gatrboy53

first thing is get familiar w/ your boat.second start simple and learn to read nature,what you can see w/ your eyes. a map is good but honing your senses is better especially starting out. on new water i always look for points.irregularities in the shoreline,any visual differences in the surroundings. catching fish is ALL about confidence,dont base your success on how many fish you catch or dont catch,base it on the experience.what did i learn today,apply it the next time.trust your instincts.and if at all possible go w/ or take someone taht knows and fishes that water,it makes the curve a lot shorter.

if the bite is on i'll turn a trick worm around and rig it from the tail,or wacky rig it.you can take a ripped tube and stick a piece of worm in the cavity and rig it thru the worm .i never throw plastics in the water and hate it when a bass shakes em off. i also have taken a color i dont like and put it w/ used worms of another color and get colors that bass has never seen before. to me the fun part about fishing is being creative and resourceful.bass will bite anything in any shape and in any color,especially if they arent conditioned to it.

zoom, zoom ,zoom!!!!!!! the thing that makes the u-tails so good is that they are skinny.same w/ the trick worm and the mag II.and some of the other ones also,but they make some fatter baits for different seasons.about the only bait i dont like from zoom is the z-nail,i have friends that swear by them ,but the shape is funny to me ,but thats what they like about them.i to wish they would make a senko type bait and also a speed shad.

if your going to use it for carp fishing primarily,i would use braid.brand is a matter of preference.theres not that much difference between brands.mono backing will help it seat better just be sure to put enough on to not get spooled.i use to fish for carp in carp ponds in n.c. some were 30-40 lbs.those dudes you need some strong tackle.id use 50# but 30# or less depending on how sporty you want to get.a 14-25 # rated rod probably wont have the backbone you'll need to horse a big carp.the braid could snap it if you put much pressure on a big fish.i use to use a ugly stick,bend but wont break.

imo, the hs reel is a specialty type reel ,for me it wouldnt be a good choice for a all around reel.a 6.3:1 would be a better choice for a all around reel.the stx is an extremely smooth reel due to the upgraded bearings,but somewhat harder to get use to because it is so free running.i prefer the low profile over the round reels,but its mostly a matter of preference.the stx is a upper end reel and i would only put a upper end rod w/ it.balance is the whole key to a set up,not only in weight but feel and performance.a well balanced combo makes the experience much more enjoyable .good luck and happy fishin'

the flat side is to make the worm glide,the shank of the hook acts as a keel.you will get a total different action if the flat side rides up.you cant rig a trick worm wrong thats why its called a trick worm cause depending on how you rig it,causes it to do differnt things. the common way to rig them is to bring point into the end of worm about 1/4 in.then out the flat side rotate hook and reenter worm and go strait thru untill it comes out on the rounded side then tex pose point of hook just underneath the skin of the worm.

also get some softbait glue or even super glue and glue em back together.use a bead in front of the hook it helps a little.

fished the stump fields of rodmans sat. the wind was 15/20out of the n.e.thats tough on the open flats at rodmans.had a good day 18 fish .most came on a bagleys balsa B,burned then stopped. onc ethe wind got to howling i switched to traps and continued to catch fish.

more of a pitchin scenerio to me.i have several pitchin rods as i pitch more than cast.my pitchin rods are 7' med. hvy.depeding on cover and water clarity i use 14-25lb. fluoro or 50lb. braid.i'll use the braid around abrasive stuff like reeds,thick laydowns w/ alot of branches,sometimes pads.i prefer the fluoro if i can get away w/it. flippin for me is a vertical presentation in heavy cover and i use almost always braid 50or 65lbs.on a 7 1/2 hvy rod. i use only hi speed baitcasters.i want the speed and muscle to get him out before he can wrap me.

when the bite is tough a wacky rigged senko type bait is hard to beat.!!be sure to let it fall on a slack line.

in fla. we have a different scenerio.shallow topped out hydrilla and millfoil beds and mats mostly hyacyinths in 6' of water or less.jigs can be and are used but not as much as pegged plastics w/ 1 and up to 1 1/2 oz. weights.and yes,noise of any kind spook bass. maybe not the smaller schoolies but any bass of any size can be spooked easily.they do not move to investigate or chase a bait. you have to present it quitely and right in front of his face.flippin mats is a art,and stealth is the key to catchin sizeable bass w/ this technique.i have been flippin for many yrs. and am only fairly efficient at it. when you see how the pros like Glenn Brown,or preston clarke,terry scroggins ,the lane bros. or j.t kenney can slide a 1 1/2 oz. weight thru thick vegatation w/o any noise is unbelievable.nearly impossible for the avg. angler.they can lay that weight on top of a mat and shake it and it dissapears. boat noise will spook more bass than most think.there again the great flippers make virtually no noise. large weight and small baits are the way to success in fla. b.b. crickets and beaver type baits w/ little or no appendages so as to get thru the thick stuff is preferred.vertical presentation is a must.not only is a straight fall necessary but when you lift the bait it must come strait up also and when you get a bite the hookset needs to be vertical as welll as the hole you jerk the bass up thru.any horizontal actions and your chances of getting bit ,hooking and landing any sizeable bass go way down. there are times mostly in deeper water that letting a bait go to the bottom or sit on the bottom is prefferred but the usual practice is to let it go to the bottom and bring it up to the bottom of mat and bang it against the underside of mat.the good flippers will dissect every foot of a likely mat before moving on.big bass hunker down and dont or wont move to take a bait but if you put it front of his nose he'll inhale it.many anglers dont have the patience or determination to flip all day w/ only a few bites.flippers who havent perfected the technique can only hope for a few bites cause they scare most potential bites w/ noise and improper presentation. there is a lake i fish that just about the whole lake in covered in hydrilla ,half topped out mats the other half submerged .i just work my way out into the middle of some of the more sparse areas and fish it like i would any other lake.hardly ever flip it.

