Zel

Glenn's right sorry. For now I will try to keep and open mind on the relationship between the Sierra Club and ASA. But it has been my experience that they seem to be an activist group aimed more at restricting access to public lands than promoting hunting and fishing. And I might be wrong, but I think the Sierra Club has likely done more to close off public lands than any other organization. It would be disingenuous if they were using ASA as a means to progress their own agenda. Hopefully ASA will monitor their actions carefully and not put dollars ahead of values if questionable activities arise.

I remember in the 70's that all the world's climatologiest agreed we were headed for global cooling and another ice age. If I recall correctly, there was no more need to debate the subject back then either.

Not so fast Dick Tracy... Look up "Patent Publication number 2004-222617"

Don't know the legalities. I remember hearing something to the effect that the lure needs to be more than 10% different as not to infringe on a patent, or something to that regards. But don't go on my word. To make the lure different, you might go at it in a different direction. Give something extra to the lure by giving it a warming effect which causes the fish to mistake the lure for a living bait by the use of radiation of a far-infrared ray (heat) signal. You could use crushed polished Jade in your paint to get the desired effect. (don't use Graphite Silica Lucky Craft has the patent on that one). Now you just have to figure out if all this is just plain bullcrap. :

Thinks it is much more comfortable to be mad and know it, than to be sane and have one's doubts

Carry on my wayward son...

Could have been several factors that made the bite favorable on Thursday: The bite was viscous in the morning when it was raining with thunderstorms to the south. Once the rain ended and the sun came out, the bite died off, and although we continued to catch them, it was slow after that. You had a new moon, we were nearing the last quarter. Temps dropped about 15 degrees from the prior day(although you would think would make for a slower bite). Surface water temp was 75 - 77 degrees. 90% of our bass came from one 300 yard stretch. We fished on a Thursday, and were the only boat fishing on the lake for the first 3 hours. Also it was 4 days after the weekend, when they traditionally get hammered. If you concentrated on the hump area out from the kids camp, we only got 2 from there.

I also got a lesson in the importance of concentration. When fishing for fun, I sometimes have a nasty habit of using two rods (one in each hand). When we were drifting and fishing dropoffs, I would fish a jigging spoon in my left hand and drag a Fat Ika in the shallows in my right hand. I probably had 10 fish get off when they hit the surface or jumped from failure to get a good hookset. One smallmough spit the jigging spoon on the surface 2 feet from the boat, and we estimated it to easily be over 20 and maybe in the 7lb range. I have never had a MH baitcast rod bend like that. He was mortified I just shrugged it off to being a bone-head. Muddy... surely not when it comes to frogs. We fished some of the silver dollar type pads for a while in the afternoon. I was 0 for 3 yesterday. But unlike you, my friend couldn't hold back the laughter. And Muddy, we've got to hit Fairview Lake some time soon. What a great fishery for quality LM and SM bass, for only 195 acres. Fairview Lake is the lake Mike Iaconelli caught his first bass and launched him into a great professional bass fishing career. http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050724/NEWS/507240350/1015

I'd say the GYCB Fat Ika easily caught over half of our bass, and equal amounts of LMB and SMB and they were the largest fish of the day. One cast we would catch a LMB, and the next cast to the same area would produce a SMB. But it was nice to see the Fat Ika ride up the line rather then being thrown off and lost, when those SMB hawgs jumped 4 feet out of the water (better than loosing them at their price). Senko type baits (both 4 & 5) came in second, jigging spoons on the numerous dropoffs in the 15-25 ft range came in third, and then a couple of other fish here and there on various baits. My friend said he will never again go without a GYCB Fat Ika rigged up.

