tatertester

3lb 2oz.

I recall , many years ago, I was petrified at the thought of using the texas rigged worm. At that time I was usinga floating rapalas and spinnerbaits....I caught a fair number of bass ,but, knew it was time to progress to the dreaded plastic worm.......I had read about worm fishing in the fishing magazines , Fishing Facts , and others, so off I went to the bait shop for supplies. Got the worm hooks,worm weights, the worms,some 10 lb test trilene , and a new Lightning rod. $49.00 for the rod was a reach in those days. Bought an Ambassador reel , and I was ready for combat......I distinctly remember those first few casts along a shoreline with mixed weed growth. I was like a spring ready to set the hook. I must have set the hook 20 times, but, no fish. Then I noticed some bluegills chasing my worm.....I wish I could say my worm fishing took off like a jet, but NOT!.....After much trial and error, many false hooksets,much practice and a lot of research,it all started falling into place.......Now I use plastics 70% of the time, and occasionally the floating rapala is put in service ,with many fond memories........Oh , almost forgot, it's likely sunfish giving you those nibbles. Amazng how sunfish rat-ah-tat-tat so fast.

Senko not aenko!...LOL

I moved in 1998 about 300 miles from my previous home.I had been using senkos for a year or two before the move , and, I was very surprised to learn that senkos were almost unheard of in the new location......Didn't take long tho for aenko fever to catch on.

In my mind tournament angling often pushes the limits of fair play and common courtesy.....Lie detectors and secret waypoints, gimmi a break!...Tournament anglers using aggressive tactics when prefishing, NOT!

I have found 2 different frogs that stand out from the rest . Booyah Pad Crasher, A floating collapsible frog that gets a high percentage of hooksets . It has sticky sharp dual frog hook that is positioned to be exposed with very little bite pressure , and, PivotFrog from Sebile that is shaped much like other floating frogs , but, has a single larger hook that is midway between the rear legs of the frog , is weighted , and pivots upward for great hook exposure when a strike happens........I've tried a lot of other frogs ,and, these two have my vote.

Nice!

Small ,1 to 2 lb bass are ok and all the panfish you can catch, crappie,bluegill,sunfish and perch.Walleye and catfish too.

Check his current rods and reels and see if he has an 8 foot heavy or XHeavy rod with a reel. If not go for that......It is a specific set up for large swimbaits. As far as which brand for rod and reel, I'll defer to all you swimbaiters here....

Lake Chickamauga , Tennessee......This Tennessee river lake should be #1, or certainly in top 10.

Unweighted flukes in and around heavy cover , or a drop shot fished both as a down shot ,or horizontal in light to moderate weed cover.

Smallies are the worst....Just when you think you got em under control,they do their thing and they got you!......Oh Yah , it hurts.

Just a thought, but, maybe your trying to assimilate too much at one time....Why not just start with a basic plan that includes several lures, 2 or 3 points or coves(inside turns)or weed cover , and fish shallow to deeper just to locate bass.....Fish,fish and fish some more , practice and don't let yourself be consumed with too many aspects of your end goal of catching fish....Enjoy your time on the water and the fish will be around somewhere.

I have read several places that artificial cover was superior to natural....They were using artificial grass that was similar natural grass, and bass used the artificial more frequently. As I recall the artificial was like turf with rows of longer strands.....I would think that real wood or grass would be preferred because of cover and insects that attract baitfish.

I would like to see: Something that keeps your lure weedfree without the typical weed guards that interfere with lure movement and hooksets.

Sometimes it can be an adventure to fish with lures that are not really weedless, but, can be slowly and carefully walked , wiggled , and twitched thru the pads or weedbeds . You will get snagged some , but have a good chance getting strikes and hookups too....Matts and the like, of course , wont work this way , yet about anything else is worth a shot......I often will use a floating crankbait and cut off the lead spur off the belly treble or remove it entirely....Then just cast into the jungle and proceed with caution. Let the lure settle in any opening in the weeds and twitch it .....The steady pulls, twitches and irregular movement of the lure will cause some smashing strikes as the lure is milked thru the vegetation .......Not as weedless as a floating frog, but fun to fish nonetheless.

Good show in my mind, entertaining and educational. Don't really care if he's a brick short of a load.

I would try smaller suspending jerk minnows, and fish them fairly slow, twitching them.

I agree you 100% Hawg......Bass fishing , no matter the lake or river, is a sport , a challenge as it is. Where is the bite today?,shallow weed cover?, the first breakline? or maybe the out side weed edge?.....What technique will work?, topwater, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastics?.......Nah , lets just go fish the beds where the fish are sitting ducks and won't run away.....What a challenge! ,and, some statistics say we are not hurting the fishery....Good enuff reason to me to hold my head high while I drag as many off those beds as I can.....Did you see the size of that one?..........Come on people , even if it doesn't hurt the overall bass population, it seems to me to be unsavory and unneccesary.

NEVAH, NEVAH can you have enuff fishin stuff. It's impossible!. Cannot happen!..No way!......A few years ago I thought I had plenty of fishing tackle, BUT, I quickly came to my senses ,and found out I was wrong.

I am laughing to myself when reading this thread.....I have good quality rods, Denali Rosewood, Shimano Cumaras, Kistler Z-bones, and reels, Curados, Calcuttas, Chronarchs, Calais, along with the lastest and greatest lures, and line.....I fish the best when I'm alone, and usually not as well when with my adult son or even my wife....My son is a good angler, however, my wifes idea of fishing is dragging a nose hooked senko behind the boat....Saddly all my savvy approachs and upscale equipment is all for naught.....I always tell wifey I let her catch more, but I don't......Very embarrassing to say the least....Gotta say tho, I still have a great time on the water even if my production isn't always so hot.....Maybe if I got a new casting outfit, might help, NAWWWW!

Everything is relative, including color.

I don't go on a rant about fishing beds, BUT, somehow, seems to be not a right thing to do.

Mona and Iaconelli are both really bothersome to me, as they just GOTTA make a scene , as tho it's all about them, when bass fishing is the main topic , not their antics.

Gotta agree with the differences between northern natural lakes and river or impoundment waters. I just moved to Kentucky, right by Lake Cumberland, and have been having conversations with a very successful tournament angler here.......Sure sounds like a whole lot different down here than up in northern Minnesota.......Havent been out fishing yet, but will report back when I do.