Sam

I named my setup Fred. I call out Fred's name while looking for it in the rod locker or on the deck. Fred is a BPS Bionic Blade spinnerbait rod. Yes, I throw flukes with a 6'6" Bionic Blade spinnerbait rod using a 3/8 bullet weight on 8 pound fluorocarbon line.

Good inquiry, tough response. If you set the hook too fast you will miss them. If you set the hook too late they will swallow it and you will have a difficult time keeping the fish alive as you try to remove the hook from its throat or gills. When you feel the first tap or if the line moves or if the line gets heavy, you set the hook. You can let the bass run a little and then set the hook, but it is necessary you put your weight in the hook set to make sure you set the hook. If you ever get to see Hook and Look on TV or you obtain some of their videos, you will see what happens when the bass hits yoru lure and then spits it out. We see this under the water and the guy in the boat had no idea he had the strike. That is why we avoid any petroleum products or other chemicals that can leave a "smell or bad taste" on your baits, both hard and soft. The bass inhales your bait; tastes it; and then either eats it or blows it out before you even know what is going on. Use some MegaStrike, JJs Magic or other scent to help the bass hold onto your bait just a second or two longer. This is the difference between a good hook set and missing the fish. And yes, the bluegills, Crappie, warmouths and bream can drive you nuts hitting your plastics. But you still set the hook as that tap-tap could be your personal best. Have fun and you will pick up the feel of your bait with and without a fish on it. Just remember, if it feels different you set the hook. If you feel a tap-tap you set the hook. Just be aware that your bait and hooks can come screaming back to you so be ready to duck.

Yep. That's the hook. And yes, you can learn from them. There are some great vids on YouTube. If it was not against the law on the Forum I could give you the name of a guy who produces outstanding productions with no skin in the game. I may PM you his name so you can look him up.

White is a great color for all baits, buzzbaits, tails on topwaters, frogs, poppers, crankbaits, plastics, flukes, Chatterbaits, Senkos, Zoom worms, and anything you can purchase that is white. After throwing white consider throwing pink. You may surprise yourself.

The YouTube videos are staged and can be shot over a few days. Forgot them as they are trying to sell you something. If you do continue to watch bass fishing videos try to see the ones by armatures or guys who are not trying to sell you anything. Water temperatures in upstate New York can be cooler than other places south of the Mason-Dixon Line so those guys will catch more than you as southern bass can be more aggressive and move around more than their northern cousins. As stated above, maybe the pond has too many small dinks and not enough heavy ladies. Try fishing for catfish and bream/bluegills/Crappie and learn the forage. Any minnows in the pond? Crawfish? Match the forage with your baits. Patience. Learn what "dead sticking" is and give it a try. Junebug. Great color in all water conditions. Use a Zoom Junebug trick worm on a 1/8 ounce jig head or Texas rigged with a 1/8 ounce weight and fish it slow via the "fan method." Cast to your left and fish it slow. Then cast it at 10 o'clock and fish it slow. then cast it at 11 o'clock and fish it slow. Repeat until you get to 3 o'clock and then do it again in the opposite direction. Early morning or late evening. Use a buzzbait or topwater. Not a frog, but a buzzbait or a topwater of your choice. Read, read and read. Ask us questions. We are here to help you. Soon you will be venturing out with other baits and techniques. Now go back to the pond and fish your baits s-l-o-w. Good luck.

Tell me this isn't true. After Florence we don't need another storm hitting us. Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 9:30 AM Daimien's Gulf Coast Atlantic/Pacific Hurricane Tracking Center The latest on potential Caribbean development this weekend from Gulf Coast Storm Center: https://wp.me/p859q9-1zd gulfcoaststormcenter.com Tropical Update: Caribbean Development Looking Increasingly Likely Tropical development in the western Caribbean is looking more likely this weekend going into next week. Analysis: A broad area of low pressure has now formed in the SW Caribbean. The associated convective activity is sporadic and disorganized. Shear has decreased in the immediate vicinity

So how did you do? Did you pick up some good items? Did you see the Bait Monkey?

Green pumpkin is a staple in Virginia waters. No idea why the color is not productive in other areas. This is why bass fishing is such a challenging sport and that we have 100's of colors and color combinations to select among. It is enough to drive you crazy but the Bait Monkey will love you.

Now that's just plain funny.

Nice catch. He now has his own "personal best" which he will probably improve on as the years go by. Glad he has got bitten by the bass fishing bug. It is better than getting bit by the Bait Monkey which is your job to get bit so you can send him lots of rods, reels, lines, hooks, sinkers, baits of all types, tackle boxes, boat supplies, a new bass boat, a new truck to tow the bass boat, and $500 a month for his expenses.

Wow! Fantastic achievement. Congrats to you both. Keep it up and good luck with future competitions.

Until everyone has to take a boating safety course and receive a safe boating card, we will be faced with people who have no idea of how to operate a watercraft or the unwritten rules to follow when on the water. In Virginia everyone operating any type of motorized watercraft, including jet skis, must have taken and passed the boating safety course offered by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Problem is that there are still so many operating watercraft who have not taken the course or passed the test. Add to this number the guys who think they own the water and you will always encounter these individuals. Having motor problems is not something that we think about but they do happen on the water. It is up to the watercraft owner to make sure their watercraft is in good working order. If not, we all know that they should not go on the water. And yes, it is always nice to catch a nice fish after someone has fished the same area and the other guys see your accomplishment.

