nwgabassmaster

I know that I will be more than willing to help. As from what I can see, your basic question is what we do during the off-season, which, for me, is during the hunting season, from September until January, and can carry on until February, depending on the weather. Well, for me, the two most important things are to restock the tackle box, obviously, and to take maintenance on my rods and reels. So, for the first part, about restocking the tackle box, that shouldn't be too hard to grasp. Of course, I am going to replenish the lost lures that I used, gave away, or misplaced (yes, even that happens to me), and I am also going to take in the idea of adding new lures that might get me another fish or two, during the season. Take this year for example. I was using a nice 4 tray soft sided tackle box that the FLW produced, but, I knew that the tackle that was piling up in my truck would not fit, so, I went and bought a bigger tackle system, which has 8 trays, and tons of extra storage. Also, I have began to replenish the hooks, weights, and lures that I used last year. Also, I have added Arkie Craw bugs to my arsenal, along with Zoom lizards (I normally use GYCB lizards), and I also bought a box of Edge Lures, Inc. 4" lizards. As for the second part, the maintenance on the rods and reels, this could be the most important part of each pre-season. I take a look at the eyes, and make sure that they are not rusting badly, or rusting period. I take a look and make sure that the rods are not going to break, which involves flexing the shafts, and making sure that the original curve is still there. The next step is to take the old line off the reel, and to break down the reel. I will normally go through, and wipe off the old oil from the previous year off, and then, I will put new oil onto the gearings, onto the bearings, etc. This, in my opinion, ensures that the reel well perform as smoothly as it did the prior season. Then, I take note of how the reel looks on the inside, if there is rusting, corrosion, or other things that I should take care of. Once that is taken care of, the reel goes back together, and I add a little drop of oil where the screws go, and I tighten them down. Also, on baitcasting reels, where the line-lead meets, on the back of the reel, and has the cross-threading.........I will clean that area of old oil, and re-lube that with new oil, and spin the reel a few times, to distribute it properly. Then, I take a look at the reel seat on the rod, and make sure that any and all debris that have accumulated have been removed, and then, I will generally wipe it down with alcohol, to remove all dirt from the seat, and then, I take a small amount of reel oil, and put that to the threads, and even to the seat. I believe that when the reel seat and the reel "triggers" meet and are compressed, that the oil forms a bond, that will resist water. Finally, once the reel is put back onto the rod, I will spin the handle for several rotations, so that I know that the oil on the gears and bearings is properly distributed. After that, I will respool the reels with the line, and I consider that part done. Of course, there are other things that I do, as well, which are things that are less noticeable, but things that I do consider important. For the year prior, I will make myself sit down, and remember which were the biggest fish that I caught, when I caught them, how I caught them, conditions, time of day, etc. Yes, all this is made easier with a log, which, last year I started to employ. Anything that I feel I can use to make my next year go better is something that I will certainly entertain, and end up using. So, basically, going back over old logs of catches will show patterns in the fishing, periods of great fishing and periods of bad fishing, and it also sheds a light to the strengths that I have when fishing. The next thing that I do is to take a look at all the hard plugs that I have used, and to examine the finishes on them, the hooks, the bills (if applicable), the line ties, etc., and to make sure that they are all 100% functioning. If anything has a little rust on it, it gets replaced immediately. If the hooks are dull, broken, warped, etc., they are repaired or replaced. If the finish is worn off, and no paint has been damaged, then I will take HARD AS NAILS and I will apply a layer, allow that to dry, lightly sand it, and then, re-apply another layer. That, in my opinion, ensures that the lure will be water-proof for the coming season, and that it will not be damaged, unless an unforseen big fish decides to destroy it. If, on my topwater lures, the hair tails have lost their rubber band, I will go and retie it with sewing thread, and I will apply HARD AS NAILS to the tying job, so that it will not come undone. And, I suppose the last thing that I will do, before the season, and subsequently, before each fishing excursion of importance, is to check to see that all my tackle is organized. With the new tackle system, the organizational properties have greatly improved, and I feel that I can take a look at the side of each box, and know exactly what is in it. Now, when my father and I used to tow our pontoon, especially before the main fishing season, we would check the tires of the trailer of the boat, and of the towing vehicle, which was also repeated before each trip. Also, we would check all electrical circuits from the light connection at the trailer hitch, to the electrical connections onboard the boat. We would make sure that the engines in both vehicles were properly running and well maintained, by topping off or replacing any fluids, replacing any spark plugs and wires, etc., that needed to be done. We would make sure that the trailer hitch was suitable for towing purposes, and if there was rust on the ball, it was sanded smooth, and hit up with a quick drying silver paint. Also, we could check to make sure that the receiver on the trailer was in working order, and that the locking mechanism was fully functioning. Then, we would go check the safety chains, and ensure that they were trustworthy of being used. If they were broken, they were replaced. Also, the plate that accepted the hooks of the chains was checked, and made sure that it was still in good shape, before each trip. The biggest thing that was checked was to make sure that the tires were properly inflated, to the manufacturer's specs, and that there were no gas leaks, of any kind. Once all of these were checked off, we were set to go off on another fishing adventure. For all the bass boat owners, you might wanna make sure the plug is in, as well. For me, that's about all that I go through, when starting to worry about the upcoming season, and it's getting about that time for the 2006 fishing season to be upon us Georgia boys. For some, it has already started, and it looks to be a great season ahead. If you need anything else, hit me up in PM, or e-mail me. ~ John R. Pulliam ~ Trion, Georgia

