Lightninrod

Hot(low 90s), partly cloudy, and lots of wind today, in fact, it blew me and my Basshunter all over the bigger farm pond. All I could catch was one dink on a rat-l-trap. Also tried a spinnerbait, T-rigged Swimming Senko, and a buzzbait but this pond has sent me away lately with nothing to show for it. Went to the walk-around pond and commenced to catch two, 2 lbers on a Southern Shaker bait and then went bass-less for about two hours as I circled the smaller pond. Finally, my line 'went heavy' and I set the hook on a 4/7 as I twitched a T-rigged Swimming Senko(color #213/purple with emerald flakes) across the bottom. A few minutes later, I felt the pick-up on the same rig and set the hook in a 4/9. Both jumped more than once and made some decent runs as I led them to the bank. Went home to cool off after about 4 hours. 4 lbs, 7 ozs Again 4 lbs, 9 ozs Again Click on the pics for better resolution. Dan

Two very nice Bass guys! Dan

Got Bassmaster magazine yesterday and it had two pics of two 10.2 lbs Bass in the Trophy Bass section. The first pic had a young boy holding his Bass. It looked to me to be a 3-4 lb Bass whereas the other 10.2 looked to be an accurate weight :-/. I usually hold mine with my arm bent at the elbow so the Bass is not shoved out too far but yet it's not too close to me either . Dan

Thanks rbp but WE isn't the brand my friend is trying to find :-?.

Wonderful Win young Lady!!! Dan

I have a few of them that I bought from MegabassUSA and a couple that I bought used from a couple of guys at Tackle Tour. I treat my rods more roughly than anyone. There are no rod lockers on my little boat and when not lying on the plastic boat, they are stacked inside my truck. I have had no defects in any of them and they will land a Bass or two . Having said that, yes, there have been some guys that have had them break and have had some trouble getting them replaced but if I remember correctly, all but maybe one(?) were replaced by MBUSA. Dan

I've been using and have caught Bass up to 6.5 lbs on Vertical's Jig X but have recently been using the Wadda jig. I really like the fact that it comes with a hand-tied, rubber skirt; no rubber band that will dissolve away, allowing the jig's skirt to fall off. Dan

Nice Bass young man! 8-)

I'm trying to find a spinnerbait brand that has the skirt tied on with silk or some kind of thread. I've heard they come from a store or manufacturer in Texas. One of my pet peeves is the rubber-banded skirts found on most spinnerbaits and jigs(with the exception of the Wadda jig!) because eventually, the band is going to dissolve and the skirt will fall off. Tied on, that won't happen. Any ideas on a spinnerbait like that? TIA, Dan

GW: Threw a buzzer today and caught 4 or 5; the heaviest only being a 2/12(no pics) but it was surely fun. Il: That's a Daiwa/Megabass Ito JDM reel. They are rare and are not made anymore but can be bought on ebay or other places. I have more than one Daiwa . Dan

These are some older pics of Bass caught on Senkos; the 5", color #222. If you haven't tried that color..... I started using them back in 1999. They work-----most of the time but not always. They will catch dinks up to double-digit Bass. I rig them T-style both weightless and once in a while with a weight but always using a 4/0 GY Sugoi hook. I fish them wacky-style too with a 3/0 weedless Gammy hook. They are very effective in shallow water but can work in deeper areas too. I usually let them sink(many times they are sucked in as soon as they hit the water) and then just raise the rod a foot or two and pause...repeat as necessary. Trig-weigthless Trig-weightless wacky wacky 5 lber 5 lber w/r-5 lber 3 lber 4lbs 5 lber Dan

What he said!

Thanks guys and gal. Nfm: Didn't you click on those two links? GW: I haven't thrown a buzzer in a year or more :-?. I'll give it a try soon. jay: Yes, they are still a little skinny but the owner is feeding the forage fish with pellets and adding shad so maybe they will fatten up soon . Dan

Back to basics today as nothing else got a bite so I T-rigged(weighted) a Zoom Trick Worm(black/grape) and caught 9 or 10 dinks then switched to a wacky-rigged Swimming Senko(5", color #222) and landed a 5 lber in the shallow end of my former boss's pond. Light breeze, 86 degrees, partly cloudy, mostly sunny, so both the Bass and I were a little warm. 5 lbs, 5 ozs, 24" Look out illegals Dan

Some very good looking Bass DG! Dan

I have used and caught Bass on there soft Javallon but didn't know they made a hard one. Thanks. Dan

I caught my PB, a 9 lber(and many 3-7 lbers) in the middle of the day(1:30 PM) in the heat(100 degrees F) of August in 2005. I caught it on a steadily moving Matt's Baby Bass in 9' of water where there was 23' of water available. Bass are cold-blooded and don't necessarily slow down in the summer. I find most of them more energetic then . Dan

D/k about Smallies but L/M taste just fine if.......you skin them instead of scaling them. . Dan

WTG Prog! Great bait and Bass!!! Dan

Now that's what I'm talking about! Great catchin' young man!!! Dan

If you can't work out an exchange, most any local tackle shop will be either able to repair it or direct you to someone who can. You could take off the side plate and see if it's something simple but only after an exchange is refused. Dan

Got a Type R+ too. Exceptional reel for sure! Congrats!!! Dan

Beautiful Bass Matt!!! That's the way to work a jig! Dan

Outstanding GA/SC Bass young man!!! Btw, it's not always easy to catch big Bass out of ponds. Dan

They are almost too short for most 4/0s, though the Owner hook RW uses helps. I use a 4/0 Sugoi(GY) for my Big Ikas, 5" Senkos, and Swimming Senkos. Dan