TMDKENNELS

Has anyone tried the flipping the bird lure? Is it any different from a rat or frog lure?

I know that bass use their sense of smell to find food but do the scents on the market truly increase your chances of catching bass? I've been using a crayfish scent and it hasn't done me any good.

There was one pond (now drained) that was full of moss every summer. If your lure wasn't weedless, you could forget it. I saw MONSTER bass bedding so I know they were in there but I could never catch a big one and most of the time none at all. Now I'm fishing a different pond and everywhere you think the bass should be (points, lay-downs, or any type of structure) I never get a bite. I've thrown everything except the kitchen sink at those fish and I might catch one fish (2lb'er) on a trip, if any at all. This is an old pond with monster bass in it as well. Is it the fish or the fisherman?

Hello All, Has anyone ever altered the physical appearence of their lures to be more effective. I received an article about a Rattle Trap that was altered and made more effective.( zombie -shad ...pictured below) I decided to try it myself but have yet to try them out.

Hello all. From your experiences, do bigger baits (10in worms, giant cranks, etc.) regularly catch bigger fish?

Has anyone tried either a Rebel Frog R or Jr's Super Frogs Micro 3 in 1? Are they effective during the spawn?

My biggest fish (by guess had to be 10lb) was caught on a rattle trap (in open water) My second biggest (8lbs) was caught on a soft plastic swim bait (4inches) 90% of the time I fish a lizard or a worm ( no weight). and I try to fish the most difficult places (usually around fallen timber) More often than not I get snagged.

These comments are interesting. I expected to see large swim baits and 10in worms.

I've heard that you catch big bass on big lures. What has been your most effective big bass lure? What lure catches the most bass?

I'm in NC, and a couple of days ago my father and decided to get out. We noticed tons of sunfish, crappie and brim swimming together in the shallows. We also saw bass (small and large) doing the same thing. (usually in twos) I've never seen bass and panfish swimming that close together. I threw cranks. spinners, and plastics (everything I had) at them and they totally ignored me. What on Earth where they doing?

Since I don't own a boat (nor can I swim) I fish from the bank and look for timber and any type of foliage. When approaching a lake/pond from the bank what are some of the places/structures/foliage that you look for to fish?

Thanks guys. I definately need to get a new rod...probably 3 new ones. Some of the hits (tugs)...they were pesky as well. I know where sunfish (I dismiss those). Most hits I actually see the fish (bass) as they sometimes jump and shake the hook. Those aggressive sunfish can pull hard at times but some of those pulls I saw the line tighten and start to swim and sometimes the fish jumps and I see that its a bass. Other times....if bluegills pull that hard then I need to start fishing for those. I'm new to this site and haven't had a chance to view all of the articles but I definately will. I'm sure a lot of it is me (my mistakes). I guess I need to start paying attention to they type of line that I use as well. I missed a lot of fish last year (big ones) I know they were big because I actually saw them..lol I did, however out fish my dad but I want a few double digits (lbs) on my record this year. Thanks again.

Last year, for ever 1 fish I caught I missed 3. I good never figure out what I was doing wrong. I would try to set the hook as soon as I felt the fish then I would let him take it before I set the hook. Either way, I missed a ton of fish or they shook the hook free. This year I've invested in the more high dollar hooks and hopefully this will prevent me from losing as many fish. Also, maybe it was the way that I was hooking the worm/lizard. Do you guys have any suggestions?