It all depends on how well you are able to grasp and realize the ideas behing marketing. My personal recommendation would be to go for the Associates, so that way you can see if you like it. If not, at least you got that much, and it will be a great place to start with.

Wow, what a question. Well, my two top fav. techniques go hand in hand, or, at least they do for me. The first would be flipping and pitching any # of soft plastic baits, from creature baits, to tubes, to worms, etc. I use a 6'6" MH action rod, with a reel that has a gear ratio of 6.3:1 The reasoning behind that is because when I set the hook, more than likely the fish is going to run from me, and I need to get the line back on the reel, to catch up with it. For the hook, it depends on the length of the plastic that I am throwing. For 1-2", I will use a #1 EWG Gamakatsu. For 3-5", I will use a 1/0 EWG Gamakatsu. For 6-7", I will use a 2/0 EWG, but, if I am getting short strikes, I will upgrade to a 3/0 EWG. For 8-9", I skip the 3/0 completely, and I got straight for the 4/0 EWG. For 10" or bigger, I will got with a 5/0 EWG The other is flipping and pitching a jig. So far, my fav. jig has been a Strike King Bitsy Bug. There are several colors, but the top two are blue/black and green pumpkin. I use the same rod/reel setup for this also, although when the time comes along, I will be upgrading to a 7'6" flipping stick. I might be a little crazy, but, most of the time, I use 12 or 15 lbs. test mono, Berkley Big Game, for this. Yes, it's light line, but, I know that I am going to check after EACH fish for frays, and that I will retie. I also know that once I set the hook, I am going to horse a fish outta the cover, and I will go in after them, if the need arises. However, most of my experience have shown that the fish will run from cover, once hooked. The rods that I am currently putting to use right now are ones found at Wal-Mart. LOL I have a Quantum Torsion and a Shakespeare Excursion. On the Excursion, I have my Shimano Bantam Curado, CU200 (CU200B, to be more specific), and on the Torsion, I have a Abu Garcia 5500C. One is a low profile, the other is a round reel. Hope that this helps you out. Flipping and pitching can be utilized year round, which is why I am so profficient in using it. For when bass are tight to cover, or they are not active, to when they are roaming and are busting bait everywhere, it's a technique that not only can catch several fish for you, but the more often than not, those fish will be quality fish.

I am going to steer you in a different direction. Think about getting in at BPS, Cabelas, Dicks, etc. While working there, work your way through college, and fisheries biology is a great way to go. Perhaps marketing, so that when you get sponsors, you can take their product, and really be able to sell them better. The next thing that I can tell you is to fish on some smaller level tournaments, to start off with. The ultimate goal for a lot is to fish in the big tournaments, but, if you try your hand at them to start off with, you might find that you have taken a step too large, and you might fail. I know that right now, I am more than content to fish small tournaments, to get better. Just some thoughts.

That is a great looking spinnerbait, bud. Are you in the business of making spinnerbaits? If so, hit me up, and I might be able to get you some kind of market front down here in Georgia. I know a lot of folks around here are looking for good quality, but less expensive spinnerbaits. Strike King and Terminator aren't being bought nearly as readily as they once were. Let me know.

You got a pair of PMs waiting on ya. Get back to me either through PM, or e-mail me back, since I e-mailed you earlier, too. 8-)

Once the pre-spawn starts, anything that covers a good bit of water. Medium-sized spinnerbaits, shallow running cranks, etc. However, I have had good success, especially last year, throwing topwaters all day, right around mid-March (in NW Georgia, mind you). So, it all depends. I have also had great success with suspending jerkbaits. Those are slowly becoming one of my new go-to baits. I have had suspending bass, and bass that were in the weeds literally go kamikazi on the bait! LOL So, those are a few of my baits that I use.

