Bluebasser86

I got a couple suggestions from members on places and baits to try and even was loaned a couple rods and reels to use for the peas. So we just tried a couple places from shore until we found one with peacocks and managed to catch a few. Another member was even nice enough to take us out with him in his boat in the Everglades for largemouth and we caught a bunch of bass and different fish. We caught bass, chiclids, bowfin, warmouth, bluegill, an oscar, and a pickeral. Saw a ton of gators and got to go on a really cool (and fast), boat ride through the canals.

It's actually a 13-18 inch slot on Douglas, unless it changed recently. Either way, you catch 2 >15" there Thursday and you can go wait at the ramp to get paid. Remember, this is the lake that a 1.01 took big bass last year.

OP, good job calling the Ranger. I think we can all agree what those kids were doing was wrong regardless of species/size of fish. I think we can all also agree that these kind of threads never end well, so before it gets ugly... LOCKDOWN!

Guys, any question you have about the Ned, dtrs5kprs, can probably answer for you. I've posted a couple of his videos when guys have questions on them in the past. He spends a lot of time on some great water for the Ned. Welcome Dave, glad to have your insight on the rig you've helped make so popular on The Rock

Fknlo, I'm out of town now. I'll send you a PM with some Table Rock info when I get back in a couple days, you might message me a reminder if I don't by the end of the week though.

I put Owner ST 36s on my spooks and they keep fish stuck really well and they hook them much easier, usually just by cranking into them.

Just don't store them so they're touching regular plastics (leave then in the package), and you'll be fine. You don't have to wash your hands between handling them or anything crazy and they don't melt instantly, it's a slow chemical reaction.

Mission accomplished!

Don't rig them. Stretch them several times then soak them in water overnight and it should get the salt out of them.

Buzzbaits and bladed jigs have very different actions, sounds, and vibrations. It's definitely worth having some of both.

I make my own mushroom heads with a wire weedguard but you can get small heads with weedguards if you look around crappie tackle long enough.

Jon had an outstanding day there this past week with over 50 fish and 9 keeper largemouth. No monsters but a terrific day for the Dotte. My dad has been catching some good fish out there, and he's not really a "bass fisherman".

He said something about finding feathers in his livewell though, sounds like they were eating adult birds, although eating juveniles that fell from the nest makes more sense. Sounds like the flipping the bird topwater bait.

Amart says he was on a BIRD pattern at Havasu this past weekend?! What?! I've seen signs of fish eating birds, including bird feet sticking out of a bass' throat, but never heard of an entire pattern centered around bass eating birds. My only question is why, then, was he flipping green pumpkin colored craw baits instead of something like a black neon flipping tube or creature bait (article said they were red winged black birds).

It's in Kansas, about 7,000 acres. Lots of states have good smallmouth fisheries but for the most part your northern states around the Great Lakes, Tennessee, Maine. There's some that have better trophy fisheries while others are better for numbers. Spring tends to be best around here but summer, fall, and early winter are all productive. Smallmouth tend to be more structure oriented than cover oriented and will roam around more. The smallmouth here seem to prefer smaller baits (although they'll attack large baits too). Only one lake I can think of where the two really coincide in fairly equal numbers but even there they have their own quirks. These are just my observations from the lakes I fish in the area that have smallmouth.

What is a junebug lure? Is that the color or does it actually look like a junebug?

The inner lead/hook is a jumbled mess. I've destroyed a bunch of them on wipers and beating them into the rocks and other objects. Not sure how you'd remove the lead without destroying the bait though.

I use both the 25 and the 30 sizes for bass depending on what techniques I'm going to be using and have never felt a need to go to a larger sized spinning reel when bass was the only fish I was going to be pursuing. If you're fishing in are where you might come in contact with larger game fish like stripers or muskie that could run off a significant amount of line then you may very well want the larger size though.

Fish will usually move shallow and hug very tight to cover. Bulky baits in either bright or solid, dark colors (rattles and strong vibration doesn't hurt), seem to work best. It will often take multiple cast to a target to trigger a fish to bite. Sometimes it takes a day or two for fish to adjust to newly muddied water.

We're flying, otherwise it wouldn't be an issue. I've borrowed an ancient travel spinning rod from a buddy that fits in my luggage so I'll have that one rod and reel. I might just take you up on the offer and bring an extra baitcaster with me.

If you're asking about those lakes in southern Kansas, they're probably done spawning, we're all but done with it in NE KS. Look for areas just outside where they were spawning and they should be there trying to get their first post spawn meal.

Mojo or Ethos

True story. You can fish a foot long swimbait until your arm falls off but if don't throw it where the big ones live you'll never catch them. I do have my favorite baits for targeting bigger fish though. Along with swimbaits I also like to fish jigs and bladed jigs. A good portion of my big fish each year fall for one of those 2 baits.

They're great once the bass fry hatch and after the shad spawn.

Not saying it can't be used for bass, it's just unnecessary and a bit bigger than what you really need. The line capacity is also much higher than what is needed for bass so you either have to put a bunch of backing on or waste a bunch of line. At almost 11 ounces it's pretty heavy for a bass fishing spinning reel.