make wind your friend!

what is rain,havent seen any of that in yrs.

i never pray for personal gain,i do pray everyday for help and guidance,wisdom and power and for gods will to be done in my life.when im out on the water or in the woods i thank him for his creation and allowing me to enjoy it.i thank him for the opportunities he allows me to have,especially fishin.i thank him if i catch a fish and i thank him if i dont.matter of fact i cant thank him enough for whats hes done for me.he saved my soul and set my spirit free.oh ,sorry, thats the holiness preacher coming out in me!

w/ a ml rod and 8-10lb. line your limited somewhat.a s.b is fine but your going to get disappointed real fast,a 1/4 oz. trap is a good choice but the chunk and wind can get old real quik also.i can throw a trap all day w/o a bite but if you dont have confidence in it you might get bored.imo,a topwater bait,a minnow imitation,rapala,bomber longA,floating rogue would be a good choice.easy to master,the visual aspect keeps you interested and the anticipation and actual bite on topwater is unmatched.there is a period after the spawn that topwater action is great.and for that matter all yr. you can catch fish on topwater.

i just watched in-fisherman critical concepts,on aqua view and what it has done for seeing what fish really do during the yr. they observed bass spawning in 20+ water in the dead of summer.also,the weather patterns are changing rapidly and this is affecting how nature does its thing.i see patterns that ive never seen before during the wrong time of yr.and the low water conditions just magnify the abnormallys(if thats a word).in fla. the seasons tend to run together which confuse the fish and fishermen.thats what makes bass fishing so facinating!

Randall just caught a 15#er on a matts bluegill out of varner this past sat.

i,ve been fishing a lake for 2 mths. now.ever since the pre-spawn.this lake (little orange)has a lot of pads from 2' out to 6'.the bass has used these pad fields for stagibg areas ,spawning areas and post spawn transition areas.about the only difference has been where they will be holding according to the time of month.the one pattern that has held up every time i go is where they'll be in relation to the pads.for the most part they will be at the base of clumps of pads.time and time again i can go into a pad field and pick out clumps whose stems go down to the same root system and pull a bass from them.sometimes they hold in the shallower clumps and at other times in the deeper clumps.i fish buzz baits,and frogs early and late and spinner baits and speed worms at times w/ some success but i can almost always take a trick worm a senko or a jig and pull it up to the clump and let it settle to the base and keep it there and get bit.more times than not if i dont hit the root system w/ the bait i wont get bit. there are draw backs ...you'll get hung up alot,either in the root system or the v in the pad itself, and a big bass will wrap you in a heart beat but for me its the been the most consistent pattern this spring.

the chemically sharpened hooks of today shouldnt need to be sharpened. if a hook gets dull replace it.

mud flats draw the bait which draws the bass.floating rapala twitched and let rest.weightless fluke. probably the bait fish are small and trying to match size and /or color helps.i fish some mud flats on my lake and i do good w/ 3/8 oz. rattlin rapala in chrome/black

when fishing a single hook bait,jigs included ,because of the size of the hook i want to set it hard to get good penetration.the very next thing i want to do is get his head up.a fish w/ head up has very little leverage.i always set the hook high and keep rod high untill i get them close to the boat.personally, i never point the rod toward a fish,i want constant pressure and if i feel them trying to jump i apply more pressure.i try not to ****** on a fish i feel this can rip a hole or cause slack.a big fish i'll run around the boat w/ rod high untill it wears them out.

there is a place for both.imo though the straight worm,i.e. zoom trickworm and types will consistently out fish curly tail worms.i know there will be plenty that dont agree and thats fine. each to his own and if one catches plenty of bass w/ curly tail worms ,great.i believe w/ the pressure and conditioning of bass today curly tail worms are for actively feeding bass primarily,which is only a 1/3 of the time.yes, curly tail worms will and do catch plenty of neutral and negative bass.i find in tough conditions which are more often than not a strait tail do nothing worm fished slow to deadsticked will catch bass when other type worms wont.personally, i think its a matter of preference.i have a satchel full of culprits and power worms and bass assassins and at times i have to fish em to get bit. but very seldom do "do nothing "worms not catch fish.i'll even include senko type baits in the catagory as do nothing worms. most who fish curly tail worms fish the bait to get the tail to move and i find bass usually dont wont a moving bait.most of the bass i catch are either on the fall or deadsticked.i guees it would also depend on where you live and fish. in n. fla. im fishing shallow grassy lakes w/ avg depth of 6' or less pitching to cover or grass

almost always w/ treble hook lures.personally, i dont want any stretch if im flippin,pitchin,wormin,jiginin.

great concept.really get to know the pros .i dont like the ref bit,it takes away from the fishing.i also dont like that if the guy is leading after 3 quarters he dont have to fish if he has control of t.m.

shoter the rod the better control,the longer the rod more distance.the difference between a 6' to a 6 1/2 ' isnt that great and the difference from a 6 1/2' to a 7' isnt that great ,but the difference from a 6' to a 7' is.so i would opt for a 6 1/2 fter .