j-bass

That really is just an expression. Yes bait-fish imitating baits do work, but spinnerbaits and creatures work also and there is nothing living in the water that looks like either of those (also, how many chartruse or firetiger colored bait fish have you ever seen swimming around, and yet they are popular colors)

My jinx seems to be certain people. There are these two freinds of mine......it never fails, everytime I go fishing with them I get skunked, I'm definately not one to belive in jinxs or bad luck, but those two seem to ruin every trip we go on together!

There is a water body located about 5 miles from my house that had nearly dried out (only left with small pools here and there, with the exception of one area that always has water). Just recently, the water district pumped water back into it and now is looking like a really good place to do some fishing. My question is: If that piece of water that was just replenished is now connected to the piece of water that is always full, and if that piece of water has fish in it (and also considering that they keep the replenished area with water in it) how long do you guys think it might take before the fish move back in and there is a stable population (well at least enough to fish in)? I know in other areas, re-population can occur at a staggering rate.....just recently the state of Texas authorized the re-flooding of the Bahia Grande (a large salt flats that used to be a tidal flood basin that was blocked 70 years ago). When they creaated a channel to reflood the area, marine biologists and wildlife experts hypothesized that they would see bait fish and crabs in about three months and oysters and shellfish in 3 years. They saw imense populations of baitfish, crabs, and molusks (squid & octopus) in just a few weeks and large oyster beds forming in 3 months. Life finds a way.

Everyone reacts differently, some funnier than others. My friend Nick looks like he's having a grand mal seizure everytime he gets a nibble........funny stuff.

it usually depends, if I am shore fishing, I really don't care who tags along because you can stll do your own thing. When I am in the boat that is a differtent story. When I first bought it, I thought about how cool it would be to take all of my freinds out. After enough trips, I have found that usally, when I take out my friends, all I wind up doing is carting them around and trying to put them in the best spots, while not being able to really fish myself. For this, I would rather be alone............much more peacefull.

Many times when fishing off the coast down here for reds, trout, or flounder, it not uncommon to battle hardheads and gafftops taking your bait all day. For this I always carry a pair of needlnose plies in my back pocket. Some of the other, less fish-freindly, locals can usually be seen doing what we call the catfish flop. Basically this involves swinging the hardhead around, still on the hook, and smacking it on the ground to stun it for hook removal. They don't call 'em hardheads for nothing.........these things will actually swim off after a beating like that.

My cousin and I fished at one outsite of Baton Rouge and we did catch a few....the only thing is that whatever dye they used on the grass bled into the water. The bass (and a small catfish that I caught on a crank bait) where a weird greenish color....almost neon. Strange. Needless to say, everything went back in the water.

What you've probably got there is a p.o.s. If you have any sort of warranty on it, I would suggest that you use it. If not, you might just be better off getting a new one. Thay are not expensive for a good one. I've always stuck with Minn-Kota.

Who needs magazines when we have www.bassresource.com

also, search out submerged cover. Sometimes even when there is nothing eye-popping about the shoreline, a good patch of hornwort (coontail) or hydrilla a few feet unther surface of the water can harbor large schools of fish.

I think creature baits prove that bass will strike even the wierdest looking of baits; which brings us back to an older question of whether or not it is critical to match the local forage. I don't care where you fish, there is nothing in the water that resembles a spinnerbait or a brush hog, but they work, don't they.

I'd recomend going 15' and up. 14' and under aluminum (jon boats if I'm correct from your description) can be rather unstable. Usually the price difference isn't that great to buy yourself a few extra feet.

I guess it all depends on what you're haulin. I have a v-6 standard F-150 and it works just fine for me (helps save on gas). of course though, my boat and trailer are quite light.

Whenever I can get my girlfreind off my back usually works.

One of those PETA folks finds themselves messing with the wrong angler is gonna get hurt. Too bad I won't be there to see it.

That's a strange thing to hear. No matter what presentations i choose to use on any particular day, spinnerbaits are always on the starting line-up. And I'm not even talking about expensive lures, either. Generally, I buy the cheapies at Academey ($1.75) in chart, white, and yellow (and combos includeing orange and black). The probelm is probably in your retrieve. There are various techniques when it comes to retreiving a spinner, but what works most for me is a rising and falling retrieve to cover as much area as possible per cast. I'll tell you what, I've caught as many big bass with spinners as I have with anything else.

In my personal opinion, I would say don't rely on gimicky matrixes and astro-calendars. Some of my bass-fishing freinds swear on those charts, but it really depends on where you are and when. While my friend Johnny thinks (because of the calendar) that it is supposed to be great fishing, in reality a front just blew through and the wind is gusting at 35mph. Sometimes you are just better off going with your instincts.

Who Cares? Regardless of what the outcome is, even after all of the controversy, these guys caught a big freakin bass. They were not arrogant about it and were good sportsmen when it cam to the descision of keeping or releasing the fish. Personally, I think maybe we should worry more about the fish we might catch as opposed to a controversial fish most of us will probably never catch.

When I was just a wee tyke, my pops would sit me down with a cane pole and a bucket of grass shrimp and minnows. I'd catch sunnies and rock bass all day. not bass, but as a kid I enjoyed it.

also, once you've chosen a location, you can use sites like www.local.live.com to actually see what the area looks like.

well said

My two (7+ & 8+) best were caught in the mid-evening around 5:00 - 6:30 as the sun is beggining to set (also consider that where I live is pretty hot, so fishing when it is sweltering and i'm sweating like a stuck pig outside isn't exactly my cup of tea)

I agree with bassmaster, move around a bit, and look for good cover (i.e. trees and branches extending into or out of the water as well as any underwater vegitation. Also, vary your presentation, try some lipped and lippless cranks as well as jigs and soft plastics, depending on your style. The best advice is to keep trying different things and find out what works best where.

Just another reason other states and companies should learn from and initiate programs like Budweiser Sharelunker Program. I garauntee that if that bass was caught in TX, the matter wouldn't be up for debate....plus the bonus of that bass going for breeding purposes

Also, how would you guys rate night fishing..........better, worse, about the same, or it just depends.