wademaster1

Isn't the 40+-hours a week I spend at the dungeon far too much of a break? Anything more than that would be plain unfathomable.....

It definitely blows to have to wait any period of time to fish but I will say this: if there's a will, there's a way......lots of people don't go the extra mile to fish when they could've gotten at least a little time on the water......

Pickerel have that black marking at the eye, pike do not

How does it contaminate the other plastics?

They're cool fish for sure....what have they been hitting?

Keep throwing the top water lures until you stop having luck with it....I'm still getting some hits on top but plastics c-rigged have produced best for me lately.....cranks are still catching fish for me occasionally also

Maybe they aren't quite in sync with fall yet....they are feeding heavily here in nc, hitting plastics/cranks.....but I don't think a super slow retrieve is necessary right now.....

I'm in NC, and they're feeding nicely.....plastics have treated me well lately.....I've also caught several on cranks

Can you post a pic? I'd like to see it....

It reminds me of a plastic starfish bait....

I'll say picture on the trophy bass, but I'm not sure I'd stick to that if I ever catch one that large.... If a fish is already dead and it's something I want to eat then I'd keep it.....nothing goes to waste in nature, something would eat it anyway....

I don't use a pile of ziplocks, I get the big heavy duty versions so I won't have a bunch to deal with.....then, I open the bag and thumb through the tops of the packages until I get to the one I need.....very handy

Lots of guys use those binders that are designed for carrying plastics...I do lots of fishing in a kayak and I use a big heavy duty ziploc bag that I just kind of shuffle through like you would a file cabinet when changing baits....

It's eye looks a little abnormal to me as well....I've also caught healthy fish with less than perfect but I've also caught one eyed bass that were clearly struggling to feed normally for its size...

It likely wasn't hooked at all if you just started reeling with no hookset.....bass will grab part of a worm from time to time but you normally don't have that problem often if you were only using a 5".....when you see that line moving to the side, reel down and swing for the fences....

I had a NC and VA license up until a couple weeks ago.....now only the NC

Similar.....

Took a trip to Ohio several months ago....I took no fishing tackle with me so I used my friend's dad's combo.....it went overboard and was never seen again.....luckily it wasn't my combo and he wasn't ticked, because we were on his boat.....hahaha

It works both ways in my opinion.....if you hook a cat or something and you think you've got a big bass it can be disheartening....but on the other hand, I've caught some trophy crappie as a by product of bass fishing....

My choice of a favorite rig varies from situation to situation....c-rig, t-rig, weightless.....love them all in their designated situations.....

Time on the water will bring better fish.....try different baits and keep that place on the down low....

I've been tearing them up lately with a Shad Rap crank......

I always tie directly to the line...the snaps are handy to save a few seconds, but it encourages not checking your line for damage, subsequently losing fish....

Trick worm or your preferred color (try a few)....lizard is good too.....t-rigged, weedless.....3/0 wide gap

I've been catching some fish on cranks but plastics have been the best for me so far.....spinnerbait didn't do me any good when I threw it.....