Sam

Ron, Bring money. Beautiful store and the fishing department has a nice layout. Sorry I will miss you but we are headed up north for the weekend. And let me know if you all are successful at the secret ponds we discussed.

Reds 21, You asked one heck of a question. As stated above, please read the Fishing Articles. Here is some input to consider. Keep it Simple Scale down your baits. Maybe a 1/4 ounce Rat-L-Trap or a Bandit 100 or 200 crankbaits are the baits to throw? Techniques How do you want to fish or which technique do you feel most comfortable? May I suggest a Texas-Rigged Senko or finesse worm for starters, followed by treble hook baits such as crankbaits. Both are easy to fish and you can easily feel the hits with both techniques. You can throw a spinnerbait but please put a "trailer hook" on them to help with hook sets. Try white skirt, or a white, chartreuse and blue skirt or a white and chartreuse skirt. Don't be too concerned with the blades other than a big round one for dirty water and two sleek pointed ones for clear water. You can use the big round blade for clear water, too. Read about spinnerbaits on this site. Other techniques to consider are: Wacky Rigged Senkos or Finesse Worms Carolina Rigged Creature or Lizards Texas Rigged Senkos, no weight Finesse Worms with Pegged Bullet Sinker Buzzbaits are fun and use a Cavitron if possible Frogs in Grass, Pads and over Slop Rods A spinning setup avoids backups and is easy to throw. If you have been fishing baitcasters and are comfortable with them, continue to use those setups. Read the specs on your rods. They will tell you the line test and bait size to throw with each rod. By staying within these parameters you will find casting and fishing a lot more easier and a lot more fun. A 6' 6" medium heavy with a fast tip is a great rod, be it a spinning or a baitcaster rod. Line Mono for Treble Hook baits. Flouro for All Other Baits Braid for deep cranking, heavy structure or cover, and frogs and rats. You do not need a heavy line. Try 8 to 10 pound test for spinning rigs and 12 to 17 pound test for baitcasters. Learn to tie a Palamor Knot for all baits until you learn the other various knots that are used for bass fishing. Lures to Consider to Catch Largemouth Bass Topwaters Spinnerbaits Crankbaits Worms Jigs Keep it simple. Stay with one presentation and technique until you believe you have mastered it or feel comfortable using it. The main point of this post is to READ THE FISHING ARTICLES AND OTHER INFORMATION ON THIS SITE. Then suscribe to Bassin' Magazine and Google the baits, tackle or techniques you want to use to read what others have to say. You can also go to the varioius B.A.S.S. pro's web sites for their tips. Your Current Setup Sounds like you have a "drop-shot" with a bobber setup, which is new to me. Try losing the heavy sinker and go with a light weight to help with casting, if needed. If you are using a spinning rig then you do not need the weight as you should be able to cast the bobber and bait by themselves. A split-shot weight may work but when I fish with a bobber I lose the weight all together. Experiment with the depth of your bait. Try different depths by moving the bobber up and down the line. No Bites If you do not get any strikes using either live minnows or Nightcrawlers, then there are no fish where you are fishing. Or the fish are deep or in another part of the lake or pond. Move around. Fish the shore, out 10 feet; out 20 feet; out 30 feet until you start to catch fish, be them bluegills, bream, catfish or bass. At least you know the fish are there and how far off shore and at what depth. Fall Fishing Try a shad colored crankbait using MONO since you will be fishing a treble hook bait. Line test not over 15 pounds. Just cast it out and reel in back to you. If the bass are there, they will hit it. You can reel a crankbait fast, slow, stop and let crank rise to surface, yo-yo it through the water by moving your rod's tip up and down, or just stop and go and stop and go. You can rip it off the bottom or through some grass, too. Try a 1/4 ounce chrome with black (cloudy sky) or blue (clear sky) back Rat-L-Trap. Try a Bandit 200 in the color of your choice, trying to "match the hatch" meaning match the color of what the bass are feeding on, be it shad, bream or crawfish. Throw a 4 or 5-inch Senko without any weight. Fish it Wacky style. Watermealon for clear water and Pumpkinseed with Black Flake for stained water. Use a 2/0 or a 3/0 weedless hook to avoid snags. Try your Zoom finesse worms, too. Read about the "drop-shot" and "split-shot" techniques on this site and consider giving them a try. I am sending you a PM on setting up a baitcaster. Now, after reading this great post (;D) go out and give it your best shot. Remember, as the waters cool the bass become more active so they travel around getting ready for winter. This means they are feeding to fatten themselves for the colder water heading their way. So try a crankbait, a spinnerbait, a Senko or a finesse worm and even live bait until you find the fish. And this winter your homework assignment is to READ, READ AND READ about bass fishing. Have fun.

