Bluebasser86

When you own a boat and you're always catching fish you don't have to invite people

We caught lots of them north of 15" but we had a bunch in the 6-8 inch range too. Had several pretty nice spots, 4 short walleye, a nice white bass, 15-20 crappie from 6-14 inches, a 10" channel cat, and a 17" largemouth, so it was a pretty fun day. I have this weekend off so the wife and I may be back down there Sunday. I was changing baits a lot for awhile so I had stuff scattered everywhere on the deck. Actually the whole area behind me was clear, all you can see is the cluttered area. When those big smallies started blasting shad I was scrambling around pretty fast trying to find my swimbait rod too, even left my tube out on the bottom and almost lost my rod when the boat started drifting because I forgot it was out there.

Anyone can feel a 4 pounder smash a swimbait, it takes skill to feel a 3 incher hit a crank

That was my brother in law Chris (kanasbassfisher08) that posted that video

Jon and I were pretty torn about where to go today. It was either going to be Wabaunsee or Melvern, we settled on Melvern and it was a good decision. We caught easily over 100 fish today, all 3 bass, walleye, crappie, white bass, and catfish, no drum! Caught fish on lots of baits, Ned, tube, zara puppy, keitechs, drop shot, spoons, squarebills, and swimbaits. My first one of the morning hit a KVD 1.0 and went 18 1/4" We caught lots of smallmouth and a couple other fish with the smallmouth being a pretty good mix of small and bigger fish. Fished around a couple different places then tried the dam. I started lobbing a 5" Bull Shad around and got hit pretty fast by this stocky 18 incher. I also caught the tough guy of the day on a KVD 1.0 As we were fishing down the dam a couple big smallies started chasing shad literally onto the bank. I fired my Bull Shad at them and hooked up immediately. I thought she was going to be heavier but I'm not at all disappointed by a 20" 4 pound smallmouth

Jon and I were pretty torn about where to go today. It was either going to be Wabaunsee or Melvern, we settled on Melvern and it was a good decision. We caught easily over 100 fish today, all 3 bass, walleye, crappie, white bass, and catfish, no drum! Caught fish on lots of baits, Ned, tube, zara puppy, keitechs, drop shot, spoons, squarebills, and swimbaits. My first one of the morning hit a KVD 1.0 and went 18 1/4" We caught lots of smallmouth and a couple other fish with the smallmouth being a pretty good mix of small and bigger fish. Fished around a couple different places then tried the dam. I started lobbing a 5" Bull Shad around and got hit pretty fast by this stocky 18 incher. I also caught the tough guy of the day on a KVD 1.0 As we were fishing down the dam a couple big smallies started chasing shad literally onto the bank. I fired my Bull Shad at them and hooked up immediately. I thought she was going to be heavier but I'm not at all disappointed by a 20" 4 pound smallmouth

Man I'm starting to feel like a broken record. Keepers are still tough to find. Kanasbassfisher08 and I fished last night, plenty of fish, just no keepers. Saw more smallies last night than I've probably seen out there all year. I broke off what felt like a good fish, I should probably learn to retie after dragging a bait through rocks all night I guess.

That's always the hardest part about these things, finding someone willing to do the work just to get the wheels turning.

Most of my rods are LTB rods and they are very sensitive. I can easily feel the difference in the bottom composition with them with a heavy enough bait to keep good contact. They took me awhile to get used to and I actually didn't like them much at first but after I fished with them for awhile they really grew on me.

I like nice stuff but I just don't see how I could justify $1,000 on a combo. Most of my combos are St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass rods with E series Curados on them. Most expensive would probably be my LTB/C14 spinning combo though and that's not even halfway there, especially since I didn't pay retail for any of them

I about died laughing, my wife uses that as an example as why I shouldn't drive the boat under trees along the lake.

I can launch a 1/4oz bait plenty far with my super tuned 50E Curado. Like others have said the right reel with the right line, setting, and rod in the hands of the right person will cast most reasonable baits a good ways. Heck I have a super tuned 200E5 on my cranking rod that casts a KVD 1.0 a mile when I'm cranking skinny water for smallies.

