hooah212002

If you go to their website, you can get a free pack of them after a moderate length survey. Takes a bit to receive them, but hey, free hooks with a high MSRP.

I thought this was how bass entice humans to mate with them, but I guess my mind is in the wrong end of the gutter......

not the carp in your pond what? I never said they don't ever eat stuff off the surface because obviously that is false. I said they are bottom feeders and if you want an easier time catching one, put a worm on a hook and let it sit on the bottom. Or you can keep trying different ways to catch carp with lures on top of the water.

Carp are bottom feeders. Put a nightcrawler on a hook, maybe a bobber so you can see the bite better, and throw it in the water. You'll catch one. Though, I guess catching a carp on topwater would be.... neat.

HA! Too true. The spot I fish from shore always has boats pull up and the guys look at their electronics and get all wide eyed because there are actually tons of fish there. they pop trolling motor down and start casting (a little too close to me, if you don't mind my say so). Too bad they're mostly carp. If they had their polarized glasses on they'd realize that.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish/article_submission.html

I hadn't thought of that and it is a good possibility. Oh well, too late now. I prefer having braid as a mainline. Much easier to manage.

I'm with ya there lol. I cannot seem to keep my bait low when either flipping or pitching. It ends up swinging around really high in the air which then causes major backlash.

Thanks for the tips guys. A few of you mentioned trolling the line out: I cannot do that since I don't have a boat. Instead, I switched out the Senshi for some Power Pro. I took it out last night for maybe 30 minutes in the cold and rain and got zero line twist (at least not the sort that makes a huge clump just off the reel like with the Senshi).

That has a really weird coloration to it.

The only problem with that is the place I fish has A LOT of grass and moss. I don't yet have a BC that will throw something as light as a fluke.

I switched to 8# Seaguar Senshi last night on my spinning rod because the 6# Sufix Elite I had on was obnoxiously stretchy (lost a couple fish this week due to it). Well, I went out today and 3 times my line got twisted up REALLY bad. I had to cut off maybe 30 yards each time. I put KVD L&L on last night when I was spooling it up, as well as before going out this morning. I never had trouble with the Elite, but I don't know if it was because I worked the fluke faster today, with the Senshi, than I did before with the Elite. I can't exactly afford to keep wasting line. I liked the Elite well enough but it was way too stretchy for the spot I usually fish. I was not using a swivel. Mind you, I did not fish today for very long at all (an hour total, tops), so it wasn't line twist that built up from fishing a fluke for 8 hours straight. tl;dr: is it the line or the fluke causing terrible line twist? I know baits like flukes are known to cause line twist, but this seems excessive.

Awesome suggestions guys. A hearty thanks to all of you. Here, have an e-beer on me

I've got 6# Elite on my spinning rod. I initially got it because it was cheap, but I certainly will use it again since it is soft and strong.

They are VERY used to seeing frogs. Everyone and their cousins and mothers of cousins uses them there. People that don't even bass fish use them because their brother or someone told them "hey, if you go to that spot, use a frog". It is the only place on the whole lake that is accessible to shore fish for free to the public and Delavan is one of the most popular lakes in Southern WI (especially so for the FIB's). What I have not tried, however, and plan on trying is a Rage Toad (as if I am onto something new that the rest of the lake goers are clueless about). I thought I picked some up last week, but when I checked today, I realized I hadn't. It's on the list.

Holy crap, thanks a ton Paul. I will make sure to heed all of that info. Hopefully I can digest it well enough. The only problem I have is the stealth part. The "bank" is very steep leading to a tiny foot path right along the waters edge, which then is met with steel "siding" of sorts. The "bank" is not necessarily at waters edge. I cannot comfortably (without fear of falling) stand too far from the water. If I had to guess, it's maybe a 45 degree angle. If I were to get a bite standing far enough back as to be stealthy, I would forget about my footing and fall in. I already creep as slowly as possible, like you see in the Vietnam movies when they are watching for trip wires.

