Sam

Sorry, but I have to stay home and cook. Making my Paul Prudohomme Oyster Dressing which is out of this world. Fishing? Way, way down on my list of things to do this week and weekend. Of course, I did fish yesterday on the way home from work for about 15 minutes at a local pond. Had a good time. Caught one bass and a beautiful bluegill. Have a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving.

I have some by colors, like Junebug and Moccasin Blue. I have put the lizzards and creature baits together. I keep the trick worms by themselves. I have the Senkos by length. I have the plastics I use for fishing wacky by themselves, both finesse and Senkos. I put the others, flukes ,etc., in their own bags. I put them in gallon or the new two and a half gallon storage bags. Does this work? Not too bad but at least it is a start.

There are actually three (3) falls. The first is what the calendar says when the sun crosses the equator. The second is when the temperatures decrease into the 60s in the days and 30s at night and the leaves turn into beautiful shades of reds, oranges, browns and yellows. The third is after Indiana Summer and it is short and then winter follows very close behind. Let the water temperatures tell you what to throw, not the time of year or air temperatures, other than knowing that the sun can warm up the top of the water on sunny days and cause higher air temperatures. Fall fishing is based on what the bass are doing. If the bass believe the winter is on the way then they will fatten up. This can be caused by both the lenght of the daylight hours (which control birds behavior) or the water temperature, which control the fish's behavior. So please watch the water temperatures so you will know the lures and techniques to throw.

I like the low profiles. And now you can get them in colors. I like the Shimano reels, too. Can't go wrong with a Shimano. I use my "high profile" Ambassador for catfishing when I don't want to fool around with my Shimano Bait Runner as it is a heavier reel and as said above, can handle heavier line. It's like what the CPA told the company president when asked what 1 plus 1 is, "It is whatever you want it to be."

Look for after Christmas sales. They should be good this year. I like Shimano products so I am biased regarding reels. But I would think any name brand would be fine if it is in your price range. The guys will give you their input, too, and I suggest you strongly consider what they tell you. Good luck.

For fishing clubs in your area, please check out the Virginia Federation's web site. Good Luck. www.vabass.com

Sorry about your loss. I hope you get another kitten for your daughter. Yes, there are jerks and then there are those people who have no idea that they hit anything. Now that we have cell phones a lot of people drive and talk, totally oblivious to what is going on around them. You can find these people in the obituaries of your local newspaper on a daily basis.

JWO, One of the most difficult things you have to do when bass fishing is to get ready and select the set-ups and lures you think will produce. Easier said than done. There are so many variables that sometimes you just have to let your "gut feeling" lead you in the right direction based on the waters you will be fishing. After you have your set-ups and lures you have to hit the water and experiment. Buzzbaits in the early AM are always a good bait, followed by your topwaters. Then you have to use your search baits, like crankbaits and spinnerbaits, to cover a lot of water to see what the fish are hitting. Or, just start throwing your plastics at the bank, either Texas or wacky rigged. Then throw your jigs and pigs next to the structure. You have to let the fish tell you what they want and how they want it. Slow, fast, against structure, off the bank, in open water, on the bottom, in shallow water, etc. The fish have to tell you what they will strike and then you use that information and fish until that bite ends. As for techniques, it is a very important part of bass fishing. When throwing crankbaits to see where the fish are you can retrieve them fast, slow, fast and stop, slow and stop, onto the bank and then into the water back to the boat, into the structure or parallel to the structure (trees in the water), around boat docks, over, under and around pilings or rocks and at what depth? You just have to try until you find what they want. This means throwing the crankbait 10 to 15 times at one tree in the water and from all angles. Then following up with a Texas-rigged finesse worm or a jig and pig. Then throw a wacky worm or a spinnerbait or a fluke at the same structure using different retrieves. When you do get a bite, remember the details of how far from shore, the depth, the color and type of the bait, line test poundage, your retrieve, how hard did they take the bait and any other details. I wish there was a secret article on which techniques to use for all occassions. But there is not as all bass fishermen use their own techniques. And we use the ones we are comfortable throwing. So don't miss out on the fun of bass fishing...trying to figure out what the fish want, where and when. Just remember, each day is different so what works today will not work tomorrow. Drives you crazy! ;D

Holy Cow! I had no idea. I got to try it. I will not be happy if it is not true and we have battery acid all over my beautiful antique dining room table.

Guys, One day we all leave this beautiful planet to do some fishing in the sky and I was wondering if any of you guys have plans regarding what to do with your fishing gear. As we get older we notice that we have accumulated a lot of fishing equipment that is worth e a lot of money, without including our boats, motors and trailers. If no one in your family wants the items then what do your wife and kids do with all of the stuff? We can adverstise the boat, motor and trailer and sell it. But what about all of our rods, reels and tackle? We can sell the tackle at a yard sale and get very little for it or throw it away. I am going to talk with my wife about how to dispose of not only my fishing equipment but my extensive LSU memorabilia, inclduing my Skip Bertman autographed Marucci baseball bat which is worth a lot to collectors and an item that the LSU Alumni Association wants for its sports museum. I know we don't like to discuss this situation but we have to address it sooner or later. Just wondering what you all plan to do with your equipment after judgement day. I am thinking of giving it away to some young guys who love to bass fish since my son is totally not interested in fishing. Thanks for the input. And I hope we don't have to cross this bridge for a long, long time.