A little story of the power of BassResource and the importance of keeping up on new techniques and technology. I got a call Tuesday from the president of the bass club I belonged to, before medical issues forced me to resign several years ago. He was always in the top six, never finishing below 6th in over twenty years. But this year was near the bottom of the barrel in points standings. He talked to me of his frustrations, and asked me if I wanted to take a day off from work Thursday and go fishing just for fun without the pressures of a tournament. He threw out several lakes as possibilities. I suggested instead that we prefish a lake in his upcoming schedule that had both populations of largemouth and smallmouth so we could mix it up a bit. We decided on Fairview Lake, a lake I haven't fished in about 5 years. When we got to the lake at 5:30 in the morning, I noticed his setups. It was the same old things the club guys had been using for years on end. I asked him if he took my advice when we last talked over the winter about adding the GYCB Fat Ikas to his arsenal. He said he picked up a pack but didn't have much luck with them the one time he used them. He said he was the only guy in the club that had them. I told him he was going to see some real differences in my fishing style then he remembers when I was a member. I said when I belonged to the club, everything we did was mirroring each other's successes. I told him we didn't know it, but were stuck in a rut. I talked about how much my fishing techniques have changed since the years I had left, and that was mostly due to the education and learning I incorporated since then. I credited the vast improvements in my fishing to what I learned here at BassResource, and guaranteed him we were going to do real well today (pretty bold of me I know). He started off with his regular baits that I remembered. I said I was going to keep switching up until I found what they wanted, that we should let the bass tell us what they wanted, not the other way around. I told him he can read all the articles he wanted, but if he really wanted to get some of the best information available, to join a bass fishing forum like BassResouce. That the information comes form people who not only recommend things that worked for them, but who were also willing to interact with you regarding any questions you have. I said I was going to think out loud as we fished so he could see my thought process. A couple of highlights I told him about one post I read about the Fat Ika attracting both largemouth and smallmouth equally that RW saw in a tank at a show. I said I was going to consentrate on the Fat Ika because we would be fishing locations that held both varieties. Another... when we hit an area that should have produced but didn't, I talked about how the Bisonix unit was based on the Rattle Trap. That it was basically a unit that mimicked schooling baitfish and helped to activate bass. I said I reguarly now throw a Rattle Trap in this type situation for a little while, in hopes it activitated the bass a bit. Even if they don't hit the Trap, my hopes were it would activate them enough were they would hit slow moving plastics. And it worked just as I thought, and we picked up 3 nice ones in that small area with plastics after throwing the Trap. Another... I told him to switch up from a T-rigged 4 straight worm, which was catching him some little fish, to a 4 Senko rigged wacky style. I said the 4 size matched the baitfish length we were seeing, but the larger profile might be key, and rigging it wacky style mimicked the erratic action of the baitfish we were seeing. And since both LMB and SMB lived in the area together, we should find something that appealed to both equally. He switched and really started catching some quality fish. He was really interested in the different things we did, and what had worked better than he ever saw on that lake. All told, we boated about 30 bass, with equal numbers of LMB and SMB. 70 percent were in the 3 5 pound range, which is really good quality size for bass in the Poconos. He said he had the most productive fishing day he has had in years. So thanks BassResource. After watching him as we started off fishing yesterday, I see how much the information I have learned here has improved my bass catching abilities. I guess you don't really know until you can qualify it, as I probably would still be fishing a narrow mindset like my fiend if I had not become a member here and put what I learned it into practice.

If you are unfamiliar with the lake, look for areas that are comparable to areas/structure you are familiar with on the lakes you do fish, and fish them with your confidence baits and how you fish your regular lakes. I'm a big proponent that tournament time is not the time to try and learn new techniques unless you aren't catching anything then I say go for broke. (and don't forget your GYCB Fat Ikas)

Muddy, looks like you may have caught a case of my recent bout with Boneheadeditis (it might be associated with some bad mojo of that black Jitterstick why do you think I gave it to you LOL looks like an exorcism is in order).

Can't comment on the match the hatch question, just my experience. I have fish the Leopard, Yellow, Blue & Silver, Black, Flitter (sparkle), and Clear colored Zara Spooks. My most productive color is the Clear color.

Address it at the next club meeting under new business. Ask for a clarification, and then ask if everybody in the club will be allowed to pull a stunt like that in the future whenever they want to? Guaranteed, you will see a lot of back peddling going on.

Yup, you hit the nail on the head.

Yeah you're probably right about the braid, but after I cut my left index finger down to the bone with braid, I swore I would never use it again... and although I have spooled it up on ocassion, I'm too chicken to throw it.

I like the action of those new baits in the video. I think I'll pick some up and maybe even do a little cut and paste with an old time plastic I have that fishes like a spinnerbait (even has sorta the profile of one going through the water), and replace the ends with that Rage Tail. I like the plastic but wish for a little more vibration. It might do the trick. I think I'll call it Rage Against The Unseen.

I use frogs on two baitcast setups. (I don't care for braid) 7' Kunnan MH rod w/Cortland 20lb mono line 6'6 Berkley Lightning Rod (the older variety) MH w/Trilene XL 15lb line.

I like them, just seem to be brain-dead when it comes to getting a hookset. BASS EXPLOSION ON THE FROG... COUNT ONE-ONE THOUSAND... SET HOOK... DUCK CAUSE HERE COMES THE BAIT RIGHT AT ME!

What gets me the most is BASS continues to institute their Benefits subject to change at the discretion of BASS clause, and always for the worse when it comes to the grassroots anglers. They keep eliminating that which makes bass fishing tournaments special and different from all other professional sports (the ability to compete with a top pro). I guess I should be okay if we decided to take Christ out of Christmas because then more people can make a better living through commercialism and forget about what makes it special. Like the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society becoming BASS, Christmas Day can become Commerce Day. (metaphor not religion).

Sounds like you all had some great times at ICAST. But I wish some reporting services had the guts to report on the EHHs, or even the also rans, instead of just the Best in Classes.

$*#%$*#... and that's putting it mildly!

Well, you know I can't give you any advise on frogin. When it becomes too frustrating, I switch to a GYCB Fat Ika, and I'm back in my comfort zone.

Nice to see that guy sitting in that good looking boat in your avatar is back. I forget, when again did you say you were going to Yankee stadium?

WELCOME! The ones here are really good, and they use a real quality hook. They are located pretty close to me, so I just get them there, therefore I can't comment on any internet sales experience with them. Lou is a pretty good guy also. My personal favorites are the black with blue flash and the dark brown with copper flash, but I usually only use them for smallmouth. http://www.wackyworm.com/wwfamousjigs.html