Christian M

I like the face buffs, they keep you warm when its chilly & if you get hot all you have to do is pour some cold water on it & it cools you right down!

I'm in Ocean County and I hit a local pond Sunday. I was throwing everything I had for about 4 hours then as the sun started to fall around 4:30pm I threw a 4" gold shiner walk the dog & it was like the switch turned on! I ended up catching about 4 smaller Bass & 8 decent Pickeril, I went back tuesday at the same time with the same lure & I got a bunch of bites, but only landed 1 pickeril, a good 28" fish. That one fish put me onto what was going on, I foul hooked it by the tail, so I think most of the blow ups I was getting were tail swats. Also, all the fish I caught were up against a 2' dropoff along the bank.

About 3 years ago I bought a 1974 14.5' Glastron Trihull that was converted into a bass boat. The guy that I bought it off of did a decent job on the boat. When I went to look at it I liked the fact that the inside of the boat was a wide open deck with fresh wood and carpet, and the outside had a fresh paint job with bottom paint. The boat came with a switch panel that had running lights, a bilge, and even a stereo wired into it. It also came with 2 trolling motors and batteries. Since I bought the boat I've put a lot of work into it; New bow mount trolling motor, fish finder, batteries, lights, seats, stereo. I even wired switches into the panel for a livewell that I built which works great, I used quick connectors for the wires so that the livewell is easily removed. The trailer that the boat came on is a 2004 Loadrite which I also rebuilt; new bunks, brackets, lights, keel rollers, winch, & wheel jack. The boat has served me well since I bought it, I get a lot of compliments on it, and I even used it this past season to fish tournaments. However, The one thing that the boat lacked when I bought it was an outboard motor, which I wasn't too concerned about since I live in New Jersey and there are only a handful of lakes that allow gas motors. Well, I'm at the point now where I am fishing in tournaments on bigger lakes that require a gas motor, and I'm not sure whether I want to invest money in an outboard or sell the boat and start shopping for a new one. I paid for it $2000, and think if I clean the boat up and wait for the beginning of next season, I may be able to get my money back, maybe a bit more. By then I'll have enough $$ saved to buy a decent used Bass Boat, probably out of state, seeing how most bass boats in NJ are over-priced. What do you guys think?

If you want a sensitive glass rod try the Skeet Reese S-Glass 7'MH Crankbait rod. However, I agree w/most of the posts about using a more stout rod w/squarebills. Its tough to tell the difference between a bite & grass or a branch with a glass rod, which can mean the difference between getting a reaction bite or not. With a more responsive rod you can rip the crankbait out of the grass or bump it off of a branch or log.

Usually this is the time when hundreds of freshwater anglers on the Jersey Shore begin to change gears. They put their 6 and 7 foot rods up on the racks and store the freshwater tackle in favor of 10 to 14 foot surf casting rods. By this time we're all headed for our secret spots, rock jettys, and piers at sunset ready to fish through the night. Armed to the teeth with giant topwater chuggers, huge swimbaits, big bucktail jigs with sand eel trailers, heavy diamond jigs tipped with teasers, and a cooler full of ice just incase they want live bait, all in pursuit of our biggest Striper yet. Sadly, Super Storm Sandy wiped out what was shaping up to be one of the best Striped Bass seasons in years. However, the real tragedy lies in the devastation and havoc that Sandy visited upon our beloved shore. The lives lost, torn apart, and changed forever, with nothing but memories remaining. What some of us have called home all of our lives is now gone forever. How do we go back to normal from here? We've traded in our surf rods for shovels, our coolers for trash bags, and our tackle for tears. I remember complaining about the "bennys" visiting the beaches that we call home, ruining the shore for everyone that grew up walking these boardwalks and beaches, in reality, it never would have been the same without them. You never know what you've got until its gone. My heart, prayers, and thanks go out to the workers who have come from all over the country, leaving their homes, families, and loved ones behind. All in order to dig us out of the debris, and to bring power back to our great state.

I like to use 12-17lb Flouro depending on water clarity & jig weight. Most of the time ill have 12lb Berkley transition spooled up on a 7.0:1 reel.

