Sam

Suggestions: STEALTH As Big Bill states above, you have to be quiet. Be a ghost. Do not walk along the bank when changing locations. Walk about 50 feet back and then sneak up towards the bank and throw your baits as far back from the bank as possible. THEY CAN SEE YOU IF YOU CAN SEE THEM If you can see them then they can see you, and you are a big adversary. Wear dark clothes and stay out of their sight when possible. GREAT FORAGE If they have "great forage" you have to "match the hatch." That is, you have to know what baitfish and crawfish are in the water and use those colors and profiles. With "great forage" the bass would have fed at early dawn, late at dusk, and during the night. So when you show up they have fed and they will not be interested in your presentations. DEEP WATER Guess where the big ladies are, other than when they come shallow to feed or enjoy some sun? Yes, they are deep. They feel safe and secure in deeper water and with a full belly they will just hover in place or float from structure to structure, be it a rock, grass, stick, drop off, or what ever is on the bottom. They are waiting for dusk to start to feed. TIME TO DIGEST THEIR FOOD Many, many years ago when B.A.S.S. had their seminars, the pros would give six individual hour long seminars for two days and it was great to see the pros and hear what they had to say. A pro by the name of Ken Cook told us the following on the bass' speed of metabolism when digesting a minnow. This is one of the hurdles you will have to overcome. Here is what Ken, a biologist by education, told us. Check him out on Google: Water Temperature Time to Digest 40* and Less 8 days 50* 7 days 60* 2.5 days 70* 24 hours 80* and Higher 18 hours So if that 8 pound lady fed at dusk before you arrived at the pond you could have up to 8 days or more before she feeds again. https://www.bassmaster.com/news/ken-cook-dead-68 VARIABLES Too many variables to make any type of suggestion on what to throw and how deep. You will have to experiment. We can make all kinds of suggestions, some of which are great while others would not apply to your situation. Without seeing where you live and fish it is almost impossible to give you specific assistance. Think about adding your location and favorite places to fish on your avatar so we will have a better idea of how to help you. Good luck. Experiment. And let us know if you finally catch one of those big ladies who are sitting there, watching and laughing at you.

1. Welcome to the Forum. Great having you with us. 2. Congrats on your marriage. Your bride is beautiful, but us southern guys know that the prettiest girls are in SEC country, especially Jackson. 3. No idea where to fish in the Magnolia State as I grew up in New Orleans and south Louisiana and fished the Biloxi and the Gulf out of Shell Beach and Pearl River. 4. I had relatives in Sunshine, Mississippi, south of Memphis. Never fished that area but it was beautiful. 5. Be sure to wear purple and gold when you go fishing. 6. Be sure to yell "Geaux Tigers!" when you set the hook to get a strong hook set. 7. And last, congrats on purchasing your boat. May you have many, many hours of fun in it. I am sure the Mississippi guys and gals will give you some suggestions. In the meantime, "How About Dem Tigers?"

