nwgabassmaster

As long as you have the lure completely weedless, you should not get it snagged in the stems. However, after catching a bass, or swinging and missing, check to make sure that the hook point does not come out of the lure. If it does, fix the lure by moving the placement of the hook, replace the lure, etc.

Also, it has been said that bluegills spawn multiple times during the spring and summer, always around the full moon. Well, someone needs to tell that to the gills in the pond that I fish. It's a relatively clear pond, and you can see gills on the beds a lot of the time. The strongest spawn does happen around the time that the bass stop spawning, but I have seen these gills spawn 5 times. In fact, there are about 5 gills that are on beds, as of yesterday! No wonder the bass aren't biting well! They have all sorts of gills to eat on!

Raul, thanks for the confirmation, and thanks to RoadWarrior for the debate. Great things happen to the folks on this site, and it's good that we can all remain friends. Raul, what would you call a mix between a spot and a smallie? Has this ever been done? ???

It's not that hard. First, starting with the blades, you have the blades. ;D If it's a double-bladed spinnerbait, you will have two. The main blade is attatched to the shaft by a swivel. The additional blade is attatched with a small piece of metal, not sure of the politically correct name though. Moving up the shaft, you have the hook eye. This can be were the wire in the shaft is twisted to make an actual eye, or it's just an "R" bend, as I like to call them. Now that you have moved up the shaft, move down past the hook eye, and you have the head of the bait. It is attatched with a rubberband, most times, sometimes with thread that is cemented into place. Then, you have the skirt, which covers the hook. If you add a trailer hook or skirt, then, you will add that to the main hook. In addition, the small "BB" like balls that seperate the secondary blade from the main blade are just that, seperators. They do not function as anything else, just to keep the blades from hitting each other.

2-3 ft. Are we talking about the ground, or the water? I don't think that either would happen, or someone would have noticed that during the full moon, they have an island of land sitting in there front yard. ;D The moon controls the tides, or, has a help in manipulating them, so, I would just say that something happens in the fish, and it gears them up to eat. Of course, I have fished in the summer around a full moon, during the day and night, and haven't had much luck either way! 8)

I hope that this works, if it does, I will edit my message. Hotdog.............ok. That's a Meanmouth that was caught in the TN River System. I see no resemblance of a spotted bass in it. To me, it looks like a smallmouth's head with a largemouth's body.

http://www.aquanic.org/discuss1/_lmbass/000000c6.htm No, I think that you are wrong in this one.

That's slick right there. And I like that lure....where did you get it from? ???

Ok, this is quoting an insert in the February 2005 BASSMASTER Magazine, where it talks about creating a superbass. "However, Childers would not give up in his attempt to produce the super-bass. Later, he and a fellow researcher were able to successfully produce a MALE SMALLMOUTH and a FEMALE LARGEMOUTH cross, resulting in a very agressive fish they called the MEANMOUTH." I read all the articles, and side-notes in BASSMASTER, and I have yet to see a retraction in the information provided there.

I have Clay's home address, and I have wrote him a letter, that I have not sent out yet. That will happen either today or tomorrow. I have seen the story on both SportsCenter and BassCenter, and yes, Clay is a true inspiration and a true hero, in my eyes. He only lives like 2 hours from me, in Alabama. I am hoping that maybe he and I could hit Guntersville sometime together. ;D

No, a "meanmouth" is a cross between a largemouth and a smallmouth. Look at the insert on Page 50 of the February 2005 BASSMASTER's Magazine. And war-mouths are nothing more than a species of small sunfish, that hang around rocks in the shallows. My father and I catch these for catfish and for stripers. 10-1, what you caught was a spotted bass, or another sub-species called the Coosa Bass. These bass are very distinct in their characteristics. In either case, a spotted bass would have tore up your thumb! The lip patch toothing that those critters have hurt! ;D

When I first bought the Fineese Wide Gap hooks, that were bleeding, I liked the idea of having a bigger hook, because the lakes that I was using the drop-shot on are clear. I can see down to about 5-6 ft. So, the hooks, I felt, would give a little flash when twitching the bait. Yes, I nose hook them, unless I am using the long shank hook, then, I t-rig it on the hook. Using this long-shank hook is how I have gotten 100% hook-ups with them. Every fish that has hit it has been hooked and landed. The only knot that I use is the Palomar knot, so, yes, I use it. I have been drop-shotting for sometime now, so, I knew how to tie the hooks onto the line.

Honestly, the deep diving cranks are about the best lure that fish the deep water effectively. Maybe a large jig and pig, but even that would take a while to get down at that depth. :-/

Um, you sure that you aren't crazy for actually knowing what the worms TASTE like? :-/ Smelling, I can understand, but TASTING? ;D That adds a whole new dimension to "catching a fisherman". ;D ;D I believe that it is the Renegade 6 in. twirl tail worms, that can be found at Wal-Mart that smell wonderfully, and they catch fish also. I haven't bought any in a while, but I would like to know what exactly the smell is that is added. ??? ???

Nope, don't like them at all. They look great, but they have peformed below my expectations, especially when trying to get the hook into the fish. So, I guess that I will stick with the hooks that I used originally. Can't complain about 100% hookups with them.

Also, consider that using a smaller weight is suitable for a "finesse" approach to the C-rig. In order to get the maximum distance, you have to set the tension knob and the brakes, so that you send the thing across the lake, and not have to pick out a "professional override" when it lands. ;D What I have done, is I have my Shimano Curado, which is my utility reel (good for everything), set to cast the smaller lures, but, it can also handle the larger ones, without changing the setup. How, you might ask? Just have to learn how to control the spool with your thumb when throwing the larger lures. Also, changing the tension helps out, at times. ;D

Senko77, shoot me an e-mail, if you don't mind. americanbasser@aol.com

Just ask them nicely. Both Ish and Wade are true gentlemen of the sport of bass fishing, and I hope to get more interviews and more insight into who they are as people, and how they fish.

