Bluebasser86

Congrats on the new PB! Sometimes those big fish will bite very light, but sometimes it's a very hard thump when they inhale a bait because that big mouth moves the bait so far and fast when they pick it up.

If you run the Q tip through the guide and it catches on anything, you have a damaged guide. Even the tiniest nick in a guide will destroy you line in no time. You'll be much happier with that Red Label, it's one of the best budget fluoros you can get.

I was thinking a different kind of blade bait, also very effective in cold water.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

The 12lb is one of my favorite finesse jig lines. It doesn't have the high memory that the line does once you go to 15lb or higher. It's very strong and should suit you just fine for cranks and traps.

10lb Big Game or Pline C21.

I've caught catfish on nearly everything. Just wait until a channel cat blast your topwater, they put a bass strike to shame! To answer your question, yes, they do eat lipless baits. I've caught channels up to 15 pounds on them.

25lb copolymer does the trick for almost all my swimbait needs.

Welcome to the thread man! No need to be shy around here, we don't know any strangers. Couple guys went today and caught 9. Water temps from 45-50. I'm thinking one more week of warm weather and it might be on.

I prefer the swim jig in heavy weeds. Everything else I go for a bladed jig.

I've used them both and caught fish with both. They're decent baits, but I prefer the bigger ones much more than the smaller ones.

Great news! Scott was released from the hospital today and walked out under his own power!

I've never heard of one that doesn't take nonboaters. Look around a little at different clubs and find one that fits your schedule and wants the best and try to talk to a couple members to get a feel for the club. If you decide to join, when you start fishing tournaments there's a few things I'd suggest. Owning and maintaining a boat is expensive, offer you boater some gas money. I always asked mine if they had a number in mind. If they didn't, I'd usually offer $50-$100 depending on how far the drive was and how much running we did. It may sound like a lot but you can burn that in a day just in the boat if you run a lot. Don't go overboard with the gear, bring what you need, but keep it reasonable. I never brought more than 6 combos and 1 bag that contained 6 3700 boxes and all the plastics I needed. Be careful about tracking mud/dirt into the boat, stepping on seats, spilling drinks, smacking the motor while casting, basically, try not to beat the guys stuff up. Learn to back a trailer if you don't know how, it makes everyone's life easier. Try to keep an imaginary line through the middle of the boat and don't cast in front of it unless your boater says it's okay. I've had guys invite me into the front of the boat, but some won't want you to cast past the midpoint of the boat. Help out with prepping and reloading the boat. Some guys will even bring their boater lunch. I've never gone that far but I've had guys bring me lunch when they fished with me out of mine and it's very appreciated. Make sure to have fun and pay attention to what your boater is doing. I learned so much from fishing in a bass club and just paying attention to what my boater was doing, it really sped up the learning curve for me.

What if you caught a state/world record and then someone beat it with a fish they snagged off a spawning bed? I'm guessing most guys are going to be less than thrilled about that.

180 yards of 12lb test is a ton of line. Even if you really launch a bait, you're not going to cast 1/3 that distance with a C-rig or A-rig. I agree with those being 2 different combos. Unless you're fishing very heavy C rigs or very light A rigs, you're going to need a heavier rod for A rigs than you do for C rigs. I use a 7' 3" MH/MF-7.2:1 and 50lb braid for C rigs. A rigs get a 7' 6" XH/F-6.2:1 and 20lb copolymer.

Personally I wish they'd make nets mandatory to protect the fish. Guys boat flipping fish and letting them bang off the consoles or bottom of the boat aren't doing the fish any favors and don't shine a very positive light on the sport.

Good looking old boat. Those older Johnson motors run forever if they're taken care of. A guy in the bass club I use to fish in had a very similar boat and he never seemed to have any problems with it.

There's one for $125 in the flea market right now.

I'd suggest not getting too hung up on color at first. Get a natural color that looks like the bait fish in your area, and then something flashy. I think you'd do very well to get something like Bone and American shad. If I fished both of those here and couldn't catch something, they're not eating jerkbaits that day. With your location, I'd probably have to really consider a perch or clown pattern as well but if you're only wanting two I'd stand by my first two colors to catch fish. A couple more great deeper running jerkbaits that haven't been mentioned are the Spro Mcstick and McRip, and the Duo 100DR. Megabass 110+1 is a great deeper running jerkbait, but I can't get myself to buy them, so I buy blanks and have them painted for less than half the cost. They've been working well for me so far this year. I got this one off a rockpile in 14' of water on Monday.

I've had a pair of Academy H20 aluminum pliers with titanium cutters for 2 seasons now. They still cut braid (and all other lines), like nothing.

He was working some OT but he's certified now so he can do that.

They're a killer in clear water around weeds. Bad thing is they aren't very durable. They about doubled in price the last couple years though so I've pretty much stopped fishing them.

That trout almost looks like a swimbait!