Yo-Ziri makes a silent suspending jerk-bait. I'm pretty sure its called the Yo-Ziri Hybrid because it has a layer of molded soft plastic on the outside, giving it a very realistic look & feel. It has great action in the water too, I have it in golden shiner.

I would keep the one you have. I bought the Smoke reel w/the ACS brake system & honestly I prefer the ACS 4 position brake system to any other brake system I've ever used. I've owned Quantum, Abu Garcia, Shimano, Diawa, Pinnacle, and Skeet Reese reels, & honestly out of all my reels, I prefer my Quantum Code, Smoke, & HTP TE reels all w/the ACS 4 position brake system. The 4 position brake system really just makes it easier to tune in your reel. Instead of messing with 10 different brake positions, or 6-8 pins, you have 4 simple settings. I find the right one, then do all the fine tuning with the spool tension knob. I get the least amount of backlashes, the most distance, & the most accurate casts with my Quantums. If you do decide to keep it, put a couple drops of hot sauce on the reel. When I got mine it was a little noisy til I greased it, since then its performed like a champ.

So last week I was fishing a local catch & release pond located in a retirement community. You need a pass to fish the water, lucky for me my buddy's grandmother lives there & she got us passes. Since its so restricted & not many residents fish the pond its loaded with bass in the 2-6lb+ range. Its also got a healthy population of Chain Pickeril, and if you live in the northeast, you know that on days when the bass bite is off, a few big Pickeril can save the day. Well while we were fishing this local pond last week, my buddy caught a HUGE 4lb+ Pickeril. He was trying to shake the fish off his hooks because he left his pliers in the car. One of the residents who we have become friendly with & whose property we fishing near happened to be there. He went over to his yard to get his pliers, when he returned my buddy had finally gotten the fish off the hooks & it was still laying in shallow water. The resident goes over to this big beautiful fish, steps on it & proceeds to break its jaws in several places, then kicks it back in to the water leaving it to suffer & die slowly. When my buddy expressed his disapproval of the mans actions, he said "I kill every pickeril I catch because they eat up all the baby bass". My buddy tried to explain that chain pickeril are a native fish that play an important role in the balance of the eco-system and that they help keep the bass population in check, not to mention its illegal to kill or keep anything out of that pond. The guy didnt want to hear it & just walked away seemingly annoyed. I have half a mind to call fish & game & let them know what this guy is doing, but I don't want to make any enemies or rock the boat. What would you guys do in this situation?

Shakey heads are definitely a GREAT tool to have in your fishing arsenal. There are many brands and styles out there, and some of them look very different from others. Your basic Shakey head is a small jig style hook, usually with a flat bottom & some sort of screw lock for your bait. I personally prefer the shakey heads that have a flat bottom so the bait stands up better. The key to using a shakey head is to use a worm that floats, but you're not just limited to one style of worm, so use you're imagination. The basic idea is to imitate some forage poking around the lake bottom for food. As far as gear, you are going to want to use a 6'6"-7' spinning rod, medium power, fast action, 6-8lb flourocarbon, and a reel with a good drag system. Shakey heading is an extremely versitile technique, it catches fish like crazy and is one of my go to lures.

I think equipment plays a large part in being successful on the water, but dedication, determination, experience, and flat out talent will take the win in the long run every time. I mean honestly, even with the top of the line gear, do most of you guys think you could hold a candle against the top pros fishing a 3-4 day tournament on a 40,000 acre lake? I have tons of confidence in myself when I fish tourneys with my club, and I do okay, but even if I had the top of the line gear, I can't take away credit where credit is due.

I always tie directly to the lure, I make a habit of checking my knot to make sure its pushed up on the eyelet so the nose of the bait is always up, giving the bait the best possible action. For poppers try a loop knot or a palomar knot so that the line doesn't get in the way of the action.

