the water column need the detail, especially ones that are going to sit or move slow.

@Bass Junkie - you do realize you can edit your old post's if you mess up? On the top right side it will have a modify post button while looking at it. Anyway, all that extra detail is to catch anglers, not fish I'll admit, the more detail I see on a bait, the more I want it... But look at some of the best lures out there (the fluke, the senko, etc...) they have almost no features, yet produce the most. I think it's more presentation than detail. I think the only time detail really matters is if your using a suspending jerkbait or something similar that's going to be hanging in the strike zone motionless for an extended period of time.

I don't even know if this was a real Senko or a knock off (i think its a knock off because I can't find it on their site). BUT, it's a smoky purple color with black and purple flake. The bait looks like smoke outside of the water, but when it gets wet, you can see the purple tint better. I have never had any luck with light colored soft plastics, I have a white and green swirl and I haven't ever caught a darn thing with them!

Maybe they are waiting for all the selections to respond before posting the winners... If anyone doesn't respond please feel free to send their rod to me.... Can you blame me for trying??? :

Nice. It was neat watching them chase the baitfish. They would get into little packs of two or three and start swimming in circles, then they would take turns running through the middle. I thought about casting out toward them and maybe pick up something that could have been under the swarm, but it was out of my range. I think I'll just save myself the trouble and take a charter until I learn more about salt haha. I have some photos of the dolphins, maybe i'll post them once I get them off my camera. Only good photo that came out. The rest are either blurry or just fins

^ Agreed. I was just at Faylor Lake yesterday and it's pretty low and coverless (some grass in about 6 inches of water, but the bass don't usually hold there because of the Northerns). The fish were all hanging out in the creek channel, mostly right at the mouth of the creek. It was still a slow and tough bite, but weightless plastics did the trick!

Nibbles, the point of this thread was most of the younger fishing generation thinks they can all fish for nothing. Yes, times have changed and there are 1000's of companies sponsoring anglers, but it seems like the younger crowd tries to get free stuff and do nothing in return. School tuition is outrageous, I'm 80k in the hole and still don't have a degree haha. Good luck in school!

Look at the color of the smallie when you catch them. If they are dark with very dark stripes, they were against wood. If they are just dark with faint stripes, they were near rocks or a muddy bottom (smallies hate muddy water!) If they are light, they were near sand and if they get a green tint, they were in grass. Smallies will stay shallow all day if the water stays cool enough (current is your friend in shallow water). They are a coldwater transitional species so they can live in warm or cold water (they will die in very warm water, while a largemouth may be able to tolerate the same temp). Smallies tend to hold near rocks and sand more so than wood or grass (if its available) but they can be found in any cover. If there's current, cast upstream and bring you lure down with the current.

Yeah, the ocean is a large area haha. I still had fun though (saw 2 or 3 pods of dolphins heading North, they were pretty close too!). I need to go down and fish a few days, not just 1. We are going again in Sept. and Ill have more fishing time then. Thanks for all the help guys, ill get ya a fish next time I got skunked bass fishing too and lost 3 lures so it was a bad fishing day all around haha. I was thinking when I saw those Dolphins (the mammals) anglers don't usually catch them do they? Are they smart enough to not grab a bait? That would be terrible to accidentially hook one!

Got skunked in the salt went to the jetties at IRI and threw out some squid (let that just sit) and tossed swimbaits around the whole area. The squid moved (I think it was picked up) but I didn't get over to my rod in time. We left DE this morning because of the crowds and heat. It seemed like I should have waited until evening from what I heard, but ill be back for round 2 in Sept. I'm driving to the lake as I type this for some bass. I need redemption!

Stay away from all the cheap stuff at Save mart (except for the Luck E Strike stuff, that actually is decent). I lost fish on those stupid $1 spinnerbaits they sell that aren't packaged... That was my own dumb fault though for expecting a $1 lure to be decent

Holy cheapness Batman! Maybe my wife will quit complaining if I start buying these hooks! Nah, I'll still spend the same amount... BUT GET MORE HOOKS! Weighted hooks probably account for about 30% of my tackle buying.

I usually use braid and a 3 to 6 foot flour leader (my braid is 20lb test and the leader is 12lb). I use this probably 90% of the time. I only tie straight to braid when the water is pretty muddy. When I used to use 65lb. braid and get stuck on timber, I could pull the limbs off trees by pulling straight back on it I would always tell people with me then "That's why I use braid!" :

Ah forgot about that little guy. If you put a Yum 2 1/2 inch Craw bug on that, the smallies will obsoletely DESTROY it.