Sam

Say what you want but Burley knows bass fishing and is a super guy when it comes to fishing with kids. He is a very valuable asset to our Forum.

P.S. Best times to fish are early in AM as the sun rises and late in the evening as the sun sets. Hit them with your buzzbaits and other topwaters and then go to the plastics unless they want a moving presentation. Pink trick worms are fun to fish as you can watch them move in the water and actually see them disappear when the bass hit them. Remember, the bass will hit your Spooks and frogs and poppers when they are motionless on the surface after you have moved or popped them so always be ready for a strike. Wait until you feel the fish's weight on your topwater and set that hook. Of course, be sure to point your rod at the bait in the water and reel in the slack first. Then set that hook over your head with a snap that throws you to the ground. Keep rod tip high and reel fast. To stop jumping fish, put rod tip in the water as you reel. Play big fish to wear them out and then lip them to the shore. Release them as fast as possible. Be sure to carry a pliers with you at all times as you walk around the pond to help remove hooks. And be stealthy. Walk at least 50 feet from the shoreline as you move around from one place to another. The bass can be right at your feet and you will never know it or you will spook them if you move too close to the water's edge. Be quiet and try not to have your shawdow in the water in front of you. Look for shade and where the shade meets the sunny water. Wear sunglasses and sunscreen along with along sleeve shirt and long pants to protect you from the sun. Fish the pond during the day; before a storm; after a storm; before a cold front; after a cold front; before it rains; after it rains; on a cloudy day; on a blue bird sky day; on a day when you are sick and are not going to school; by yourself; or with a friend. JUST FISH THE POND. And last, watch out for bees, wasps and snakes!!! ;D

1. Invest in some Eagle Claw or other weedless hooks and use them when fishing plastics. Eagle Claws are easier to pass your line through than the Gamakatsu's when tying your Palamor Knot. 2. Use the Number One, 1/0 or 2/0 size weedless hooks for wacky or Texas-rigged Senkos and finesse worms, etc. Use the 4-inch Senkos or the smallest size you can purchase. Consider fishing your finesse worms without any weight or the lighest weight you can use to be able to cast out and have a slow fall. And fish with light line, like 4 or 6 pound test on light tackle with a 6 foot or 6 foot, 6-inch medium heavy rod on a spinning set up. Baitcasters can work well, too, and you can up the line test to 10 to 12 pounds. Your equipment does not have to be expensive. I use an Ugly Stick and a BPS rod plus an ultra light setup. After all, it is a pond! 3. Rig a pink trick worm on a #1 or 1/0 straight shank LIGHT WEIGHT hook and throw it over the grass. 4. Use other topwaters, such as Pop-Rs, Spook, frogs and buzzbaits over the grass. Any favorite topwater. 5. Throw a Mann's Minus One over the grass. Try throwing a small white grub on a 1/64 ounce jig head on light line. The smaller the better. Or a Roostail but if the grass gets hung up on these two lures then forget them. 6. Throw a shallow running crankbait, like a Bandit 100, over the grass or a Horny Toad. 7. Go with Watermealon or Pumpkinseed for plastic colors if all other colors do not produce strikes. 8. Rig up a catfish rig and throw it out to see if there are any catfish in the pond. Be sure to set the ratchet so you know when they take the bait. 9. Scale down the sizes of your baits. The smallest size you can throw will produce the most strikes. If there are bigger bass in the pond then you can start to move up in size. But the big bass will inhale the smaller baits, too. 10. Bottom lures, like jigs, and treble hook baits can and will pick up the grass and you will be frustrated in removing the grass all the time. But that is part of fishing so if you use bottom lures be ready to take the time to remove the grass and debris from your hooks and line. 11. Spinerbaits and Chatterbaits may work. You may get better results with the smaller size Chatterbait than a spinnerbait. Suggest using white or white/chartruse with Willow blades unless pond is stained then you may want to go with Colorado blades. Go with black/blue or white/chartruse Chatertbait skirts. 12. Go out and experiment and have fun. And be sure to let us know how you do. Good luck.

