Sam

Welcome aboard. You have found a gold mine of bass fishing information. The guys on this site are outstanding and you will learn a lot just by reading the posts. Try to attend a Bassmaster University in your area. You can obtain the schedule in a Bassmaster magazine or try this site. http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/index You may have to hunt for the Bassmaster University information. You can also Google Bassmaster Univeristy and you may obtain the schedule that way. Have fun fishing.

I agree with Muddy Man. A trick worm dragged across the top of the pads will produce strikes. I have also caught bass using a Berkley Gulp! green pumpkin humpback worm.

Super site. You will learn a lot. If you can make it to a Bassmaster University in your area you can meet the pros and receive some outstanding information. Welcome aboard.

Jeff, Marty is totally correct. Take along a number of different sizes, types and colors of plastics and see what the fish want. Senkos are always good as are Zoom curley tail worms. A 4 inch worm can produce good results in a pond depending on the size of the bass. If there are lunkers in the pond then a larger bait size can be utilized. Good luck and let us know how you did and what you did.

The pros who teach at Bassmaster University say to always tie a palamor knot. The enhanced chinch knot is also a good one to tie when you can't tie a palamor. I always tie a palamor, even on buzz and spinner baits. And it is extremely important to wet the line when tying the knot. The wetter the better. Remember to pull the tag line and the regular line hard to make sure you have not burned the line. If you have burned the line the line will break off and you will have to retie. It takes some practice to tie a palamor but it is worth the effort to learn.

I do this all the time. Just tie a line (rope) onto the side the dock is on and then release the boat off the trailer. You will have no problems getting into the water. When loading your boat onto the trailer be ready to get into the water to get the boat lined up correctly. I use water shoes and get in the water at the dock all the time.

Kool. I know the guys and gals will have it framed and keep it for years to come as a wonderful memory of going fishing with you.

An Octopus hook is a round, open face hook. They are marked Octopus on the hook information on the container. I first started using them when fishing for catfish. They allow for a simpler and easier removal of the hook plus the fish hooks themselves when they take off with the bait. Look for them in your favorite tackle shop.

Start with a buzz bait and have some fun first. It is super watching the bass swirl around the buzz bait and then setting the hook is fantastic. Good luck. Let us know how you did.

Outstanding. Some things you will do and others you will not. But overall, very interesting and it has lots of suggestions.

EWG

Bass Wisdom by Homer Circle is excellent. Ike's book, Fishing on the Edge, is a good read. Largemouth Bass by In-Fisherman, A Handbook of Strategies, is also very interesting.

Sorry, but I don't have one of these. Check the Bass Pro Shop catalog for more information. Also, you may want to "search" this site for more information if the topic has already been discussed. Good luck.

Check out the Bass Pro Shop catalog as they have many chargers to select among. You may want to get a two bank charger - one for your cranking battery and one for your trolling battery. If you can get to a Bass Pro Shop, check with their staff (and the Tracker maintenance people if they have a Tracker/Nitro shop at your BPS location) and they can give you the pros and cons. Also, try searching for battery chargers on this site. I know the subject has been discussed before. Good Luck.

Southern, I am in a Richmond bass club. We meet on the 4th Wednesday of every month. We fish one tournament each month. I know you are extremely busy as a McDonald's manager, especially with the types of individuals you have to hire in the Richmond area, but let me know if you have the time to join. There are also clubs all over the geographical Richmond area so you can have a choice of which club to join. I can give you more information when I get the next month's Tight Lines publication.

I was fishing a pond and saw a bass along the shore, just resting and minding her own business. Since were were catching bluegills right and left, I put on a Zoom Mocassin Blue 4 inch worm and flipped it to her left side. She turned, looked at the worm, and darted over and inhaled it. And I saw it all happen! So, we went to a larger worm and put it about a foot from her and she took it. The guys are right, throw something the bluegills don't want.

Please try to attend a Bassmaster University in your area. The pros can answer all your questions and they show you how to rig and fish different baits. The course is well worth the money. And don't forget to get some Super Glue to glue your worms back together after a few strikes.

I am planning to go fishing this coming week however I am concerned about the hurricane heading up this way towards Virginia. After the storm makes shore in Louisiana the weatherunderground.com site shows it heading into Tennessee on Wednesday and onto Ohio on Thursday. Western Virginia will get most of the rain with central Virginia receiving showers and thunderstorms. When do you all think it would be best to fish next week? I was thinking of Tuesday right before the storm and rains hit central Virginia but also thought that maybe Wednesday in the rain would be better. Any suggestions? Thanks. Here is the weatherunderground.com site. Really is the best site to track hurricanes. http://www.weatherunderground.com/

I have asked two golf courses if I could fish their ponds and the answers were "no." Too dangerous with the golf balls flying around. Man, I bet there are some beautiful fish in those ponds, too. I am going to ask for permission to fish a Veterans Cemetary pond and hopefully it is full of nice fish.

I read it in two days. Very interesting book. Really enjoyed it. I hope Ike can get outside companies to sponsor the pros and tournaments as he suggested in his book. Like I said in an earlier post, we have lots of young kids that play sports and are into fishing so the Bassmaster and FLW tours would be a fantastic advertising venue for such manufacturers as Bike, Spaulding, Louisville Slugger, Champion, Adias, Nike, New Balance and others. And what about the soft drink companies? Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, etc. would do great. Any other suggestions as to vendors to advertise and sponsor the pros and events or should we do a separate post?

I asked the Eagle Claw guys at the Classic how long does it take for a hook to rust. I was told that the barb end and the eye can rust out in two weeks. It takes a little longer for the shaft to rust away. I always leave the hooks in the fish. Tonight, I caught a beautiful bream and he had swallowed the hook so I cut the line and let him go. I kept watching for him to float to the surface but never saw him for over an hour.

I had two problems with my 2003 Merc 50 HP. First, according to the repair shop, the water pump was not fastned correctly and it came lose tearing itself all to pieces. Cost $685 to replace. Then, the motor stuttered and spit while in neutral or low speed and the Merc dealer told me that the idle was out of wack. Now, did the first dealer mess up the idle? I guess he had to as the motor ran beauifully before he replaced the water pump. Cost of idle adjustment $85. The Merc runs beautifully now. I like to turn around while having the motor running at full speed to watch the water spray and wake. Simply beautiful. Of course I do this on an open lake or stretch of water so I don't crash. I grew up with Evinrudes and we could not kill them no matter how hard we tried so I will stick with the Mercury engines.

I have seen a few Bass Cats but know nothing about them. I guess Ranger, Nitro, Skeeter, Triton and others do more advertising and we know about them. I will consider the Ranger, Triton, Skeeter and Bass Cat. Sure love the Bullet but it is just too expensive and too fast for me. Thanks to all for your input. You guys are the greatest!

This is the over-all number one best site for bass fishing. Don't be bashful - ask questions and tell us about your successus and failures. Every bit of information makes us all better fishermen. Good luck.

Bassman, thank you for that article on lightning. It is the best article I have ever read on lightning. I certainiy will heed the advice. Thanks again.