Sam

Could it be a small crawfish bait?

I looked into Nightcrawlers and Red Wigglers and went with the Wigglers in a round metal tub that I kept under the house with a lid on it as those little suckers can climb the sides. I did my research and noted it was easier to keep the Wigglers alive then Nighcrawlers. Hit YouTube or Google breeding Nightcrawlers and see what you can find out. Had to stop doing it as it attracted mice which attracted the black snakes and my wife was having tizzy fits about the black snakes under our deck. Let us know what you find out and what you decide to do.

Geaux get 'em! Good thoughts sent for your continued success. Be sure to keep us posted on how you are doing and what happened. Nolan rules!!!!

I hate to read stuff like this. T&P to the family. Maybe one day we will be able to wipe out all cancers.

X2. Depression is life threatening and we don't want to lose you. Please see a psychologist who can help you or suggest a good psychiatrist. We all get down from time to time and when you can't shake the funk you need to see a professional.

Let me tell you guys a horror story about back pain. My wife, a young and beautiful lady, started with her back pain 10 years (or so) from a degenerative disc problem that runs in her family. Three neck surgeries; ten back surgeries; pain doctor; on methadone now which is not working; and we have come the realization that as soon as you get your back operated on and one level is repaired, the levels below the repaired level will start to fail. We are going to see Dr. Chris Schafrey at UVA Medical Center on August 6th to plan for her to have another surgery to have wedges inserted into her spine so she can stand up straight and hopefully relieve the back, hip and leg pain. Not other doctor in the greater Richmond, Virginia, area will touch her or consider doing surgery. She has 2 to 1 odds of eliminating or reducing the pain and being able to walk again without a cane or a shopping cart. So please, please, please be aware that once they start operating on your spine you could be in a worse position that you are in now. And with the new FDA rules on opioids, many doctors will no longer prescribe them for fear of losing their medical license. Good luck to everyone who has back problems and back pain. It is a no win situation.

You went all over the place, from the Potomac Creek up to the Chick. And on rough water, too. Glad you did so well. My friend and I won our club tournament out of Aquia Creek but we stayed in the Potomac Creek for most of the day. I had three of the five keepers and he caught the 4.5 pound big fish to push us to victory. Thanks for posting your story.

Meeting and speaking with the movers and shakers in the bass fishing industry makes the sport more personal and friendly. Other than NASCAR, it is difficult to meet and speak with any other industry's inventors and research people on a regular basis. Actually meeting people like Ned, Gary, Big-O, Bobby, Glenn, Keith Jones, and so many others who have given the sport their blood, sweat and tears to make a good product is something that we can be thankful for and embrace. We enjoy a sport that expects and wants this to happen. Couple that to the pros who will stop and speak with you and take a photo or give you an autograph and you have one great sport where everyone shares information and helps each other. Great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Eric, a drop shot presentation from the bank can be an excellent technique. Remember, all the drop shot does is keep the bait off the bottom so even if the line is not straight down, the angle still presents the bait off the bottom, be it a few inches to the full 18 inches. Great technique to use from the bank.

Great little boat that can handle your fishing needs. Consider the 90-HP outboard. The 115 will make you "Rocket Man" which can be dangerous. Check the prop size. I think you want a steel 23 but ask the dealer. Consider upgrading trolling motor to 80-HP or more with a 24-volt battery set up. Upgrade to a three bank battery charger. Add Oxygenator for live well. Have fun.

Not harvesting the smaller bass stops them all from growing to larger sizes due to lack of forage for all. Check with the wildlife and fisheries guy. If he is from LSU then he is OK. If he is a Toolame fan get up and run away, yelling Geaux Tigers. Once you stop the leakage and the pond starts to fill you can add crawfish and minnows and harvest all smaller bass as you catch them. And seriously consider what the wildlife guy tells you to consider doing. Keep us up to date on what he tells you and make sure the pond is ready to go by September 2nd so you don't have to worry about it during football season!

Bubba, how much does it cost to set the hook? As Bluebasser says, know how each of your baits feels and if it feels different, you set the hook. It costs nothing to set the hook. You may look like a fool if nothing is there (we all do) but there are times the bass will just pick up your bait and sit there with it in his mouth or swim away very slowly. WHEN YOUR BAIT FEELS DIFFERENT YOU SET THE HOOK! Words from Hank Parker. And watch your line. If it starts to move right or left or away or towards you, the bass has it and is swimming away and you...…..drop your rod tip, reel in the slack, and set the hook. And keep a finger on the line at all times. If you fell the tap-tap it is a hit. From what, who knows? May be a bluegill, catfish, small bass or a 10 pound bass. Concentrate on what you feel with your finger on the line as it comes off the reel for both baitcasters and spinning setups. You feel that tap-tap you drop the rod - reel in the slack - and set the hook. Now go out there and note how your bait feels when it is on the bottom or you are reeling it in and if it feels different, you...…..know what to do. Good luck and have fun.

