ClackerBuzz

take a deep breath and step away from the tackle box lol. what are ur best 3 techniques so far? how can u build on them with complementing techniques? ie ur patient and successful with a wacky senko. next try a jig. its weedless so u can pitch it in cover, swim it back, access more holding areas where most guys don't even go, and use ur patience to twitch/dead stick it when the bite is tuff. WHAT isn't nearly as important as WHERE. learn to read water and locate holding areas. there is a good chance a bass will hit any of 10 lures if you bounce them off his nose . there is a ton of great info and posts here. your job is to sift thru it and find the information that relates to ur fisheries and climate. be aware of the size of water where people are having success and how it compares to ur water. august in a 10,000acre lake w/ 50-70ft depths is much different than aug in a 150 acre lake that maxes out at 12ft. also what time of year it is. ur in Pa like me so don't get caught up on someone's advice b/c they are killing it with a particular lure the same day over in CA. its a totally different climate. find out what ppl in ur region are using this time of year

that is a small pond. i would stick to soft plastics--wacky 5" senko. maybe a 1/4oz jig. i would probably cover the whole pond in under 20 casts w/ reaction baits (mainly in spring or fall)---and use a chatterbait, lipless trap, or spinnerbait if they want noise/vibration. or swim a normal jig to see if they want a silent reaction bait. pretend its a square pond and run the baits across the corners (u can draw strikes from deep or shallow). and burn them parallel to shore on the longest stretches of bank. use buzzbait anytime of year at dusk or dawn. i stop at a private farm pond that same size and work in thoroughly in an hour. the LM max out between 3-4 lbs. Once I've caught/released one its like sounding the holy s(** alarm for the other fish. but they are less effected in spring when feeding heavily and spawning. good luck and let us know how u make out

its alot easier to catch fish on a trap (or any new lure) from a boat b/c you can cover more water, get better angles, have more access to deeper water points, and motor over when u get the trebles stuck. burn it along the outsides of weed lines, tick it over the top of them ripping it free when u get caught, parallel the shoreline etc. from shore its all about long casts to keep it in the strike zone longer---i like a 45 deg angle from shore b/c it draws fish from the shallows and deep. its a great spring/fall bait when bass are feeding on bait fish. i like gold b/c i catch so many fish on it. i also found an red one in a stream that basically turned white/bone. put some new hooks on it and bone became my new favorite color for awhile. i used nail polish to make a black one which i'm looking forward to trying. good luck

throw it this fall and you'll be successful. slow steady retrieve with a periodic speed up tossed in. ru fishing from shore or boat?

all great advice. i use the process of elimination technique. reaction w/ blades and noise are fun to burn along. but if their not hitting i try a silent reaction (swimjig, silent crank etc). if no takers i slow down to finesse. thats how i like to fish. the trick is knowing how fast to change lures. if i known i threw a spinnerbait in two awesome locations (along a great weed line, along a tree know to produce, etc) and it netted me nothing, i know to change quickly....no matter what season it is I'd be less likely to tie a spinnerbait on in the middle of august in a small farm pond w/ 88 deg water temp. but more likely to tie it on in a 1000+ acre reservoir w/ a tree w/ 20ft of water near by.

I always miss great clearance items b/c the stores don’t stock or label items correctly. I'd loose my eyesight, and mind, trying to read the SKU numbers and then find the corresponding product hanging somewhere. I usually take my 10 favorite items up and just ask them to scan them to tell me what’s on sale. I do it several times lol. This time I asked the guy to come back to the fishing section and bring his wireless scanner. Not only did he but he broke the Dick’s Da Vinci code for me. Sale items have a red sticker Clearance items are NOT required to have a red sticker but their price ends in a “.x3” or “.x7” ie $5.33, $3.47, $3.53, $7.47, $6.23, Its payday if you find a red sticker that ends in 3 or 7. In the end none of this matters as there are still clearance items hidden at the end of the rainbow. I had a pack of SK Rage Tails in my hand and asked him to scan it for sheets and giggles. Originally $5.79 a pack. They came up…$1.73. I cleaned them out. Lots of Dicks have an additional 50% off clearance items this week so check it out

be careful trying to learn a new technique in the wrong season. how big are the bodies of water ur fishing? you're not going to hear great spinnerbait stories in the middle of august. u can all but kiss them good bye in a small pond that had 85-90deg water temps. thats when soft plastics excel. ur swim jig is also a fast/reaction bait. both bites will slowly start to pick up from this point forward. you should kill with both of them in the fall. good luck

nice smallies!

ur popper wanst working during the day b/c the topwater bite wasn't on...but it turned on a dusk. it had more to do with time of day. most likely NO color would have worked during the day and ANY color would have worked at dusk. bass roam more at sunup/sundown b/c there is less light so then can ambush in open water.

