Ohio Dave

amen

thanks bud. I will do that. I am in no rush anyway as the wing is still pretty lame

welcome: I am an Ohio guy, but live up in north central near Fremont. I always heard the bassing was decent at Alum but never made it down there.

thanks guys much appreciated

I never mean to bash anyone: it is so frustrating; its like the company just expects me to either take nothing or sue them: what a pain in the ... well its a pain that is exactly the sort of work I think I could really sink the old teeth into this winter. I would not even care if it took a couple of winters to get all done. So long as I could tinker along with it and keep my mind occupied with something decent for a change

Guys, I wrecked my biceps tendon in an accident which required surgery. It will be another six weeks at the minimum before I can even start the simplest of physical therapy. right now it is honestly painful to lift up a pen. Needless to say my fall fishing is done for the year. I am already nuts for having to sit around the house. The prospects of being stuck in the house all winter is sending me over the edge. The idea popped into my head that if I had some sort of project to work on out in the shop (once healed enough to move around) that it would help in my recovery and get me off the couch. I am looking for a worn out bass boat with a sound haul. I can handle a rotten deck replacement, ruined seating, faulty wiring, even some basic engine work but don't want to mess with a leaking or damaged haul. So if you know of a neighbor or pal that left a water tight bass boat go to the weeds I may be able to give it a good home. Of course I have a super small budget until all of the injury is settled and the lawyers have picked at everyone's bones: (glad to say not mine) but still sorry they are involved. At least I could pull apart damaged areas and get a leg up on wiring issues if there are any. I live in North Central Ohio, I don't mind a drive but probably not over night distances unless its a crazy good place and boat I welcome any conversation regarding this idea and this is why I posted it here rather than in the for sale and looking to buy section. If that is not okay please move it or tell me how to. one positive is that I know I ended my season on a nice fish: my last bass of the year was a 3lber thanks again guys for the knowledge DB

I am not good at covering a lot of water with a t-rig. Even though I am not in those exact scenarios windy fast drift or impatient friend days require some improvements

I don't fish tournaments so if you want to toss my commentary I understand. What I read here and find as I fish pressured lakes is not about finesse or power or some magic spell to put one the front man; I read success as staying versatile and adaptive. If KVD himself just went through the water you have the most confidence in still at a particular point in tournament; You would be a complete fool to think you are going to out Van dam him. profile chance, color change, size change, presentation change. There very well may still be good fish to catch there but you will not find them repeating the front of the boat

For me it changes day to day. i like to still search with a spinnerbait but will slow roll it if its a cool day. jerk baits when it has been cold all day

Confidence and diversity. Both terms tossed out and both spot on. I made some serious changes to how I fish and they have paid off. For Example: Two weeks ago I was to meet a former and a current student to chase bass at one of our above ground reservoirs. The boys beat me to the water and already taken 8 bass 3 lbs or larger from the exact same spot. One fishing a swim jig with a paddle tailed plastic trailer . The other a texas rigged senko. The swim jig was killing it, while the senko had produced just one decent fish.(and some small fish) I arrive with a spinnerbait already on and start fan casting the water they just hit very hard. Three casts in I take a 3 lb . My point is: all three classics produced at least one very respectable fish for Ohio, but it took three approached to fish out the spot. No one would have thought twice about any of us. sticking with the one lure/presentation. They all produced. But had we not adapted and had the confidence we each would have left good fish behind. I love seeing a guy ahead of me getting a few fish but using just one technique. I shows me active fish and what not to do to catch the remainder. Use as many techniques as you are able. take the time to make yourself learn at least the basic of each to a point where you know if fish are there you have a decent chance of connecting. I promise many more bass

Thanks Glen, I will be showing the students this one

thanks guys: not a regular class we do it all after school but its great for the kids to do something together

Good evening all, I am not sure if this is okay here or in a general thread. Last week while fishing with a student and former student I snapped the tip off my Villain rod. Called them up and in no time they had finished processing my claim and a brand new rod was shipped out. There is probably a million ways to dodge having to live up to a warranty but they stepped right up. They have amazing customer service and really stand behind their products. I also wanted to make a public thank you to Abu Garcia and their parent company Pure Fishing for all the support they have given me and my students as we struggle to put a bass club/team together. Ohio does not have bass fishing as a varsity sport yet but they rolled out the red carpet to help us out. They make a collection of activities and contests that we can participate in through the entire school year. Public service and being responsible anglers is the heart of their program and it takes a firm hold with my students. Thanks guys so much for all you do. With customer service so good and a great products; I don't think twice about steering my students toward their products. BTW we were killing them the night I broke the rod. We had twelve over 3 pounds each from the very first place we stopped at walking along the banks of our local above ground reservoir. Get out there and wack'em David Bowers Bellevue High School Bass Team Coach

There is no way that a high school qb that is even vaguely decent does not know instantly that the ball is too soft. Heck even a lineman with stone hands could tell the difference in a couple of pounds of pressure. He knew and cheated anyway. I don't care about smoking guns or non sense: He violated the trust of the game as Bill has also done with video taping and other underhanded bs. Kraft loves to paint himself as a man of integrity but he is a fraud as are their championships

Wow that is so cool to hear those taies of days gone by. I used a plow jocky rig with a split shot which was somewhat like that but the worm came pre rigged with three hooks. Took my very first largemouth (a 16 inch fish) when I was about 12 years old on that rig. For a moment I had drifted back to my youth fishing those Indiana lakes on hot afternoons.

