Sam

Do Chatterbaits catch bigger fish? Of course. If the bigger fish are in the area and are hungry or angry and see the Chatterbait. Otherwise, you just keeping chucking them until you throw them into the trees or bushes or get hung up on some submerged wood and lose all of them. You take the Bait Monkey with you and get some more.

Yep. Applies to all of us. She is practicing going fishing with you in the future. Cute little girl.

Or 5 tables!!!!!

Mike, good question. I don't fish the Chick in January, February, March, April and may or may not fish it in May. Depends on the water temperature, tides, and if the wind is blowing from any direction other than the east. Right now my friends who do fish the Chick fish the creeks with lipless crankbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, jigs and plastics. They hit feeder creek mouths and any wood they can find in the water. They look for water a few degrees warmer than the main river. One guy who fishes the Chick this time of year always says he catches the 10 pound ladies all the time. But he says that every year and no pictures to date. Check the tide charts for the outgoing tide and give it a shot. Remember, we all head to the dam for starters except for me. I like the Shipyard, Yarmouth, Gordon creeks and Dick's New Creek before heading up river to the dam. Take a nonboater with you and be safe. Let us know how you do.

Catt, I have missed so many rocks, trees, bushes, etc. when setting the hook that I have lost count.

Smallmouth fishing in the middle of lakes. If you know where the humps, trees, rocks, road beds, drop offs, bridges, boats, etc. are on the bottom of an open area you can go out there and do well for both largemouth and smallmouth. Takes a lot of practice and experience to be a strong smallmouth guy and I would rather stay close to the bank and fish for largemouth.

Both. You need to "feel" what is on the bottom and at the same time you need to "feel" the bites. Remember, the bait on the bottom hits something and sends the vibrations up the line to the rod's tip and into the rod where you feel it. Your brain takes that information and translates into what it believes is on the bottom, be it a rock, piece of wood, grass, Jimmy Hoffa's body, etc. A light rod with a strong rating can transmit the vibrations back to your hand or finger. The G. Loomis rods are expected to do this and they are light rods while being very expensive. Of course, when you throw a plastic Texas rigged or a Carolina/Ned Rig/MOJO/Jig/Biffle Bug/Tokyo Rig, etc. you can feel what is on the bottom with your finger on the line as it comes off the spool. You can also feel what your moving baits are hitting as you reel them back to you. When you visit a river, creek, pond or lake you may want to throw only a tungsten "weight" on your line and drag it back to yourself so you can figure out what is on the bottom. And if you get snagged and have to cut your line you lose only the weight and not a bait. Maestro, it takes a lot of practice to be able to understand what is on the bottom. Just go out there and start concentrating on what you feel and if you get any strikes after collision with what is on the bottom. Have fun!

That was a boring game. Turned it off in the third period and went to bed. Some the commercials were good but not up to past standards. The commercial I liked best was the Hall of Famers playing football at the banquet. I have no idea what was being advertised but it was a great commercial and it was wonderful to see the old guys running around again, especially the "Immaculate Reception" recreation. I remember 1964 when #8 LSU defeated Toolame 13-3 in the old Sugar Bowl stadium. That was a boring game, too. The Fighting Tigers looked like they did not want to be there and were waiting to head down to the French Quarter when the game ended. The #7 ranked Fighting Tigers went back to the Sugar Bowl a month later and defeated Syracuse 13-10. What commercials did you like and your thoughts on the game?

Sure. Just have backups ready to go if your lower cost baitcasters fail. In fact, you always need to take a second baitcaster and spinning reel with you ready to put on your rods when you go fishing. Just like bringing your needle nose pliers with you. It should be automatic.

Pressgo, don't put a lot of faith in what that dad and his sons were doing. They could have been catching bream, bluegills, catfish, crappie and other species other than bass. Were they using live or dead bait in lieu of plastics? Do you know the size of their hooks? What type line they were using? You are a BASS FISHERMAN so you have to learn how to bass fish. This means you watch YouTube, DVDs, read articles, subscribe to bass fishing magazines, go to Facebook and "like" Bass Resource plus any pros you wish to follow, and learn the bass fishing business. Don't be concerned that a guy and his sons were catching fish right and left. If they were using worms or bread or hot dogs in lieu of real plastics what they were doing has nothing to do with bass fishing. Now, there is a name for what they were doing, but they have no idea of what the technique is called. It is "dead sticking." You cast out your plastic finesse or trick worm or Senko or YUM or Power Bait, etc. with a 3/8 ounce bullet weight and a 2/0 or 3/0 hook on 6 to 8 pound test fluorocarbon line and you just sit there and look at the water. with your index finger on the line coming off your reel to feel any hits. Then, in about 120 to 180 seconds you move the bait slightly by moving your rod tip a few inches and let it sit again for another 120 to 180 seconds until you get it back to you. By this time if you have not gone nuts and grabbed one of the boys and threw him into the water you continue to do this all day and maybe a bass will pick up your plastic. Look up "dead sticking" and read or see what it involves. It is sort of like playing right field in baseball.

