Bankbeater

Zoom Fat Albert. Try and match the trailer to the skirt.

Try and wear light colored clothing if possible. That way you can see the little buggers when they are crawling on you and pull them off before they find a way to the skin.

This time of year I'll probably be fishing with a big topwater bait or pitching a jig early in the morning, but when the sun gets up high enough I will be switching over to spinning gear.

If I'm just going by the number of fish caught and nothing else, then a good day of fishing locally would be putting around 6 bass in the boat.

Nope, too much money involved.

A couple of times this year I have found ticks crawling around on my tackle bag after I have picked it back up. The only thing I can think of is that my scent is on the bag. I've also gotten them while fishing out of a boat near the bank. I could never figure out how that was happening until someone told me that they can drop down out of the trees.

If you're getting heat stroke or heat exhaustion, you may not have all of the symptoms. Many years ago I was cutting grass in 93 degree heat, and I noticed that I wasn't sweating. Other than that I felt fine. When a breeze made me feel cold, I turned the mower off and went inside.

Years ago I didn't like to fish in the rain. Then I realized that the fish bite better, and most of the time I have the water to myself.

Some great people on this site and enough info to fill volumes.

I use an mh/f St. Croix Premier for all jigs up to 1/2 ounce. Around here the bass usually choke a swim jig when they are serious about eating it. If the bass you are catching are barely hooked then it may be more about the attitude of the bass and not your rod.

It depends on what I am snagged on, and how much that area has already been disturbed.

When you feel that bite set the hook immediately, don't let the bass swim with it. When I'm fishing off of the bank and I have enough room behind me I will start backing up while I'm reeling to get that bass to shore even faster. I don't like to give them a chance to think about what is going on.

Happy father's day, and have a great day.

Nice write up. Sometimes the smaller lakes don't see the fishing pressure like the larger lakes, and they can hold some big bass.

I have seen the bass up near the surface get scattered after I cast the topwater out and the bait is coming down right before it hits the water. I'm wondering if the fish think it is a hawk coming down.

For a one day trip I will bring a rig for pitching and flipping baits like creatures, craws, and plastic worms. I'll also bring a rig that can be rigged weightless or with a split shot to add a little bit of weight. With that rig I will fish small plastic worm, senkos, and tubes.

The one thing you drop overboard while out on the lake will be the one thing that won't float.

Sometimes when I know I'm not going to have enough time to fish I will run over to BPS for a quick fix. I may not even buy anything. I just walk the aisles and look at the tackle. A few years ago my wife's car went into the shop and it was in there over the weekend. She was using my car to do all of her errands, and I sat at home. You really didn't want to be around me that weekend.

Around here I get a lot of short strikes. If it seems that the bass are going to be biting this way all day, then I might let them have the bait a few seconds before I set the hook. If it is an aggressive bite then I'll set the hook as soon as I feel anything, or see the line move funny.

He should be proud of himself. That is a nice sunnie!

I fish from the bank a lot and this is one of the reasons that I went back to mono.

I always have the anti-reverse turned on. I haven't backreeled a fish in years.

IMO, the best fight would be from a smallie. The strongest would be a catfish.

When I'm fishing with jigs that heavy I'll probably be punching. The rod I use is an old HF Daiwa Procaster.

That's a beauty. Congratulations!