logan9209

LOL! Stop, Glenn, you're killing us. We managed to get about 2 hours of rain Sunday night/ Monday morning. But it's like giving someone in the desert one little drop of water. Monday night the darn storm went right around us. We're slated for afternoon and pm storms and they're scattered or isolated at that. Which means we may not get much in the way of rain. It is supposed to drop down to the low 90's though, so that will give us a little break. My a/c hasn't been able to handle the day temps. It's been in the 100's in the house. Landlord said they would put a window unit in for us. Can't wait to see that electric bill.

You can catch bass with a quarter? Just kidding. I see the grub on a jig head and I see what looks to be a bobber. How do you chug it?

This economy has gotten rough. I'm not going to bother with the blame game, though. That's a can of worms I don't want to open. I will say that it's sad that the gov is willing to pay trillions for a ship with rail guns (seen it on yahoo) when most americans are suffering. Also what's sad is that there are people who will only apply for jobs in order to keep their unemployment when there are others who really need the jobs. And those ones who apply just to keep the unemployment somehow end up getting the job. There was a guy who lived across from me just like that. He had 4 job opportunities in a month and screwed up all 4 within 24 hours. Anyways..... I wish my landlord would let us get out on little jon boats. BPS has a 10' for $600. I'd even settle with fishing from tubes.

The last few days it's been in the low 100's till around 9pm -10pm, and the bite has tremendously slowed because of it. It's been hot so long, I think the bass have readjusted their routes and times and failed to send me a memo.

Seriously, I'm not a big fan of treble hooks, but that would majorly suck. I fish at a private lake so I don't think that normal laws apply. But even if they did, I am quite sure that here in Georgia we don't have to worry about that. Heck, they use the alabama rig here (umbrella rig). Thanks for the info, though.

I don't claim to know anything about tournament fishing. But I do know what life has taught me. It's one thing to do everything you can to be your best. It's another to over extend yourself beyond your limits and what not. Trying too hard will cause you to make mistakes and over look things that you wouldn't normally over look. You're doing something that some of us (me) dream of doing one day. I could care less if it's from the back of the boat or the front of the boat. I just want to be there (anywhere that's not my lake). Fishing next to a pro can add tons of stress to you, but you just have to step back a moment and realize that it's a perfect opportunity to learn from him/ her. Be your own person while adding new skills to the arsenal that you already have. I know it's not the same, but when I'm not fishing I am usually inside watching the pros on YouTube trying to learn as much as possible and maybe get new ideas. They still intimidate me (even from the net) because they are catching 5+ pounds in what seems like every other cast or every other sentence (darn you KVD!). But a student can't become a master by learning from a student. He has to learn from a master. To sum up: Have fun, enjoy getting to work with a pro, and milk him/her for every bit of knowledge that you can. You never know, even the shortest stint with a pro can open new doors of opportunity for you.

new2BC4bass, I am stuck fishing from the bank right now. I didn't think pitching would a useful skill. But, I've recently learned that pitching has opened a whole new area for me. It allows me to get lures under tree limbs without getting hung up as much and it will be really good next spawn season because the bass like to bed within 5-10 feet from the bank. Also, pitching to open water hitting on the outside (furthest from the bank) edge of weed lines can be beneficial. I can do an under cast with a spin cast reel, but for some reason I have yet to be able to do it with a bait casting reel.

Is that the BPS Double Take? I seen that one and read the reviews. Seems like it doesn't run true as much and there's problems with the one in back getting hung on the line or hung on the one on front. I've seen some else running a fluke behind the jig on YouTube. Looks interesting, but (this is gonna sound contradicting to my post) do you ever wonder if you should just throw the fluke? Then again I've thought the same about using scents. Something like I should just throw a pencil with scent on it. I know that skill and the lure's action are a huge part, but sometimes I do wonder. How do you connect the line from the fluke to the jig? On the hook or on the jig eye?

All of the Rage Tail products except Smokin' Rooster and Anaconda (I have them), a real Senko (not the alternatives), and a jointed minnow (the 4"-6" kind). Also, the Zoom Swamp Crawler and the Gulp! Wacky Crawler just to see what Mike Iaconelli was bragging about.

For my weightless soft plastics like lizards and worms, I generally use my ML 5'6" spinning spooled with 6# or 8# test line. Senko like worms have a weightiness too them so the go real far and my trick worms always go a good distance. With lizards I will add a 1/8 ounce weight just because the legs get caught by the wind and so the lizard doesn't go quite as far as I would like. But you can throw Senko like worms and Rage Hawg like creature baits pretty far with a bait casting reel without a weight because they do have that natural weight to them (usually 1/4 ounce to about a 1/2 ounce).

Inactive? Yes. Uncatchable? No. You have to treat it like winter. Locating them will be a little harder. Usually, not always, they will be deeper. The trick is to get them to react out of instinct rather than hunger. That's the part I haven't really mastered yet. Mainly because I've been staying in from 10am till around 8pm. I just can't take the triple digit heat like I used to.

