Sam

By now we all know of the tragic flooding in south Louisiana. Here is a perspective from a nine year old girl to her dad during this trying this time. ‎Chad Blouin‎ to Chad Blouin Radio Network Prairieville, LA · "Longest 3 days of my life not even close. I was just leaving rescuing two kids in Galvez and I have to admit I was rattled and trying to stay strong for my kids and them and I was having hard time keeping it together and then I get this from 9 year old Sarah: We were passing a lot of rescue boats and she said 'well the fish must be biting look at all the boats!' First time I laughed in three days . I love all of you - stay safe!!" Only in Louisiana!!!

Nolan, I agree with your premise. I also like my BPS cranking stick better than my G. Loomis crankbait rod. Go figure? My previous tournament partner (who moved to Ohio) used low end rods and reels. If they broke or wore out he would throw they away and get another "low end" product to replace it. And Dave can out fish anyone you put him up against! Now, your statement that you don't need high quality equipment applies to bass fishing. Once you graduate college; start your career; and begin dating those movie actresses you will need some good equipment. I mean like a car, high quality clothes, lots of American Express credit cards, a high fashion decorated apartment, a private jet, a full time rental in the Bahamas to take your friends to for a relaxing weekend, and a king size bed, etc. What equipment were you thinking about?

Dubya, you have just opened the door to a fun discussion of a topic in the bass industry that has been around for years. As for the pros, and us guys who tournament fish: we just attach the hook to the reel. It is easier and faster to do this and we also avoid getting the hooks stuck in the boat's carpet as we can have the rod lay down with the reel up and the hooks out of the way. As for the reel, some say by hooking the hooks to the reels it can damage the reels. So far, I have not found this to be true. As for the line, some say by hooking the hooks to the reels it will damage the line. So far, I have not found this to be true. I just attach the hook to the reel and forget it, knowing the bait is safe; will not get stuck in the carpet; and I can have a fast release when I go to use the rod. Concerning the pros reeling the baits tight to the rod's tip eye, they care, but not as much as we do. If a pro needs a new rod they can get one free or at a big discount from the manufactures. All of us other guys and gals can't. Once again, it boils down to confidence in how you want to protect your tackle vs. how fast you want to store or start using your gear while fishing.

Within the sporting industry there are specific exercises and stretching techniques for each sport's activities. In football, it is the use of the legs for the linemen; in baseball it is the throwing motion; in basketball it is the shooting profile; in ice hockey it is how fast you can skate; in golf it is your swing; and the list goes on. In our bass fishing industry we do not have nor do we practice "fishing specific" exercises. Therefore the next day we feel the muscle pain or we get on a path to destroy our rotor-cuffs. So what do you do? As stated above, stretch (which we all hate to do) before and after you hit the water. In fact, we need to do our stretching exercises every morning and night of the week. Of course we don't, but if we did we would cut down on the resulting pain the days after fishing and avoid rotor-cuff surgery. So, do we take Go Pro videos of our casting and take them to a sports medicine doctor who has no knowledge of fishing to try to improve our technique? Or do we watch the video and try to correct anything we are doing incorrectly if we understand what we are doing incorrectly? Until the sports medicine industry includes bass fishing in its protocol we are on our own. And I agree with the posts above that one small change in your casting technique can make a world of difference not only with painful muscles but better control of your casts with both a baitcaster and a spinning rig.

I currently only have off the shelf rods, now I am not familiar with MHX rods, is this like Doybins or some of the smaller stick makers on TW, or are these truly guys making a few sticks a year? - I HAVE NO IDEA. Check out the video glen just posted to YouTube. Perfect timing. - DO YOU THINK GLENN WILL SEND ME $1,000 FOR POSTING THIS TOPIC WHEN I DID?

Mods, please move this post to the rod section. Thanks.

OK guys and gals, I watched John Cox review how he won the FLW Forest Wood Cup on Lake Wheeler with his MHX rods. It got me to thinking (which can always be dangerous) if it is better to use brand name rods as opposed to specialty made rods, such as the MHX rods? So what is your take on this subject. And if you have specialty or home made rods what has been your experience as opposed to purchasing the name brand rods off the shelf? Thanks for your time and feedback.

I thought it was about taking an avocado and carving the face of one of the mods (your choice) into the avocado and then casting it off the back of the boat to scare the bass to the front of the boat so we can catch them. Darn. Now what do I do with all of those avocados I bought?

Pay it off. Keep it at a zero balance as soon as you can. When me or my wife uses a credit card I try to pay it off via my banking bill pay services as soon as I can, if not later that day when we get home.

Outstanding! Fantastic! Wonderful! Great! Astonishing! Super! Amazing! You have made us all proud of your accomplishment and yourself. Looking forward to the Bass Times article.

Bill Dance Rugged Shark. Excellent. BPS has them.

Welcome, Tim. Glad you are with us. Ask your questions and keep us posted on your outings. Have fun in the NOVA traffic!!!!!

