Sam

My friends told me that the redfish fishing is now the best ever it has ever been in Louisiana. I went to the Biloxi Marsh last November and we had a blast. Some of the reds were so big they took the shrimp and headed for Mexico and never turned back. The crabs are also doing well. My friend is catching crabs right and left. Isn't nature wonderful?

Bluegills will drive you crazy if the plastic worm has a tail or is a Gulp! product. Crabs will also take your bait and eat it. ;D So what do you do? You set the hook. You can never go wrong setting the hook. You can always go wrong not setting the hook. Bluegills hitting you plastics is part of bass fishing and to help Aaleviate the problem use finesse worms that do not have tails. The bluegills will still hit it but not as much if you do not have a tail wagging at them.

They are not actually "afraid" of steel, but it is something that is "unusual" and "not natural" so they shy away from it. As stated in the other posts, you need to stop using the wire leader. If you want to use a clip, then tie the clip to your line using a Palamor Knot and then clip the clip onto the crankbait's split-ring or the eye of your worm hook. One of the guys in my bass club does this and he changes lures so fast it is almost impossible to see him change the lures on his line. Remember, you do not want the fish to see your line, if possible, unless you are fishing in the pads and grass and are using a braid line which will blend into the foliage. And remember, mono for topwaters; flourocarbon for everything else; braid for heavy cover. Have fun.

Pat is wearing a nice cap. And do I see "football scholarship" in the future? That is a nice boat. You all did a great job. It takes some talent to put a bass boat back together, and a lot of patience. I wish I had both. I know you told us some of the things you did but I am curious so I am asking...... Did you find any electrical or steering problems when you worked on her? Did you put on any upgrades, like a more powerful trolling motor; better electronics on bow; circuit breakers; alarm systems; etc.? Did you use any special chemicals to bring the hull back to a shine and to protect the hull and if so, what did you use other than wax? Trailer seemed to be OK . Any improvements on trailer lights and did you install a Boat Buddy? Lower unit OK? Prop needed filing or is it OK, too? Come on Catt, let us know what you did. Thanks for sharing. And that is a nice cap Pat is wearing. ;D

NOW THAT'S A POST, GUYS. A story line with photos. Man, it can't get any better than that. And notice the "white space" in the post? No run on sentences nor any 15 sentence paragraphs which are difficult to read and understand. And would you believe that lady has a 15 year old daughter? I thought Mrs. Matstone was in her 20s. Hey, she looks like she is in her 20s. Thanks for sharing the photos, the trip and your family with us.

Thad, Have some fun and visit these two web sites to see what the guys are catching in both the B.A.S.S. and FLW tournaments. You do not have to log in as shown. Just go to the tournament results and see what is going on. B.A.S.S. www.vafederationnation.com FLW www.vabass.com You can see the tournament results on the various bodies of water. And remember, you can reach a lot of places to fish within 100 miles of Richmond, and then go to Smith Mountain Lake for tournaments, too.

Yes, Shark Week is great and I watch part of it each night. As for Bull Sharks, they are the only shark that can live in fresh water and they do swim in rivers. Bull Sharks are also the number one man killer shark in the world. When fishing in Louisiana for redfish and speckled trout we have reeled in half a fish when the sharks grabbed them when reeling them in. We also caught a small Hammerhead in our shrimp and croaker nets when we were trolling for live croakers to fish for the speckled trout and redfish. Never been fishing for sharks. I have enough trouble catching a bass. ;D

Southwest Virginia. Hummmmm. I would suggest getting your degree; getting your career started so you can bank some funds; do not get married or have a serious girlfriend as she will dampen your fishing excitement if not kill it; and move closer to Richmond or head down south where you have more places and time to fish. Then, do a number of things. 1. Join a TBF/FLW bass club and fish their club tournament and Region tournaments and try to make the Six-Man Team. 2. Fish the open tournaments, such as the Castaways (James River) and Eagle Rest (Chick Lake) plus others. You may want to test your talents fishing the Fishers of Men Tournament Trail which is excellent and very competitive. 3. If you do well and move up in your Club's standings and do well in Region tournaments, then you can try to make the Mr. Bass or Six-Man Team and fish against the best anglers in your area. 4. To double your fishing outings, create a B.A.S.S. Club inside of the TBF/FLW Club (if the guys vote to do this and join) and fish the B.A.S.S. Region tournaments, too. 5. After a few years (don't think you will rocket to the top overnight) and with some luck you will win the Mr. Bass and Region Tournaments and catch the eye of the professional tournament sponsors and start to get sponsors. 6. Then, you move up and fish the lower level B.A.S.S. and FLW Tournaments that will cost you a fortune to fish but at least you will be fishing with the semi-pros up and down the east coast. 7. If you do well in the semi-pro tournaments, you may qualify to fish the B.A.S.S. or FLW higher level tournaments. 8. You are in college so you do the math as to expenses, insurance, fees, fuel, mental health counseling, purchasing a boat, boat, motor and tackle maintenance, lodging, food, tackle expenses, mental health counseling, clothing, rain gear, mental health counseling, tires, truck costs to pull the boat and did I mention mental health counseling? Please get that degree. You don't see any dumb pro bass fishermen. They all speak well; dress well; and represent both B.A.S.S. and the FLW in a professional manner. Good luck and have fun in school. College is the best five or six years of your life. ;D P.S. Hang up your jock as you will not be doing much of playing any sports if you want to be a professional bass fisherman. All of your time will be on the water or getting ready to go on the water plus the time you have to put in your career.

