Bluebasser86

Won't do much to slow me down. I wish I had lakes closer to home that were worth the effort but I really don't. So I'm usually stuck making at least a 40 minute drive somewhere and using most of a tank of gas round trip. With an aluminum boat and a 60hp four stroke motor I usually get a months worth of trips out of my boats gas tanks. It sucks spending the money on gas in the truck but I'm not going to sit at home and wait for the price of gas to go down.

I almost always change my out to red VMC short shank hooks. I've never had a problem with fish bending those hooks and they're really sharp and seem to stay that way for me. Gamakatsu and Owners are just too expensive for me, maybe if I was tourny fishing I'd be more concerned about it but not just fun fishing.

I organize by depth in Plano boxes and sometimes write the depth on underside of the bait. For the most part I remember how deep my favorites dive and have an idea how deep they run by the bill.

Closest Academy in in Joplin Missouri, about 2 hours away. They have a bunch of stuff and it is worth the drive to stock up on baits but driving through downtown Joplin is a nightmare.

Went to La Cygne today and fought the wind and not much else. My buddy caught the only bass of the day, a 10 incher on a rattletrap and only whitebass of the day on the same thing. I had 2 bass bites, both on a trick worm on a shakey head on the rock banks by the mouth of the river. One tapped it and dropped it, missed the other one. It hit in less than a foot of water so I'm sure it wasn't very big. I did manage about a 10pound flathead at the outlet on a jigging spoon. Several boats, nobody catching anything. Stacks weren't going all day and water was really muddy from recent rains. Temp at the outlet was 56 degrees by noon, I would have rather stayed home and slept.

He was still a ton of fun to catch! I used to fish flatheads all the time but I've gotten away from it the last few years and started fishing for blues more. After catching this guy I might have to start back fishing for them again! I was fishing a jigging spoon just below a hot water discharge for whites and wipers when I got ahold of him! Didn't weigh him but he probably went around 10 pounds.

I hate the double handle on the Spirex, always seems to hit my knuckles when I use one, sucks when it's cold out . I'd probably go with the Pfluger but the Spirex is still a good reel.

I like to use a weightless tube just like a fluke. Twitch them and they glide back and forth just like a fluke and if you get the big flipping tubes they cast a mile with no weight. This works great vegetation because it comes across the weeds like a frog but you can drop it into the holes and then swim it after you get it into open water.

I'll put in another vote for the big worm. One thing I will add is to use an extremly light weight 1/16 or a 1/8 oz if you can get away with it. Big bass in ponds are very in tune with their environment so a big splash hitting the surface is almost as likely to scare them off as it is to get their attention. One thing you might try with the spinnerbait that has worked for me with picky pond bass is to cast it out in the middle and let it sink to the bottom. Let it sit there for a little while before starting your retrieve. This way if the splash scares any fish away they will have had the chance to return to the area. I think this gets reation strikes from big fish near cover. They spook with the splash but when the return and all the sudden a "baitfish" takes off from the cover it's more than they can stand!

What rod/reel/line are you using? You're on the right track going to the 5/0 hook. I like EWG gammies superline hooks. I fish them on on a 7' 3" M/H st.croix LTB rod with 20lb floro and a Revo SX 7.1:1 reel. You have to have a big enough gap, a stout enough rod, and good line to get a good hookset on the fish. Having the fast reel helps me to keep up with them when they swim at the boat. Brush Hogs are a big chunck of plastic though so you have to set fast otherwise they have the chance to ball the bait up in their mouth so when you set there's a good chance you'll set back into the plastic somewhere else on the bait.

What did you catch those awesome browns on? I'm dying to catch a big brown like that but I've been unsuccessful in my attempts so far! I almost made a trip to the White last year, looks like I might have to this year!

Thanks guys! Big O, with the fish you catch these fish wouldn't have even been a snack for them! ;D In February in the midwest any fish is a good fish though!

I got a 12 foot john boat off craigslist for 100 bucks. It's nice and light so I can carry it over my head no problem to where ever I want to go. You can get a 30lb thrust trolling motor for around 100 bucks and a battery from wal-mart for 70 or 80. Now you have money left over to keep the bait monkey happy! ;D

I'd go Shimano Compre 6' 8" medium light. I have the Crucial with those specs which is almost the same rod just with a split grip. Rod is super light and sensitive and you get the great Shimano warrenty.

I use them on football jigs for smallmouth and have had really good luck texas rigging them for largemouth also. Anywhere there is rocks and craws they seem to eat them really well. I use the Yum ones a lot but they all work.

I try for about 1/4 to 1/3 full on baitcasters. I don't put backing on my spinning reels but I don't go through as much line on them and the smaller pound test don't cost as much so I guess it doesn't bother me as much.

bicycle hooks hanging from the ceiling in the garage. They're coated so they don't damage the finish on the rods and it keeps them from getting knocked over or stepped on. They're only about a dollar apiece and you can hang about 4 combos on each pair of them. Plus you can always add a couple when the bait monkey gets to you. ;D

I had a couple Cabela's AGM batteries, I was not impressed as they didn't last long and didn't seem to hold a charge any better than the everstart maxx batteries I use now.

Yes. You can go to a larger hook or just a larger one usually on the belly hook. I replace both hooks with a size larger short shank hook if I can get away with it. If I can only do one it will always be the belly hook though and a smaller better quality back hook. I like VMC short shanks and I'm a big fan of red trebles. They might not make a difference in strikes but they make a difference in my confidence and that makes a difference in how you fish the bait.

I just bought a Giron but haven't had the chance to fish it yet. I have a smaller tru tungsten swimbait and I use both bb's for a faster fall and better castability.

1.Jig and craw 2.shakeyhead with some kind of finesse worm 3.squarebill crank mostly rc 1.5,bandit 100, excalibur squarebills. Honorable mention to a 5/16 oz War Eagle finesse spinnerbait.

Chapman is an ultra cool guy. I've been fortunate enough to meet him and talk with him several times. He used to come into Cabela's in KC when I worked there since his home at Lake Quivira is about 10 minutes from there. I've also seen him out on Lake Quivira fishing a few times I've been out there. He really is just a normal guy living the dream. You can also talk archery deer hunting with him, I've target shot with him and he is almost as skilled with a bow as he is a jig rod.

Usually by then you're pretty much looking at deeper water on the points and just a little way into the coves. Never have been able to get a deep crankbait bite out there but it's not one of my strengths either. I catch most of my fish on shakeyheads or football jigs but I'm sure C-rigging or fishing a tube on a jighead or dropshotting would work then also. I also have another technique that has worked really well down there if you want to PM me for details. It doesn't seem like much but it's caught fish for me when nothing else does!

I have several 97 slender pointers, they don't run as deep as the regular pointers but still have great action. One of my PB smallies came on a chart/shad 97 slender pointer. I have one in the american shad color with almost no paint left on it.

This snow should go away pretty fast with the rain and warm weather we are supposed to have coming! We can't be far from spring. Trout seasons are coming up at Shawnee Mission and Wyco lakes if that jerks your frog. Until the bass start biting elsewhere I'll be headed to La Cygne!