stealthcaster

I can't believe I didn't catch this typo. For the braid not, only 2 wraps. Not 3. oops! :

I agree wholeheartedly with all of these.

I'm biased toward St. Croix, but I'd go with a 6'6" or 7' premier.

I fish 30lb braid with a 6 foot 15lb clear mono leader, using alberto's knot. LOVE it for all bass fishing applications! I used to use fluorocarbon, but I recently switched to mono and it certainly doesn't seem like I catch any less fish.

I'm not going to act like I know a whole lot about scent, because I don't. I will leave you with these facts though. 1. I often catch flounder in the surf with berkley gulp! grubs without any action whatsoever. They just bite it when it's sitting on the bottom. And if any of you have ever fished for flounder, you'd know they usually won't just eat anything. 2. In my experience, largemouth bass absolutely can't stand a wacky-rigged berkley gulp! 5" sinking minnow. It seems to work just as good as a senko in most places, and senkos seem to have a much better overall action and sink speed.

Why is this RW? Just curious.

I've caught one fish (2lb bass) I know of at least 3 times at a nearby pond, 1 inch scar on the left side of his body tells all.

Some people just like the control of braid. No stretch means a much different type of fishing. Personally I like having braid on my st croix 6'8" avid extra fast action, I can feel the smallest of bites even when the line isn't very tight.

I find "often" far fetched and hard to believe. VERY often? All I can say is that you know how to fish topwater my friend! What are your favorite topwater lures?

I recently got a st croix avid 6'8" medium extra fast action with a right handed abu garcia revo S. It would be my dream combo if the reel was left handed. I'm so sick of switching hands, why didn't I think of this?!? haha Most of my baitcasting reels that are bigger that I use for saltwater fishing, I don't mind reeling with my right hand. But with a bass combo where you're constantly casting and retrieving, it really gets to be a pain to switch. I wish I could find a lefty with a revo in my position and trade him reels!!!

I try to go every day if I can help it, but sometimes I'll go a few days in a row without fishing (oh the pain!). Today I hit 2 ponds and landed 6 little ones.

Only got his butt? The front half must have still been active!

True. The Palomar is a great knot. I use it all the time. Just thought I'd share some other good knots :>

Roadwarrior, that knot is very similar but not quite the same. I'll admit I had never heard of those knots, and in fact, that is the exact knot I used to tie all the time! My knot does not go through the top loop (furthest from the lure), which in my experience is better, because the tiny piece of trim can pick up grass on the retrieve. My knot goes through the loop adjacent to the eye of the hook, twice. I realize that there is a possibility these knots may have already been discovered/widely used. I just haven't seen them yet. edit: I could have sworn I was replying to a post

I figure that no one else uses these, because I invented them. I've only shown these to my brother and a few other fishing buddies. I use the Neverslip every time I don't feel like trying to put a large lure (like a 3-treble hook jerkbait) through the loop of a palomar knot. I mainly like it because it's fast and is stronger than most knots (but not the palomar imo.. although it is very close!) The Blackmon Braid Knot works the same way as the palomar, but is a bit different (and in my own testing it is stronger!!). I have only used it on smaller braid (10 to 30lb test). Pretend that the line is doubled up the entire time on the braid knot. You tighten it the exact same way as you would a palomar, and make sure you lube it up with some saliva! I urge you all to give these a try and tell me what you think!!! They have proven strong for me time and time again. Did I mention how good I am with MS paint? Just kidding haha! Happy fishing!

A lot of the ponds nearby are the type that have THICK trees surrounding them; so thick that it is very hard to cast near the bank. And I can hear bass hitting bugs near the bank every few minutes usually. Some of the strikes I've seen and heard are literally explosive. I think the only way to get around that is to get a small boat so that I can get a better angle for my cast. Spotaholic, I have some Ol Monsters in green pumpkin and red shad, I'll give those a try. I recently ordered some Black 6" senkos, so I can't wait to try those out. Garland, unfortunately there aren't a lot of points, and only some of the ponds around here are clear enough for you to even notice a bed. I suppose I'll stick to what I do during the day which is fish the thickets structure possible, except with darker colors. I also feel like I needed someone to tell me to be more patient haha (really, lately I've let my impatience get the best of me, time to snap out of it!). Thanks.

Really like the responses so far guys. Whatever I use I'll definitely make sure it is legal. My only other concern would be whether or not the structure is too "snaggy" like Bass Finatic said about pallets.

The quickest way to find would probably be live bait. If you don't have access to any live minnows or other small fish (I've caught largemouth bass off more species of livebait than I can count, many of them saltwater species!!), I'd use some soft plastics. If there is little vegetation, wacky rig a "stick" worm like a Senko or Yum Dinger (you can also wacky rig skinnier worms like a zoom trick worm or berkley shakey worm just fine) toss it near some cover, wait a good 10-15 seconds for it to drop down, and gently twitch it at a slow to moderate pace. If the vegetation is thick and you don't have any weedless wide gab hooks for wacky rigging, I'd texas rig a culprit 7.5" curl tail worm or a zoom 6" lizard and cast it into the thickest of cover. Good luck!

I never go fishing without polarized sunglasses. Here's something a few of you might not know: the level of polarization, even between the cheapest of sunglasses, varies greatly. I have a pair of calcutta prowlers I paid 21.99 for and used for a few weeks. I misplaced them temporarily and LUCKILY found a pair at a cheesey beach/gift shop for 5 dollars (no joke, and they are definitely polarized). When I took off the calcuttas and put on the no-name glasses, it was like night and day. I had an extra 2-3 feet of visibility on the surface (it simply knocked out more glare). The lenses were the same color as well. Once you find a great pair (or even a decent pair for the money), take great care of them!! Brown/Amber lenses are the best for inshore saltwater fishing, as well as freshwater bodies of water that are stained brown. And I'm sure most of you know this, but you can tell whether a pair is polarized or not if you have 2 pairs (or if you pop out a lense). Look through both lenses and slowly rotate one. When one lense is perpendicular to the other, no light should shine through and you shouldn't be able to see much of anything (depending on how high the degree of polarization is). If you can see through just fine, at least one of the lenses is not polarized.

Casting a baitcasting reel is truly an art. There are so many factors that come into play, whether your goal is accuracy or distance. I have been using baitcasting reels for years and I can put my lure where I want it the vast majority of the time, but it would take me forever to explain everything. Some of it I probably would have trouble putting into words. Practice, practice, practice. Short casts at first with extra thumb pressure, then very gradually ease up as you begin to cast farther out. You will pick up the basics after a while and it should become second nature.

Wow. Much respect. I release all my bass and it does give me joy to see the fish swim off, knowing he'll be just fine. With that said... it's all about that strike!! lol

Awesome catch! About the same size as my PB!

My favorite part (aside from an explosive topwater strike) about catching a big bass is the feeling you get when the fish first comes in contact your lure (specifically a large worm or lizard); the "Ok, something's up.. and this is no dink!" feeling, as your adrenaline rises just before you set the hook.

Wow, thats great. Any name brands you'd recommend? I don't have access to custom molds or anything like that.

I'm guessing water clarity means little, especially without moonlight. Do bass generally move to deeper water, or do they tend to stick to the banks (like most bass in my area do during the day)? I'm referring to ponds, but I wouldn't mind hearing any info on lakes Also, on a somewhat related note, does anybody use glow in the dark colors at night? Are they worth trying, or should I stick with black/junebug?