Sam

Where are you putting in?

Good forage in that body of water. Nice fish. By the time you catch her next year she may have added another pound.

Palomar for everything. Even spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Uni-knot to attach braid to mono on reels. And that's about it.

Another story to support my theory that people need to be licensed to have children. Sad story, indeed. :'(

Had you taken the time to eat a sloppy roast beef po-boy and drink a few Barq's you would have won the tournament. And if not at least you would have had a great lunch!!!! ;D

Look for underwater grass, humps, brushpiles, rocks and holes. Dropoffs are a must, too. Read articles about fishing deep on this site and on the various pro's web sites. Use deep diving crankbaits and the drop shot rig. Other guys will give you some helpful hints, too. But please read, read and read about fishing deeper and when to fish deep during each season.

Yes, sometimes. Lakes yes. Rivers sometimes. Ponds no, unless the pond us clean. No French kissing. ;D

With the high cost of braid, it is smart to use mono of the same diameter as the braid for your backing for braid on a baitcaster. Use electrical tape to stop the braid from digging into the mono, if you wish. I do not use electrical tape as I put about 75 yards of braid on the baitcaster and then pull another three or four arm lengths of braid for the baitcaster's spool. This gives me more than enough braid when I fish as I use braid in pads and grass and for jigs which do not need to be casted far. But you do what give you confidence. You can't go wrong. Maybe.

If you were wearing a Yankees cap then the shipping is supposed to be free. Red Sox caps shipping doubles. ;D

OK, now that you are back home, safe and sound, how about telling us everything you know about bass fishing???? ;D Thanks for your service to your country and for making us safe at home so we can go out and fish without any worries of being attacked, etc. All true Americans send their thanks for all you and our service men and women have accomplished to help make the world a little safer.

That was a great race. Sorry it was on so late but if you get a chance, try to see the replay. It made you feel good about being an American.

It is going to hit Florida Tuesday morning and then arrive in Virginia Friday morning. The entire state of Florida is included in its path. I suggest fishing before the storm and then wait about three days and fish after the storm. Or, fish when the storm hits and let us know how you do. ;D Check it out.

Go to the Weather Underground web site and click on Tropical/Hurricane and all of your questions will be answered. You can also see the computer models the weather people use to make their predictions and the five-day forecast. Great site to track tropical storms and hurricanes.

Rooster, Shallow or deep cranking? My suggestions: Large Size Crankbaits - 7 foot fiberglass or graphite medium action baitcaster rod with a long handle and a slow tip. Baitcaster with 12 to 17 flouro pound test depending on the cover and structure you are fishing. Smaller Size Cranktaits - 6'6" fiberglass or graphite spinning rod with a long handle and a slow tip. 8 to 12 pound flouro test depending on the cover and structure you fish. Graphite is more sensitive and you may feel more bites. Some guys think that a very small diameter line will allow you to cast further. I use a line based on its test and the conditions I am fishing so I usually do not worry about its diameter. The long handle gives you more leverage when setting the hook. Check out your favorite tackle store or the BPS/Cabella's catalogs and look at the rods deisgned for crankbait fishing and decide if one is OK for the methods you employ or will you need two rods, one for shallow and the other for deep cranking. And you asked such a simple question. ;D P.S. If you go into crankbait fishing in details, or speak to the pros about throwing crankbaits, everyone has a different idea or philosophy. So you can actually go crazy trying to figure out which rods, line, reels, and cranks are the best and then putting your combinations together is another story. So just throw your Bandits and others and have some fun.

Thanks for the info, Catt. Will try to find them and see how they perform in Virginia. Great report.

Yes, and he missed first place by a very thin margin. No snakes; no gators; no fallling out of the boat. Just take a sloppy roast beef po-boy with you; a few Barq's and have a great time. Man, it just does not get any better in South Louisiana! Marsh Master is the man! Congrats to him for a great job. You can read his post about his tournament, too.

Great report. Sounded like a fishing TV show. Keep up the good work and how about some pics?

Consider adding a clamshell weight onto the hook shank of your spinnerbait to give it more weight to throw into the wind. Color may have been the problem. I changed colors when the smallies were following my cranks on the James River and I caught four after that. You probably did all you could this time out and you did great. Congrats on your success and finish in the tournament.

Great information. I was planning on going with Rondef this Thursday but with the tropical storm heading this way we may have to wait until the next week. We need the water in the Richmond area so I can't complain about the storm hitting us Thursday or Friday of this week. Keep those Potomac reports coming!!!!

Good one. ;D

Nope, do not put rattles in Senkos nor do I know of any Senkos that come with rattles. But I don't think it will hurt by putting rattles in your Senkos. Give it a try, both ways, and give us the statistics after a few weeks of fishing them both ways. ;D

Octopus Hooks.

Type all responses on this forum on a Word Document, then spell check it, copy and paste to post it. It will make you look very good to any sponsors checking out the posts. 13 years old is a great age to start trying to locate sponsors. Your parents can help as can your English teacher with your resume and other written documents. And as suggested by Roadwarrior, read ALL OF THE POSTS within this section of the forum to obtain an idea of what has happened in the past and to obtain a lot of wisdom from the guys on this site. Good luck and I hope to see your photograph in Bass Times when they show the qualifiers for the B.A.S.S. yute championships.

Wonderful news. Congrats. Now make your sponsors proud!

Fish the pond. If it is clear, you need to stay away from the fish as they can see you. Use a clear line, too. Use the boat if possible and go out and have some fun. I suggest starting with smaller size baits, such as 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits and Bandit 100 crank baits. If they are deep, then go larger to get bait down to the fish, like a Bandit 200 or deep diving series. Don't forget the Rat-L-Traps and other crankbaits. Throw plastics, too. Senkos, brush hogs, Ikas, tubes, etc. Wacky rigged Senko or *** Baits can work. Use the drop shot technique with skinny and shaky finesse worms or minnows. You can fish it straight down or cast it out and retrieve it like you do a regular Texas rigged plastic, keeping the line tight at all times. Topwaters around vegetation can work, too. Frogs, buzzbaits, Mann's Minus One, Spooks, Pop-Rs, etc. Go with the smaller sizes and then work up in size. Remember, in a clear lake they can see you and they are accomstomed to hearing trolling motors, which to the smart bass mean trouble. Bass use sight as their first means to seeking prey, followed by vibrations and sounds and then taste and smell. You may have to fish fast to get reaction strikes as you do not want them to get a really good look at your baits and try to decide to hit them, or not. So throw to the lures as far as you can; be extra quiet; be stealth; and be patient. Fish fast; fish slow; use the stop and go technique; let spinnerbait hit bottom and rip it up towards the surface; throw into the grass and pads and make some commotion. There are articles on clear water impoundments on various web sites so please try to find them and see how they suggest you fish the waters. Post pics!