If possible for Christmas. Otherwise, as fast as the manufacturers can get the orders processed, which could take us into January or February. Depends also on the size of the order. Wal Mart, Cabela's, BPS, Tackle Warehouse, and Academy have large orders that the manufacturers will fill first to keep the outlets happy. Smaller tackle shops and outlets may have to wait longer to receive the merchandise. I know it can drive you crazy but anticipation is a part of bass fishing, even off the water.

In the past, before we had different types of lines to consider, the rule was mono for treble hook baits and fluorocarbon for all other baits. Today, the rule is not followed. Pros throw braid, copoly, line with funny names, expensive line, and of course, fluorocarbon. I am sure there are a few who also use mono for specific presentations. Mono is a good backing to use on your reels when you are using braid to stop line spin. Some still use mono for treble hook baits. Personal preference. When you read the articles in the fishing publications, always pay attention to the line the pros say they are using and remember they are getting paid to hawk their sponsors' products. There is no proof they actually use the lines they are selling but it is interesting to read what they supposedly used. And when I attended my last Bassmaster Classic the guy from Mississippi State showed me Berkley's test on line stretch. Would you believe the fluorocarbon had more stretch than the mono. I was surprised. But I still use fluorocarbon and copoly the most and sometimes mono for crankbaits. Use whatever you have confidence.

After tying your knot put a small drop of fast drying glue on the knot. Pro's trick.

Check out articles on "cold fronts." Cold fronts bring in the rain which causes the bass to feed. After the cold front passes through an area the bass will not start to feed for two to three days. Learn about cold fronts and how you can fish through them. Good luck.

Status quo.

Nice gift. Use it safely.

Monday night, Boudreaux put his lil’ 3 year old daughter Clotile to bed, tole her a story and listened to her prayers – an’ what she done said was some kinda somethin’… “God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and God bless Grandma and goodbye Paw-Paw.” Perplexed, Boudreaux asked, “Mais cher, how come you say goodbye Paw-Paw?” The little girl said, “Shoo, I don’t know, Daddy. It just seemed like the thing to do.” Paw-Paw died on Tuesday morning. You probably ain’t surprised that Boudreaux thought it was a strange coincidence. An’ then four Monday nights later Boudreaux put dat lil’ girl to bed and listened to her prayers which went like this: “God bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and goodbye Maw-Maw.” Tuesday afternoon, Maw-Maw done died. “Mais what?” thought Boudreax. “I got me a daughter what’s in contact wit’ dat other side.” Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the dad heard her say: “God bless Mommy and goodbye Daddy.” Dat done gave Boudreaux a good case o’ de frissons. He practically went into shock. He couldn’t sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay. He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day, he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound. Finally, midnight arrived, and Boudreaux breathed a sigh of relief and went home. When he got home his wife Marie said: “Mais, I never seen you work so late. What’s de matter?” “I don’t wanna talk about it,” Boudreaux replied. “I done just spent the worst day of my life.” Marie said, “Mais, you think you had a bad day, you never gon’ believe what happened to me this morning. You know Thibodeaux, de golf pro at de club? Dat po’ man, he dropped dead in the middle of my lesson.”

I delivered something to my friend who teaches at St. Michael's Upper School at the end of Hobbyhill Road and their pond is like coffee and cream. At one time the pond was a great place to fish as it was difficult to access. You had to fight your way through the brush from Trinity High School's parking lot. Very few people did this. Now you can drive, park, and fish the pond from the bank as St. Michael's constructed their Upper School adjacent to the pond. I have no idea if there are bass in the pond although rumor has it that St. Michael's did stock it after it was drained during construction. So if you are in the greater Bon Air, Virginia area and want to try your luck in a new pond check out St. Michael's Upper School on Hobbyhill Road and give it a try. You can find the location on St. Michael's Internet site and Google directions as it is not an easy place to find. Even my WAZE unit got confused. So get a paper map if possible or Google driving directions and make notes. Let us know how you do. There is a gate at the entrance onto the school that I think may be closed on weekends and holidays, but I am not certain. Anyway, you can hop over the gate if you want to.

So far, so good. We have to watch the new ones coming off Africa's coast. I think Kirk is not going to be a threat to the US.

Toxic, is the Rapp fishable now? Cleaned up from the storms and all floating debris gone? Our club tournament on Buggs Island out of Rudd's Creek was cancelled by the Corps of Engineers. They told us that Buggs is over pool, dirty, with lots of debris and the Rudd's Creek parking lot was flooded. So they will hold our permit for either later this year or next year. Last year we fished Buggs and it was dirty. I could not find any good water, even down in Eastland Creek. So I threw my three bass back and trailered the boat and went home, promising myself not to fish Buggs if it is dirty. Same goes for the Rapp. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

When the subdivision first opened I fished one of the ponds. Caught a few dinks. Never returned but you go and fish them and let us know what you catch. Good luck.

No. We were fortunate. Only lost that tree back in the woods. Hopefully no more hurricanes this year.

Did not know the Interstates were impacted. Saw where the water had washed out a number of roads. And yes, the rivers are supposed to crest Saturday and Sunday. Be safe.