That's the truth. My Dad and I, when we fished Weiss for cats and stripers, would chase schools of baitfish around, and throw a cast-net. More often than not, all the shad would be 5" or longer, and there were several times where the shad that we were getting would weigh out to be 1 lb. or bigger! Gizzards is what they were told to us, to be. The biggest one we ended up using was 14" long, and was just over 1 lb. in weight. Just unreal the size that those things can reach!

Parts for a spinnerbait.................$20 Plastic dinosaur................$0.25 at Dollar General Being so wasted that you forget about the spinnerbait, and make something that does not resemble anything that a bass would make...............................................PRICELESS! Sorry, couldn't resist. 8-)

While I was working at BPS, a customer that I talked to had this same problem, cause I told him that I was interested in making my own drop-shot weights. He told me about the SAME problem you are having, and he said that he sanded the spout down with a fin grit sandpaper, so that when the lead would pour, there would be something for a base layer of lead to cling to it, and cool, and then, would create a "slide" for the rest of the lead to pour easily out of. Not sure if he was serious, or was just pulling my leg. However, that is what I was told.

How much you want for a package of 10? What colors do you have? Do you add scent to them? Hope to hear back from ya soon, ~ John P.S. You can e-mail me at LPNumbLP0283@aol.com

What body of water? Might wanna call your state's DNR dept., and ask for a # for a ranger that patrols that specific body of water.

The pic is huge, I know, but the swimbaits are only like 3" long. They are great in the water.

I did an experiment, and I hope that the final result is more bass in the boat this year. I took two swimbaits, that was sent to me by an ex-friend of mine, and I put one in a bag of sample lures from V&M Lures. The reddish colored bait is the original color. The purple one was dyed by a worm in the bag, and now, it smells like Anise oil. What do you all think about the color?

Yeah, I mean, some slight ones, when you don't have the hook set well in the gill plates is ok. I have done that several times, and the fish have lived. However, some of the fish that I have seen have had gill plates removed, throats cut open and gaping wide open.................just blatent attempts to get their hook back.

I have seen bass, dead on the shore, with hooks left in them, from someone trying to perform operations on the poor fish. Other than that, no. There was a catfish that I caught, at Fort Mountain State Park, that went about 12 lbs., that had my hook, and 3 other hooks in it's lip, with line still attatched. So, I know that fish can survive if you don't mess with the hooks, once they have been set in them.

I am at some of my best fishing when stuck outdoors, middle of the day, 100* outside, in the middle of July and August. I can fish docks with a wacky-rigged Senko, and tear them up.

Well, I actually like fishing for suspending bass. I use a Suspending Smithwick Jerkbait, and just let the fish tell me how they want it. So, I have no fear of suspending bass.

For me, it honestly depends on what I am fishing. If I am fishing Lake Weiss, or the Rocky Mountain project, or a couple of choice ponds, there is nothing that I fear when fishing them, at all. Now, with Sloppy Floyd State Park, the winter time PERIOD is a tough time. Yes, the pressure isn't there, as it is during the rest of the season, but, if you don't have a boat, which I don't right now, finding the fish is hard, due to the fact that you can't get a good cast to the deeper parts of the lakes. There is one pond that I fish, almost exclusively in the winter, and I catch 10-12 bass there each time I go. I haven't been there this winter, though, so, I might have to make a visit there soon. On Lake Hartwell, on the SC/GA border, it has to be early spring. You almost have to fish the main channels exclusively. I learned my lesson the hard way, with a dude who didn't know more than I did, about the lake. LOL And yes, I do attack fishing in the winter time, but I find it funny that I can catch fish on a T-rigged finesse worm one day, and the next, they are slamming a suspending jerkbait. LOL I can catch fish, any given day, on something totally different than what I caught them with on the previous day.