I saw a video of a lady who goes into the shallow water and feeds an alligator. The gator swims to her when she enters the water and sits about five feet away waiting for his chicken. So if an alligator can be conditioned to swim to a lady, not attack her, and enjoy some chicken, I see no reason why a bass, or other fish, could not be conditioned to do whatever you want to have it do if you repeat it over and over again.

Wouldn't this be great????? Enjoy. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=20+Suburban+Trunk+Monkey+Ads&view=detail&mid=9FD4AEB9848FAB0D40449FD4AEB9848FAB0D4044&FORM=VIRE

MN, did you hear the one about the teacher who asked her first grade class to explain what event or holiday at the end of the year that is important to all kids around the world. Sally said "It is a day when you cook a turkey and have the family over and you eat and eat and eat and watch football on TV." No, the teacher replied, anyone else want to give it a try? Glen then said it was when you go to a baseball game and there are fireworks and bar-b-q's and you eat hot dogs and lots of chips and his father gets drunk." No, that's not right the teacher replied. Anyone else wants to take a final shot at the answer? Little Johnny jumped up and said "This is when a guy dresses up in a red costume and drives a sleigh to everyone's house and delivers presents to all the kids." That's right, the teacher said. Then Johnny added "He then sees his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter."

YES! HOPE HE IS RIGHT.

The people of Pennsylvania get all excited about Puxatony Phil coming out of his cage once a year. Down in Louisiana they use Fideaux to make the same call but they are having too much fun fishing, going to parades, and visiting the French Quarter to really care. Here it is:

You may try to locate the FLW and B.A.S.S. Massachusetts Federations and ask them for bass clubs in your area. If you can't find any links to either then you will have to contact the national FLW and B.A.S.S. organizations and ask them. Good luck.

Thank you for your service. Check out the Missouri section of places to fish and you will learn al lot abut places to fish around Ozark. Welcome to the Forum.

Flea market was a nice change of pace. There were about 20 tables selling all types of baits, antique lures, rods, reels, line, and caps. Bought three antique crankbaits and one pink and white (hand painted) jerkbait for the Mattaponi and Potomac Rivers. Will go back next year. No telling what will show up that I just can't live without.

Bank fishing - blend in Ponds - blend in Bodies of water with bass boats - stand out so they can see you

Big Bill, thanks for the reminder. Let me add that it is also imperative that all of us get a skin cancer check once a year. My dermatologist has me totally undress and she checks out everything. You get skin cancer at the weakest part of the skin and not just on top of your ears or on your face and hands. Lost a good friend to skin cancer as the melanoma was on the bottom of his foot. By the time his doctor sent him to a dermatologist it was too late. So far I have had the basal cells removed on the tops of my ears twice.

Hi Joe. You asked if switching to fluorocarbon gets you more bites. I have no idea. All I know is that by using different line test levels for different presentations and baits can produce more bites or at least put your bait in the strike zone. Braid is limp and is a great line to use for so many applications. Many pros are switching to braid with and without a fluorocarbon leader. I use braid almost exclusively other than for my YoZuri, my fluorocarbon and my monofilament lines for specific baits, like frogs, crankbaits, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics, etc. But I use braid for these baits, too. Each line has its own properties and they all perform as advertised. It is up to you to decide how deep you want your bait to go; how fast it falls; will it withstand hitting and sliding across structure; is it limp or heavy; any backlash problems; any line spinning off your spinning reels as the test is too low (4 pound test for example); how it performs for specific applications (shaky head, drop shot, Carolina rig, Ned rig, etc.) and any other factors that impact how and where you fish. I was brought up with the understanding you throw mono for treble hook baits; fluoro for all other baits; and braid on special occasions when fishing grass and pads. In today's world, you can use any line you wish as long as the test matches your rod's line-test parameters. I am going with braid most of the time now and have not seen any decline in hits. To determine the most effective line test, take the low and high parameters as illustrated on your rod, add them together, and divide by 2. You will have an idea of the best performance of the line, reel and rod based on your average line test. The fun part of bass fishing is experimenting with your tackle. So please hit the water with different lines and tests to find the line type and test levels you have the most confidence. No go watch those Flyers tear up the conference and win it. Then again.........

Great news. Keep reading and reading and reading and then watch some DVDs. Then, hit the water where you will learn a lot more with "hands on" experience.

No, but using different line-test levels did. Different line-tests gives your moving and plastic baits different looks and depths.

Todd, surface water chop is considered a safe place for bass as they feel secure with chop on the surface. There is one pro that puts sponges in his live well to keep the bass calm. Hope's observations parallel those of Uncle Homer Circle and Glen Lau's findings forty years ago. http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com/2010/08/thursday-review-bigmouth-and-bigmouth.html

Andrew, great responses. We have some fun on this site, especially among the SEC guys. Since you are a Bulldog, don't forget to ring that bell when you land each bass. Welcome and we look forward to your questions and input on our queries.