I think a lot of it probably depends on where you fish also. If all of a persons fishing is done at lightly pressured bodies of water or typically in dirty water the realism and action of a bait probably doesn't matter as much. Now head to somewhere like Table Rock or Bull Shoals and some days it really takes an ultra realistic finish on a bait to get bit. Last time I was on Bull Shoals the water visibility was over 20' and I could watch bass come from extreme distances to examine my jerkbait. I had to switch baits several times and eventually got them to start eating a 78DD pointer in ghost minnow. My friend fished almost every pointer either of us had in the boat but mine was the only one they would eat. I agree that a lot of the time you probably can get away with a $6 SK or Norman and they will even outfish the expensive baits sometimes, but those days when they're being picky the higher end baits are worth their weight in gold.

I've spent enough time working segregation and special needs pods to have a really good idea. There really is nothing off limits when you start dealing with special needs individuals.

My wife does not seem to understand this concept. She's terrified of snakes and always insists I inform her anytime I see a snake when we're in the boat and that the only good snake is a dead one. Of course I never tell her about the snakes I see because they're always minding their own business and not bothering anyone. I'd much rather have a bunch of black snakes or bull snakes around my house than a bunch of mice and rats inside it.

I have one for my soft baits, they're pretty awesome and keep my baits from getting bent. I bought mine instead of making it, they're worth the money to keep from messing up an expensive soft bait. Also curious about the Real Prey baits. They look good and a soft bait that can really take some punishment would be awesome even if they do cost a little more.

I agree with the BBZ, I'd get a floater for sure if I was going to buy another one. Also suggest a River2sea S-Waver or ABT Banshee, both under $20 and you could probably get away with a light titanium leader without killing the action too bad. If you're wanting to fish rubber baits you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with the fact that the pike are going to wreck them when they eat one. Decoy Hydratails are a good little bait that doesn't break the bank and have proven pretty durable for me with bass, I still think a pike would probably tear them to pieces though.

Swimbaits

Haven't gotten any yet but I'm excited to fish one once the water cools down!

A black sharpie will put eyes back on a bait and they won't fall off then I have lots of baits without eyes, usually as a result of bouncing off rocks or docks.

A jig or big worm along the drop offs and weed edges will eventually find you a bigger fish. Swimbaits along weed edges will get the job done too.

That pond looks to be pretty featureless and probably has very little cover other than the weeds you're talking about. Right now a lot of areas are either in late summer/fall transition periods, which usually equals tough fishing. The days are getting shorter and the temps are dropping and the bass are scattering. With all those weeds and silver dollar pads have you tried a frog through them? Hollow or something like a Rage Toad I would think would be good. Soft plastic jerks like a Fluke are usually good over the tops of weeds in shallow water or along the edges of emergent vegetation. If the submerged weeds have enough water over them I'd be throwing a rattle trap over them and ripping it through the weeds. If there isn't enough water for that I'd probably fish a bluegill colored chatterbait over the tops of the weeds. Either of those baits has lots of vibration and will call fish out of the weeds if they're buried up in them. Like KB08 said I wouldn't be shy about tossing a swimbait over those weeds either.

There's a local park here with reclaimed sewer water that has some really nice bass in it. Pond doesn't stink and water is usually fairly clear. It does grow a lot of algae though. I fish it once in awhile and have caught some nice ones but like you said I certainly wouldn't want to swim in it or eat any fish out of it and I make sure my dog doesn't get in the water or try to drink it.

There's lots of pay to play places, a couple not far from me. I think some guys are thinking that you are pretty much promised a monster bass at those plays, not true, it just makes it so you at least have a shot at one. There's a place called Anglers Paradise in southwest missouri that looks like it would be a good time. To me it just give a guy a shot at a fish he may otherwise not even have a chance to catch in public lakes. There is certainly a market for it I think but like Glenn said, it has to be a ton of work and not cheap at all.

Use them! One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given. Even worse, like in Bigmouth, a 10 pounder can eat a spinnerbait without you ever knowing it was there!