Big Jon

I was stationed in Okinawa Japan and got to go to Churaumi Aquarium. The main tank with the whale sharks was mind boggling. http://oki-churaumi.jp/en/ I have seen 5-6 pound largemouths jumping clear out of the water as of late (My PB is a little over 4 lbs, so these are big to me). They were just outside of my casting range. I was stuck on shore. That has been happening nearly every morning for a couple weeks as the temperatures drop.

For some reason I trust the fish to be more clean than people, but to answer the original question, I just wash my hands when I get home.

Yeah, I can see that, based on the title. Maybe I should have been more clear.

I can understand that. I enjoy my alone time, but I recognize that she might go only once in a while. Once I get a boat, she will probably want to go more often.

I was surprised actually, since she wanted to keep fishing for a few hours before she caught one.

My wife just started fishing, and I have enjoyed her company. To be honest though, I like the time to think by myself. She's not going to be there every time, so I will enjoy fishing by myself or with her.

I have not used a leader, but I use the Alberto using braid with some cheap mono backing. I check the knot at the lure every so often and after every bite. I retie about every three fish depending on what the line looks like.

Three actually, the youngest is not taken.

The whole experience. The funny thing is that she caught one really small white bass. She hated the spinning reel, but when I gave her the baitcaster, she was all for it. I don't know really, but at the end of the day it was getting dark, and she just kept saying, "This is the last cast."

I took my wife fishing this Saturday. She wants to go fishing every day now. I usually go every morning until I have to go to work. She even picked up a baitcaster and was a natural at it. The bad news is that she only wants to use my favorite rod. I'll have to save up money to get her a good one. (she doesn't want a cheap combo like the other two I have) The good news though, is that she is already scheming on ways to get a boat.

When I first picked up a baitcaster, I spent hours with just a wait on the line casting before I went fishing. Otherwise, I just fish. Oh, and I watch a ton of youtube videos about fishing, watching tournaments, watching what experts are doing when it counts.

I agree on all of the above. I have fished at ponds like this. I made the presentation small, and as quiet as possible. That's what actually got me to learn flipping and pitching.

I think that if I had a boat, lakes would be preferred to ponds. I think for bank fishing, I have had better quantity with ponds. However, I have had better quality with lakes. I think the option of boat vs. no boat is the key for me. I have not fished a river, so I don't know about that.

I agree about the seasonal thing. I can say that since the weather has cooled off, I have caught a lot more. Mostly because I bank fish and they are getting back up into the shallows. I have caught a couple dozen largemouth in the last two weeks (about 30 minutes to an hour of fishing a day). Though there were a few in the 3 pound range, I would say I am around 1.5-1.75 pounds on average, 13"-15".

I wouldn't have believed this without the picture. I think the only thing I have seen is crawdads. I did catch one with an additional hook in his mouth. I removed it. It was probably mine anyway. No one else ever fished that pond, and I had lost one recently.

I don't know if this article will help. I think if you can get to the water, then you have a chance at catching something. http://www.bassmaster.com/node/98566# Dustin WIlks is the autor. He lives in North Carolina, but it still gets plenty cold there.

I work from home, and all my stuff is in the corner next to the door, so I can grab it an bolt. I don't have a cover for the back up my truck, or I would leave it in there.

If I'm already planning on going, the rain doesn't stop me, but I can't say that the rain makes me want to go fishing. Then again, there are very few times I wouldn't rather be fishing.

The last couple years I was in Colorado, and everything froze over so quickly. I moved to Texas though, so as long as I can get the lure in the water, I'm going to try.

Awesome, congrats.

I don't listen to music while fishing anymore. I don't have a portable music player (well, I have a phone, but no music on it). I suppose, if I had a boat, I would play some country (quietly).

I was out this morning and it was pouring. I caught one on a black spinnerbait with a colorado blade, slow rolling it along the bottom. I caught two on a small, shallow diving crankbait, going as fast as I could. Was there any trick to it? I don't know. I did try a black and blue jig around some docks that seemed to offer shelter from the wind and rain, but that was happening. I already had a buzzbait and popper rigged from yesterday morning, so I threw those first, but the rain was so loud and it was so dark out (before sunrise), that I couldn't see or hear them well, if at all.

Hey everyone, I live in east Texas. I was out at Lake Holbrook this morning from about 4:45am to 7:45am. The rain and wind were doing a number on everything. A couple trees fell down. It was pretty dark. The sound of the rain on the water was almost deafening at times. I don't have a boat, so I was just fishing from shore and the dock by one of the boat ramps. With the direction the wind was blowing, the side of the lake that had shelter from the wind was the side where there are houses and private property. I just walked around the areas I could. Oddly enough, I was wearing shorts and flip flops under the rain suit, and my feet were only warm when I waded in a little bit. I started off using a buzzbait and popper, as I have been wanting to become more proficient with these baits. I have caught a few over the past couple days on them. I read they are good in the rain too, but I could barely see the buzzbait this morning among the rain drops hitting the water, and I couldn't see the popper (or hear it). I switched to a black and blue jig around a boat dock a little bit, that was kind of sheltered from the wind and rain, with no luck. I also tried a black spinnerbait with a colorado blade on it. I did catch about a 1 3/4lbs largemouth on that. I switched to a couple crankbaits. One of them was a shallow diving (0-3 feet) and the other was a bit deeper (10-13 feet). I caught a couple (less than a pound) on the shallow crankbait as the sun was starting to come up. The rain had died down a lot at that point. What could I have done better out there? I know there's some good fish in here. I have caught a few 4 pounders out here. Was there anything I could have done better in these conditions? Do you think the fish were mostly out deep? I was not totally unsatisfied with the decisions I made. I did catch a few fish, so it wasn't a waste of time, and I had fun. I have never fished in a downpour like that before. I went with mostly dark baits since it was dark (even when the sun came up). I caught all three fish on one side of a dock, just fan casting the crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The crankbaits I was retrieving as fast as I could when I caught the two, but I was slow rolling that spinnerbait along the bottom for the larger fish. I think I'm rambling now, but I'm just trying to process all this information into some usable experience. What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I hear you. It doesn't help that the past few times we went out, he just so happened to catch something on the first cast. He made about 6-8 casts and had nothing so he thought there were no fish there.