I like Skeet and hope he wins the AOY. However, who knows? The Shadow knows.

There are levels of spinning reels that you can select among. For instance, Symetre's come in sizes 750, 1500, 2500 and 4000. I like the 2500 line of spinning reels for bass fishing and have two 2500 Stradic's. So check out the size of the reel and consider staying with the Symetre but bump up to the 2500. And the same thing holds for the Sahara. They also come in four (4) sizes so you can select the 1500 or 2500. I would stay away from the 4000's as they are large and they weigh a lot.

I use a 1/0 for the wacky rig or go up to a 2/0 if I feel lucky. I use the weedless hooks for wacky rigs since I throw them in all sorts of cover and structure. As for fishing a Senko Texas-rigged, I go with a 2/0 or a 3/0, either weedless or not weedless, depending on the cover and structure. I like straight shank hooks for finesse worms, too.

Anything Shimano. The Curado line is excellent. Maybe a 200 would suite your needs. Check 'em out. Happy Birthday. P.S. An nice All Star rod would add to the gift. ;D

Hey Smallie, Doesn't the upper Appomattox River hold a lot of snakes? Snakes that try to get into your boat? Just asking.

Wow! Another south Louisiana guy on our forum. Glad to have you. Please let us know what bodies of water you fish.

I have trouble with the remote now and after reading Glenn's post I probably will end up in a mental facility if those TVs have more features other than on and off. Hey, the bass have me headed towards Central State Mental Hospital so why not have a TV push me over the edge???? ;D

Puma, Sent you a PM. Enjoy!

Being Type A means that I enjoy fishing crankbaits as I am always on the move. Just become accustomed to the depths the cranks run; use flourocarbon line; use a fast action rod with a good backbone, like a medium heavy; have a brand name baitcaster spooled with the line of your choice; use 10, 12, 14 or 17 pound test; and go out and have some fun. Remember to "SWEEP" your rod to the left or right when setting the hook as opposed to ripping the rod over your head as when setting a plastic bait. Balance reel with crankbait setup to avoid backlashes. Use thumb to slow down spool when throwing cranks. Go to a tackle shop and look at the Mann's Minus One or Bandit's Footloose and then the 100's, 200's, etc. all the way to the Deep Diving cranks. Notice the types, colors and rattles. There are fat ones and skinny ones and all types of color combinations and clear ones and ones with rattles and ones without rattles. Be sure to use the split-ring when tieing your Palamor Knot to allow the bait to manuever in the water. Throw it into cover and over wood. It will bounce off the cover and wood (most of the time). Pop it with your rod tip; fish it by going fast then slow then stop then fast then stop then slow, etc. Just fish it any way you want. The most difficult parts of fishing a crank bait is 1) remembering to sweep your rod to the left or right and 2) removing the hooks. USE A PLIERS AND BE VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY CAREFUL OF THOSE TREBLE HOOKS. Keep fingers and toes away from treble hooks. Use pliers to remove bait. Have fun.

Has anyone tried Pro's Soft Bait Glue by Innovative Products? 804.798.5225 www.prosoftbaitglue.com Only problem is that you are to store it out of the heat so I keep it in my coole with my JJ's Magic when on the boat. May store it in the refrigerator in the future to keep it fresh. Give it a try.

Marty is correct. If you can find out the time the cold front will be moving through your area try to fish it a few hours before the front moves through. When the front arrives and then passes, the fish have already stuffed themselves. As for baits, Marty is correct, again. I like spinnerbaits when it rains, or any topwater due to the commotion the rain and wind will make on the surface. Colors? I like black with lots of vibration or rattle. Just my prefernces. Please be watchful of lightning and have some fun.

Glad you caught a few. With temps that high you know the bass have gone deep for the cooler oxygenated water. Try the grass beds, humps and holes. Some will be holding on drop-offs, too. And remember to drink a lot of water.

Delta, as in Delta Airlines - Don't Expect Your Luggage to Arrive! Welcome aboard. Yes, like any industry we have our own jargon. Just read and go to seminars and watch DVDs. But what I suggest you do is visit your nearest tackle store and LOOK AT THE BAITS. Just walk around and see the different baits and what they are called. And look at the hooks and swivels nad weights, too. In other words, just walking up and down the aisles in your local tackle shop is a wonderful way to learn the baits, tackle, name brands, types, etc. Have fun.

One thing about fishing....we seem to stretch the truth just a little. That 5.5 pound bass becomes 6 pounds; the 20 second fight becomes a minute; those 6 bass caught expands to 10. So saying you caught two 10-pound bass is correct. It's sort of like you hitting the trash can two separate times when you drive out of your driveway. Your wife says you had two accidents with the trash can. So yes, you have now caught two 10-pound bass. Congratulations.

Excellent article. I still have my Ika's and have to start throwing them more.

Tony Stewart had it right. Man, was that a disaster or what? But my Jimmie Johnson won; Carl and Denny did well; so I was pleased with the final results. Maybe NASCAR needs Japanese tires??? >

I feel your pain. Your experiences are why my wife and I use a post office box and receive 95% of our mail in the POB. When mailing valuable items and Christmas presents we use UPS. Russ and Matt, you guys are fantastic. Never had a problem with UPS. In fact, I sent the transducer back to Lowarance via UPS so when we called to find out what was going on we had the confirmed delivery date. Seems the lady who handles returns had been out of the office for two weeks and the work just backed up. But they found the transducer and are in the process of replacing it. Thank goodness I had the sense to mail it via UPS.