Sam

Take a look at Page B4 in Sunday, August 24's Richmond-Times Dispatch as there is an article about the area beside the new BPS just north of Richmond off I-95. What caught my eye is the new pond that is going to be created by converting a storm-water retention pond just north of the BPS parking lot into a fishing pond. Another place to fish!!!!! They will have canoes, too, so we can have a canoe tournament. Should be nice if it becomes a reality.

I see Muddy continues to post his funny comments which are great. Keep 'em coming, Muddy. I fish a lot of ponds and have found that a 6' 6" Bass Pro Shop Extreme 60 Million Modulus Medium Heavy rod works great for all applications. I also have a 6' 6" Ugly Stick spinning rod that I use when pond fishing and it is fun to use. I have caught a number of ladies over 7 pounds with both rods. So don't go overboard with the high end rods. The lower end rods, between $50 to $100 will work great on ponds.

Any 2500 Shimano reel, like the Stradic F1 or MgFA. Any high end Medium Heavy 6' 6" graphite rod. Be sure to check out your BPS catalog to see what is available. Personally, I like the All Stars but my Shimano, St. Croix, Loomis and Kistler rods are excellent, too. Even my $100 Bass Pro Shop Extreme rod performs great. Have fun and the Bait Monkey awaits you. ;D

All of my baitcasters are right handed. I cast right handed; stop the spool with thumb; put rod in left hand; reel in slack; position rod; and I am ready to go, all in two to three seconds or less. When throwing topwaters and buzzbaitss, I will stop the spool and begin reeling before the bait hits the water. It is personal preference which hand you want to crank the handle.

Basic rules for lines. Mono for treble hook baits. Flourocarbon and copoly for anything. Braid and super lines for heavy cover, deep water and fishing in slop and pads and frogs on topwater. Each manufacturer has different properties that some of the guys like and don't like. You will have to experiment to find out which lines you like best, especially the flouro's and copoly's. Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft is excellent; some guys swear by Silver Thread; other buy Trileen; some love Big Game; Seagur has been mentioned; Sufix is used by a lot of guys; and P-Line has loyal users, too. As to which give the best "feel" that is a personal preference again. Flouro does transmit the "feel" of the bait, bottom and strikes to your graphite rod and down to the reel and your fingers and hands the best of the three types of lines mentioned above. So you can't go wrong with any flouro you purchase. However, you will find the one you like the best and use it the most like the rest of us have found over the years. The fun is when you get to experiment with different brands. And the experiments make the Bait Monkey happy.

I have a package of the red Creme's (the original plastic worm) but have not used them as much as I should have. I am going to learn how to rig them from a friend so they spin in the water.

CR, I also look for lures in trees and other structure when fishing. I have scored a new spinnerbait and lots of old line and weights. It is fun to check your surroundings for lures that you can snag for yourself.

Thanks. Heading to Norfolk on Thursday so may stop by on the way back to Richmond.

For a person who catches 8 and 9 pound bass all the time I am surprised you do not know about the Palamor Knot. Look it up and learn to tie it for ALL baits.

Fishbear, you are right on target. Actually, any way you want to set it up and it works is good. I use this rig on lakes so a six pound test is a little light for me but it should work as it is a great finesse test. The Mojo rig is also a good rig to use. Ike introduced it to me but it is so easy to set up the split-shot that I use the split-shot the most. But, due to your post, I will try the Mojo rig once again. Thanks, Sam

Search split-shotting on this forum and see what comes up. Then read any articles on the forum about split-shotting. After that, Google split-shotting and see what is said. And last, see posts that will follow my post. Here is how you set up this bottom rig: Using your fluoro line, be it 8 or 10 pounds, or even 12 if you wish, put on your favorite small hook, like a #1 gold hook or a 1/0. If you can go weedless with the 1/0 please do so. Then, take a round split-shot weight (make it totally round) without the tag end that is used to remove the split-shot weight so that you are using the one like a basketball, and crimp it onto your line about 12 to 18 inches from your hook. Use the split-shot round weight without the tag as the tag accumulates the bottom slop and grass faster than a totally round weight. You can use whatever weight size you want depending on how fast you want the rig to fall and if there is any current in the water. Use your favroite plastic worms and you are all set. Easy to rig and cast and this setup will get hits. Throw to the shore, under docks and piers, out in the open water or any other way you want to fish it. But be aware that you are pulling a round ball weight on the bottom so be ready to get snagged. So experiment with it and I am sure you will like this type of finesse fishing.

Thanks for the info, Avid. I had no idea the storm hit Florida four times. If weather predictions are right, and as Avid says, who knows?, we may receive some rain from the storm starting Thursday and continuing into the weekend way up here in Richmond, Virginia. We really need the rain. Sorry you all in Florida got drenched by the rainfall. I hope all of our Florida members are OK.

Sounds like a good time but I have football to watch and chores around the house so I can't make it. Be sure to let us know how you do. Be safe.

