Sam

Yes, there is somethng about Gulp! that attract catfish. I have caught catfish on Gulp! in ponds, lakes and rivers. I think it is the scent it puts out attracts catfish.

And I think about food. Will have to start thinking about these topics now.

That was a close one. Glad you are OK. Super gald you were not towing your boat when this happened. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Actually, I like them all with these two exceptions. Ryan Newman Jaun Carlos Montoya First two favorites are Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards. Saw Carl come in second in Richmond's BUSH race last night at the track. Would be going back for the Chevy Rock n' Roll 400 tonight but I have a tournament on Sunday so I am going to have to stay in a motel by the launch site and watch the Virginia Tech-LSU football game and switch back and forth between the game and race.

Hi, Don't use the Fenwick rods. Have you considerd a Kister? Their helium rods are excellent.

Roadwarrier has given you some good advice. And you can't get any backlashes with a spinning rig! With that said, I use my baitcasters for spinnerbaits, crankbaits, Chatterbaits, topwaters and frogs. I also use the baitcaster for my Senkos due to the weight of the bait and the distance I cast it. I also use more baitcasters on lakes with deeper water. I use my spinning set ups for worms, tubes, flipping and pitching and finess fishing as I want the bait to fall where I cast it. Remember, with a baitcaster the bait will fall back towards you once it hits the water. With a spinning reel the bait falls straight down. I also use my baitcaster for Carolina rigs and heavy baits. When you see the pros on TV you can note that they change from baitcasters to spinning reels and back to baitcasters throwing the same baits and using the same techniques for a number of presentations. The decision is up to you but you can't go wrong using either setup. Just go out and see what happens and change your rigs, accordingly.

My Johnny Morris reel blew up on Smith Mountain Lake last year. When I took it back to BPS the sales guy told me that I would do better with a Shimano Curado 100. All of my baitcasters are Shimano. All but two of my spinning rigs are Shimano. I have two BPS spinning reels that I use for pond fishing and to give to kids and others I take fishing. I use only the Shimano products and so far I have been very pleased. As for your query, all I can add to the conversation is to avoid the Johnny Morris baitcaster.

As usual, Road Runner is correct. Use a circle hook. They come in various sizes and you should not have any problems with gut hookups. We use them when using live bream for flathead catfish and have never had any problems with a gut hook. In fact, all of the hookups are in the corner of the mouth. I do not use live minnows but I would think that you can catch any size bass, bream, crappie or catfish with any size minnow. It just depends where you throw the minnow and what fish are swimming by, minding their own business, when they see the minnow. I have caught large bass on a two-inch Senko and a one-inch grub. I have caught very small bass on a six-inch Senko and one time I caught a small bream on a crankbait and the crankbait was larger than the bream. Go figure. (You can order the two-inch Senkos from Gary's web site. They are being discontinued. They were made for bass fishing in Japan. They are super!)

Great story, Mark. I wish all the fish I have had broken off while using a topwater would throw the bait back to me. And that goes for all of my other baits, too. In the future, consider putting your rod tip into the water to stop them from jumping. Also, check your drag as a too tight drag can cause your line to snap. And, as you know, always run your line through your fingers to check for knicks after every 10 casts when reeling in your line even if you are not fishing around structure. The best part of the story is that you can now go back in the early AM or late PM and try your luck with a buzzbait or another topwater and try to catch her. Be sure to use a trailer hook on the buzzbait.

Went to my favroite pond yesterday and to my surprise the bass were active. I caught a beautiful two-pounder who almost swallowed by Senko. I had to go through the gills to pull the hook out and then cut the line. He was OK when I put him back into the water. The bream were very active, too. I could see the smaller bass swimming along the shoreline and near the top of the water. And they were actively feeding, too. I had one 4-inch baby bass attack the six-inch Senko. When I pulled him up, before he threw the hook, the Senko was longer than him. No idea why the change in behavior. So go back out and try again. Maybe they feel the fall coming along and want to start feeding to fatten themselves for the winter.

OK, so the Mannings are great. For the game, although I am pulling for the Saints, I can see the Colts 41 and the Saints 10.

I am so glad you are home and doing well. Hospitals scare me and I hate any type of procedure or surgery at a hospital. So what to do while you are out of commission? Nothing. Absolutly nothing. Nada. Zero. Take it easy so we can continue to enjoy your posts into the future. I am going redfish fishing in Louisiana in October so I will catch a few for you.

For fun - Ike's book - Fishing on the Edge. For education - Homer Circle's Bass Wisdom; Jone's Knowing Bass; VanDam's Secrets of a Champion. Ike's book has some good tips, too. VanDam's book is a how to fish better publication. Uncle Homer's book is one of the basic books on bass fishing. Knowing Bass is the marine biology book on knowing your enemy. If I would be getting any of these, I would suggest VanDam's book as it is easy to read and is in many sections so stopping and starting is easy.