Preston, I have not read what was penned above so you may have been told this already. But here it goes, maybe for a second or third time. WEST AND NORTH BANKS The sun warms the water on the western and northern banks first during the day and the bass will gravitate to the warmer water to hit the baitfish or just sun themselves. SHADOWS Keep out of the shadows of any trees, branches, docks, piers, wharfs, boats, or the shadow side of anything in the water. The bass are seeking warmer water and you need to fish where the sun's rays hit the bank and water. WIND Fish where the wind is blowing. If the wind or a breeze is blowing onto the western and northern banks you will have a great place to fish where the bass go after the baitfish and crawfish that the wind stirs up. Note the bank where the wind is blowing the water and fish that area. WOOD, BLOW DOWNS, ROCKS Fish any wood, blow downs (trees) or rocks that can absorb the heat, especially rocks. Rocks and rip rap are great at heating up from the sun's rays and the bass will hang around rocks and wood. Look for rocks on the bank or in the water. STICKUPS Fish any "stickups" meaning anything isolated sticking out of the water, like a branch or a piece of wood. Hit it from a number of angles. The bass will sit by it on the sunny side thinking they are safe from predators and waiting for a baitfish to swim by. EXPENDING ENERGY Mother Nature is great. She has instilled in the bass the idea that they are not to expend any unnecessary energy searching for or feeding on baitfish. This means that the bass will just hang out in the warmer water and wait for a snack to swim by. And sometimes you actually have to hit the bass on its head with your bait before it will be interested in your bait. So throw to your targets multiple times to get the bass aggravated so they will kill your bait out of frustration. FISH SLOW You have to have patience and fish slow. It will drive you crazy, but you have to take your finesse worm and cast it out and let it sink to the bottom and just sit there for at least 120 seconds. Then twitch it a little and move it a little and let it sit for another 120 seconds. And repeat it again and again until you lift your bait out of the water. This is called "dead sticking" and in cold water the bass will finally hit your bait. Then again, they may not be interested. Same goes for your spinnerbaits, crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. Be sure to hit anything you can to get a ricochet that will get the bass' attention and make them hit it. Throw to the same target multiple times from different angles and try to hit the target with every retrieve. Read what everyone suggests; add my two cents into the formula; and go out there and give it a try. Good luck.

X2

The only used fishing tackle I buy now are antique lures. I have a nice collection and am always looking to pick up a bargain. On Saturday, February 2nd, the Paralyzed Veterans of America has a Fishing Flea Market in Richmond and I plan to attend to see what old items are being offered. It cost only $20 for a table and $2 admission fee so it should attract lots of guys and gals who want to sell their items. Will let all know if I bought anything.

All are great posts and suggestions. Just remember bass fishing rule #1: YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MANY RODS! START YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!

Wife believes this is me so it must be true. Came off my Facebook page. Thought you all would get a kick out of it.

Just posted on the Internet and mentioned by Rush on his show. If this is true, then we have a fantastic breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Here is an article about this new drug. Hope it is true and not something made up. http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2019/january/israeli-scientists-claim-to-create-miracle-drug-that-will-completely-cure-cancer Check out your favorite news outlets for more details that are sure to follow if this information is true. Sincerely hope it is true. After you hear about this new drug how about posting your thoughts on this link.

Yes, I lost Jim Kerr to lung cancer. He would not stop smoking, even with the oxygen mask and container. He was a great guy; a fantastic guide on the Historic James and Chickahominy Rivers and Lake Chesdin. We caught many beautiful bass together fishing out of his boat. Really miss him and he has been gone for ten years.

My computer guy told me to go to this Internet site to check on my computer's download and upload speed. I did this tonight and was surprised by the results, which were excellent. So if you are wondering how fast your computer is operating on the Internet, go to this site and find out. https://www.speedtest.net/

Lonnie, wrestling?

Coangler. Too many variables to master as a boater when you have a nonboater with you. You want to keep your eyes and ears open and mouth shut as you watch your boater to see what he throws, where, and when. Good luck. Let us know how you do.

Uncle Homer Circle and Glen Lau made an interesting discovery while filming the Bigmouth and Bigmouth Forever series of videos. They noticed that the larger ladies would back off or hide when they heard a trolling motor. So I would say the big ladies were "conditioned" to back off, hide and avoided eating when they heard the trolling motor and therefore were harder to catch. If you can find the Uncle Homer Circle and Glen Lau videos scoop them up. They are outstanding.

Stained to heavy stained/dirty water. Summer time fishing.

Good one. Here is a beautiful rendition of this movie song. Enjoy. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+Good%2c+the+Bad+and+the+Ugly+-+The+Danish+National+Symphony+Orchestra&view=detail&mid=D91C4010E952543DF83BD91C4010E952543DF83B&FORM=VIRE

Super. Love the eyes. Any thought of going with a number of small BB's in future knocker baits? Let us know what you catch with them.

Phil, we are all interested. Going to the post, now. Have fun on the Surekill Expressway.

