Brian_Reeves

The Force is stronger with some than with others.

Inline spinnerbaits with off colored blades. (if you're -supposed to be using chrome, use gold and vice versa). I really don't pay much attention to the body color, just make sure the feather is white or chartruse. I love those things. Oh yeah, use a swivle. They twist line BADLY!

When fishing new water, I try flipping and pitching senkos, jigs, spidergrubs, fat ikas, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. Yeah, this is pretty general, but if you know your bait color to water clarity basics and weight to season ratios, then you should be well off. I'd try a senko or fat ika in watermelonseed, junebug, or pumpkin. My spidergrubs would probably be cinnamon with purple or black with blue. My spinnerbaits would be white/chartruse with blades matching the day (brighter the day, brighter the blades). Crankbaits would be firetiger. Jigs would be white, black/blue, or black/chartruse. That's just my personal preferences. Fat Ikas and senkos would be weightless. Spidergrubs, jigs, and spinnerbaits would be small and between 1/4 and 3/8oz. Crankbaits would have a wide wobble and rattles. Using your favorite baits (those are just my favorite starters up there) you should start probing deep water points, creek channels, and coves with both. Bass will either be transitioning or already in fall patterns. I'd start shallow and work deep, but pay attention to any sonar you have. It could tell all.

You caught it on Sunday....... It was at church > ;D Bass will always compete for space around docks in the summertime. Sometimes half a dozen will stay down there, sometimes a 10lber will run them all off. Just depends I guess.

I've caught pretty good fish...nothing like Fish Chris, but a reasonable share of 6-8+# bass, which is good in just about any tournament. "The one that got away" was estimated between 10-12#. I hooked into him during a tournament and he got off right at the boat. The bait was a Spit'n Image.

Low to mid 50's.

My first choice would either be a fat ika or a hula grub on a 3/16 or 1/4 oz jig. If they don't hit that, then I'd go with a 1/2 or 3/4 oz jig and go for the reaction strike. This pays off in gin clear water a lot of the time. A tube, fluke, or senko would be a good choice as well. I wouldn't write off a crankbait either...lots of choices. See if you can establish a pattern before moving into that area then pressure it with what has been working elsewhere in the lake.

I suppose you're right, but I don't think you grasp how bad I suck with a spinning outfit. I'd end up foul hooking myself in the nose lol. I'm horrid with those things. You're absolutely right though. Light line does suck on a bait caster unless you're really used to it. I use a 14# Silver Thread myself, but for the newer anglers, baitcasters or heavier line isn't very easy to learn with. I was a saltwater fisher long before fresh and grew up on baitcasters. If I could do it all over again, I'd learn a spinner, but I'm too far gone in my ways.

You're right. Senkos and Fat Ikas are proven fish catchers, regardless of the mood the fish are in. The color is a good one too. Watermelon/black or watermelonseed will work in just about any color water. If they aren't biting senkos or ikas today, then they will be soon. That's just about a proven fact anywhere I fish. I always have one tied on, though I use baitcasting gear instead of spinning gear. That's because I suck with spinning reels though, not that there is anything wrong with them.

Doesn't really matter to me. I fish dawn more often, but I'm just as pleased with dusk.

The Xpress 18footer that I'm getting is going to have a 150 Yamaha VMax HPDI on it. I am going to be getting the best warrenty that they offer. Not sure what it is yet though. Boat motors suck. They all break down so you might as well spend $600 on a warrenty as opposed to $4000 on odd and end repairs. As far as the motor itself, get a compression test ran on it and be sure to test drive it.

I'm not comfortable with it at all. I just pinch them on loosly and sometimes they will slide on the line or fall off. I just fix it or put another one on. I never really crimp down a splitshot onto my line for fear of the one time a 10lb bass would hit my 4" finesse worm.

I like splitshots for minature carolina rigs for finesse worms or tubes. They also do good at pegging bullet weights and getting a few extra inches out of crankbaits.

I'd like to see it. I'm sure it won't be an hour and a half of him screaming at fish getting off or getting in the boat. The book was really well put together and educational and I'd like to think the movie will be too.

Yeah, I lost the plug going down the highway so I used the jumbos. Believe it or not, they really do stop leaks. ROFL

I bet your boat wouldn't be red

lol Hey, even so you made it further than most people would ever dream of. Still an accomplishment. I was an alternate on my high school basketball team. 2nd string...WOOOOO Football...now that's a different story 1st String Defense for 4 years woot!

Baitmonkey research And Innovation Technology Incorporated or for short, B.A.I.T Inc.

Yeah, but no one wants to be sponsored by Tampax ;D LBH, were you Olympic or World Championship or what what? This is something I've never heard about you so now I am interested. Either way, that's cool that you represented our country in competition. I've only had 2 sponsors. I was sponsored by Widowmaker lures, but that dude never sent me any samples or never got back in touch with me, so I guess that one doesn't count and I was sponsored by the US Army when they bought me a plane ticket to Iraq for a year of open season hunting.

Face it, many, if not all of us, would like to become pro fisherman and take home the classic trophy and 1.2mil. But to do that, we gotta work hard to win consistantly enough to where someone wants to turn you into their bilboard. If you could choose your sponsors, who would they be. After you decide that, who would you turn away from and run if they asked you to wear their T-Shirt? Dream Sponsors Xpress Boats- I wanna be the only pro on the tour fishing an aluminum boat Yamaha- Gotta love that VMax Owner- No hook compares Silver Thread- I'm sick of buying line. Handouts please??? Bass Pro Shops- They make every kind of bait you need Mountain Dew- I need my cold, carbonated caffine plus the boat wrap would be nice Sponsors I'd never dream of- Tampax/Maxi- Yeah...need I say more Depends (adult diapers) Something just wouldn't feel right Pampers- Same as above Skittles or Lucky Charms- I don't want a rainbow as a boat wrap lol

PETA is going to hate me even more for this, but when fishing jigs or soft plastics, I reel down until the rod is loaded up and then I try to yank the fish's head off with a quick, hard, overhead sweeping hookset. I don't think any of my jig fish have been released without whiplash ;D

I guess I have it beat in my head that anything deeper than 15ft is deep water. That's pretty a pretty good depth to start fishing just about any time of year on most bodies of water...if they are even that deep.

I wish they made fishfinders with FLIR instead of sonar. Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR like we use in the military) OWNS sonar

This is going to sound really redneck, but you could always just use a lawn chair ;D

About the marker buoys, I don't know how much they weigh, but they do a good job at staying in place. They look like a floating dumbell on the water though, which is kinda funny. There is a weight on the inside of them to keep them from unwinding unnecessarily in the wind or in chop, though I'm sure that's unavoidable in really bad conditions. As far as roadbeds, you can locate them like any other bottem change if you know where the road is roughly. Just look at the bottem of the lake on your depthfinder. If the bottem is hard packed, gravel, or something to that effect, then the bottem will the thinner and flatter. If it is muddy, sandy, or mushy, then the bottem of the lake will look thick on the sonar. I'm not sure if that's a good description or not, but if you watch your depthfinder, you should be able to pick it out when it changes. BTW, anytime you come across a bottem change, throw a buoy out then idle around it looking for cover along that bottem change. (IE mud to gravel) If you can find some timber or grass along that bottem change, there will almost always be fish there. Drop another buoy when you find the cover you're looking for, back off, and start fishing.