A previous back lash can cause line damage. I've picked out a bad backlash which compromised my line. A week later i lost a lure just like you did and realized the damage probably came from the prior 'overrun'. it took me awhile casting baitcaster to learn "don't make the cast if i'm not 100% sure i can make it successfully". that meant not trying to bomb extra far to a sweet spot, casting at nite before i was ready, into the wind, near a tree, substituting the wrong rod b/c i stop at a pond unprepared and really want to cast a specific lure. i lost a lot of lures before learning to resist the temptation. (substituting the wrong rod was last week ).

now that's what i call a keystone toad!

yes. better chance in the fall. try a few different angles while circling the pond. you can cover the whole pond in 20 min and know if they wanted it or not. i've found it to be a waste of time burning multiple casts thru the same water. ur first cast in new water has the best potential for a bite with a big lure in a small pond.

great advice. the dog days of summer are tough enough let alone trying to get stressed fish to bite in a bowl of soup. if i stick my hand in a pond or small lake and it feels like hot soup i move to a new location. i have a list of 'cooler' body waters that have constant water moving thru them so i just relocate. i give the soup bowls time to cool off, give the fish a break, and look forward to heading back to them in the fall. good luck

from this point forward i'm only looking for sales like u found. everything else can wait till the black friday 20% sales. if we had academy sports up here i'd hightail it over there

nice! thats like taking candy from a baby!

fishing as much as possible with as many different people as possible makes for a good fisherman. you learn new techniques and tricks you never would have discovered solo. Years ago I had been fly fishing for 2 seasons with mediocre results. I got a guide the 3rd season and learned more great tips in 4hrs than on my own the first 2 seasons (would have saved me alot of headaches too!). Chances are you are going to learn alot on a guided trip but maybe you need to separate 'learning' from 'catching'. Which is more important? Would you be happy with a little of both? 1/2 day guided trips are usually more affordable (if you choose the AM and the weather/bite is good maybe the guide will let you buck up/upgrade and pay for the rest of the day). good luck!

congrats! you should be able to duplicate that success every night at dusk. or at dawn. i close every fishing day just like that. in crystal clear waters it has to be virtually dark before they start to roam and crush it. the buzzbait turns on much earlier if the water has any stain to it. throw a chatterbait after its too dark for them to track the buzz.

welcome to the site!

all great advice. use the poor man's depth finder=a jig. it doesn't get snagged up and you can bounce it along the bottom to search for flats, drop off, rocks, ledges, weeds. if ur in a pond having clean green weeds come back on the hook good. and mulched leaves sticking to ur hook are good b/c it is a clean, aerated bottom. fish will prefer any of these bottom types as opposed to muck algae. after you've searched a few hundred feet and know the bottom, start back at the beginning and pick it apart more thoroughly. catching a fish on a jig is easy. next time you go out just pitch it in lots of locations. 50% of ur hits will come on the vertical fall. if nothing...let it hit bottom, bounce it off and swim it back. if there is any reaction bite at all they will hit it while swimming back. if that doesnt work they want the dead stick with a few twitches thrown in. "shake the weight not the bait". it takes very little to tug or move a lure. put ur jig in shallow water and practice noticing what little touch it takes to make it jitter/vibrate/pulsate. when i starting jig fishing and couldn't get bite is was b/c i was way over doing the action. good luck

I have this same philosophy. most time a knot fails its b/c of the user. all knots like to lay a particular way, like the hair on ur head. they bend and twist different directions at every turn. the trick is to pay attention and respectful of the line from beginning to end. if its a small lure that easily fits thru a loop (like a jig or worm hook) i use a palomar. if its a larger lure (buzzbait etc) i use a San Diego Jam. i have never had a failure with either. i did have some failures when first leaning to tie them but it was my fault not the knots (was using mono back them). more importantly i can be successful with any knot now that i am a 'good knot maker'. oh yea make sure to practice lots when ur home in front of the tv. test the break strength to make sure its breaking 10" above ur knot. builds experience and confidence

i love chatterbaits! the hooks are solid..in fact i wish they were fine wire so i wouldnt miss any hook sets. you gotta have a more stout/fast tip rod or swing for the fences to push the hook thru thick lips (or give them an extra second to have it before setting). slow roll it along the bottom of lake keeping a steady low vibration. if you reel slow enough you can actually turn the blade off. give and occasional tip twitch to turn it back on and hold on b/c they crush it. its replaced my spinnerbait when around weeds or any kind of cover/pads etc. it can get covered in grass and all you have to do it give a good hard rip and the blade vibrates the grass right off. yesterday i cast a SB over weeds and it came back covered 4 times in a row. switched to my chatter and bounced it right over/thru them with no problem. and now that the fall is upon us its prime time for them. grab a white/chartreuse and have fun

if you never see boats there i'd paddle out asap! nothing better than fishing un pressured waters from a boat. even shore pressure only is great when u drop a boat in. they never see ya coming. good luck

are you 'sitting in a lawn chair' fishing? cast and move cast and move. hunt the fish. every cast on fresh/new water yields the potential for the biggest bass in the area. then why not keep casting and moving. once you've fan cast and area move down water. if you move 3 times and don't catch anything on that lure..change it. i don't care what 3 lures you give me...i could get one to work just by relocating to fresh water. i hike/fish and will catch 3 fish up water...pass a guy sitting in a chair...and catch 3 more below him. he just scratches his head and asks what magic lure i'm using. good luck and give us an update

I transport my rods the same way. Only my mesh covers sit in a box now b/c its too difficult to carry 5 rods in one hand with the covers on them. The rods slip 12" out of the covers and its a mess by the time I walk up my 3rd floor apt. So now I'm back to being careful sliding/loading them in my rod tube. (I only put my baitcasters in the tube now and leave the spinning out=much easier). The micro guides do poke thru the standard mesh. Not a big deal but if there is an option I would spend the $2 extra so they don't---after all you've already spent $6

i love the video. don't u think ur equipment is failing b/c ur system isn't set up properly? i.e. ur spinnerbaits aren't bending b/c of the size of the fish. they are bending b/c of ur braid. if u have the proper hook, line, rod and reel...you should be able get many fish in the boat all day w/o any failures or the need to re-tie, re-straighten, re-spool. why don't u have a leader to absorb some of the pressure from the fish? am i missing something? btw i like ur dead sticking sb technique