HA! the only thing I didn't try, but that was only because I don't have strong enough line (well, not strong enough for me to trust using it in that mess) on my spinning rod. I may just have to go for broke and put my skills to the test to see if I can horse a fish out of there on 6# mono. Thanks.

I believe I have one and will try it, but I am skeptical. I am pretty sure it would very quickly get gunked up. I even have trouble keeping my spinnerbait clean. I constantly have to pick moss crap out of the blades because they aren't spinning. Heck, I even have trouble with brush jigs (ironically, grass jigs get too much grass caught in the eye).

Woo! That's one fine fish, man. Congrats.

Yea, that thought crossed my mind. Then it immediately left because I refuse to use live bait for bass fishing. I enjoy shopping for bass gear nearly as much as I do actually fishing, so to not use all the crap I spend my precious dimes on would be a shame.

I got to my spot today for the first time this year and there were some straight up hogs in there! I could see them every which way. I was walking along the bank and I would see one zoom away even though I was walking ever so gently. I seriously could not walk any lighter. I eyeballed 2 really REALLY good sized pike (had to have been 30 inches plus at least) as well as LOTS of really REALLY good size bass. I saw one that I first though was a pike because it was so long, but upon further inspection realized it was in fact a bass. I started fishing here last year and I could see the fish, but not this many (I would see maybe one or two each time I went) and that is why I am seeking help. I had heard this spot housed some lunkers, but I thought it to be lore of days past. It is not. They are just smart fish. I saw all these fish and they all snubbed everything I threw at them. I bonked a few on the nose with a jig and ran spinnerbaits right in front of their face, only for them to turn away. There were bountiful baitfish and the bigger fish were happy to be right by them. Not once did I see them attack one of the bluegills or smaller bass. The water is clear. Where I fish, there is a channel that runs under the bridge to the main lake and i can see the bottom. The bottom on either side of the channel has maybe 2 ft. of grass/moss (2 ft from the bottom) while the surface is pretty well clear except for sparse floating patches. It averages maybe 4-6 ft in depth including the grass/moss (I think). Suffice to say: it's VERY weedy and VERY clear. The only baits to work so far (last year and this) are white or white/chart spinnerbaits or green punpkin jigs with brown or green pumpkin trailers. The only fish I caught today was on a white spinnerbait. Also of note is that this spot sees a fair amount of boat traffic. Not so much on either side of the channel, but a lot of boats in and out. It IS a no wake zone. So, pros of BR: what do you throw when you can see 'em, you know they are there, but they just look at you like you are nuts. I do fish there at night sometimes, but as weedy as it is, it makes it difficult. It is easier to fish the muck when I can target pockets, few and far between as they may be. I mainly used a jig and a spinnerbait, seeing as they are the easiest in the nastiness. There was zero surface busting, so my frog throwing was short lived (plus it was mid day). I am also well aware that it could have been due to the conditions (relatively calm, blue bird day meaning little to no chop on the water)

Good to hear. Glad you had a good time. I did .... ok yesterday. I took my youngest out and we got a few trout on spinners. I got an ok size bass on a jig, but none were picture worthy. I took both of them out today down in IL by my parents house, but it was a state park and the shorelines were packed. The whole lake was packed. It was ridiculous.This week I'll get out to my spot and do some real fishing by myself.

Dang man. That was meta as heck. Very introspective and telling. Props to you, mate. It takes A LOT to admit something like this and to be so aware of ones self.

Any luck, Mark?

Why are there (typically) special regulations for Trout? for example: in Wisconsin, you have to purchase an inland trout stamp if you fish for "inland" trout (inland meaning away from the Great Lakes), then yet another Great Lakes Trout stamp if you want to fish for trout on one of the Great Lakes. Also, there is a whole seperate regulation book just for trout regulations. Why is this? I know trout is one of the most heavily human stocked fish (or is that wrong?), does that mean it is one of the most heavily fished fish as well?