After a long exile, I have returned once more to the Forums at Bass Resource. I know of a couple of people that have missed my presence, and to them, I say thanks for the kind words, and for the encouragement to come back. Over the past two months, I would guess, since I last took a serious look at the boards, I have been doing a number of things, and several things have happened. Most notably was the break up of my gf, Jessica, and I. So, ladies, I am a single man, who loves to fish. I won't be on the market too much longer! Make your bids now! I have been doing a good bit of fishing, but as the colder weather has come in, I have not been going nearly as much. The last time that I went was about the same time that I visited here, and it was at Sloppy Floyd State Park. We had had a strong cold front blow through, which dumped a large amount of rain, and caused the winds to blow bitterly from the northwest. The temperatures were plummeting, and I believe that the rain was a cold rain, because the bass were turned on. Upon my arrival, I put on a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, that I had been given, in the color of Waterbug. For those who have not tried this bait, it's a good lure to use. Now, some of you all may know that I am the Head Field Writer for Wicked Bass. And some of you that know this might ask why I was not using their lures. And although this would be a very just question, my response would be this. At this time, I had ran out of the Wicked Bevah that I got from Brian, and I had never used the Sweet Beaver. At any length, the first thing that I noticed upon my arrival was that a large mass of twigs, pine cones, and leaves had become lodged between the paddle boats and the dock. There was a 2 ft. flat of trash between each of the paddle boats. So, I decided that I would need a larger weight than the normal 3/16 oz. bullet sinkers that I use. I believe that I went up to a 3/8 oz. bullet sinker, not only to push through the layer of leaves, but also, the wind was very high. Upon the first pitch between the dock and the paddle boat, a bass nailed the Beaver, and ran smack under the paddle boat, hooking himself on the 1/0 EWG Gamakatsu hook that I was using. I finally fought the bass to the surface, and pulled him up on the dock, and it was a nice 1.5 lbs. largemouth. Please note, only largemouths are in these lakes, as the bass species. I thought that this was surely a fluke, and that it would be the only bass that I caught. Also note, I was under the mind that I would keep the fish that I caught, if I caught more than one, so that I could give the fillets to my next door neighbor's father in law, who is suffering from prostate cancer. After much debating, this bass made it back to the water, and I began to fish again, in the same spot. Nothing materialized. So, I moved to the next paddleboat, and pitched the bait in the same manner, and sure enough, the exact same thing happened. This time, however, the bass had more of a fight, and more size to it. It was a nice 3.5 lbs. bass, and I admit, I kept this fish. After a few more pitches, I moved the opposite side of the dock, where there were no leaves, and had one small hit. I move back to the side where I had caught the two other bass, and caught another 1.5 lber. This one also went in the basket, and after another hour, the wind had gotten so high, that I almost took a swim in the drink. I went home. Other than that, MySpace, of all things, has taken up much of my time. Check out my page, and let me know what you think. www.myspace.com/thenwgabassmaster I am glad to be back, and I will be talking to you all soon. Glenn, the site looks great. Were you able to use the last article that I sent to you?

I disagree with nothing in these posts. I just stated my stance on the position, and told of what I have done throughout the 11 years that I have been bass fishing. Actually, it's the same thing that I have done my entire fishing career. If you all want to do what you consider to be universally accepted, then that is your thing. However, I choose to believe in something different, and I will continue with my stance on it. That's the great thing about these forums, several different opinions can be expressed, and although they may be completely different in view, I believe that they are things in which the people that post them believe. And there is certainly nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree.

The only problem that I have with your description of the bass dying is that there were, in fact, 3 other healthy fish that were consuming any available forage that was provided, and as you said, the space was cramped. There are several other factors that could have contributed. I also disagree that leaving a foot of line is the standard approach. I cut the line, when I do gut-hook a fish, as closely to the hook as I can. For crappies, a good pair of scissors works, but for largemouth, I use a pair of nail clippers. I am not saying that your approach is incorrect, or that is isn't as effective as any other approach. I am saying that as an angler who has released and caught several bass that I had previously gut-hooked, I will continue to do what I have done. Why fix something when it isn't broke, right? You are about the 100th person that has thanked me for the things that I put on here. As I have told the others, I am not sure that I am deserving of the compliments, but I do sincerely appreciate them all. I just do what I can, and nothing more. Don't worry about me catching them all! LOL I have only caught one dink in the last two weeks. It might be because I have been literally working the lures that I have received from Wicked Bass, instead of just fishing them. I had to find out how they work when fished in different methods, etc., and I am also getting used the to lures as they relate to how I fished various other lures of the same kind. I am sure that this slump will only last for bit longer, and that it will go away when I return to fishing the lures, instead of working them.

I would rather just leave the hook, and allow it rust out over time. When you do what you mentioned, you take the chance of damaging the gill plates, even though you may think that you are not. Hooks will, in time, go away, and leave the fish just as healthy as it was before it was hooked. If you damage the gills, though, it is not reversible, and it is not something that I am willing to take a chance on.

BillyBob, Thank Me Very Much! That's classic, bud. ;D

I would get all three of them. They are well worth the money that is asked for them. I have seen all three, but it was back when I was a younger fellow. I think that it would be great for each bass angler to get those and add them to their library.