redboat

Get yourself an ethanol test kit. I got one from POR-15: (This is NOT an ad or endorsement!!!) I take it with me when on the road; you can do an "on the spot" test in about five minutes. I tested gas in some of my local stations (the kit also measures water content, the component of "bad gas"). In GTexas the pumps are supposed to be labeled if they're using Ethanol in the gas. I found Exxon Premium in my area to be ethanol free (again, NOT an endorsement of Exxon!!!). I also use a lot of Sta-Bil. So far no problems - I keep my fingers crossed!

Remember, if you can see the bass the bass can also see you - and if a bass sees you the chance of catching him or her goes way down. You were catching the males, they were probably hyped up and ready to spawn but the females - older probably and more experienced - may have seen you or your boat. Try backing off, cast back to them.

Well, if you caught HIM its a male but if you caught HER its female. Hope this helps...

Couple years back a buddy, his son, and I were fishing Fork when we saw a four foot 'gator hanging out about 50 feet away. Took a while to recognize it, only his snoot was showing, looked like a log. Then as luck would have it I ran smack into a stump with the TM and went off the bow into the water. Hadda swin around the boat to get back in. It was a pretty fast swim. I read where 'gators had been found in New Jersey by the way - don't know if you're in Canada or where that you don't have 'em.

Being hooked in the finger is painful all right; I've done that a few times. Couple years ago my buddy I.M. HaungUp and I were night fishing a tournament. I hooked a small largemouth; in the process of digging the hook out I stuck my thumb. Painful yes; even more so because the fish was still on the hook. So try digging a hook out of your thumb while a struggling bass is flipping on the hook - and your fishing buddy is rolling on the boat deck laughing.

Uh, huh "only water":

You may be using the wrong hooks, or dull ones. I prefer wide gap hooks when T-rigging. Small ones (3-0 and smaller) are OK but be sure they have small diameter wire. Bigger hooks (4-0 or 5-0) are good also; these will be larger diameter. Also the hook should be sharp. I used to use Owner or Gamagatsu (sp?) hooks exclusively but lately I tried Trokar; they are really sharp and don't seem to rust. If the hook is rusty or not sharp throw it out. One way to tell if its sharp: Drag it along your thumbnail. You should feel a series of tugs, even when just the weight of the hook is on your thumbnail.

Good thread. Price is totally subjective in my opinion. A $200 rod may be relatively cheaper to somebody who makes $100K a year than a $100 rod is to a guy making $30K. And you have to watch out, higher price does not equate with higher value - although most people believe it does. Story from a buddy who years ago (60's) worked in a TV repair shop. They also rebuilt TV tubes, sold the reconditioned tubes. So, every tube they put a blue sticker on the front right corner, one of those little round stick on dots about a half inch in diameter. Every fifth tube they put a gold dot on instead of blue. The ones with blue dots sold for $25; the gold dot ones $50. Now remember they were THE EXACT SAME TUBES. When a customer would ask the difference they'd say, "Well, thats a gold dot tube, the other is a blue dot tube." They sold out of gold dot tv tubes all the time but had pleanty of blue dot ones around all the time.. So, is that $500 rod REALLY better than the $100 model? Or do people just believe deep down that more expensive MUST be better?

Model was, actress wasn't.

And you want to change why?

I dated an actress for a while and a few years later a model. The actress was really nice but boring - went to bed at 8 every night, hadda get up at 4 to go to work then worked till 6 that evening. The model would spend like, 4 hours putting on her makeup every morning. I got a lot of envious looks from guys when I was out with her but waiting 4 hours to run down to Taco Bell got old. What has this got to do with fishing? Neither of them fished, by the way.

I agree 100% I do, the gear helps him for sure - but he'd still be a LOT better than anyone else.

Wife and I fished TB last weekend. Saw LOTS of bass hatchlings, huge balls, with the male fish nearby guarding them, all in 2 or 3 feet of water. May have been more deeper but the water was so murky from the recent rains a couple feet down was about as deep as I could see. So we pulled out to a ledge area, caught several on Texas and Carolina rigged Grande Bass Rattlesnakes, but all were small. I think it will take TB a year or two to recover from the drought. Not much hydrilla, lots of dead weeds that were recently on the shore. It is still our favorite lake, though.

