Bluebasser86

I fish mine on a 7' MH/F. You don't need any special gear for them, any jig/T-rig rod will work. It's a killer way to present a soft plastic.

I can remember catching some really good fish that I'm not even sure what I felt that made me set the hook. Once was because I was dragging a jig and all the sudden it just felt a little lighter, fish was almost 6 pounds. If I'm not sure, I'm setting the hook. I'll take the ribbing over hooking a limb versus the pain of missing/losing a big fish.

Golden Shiner for sure. They'll readily attack small lures and baits whereas shad (with the exception of American Shad), do not.

The pond is very small right now, but my grandpa owns a large backhoe and dozer and is chomping at the bit to come play in the dirt and dig it out for us. I'll probably post some pictures on the progress once we start that process.

If someone is making those, they're doing a terrific job copying the Storm Wildeye Shad.

LC squarebill prices have been dropping recently. I picked some up for $7 at DSG a month ago. Not on sale, just their regular price. For fishing a pond, I don't believe they're worth the price, but in lakes bigger public water, their jerkbaits specifically, are very much worth the money to me.

The Ethos rods from Academy are the best rods under $100 IMO. I have several that I use in my starting lineup.

I use a 4/0 with no issues.

Great job! I think a local team from KS is in 4th place if I read right yesterday?

Sounds like a good trip. Fish tend to look bigger in the water, but just an FYI, the 22lb 5oz bass that Manabu Kurita tied the world record with, wasn't quite 30".

Last Rapala I bought that I am still happy with was a #5 Shad Rap in bluegill. They can keep all the rest of them.

Welcome! Yes, skunked=no fish

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for your service!

Welcome!

I catch them up shallow with a technique I call bass fishing for catfish. Most all will be 1-8 feet of water and aggressive.

Replacing a tip is very easy but if you're not comfortable doing it you can take it to MondoTackle and drop it off. He has a guy that does it for pretty cheap.

My 50lb scale wasn't big enough to weigh her so we went to the boat house to see if they had a big scale, which they didn't. So I took a few pictures at the ramp and turned her loose, much to the chagrin of a couple locals.

No, I turn everything I catch lose for the most part, even walleye and crappie.

Maybe when Lake gets old enough to take over mine

Good job catching your first frog fish! Lose that snap swivel and tie directly to the frog and it will work even better The extra weight drags the nose of the frog down and won't let it work properly.

I'll be on one of my best lakes to catch cats on artificials tonight. Last time I was there I caught 34 channel cats on bladed jigs and spinnerbaits in one night in my hunt for the lakes big bass. They're fun for awhile, but got annoying after awhile.

I almost ordered one, but I have so many baits I don't use already, I figured these would just get added to that pile.

My most interesting fight from this year. 7' MH/F LTB with a 70XG Curado and 15lb Tatsu with a finesse jig. To say I was undergunned is a bit of an understatement.

I like dark colored baits generally and tend to stick to larger baits. Jigs, bladed jigs, spinnerbaits, and squarebills are my favorites.