Tom Bass

Go with brown, black and very dark green. That ought to do it if you are looking for natural colors

Good point.

Have fun! ...please tell us about your trip when you get back.

Avid, You are a Firecracker! ;D If we ever meet, the drinks and perhaps a d**n good steak are on me! ;D ;D ;D I mean it! Tom

Today I picked up trash at the boat ramp and in the water that I traveled. I always pick up trash wherever I see it at the lake bank and on the water. Many times the trash is a result of wind taking it out of a boat without anyone noticing but often it's just tossed by careless and ignorant fools on the banks and in the water. I despise them but I do pick up their trash. Most times, it's not much but it really aggravates me. I am not not a left-leaning tree-hugging enviro-wienie BUT I am sick of the ignorant "people" that frequent the public fishing areas and lakes that we all pay for through tax dollars. Okay....Rant Over....I'll do my part and clean up. If no one is looking and I catch a guy messing the place up perhaps I'll make sure he gets medical attentio.....er, uh, maybe I'll make sure he understands what those funny silver upright receptacles are that have openings in the top and plastic embryo looking things down in 'em are. I swear! I would really like to get Medieval on some people...Maybe they'd like a monofilament enema

True...True....Same goes with Carp ;D The question was in regards to Smallmouth or Largemouth Bass.

I don't chum for bass but I do dispose of earthworms in the hopes that they will be eaten and help preserve the health of the fish eating them, be they bass, bream, catfish, whatever. I have no control of what happens to the worms when they hit the water. But seriously, I don't chum for any fish. I do throw out my redworms and nightcrawlers out at the end of a day if I am using them for bait. The bream get 'em mostly. I have never heard of anyone chumming for bass and I would guess they would only be interested in minnows, which would be too expensive for chumming unless you caught them yourself.

Avid and Brushpileberry get the Laugh Out Loud Award! Thanks for the laughs guys.

I'm with Indiana Kid' on this one too. Smallies don't get as big but they sure do fight better that Largemouths. I haven't caught any here in the Carolinas and I sure do miss 'em.

Raul, That might explain why Bureaucrats do what they do.... ;D

The man's got a point. 8-)

Side bar note: Sometimes casting where you normally wouldn't or somewhere that you don't think might have bass might not be a bad thing to try once in a while. A couple of weeks back the Ladies Bass Masters was going on at Lake Noman here in NC. I showed up at Blythe Landing to fish but the boat ramp was busy and I had forgotten which weekend the tournament was on so I decided to shore fish and watch the Ladies go out for bass. I figured the bass were deep due to the heat of the water. That was the consensus I gathered from the fisherwomen as they left the docks as well. I casted out a bunch of different lures to no avail. I decided to play around with a Rapala Floater just to watch it and see if I could better my "wounded minnow" technique. WHAM! I caught a bass in 4-5 feet of water that was around 16-18 inches and heavy for it's length - I had no way to measure it. It sure surprised me. I did not expect fish in the area that shallow due to the hot water. Even the bream weren't biting! Siquaba, I'll try your technique and see how it works for me. I have tried something similar with Carolina rigs and have always felt that I had the attention of bass and perahps that they were actually picking up the bait but I got only a few hook ups. Thanks, Tom

When I encounter weeds I resort to floating lures. I read an article a while back that talked about using drop shot rigs with weedless worms and tubes but I haven't had the opportunity to try it out.

Welcome

I'd get me a trolling motor for my new little fishing boat. I'd buy that G. Loomis rod and Shimano reel that I have been drooling over..there goes another $900. I'd buy me a nice fishfinder for each of my two boats. One battery powered, one fully installed. and I would buy me a bunch of lures and fishing niceties...

Maybe I am in the minority here, but I usually smash the barbs down on most of my lure's hooks so that I don't cause the bass too much damage when I unhook them. If I use a lure with a particularly large barbed hook I always smash the barb down. If I'm fishing for keepers (eatin' fish) I have lures that I leave the barbs intact.

I have a Bass Pro Shop not more than 4 miles from me and I dearly love that store. I have bought a boat load of things from Cabela's over the years through mail order but I have never visited one of their stores. Their mail order is pretty darn good. I dearly love going to my local Bass Pro here in Concord. The staff is awesome in regards to customer service and they have a couple of people that are professional bass fishermen and fisherwomen on their staff. Bonus! Gander Mountain just opened a store about 20 or so miles away from me and BPS smokes 'em in regards to service and knowledge when it comes to the staff. I love BPS. My wife doesn't but she's coming around. ;D

Thanks Dr Bass.

Well Everybody.....I'm not sure. I fish for bass. I use many techniques. I use many different lures and rigs, I use a few different pole / reel combinations...no bait casters, Y'all can have 'em. I fish light. I fish heavy. I use a boat. I don't use a boat. I fish lakes. I fish creeks and rivers. I use minnows and worms sometimes. I fish in sun. I fish in rain. I fish and freeze.....and thaw out and fish some more....or Not. : I have a fair amount of tackle. I have some tackle that I swear by. I have some that I swear at yet still lug it around. I fish in the morning. Cold or Hot. Rain or Shine. Evenings are for my Lady. I like to break off from Bass fishin'. Panfish tempt me and my Ultra-Lights need exercise. I fish when I'm mad. I fish when I'm blue. I fish when I'm happy....which usually happens soon after being mad or blue. I am happy with any bass I catch, be it "junk" or otherwise. I just fish...... I just fish and it makes me happy. I like that.

Dr. Bass has some good suggestions. also, try a Rapala floater silver/black.

Well Cart, It was a means to an end...My wife hates fishing, but she loves to go boating with me while I fish. 8-) It worked out real nice! She's the one who suggested me buyin' my new little fishin' boat. So I bought one. I am a lucky man!

#1 bait hooks and #2 Aberdeen should do alright.

Welcome! Welcome to my world. It's my personal opinion that you are too tense in regards to bass fishing. Relax...my answer to you is #5 Relax, observe, Fish, observe, change bait, observe, have a smoke, drink a soda, look around, see the fish jump - just out of castin' range....always! : Relax and enjoy your time fishing. Sometimes you hit it big, quite often ya don't. When you least expect it...WHAM!

Y'all done GOOD! Thanks for a very cool website that we can all enjoy.

8-)