Bluebasser86

I may be way off here but the way I understand the "defenseless reciever" thing is they are looking for whether or not the D-back is trying to wrap up or not. If they hit the reciever high and don't try to wrap up then they flag it, if they try to wrap up then they don't. I think it is because it is harder to headhunt and kind of forces you to lift your head so you're less likely to lead with the crown of the helmet if you are actually trying to wrap the reciever up. Not saying I agree it, I love watching guys get laid out, when they're on the other team anyways, but that's how I heard the thinking behind the rule explained.

I don't know if it actully attracts them but is sure doesn't seem to scare any of them off

It's always funny to my friends when I catch a drum. They swear I could catch on out of a mud puddle and it feels like it some days. One friend took me to a lake he swore didn't have any drum and I caught 2 I've caught them on about everything except topwater but during the summer when it's really hot they cruise the banks at a little local lake that is really clear and you can sight fish them with live crawdads. It's the closest I've ever been to sight fishing for tailing redfish. We have so many of them in the lakes around here that I can usually tell instantly from the bite if it's a bass or a drum.

Dang I wish they would clean the river up between here and there so we could get some other species of fish in the river down here. The river is never anything but dirt brown year round and pretty much just carp, catfish, gar, and drum. Every once in awhile you might get lucky and catch some whitebass, wipers, or a saugeye but they aren't there in any numbers that I've ever heard of. The upper Missouri/Mississippi rivers are definitaly a couple places I'm going to have to fish some day.

I've got both but if I had the money to have a boatful of one or the other I'd go with LTB rods. If I could I'd like to have the older, full grip models for my faster moving baits and the split grip for my plastics and jig rods. No reason other than personal preference on the handles. I really don't think you could go wrong with a boat full of either rod though, both lineups are great rods and really nice to fish with but I'd have to say the price is the only Con I can think of on the LTB.

Looks like a lot of fun to me! You catch those out of the Missouri river??

I wish I could make the switch but even after fishing with a left handed baitcaster for a couple months it was still really awkward. I switch hands midcast so easily anyways I don't even realize I'm doing it. If it works for you though who cares if it was weird?

I swing in smaller fish when I'm fishing with heavier tackle but rarely swing in treble hooked bass and never on light spinning gear. With small fish on trebles or light line I'll sometimes lift them by the line, if I loose a bait or straighten a hook it's not as big of deal as busting a rod.

Live bluegill are definately a great way to catch big bass, that's what the bass that tied the world record was caught on afterall! I've caught some really nice bass nightfishing for flatheads with live sunfish and some big ones out of ponds freelining live bluegills.

Guys I've got a few rods and a reel I'd like to get rid of but don't want to deal with shipping, the rods especially. I have a St.Croix Mojo "spinnerbait" 7' MH/F. I've been using the rod for pitching and it has done pretty well. Rod has been used a lot and has several scuffs but works just fine, asking $40 for it. 2nd I have a Cabela's TXS 7' 6" telescopic walleye casting rod. I believe it's the "deadstick" model but it trolls smaller shad raps and 1/2oz traps great. Probably would be a decent crankbait rod if you like a longer rod. Rod has very little use and sold for $100 new, will take $30. 3rd I have a Cabela's Depthmaster downrigger rod, 8' 2 piece. Rod works very well for bottom bouncers and trolling bigger tail dancer type baits. 4th is a BPS Rick Clunn baitcaster, the purple one in a 7.1 ratio. Has a little rash but works like new, $40. I can email pictures if you need them.

Christmas is coming so getting presents for the wife and family is top of the list right now. I can't afford to pay attention let alone buy fishing gear that I don't really need.

Don't feel bad, I missed that second part too. I was about to get a new reel for deep crankbaits until I saw I had to buy a new rod to save 50 bucks on the reel.

Very nice job on your first attempt! Just be careful, tying your own jigs is almost as addicting as catching fish with them

I've caught several seagulls freelining live shad for wipers during the winter time. The most frustrating part of the whole this is that the shad are usually on the surface because a wiper is chasing them but the gulls get them first Good thing is they usually don't fight much when you try to unhook them and never seem any worse off after being caught.