I have no idea if it is hereditary or something happens. Never encountered such an animal out of the Little Creek area of the Chickahominy River. Maybe the Ohio game and fisheries department has an answer.

Catch them all the time in Little Creek off the Chickahominy River in Virginia outside of Williamsburg. Been catching them with the hump for years. So far no one has told me why their backs are bent. Seems not to harm the bass as they are very active and healthy.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tigersouvannakoumane/rusty-tools-are-good-as-new-thanks-to-this-natural-cleaning?utm_term=.igOBWWyqg#.avpZ99YjL Give it a shot.

X2. Around 62* to 65* if the conditions merit the spawn to take place. Remember, the spawn comes in waves so you will have early and late spawners.

Jonathan, fishing in the raid can be fantastic. As the cold font moves through, the bass will become active and start feeding. I have caught some great bass and bluegills when it was raining. Now, a word of caution: if you hear any thunder get away from the water. Lightning can strike within 5 miles out from the storm and you standing there holding a rod in the air is not very smart. Yes, I know you will think you will have a few more minutes, but don't test Mother Nature. So hit the water when it rains but be very sensitive to thunder and lightning.

Like forgetting to put the plug in your boat everyone will lose a rod tip sooner or later. I have lost the tips when rolling up the window and not realizing the rod tip was outside of the car. And then when I slammed the well lid on one of my G. Loomis rods and broke off the tip. I also broke a rod in half when I forgot I had it hanging in a rod holder inside my SUV and I opened the passenger side rear door. It made a loud crack. Then there was the time I took my wife out in my boat and forgot to put the plug in. That was interesting, especially since she can't swim. I think people heard the yelling and screaming as we took on water up and down the river. Then there was the time when I got a bad backlash in my spinning reel with the line in the gear so I unscrewed the cap to remove the spool to unwind the line and had the cap pop out of my hand and into the drink. So far I have lost only one rod/reel combo out of the boat in all my years fishing. Too deep to try to get it so I had a fun time replacing it. If you have an hour I can tell you about all the baits I lost in the water and trees. Live and learn.

Kuenro, after the spawn, which comes in waves, the bigger ladies move to deeper water from the spawning grounds. Many then start their trek back to their favorite haunts or swim the flats, points, rocks, grass, etc. in deeper water. Some of the ladies will hit the bank in search of a nice meal; otherwise they can hold deep in their favorite structure and wait for a meal to swim by. So, as was said by, with a small change by me, Horace Greely in the Manifest Destiny: "Go deep young man. Go deep."

What Glenn penned X2. Remember, bass can see underwater much better than we can see underwater so when we are handling line and baits the colors we see above the water fade to black or blue in the water. As noted above, coloring your braid 2 to 3 feet from the bait seems to give us confidence and we believe we can catch more bass by doing that. Of course, we are not bass so who knows? I don't color the braid and use it without a leader 95% of the time. So far it has worked and the normal green color of the braid seems not to have a negative affect on the bass. Go figure?

Hey Hog, after a tournament when I don't do well I drive an hour south of Richmond during the following week to a friend's Double Secret Farm Pond and clobber those bass with the same baits, techniques and equipment that I used on the lake or river in the tournament. I helps me realize that I am not the problem. That darn little green monster is the problem!!!!!! Good post. I agree with you 100%.

Welcome to bass fishing. All of the above posts will give you guidance and make you a better all around fisherman. What you are lacking is "confidence." Confidence in your techniques, baits and tackle. Confidence comes with time so be patient. Confidence also comes with knowledge. Read, read and read about bass fishing in all of the magazines and books you can obtain. You know about YouTube so continue to watch their productions and subscribe to this Forum's YouTube and Facebook programs. And keep a fishing log. There is a sample fishing log included in one of the tabs at the top of the Forum page. Find it; make copies; and complete it every time you go fishing. You will see patterns emerge that you had no idea were happening. So continue to do your best and you will find the most comfortable and reliable equipment, techniques and baits for yourself which will give you confidence. Good luck and let us know how you are progressing.

CityBoy, when tournament fishing I go for five keepers and then go for the big ladies. When fishing for fun I go for the number, not the size. Catching the big ones is always a treat but catching a lot of LMB is also tantalizing. Most LMB I have caught on one outing was 62. None over 2.5 pounds and I had a blast landing everyone.

Bass do no usually leave their area of comfort. However, there are bass that like to have a "milk run" and they can travel in a circle over a mile in diameter before returning to their original location. When water temperatures increase the bass will go deep. They remain in the area but they are deeper. You are on the right track with your bait selection so fish deeper with plastics or a deep diving crankbait. A Carolina rig or even a shaky head thrown as far out from the bank as you can cast will be more productive then fishing the bank. Wacky rigged Senkos can be productive. The secret is to fish as far out as you can from the bank to try to get your bait into the cooler water. Good luck.