Aha! That's exactly what I need. I'm thinking I would have to remove the back treble hook from the front fish imitator, which may or may not affect hook up ratios. Thank you so much! Out of curiosity has this every been done?

Line (types and #test), rod length and tip action, and reel all play a part in how far you cast a light weight lure. Also how the lure is designed can affect your cast. The smokin roosters catch a lot of wind resistance and don't go as far without adding some weight. On a bait casting reel, your brakes and cast control affect your cast too. Wind can be a huge factor. Throwing into the wind, it won't go as far. Throwing in the direction of the wind it goes farther. A bird that mistakenly thinks your trick worm is his next meal can affect how far your cast goes. It has happened.

Son of a switch! I've been lied to for the last 7 months. You gotta admit though, it does have the mouth of a bass. Oddly enough I think we have the other 2 in our lake as well. Can't always believe what you're told. That's what makes learning how to fish so dang hard. You get 5 bass fisherman in the same room and, most often than not, you won't get the same thing from a one of them. Oh they might occasionally agree on some very general and vague notions, but not anything specific and actually helpful.

This is a fun and interesting topic and it's great to see so many different points of view on this . Just remember, there's no Fishing Police gonna stop by and ticket you for not doing it the normal way. Some like to fish for multiple species. I like to fish just for bass (even those pesky rock bass). Some don't switch. I do. Some like to use their favorite lures in the most traditional ways. I don't. Some don't find Angelina Jolie hot.......really? Tomato tomauto. There is quite a bit of merit to not switching hands. However, even though I'm right handed, I believe I would rather learn to cast with my left hand and still reel with my right. I just feel that after the cast everything is done better with my left hand. Does it help to tell you that I can bat both left and right handed. Most often I would actually bat left handed. But, since I don't want to take the fun out of this topic I digress.

Around here they're called Warmouth or Rock Bass. They are very aggressive little buggers even more so than the bass. And they will go after lures that leave you scratching your head trying to figure out just how they expected to eat it. For their size, they put up a heck of a fight. Often times a little 4 ounce one will fight like it was a 1-2 pound bass. Once I was using a white spinnerbait over some thick weeds. I got it to the inside, between the weeds and the bank, and then let it just drop. As soon as it hit the bottom, this warmouth shot out and tried for a minute to get his mouth wrapped around the lure. The hook was too big and he gave up quickly disappearing. Anyway, they are a hybrid of sunfish and bass (which redundant considering that bass are a member of the sunfish family). The neon blue streaks on their face makes them really pretty fish.

Why does it seem that some of the more productive lures get discontinued? My local tackle shop aren't getting any more Rage Tail products because his supplier isn't selling them all that much. I find that very difficult to believe considering how popular they are on here. I'm the kinda guy who doesn't buy his stuff based on name brand. I only care if it works and if it will last under normal usage. I would be mad as heck if Zoom stopped making black trick worms or if Heddon stopped making Spooks. Thankfully with most lures there are good alternatives out there. But there are a few that will either work better or work the same while lasting through more fish.

Some how I've gotten a hold of some 12-14" steel leaders. Don't where they came from, but I know what they're used for. However, I want to take 2 different size minnows, flukes, or shallow running cranks and link them together where it looks like the bigger fish is chasing after the smaller fish. I know for flukes that there's the double zulu rig, but I think the other 2 would be a good idea. I just don't know how to accomplish it. The steel leaders has a barrel swivel on one end and a snap w/o a swivel on the other end. Obviously the snap would go to the bigger fish imitator. But how do I connect the barrel swivel to the smaller fish? Keep this in mind: If I tie off a short line from the swivel to the smaller fish then I risk getting them twisted on a cast. If I can directly connect the swivel to the smaller fish, then the steel leader would be stiff enough that the back fish wouldn't get hung up on the smaller fish, or worse, on the main line. Conceptually it would work. My boy was working a 4" worm one day. As a small bass was going for it, a much bigger bass was going for the smaller bass. My son got scared and only got the smaller bass, but he could have very well gotten a 2fer. Any ideas would be appreciated. If you could throw in some pics or drawings, then that would be great as well.

I agree with BassinMD. The popper is imitating a dying fish. I've caught fish by pop-sit-pop-sit but a majority of mine have actually been caught from mixing up a little pop-sit-pop-pop-pop-sit-pop-sit-pop-pop-sit. Some say to let it sit for a few seconds when you first cast it, but I don't. The popper doesn't make enough disturbance to spook the bass and when you start your cadence off the bat, it doesn't give them time to think about it. Also, I had a rare moment where it got nailed as soon as it hit the water. You could straight reel it in at various speeds like Mad Fisherman said, but at that point I would switch to a buzz bait, jitter bug, or spook (or something of that nature). In that instance, I think they are looking for a wounded fish that still has some oomph left in him or a fleeing bait fish. Bass don't like it when they think another fish is getting their food. Come to think of it, they should make a jointed popper (if there's not one already). Think about it, you pop it once or twice and stop but that back end still twitches a little bit. Nothing says dying fish more than that.