No problem. The holidays are always hard because I'm never around for them. Thankfully I will finally get Christmas off this year but I'll be working 12 hours tomorrow and the time I'm not working my wife will be at work. We might see each other in passing at about 4:30am when she's going to work and I'm coming home to get some sleep before going back in at 3pm. Even while I'm out doing my thing to help try to keep people around here safe I just remind myself that at least I will get to come home at the end of the day. It tears at my heart to think of the soldiers overseas who at best might get to talk to their loved ones on the phone or a computer. I think their sacrifice for their country is truly amazing and often forgotten about.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow members of BassResource! Enjoy your friends and family and if you have a minute think about the men and women fighting for our freedom abroad and the public servants at home who don't get to spend the day with their families as they do their best to make sure we have a safe holiday.

I use the BPS stick-o and have had great success with it. I fish the 4" version on a shakeyhead alot and the smallmouth around here love it. They are pretty dense and sink pretty quickly also. Plus you can catch them on sale for 3 bags for $10 and load up on them like I do every spring

I fish baits down to 1/32oz on a 6'8" M/L shimano crucial DS rod with a 1000 Shimano Symetre and 6lb test. I can cast a bait the size you are describing way further than I can set a hook effectivly with it

Seems like this time of year I always have the same problem. When I'm out fishing I'm thinking I should be deer hunting. When I'm out deer hunting I feel like I should be out fishing. It's been a good hunting season despite not shooting a big one yet though so I have no regrets this year really.

Again guys thanks for all the advice and I thought I'd give an update. My wife and I sat down and had a talk about our finances and I told her we need to start being proactive and set a plan in motion so we could actually be serious about ever owning a home. We figured our average monthly income and expenses. We found we have 4 debts, either credit cards or loans that are under $1000. Paying those off should take less than a year and then we will be down to just both car payments and her 2 student loans. She made a board like a they use at some fundraiser with old fashioned thermometers so she could fill in a little bit each time we make a payment so she could actually see that we were making up ground and to help us keep track of how we were doing. It feels good to finally feel like we are on the same page with our finances

I had a small flathead catfish in a 50 gallon aquarium for a few years and it was the coolest pet fish I've ever owned. Watching how it would stock it's prey and the power that even that small fish had was amazing. I had it from the time it was about 4" long until it was over 2 pounds when I turned it loose back into the lake I caught it from. I had two 8" longnose gar for awhile and they were really fun to watch but man they eat a ton! They got two expensive to keep and got taken back to the pet store.

There is a very slim chance they are wipers. They haven't been stocked in Perry and they aren't listed as being in there which kdwp will do even if there hasn't been one caught for years. Whites and wipers both have broken lines http://www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Where-to-Fish-in-Kansas/Fishing-Locations-Public-Waters/Region-2/Perry-Reservoir The toothpatch is also not a failsafe as it isn't distinct in a lot of fish. Not saying they couldn't be in there since the state record was obviously caught in the outlet below the lake but that fish probably swam up the Delaware River from the Kansas River. Either way like you said catching something is far better than catching nothing.

Even if the Luck e Strike isn't quite as good as the Megabass, which I agree it probably isn't after fishing one, for the average fisherman with nothing really at stake if he doesn't get that extra couple of bites, I think they are a great alternative to the Megabass. They do catch fish pretty well and come in plenty of good colors to give the weekend fisherman with the ever shrinking fishing budget a more affordable option.

I look for the nearest deep water to where I caught them during the late fall. The lakes around here it always seems to be somewhere in the 8-15 foot range with 20+feet of water nearby.

Good luck, I've never smoked regularly in my life and I'm really glad I don't. I've been around people who smoked their whole life and the coughing sounds terrible and painful. I guess having asthma was probably a bit of a blessing in that sense Seriously though, I hope you can find the willpower to kick the habit.