BassinSoldier

here's the one smallmouth. I wasn't expecting to get any of these up in the slop so it was a nice lil' bonus.

My brother-in-law and I went out to wade a grass flat on Kentucky lake yesterday as the sun rose. I caught 13 largemouth and 1 smallmouth, all on a black cavitron buzzbait and rage tails toads. It was a really awesome day! Nothing really huge, but it was great being able to catch some fish after being gone for so long. Only bad thing is I head back over to the sandbox on the 13th. Oh, the new TD-Zillion anniversary edition reel is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! 7.3:1 makes toads and buzzbaits so effortless! Hope ya'll enjoy the pics!

I had to chime in on this. Ron's doin the same thing for me, and I can't thank you enough man! Maybe Big-O can put some packages of rage tail baits together for the troops?? ;D I'm home on leave right now and I'll post some pics when I take some. I'm goin fishin with my oldest daughter tomorrow, so we oughtta have some. Thanks again Ron, and Shannon I can't wait to see ya back here at Campbell when we both get home next year! -Sgt. Joe Shafer

Only for 18 days but it's great to be back for a while! I'll post some pics when I take some.

I'm not gonna be doin any test driving on leave Ron, just lookin around right now to see whats out there that I can afford. I plan on doing some when I get back for good in '09 though. I sign out tomrrow!! WOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!! 18 days away from the sandbox!!!!!

Thanks for that SFC_AL (Or should I say...MSG_AL). And thank you all for the congratualtions! I will live up to my responsibilities and lead by example. Maltese: I would change the name to BassinSergeant, but my buddy Bryan from my unit already has that name...

My *FIRST* boat, even... ;D

Well after this 3rd tour here in the sandbox I finally got the go ahead to get my first bass boat. I am lookin for a nice fiberglass bass boat that won't break my bank account. Do ya'll think this looks like a good deal? http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1997-STRATOS-201-Pro-Elite-93559786/?ZMC=Oodle&BAC-Oodle Any heads up on a good deal would be appreciated too. Thanks everybody.

Senkos don't catch anything. They are all hype. Send your senkos to me immediately and I will see that they are promptly disposed of properly. ;D

Thanks! As far as the KY bass I love Kentucky Lake, and I have a few honey holes on Ft. Campbell that I frequent much to my wife's chagrin. I usually go during the hour and a half we get for lunch when I am back stateside...I just tell her I am savin' gas cuz my favorite lake on post is closer to my motorpool than my house is. Savin money and catchin bass, can't beat it!

What's up everybody? I just wanted to share an accomplishment. I have just made my cut off for E-5 and will be pinned Sergeant on Sept. 1st!!! More responsibility, soldiers to lead, and more money for the bait monkey to steal! I can't wait to see you all at the get together on Kentucky Lake next year, it oughtta be awesome. Bud and I are gonna show ya'll how to catch some Kentucky Lake bass! ;D

Lookin for a new rod to pair my zillion with. I am lookin at the zillion rods, but was also lookin at the airrus puls-r and loomis mossy back. I'm lookin for a rod around 6'8"-7', MH or H. I have a 6'6" MH I used to use with toads with no problems so I kinda want to have this rod as a toad/all around type rod. Any opinons? And how good are the loomis mossybacks compared with other loomis rods? Thanks!

So my sister was going to get me the zillion for my birthday, then sends me an e-mail asking if I'd rather have the anniversary edition! She says, "The only problem is that it's red, I don't know if you like that color for a reel." WHAT!!?? Needless to say my reply was a quick hell yes I'd LOVE the 7.3:1. Anybody have one of these babies yet??? Shes coming up to Campbell to visit while I am on leave and bringin it with her. I so can't wait to get back stateside for leave!!!

Great to see that you're back stateside! Since the last time we talked I have been to the board (I got a 150!) and I am waiting for the Sept. points to come out for my E-5 (I am sittin at 573 as an 88H, so it looks promising according to the trend report). ANYWAY, I go on leave the 23rd, and can't wait to see my family and terrorize some fish a lil bit...We should be outta here for good early '09. Again, glad to see that you're finally home and I'm lookin forward to seein some posts here about those on post ponds ya'll have there in GA. YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR AVATAR NOW! Drink one for me Master Sergeant!!!

Try a zoom super fluke in whatever color your frog was (or closest u can find). On a fast retrieve u can make it jump and skip. When she swats at it, kill it and let it flutter down. She'll most likely think she injured it and come back and eat it. Anyone else agree?

Palomar...If it's a bait that needs a loop, I add an O ring, and tie a palomar to that. Greatest knot ever for night fishin too, I can tie it without looking.

X2 on the powerpro. You could cut diamonds with the stuff, but it's still soft!!!

It was a while back...I think I was like 13 fishin a strip pit in Sanderson FL. Anyhow, I was using a Quantum Energy reel...I don't remember the model # but it was a kinda sparkly brownish/burnt orange color baitcaster and a berkley hunter graphite rod, throwin a red shad culprit jerk worm. 11.5 lbs! Sadly I was a youngster who was too young to be conservation minded and had a skin mount made of that fish and another 10+ I got outta there about a year later. In the long run it wouldn't have mattered though because the pit dried up totally.

I actually got the episdoe to play on my crapnet here in Iraq!! Loved it!

Well Shannon, we're finally gonna get to watch some fishin shows in our respective sandboxes! Can't wait till next year to hit the lake with you dude, it'll be a blast. The fish in Lake Taal will probably be prespawn when u get back. Can't wait to show ya a few tricks out there! Thanks Rondef, to you and your family for mailin us some shows and mags and keepin our sanity intact!

Back home in Florida we used to use large, bright colored grubs (white with a red or pink tail)t-rigged with about a 1/4oz. or smaller weight. Shaky heads rigged with a bubble gum colored trick worms always worked pretty well too. They seem to like the bright colors. A buncha people hate the mudfish, but on a hot summer FL afternoon when the bass are nowhere to be found u can almost guarantee you can get on a mudfish somewhere, and it's a fun fish to catch (until u gotta get your hook outa that mouth!). Hope this helps!

Now THAT is an awesome case of bassthumb right there!!! I come home on leave in 2 weeks and can only hope that my hand will look like that! Does anyone else sit and dream about the lake while they're at work, while rubbin their chewed up thumbs? d**n I miss home!!!

Yeah ReelMech, yours was the first site I looked at. I saw that u had the bearings and the carbontex pads. You might be havin some business from me early next year when I am back from this place for good. Do the upgraded bearings make very much of a difference in casting distance? And the drag upgrade, how noticeable is that? I really wish the handle knobs had bearings, thats a real shame. I see that the bearing and drag upgrades really won't set me back too much, I am happy about that. Thanks again to all you guys for all the info and help! I can't wait to get back home and out on the water!

My buddy had a break off when I was back in FL on leave one time. He was using a shallow crank and he pulled it back hand over hand and got bit...By his PB! 8 and some change! His index finger was cut up a bit but he got it in. Guess the whole errati ;c retrieve thing works, huh? ;D

Shannon whats up dude! Long time no see! Well I am deployed too, but in Iraq at Speicher. I'm promotable now, just waitin for points to come out. I go on leave the 23rd so I'll be hittin KY Lake and Lake Taal. I gotta new lil one at the house too! Shoot me a PM man, we gotta catch up. Can't wait to see ya back at Campbell, we gotta hot em up again!