KU_Bassmaster.

Crumple up a plastic bag that you get at the grocery store and put it in your boat/tackle box. Catch a fish worthy of weighing ...................... put the fish in the bag and slide the handles over the hook.

I am in the process of trying to teach a buddy how to pitch and flip. And like the to said before, "IT"S ALL IN THE WRIST". Also, think of your rod as a pendulum (sp?). To cast, all tyou have to do is lift your rod tip up, with your wrist, to about 1 or 12 o'clock.

Allison

My most productive lure the past couple weeks ........... a baby bass patteren cankbait.

No kidding, but I don't thing is a REAL durable squared bill crank out there. I have tested out a lot of them over the past couple years and the most durable has been Rebel's, but I don't like the action on it. I like Bomber and Strike King's squared bill cranks the best. I just wait for one of the two go on sale and then I STOCK UP. Back in Feb. I got about 20 Strike King's for about $1.59 each. The last one just broke about a week ago, so now I have a new supply on it's way. BTW- I also orded some Yo-Zuri Hybrid. I couldn't find it anywhere in the KC area, not even Cabela's.

I just ordered some Bomber Square A crankbaits for $1.99 each. I should be stocked for the rest of the year for shallow cranks. ;D

I reel whatever lure/plastic I have all the way to the tip of my rod. Insert the rod into the water, then measure the water level on your rod where the lure disappears. Anything past your rod length is safe to say is pretty clear water.

Most fun is topwater for sure, especially buzzbaits. I am probably most skilled though a flipping and pitching jigs and soft plastics though. I love the feeling when you set the hook, with a jig especially, and the thing doesn't budge then starts making the drag sing.

Maybe people are just telling you this to get you to stop. How many times do you hear or told that smoking is bad for you and yada yada yada. Is that getting you to stop? Now, somebody tells you that it will effect your fishing .............. now you are considering stopping (at least while your fishing). ;D Just my $.02. This isn't made to be mean, just an interesting observation. Nothing can stand in the way of a man and his fish. ;D

You could say that. I use them a whole lot ;D ;D. I bet I have caught over 75% of the bass I have caught this year on a hawg woolytail. I usually T-rig them with either a 2/0 or 3/0 Gammy wide wap hook and usually a 1/4 oz bullet weight. I also carolina rigged them for a couple hours this weekend and had some sucess. I have never fished them weightless, but I might give it a try sometime. As for where I fish them................. EVERYWHERE, but I seem to have the most sucess with them in the grass. Do you use the Grasshopper Green color? It's the best color on the market in my opinion. My only wish would be that YUM would come out with a bigger version so I could really go Hawg Hunting.

Largemouth - 10.5 lbs. (in picture) - Crankbait Smallmouth - I am with el_jewapo, I have only caught 5 in my life all caught on Hawg Woolytails in Grasshopper Green, and I have never targeted them. They all were caught while fishing for Largemouth. There aren't many lakes where I live that have therm and the lakes thet do have low populations of them.

Personal Watercraft trailers also do the trick. I don't know if you would be willing to make a trip to KC, but their is a guy at Hillsdale that sales utility trailers for hard to bat prices. I just bought one for my two-man boat. 5 x 10, wood deck, 15 inch wheels, 3000 lbs. capacity, $600. Most 5 x 10 trailers I looked at were in the $900-$1100 rangge. These trailers will be a little more expensive, but they come in pretty handy for other things. Depending on how big your boat is you may be able to go down to a 4 X8 and I think they were around $500.

I love the Trilene XL myselff, but only for cranks and topwater. I posted "Wacky Rig Mania" on here at the beginning of the week. Basically I was using my crankbait set up to try wacky rigging out for the first time. I was having the SAME exact problem you are describing. I was getting a TON of bites, catching a ton of bass, but I was also losing a ton mainly due to the hookset problem. Solution: I switched to a 10 lbs. Floro and tested it out this morning. Got 6 bites and caught 6 bass. Problem fixed. Trilene XL just has too much stretch for senko fishing IMO.

I have a 10.5 ft 2 man Bass Baot and I only fall out 2-3 times a year ;D. I built a home made casting deck and that was incredibly un-stable. I just stand up in it now with out the casting deck and it is pretty stable (unless you hit a stump.... you're probably going for a swim).

I've always heard by their eye color. Light brown is a male, dark brown is a female. I think. Maybe somebody else can re-confirm this.

I am a little slow to try things out of my comfort zone. I fiinally have given the wacky rig a fair try and I must say I am hooked. I have caught a ton of bass on this rig the past two weeks, but I have also missed a lot. I feel like I am not getting a good hook set. I have had a ton of bass swim off with bait, I set the hook, he is on for a good 3-5 seconds, and then all of a sudden it's gone. I feel this might be due to line stretch and not having a stout enough rod. I was using 8 lbs. Trilene XL and M action moderate action rod (actually my crankbait set up). I think I am going to switch line to 8-10 Floro. What types of rods do you "wacky" guys fish with or is the missed fish just something I am going to have to deal with? I am actually thinking of getting a whole set up just for wacky rigging. I am going to get a Curado 200, but I just don't know what rod to pair it up with. I know a lot of guys use spinning gear to fish wacky rigs, but I can cast weightless rigs with no problems with Curados. I like to use bait casting gear when ever possible.

Yes that was me that posted that link above and it WORKS!!!!! T

I agree big time with rule #1!!!!!! The only way to become a better fisherman is fish every day not just days when the conditions are perfect. Try and learn something everytime you go out.

WARNING: This book is probably 75% biography and about 25% technique (the technique portions are pretty basic stuff). Still a good book in my opinion. I also used to think his antics were kind of an act, but after reading this book I can see where it all comes from and I think that's just the way he is.

I am not exactly what you call "a person that likes to read". I read the book in three days, could have read it in one day. Good book IMO.

I actually think it's because they are eating something or have just ate something and they are streching their jaws out kind of like a snake. I noticed this while bed fishing this spring. a bass would take my bait in, I wouldn't set the hook in time, and then it would circle the bed "yawning".

I am experiencing the smae type of conditions you are right now and the fishing has been pretty hot for numbers and size. The big girls are up in the shallows gorging themselves on bluegills. I agree, follow the water up and fish as deep back into fooded areas as possible.

Nevermind........My first choice is ball_coach's trip. That would be a blast.

1st Choice - Amazon River and fish for Peacock Bass 2nd Choice - Somewhere to catch a Blue Marlin 3rd - Lake Fork in Texas for Largemouth (which I did this last March and it lived up to the hype)

When you set the hook using top water baits, make sure your rod is loaded up (meaning there is a bend in your rod and you can feel some weight on the other end). A lot of times bass will just swat at top waters in hopes to injur water you are using. Always keep a soft plastic jerkbait handy when fishing top waters. If one comes up and swats at it and misses, throw the soft plastic jerkbait in the area that the boil was. The pros say 90% of the time you will hook up, I say more like 75% of the time you will catch them. Top water fishing can be so exciting so letting the rod load up is very hard to do, but it is so critical.