gulfcaptain

^^^^^^Ding Ding Ding. It's that simple.

Think it started with mine about going to college and getting on a fishing team if his goal was to pursue a career in pro-fishing and something about I'd get a marketing degree to market myself. Then it just went all down hill. I'm still looking for the answers to Francho's question.

Find you a buddy that's a good fisherman. Go fishing, watch, learn, ask questions. Read and watch everything on here. Start a new account for all the fishing equipment you will end up buying because you think you need it or just want it. It's okay, we will all take your side and direct you to the Bait Monkey support thread. Fish as much as you can. Try and learn new techniques, but not all at the same time. And did I mention you're welcome to ask lots of questions on here as most here are willing to share.

Hey sometimes you just see a topic you have to jump in and reply. But welcome. This place is really awesome. I've read just about everything on this site and the group of guys on here are top notch although the long winter has warped a few but they are still good guys.

Welcome......I miss fishing in OK at times. Had some great memories when I lived there.

Shoot me a personal message of where you're gonna be fishing, area wise and I'll help you out the best I can. Edit: Sorry, there's just so much info I could put on here that may not apply to where you are or the fishery you're looking to tap into and each is a bit different. Just want to make sure I get you headed the right way.

What's the temp? Sometimes it could be a small offering they want. The majority of larger females I caught this spring were caught on either a wakebait or the 90mm Wopper Plopper. Either they would engulf the bait or nip at it. Either way two sets of sharp trebles managed to connect. But most bites weren't "crushing" strikes. I'd stop the bait over the top and they would slowly raise up and eat it or nip at it.

Hey it's what it is. I'm not trying to take the other guys side. But there is ALWAYS two sides to each story. That guy could have been so amped to fish he may not have known he was acting like a donkey(can't use the other word for it). Better to resolve and at least voice your issues and walk away then run and bash your old partner on here without actually speaking to him first.

My micro's I use short leaders (2-3ft at most). Also only run 20-30lb braid and 12-15lb FC. So I use leaders that I don't have to worry about getting stuck in the guides from casting since they aren't long enough to get that far.

Maybe they were cold and all those warm engines just sitting around not being used on the weekend, well they were cold and needed a heater. It has been a cold winter for most of the Central and North East part of the country.

This^^^^ Salt rusts hooks, not the plastic. I use Procure on mine with no issues and at times use a spray to keep baits moist in their packs which do help keep them from sticking. Didn't know Spike It would destroy the baits so I guess I won't be trying that idea out on anything I want to keep, but might be useful to check and see if it's true.

Years in the aquarium business, here's a fact......Moss/algae grows in absence of plants. I have heavy planted fish tanks which have ZERO algae/moss issues as the plants use up the resources and starve out the algae/moss. The stringy green moss is an algae and not a plant, slimmy algae, well that's a bacteria. Removing the plants out of the system opens it up to these problems which then get worse as they try to figure out how to control it when it was naturally being controlled by the very plants they removed. Yep some are book smart, but dumb as a brick when it comes to real world experience. When I was small, ponds had weeds in them, they were a pain to fish because I knew nothing about it. But the waters were clean, the fish stock healthy, and there was no green stringy algae and a resident duck population. 30+ years later, concrete around the pond, maybe a dozen ducks call it home year round, issues with algae although they didn't treat it last year and the grass came cleaning the water and so far this year the algae is not an issue. The ponds where they try to control plant growth with copper sulfate, hairy green algae, fish die offs, off colored water instead of healthy plant growth, clean water, and hence a healthy system. Bottom line, if you remove the plant growth you open the door for more issues which then cause more problems. I can understand trying to control/trim sections and keep it in check, but trying to remove ALL of it is costly and just causes more issues which then are even harder to control when nature does it all by itself.

May want to check water temps to make sure you're topwater approach is going to be successful. Above 66 I'd say that it should, lower it may work but I would slow it down quite a bit. They may also be spawning at which point dropping a heavy bait thru the pads may pay off better then going over the top of them.

The best bass fishing places I fish have nice weed beds. Once I learned to fish the grass it made for a much higher catch/size difference. I think they do more damage trying to manually and cemically reduce it causing worse issues such as green hair algae which is worse then the grass or weeds that were there to start with. Some people seem to have a bigger issue with it not looking "pretty" and clean because they think aquatic growth is ugly.

Turn the hook so the drop of glue can run down into the gap between the baitholder and the hook shank and then I rub a drop on the oher side as well. Blow on for a bit and then hang to dry.

Myself, I'd take the Black ***. But that's my just my opinion. Been impressed with all the *** products I have.

The hook keeper is just a piece of wire whipped onto the shank then shrink tubed. I love these hooks as well. Before I fish them I superglue the hook holders as to give them a bit of extra bite to the hook as soon as I get them. I found the more they slide the worse it becomes. The glue method seems to help so far.

