Sam

Megabass baits are the top of the line, like Steetz rods and reels and the G. Loomis line of rods. It really boils down to confidence. Do you have confidence that the Megabass baits will produce more strikes? The fish really don't care about the bait's brand or price. If you can use a parallel bait to the Megabass bait and it produces strikes and catches the bass then you stay with the lower cost bait as you will have confidence in throwing it. On the other hand, it you are a serious tournament fisherman and want any perceived advantage over the other tournament guys then you go with the higher priced baits as you will have more confidence in them attracting bass than the lower costing baits. (Even though many guys on this site suggest you change the treble hooks on some of the higher priced baits) I caught my two eight-pound personal bests on a Senko and a KVD Strike King 1.5 Squarebill Sexy Shad crankbait. And if you look at the lunker pages in Bassmaster Magazine you can note the baits the guys and gals are using to catch those big ladies and they are right off the shelf, nothing fancy or on the high priced end of the spectrum. Confidence. It boils down to, as usual, confidence in your baits, rods, reels, line and techniques.

Super. Thanks. Water temp 75* - they are deep. Spawn should be over as it starts around 60 to 65*. Big ladies have probably recovered and the smaller males have moved on to attack the bluegill beds. The guys in Florida can let us know where we stand with the spawn in your area. Water temperature controls the bass' behavior. Read articles about water temps to learn what the bass "should be doing" based on the water temperatures. Stained water is great. Consider using moving baits with some "yellow" (Bandit yellow with blue back) or go with a Junebug plastic on a shaky head. Consider the drop shot using a 3 to 4-inch plastic shad colored swim bait, like a small YUM Money Minnow. Use a 12 to 18-inch leader below the hook. Don't forget your spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits with "white and yellow skirts." Hit all structure you can find. The dam and bridge areas are great places to fish. Bass like places to "hide" and with so few in your area they have to be under bridges and the sparse piers. Hit both with a jig or a Zoom Junebug Trick Worm on a shaky head presentation. Remember, plastic worms are great. Try them on a Texas rig, a drop shot, a shaky head and a Carolina rig. The Ned rig will work on flat bottoms without much wood or bottom debris. Senkos, rigged wacky, should produce. You have to pitch and flip your plastics many times at the same target. Go around the target as many times as you can. Don't throw two or three times and give up. Keep pounding the target with at least 10 to 20 casts. You will think you are crazy to do this but this is pitching and flipping plastics and sometimes you have to aggravate the bass to hit your bait. Go to an 8-pound test fluorocarbon if you have a spinning rig. Otherwise, check out your rod's parameters and average the low and high line test and use that test on your baitcaster. You have the option of using the lowest test the rod is rated for and balance it with your reel's lowest line test if you are using a baitcaster. Any crabs in the area go to a "blue" colored or enhanced plastic, such as a Moccasin Blue. The bass may be feeding on small blue crabs and the blue will attract them to your bait. You are starting your bass fishing adventure which is outstanding. All of us on the Forum were in you shoes. So read, read and read plus ask your questions. We are here go help you in any way we can. And consider subscribing to various bass magazines, add BassResource.com to your Facebook page, and go to your favorite pros site and read any articles they have penned. You may want to check out Woo Daves' web page and see the articles he has for all to read. Good luck and be sure to post some pics of your catches for us to enjoy.

You really need to give us more information, such as: Water temperature Water clarity Lots of structure where you fish or flat bottom What about blowdowns, wood, grass, pads, rip rap, piers, docks, boat houses, floating boats, bridges Any current Tidal conditions Any blue crabs in area Boat or from the bank Any cold fronts move through your area before you ventured out Where are the fish in relation to the spawn What is the major forage in your area Did you try finesse fishing with Senkos and plastics What baits did you throw and what techniques did you employ Mono, fluorocarbon, braid, copolymer What test strengths did you use Did you use a leader Now armed with the answers to these questions we could formulate some good input for you to try. Otherwise we are shooting in the dark at a moving target and any input would be nothing but guesses.