The following is an interview with Mr. Wade Middleton, host of Hunting and Fishing Texas, that was conducted via e-mail. 1. In your time in fishing, what lures, techniques, and "hot" items have you seen go to the wayside, and which have stuck around to stand the test of time? Wow, tough questions. Since almost everything in fishing runs in cycles based on the time of year, the lakes being fished and conditions your facing. As for one technique that has stood the test of time, in my eyes, and one that will always be there for us as anglers, the answer would have to be the Texas rigged worm. No doubt about it. 2. How often do you get out to fish, on which waters, and how do you fish them? I fish about 125 days a year now which is way down from what I used to fish of 200 a year, but now that I hardly ever get to fish big tournaments anymore due to time constraints which is why I don't fish as much now. Producing my show and working on many other tournament events for TV has sort of changed my fishing time on the water. However of the time I get on water now about 30 days a year are spent fishing saltwater with the remaining being bass fishing. As for what I like to fish or where I do my best, I enjoy all lakes but favor lakes that have either grass, docks or clear water. I have lots of confidence fishing clear water. Enjoy spring time grass fishing and love to flip docks Combine all those likes into one lake and I'm really happy. I like to fish grass and the ditches along the grass in pre spawn, then fish visible structure the rest of the year. When it gets hot and the fish move out and suspend I head to the coast and go saltwater fishing since summer time deep structure fishing is my biggest dislike in fishing. When fall rolls around I'm back out on the lakes ready to go till the next summer. 3. Out of all the lures on the market today, which lure do you turn to, time and time again, as the one lure that you know for a fact will catch you a fish, without consideration of conditions? Hmmmmmm, two baits. Texas rigged soft plastics, leaning toward a tube/creature bait in spring and worm in summer and a small crankbait to cover water all year long. I can catch them all year long on those two baits under any condition and while I may not win an event on them I can be competive under any conditions on those baits. 4. You are the host of Hunting and Fishing Texas. With the programs that you help put on the air, what do you wish for the public to gain from your hunting and fishing shows? What things have been brought to your attention, that the public was misinformed of? I hope a viewer gains insight on locations on where to go fishing. I try to film the majority of my shows on public water where the viewer can actually go and do their own deal. Basically unload at the same ramps we did, fish the same creeks and learn from the show about that body of water. From there I hope they learn how to fish those lakes with the baits I'm using or a similar bait based on the time of year. As for things brought to my attention, I love to have folks come up and tell me how much they enjoyed a certain show since they were able to go out and do the same thing. Wow misinformed. I'd say 90% of that is due to somebody not really paying attention or not understanding what is being said. I don't think anybody intentionally goes out to misinform anyone on a show. 5. Do you remember what the largest species of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass weighed, where you caught it, and what lure you caught it on? Biggest largemouth was at Lake Huites on a Pop-R in mid October. Just sucked it under and the war was on. The fish weighed just over 11 pounds. Smallmouths. I've not caught any really big ones (as of yet). Spotted bass Easy.. Lake Texoma, on a Yamamoto Kut Tail worm on a ball head last year using 6 pound test. I can still feel the drag that fish took on it's first run under the boat. 6. What moments led you to the career that you have chosen, and what are your future aspirations in the fishing industry? I was ten years old watching fishing shows and knew what I wanted to do. There wasn't any one moment I just knew. As for future aspirations I hope to just do this till I'm done but if that's tomorrow or 25 years from now I'll be happy since I lived a dream and feel I've done some good things for folks that like to fish.

The first thing that you need to know is that while the top 6-8 inches of the weeds are tough to get through, it is just a canopy, and under that, it opens up, and the bass have little canals through it, which they can travel. If you are catching bass like that on a topwater, why switch to something else? If you are wanting to punch through the weeds, use a T-rig with a weight no smaller than 1/2 oz., and possibly up to 1 oz. That will get through the weeds. If you have the chance, fish a trick worm, in a bright color, white, orange, pink, etc., and fish any holes that might in the hydrilla. Twitch it over the grass, and when it gets to the hole, let it sink, and then, bring it out. For the lily pads, I would try a top water frog, or give the Sizmic Toad a try. You can fish these in all water depths. If not that, try a regular buzzbait, or perhaps a Pop-R.

Those are the hooks that I have, and I do not like them. The Gamakatsu Drop-Shot hooks. I guess that I will just stay with the long shank worm hooks. ;D

Bienvenidos! Hope that you enjoy your time here, and don't be afraid to ask questions. I have been here a couple of weeks, I have made some great friends, and I have learned a lot of things that I might not have learned on other sites. Mr. Glenn has done a great job, and the people that are here are some of the best that I have encountered. ;D

That looks like my sweet Gammie. Is it? :-* I love those hooks. ;D

To start off with, I use a Gamakatsu 1/0 Long Shank Worm Hook, and I had 100% hook-ups with it. I decided to try the Gamakatsu Extra Wide Finesse hook, and I do not like it at all. They look great in the package, and they look better on the line, but when it comes to catching fish, I do not like them. The first hooks were nickel and the second set was red. What hooks do you use and prefer? ???

Depends on the size of the lure that I am using. 3-5 in. lure = 1/0 EWG Gamakatsu 6-7 in. lure = 2/0 EWG Gamakatsu 8-9 in. lure= 3/0-4/0 EWG Gamakatsu (depends on thickness of lure. 10+ inches = 6/0 EWG Gamakatsu Hope that this helps. ;D