I have had a small bream attack a crankbait on Smith Mountain Lake. The crankbait was almost as big as the bream. Go figure.

What a bummer. So sorry you had to return home but glad you got home safe and sound. Hey, like all sports, there is always next year. Get well and get back on the water and on this site.

I fish it from the bank and boat. If in the boat, I throw it towards the bank and drag it back like a Texas-rigged worm. I also drop it straight down off drop offs but since I don't have much patience it is difficult to just stand in the boat bobbing the rod tip for a few minutes. So I throw it. Do the same when fishing from the bank. As long as the bait has room to jiggle around and the fish see or sense it, you are right on and ready for a hook set. And don't be afraid to set the hook. You may not have a fish on and you will look absolutly silly when setting the hook, but when you do get a fish on you are ready to reel him in. P.S. Remember, if in a boat don't pull back too hard or you can throw yourself out of the boat. While on shore you can only fall backwards and hope no one sees you.

You can get the "clips" with and without a swivel. Check out your local tackle shop. There are a number of sizes to select among. I usually purchase the black ones. They work fine and a friend uses them all the time and when he switches baits it is done in a flash. He catchs a lot of bass, too. On Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits I tie a Palamor to the split ring. Works fine. I just like that Palamor knot as it will not slip. However, with that said, the Palamor knot can "burn and crimp" your line close to the bait so be careful. Be sure to wet the line before and during the tightning procedure when using a Palamor knot and pull s-l-o-w-l-y.

The deer in my yard just stand there and look at you, even if you are clapping your hands and yelling at them. They will move away if you walk towards them. We have over 400 acres of woodlands behind my house which is home to at least seven deer. The buck has a nice set of antlers. We had twin deer this fall and they are growing like weeds. Only problem is that they eat our flowers,shrubs and foilage. But they are not afraid of humans, which is a problem within itself. I hope no more bowhunters show up behind our house this year. The deer are sitting ducks.

Triton9, you and your dad did great on One Fish Anna. As for the fog, the guys in my bass club were talking about it at our last meeting. They said just what you said about it being very thick. Cranks, drop shots and pointers seem to be the trick on Anna these days. I was surprised you did not catch any pickerel. I still need your input on the Pamunkey for this weekend. Congrats on your 7th place finish on a lake that can be very difficult to fish.

Redline Robert, How about taking your father fishing in Brazil. Priceless!

I have two Shimano Bait Runner spinning reels that I use to catch the big catfish out of the James River. I use 25 pound mono and 50 pound mono leader attached to a powerful swivel. The 3/0 circle hooks work great. The sinker is on a slide that can move up and down the line. These reels cost in excess of $100 and they are excellent. I strongly suggest getting the Bait Runner reels if you want to catch catfish on a spinning reel. That is, large catfish. Really large catfish, like over 20 pounds and up.

RICOs and Lucky Craft lures. Ranger Boats. Kistler and G. Loomis rods. Shimano top end reels, both baitcasters and spinning reels. Rubber netting in landing net, landing net. Tungston weights. Salter scale to weigh lures to make sure of their weight (around $30 and it weighs in ounces). Trip to Mexico to fish for the really big bass. Trip to Brazil to fish for the Peacock bass. Bisonix Unit. Electric spooling set-up. Things to buy wife after fishing trip to keep her happy, like jewelry.

Congrats on both PBs. You did good! Keep it up and let us know when you beat both of your new records.

Tungston transmits more information to you regarding the bottom and any strikes you may be getting than any other metal. I use tungston for tournaments. I use other weights when fishing for fun.

#1 gold hook. Used the drop shot rig on Friday, November 9 to fish for some catfish in a local pond and used a 1/0 circle hook. Worked great!

Upsets and close games are what make college football so much fun. As for the post game altercation? Propably some words said by one player to the other and they start shoving and the other players get into the act. Linemen are notorious for talking to each other during a game. They will challenge your sister's virginity; your parents' marriage and your birth; your sexual preferance; make up things to say to you; abd say just about anything to get your goat. After the game all is forgiven and forgotten. Unless something said is very upsetting and then you have altercations. Hey, saying things to each other across the line of scrimmage is a lot more fun than pulling hair in a pileup.

Went to a friend's pond on Friday, November 9 knowing that the bass population was small but I did catch a nice 4 pounder this summer so I decided to give it a shot. Nothing on anything I threw with one exception. I rigged the drop shot rig for the catfish that are in the pond and I caught five of the channel catfish on the drop shot rig. I used a small 1/0 circle hook and live bait (nightcrawlers) and nailed the five within twenty minutes. I then tried the same rig at my local pond on the way home that day, searching for any catfish and I caught a small largemouth bass. The circle hook came close to the bass' eye so I changed over to an ultra light rig as I do not want to damage any of the bass in the pond and I was concerend that the circle hook was too big of a hook in cae another small bass hit the worm. Drop shot can be a good presentation. However, you have to pay attention as the bite can be very subtle. Any "heavy feeling" or "line movement" or "tap-tap-tap" set the hook. Give it a try this winter.

Super. Now Jerry can go back and catch them by himself!