Try the Pinnacle Slyder, a buddy of mine bought the deadbolt and had to replace the bearings after 1 season. The first baitcaster setup I ever bought was the slyder & a walmart quantum rod, which after 3 hard seasons of use I finally retired but is still in great working condition. The reel is awesome its just that the bearings go bad after a while, which is an easy fix if you know what you're doing & even easier to avoid if you maintain the reel properly. Out of curiousity are you fishing off land? I got a few grains of sand in my slyder one time & I had to break down the whole thing because it was grinding like crazy (these were back in my non boating days). After I broke it down, soaked it, & oiled it, I had a new reel on my hands. I always suggest reel covers for boaters & non boaters, they protect your investment from mud, sand, grass, slime & whatever other nasty stuff can get into those moving parts. I'm a big fan of Pinnacle, their products are hard to beat for the money. However over the years I find myself fishing higher end Quantum, Shimano & Abu Garcia reels. But you can never dismiss the old addage "you get what you pay for"

Id rather open it & see a quantum sitting there...

I dont know if you're making baits but the new Dr. Spinner baits come with those style blades, just got mine in the mail yesterday cant wait to go test em out

I agree with the rod length to body proportion theory. I'm 5'9" and the longest rod I own is a 7'6" MH flippin stick, which is uncomfortable at times, especially in close quarter flipping & pitching situations. It's difficult for me to get enough leverage when I'm setting the hook on a fish close to my boat. I find myself mostly using it for big swimbaits, frogs, deep jigging, and punching. I've only recently begun to buy rod & reel setups that are "technique specific",and I use that phrase loosely because each angler has their own personal preferences. You dont need a rod to say JIG,SPINNERBAIT, WORM, etc. to know what you want. I mainly find it more efficient to put one rod down and pick up another rather than re-tying, especially something that takes up precious time during a tournament, like a drop shot or carolina rig. I also find it much more convenient to keep specific line types and tests on specific combos. That way I can take full advantage of my tackle. With that said I can, and do go out fun fishing a lot with just 2 rods, a 7'1" casting rig and a 6'10" spinning rig.

Creme Worms!!

When I fish a lake that I've never been on before I usually take time to circle along the bank looking for anything that looks like it may hold fish, both with my eyes and with my electronics. I'll look with my eyes for docks, bridges, points, coves, islands, laydowns, stumps & timber coming out of the water, tree limbs growing out over the water, lily pads, reeds, rock piles, and anything else that looks like it might hold fish. Areas where different types of cover meet (especially underwater vegitation) are some of the best bass holding areas. If you can find areas with one or more of these characteristics that also has shallow water with access to deeper water close by, you will usually find the fish.

Welcome! I'm fellow Jersey Angler

Im currently a member of Riverside Bass Club. I'm not sure if its the same club you were in years ago but we are accepting new members.

I use a 7'1" St Croix Rage casting rod w/a Quantum HPT reel spooled w/10-12lb green power pro tied to an 8"-15" 12lb flouro leader. I use a swivel to join the two but you can also use a uni to uni knot. I prefer the swivel, lazer & tsunami make some really small very strong swivels. I use this combo for 4"-7" wieghtless Senkos & Ochos, 4-5" get 3/0 Trokar EWG's, over 5" gets 4/0-5/0 Magworm Trokars. I feel that using casting gear gives me more sensitivity & more control over the bait.

I'm by far no expert on this topic either. In fact I'm still learning a great deal myself, but I agree with Nitrofreak about being open minded. I've read several articles that stress the fact that bass are opportunistic predators. So, in some cases its benificial to stand out from the "hatch" whether it be in color, shape, or size. However it's still imporant to find out what species of forage are in the waters you're in so that you have a general idea of what to throw out there. I've found that simply talking to lake residents, bait shop owners, park rangers, and especially local fisherman you get some great advice. Good luck & tight lines!!

I bought a 7'Med and paired it up to a smoke reel about a month ago and its by far the lightest combo I own. I use it mainly for spinnerbaits and lipless cranks. Ive landed a couple nice sized bass on it and no issues so far.

The best advice I can give is make sure you pack you gear as if you know you're going to flip the kayak. That means wearing a lifevest at ALL times, putting floats on anything you dont want to lose (a cheap way to do this is by using empty water bottles, they make great floats), and packing and extra set of clothes. Good luck and enjoy!

On the contrary, I had a friend with a spider bite on my boat one time that was turning into a cellulitis. He didn't say anything about it, but when I saw it I took the boat off the water and drove him straight to the ER, I would never put fishing over a friends health.