Crankbait, good question. It solves the everlasting question: Does Size Matter? Seems the answer is YES for kayaks. Let us know how you like your 10-footer; its weight; ease of transportation; ease of putting in and taking it out at the ramp; and fishing from it. My friend downsized from his big kayak to a 10-footer and he fishes a state reservoir and he does great. At least he tells me he does great. So far he has not capsized the kayak and according to him every bass he catches weighs around eight pounds.

Two suggestions: 1. Use a spinnerbait or lipless crankbait with rattles fished very slowly in all three water columns and throw to one spot at least 10 times before moving to another spot. 2. Bring a heavy rod with a strong baitcaster with 50 pound test and a circle hook and a 1/2 ounce sliding weight along with a package of 1-inch sections of cut up hot dogs and fish for catfish. P.S. The last time I went out and did this I caught a beautiful two-pound largemouth that ate my hot dog.

HeyCoach, good question that I have had a serious discussion with a fishing buddy for years regarding the spool handle location and moving the rod from hand to hand. BAITCASTER I cast my baitcasters right handed so I can control the spool and line and just before or just after the bait hits the water I can make sure the spool stops. I move the rod to my left hand to control the rod duri9ng and after the cast as I use my right hand to control the reel and spool as I am casting and then work the lure with my right hand controlling the line and the spool and my left hand controlling the rod's action. By doing this I can have the line go over my right hand index finger when fishing plastics on the bottom to feel for strikes and what is on the bottom. SPINNING REEL When I cast my spinning reels I control the bail with my left hand as I cast with my right hand and then keep the rod in my right hand and open and close the bail with my left hand. After casting and closing the bail with my left hand, I then reel in the slack tightly back to the spool with my right hand having the line go through my thumb and finger back onto the spinning reel and holding the spinning reel and rod in my right hand and then I put my right index finder on the line coming off the spool and use my left hand to turn the spool and my right hand to control the line and rod's action. I control the rod, reel, line and bait with my right hand and reel the spool with my left hand. FRIEND SAYS My friend says that my spinning casting is correct as I do not move the rod from my right hand to my left hand. But, he says that I am wasting time by transferring my baitcaster from my right hand to my left hand and I could miss an immediate strike. And he adds that if I throw a buzzbait or a plastic and the bass hits it as soon as it hits the water, I will be transferring the rod from hand to hand and will miss the hook set. What saves me is that I set up each individual lure on my baitcaster so the spool stops when the bait hits the water. I can make the hand to hand transfer while the bait is in the air and before it hits the water. No backlashes or other problems with this system. I actually engage the spool right before the bait hits the water with my right hand controlling the spool and the rod in my left hand. CONCLUSION It is your call. What ever feels comfortable to you is right. You have to have confidence in your casting, line/bait control and setting the hook so which ever way you do it is OK. Now go out there and catch your personal best this spring.

Thanks, Joshua, will keep trying. But it can be difficult when your wife can knock out a fantastic carrot cake in an afternoon or cinnamon buns in an hour.

A-Jay, I have been dieting since right after Thanksgiving and went from 215 down to 188 this morning. I feel great. Drinking water; limiting my carbs; no candy; no soft drinks (diet or regular); no cakes or pies; no desserts; no overeating; no nightly snacks; and will go back to swimming next month. Goal is 180 on my doctor's scale when I go in for my annual physical on April 15th. Will do all possible to make that goal. Congrats on your accomplishments. Keep up the good work.

YES!!!! AN SEC TEAM RANKED NUMBER ONE WITHOUT THE NAME KENTUCKY ASSOCIATED WITH IT. HOPE THEY CAN BRING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BACK TO THE SEC. GEAUX VOLS!!!!

I have too many soft plastics with too many colors. Sorry, don't have a count or a favorite color although I do like Junebug, Watermelon, and Green Pumpkin with Black Flake the most, depending on water conditions.

Not a joke but it is funny. One of the guys on this Forum and I were fishing the Chickahominy River when he told me that he was going to throw his bait really far with his new Lew's reel to show me just how far he could get his bait. He hauled back and casted that bait as far as he could and the line popped. He just stood there in disbelief as the bait sailed deep into the grass. It was one of his favorites. I almost fell out of the boat laughing.