Bluebasser86

Not a bad fish anywhere!

Wow that smallie has a gut on it! My last month of fishing has been almost nothing but night trips. It's almost as much about enjoying the quiet as it is about catching fish for me. Getting some good ones in the boat is just icing on the cake!

Was the reel new when you bought it? It sounds like your line is spinning on the spool but if you put backing on like you said then it shouldn't be an issue.

If I beat my PB I'll be pushing the state record, that would be awesome. If it did happen, it would be on a swimbait or a jig would be my guess.

Took me long enough but I finally took Lake out in the boat last Wednesday. Figured it was time, he is 7.5 months old after all . He got to meet one of the fish we'll be looking for on Thursday night at Douglas too

You are the flathead master here lately Curt! Sucks with the tire, at least you didn't wreck your trailer when it blew.

They found a 5' long gator in a lake I fish often here in KS back in 2010'. It was in a power plant lake but thankfully had already expired from the cold weather. Always wondered if they'd be able to survive if someone put on into a warm water lake like that even with the cold weather.

I still have the very first St. Croix rod I bought, a 7' MH/F Premier. Rod has a replaced tip after the insert was knocked out and a replaced guide after it was stepped on and the epoxy broke but still works fine. Dusted it off the other day along with a Curado 200BSF and went to a pond to try out my new Spro Bronzeye shad. 20 bass and an hour later I was glad that I still have it

Our golden has 2. Number 1 is the doorbell, she loses her mind whenever someone rings it. Number 2 is a big stuffed Lamb Chop (like from the kids TV show). We bought her that thing when she was a puppy and it was bigger than her. She beats the heck out of that thing and shakes it like she's trying to break it's neck. Then when we go to bed she brings it with her and it's her snuggle buddy, keep your enemies close I guess

Yep. Don't know which variation of pickerel, but it's one of them

They look so much like a big shiner to me. I'm sure they're a blast to catch on lighter spinning gear like that!

Yep. We don't have many browns in KS but the ones in the White River in Arkansas love a bass sized jerkbait, and I love feeding it to them

IMO a Santee Cooper rig is more effective for drift fishing, otherwise your bait hangs back down towards the bottom and kind of defeats the purpose, unless there's good current. I'm guessing if you're in a pond you're probably dealing with some nice sized channel cats. You can catch them on punch bait, but the bigger ones will often ignore it in favor of the real thing. A simple slip sinker rig is probably going to be your best option with live bait. I prefer a Kahle or beak hook with live or cut bait if I'm with the rod. Circle hooks work best when your rods are in a rod holder in a boat and you can leave them alone to work their magic until they're folded over IMO. Plus, setting the hook on a big catfish is part of the fun of fishing for them In ponds I've done very well fishing cut bait under a bobber with no weight, just let it drift around. If it's big channel cats, you'll find one eventually. If you're dealing with flatheads in a pond, you're in for some tough fishing. I've fished some ponds with quite a few flatheads that the owners put in without realizing how much they eat and then want them back out. Flatheads seem to move very little once they're in a pond with lots of food and become almost impossible to catch. If the weeds and snags aren't bad, I suggest covering water with some cut bait. Put a chunk of baitfish on a hook (hook it through once and leave the point exposed and make sure it's clear of scales). I like about a 2/0 Kahle hook for this technique. Add no weight or bobber but you can use a barrel swivel to add a short leader if you like. Cast the bait to likely areas and let it settle to the bottom and sit for a minute or so. If nothing picks up the bait, lift it slowly and move it about a foot and repeat step 1. Do that all the way back to you. It's effectively leaving a scent trail for any catfish that swims across your baits path to follow and can be extremely effective at times. Be ready though, I've had big channels almost jerk the rod out of my hands on the strike doing that

Just because they stamp "swimbait" on a rod at the factory doesn't mean it can't be used for something else. My "jig and worm" LTB makes a great spinnerbait and bladed jig rod Never have fished a jig or a worm on it

I have mean green on my swimbait rod, it's some tough stuff and it doesn't have bad memory.

The Rapala Mini Digital is a great little scale for $20 and seems to be very accurate.

I like them but like others stated it's more of an open water bait IMO. It will bounce off cover pretty well, but they provide their own action while they're wandering all over the place. They're great over the tops of weeds too.

My buddy has one, they do look sick in the water. I was a little disappointed in the size though, a bit on the small side. I'm sure it will still catch monsters though.

My wife and I had been debating getting our son a life jacket so he could go out in the boat. We have had several days of unseasonably cool weather so we decided to get him one. Supposed to be for kids up to 50lbs but at only 7.5 months Lake had the straps extended as far as they'd go and he still didn't really fit very well. He loves being outside, he wasn't a huge fan of the life jacket however. He did really seem to enjoy while we were cruising along though. Had enough time to make a few cast and he got to meet Mr.Bass for the first time, albeit a very small version We were on the water for about 30 minutes before the combination of the life jacket not fitting well, his teeth hurting, and being tired got the best of him. His big sister had to check on him to make sure he was okay though. Can't wait until he's old enough to go with me. The lake we were on will probably be one of our main destinations as it's a dink factory and loaded with bluegills and sunfish as well. I got out that night and it was flat calm and perfect out. Fishing was a little slow but I still boated 18 and the quality was pretty good. One of my first fish of the night was also my biggest at 4.29lbs on a homemade swinging football head and Ol' Monster. A couple minutes later I caught my second biggest of the night at 3.83lbs on a homemade bladed jig that is showing some serious wear after doing lots of work this summer but still catching like it was new Another solid Ol' Monster fish. This is why I love bladed jigs, they choke those things! Hard to get any leverage to toss a bait when they're stuck like that. I had to leave right as the sun was getting up so I could watch my son but I got a little Slammer fish right before I left.

I call them bait! The proper name is green sunfish though That's a very washed out one, they can be pretty colorful. Aggressive little buggers, I've caught them on baits that were bigger than they are.

I'd bet that fish has a good sized bluegill stuffed in it's belly, it looks about the right shape. I've had a couple fish that looked like that and there's almost always a crappie or bluegill tail sticking out of their gullet.

Congrats on your first son! My first was born last December and just took his first boat ride last Wednesday at 7.5 months

I had all my fishing gear stolen on one occasion and my boat stolen in another, none of it was ever recovered. I don't leave gear in my truck and if I stop somewhere with gear in my truck or boat it never leaves my sight. We all know we have a lot of money invested in our gear but you never realize how much until you suddenly have to replace it all.

I feel your pain. I sold my boat a few months ago to pay some stuff off so I would be able to afford a new bass boat in the hopefully pretty near future. Thankfully my brother in law just bought an 08 Stratos so he no longer had a use for his 15' johnboat so I'm using that for now on the smaller lakes, but I know the fish in the bigger lakes are missing me I just try to remind myself that it will all be worth it when I get to pull my new ride home.

Them big water snakes have a bad attitude a lot of the time. Never been bit by one but have had some take a shot at me, usually because I stepped on them and didn't know they were there.