bowjunkie35

Well, if you see them scatter and being busted on the surface, there is a good chance they are being fed on by something. It is not always black bass though. Depending on where you are, it could be white bass, crappie or even channel cat! Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and cranks can be effective lures in this situation, although alot of the time for the bass, trying to find your lure is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!! Try to upsize your bait or change the color a bit to make it stand out.

Didn't I provide the link already? Just wondering if mine wasn't working. Works on my end.

Oh please... Didn't know that anybody accused anyone of attacking anyone, or being negative. : The question was posed, who was left out, and there are some responses from those who feel maybe they were. Me, I could care less. My proof is in the puddin' baby and will show over time.The only reason I don't have 1500 posts is because I just found this site through another bass forum. But don't underestimate me because of my post count. I am a forum veteran, moderator on some, a journalism major, and an accomplished bass fisherman with accolades to my credit. (see my avatar) But I haven't touted any of that yet because I know what people think when they see low post count. NOOB! Been around, seen things, but I will let my experience show through posting.

Had a few ask me what ROTFLMAO means. So here we go... Roliing on the floor laughing my arse off!!

Good response Matt - I think a slump is all that you mentioned. And you are right about putting pressure on ourselves. As a tournament fisherman, that is the ultimate pressure. It sure can make you second guess your ability when you fish poorly in a tournament. I will admit, while I LOVE the competition, there have been days when I have not had fun on the water. My wife asks me after every tourney, but you had fun right! Well, there are times I have to lie!

You guys don't know me much yet, but you will! ;D

This is a good topic that I thought needed revived. I have not placed very well in the last few tourneys I have fished, so this topic was particularly interesting to me.

BTW, fished slowly, with the normal up down rod technique works best for me. Trying to remain in contact with the bottom seems to always be the key although I have had them attacked at the boat when swimming in for the next cast!

My lizards are my go to bait and I have much confidence in them, year round. I honestly don't think that the bass always bites the lizard thinking it is one. I know we have salamnders here in Iowa, but I catch fish on a consistent basis throwing lizards and I just don't think that there are that many "real" ones in the waters here in Iowa. My main lizard is Zoom in Junebug and my favorite color, which I think is discontinued, is Blueberry. I have alot but would love to find more!! Also, I throw BPS tripple ripples in black and black with blue tail. And finally, I like power lizards in black with chartreuse tail. Yes, I love lizards, T-rigged, carolina rigged and weightless!

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! Now that's funny!!

Oh, this is a good one! Glad I am looking at some of the older topics. When I still lived in Arkansas, a real good friend and customer of mine had this AWESOME pond that was really only a bit bigger than an olympic sized swimming pool. He even had cattle that would wade in this pond, so it was AWAYS muddy! Didn't affect the fishing one bit, except for the fact that you needed a noisy, vibrating presentation when fishing for the bass, something they could home in on. And this pond was LOADED with catfish. Wayne had 2 rules. Take all of the catfish you want, and release all of the bass. I actually caught my biggest bass from that pond, a 7 1/2 pounder. So, here is the story. My stepdad and I were catfishing like normal, using biscuit dough (yes biscuit dough, Wayne turned us onto that and it worked there better than anything else) So, I set one of my rods up with the dough and proceed to walk around the pond with another casting for bass. Big Mistake!! Pretty soon, I look back at my other rod set up for catfish just in time to see it take off into the water!! I start running around to try to save it but it was gone!! In the midst of my panic, I thought of something that turned out to be pretty smart, although at the time I was thinking no way will this work! I tie on a deep diving crankbait and start fancasting in the general direction of where I last saw the rod before it disappeared into the deep! Lo and behold, after about 10 casts, I hooked something. (there were a lot of brush piles so I figured that I probably had a limb or something) I reel it up and see that I have my rod, hooked through the end eye with the crankbait! Carefully, I reeled it up enough for my stepdad to lean over the steep bank and grab it. He hands the whole mess to me, I unhook the crankbait and start reeling my drowned reel. Something is tugging back! After a few minutes, I reel in about a 4 pound catfish! It wasn't what I caught that made this the strangest, but the way I caught it! I will never forget this one! That technique actually came in handy for me again while prefishing for a tourney a couple of years ago. I knocked one of my rods overboard and it sank like a stone in about 10 feet of water. big lake, lots of trees and I was moving when it went overboard. I thought it was gone for good, but after 10 minutes of casting for it, I got it back!