X2. Dorado, I think the vast majority of members agree with your assessment. It is nice, now and then, to let Glenn and the moderators know how much we appreciate their support for this site. And also all of the guys and gals that give information and secrets without anything in return.

Fantastic! This is a major reason to hit the big shows. You can meet the movers and shakers in the bass fishing industry.

The pages are a little too large for my screen. I reduced the size but then the pages were too small to read. So I just move them over a little when reading the posts.

Outstanding. What college are you attending? Do they have a bass fishing team? Remember, studies are always more important than fishing although we could debate that statement.

Yes, it is Senko Lover. And he is alive and well and on the Forum now!!!!

Bandit used to be the most competitively priced crankbait in the marketplace so please check them out. Shad colors, like Sexy Shad, along with Firetiger and a yellow with a blue back can be good colors to start. It really depends on the water color you are fishing. You can't go wrong with a Sexy Shad. On a sunny day throw the yellow with a blue back. In stained water go with the Sexy Shad or Firetiger. In all water conditions throw the Sexy Shad. Crankbait fishing is a lot of fun. Just understand that you will get hung up and you will lose some baits. It comes with the territority. And one more suggestion: when setting the hook just swing your rod waist high from the left to the right or the right to the left. This is the best method to allow the treble hooks to set themselves. Also, no slack in the line. Any slack in the line at any time your are playing the fish means the fish has a high probability of throwing your bait. If you need to have a refresher on how to avoid or reduce baitcaster backlashes please let us know and we will share the secrets with you. Now go out there and have some fun.

Super having you with us. Join in and we will tell you some whoppers, too.

You da man! Congrats on a great catch. May you have many more this year.

As it is said, "patience my a**." Especially in bass fishing. You have to be patient. Fish the jig like a crawfish, not like a shad, unless it is a swimming jig. I used to fish with a guy until he passed away. He was a well known guide and an excellent tournament guy. One day we were fishing around an old duck blind and we went around that thing at least 20 times, throwing our Senkos. Finally, I nailed a four-pounder. I thought we were going to spend the night going around that stupid duck blind. Then, one winter we were fishing cold water and he "dead sticked" a Zoom moccasin blue finesse worm. He threw it towards the bank, lit a cigarette, and just sat there, not moving and smoking. Once he had finished his cancer stick he moved the worm a little and lit another cigarette. And what did he finally catch? A beautiful three pounder. After three cigarettes. I, once again, was ready to jump out of the boat. During both episodes, I was frustrated as I like to move baits. Patience. It is all in confidence and patience.

007, I thought you were in Alabama, but Mississippi is a great state, too. Here is a pro's philosophy that I discussed with him about tournament fishing. When he tournament fished he won so many tournaments that he was barred from fishing some local ones. He said that most guys want to put five in the well before they start upsizing their baits for the big ladies. That is not a problem in itself, other than you are taking valuable time to catch five small ones and losing time trying for the big ones. The guy throws only 1/2 ounce jigs. That's it. On a Steetz rod and a Steetz reel, so he is into high cotton equipment. He has four color combinations from blue/black to an orange and red crawfish color. I have his jigs and will throw them more this year than in the past. Why? Because I am one of those guys who want five in the well before trying for the giant ones. The second problem you have is if you are a nonboater. The boater always gets the prime targets first, leaving you with a lower percentage of hookups. And you can get back-boated, meaning that you will not have the best angle to hit your targets. So if there is a big lady sitting there waiting for you, the guy in the front of the boat will probably catch or miss her before you get the chance. If you are fishing as a team, the guy on the front of the boat goes for the five and you go for the lunker. That is a good way to fish a tournament unless the guy in the front of the boat can't catch a cold. One last thing: the guy who won the tournament must fish that river a lot and probably has placed brush piles or Christmas trees in hidden places for his eyes, only. Since you only live twice, you need to watch where the guy fishes. If the guy is in politics, then you have to remember he is from Russia with love and will not tell where he is fishing. You have to have the specter of good fishing habits to catch the big ones plus the strength to get skunked. An east wind on the Chickahominy River in Virginia kills the fishing. Might as well trailer the boat and go home.