That catfish needs a job......been hanging out in OC being lazy for too long. I wondered how someone else around here would do fishing that rig. Glad it paid off. Just think that one TRD was way cheaper then those Senkos. Just don't store/mix the Z-mans with any other plastics or they melt and become a mess. Keep them in their own pack.

Being it was dark probably made removing the hook or seeing the angle of entry a bit tougher. Sound like te fish gave you a chance to remove the hook and well YOU took to long so he just removed it himself. As long as they get back in the water and swim off strong there shouldn't be an issue. Sometimes you have to pull a bit harder then you think. I've caught fish where it looks like an osprey or heron has taken a swipe at them and they got away. Little beat up but no worse for wear. So your little hook and torn fin I doubt will be an issue other then you feeling bad. That's part of crankbait fishing, sometimes they get more then 1 hookpoint in them. I've had to figure out how a fish has been hooked just to remove the hook. Doing it in the dark would have been tougher for sure when you have to figure out which point to pull out first. Carry some pliers and if you're worried that much, well fish with barbless hooks. Otherwise not much else you can do.

Do you keep a log of conditions for your trips? Water temps, fish depths, locations? Fish are creatures of habit. They do the same thing. Bass fishing isn't complicated, it just isn't always easy and that's the challenge of it. Observations are key. Today went fishing, found the place I fished this week with a good frog bite totally changed in a day. Higher water, 6 degrees cooler, and off color. Went expecting topwater, and as soon as I had an accurate temp new the fish weren't going to be on top....6 degree water temp is a lot even if it's only 70 down to 64. But the fish pulled tight to cover and knowing where to look made the difference. Your fish may be up on beds, or may be pulling back off. Step back, look at what gave you success before. Where were you fishing? What structure and cover is around that area....is there a break close by? they aren't going to move far. Look into the details of each trip. You will get there. If it were easy then we'd all be professionals instead of watching them on tv making it look easy but they struggle just as much at times too.

Why would you bend trebles out? I use EWG trebles due to the angle of the hook bend so they can't toss the lure. If you open the hook outwards you give the fish an easier time to throw the bait as well as decrease the holding power of the hook which could lead to it being straightened by a larger model fish ending in heartbreak. I don't advice this but to each their own.

If you are going to tie a clinch knot, you need to either do a San Diego knot which holds well (instead of wrapping up you wrap down then go through both loops, wet and tighten.) or you run your line twice through the eye of the hook then tie. Now after you tiied your knot, lock it down with 2 half hitches. I don't like the palomar knot, and tie either the improved clinch or the San Diego knot all the time (other then snelling a hook). And you should ALWAYS wet your line before you tighten. Doesn't matter what knot you tie. If you don't wet it you can possibly not cinch it down all the way hence when it's under pressure it fails or you create a bad spot from the line rubbing and chaffing itself which could lead to line failing. Both can be avioded. And I only cut the tag end off after I am completely satisfied with my knot. If it looks questionable, well I cut it off and retie.

If I'm cranking around cover, I normally keep my rod tip a bit higher then I normally would as to keep the line angle up some. This why if I hit the cover the lure tends to want to rise up over the cover as oppoesed to digging into it. Sometimes if you feel it hit stop the bait and let it rise up to clear then crank it back down. The more you get used to using them the less you are going to. I would suggest fishing a bit heavier line right now then you are. Bump it up a couple pounds...instead of say 12, fish 15. And get yourself a lure retriever to recover your stuck baits. It will pay for itself.

Ebay maybe.

Like I said, sounds like the two of you never communicated. You put up with his issues instead of addressing them prior to fishing a tournament. Remember you entered a team event. If he wants to fish, and you have money invested and want to compete, step up to the plate, put your big boy pants on and communicate with him. Right now you're complaining on here when you weren't man enough to state your concerns or bring up the issues you found uncomfortable. Maybe he didn't realize he was doing that. Maybe he thinks he's teaching you and thinks you know nothing about whats going on. The only way to put this past you is to have a grown up discussion with him and get things straight between the two of you. If it isn't ment to be after that then so be it. But then at least you attempted to communicate. Not trying to come down on you, but you are young and sometimes the older generation don't realize you may be a better fisherman then they believe. I did a long range fishing trip when I was 22. Got on a 6 day trip in San Diego and everyone on there was as old as my parents except the crew. They all wanted to know if I was there with my Dad. I just simply stated I was a big boy and was there all by myself. My fishing spoke for itself and soon they were asking me questions or trying things I was doing. Don't get upset at one event, learn from it. You got 7th place. You caught fish. You just need to communicate with your partner better or soon to be ex-partner.