ClackerBuzz

lotta great rods mentioned. for that money just make sure you get a lifetime guarantee. i went thru endless rods and settled with Powell. unfortunately it's a journey you have to take. hold as many rods in stores and on the water as you can. also take ur favorite reel into the store to test how they balance

lol this has been my experience. I've gone thru 4 kayaks and 3 canoes. it takes awhile to dial in what you like and don't. i just buy off craigslist for a price i can easily re-sell w/o losing money. now i own 1 yak, 1 canoe and 1 jon boat just depends on where i'm going to fish.

x3. any knot and even 80lb braid will snap during a backlash. adjust ur reel and equally important is to follow through with ur cast. if you abruptly stop ur rod/cast short u will backlash every time. make sure to cast thru to finish pointing ur rod tip at 12 o'clock ie ur target. casting from 6pm and stopping at 2pm will cause that snap will all hate

honestly you can fill in the blank here. most stuff in the tackle box works at dawn/dusk. it's my favorite time to fish just for that reason. i rarely get to say this sentence when bass fishing but it seems like i can do no wrong

sounds like the moral of the story is don't go buy fishing equipment without Dad

sounds like the tapping of baitfish

get an external mic! they are cheap. nothing worse than someone getting great footage but you can't hear squat besides mumbling and wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX60m9CxIoo

in my experience small public ponds don't have the forage necessary to support an 8lb bass

glad to hear a good fishing journey. there are plenty more good times to come. try a drop shot when there's an algae bottom. the weight drags in the muck while the soft plastic stays elevated and clean. typically you slow drag and pause on the bottom. but always experiment and don't leave w/o swimming it along the bottom like a spinnerbait. and bouncing it thru the tops of weeds. 1/4oz casts far but might be too heavy in a clear/stable/algae pond. 1/8 or less is better for still water ponds. or if ur spinning rod is light enough tying on a 1/16 oz bullet weight can get you started today.

a lot of tournament guys use the saying "never leave fish to find fish". sounds like you found at least 3 different locations with fish. this knowledge in itself is gold. i'm super happy if i get get a bite or blow up b/c that fish gave away the secret location where there are more fish. as soon as you catch a fish or even miss a fish toss a marker buoy over board or mark a way point on ur electronics. you've just found a fish zone. back off the buoy and cast different lures from many different angles. often slowing down to a bottom dragging technique like jig, drop shot, shaky head, T rig, C rig etc will start to land you larger fish. as long as that location is producing fish i won't move to 'find' more fish. if you caught a dink on a spot keep working it till you figure out what it takes to catch mama. Also if I catch 20 dinks in a row on a spot I usually just move perpendicular to shore into deeper water to find better fish. Same thing with bait fish. If I'm catching or seeing a ton of crappie or bluegill near weeds or structure I'll work the immediate area but have a tendency to start catching bass once I move deeper. Overall it sounds like you did a great job locating bass with reaction/search baits. Once a dink gives away a location I would stay there and go slow n' low with bottom contact lures to try and upgrade to better quality fish.

be happy my friend, it can get a lot worse. i'll feel bad for ya after you've had 4 outings in a row eating skunk pie

i've pre-rigged 10 rods and packed lures for a specific lake the night before and got skunked. i've also grabbed two rods and a fanny pack full of lures for a spur of the moment trip and killed it. now i don't spend near as much time preparing. true fishing with all it's adjustments needs to take place on the lake and that's what i look forward to....being on the lake and in the moment

I used to subscribe to this theory until I spent more time on the water. then i'd fill up on humble pie day after day. trying to cast with purpose is almost purposeless until you have experienced eye's. and even then it's still hard the bigger key is to catch a bass and then stop what you're doing for a few moments/minutes to analyze the who/what/where/when/why/how that bass was there. what variables made that location desirable? depth, shade, current, weeds, retrieve etc? finding out those clues help you make future casts that day and hopefully many day's to come.

I'm with ya on the screw holding plastics tight. and they don't tear apart during battles. I buy Mustad 60 degree jig hooks in bulk b/c they're stout and cheap, then just attach a Do-it Hitching Post. Peg a bullet if you need weight. Works great for punching also. you can flip/pitch endlessly w/o the beaver slipping or tearing.

holy advice. i had ur exact problem 2 seasons ago. so much open water, where to start?! do not just troll the shoreline and cast parallel to shore (most guys cast to shore and only fish the top 5 feet of the water column). keep ur boat against the shore and cast out like when bank fishing and keep Wayne's advice in mind. cast 45 deg out and work ur lure back so you attract fish from deep and shallow. jig's are your friend ie depth finder and structure identifier. if you need to move ur boat deeper only move out till ur farthest cast lands in structure less/muddy bottom. 90% of the water is useless and this is no-man's land. bounce your jig fast thru the muddy bottom until you feel the first sign of rocks or weeds. now slow down ur retrieve b/c you've just entered the fish zone. work ur lure from here uphill. maintaining bottom contact is key. the fish relate to cover/structure and lures banging into it instigates strikes. all the other stuff is fun and visible: weeds, docks, lay downs, stumps, lily pads, bridges, rip rap etc. have a blast with it.

if a fish fell over in the woods and nobody was around to hear it, would it still make noise? i'd count it. what if a bass comes unbuttoned at the boat but ur partner has a net underneath and catches it? it would be flipping awesome, would count and you two would be high fiving the heck out of each other. your story isn't as glamours but it counts

the new generation rods 'suck' and the previous generation will soon be selling for the price of your first born. now if i could only do this at the casino

for detailed rod/reel comparisons try tackletour.com

removing chartreuse from the equation will help loads.

#1 reason I didn't catch many jig fish my first seasonal attempt: overworking the lure. just like a senko slow dragging with lots of pauses works wonders. good luck!

x2 senko T rigged. put a glass bead on the line and it slides thru weeds like butter. don't forget to add some jerkbait/fluke rip now and then. i can't count how many times i've got bored slow dragging a senko only to give it a fluke rip and instantly got bit

probably similar to a guy A trying to compare his live bait PB is equal to guy B artificial PB. obviously one guy had to work harder than the other. the other day a guy at the lake was bragging and showing me pix of his PB. I see a live bull frog hooked in the bottom corner of the pix. I didn't mention it b/c he's a stranger so there's no need to stir the pot. imo he wasn't forthcoming when he told me he caught it on a 'frog'. no doubt the public lake guy has to work harder/learn more than the private lake guy. often experience sportsman will differentiate their private PB from public PB, and their live bait PB from artificial PB

$300-400 is nothing compared to an auto body shop bill for fixing all the bumps, dinks and scratches I have on my car from cheap racks (in all fairness I live in the city so both my bumpers are destroyed from people's bad parallel parking so my roof was the least of my concern). I finally settled on a used Yakima but my buddy got a nice aftermarket rack for $100 from Walmart

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/media/video/study-says-fish-use-whole-bodies-when-they-eat/2856887.html