I only have a ten foot plastic boat so I only take three rods. I take a crankbait rod, a flipping rod, and a spinnerbait rod. If the bass are not chasing the spinnerbaits I switch that rod to soft plastics and slow it all down a bit. I still flip and drag a jig so I am not loosing that bait profile just the speed. Its all a compromise but space dictates a max of three otherwise I am half buried in gear and can't even move.

Hey JT Harris, I went to the tackle warehouse and they don't have a wide range of color: Do you stay between white and green or are there many other colors out there that TW is not carrying or at least displaying?

I should really take a thermometer with me for shore and in my little boat. I went out Saturday afternoon with my kids in tow. My son was tossing a Yum craw and my daughter was taking pictures with my phone. (has a nice eye too) I got one 3lb large mouth on a spinner bait which was about the only strike I had in the hour and half. I doubt my son let the craw even reach the bottom much less pop it along as he knows he should his results were a complete shut out. Unless you count the tad poles and wild onions he collected which I do LOL Tonight is supposed to drop from the 80's to the 40's and not reach past 70 tomorrow. I will likely be out tonight if I have time and the rain holds off

Don't let fear get to pick what you are going to do with your life. I have students all the time tell me they are not going to college because they don't want to take out a loan. I get that but the loan is an investment in your self. If being a lawyer is what your heart is set on then got for that!! The only voice talking you in or out of something needs to be the one coming from your own heart

follow your heart young man, if it leads you toward fishing as a pro so be it, if it leads you to be something else and fish on the weekends and a couple weeks of summer vacation then so be that too. You have to love being a tournament pro to be a good one. its not nearly enough to love to fish or to be outside. You have to love the grind, the practice days, the meetings with sponsors, the interviews and self promotions. I would hate to guess how many guys have gone after this either half hearted (meaning they just love fishing and not the business of fishing) or never really did the research and leg work to find out what they really have to do to turn bass fishing into a living. My folks' old neighbor is a classic example. The young man was a solid fishermen. He was strong in the local matches. But he got married to a gal who did not have a clue what life would be like if he chased this dream down. I took a second mortgage for a ranger and gear. Lost his job because he kept trying to take weeks off at a time, wife ends up dumping him because he was never home. Short of winning every single week the semi pro leagues he was in did not offer nearly enough $ support to stay on the road much less to keep a house and wife. 18 months after he took the plunge he was flat broke, single, and homeless. I doubt very much he even bass fishes for fun now. I guess what I am trying to say be a bit long winded about it is to be sure you really know how deep the water is before you jump off the high board

A very sound approach ! I sure can not argue a bit with it! Yet, breaking old habits with my senkos and other soft plastics and trying out spinner baits and chatter baits in a serous manor has produced my personal best largemouth last night (very near five pounds) and personal best smallmouth (around 4 pounds). I honestly am not at all sure that I could have induced the strike of that big gal last night ticking my plastics along. My whole aim here does not have anything to do with becoming a pro or super fisherman or anything like that. If a friend invited me to join them as co angler to a tournament I wouldn't likely turn them down but otherwise I will never be a tournament fisherman. What I do want to do is learn a few new tricks that I can share with my high school boys to help them along and to have an excuse to buy more tackle LOL I mean widen my skill range to be able to catch more fish more often and better fish too

got just one bite last night on a chatter bait. But it was all worth it as she was very near 5 lbs! She is the first fish to get into the Lews drag on my tournament pro reel. What a beast

we are thinking pretty much alike there. Since taking on coaching the high school boys I have changed my approach a bit to more of a student of the sport. I have learned a bunch related to rigging and to the use of spinner baits which is something I stared at before in utter disbelief. I will likely remain a senko first sort of guy as I am more relaxed and having fun going slow as opposed to being a run and gun guy or power fisherman. I am not sure I like that term anyway but it doesn't matter that much to me. But I want to have the tools of a gunner to use when conditions demand that I do. That way I can help young men round out their approaches as well.

Auto racing may be even worse: everything costs a load of cash and the travel is nuts. Almost no one even makes their money back I guess if you really love both bass fishing and the competition then you will kick yourself for not giving it a go. As for me, as much as I like bass fishing I like seeing my family in my home every night much more. And knowing that my pay check will be deposited at the stroke of midnight every other Thursday night regardless of how well the bass are biting or my sponsor's lures are selling makes me just about as happy. plus I am not rolling out a sleeping bag in the back of my truck either

Temps have taken a nose dive here in Northern Ohio the last few days. I saw bass on beds last weekend but have not been out since the rain and cold. In an effort to widen my approach and become much more of a student of the sport rather than just a guy who tosses senkos all the time I would like to ask how some of you would take on rock bottom and soft bottom with the crinkle weeds as structure on a day that is following a cold snap, water is stained. far more largemouth than smallies generally limited structure air temps today will see low 60's water temps (I am guessing) will be in the upper 50's low 60 ish am I wrong to expect to see bass still shallow or will they have moved off to adjacent 6-10" water where would you start? bait, color, size I am sure the majority of you (all) did not read my last post: I am making an effort this summer to really learn where, when, and how to use spinner baits and chatter baits. I had some nice luck early this year but was shut out the last time I was out