Glenn, is Bass Resource having a booth at the Classic? If so, can you give Forum members who will be attending the times you and Keri will be at the booth? I know you move around a lot and in that crowd are very difficult to locate. Just wondering. Have a great time at the Classic.

007, in Alabama you have an earlier spawning date than we have up here in Virginia and the majority of the country. So the smaller males will be moving up to make their beds as the larger ladies sit back and wait for the water temperature to reach the target level for the spawn to start. Ten feet can be deep on the bodies of water you fish. Up here we have places where there are "deep holes" of about two to three feet that will hold bass and on rivers like the Potomac where "deep" means fifty-feet. Just take Ms. Moneypenny fishing and catch some of those large ladies that are "deep" this time of the year.

Yes, I remember him, too. Have not noticed him posting in a while. Thanks.

Super! Yes, she was either sunning herself and enjoying the warmer water or feeding. She and her friends are still deep. They will move up for warmer water and a nice treat. If she was near the bank others were near the bank, too. Do you have a Whopper Plopper? Or a Zara Spook? Or a Sammy? Wake crankbait? You may want to throw a jerkbait out from the bank to entice the deeper bass to come up and hit it. Buzzbaits are good all year in Virginia's waters.

Woo Daves uses the Slip-Shot and he introduced me to the rig. You are correct in stating there is only one knot as opposed to three for the Carolina rig. If necessary, you can use two Carolina Keepers to keep the mojo weight in place. Also, you don't beat up your self throwing the Slip-Shot rig as compared to tossing the heavy weighted Carolina rig and then reeling it back to you. Friends call the Slip-Shot rig the "poor man's Carolina rig."

In Louisiana, "deep" means the position chart for the Fighting Tigers football team. Hopefully it will get "deeper" in the future. You made a great post about "deep" which can mean anydepth depending on your body of water. Geaux Tigers!

Chance, some of the individuals seeking to purchase your inventory at low prices are going to resell the items. My wife and I found this out when we had a small rented space at Market Bazaar in Richmond. We gave in on a number of offers and took a much lower price than we were asking only to see the items in other rented spaces for sale at prices higher than what we were asking in the first place. Then to add to the situation, you have people who buy and sell on eBay and they are always looking for a deal. May I suggest you go to eBay and search the site for the items you wish to sell to note what they are commanding on eBay. You will then have an idea of what to ask or if the pricing is too low, keep them and wait for the prices to increase in the future. Remember, guys and gals will always make low ball offers and it is up to you to accept or reject the offer. Good luck in selling your items.

Yep. that's the guy. Thanks a million.

I think you may be right. He was a nice young man very interested in bass fishing. Hope he is OK. Thanks for the reminder. Sam

You guys remember a high school guy from South Carolina who loves bass fishing and who was active on the Forum? He has disappeared. I don't think he has posted anything since the summer of 2017. If I recall, he was going to join the Marines after high school. No idea if he did and that is why he disappeared. Just wondering if you all remember him and what was his handle? Thanks for your feedback.

When the dogwood trees bloom the bass are on their beds. Watch the dogwood trees as they create their buds and figure it out based on moon phases and water temperatures. As for baits, plastics dragged slowly through the beds work very well. Creature baits, lizards, trick worms, finesse worms, brush hogs, tubes, Senkos, and the plastics of your choice.

The physics of casting: The effects of casting a baitcaster on your rotator cuff. The physics of power: The effect of setting a hook on different types and tests of line at X, Y and Z number of yards using A as the least amount of power needed to set a hook with fluorocarbon line.