I caught a 19 and a half inch lady bass on a one-inch white grub on a 1/64 silver jig head with four-pound line on a 4 foot ultralight rod. Congratulations on the catch. I did what your cousin did. Let her run all around and play herself out. My heart rate doubled after I figured out she was not a catfish but a big bass. Now its your turn to go and catch her.

Sorry you lost the hawg. But you know where she lives so go back and catch her. I use Mega Strike in tournaments on both plastics and hard baits. For some reason, it works. Really makes the hard baits slick, too. Thanks for the pics.

I think the Roadwarrier nailed it for you. Give his suggestions a try and see what happens.

Nope. Never caught a frog or a snake. My friend did catch a boot on the James River. He threw it back over my objections to try to find its mate. Kid across the street caught a turtle in local pond fishing with me. We cut the line. Friend I know caught a goose when the bird flew into the line as he was casting it. Bird was OK after he had the line untangled from his feet. While growing up in Louisiana we did reel in only the heads of grey trout after the sharks hit them on the way in but we never could hook one of those sharks. I am still looking for dead bodies east of Richmond, Virginia on the James River. I'll let you all know if I see or hook any.

I think breaking and entering is a felony. Theft under a specific amount, like $500, is a misdemeaneor. I totally agree with the above advice: Go see the head of the school and let him/her know what is going on and that it has to stop. Now, here are the consequences you will have to be ready to face: 1. The hoodlums will make fun of you. 2. You will be shunned by the hoodlums. 3. Teachers will think you are the bad person since teachers know their subjects but that's about all. 4. The hoodlums will do it again to get your goat. Solution? You could always let the tool box open with some cheap tools in it soaked in poison ivy. (Of course this is not a good solution but it would be funny.) You can remove your tool box and bring in only the tools you will need. Get a friend to share your tool box so he will get ripped off, too and you can form a bond to argue your case. Get a friend and use his tools and tool box. Move to another school or tech center. In other words, you are screwed if you do and screwed if you don't. Is there anyway you can make friends with the hoodlums? Be a part of their gang? Be in the click? Try that, too. It may not be possible but give it a try. Good luck.

c17Lat, Did you know that Cornell University and Louisiana State University have the two best programs for ornathology, the science of birds? Cornell is #1 in private schools while LSU is #1 in both public universities and football. LSU's football team can beat Cornell's football team. My niece and her daughter both went to Cornell. The rest of the family, the normal ones, went to LSU. Just thought I would let you know.

BackAsswards, I sent you a PM with some information from an LSU professor. Check it out.

I have no idea of who is going to sing at his funeral but he was a wonderful performer. What a powerful voice. I loved listening to him sing. Let's see. Bass fishing bubba who likes NASCAR and football also loves to hear Pavoratti sing. Yes, this world is upside down!

John, Your parents raised you to be independent and to be able to perform at a high, successful level in society. Going to college is the next step after high school to achieve this goal. Some guys get jobs and start their careers after high school while others bounce around until they find their niche and future careers and then settle down. May I suggest going away to college? By living at school, either on campus or in an apartment (I vote for "on campus" as it is a lot more fun) you will be able to manage money and time; be totally responsible for yourself and your actions; broaden your horizons by meeting a lot of new people and making many new friends; balancing fishing with school activities and studying; enjoying the college social-life activities; giving you time to think about what you want to do in the future; and learn good work and study habits that will carry over into your future. Even being an hour away (VCU) or 1,200 miles away (LSU) can make a big difference in your life when compared to living at home. Either way, just get that degree and start paying a lot of FICA taxes. And give me the secrets of fishing Lake Orange and Lake Anna!!!!! ;D

Burley, You are missing the point of the delayed broadcast. Get your friends over to watch the broadcast and place a big bet on who you think will win the tournament. I am sure there are a few University of Tennessee grads out your way who will fall for this ploy and never catch on. Give it a try and sooner than you think you will have that new 23 foot Ranger with the 250 Opti Max motor in your garage!

Part 2 to my post. If you save your writings on a Word document you can always go back and copy and repost as other forum members ask for assistance or you just want to post again to shareyour wisdom. If I recall, we never lost stuff on an IBM typewriter. OK you young guys, what's a typewriter? What's carbon paper?

I have had the same problem with text disappearing if you hit a wrong key. Please post Parts 2 and 3 in the near future. I know you are frustrated but you may want to use your Word document to write the article, edit and spell check it and then copy it to the reply box to post on the forum. I have done this on a few occassions (after I lost what I had written) and it makes for a beautiful, excellent grammer and spelling post.