Congrats on your 20th Anniversary. Glad you all had a fun time fishing. Keep sending in those stories and pics!

You can't have such a super conference as some teams will play great for a number of years (Nebraska and Virginia) and then fall off whilie other doormats (Wake Forest, Virginia Tech) come alive and become one of the big boys. Plus the money aspect. The conferences make a fortune on bowl games and they don't want to give up the money.

I use our Bissell Wet Carpet Cleaning machine. It really picks up the dirt. Hey! I just remembered. I need to clean the carpet, soon. Thanks for the reminder.

Sneaker, Jerry Cooper of Cooper's Marine in Ashland, down the road from the new Bass Pro Shop, told me that the manual circuit breaker is the way to go and to avoid the automatic rest. So I have put the manual breaker on mys trolling system and (knock on wood) I have not encountered any problems with my 67-pound thrust 24-volt system. I am glad to hear someone else support what Jerry recommended. Thanks for the great input!

Penn State and BYU to run the table. Southern Cal ends with one early season loss. Alabama crashes at LSU and Auburn. Georgia is wiped out and is out of the picture. Auburn QB is still confused and loses four games before beating Bama. Florida has three losses and ties Vandy for SEC East but since Vandy beat the Gators, Vandy goes on to the SEC Championship game. Ohio State has one loss to USC. Notre Dame loses the rest of its games but the media puts them in the Top 10, anyway. Missouri wins it's conference. Oklahoma wins it's conference. Texas gets upset at the ref's calls in their two losses and the entire state withdraws from the Union. Aggies are all confused and they shoot off that big cannon on campus and wipe out their mess hall. Missouri and OU play for thier Big 12 Championship and Missouri wins. OU claims refs cheated so Oklahoma joins Texas by withdrawing from the Union. Meanwhile, good ole LSU just runs the table and gets to go to the BCS game to play Missouri. Either way, a "Tiger" will win. Riots break out in Los Angles, Columbus and Happy Valley. BYU sends out 500,000 Mormons all over the USA. President of USA tells Texas and Oklahoma to stay out of the Union and form their own country. LSU beats Missouri and is the first school to have three balls. (LSU is the only school with two balls, now) Everything quiets down and life goes on. Hey, I can have some fun with this, too. ;D ;D ;D

As said above, the Fishers of Men Tournament Trail is outstanding. Great guys and good competition. Some clubs have age limitations so check with your state FLW or B.A.S.S. Federation and clarify their age requirements. Also find out about their Youth Programs where your son or daughter can fish against kids their own ages. Some tackle shops have private tournaments so ask around. Contact your local newspaper outdoor writer as he/she may know of some local tournaments. Good luck and have fun.

Yes...."get the net." Beautiful words. In fact, I have been known to shout those exact words out in tournaments just for the fun of it when no one around me are catching fish. It relieves the pressure and makes us all smile and laugh and also some off-color and inapproatie comments which are funny.