Bass will swim around with bluegills and every once in a while the bass will attack the bluegills and have a nice dinner. As for what to throw, you have to experiment. Fish all three water columns with your baits: topwater - middle about 3 feet - bottom, and see what happens. The bass will tell you what they want at what depth. As for what to throw, with dirty water two main options: black and blue plastics or Junebug color plus a yellow. Remember, bass feed by sight first then by feeling vibrations. So dip the tail of your plastics with JJ's Magic or a yellow dye; throw crankbaits with a chartreuse color; throw a black crankbait; go with a shaky head trick worm; try a MOJO rig (poor man's Carolina rig); try a swim jig; don't forget your jigs and pigs if there are any crawfish in the river and lagoon; go with a buzzbait at any time of day; go with a frog; a spinnerbait with a chartreuse skirt; is the main river a tidal river; and watch out for the Monster from the Black Lagoon. Good luck. Experiment. Go with yellow or a dark color; Dye the tails of your plastics yellow; and go fishing. Have you introduced yourself in the Introductions section? Where are you located is necessary in your avatar as we can give you more detailed input if we know where you are. And always bring needle nose pliers to remove hooks and watch out for that Monster from the Black Lagoon!

Thanks. Appreciate the definition. Am I hip or what?

Outstanding. Thanks for sharing. He will be a great partner and you can speak with him about values, good vs. bad, thinking through issues, safe driving, dating, cars, other topics of the day, and of course, fishing. You have a fantastic opportunity to have a direct impact on his life. Congrats!

Glad he did not do any damage to your boat or injure anyone. I am old. What does "WOT" mean?

Get a GMCO map of Lake Gaston. Fantastic fishery. Just go from creek to creek and have some fun. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Welcome to the club. It will happen to everyone sooner or later. I always put the plug in before I leave home. Never have had a problem since I started doing this.

Boomerang Tool Company scissors. Excellent!!!!

Once, it is confidence. Confidence in your presentation, technique, line test, bait size, rod and reel. Actually, there are no rules in bass fishing. We think that there are rules, then we hit the water and find out that the bass can't read!!!

No. You were correct. As long as you do not throw to cut off the individual in the front of the boat you can fish anywhere. The boater was totally incorrect and was PO'ed that you caught two and he did not because he is a bone head. Story: Fishing Lake Gaston in a club tournament many years ago when my friend who was the boater asked me where I wanted to go. I told him by the islands and we went directly to my spot where I pulled in two nice keepers. He did not get a bite. All of a sudden he said "that was enough at this place" and he pulled up the trolling motor, started the big motor, and we moved to another creek. To say the least I was stunned. Then I realized that we were fishing against each other and I had three in the well to his two and he was upset. So if you fish tournaments as a nonboater you will encounter a number of guys who can't stand to see you be successful. Just smile and keep on casting. Good luck.

I use the heat shrink wrap and you are right, sometimes the bass will take the worm and leave you with the band and hook. Happened to me yesterday. I will give the Goody hair bands a try. May be easier to use and have better results than the shrink wrap. But I must write that the shrink wrap has served me well all these years. Caught many bass on one Senko before it was stolen or fell apart. Great post. Thanks for the info.

Mo, in my humble opinion, it boils down to confidence. If you have confidence in using scent then use it. If not, then don't. Personally, I use MegaStrike and JJ's Magic. No idea if the bass take the bait better with either but I have strong confidence that if a bass is around the area it will smell and then taste the plastic and hold onto it a little longer. Now, to get into the debate if scent is a waste of money by using Dr. Keith Jones' research outlined in his book, Knowing Bass, we could be here all day with our input, pro and con. Dr. Jones writes that the majority of scent molecules are too large to pass through the bass' nostrils and do nothing to entice the bass via scent or taste. But I don't want to get into that fight. If you are interested, get the book. Confidence. It all boils down to confidence.

You want a falling tide. Check out this link and note the tides for the Tensaw River. http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/alabamasites.html If your river is not listed you need to keep trying to locate the tide chart for it. You want to fish the last two hours of an outgoing tide and the first hour of an incoming tide. In fact, you always want an outgoing tide and you fish it all day long, moving up river following the falling water. Try to find a copy of Woo Daves' DVD, Fishing Tidal Rivers (or Tidal Rivers). It is excellent and you will learn a lot about tidal rivers and how to fish them. Good luck and we look forward to many more of your posts.

WXRISK JULY 4TH FIREWORK SAFETY TIPS (satire) Most serious firework injuries happen on July 4th... but if set off your explosives on during the day times or say on July 5th ... you should be OK. If a firework fails to ignite, there may be something wrong with it . Its best pick it up with your hand and examine it or bang on it several times. For best effect using a firework in one hand while holding a baby is hard to beat. Remember that fireworks can’t hurt you when you’re drunk. Nothing can. Your kids will really enjoy your fireworks if you are not around. I mean what could go wrong? Here is an oldie but a goodie: Have the kids line up in a row facing you while you point a fireworks at them. Lets see which one those kids have really great motor reflective skills and good hand eye coordination. If you dont have any kids or you are by yourself ... then this may be the perfect opportunity to experience the glory of placing your fireworks next to your private area. Come on it will be Funny! The most effective treatment for burns is to go around showing people the burn and saying, “Look, I burned myself. Really hurts.” If the fuse fails ... use gunpowder. Works for me. When buying fireworks, remember: The bigger the firework, the higher it will fly, and the less likely it will be to hurt you. If you are in the back yard or an open field... make sure the water hose is either broken... has a tear in it ... or better yet the whole water supply to the house/ property is turned off completely. if you live in apartment complex or say in a condo or town home ... using large powerful fireworks in closet space will give you memories for a life time. Just for fun. Everyone be safe. Happy 4th to all!