Not sure on the Nitro fish and ski seats. However, I can help you on the carpet. Depending on if it is loose already, and even if it is, it is a b*tch to get out, usually coming in small pieces. Then, once out, you have to scrape the deck to remove ALL glue residue, which is also a major pain. Getting to this point though (carpet removed and deck prepped) will save you big bucks if you plan on having a professional lay the carpet. The hardest part is under the consoles and the lids of all the boxes and naturally any bends and angles. Here is a good link for carpet www.bassboatcarpets.com Good Luck and make sure you post pics!

I will tell you, I started fishing tournaments back before B.A.S.S. allowed nets. Consequently, our local club, being affiliated with bass, did not allow them either. So I got VERY used to catching and landing fish from my boat without the services of a net. Now that the rules have changed, I know that I can use one. However, I feel just as confident without it and it is just one more piece of gear to keep up with. No net here.

I know Raul, and I am not trying to be a jerk about it either, as I am a forum veteran and a moderator on many other forums. It's just that, if English is the universal language, and the only excuse for posting badly is being in a hurry, then, I say, take your time and slow down! Once again, if English is not your primary language, you pretty much are given a pass. No, this is not English class, and we get the general idea of your post basskiller. We are not really specifically picking on you because it is a common occurence amongst other posters also. But you would probably have to admit that you could post better. That is all anyone can ask for. Post to the best of your abilities and we will all be able to understand and HELP with your questions a bit better. Again, I reiterate. If you are speaking a foreign language and trying to post in English, then all of the credit in the world is due to you for making the attempt. However, the use of "u" instead of "you" shows a chatroom verbage rather than a language barrier. It doesn't take that much more time to add a couple of more letters and capitalize where necessary. Rant over and sorry again if I ruffled any feathers. But if I make the next guy stop and double check his post (it only takes a few seconds more) than I have accomplished a lot and will make those that are hesitant to give constructive criticism online (that's what this is) be able to read your posts that much easier.

Arrggghhhhh!!!!! > ??? ;D

"Where the skies are Blue"!! ;D

Hey Shad_Master. Since you are in Omaha, (I assume NE) you should look into joining the Omaha Bassmasters, a great club there. I usually fish a few of their opens on 3 mile lake in Iowa.

Born and raised in Southern California, now Southeast Iowa has been home for 11 years. Spent some time in Arkansas also, right on Bull Shoals and minutes from Table Rock (where I received my bass fishing education) I fish quite a few lakes here in Iowa and Missouri (3 mile, Wapello, 12 mile, Green Valley, Sugema, Mark Twain, Thousand Hills, Hazel Creek, Rathbun) to name a few. My favorite of them all would have to be 3 mile, voted in the top 10 bass lakes in the state. Hey Hawkeyes18, if you ever want to go, my 18 1/2 foot Skeeter has plenty of room!

Downsize, downsize, downsize. Try some small 4" weightless worms, rebel crickhoppers or frogs or even small inline spinners such as Mepps or rooster tails. They will catch bass in ponds who otherwise won't bite larger conventional bass baits. And PA angler, hope you don't take offense, but I noticed that you close your posts with "chow". You are like my mom, always telling me to eat!! ;D I am just joshin' you man, but the term you are looking for to say "see ya" is CIAO which is Italian. Chow is for dogs!!

This is a loaded question that has many answers. The short answer is, lots of topwaters have their place in the tackle box depending on the conditions and cover you are fishing them in. Open water, scholling fish hammering shad is a great place for a zara spook. Try downsizing to the spook jr. in northern waters. Laydowns, standing timber and such, a buzzbait is a great choice as long as the water isn't too choppy. Floating or submerged grass is a great place for a rebel pop r. Work it fast like a fleeing shad making sure it spits plenty of water! I used to fish these really sloww, wait for the ripples to dissappear, twitch, repeat. Then I fished with a pro in the Virginia top 100 who gave me a good education on how to fish the pop r. Lily pads are a great place for a buzz frog, weedless frog or floating lizard or worm. Did you know that a spinnerbait can double as a topwater? Burn it over submerged grass lines just below the surface for some hot action. You know your doing it right when it makes a wake!! Good Luck!

And with a boat, you find out about them when it sinks!! ;D Thanks for the heads up!

You know, I have heard these horror stories. It sounds like good advice, but I really like the oil injection feature and the fact that I don't have to mix oil in my Suzuki 150hp! Never had a problem yet but I guess all it takes is one to shell the motor. Curious to know if anyone else has disabled their oil pump?

Yep, what Senko77 said. Just sneak in, and be prepared to either run or hide! Chances are, if you are quiet, you won't get caught. For those wondering about if there are fish in your golf course ponds, I would bet dollars to donuts that there are!! Try it!