Bassman1975, And yes, I wanted to play in the NFL when I was your age. Still having knee problems from surgeries and arthritus but I had a great dream. Now, to your query of how to fish the big time tournaments. May I suggest starting at the bottom to get some name recognition? Join either an FLW or B.A.S.S. club in your area and fish with the guys. If you are good, you will make the Six-Man club team and maybe the Region's 20-Man Team. People at B.A.S.S. and FLW will see your name and know who you are without you knowing it. From there, you will work your way up the FLW or B.A.S.S. tournament ladder in one of their series in your neck of the woods. If you are successful with these regional tournaments, you will qualify for the Elite Series. Then it is on to the Classics. If you check out Bass Times you can read about the local regional tournaments and how the guys perform and then compare yourself with your competition. I do suggest saving your dimes and quarters and securing a bass boat for the tournaments. Fishing as a non-boater is not very productive if you want to move up the pro fishing circuit ladder of success. Read Ike's book, Fishing on the Edge, to see how Ike moved up to the B.A.S.S. professional side. Go to Woo Daves' website and ask Woo or his son about fishing as a pro. Woo is a great guy and his son is still in there fighting in every tournament he fishes. I am not going to talk about funding your dream but please start saving as you will need a boat if you want to move up in the standings. All the best and I sincerely hope you make it.

Big Rick, May I suggest looking at each rod's specifications and select the one that matches how you plan to fish it? There are soooooo many rods out there that deciding on a few brand names and then looking at each rod's specs will help you eliminate those rods that will not meet your expectations. I am very happy with all of my BPS rods, even the Bionic Blade. I am now taking them tournament fishing along with the Loomis, Kestler, St. Croix, All Star and Shimano rods. You can't go wrong with a BPS rod, IMHO.

Big M, Tired of looking at them? Heck, I wish you had them on a wallpaper design. They are beautiful. You guys are so talented when painting your baits. I got all excited when I put the four legs on a small round table last Sunday and the darn thing did not fall apart. At least not yet. Keep those crank pics coming. Between you, Dave S. and the others on this site, it is always great to see your finished products.

Looks like you are having the same results Avid and George Welcome have using artificial baits. I have not fished for bass using live bait but may do so for the fun of it although I do feel guilty when I use live bait.

Hey Eddie, Thanks for the tip. I think I may have read that tip on this forum or in a magazine. I am no longer holding them by their lower lip. By not holding them by their lower lip it reduces the chances of getting that hook slammed into your hand or finger, especially if it is a treble hook. Great post.

Kentucky Basser, Great selection of a career path. Just remember you will need to get a Masters and Ph.D. for this field. As for good schools, check out the web by Googling "Sea Grant Universities" as these are the schools that are big into marine biology and Fisheries Science. The check out their catalogs on the net for their programs, fees, etc. Good luck and have a great time in college. It is the best five or six years of your life for undergraduate studies.

Great News! Congrats on your selection. Tell your parents that this equals at least a $100 spending spree at the Baltimore Bass Pro Shop! ;D ;D ;D

Yes. I took a chance and bought one this summer and I love it. In fact, I am in the market for a crankbait rod and up there with Loomis, St. Croix and Shimano is the All Star. I don't think you will be disappointed if you purhcase one. Check out their web site for their various models and specs and get the one that best matches how you will fish it.

Tyler, Beautiful job. And "no" BPS does not buy used equipment. The guys are just kidding with you. ;D

I checked my Senko drawer and I found the 5 3-inch Kut Tail and a sample package of the 6 1/2-inch Kut Tail. I know I have a smaller size in the tackle box in the car that I use for drop-shot rigs. I don't know if there is an 8-inch Kut Tail as I would not be using a worm that large, other than the Anaconda. But since you have an 8-inch Kut Tail package, you may want to invest in a long-distance call to Green Top or check out the Yamamoto web site in addition Googling "8-inch Kut Tail worm." You can Google Green Top to find their phone number. Good luck in your search.

Green Top in Ashland, Virginia, is loaded with them. They have both sizes and various colors.

I use a lure retriever pole that I purchased at BPS.

Yes, in tournaments. I saw where KVD actually rinses all of the dye out of the pork trailer and uses it that way on jigs. In other words, he squeezes the pork trailer and washes it with water until it loses as much of the color and taste as possible. In other words, he says the fish like the "feel" of the pork trailer and not necessairly the color or taste. Go figure.

Great story and it shows that you have to be on top of your game from the first cast to the last cast.

Trying to go out at least 4 days a week, either on ponds or in boat. Weekends are out as they are "honey due" days at my house and you got to keep the little lady happy.

Go Rooster, go. The economy needs you! ;D And the Bait Monkey is hungry.