tatertester

Thanks for the kind words, I would be glad to put these lures to good use rather than be a part of my optional lures of choice supply......One my strong suits is buying way more lures than I could possibly use...LOL....My wife says "send him half of yours" and he will have enough for 15 years...She obviously doesn't share my zeal for keeping my lure supply filled.

Send me a list of lures you need, an address and, I'll send you some , free of charge .......The lures will be new or slightly used, and from my overflow..

You need to fish where the fish are located, and ,that isnt everywhere......Normally fish are around some kind of cover, weeds, lily pads, reeds, wood ,docks , rocks, etc....Changes in depth(breaks)are holding areas for bass.....Look for the thickest cover you can find, in it,around it, next to it....Once you locate bass, fish slowly and deliberately , and try to determine if the fish will shallow, deep, or in between depths.....If your not catching fish , then move to another spot...Start out with a top water lure, then a shallow running crankbait, and then a plastic such as a senko or trick worm rigged texas style...If you don't catch something , move or go home....LOL...Make long casts and try to be quiet....Have at it......Good Luck.

Rage bitsy bug, craw type lure.

Check your knots carefully to determine just where the line is breaking. You could up the line size , but consider not setting the hook so hard.....You have a no stretch line except fpr the leader, no need to decapitate the fish on the hook set.

You can bet the fish are alerted by that bad habit.....My son does the same thing, and I get after him about it....I catch mainly smallmouth with these type lures, often suspended over deeper water.

I've had good luck going twitch , twitch , RIIIIIIIP!, pause....You often get a smashing hit.I mean an aggressive rip that any bass in the area is alerted to.

I would recommend that you try to find someone local ...to go out fishing with you ,and learn about rods, reels, lines, lures ,knots and finding fish....Stick with a few basic lures til you build some confidence and shorten the learning curve.

The biggest problem with weeds on your lure is that it ruins the action, on the other hand if your picking up weeds your in the right area.

Greatly appreciate your service to our country Dirty, I'll rip a few lips for ya.

Always nice to have a plan that works!......Another tool in your tackle box .....

Scheeeeeeese!

I lost the biggest Smallie of my life messin around try that tuf guy move, never again....I've had nightmares ever since after having that brown beauty right there beside the boat, and then it was gone.....

You may what to try a pair of the fitover types. I have a pair from Walmart ($24.95) and a pair from Strike King ($24.95)and they do just fine , and no big bucks spent.

Change baits!

The first thing that you need to do is locate the bass!....Try a lipless crankbait,as they will sink, you can try different depths until you locate fish. Check shallow and then the first breakline (sudden depth change} and fish along the break to find fish. When you locate fish , switch to a slower bait like a worm or senko in that same area.Allow the bait to sink in the water column til it gets to the bottom , lift and drop the bait slowly til you catch fish....You can use either a spinning reel or a baitcaster with 10 lb test mono or copoly line.......Fish anywhere there is coverlike weeds, wood , rocks......Practice, practice , practice.....At first don't worry about a lot of different lures.....Fish slowly.

In the spring bass will seek out water temps most comfortable to them and their baitfish, therefore , bites often are better later in the day as water temps rise......As time goes on and water temps rise bass activity rises early in the day when water temps are to their liking.

Yes, the books are different because the bass are different.....Both are great reads and as applicable today as when they were written....Some years ago I read a section of the largemouth book where it described how to fish a reed line that had an inside edge. I went to the lake ,got my self quietly situated on the inside edge of a large reed area. I found a small point with a little pocket on the end of reeds right next to it as was recommended in the book. Glass smooth water surface , I cast a # 11 floating Rapala and hit in that pocket perfectly. I waited til the rings all dissipated and lightly twitched the Rapala. KERSPLOOSH!, Reeled in a 5lber on that very first cast....Got calmed down and threw another cast in the same place, let it sit same as last cast, then twitched it , Splash, another hookup, a 4 lber....Continued catching fish for awhile around these reeds til the sun shined brightly killing the bite.......Now , you know I loved that book, still have to this day.

Lake Minnetonka , metro Mpls/St.Paul area. Boats, skiers, sail boats , fisherman, swimmers, speed boats, cabin cruisers, multiple boats tied together to form a giant raft of beer guzzling partiers.........Looks like a giant traffic jam or demolition derby...Very scary.

You must fish in the thick stuff to get the bigger bite, not 2 feet away , but in the heavy cover.

Wardens must adhere to the doctrine of reasonableness when in search,seizure, or arrest situations especially when it applies to your person or house.....They must have a reasonable belief that you may have violated a law or are hiding evidence that you have violated a law to go beyond basic license check and observational checks......Wardens do have wide ranging powers , but, not powers without limits, as many would like you to believe. your rights are protected by the 4th amendment and the tenant of reasonableness....Many people interpret that Wardens have total right to do whatever they wish when it involves search ,seizure or arrests , and, this is simply not true.

Rainy Lake , Minnesota/Canada....Absolutely beautiful huge body of water bordering Minnesota and Canada....Eagles flying overhead,pine forests, huge rock formations along the shorelines,clean tannic stained water....A trophy fishery as well with Musky, Northern Pike, Walleye , Smallmouth bass,Perch and various baitfish.....A semi-wilderness gem in the north country.

For some reason I have visions of hooksets all over the place....Cross their eyes hooksets, sweep hooksets , over the head hooks sets, slingshot hooksets , behind the head hooksets, between the legs hooksets, broken rod hooksets, underhanded hooksets, hooksets... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!........

Reel down , set hook up....That is the normal hook set, but, I've found with lite wire hooks that a sweep set is enuff to get hooked. Heavier gauge hooks need more umph to set the hook....One thing I simply cannot get down is getting hook ups on frogs in lily pads.I have tried every tip imaginable but still struggle .

From what I got out of the article , the feed for the bass was a critical factor.....The prawns were what helped to put on more weight , not unlike the California bass that get the rainbow trout diet.......Doubt that most waters have the right food available to grow the bass to that record size.