Dude, I don't know what your problem is, why you feel the need to continue to attack me. You may very well be "whacking em" with the A-rig but IN MY EXPERIENCE this isn't the case, and I think that's the experience of many others. I think the thing has some serious design flaws. If you disagree fine but lay off the personal attacks - I haven't done that to you or anyone else here. I'd think a moderator on this site would work to discourage that sort of behavior, not instigate it. As for the rig: We'll see if anyone's still using it a year down the road.

Yeah, they all been to Vicky's Secret and got them push up bras...a cruel joke if there ever was one!

Where ya going? I can put you on some fish at Roberts or Grapevine. Little fish to be sure - 2 lbs is about all we have around here - but fun to catch anyway. PM me.

I had me one o' them Saint Croak rods, broke it on the third cast. Then I found out they don't have any warranty, and neither does Gloomey. So I buy other products these days.

I make it a habit to wear my Cabellas cap to Bass pro and vice versa. I fish Abu Garcia, Shimano, and Quantum rods, but since GLoomis is giving away hats and shirts FREE I suppose I'll get me some of 'em. If they start giving away their fish poles for free I'll probably get me some of THEM too. Just sayin...

I tried an Alabama rig, as did my fishing buddy I.M. HaungUp. He cut his loose and threw it in the lake after an hour. I was nicer; I waited until I got back to the launch and placed mine in the trash recepticle. I think a 'bama rig MIGHT work if you are in a situation where swimbaits work (if there IS such a situation that is), but for us guys who fish Texas and Carolina rigs, crankbaits, spinners, and jerkbaits it is pretty much worthless: Bunch of big black wires, unless the fish are blind that will turn 'em off; Makes a big "sploosh", when it hits the water, sorta like the sound your outboard makes when you forget to tighten it and it falls off the transom; You gotta have arms like Popeye to fish it for any length of time. On the other hand it might work for trolling...of course thats illegal in a tournament...but if I could get I.M.HaungUp to reel it in REAL SLOW while I troll down the bank...hmmmm.. This is all just my opinion, of course, for what its worth. I am certain the 'bama rig will revolutionize fishing as we know it and will soon be illegal just like: Gitzit tubes; Charrerbaits; Hard bodies jointed swimbaits; And the hula hoop...

Were they winged shad possibly? Maybe the queen flew in and set up a new nest in your pond.

You're probably not setting the hook. Once you learn to do that you won't gut hook as many. It is something of an art: Keep your line relatively tight, meaning no slack in it. You usually either feel a "tap, tap" or the line (small bass) just feels heavy (larger bass). When you feel the taps the fish will take it in a second or two; when you feel that jerk real hard up and back. Jerk as soon as it feels heavy. You will learn to tell the difference between dragging over structure and the "heavy" feel in time, but remember: hook sets are free, if you jerk and there's nothing on you haven't lost anything. Also, an octopus hook will help keep the fish from swallowing it so deep.

In the DFW area the bass don't ever spawn - the females are too stuck up and the males all get hookers...

Diitto. Here's a pic of a 10-6 my wife caught on one a couple years back: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g200/pscarbor/JoysBass.jpg

Good thread. Before you discount the "leave it all at home" teaching technique consider how frustrating it is to be a new angler trolling the aisles at the local Big Bass discount store (I'll skip the names; there are a couple in my area). See all the pretty lures; that rattlin' triple jointed hard bait in lime green and flourescent bright red with double string trailers than emits secret scent GURANTEED to catch a limit of bass, and all the other "sure fire" things they sell that just flat out don't work. So you load up with a couple thousand dollars of that crap, zero for a year or two - now that's frustrating! I learned by trying things that work, not necessarily catching the biggest fish on the lake at first, but catching something. I worked up from beating the banks with Senkos and T-rigs to Carolina rigs, spinners, cranks, jigs, topwaters, always experimenting primarily with one technique at a time. Not a bad way to learn. Not necessarily "leave it all at home" but rather "learn one thing at a time".

I fished for years with a spinner with no success, then finally figured out I was retrieving it too fast. I use a lot of Colorado bladed spinners, big 'ol blades turn when you retrieve it really slow. I practice in the swimming pool; I want to pull it as slow as possible and keep the blade turning. Also is better on cloudy days or when there is a chop on the water. Not my favorite bait but I have caught fish on 'em. (I will monitor this regularly to see how long it takes Roadwarrior to explain how wrong I am )