You must have been near his nest. The pair at my local pond knows me now and they actually come within five feet of me with their three gooslings. They no longer run away and they rest and eat where I am fishing. Until they got used to me the male would come over and make a big scene while she was on the nest and after the chicks were hatched. Geese can be formidable opponents.

Derek, All I can suggest is to be sure to have a freshwater and a saltwater fishing license for North Carolina. To be on the safe side. Sorry, but we will have to let the Tarheels out there give you suggestions on where to fish. Just have those licenses.

Our club does not have an "entry" fee for any of our tournaments. As an option, you can pay $10 to get into the "pot" and another $5 for big fish pot. The only charge is for the non-boater to help offset the boater's overhead.

Don't forget to throw marsmallows to the alligators. And don't fall out of the boat!!!!! Let us know how you do.

Earl Hagan passed away at age 88. He is the guy who did the Andy Griffin Show jingle and whistle. He also composed other TV show jingles, too. I bet we all can whistle the Andy Griffin Show jingle. Are we old or what?

Welcome to the Forum. The best place to obtain bass fishing information in the world. Correct as stated above. Join a local bass club and the guys will tell you all about either the TBF or B.A.S.S. tournaments plus other open tournaments in your area. And check out local tackle shops as they usually have informationon the open tournaments. Some are the same day of the week on specific bodies of water so ask your favorite marina for information, too. And if you think you are enjoying yourself now, wait until football season is upon us and we can have fun with you when either Bama or Auburn lose. Especially all the LSU guys on the site. For some reason, they just do not love Bama and Nickie Satan. So which are you? Alabama or Auburn? And NEVER, NEVER say Tulane.

NANO Techology. Sounds like something Robin Williams would say in the old "Mork and Mindy" TV Show. In fact, didn't he say that in one show?

Also, considering using mono for crankbaits and other treble hook baits. Consider using a graphite medium heavy fast tip rod. And consider "sweeping" the rod to the left or right when setting the hook. Great advice above so please follow it.

I have a Pro Team 185 Tracker so it is larger than your boat. It is a good, all around aluminium boat. However, just purchase what you think is best and don't worry about the manufacturer. Both Lowes and Tracker produce good products so you can't go wrong. If you want to break a tie, check the warrenty informaion on both boats and go with the one that is better for you.

I think Trev likes MIZMO tubes. Did anyone else get that feeling? As for set-up, Ninja is showing you the Ike method of tube rigging, and it is dynamite. So use it. Fish 'em like a worm. Or a jig. Or a frog on top of the water. Just practice, practice, practice. And have fun at the same time.

We are supposed to stay 50 feet from another boater. Sometimes we do; and sometimes we don't. It depends on who likes who in the club as to who will complain about someone encroaching on their territority. Therefore, we usualy either 1) avoid the area all together or 2) if we are freindely to the other boater we will fish close by and talk to each other. Last year on the Rappahannock River we were next to a great guy in the club in a creek when he missed a bass. So what did I do? I flipped my Senko to the same spot and caught the fish. The other guy got a chuckle out of it but let me know it was "his" fish. I have done this before on the Nottoway River when I threw my Zoom worm to a cruising bass along the shoreline and caught him right after a friend in another boat next to me missed him. We were just talking and fishing. He was not upset but he let me know that it was "his" fish. We have never had a problem with this situation in my club. I hope you do not encounter this problem, either.

Are any bass clubs out there amending their tournament schedules due to the high gasoline prices? I mean, are you 1) reducing the number of tournaments; 2) changing the locations from waters far away to fisheries closer to home; or 3) eliminiating the "two-day" tournaments with overnight motel stays? My club has "capped" the non-boater fee at $50 for each tournament day. What is your club doing in this regard? Just wondering. Thanks for the feedback.

