Bluebasser86

I've caught lots of bluegills on livers. We catch hybrids on cut shad and carp fishing for catfish a lot too. Some of the lakes we catfish with chunks of cutbait without weight and moving it almost like worm fishing for bass. Coincidentially we catch quite a few bass on chunks of shad and bluegill.

Don't wait at all. If you wait the fish may get the bait balled up in it's mouth and you set the hook back into the bait which kind of sounds like what you may be doing. Lots of times if you set the hook back into the bait you'll get the point through and get them for a second and them lose them. You may try a little wider gap or size larger hook. As for the hookset, reel down and lift is all I do. You're using a small, thin hook that doesn't take much force to dig it in. Lift and start cranking to get the hook set is all it should take.

easy now, I'm not the big fish guy, I haven't caught the biggest fish in any of the get togethers yet. Kanasbassfisher08 had big fish honors first time around and Salenity had it last time. Everyone brings their own.

Could probably use some chips and hamburger buns, that should be about all we need.

I have a board and soft tape in my boat so if you can't get a board from someone you can borrow my tape measurer.

If you want to bring some paper towels or a pack or two of hotdogs and buns that would be great.

Great reel to get super tuned and do upgrades on. I have a couple super tuned and they are the furthest casting reel I've ever owned and a very solid reel, way better than any other reel you can get for $60 for sure.

Salenity and I fished Melvern today. Could have pretty much just brought a jerkbait rod and left the rest at home. Caught a bunch of fish but other than 1 on a Ned, 1 on a crank, 1 on a keitech, and 3 on a shakyhead all the rest were on jerks. Location wasn't really important, pick a rock bank with at least 6' of water and start casting and you'd run into one eventually. The dam was loaded with white bass, both caught smallmouth and largemouth and Curt got a spot too. Mainly fished the north side of the lake but I'm sure we could have done the same thing on the south side of the lake we did on the north. Only fished about 1/3 of the dam before the wind got bad and we left those fish biting and we couldn't fish much other than a jerkbait with the wind blowing like it was. Had several in the 16-17 inch range and super fat and pulling like crazy. White jerkbaits seemed to be the better color.

kanasbassfisher08 and I went and fished the Wednesday nighter tonight, fishing is about all we did. Maybe put 15 in the boat all night, none we really even needed to measure. 10 or 11 boats and 1 2.38lb fish was the only one weighed in. Cold front, clear water, and a full moon just had things locked down.

Haven't had a problem catching fish, just getting tired of fishing in the snow and having to wear my 100mph suit everytime I go out. I've already caught several in the 4-5 pound range this year plus one over 6 and 2 over 7 so I'm not hurting in that department. Plus I've only caught one fish on topwater so far this year, my buzzbaits are getting anixious waiting in my tackle box to get called up to the big leagues.

Going to Melvern tomorrow, got an empty back seat if anyone is interested.

I have 3 pairs of these with me at all times, if one pair gets wet I just change them out. Probably some of the best fishing gloves I've ever owned.

I'm pretty partial to the ones I make at home Whatever color I want to make with a wire wrapped skirt that last as long as the bait will, with a long and sticky sharp black nickel Mustad hook. I build them on a football head and I really believe the shape of the jighead gives it more side to side action. The fish don't seem to mind them too much either

Not really but the way it is snowing like the next ice age is starting it doesn't sound like a bad idea! Our average highs by this time of year are supposed to be in the high 60's and we've barely had a weeks worth of weather like that. I feel like we're being punished for the warm winter last winter

Also a good list, just in the wrong thread

Off the dam? Hoping to give it a shot Friday if I have time. Have to help basshunter get his trolling motor mounted on his boat and bearings repacked so he'll be ready for the tourny but should have plenty of time to get down there still for awhile at least.

Now way it should have been there either. It's a good lake, but not in the top 100 in the country. It would actually have been rated the best bass lake in the state according to how they did it. I'd take Milford over Perry any day for the best bigger bass lake in the state. I've never fished Sebilius but Wilson shouldn't have been on that list either.

I have one of the Lew's speed spools and really like it. It was kind of finicky at first getting it set but since I got it set right it's been great. The thing is smooth and casts a mile. Mainly use mine for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits along with bigger topwater walking baits. Only complaint is the goofy flat paddles on the handles, I've lost count of how many times I've lost my grip on the reel handles when a fish bites or I've just had a hard time getting a retrieve started because they are hard to get a grip on.

I hate braid with A-rigs, if you backlash and you bait stops fast you'll get to watch the whole thing keep going and sink out of sight. I like copoly line from 20-30lb test for the shock absorbency and the abrasion resistance. I pour my own heads for them which is just a 1/8, 3/16, or 1/4 ounce swim jig head. They have a wide gap and the hooks are a little more stout than others but will still bend if you get snagged.

They work well on a 1/8oz jighead or a scrounger head also. The 4" was spanking the bass at a pond for me this last week.

They look even better when a fish has them almost swallowed, trust me

I use 12-20lb fluoro for all my jigs, mainly Seaguar or Vicious Elite. I also use mostly backing with 30-50 yards of fluoro to make the spools last longer. Most of my jig casts are fairly short and even the biggest bass isn't going to pull much drag to need a bunch of line. Just make sure you tie a good knot when you attach it to your backing in case you hook a big catfish or something so you don't lose all your expensive line

I like swimbaits around weeds or for bass that see lots of cranks. One of the lakes I fish a lot it's almost impossible to get a crankbait bite but they'll smash a swimbait. Swimbaits seem to be more effective in clear water because of the realism of the bait also. Crankbaits tend to work better in muddy water because you can get them in bright, reflective colors and with loud rattles in them.

Google maps and searches for info. I practice roll casts and pitching with a short rod in the living room with a knotted piece of rope. My puppy enjoys that game probably more than I do. Actually I live less than 15 minutes from a handful of decent lakes so if I have time to practice at home I have time to do the real thing.

If you're in a boat that has a livewell and you catch a keeper size fish put it in the livewell for a little bit and then check to see if the fish has emptied it's stomach in your livewell. You'll often find small, partially digested baitfish or pieces of crawdads swirling around in there. If you keep fish you can always check the stomach when you fillet them also.