How to Get Sponsors to Notice You 1. Win tournaments. 2. Move up in the standings. 3. Walk around naked. 4. Win tournaments. 5. Move up in the standings. 6. Walk around naked. 7. Win tournaments. 8. Win tournaments. 9. Be professional; speak well, be clean-cut; no tatoos; wear nice clothes. 10. Walk around naked. 11. Win tournaments. 12. Get good grades and major in fisheries biology in college at a Sea Grant university. 13. Win tournaments. 14. Walk around naked. 15. Win some more tournaments. 16. Meet sponsors and others at the tournaments and be on your best behavior. 17. Stay out of trouble. 18. Win tournaments. 19. Walk around naked. 20. Win more tournaments. These are my top 20 suggestions to get sponsors to notice you. ;D

Mike, Bream or small bass were probably hitting your wacky Senko. Happens all the time all over the country. Try using a lighter flouro line test, like 8 pounds on a spinning rig and 10 pounds on a baitcaster. Go with a weedless 1/0 hook. Check out my PM on some wacky rigging that I will be sending you in a few minutes. As for the trolling motor, welcome to the club. I still get screwed up working mine as I get too intense fishing to worry about where the boat is headed. Try putting the speed to #2 or #3 and you will have an easier time handling the trolling motor. Great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Artic Cat, I use a medium heavy 6'6" spinning rod to get under docks, piers, trees, bushes, wood, anchored boats, etc. I would think the length of the rod is more important than the name brand, but I would think the higher rated brands would produce a better product. My Bass Pro Shop spinning rods and my St. Croix spinning rod work beautifully when skipping my plastics, jigs or crankbaits. I use the 2500 Shimano Stradic spinning reels and they work beautifully. Let us know what you buy as I may want to upgrade my spinning rods this winter. Thanks for your input.

I just remembered these: Getting boat checked out for fishing tournament the next day and found trolling motor broken. Cancelled tournament. Motor started beautifully at home before left for lake. Motor battery died when launched the boat and had to spend $75 for another one at the ramp. Friend ignored motor running hot during a tournament and continued to run it. Motor seized and he now has to get new motor. Got towed back to the ramp. Friend's partner smelled smoke. Friend said "no problem" as it was probably just some fumes from motor. Nope. All electrical wires burned and he had to get towed back to the ramp. Murphy's Law rules!

One more, Eddie. You make plans to go fishing one day next week. You clear your schedule; work late to get caught up at work; you buy the soft drinks, ice and a nice foot long roast beef sandwhich from Subway for lunch, you pick up some Snickers bars, you get all of your equipment ready, gas up the boat and check the oil, make sure you have all required safety equipment on the boat, double check with your partner to make sure he is OK, get permission from wife, get all gear ready to go and you store it in the boat and back of SUV.... and then a cold front comes through the night before.

Cold fronts turn them off. Rain turns them on. Cold fronts and rain turn them off.

You decide to use one of your favorite lures and you remembered you left it on the table at your house along with the other stuff you decided not to take. Your rope comes unbuttoned from the dock and your boat floats away. You forget to put the plug in the boat and it starts to sink. You forget the net or you cannot find it when you are trying to land that lunker or you can't get to it as it is at the other end of the boat. You cut the main line and not the tag end of the line and watch your bait slide into the wild blue depths. You see a bass. She is just sitting there. A big moma, too. So you grab your favorite plastic set up and go to cast, hit the windshield and get the backlash of the century. Or, same as above, but your rods are all tangled by that darn drop shot rig that you forgot to secure. You see a nice fish and start to go slowly and quietly towards her when your co-angler jumps from the back of the boat to the front to see what you see and the noise scares the fish away. Same as above but you have that beauty by the boat, getting ready to net her, when your companion jumps down with the net from the back of the boat and makes a lot of noise and the fish breaks off. You are watching the shoreline and not where you are going and you hit a mud flat. You have to use your push pole to get out. You are having a great time in the creek, not noticing the tide going out, and you have to paddle and push pole yourself back to the river. Have these things happened to me? Yes. And I had to swim out to get my boat. ;D

Bassn, You have too much time on your hands. But keep on posting them. They are good. ;D

Sounds like an April Fools joke to me.

Catt, That is terrible news on top of terrible news. One can only take so much stress and I hope you and his friends can give him some emotional support at this time. He will really need it. Bad things usually come in three's but I hope his bad things stop at two. Our thoughts and prayers are with him at this time.

One would think that this body of water would hold some nice size LMB. Without any fishing pressure, other than discarded martini's and scotch into the lake, I bet we could go there and have a great time. Maybe I will call on the golf course and if I get them as a client tell them that I need to fish the pond to check the water. This ploy has worked before. When anyone fishes it please let us know how you do. And what the fine is, too. ;D

Burley, I have the Kistler 7' 6" Helium TLA heavy rod and it is a darling. I use it for pitching and flipping and it is a fantastic rod. Lightweight; good, strong backbone; beautiful line guides; a good distance from the reel to the first eye to help with casting; and it is such a pleasure to use that I have to remind myself not to use it for heavy or deep cranking or spinnerbaits or topwaters. What do I not like about it? It is 7' 6" and I can't put it in the locker storage area on my boat so I am extremely careful not to step on it when on the boat. Otherwise, it is a beautiful rod and worth the money.