When in doubt, set the hook. Point rod tip at bait; reel in slack very fast; set the hook hard by ripping rod OVER YOUR HEAD; keep reeling in fast and keep line tight. Only exception is with a crank bait when you set the hook in a sweeping movement to your right or left. Make your partner in the boat duck for cover if you miss the bass. Everything the guys told you is correct, especially watching your line and feeling for the "tap, tap, tap." Just remember, as said above, setting the hook is free so go ahead and just set the hook if you think the bass has your bait. As Shakespear said, "It is better to have set the hook than to never have set the hook," or something like that. Herman Shakespear out of Opelika, Alabama, that is. ;D

Today I had to go through the gills and cut the barb end off the hook and pull the shank through the gills of the LMB I caught after cutting the line. No blood. No damage. He swam away happy. I have done this before by going through the gills. It is something we all need to learn to do. Only problem was that I forgot to take the Senko out of his mouth. I hope he enjoyed it. This is a technique that we all need to learn. Thanks Glenn.

Virginia. Russell County. Exit 14 off I-81 and then about 20 miles into the beautiful mountains. Love the area. And the people are so nice, too.

When I was a teenager I went to the New Orleans Athletic Club once a week to work out and then lifted weights at home three days a week. Then, as I got older and richer I said "no way" to weightlifting. So now I am a flabby but happy bass fisherman.

Do what Roadwarrior suggests. Always! As for your pond, try some topwaters like a Scum Frog or pink trick worm over the weeds and grass. A buzzbait in the early AM or late evening can catch nice bass, too. Stroke a Rat-L-Trap to see if you pull up grass and debris. If so, go to a plastic, like a Zoom finese worm or a Senko. If not, then throw the Rat. Bass love Senkos so try your luck throwing them wacky style. If you can throw a Mann's Minus One you may get some strikes. And don't forget the spinnerbaits, too. Remember to scale down the bait sizes in a pond unless you know there are lunkers out there. Have fun and let us know how you do.

Sorry Staff Sargent, but you have another LSU Fighting Tigers fan here. But even though you love the Wildcats, welcome to the forum. Ask your questions and you will receive may suggestions. Read, read and read some more. There are some great books and DVDs out there that can make you a better bass fisherman. And may I suggest that you suscribe to Bassin Magazine? Best bass fishing magazine on the planet. Welcome aboard, even if the only sport that counts in Kentucky is the one where you bounce a ball on the floor and then try to throw it up in the air so it will go through this little hoop. ;D

While fishing the James River just east of Richmond with my friend, Charlie, the bite was slow until Charlie hooked a big one. Only problem was that it was a snag. At least we thought it was a snag. Charlie takes his lure retriever and puts it on his line and lets it sink to the crankbait. He then pulls on the green cord and the cord comes lose. Now,he is mad, so he takes his rod and starts to shake it hard and cuss and jump up and down trying to get his beloved Salad Bar Bandit crankbait loose. The snag comes loose and he brings a BOOT into the boat. A GI boot. I almost fell overboard laughing. I then tell him to look inside the boot for his lure retriever and he does. Nope, not there. I then tell him to go back down with his lure and try to find the missing boot so he will have a set of GI boots. He did not see the humor in my suggestion. You see so many cartoons of people catching a boot that to actually have it happen is very funny. To this day I remind him of the story and I still laugh. If only you could have seen the look on his face when he brought that boot into the boat. ;D For me, I have not caught anything interesting. Not that I remember, anyway.

Burley, That looks like a fantastic event. You all did good. No, you all did GREAT! It is events like this and people like you and the guys in your club that help our sport become a reality for all. You and the guys are great ambassadors of fishing and one day I am going to drive up and meet you on my way to or from Lebanon. I'll let you know when I am headig up that way as I may have to be in Lebanon in a few months. Later, Sam

I was checking over my boat this Saturday and I noticed that the Lowrance's sonar transducer was no longer attached to its mounting support on the trolling motor. This is the plastic neck from the transducer unit that you put the screw thru to hold the unit to the trolling motor's transducer mount. I have no idea when this occurred. I have a Tracker and am known to go into places normal people with nice boats don't go, so it could have happened last year. Or maybe one of the kids hit it with a ball. Who knows? So I mixed-up a batch of my trusty JB Weld and glued the transducer support mounting bracket back together. I have no idea if this will work so I am going to order another transducer from Lowrance but I was wondering if anyone has had this problem and if so, how did you fix it? Thanks in advance for the input.

Good pic. Kool sunglasses!