Contrasting can be a good producer, like matstone7 said. Brown jig with orange trailer or a purple trailer seems to be fairly popular. I can attest to the latter. I got p.o.'d at my junebug smokin rooster (purple tint) and threw it on my brown swim jig. I ended up catching a bass on 2 lures that never caught anything at the same time. So a peanut butter/jelly combo works. Black and blue, and any variance of it, seems to work regardless of time of day, weather, and/or water conditions. From what I've learned on here is matching the hatch is a pretty good way to go. Bluegill have blues browns and greens. The sunfish where I live have greys, browns, greens, and some orangish reds. Of course, there's crappie. Ours is black with brown ish greys. Since I have yet to see a real live crawdad, I have no clue what to recommend for them. Oh, black/red flake skirt and same type trailer works good too. Something about black, chartreuse, or white gets those bass going.

Oh, I left out Spooks and Poppers. Those days that I caught 7-9 bass I started out with either a Spook or a popper. I can rack up 5 bass in an hour. Man I miss my Spook. I need to replace it, but I keep forgetting and I end up buying something else.

For me and my short experience, I would say all through out the whole spawning period. The early hours of the day (first 4-5 hours starting at sunrise) and the last couple of hours at sunset. Not sure about water temperature, but air temperature between 60's and mid 80's. Bottom dwellers like soft plastic worms and lizards have seen the most activity with me. I am sure that most of fall will be good because the waters are cooler and the bass are stocking up for winter. Keep in mind I only have 7 months experience and I am bank bound. The most, by myself, that I've caught in a day is 7-9. The average for me sits between 1-4 caught. To make matters worse the average weight is 2 pounds and less. Lately less than half a pound.

Another post brought this question to mind. How many, who still occasionally use spin cast reels (closed face), find themselves palming the reel? To me it makes sense. With spinning your hand is roughly over the reel and with bait casting most people palm it. Why? Because that point of your rod gives you the most leverage and probably the most sensitivity. By having your hand next to the reel, on it, or above it, you create a fulcrum point or a pivot point. It allows for better hook sets and better control of the fish. So why not palm the spin cast reel? But dang they are so bulky sometimes. Thankfully I have big hands even then I have to stick with the Zebco 202 size or equivalent (in size).

I'm not knocking those who don't switch. I do want you to think about something though. Let's say I make a long cast. The chances of a bass jumping out of the water to get my lure is very slim. Meaning, I have time to switch. With a short cast, I'm so using to switching that I actually can switch right as the lure hits the water. Now, if I was striper fishing chances are good that I would attempt to learn to either cast with my left hand or get used to reeling with my left hand. I've seen a couple of people fishing around here with spinning reels. They will make their casts and the turn the rod over so that they are using it like a spin cast or a bait cast reel. As weird as that is I don't fuss at them or bug them about it. 10 times outta 10 I lose fish due to either getting excited and setting the hook way too early or I had the hook buried a little too deep on a tex posed soft plastic. Oh, once in a blue moon I will lose one cause it had the part of the worm or whatever that doesn't have the hook. But with that scenario I refer you to the first reason I lose fish. Like I said before, I've seen too many pros do it. Pros who have won major tourneys and also gotten angler of the year. Point being is that fishing only has a few small hard set rules. The rest is left up to the angler. Don't be afraid to experiment, but also don't be afraid to fish what feels most natural to you. Heck, the swim jig came about because someone realized that fish could be caught on a jig that's being swam back to them. I'm sure a lot of people said "That's not how you use a jig!" or "You can't catch fish that way!". But it did and it does. It takes me less than 5 seconds to switch. If I am missing bass in that short of time, then I'm thinking they don't really want that lure. I'm more likely to miss a bass by making a cast, tightening the line a bit, and setting the rod down to roll me a cigarette. Which I have been known to do (I can't ever think to do it before hand). I am actually more likely to watch my line as it hits the water when I switch. The reason being is I'm waiting for that 10 pounder or bigger to try to take the rod from my hand. Which at that point I would probably keep the rod in my right hand long enough to set the hook and then quickly change hands. Having said all that, I would love to get my left arm accustomed to making side casts and under handed side casts. Because with a bait cast reel I am limited (in some scenarios) to casting in a 120 degree area and I am missing those fish in the 40 degree area. Especially when I am bank fishing and my buddy wants to fish on the left side of me. At that point I'm limited to just a 40 degree area if there are trees near me. At least with pitching and flipping I have up to 40 feet. Still, I would miss out on some bass. With the spinning and spin cast I can make those casts because I can lift my rod over my left shoulder and cast. I've done that countless times. Oh, on a side note......We finally got rain last night. 2-3 hours of it! Woot!

The way I look at it, it only took me 2 minutes to do the survey and maybe 5 minutes for the quiz. Whatever free stuff they send me will be put to good work. If they don't send me anything then I haven't really lost anything.