Ratherbfishing

It's not my favorite method however my second to largest bass was caught while trolling. By doing so, it allowed the lure to go to down to the necessary depth AND remain there for a long time.

Don't know if I'm the only person who does this (probably not) but I've found that running the point of a hook through the center of a stick bait and then halfway back out again (so the hook point is barely showing) will help keep the bait on longer, helps to keep the bait falling horizontally, and offers some level of weedlessness.

One of Goodyear's less successful ventures. Sort of like Lambert's Cafe's first slogan "Home of the throwed Potato Salad."

Since the post office (at least on Miracle on 34th street) recognizes Santa Claus, in that same vein, since the Snag proof company calls their weedless "mouse", a "moss mouse", shouldn't "moss" therefore be recognized as something that grows in and on the water? You don't deliberately cast these into the trees, do you? (Emphasis on the word "deliberately") Rubber worms have probably never been made of rubber (or latex for that matter) though that term is generally accepted. When I was growing up, we (my family anyway) referred to artificial lures (those shiny creations which were WAY out of my budget) as "fake bait." Has anyone else ever called them that?

He's ALREADY smelling the air for scent!

Thanks a lot! Now my head hurts. I am, however, convinced that the rotation of the earth has thrown off my casts by as much as 30 degrees. I am not sure what formula to use to correct this.

There is a direct correlation between the wind speed and direction, how light the lure is, and how much surface area the lure has as to how many backlashes I get. But the largest factor USUALLY is how sloppy I am being. MOST backlashes I experience, however, are pretty minor and if I take the time to fully "undo" them-especially the minor ones (which are less obvious) they will not haunt me later.

Well, duh! I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Shipping is based on the number of grams. Even though I can do a conversion from grams to ounces, I can't REALLY get a feel for how much this would be (since the item's don't appear to be listed by weight).

Pretty neat if it will rest on top of the water's film (surface tension). I fear, however, that it might try to sit upside down. Let me know how it works out!

Yeah, shipping is probably enough to stifle my purchase.

Cool. The price for a product was about 1/2 what it is "elsewhere" (one reason why my eyebrows raised).

Hope I'm not violating any rules but was just wondering if any of you have any experience a company called "Harris Sportsmail." I'd like some feedback before I order anything. Please PM me. Thanks!

I'd get a few baits in each category that cover the entire water column (from top to bottom) so you can adapt to where the fish are: Top water: One minnow bait (such as a floating Rapala), one prop bait (such as a baby torpedo) and a popper or a walk-the-dog bait. "Middle" water column: at least one 1/2 oz white spinnerbait and/or inline spinner (such as a Panther Martin). At least one medium diving (4-7 foot) crankbait. and a lipless crankbait such as a Rat-l-trap or red eye shad (for the budget conscious, you can't beat a Cordel Spot) Bottom: Texas rigged worm such as a 7 inch Berkley Powerbait worm, stick bait (such as a Senko or Yum Dinger), one jig (I prefer a texas-rigged weedless crawdad), a deep diving crankbait We (including the bait monkey) all know you will get more but in my opinion this is a good starter kit

I would caution you about bending the hooks out. It can be done but do this too much and you'll end up with a bait that snags everything and it will drive you insane. There is a fine balance somewhere between being poor at hook ups and being too snaggy but if I had to choose, I'd err on the side of worse hook ups.

I'd pay a few extra dollars to NOT have to compete for the same armrest with someone but this... is too much. Having grown up with 7 siblings on a very small farm, it's difficult to fathom and, in my mind, JUSTIFY such extravagance.

Oh, yeah. That'll buff right out.

What do you mean by "clicky"? Were they not taking members or were they just cold and indifferent? SOMETIMES you'll come across a group of fellas who already have their desired "good old boy" network and aren't really interested in expanding. In such cases, it's best just to brush the dust off your hands and move on.

As Keith says, Marker buoys will give you an easy way to pinpoint a desired target and, once you find what you are looking for, frees you up from having to constantly watch the sonar/gps screen and trying to adjust the boat accordingly. Doing the latter is a LOT harder than it might seem. Note, depending upon the current and/or wind speed and the distance the weight must travel before it hits bottom, you may need to toss the buoy a little upstream or upwind to compensate. Otherwise, the buoy will have drifted off target. Oh, and don't forget to pick it/them up when you are done. It's easy to forget to do this-especially if YOU have drifted some distance away.

USUALLY the fish haven't moved but their mood has changed. The first thing I do is try is to downsize. And if I've been fishing fast, I'll slow down or if I've been fishing slow, speed up. But usually I'll slow down.

That there aren't fish in every stretch of water and that I have to go to the fish rather than hoping the fish will come to me. I still have a LOT to learn in this regard.

just the opposite. Nothing...at...all.

and continuing with that "theme", often the better fish are on the OTHER side of the boat.

What is the appropriate "expression" in Joliet? Surely it's not "you-uns"?

That depends. How much money do you have?