Caver

I appreciate your posts guys this helps a lot.

I was thinking of installing a sonar/depth finder on my kayak, but I have a stupid question. If you dump your kayak will you destroy the display? I just don't want to invest all that money and then tip the thing if it's not waterproof.

I cast it through the guides. I usually tie a 2 foot leader and that's plenty for a day of changing out lures, reties, what have you.

Right on, it has never failed me either, but I was just curious to see if someone thought there was something better. As always it seems it's not best to reinvent the wheel.

What do you guys prefer when connecting your fluorocarbon leaders to your braid line? I've always used the double uni knot which has given me zero problems but always seems kinda bulky.

I love poppers, and I've caught some of my biggest bass on them. I like to fish them early morning or night and when the water is calm. I kind of agree with your dad that I seem to have the best luck when the water is a little warmer in later months. Definitely vary your pop and retrieve speed. You'll figure out what the fish like and stick with it.

Just you tube it. That helped me. Plus it's good to see a few different people doing it. I'm pretty sure Bassresource has a really good video of it.

Thanks short fish. Been trying to fine tune my jig fishing this spring and every little bit helps

I see a lot of threads about football heads and shaky heads for a rocky bottom, but any suggestions for a mucky lake bottom? Most of the ponds here in Illinois I fish fit that description and I was wondering if anyone prefers a specific jig type for this equation or would any old jig head do?

One time this guy kept bothering me for my fish on a local pond when I was throwing them back. Finally he asked me for like the fifth time and I took the fish, bit off it's head, sprayed its blood all over my face, and yelled "FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!" at the top of my lungs. No one bothers me anymore.

OP also suggests that "bucket fishermen" stop fishing after they've caught their limit. I think that's a stretch. Just because you catch your limit, doesn't mean you stop fishing. I've seen people catch their limit in the first 10 min of the day and then do C&R for another 2+ hrs. No way around it that person kills more fish in a day than someone who does solely C&R. So yes, in response to your original post, C&R fishermen kill less fish. Are they better people? No. But they do use less of the resource. On a side note did they use a control for this experiment? Meaning did they put the same number of fish not caught on a hook in line in the cage and check mortality rates on them?

Thanks guys. I think I'll check out that book too.

Are there any accepted temperature measurements for how fish react? Are anglers waiting for the spring water temps to hit a specific number before they go deep or shallow? Is every lake different or is there a norm that's all bass anglers go by?

My big purchase over the winter was a Revo Winch low gear ratio reel. From the description it was designed for crankbaits, which is my go to bait, and pulling fish out of heavy cover when flipping and pitching- which is a technique I wanted to hone this summer. I've had some problems keeping fish on when pitching jigs and some folks said part of the reason might be the low gear ratio of the reel. Is a high gear ratio reel preferred for pitching jigs or a low gear reel? Anyone prefer a low gear???

1)Poppers 2)Frogs

I like catching fish when I go fishing so I put them back. Can't tell you how many times I've caught a fish and you can see that that fish had clearly been caught before. So it stands to reason that I wouldn't have experienced the thrill of the fight had another fisherman not given me the same courtesy of catch and release. That being said I got no problems with anyone who keeps fish in compliance with their state laws.

I second that. Never. Not even a nibble.

No, not joking. Just thought it be nice to show that for every bozo that leaves in a huff, there's probably a new member that really enjoys this site. Like myself.

Just want to say I haven't been around that long but I love this site. I haven't found a more comprehensive and open forum about fishing than here. A wealth of information and tips at no charge, can't beat it. I can honestly say for the month or so I've been visiting this site I've become a better fisherman. Glenn I love those vids! Anyway kudos to the webmasters and mods and screw the haters!

Thanks for all your tips. Sounds like my cracking rod and reel setup was part of the problem. I think I was throwing 3/8 oz jigs at the time. Maybe next time I'll give it a go with my power spinning rod.

7 footer. I'm a short dude so I don't like to use too much longer.

Thanks for your replies. Do you guys usually trim your weed guards down after purchasing a new jig? I'll try sharpening my hooks and going straight to braid to see if it makes a difference, but I find it a pain if I want to change lures frequently because the braids so strong! Really enjoy smoking those bass out of tight cover with the jig technique. Let's hope I can keep em on next time!

Im new to jigging and I'm really finding it a fun way to fish. My main go to baits are plastics and crank baits. Anyway, the problem is I don't seem to have a very good hookup percentage when I do get bites. The fish is on for 2 or 3 seconds then they're gone. Again when I fish my go to baits hooking up and keeping fish on is no problem. I'm currently using a Revo winch with a medium heavy rod, and 50lb braid with a 14lb flouro leader for line. Any tips from you guys when fishing this style to hook up and stay hooked? Thanks in advance.

Wow awesome post. Had no idea they had some guys out there enforcing the rules.

What about taking the sporting issue out of it? Do you really want these umbrellas with hooks attached to them piling up at the bottoms of our lakes or the shoreline when they get broken off? People talk about the damage plastics can do. This has to be much worse. You have 5x the opportunity to catch fish, but also 5x the opportunity to get hung up on structure. Also, this whole have, have not's conspiracy is retarded. I would get it if we were taking about $50,000 bass boats, but we're talking about spending an extra 15-20 on a lure. Give me a break.