russ0101

don't try to throw it weightless on a lightwire hook... it will float! I like throwing it on a Carolina Rig with a lightwire hook (it floats up off the bottom...). I also throw it on jig heads (1/8-1/4oz) and texas rigged the same way. It worked pretty well for me in some thick grass on a lightweight carolina rig (1/8oz) and a 30" leader

I had the same problem you did... did you try a senko from a different pack? I don't know if I got a bad pack or what (both packs I was using at the time were brand new).... but, one would just fall and the other would shimmy. I throw them weightless, texas rigged on a 5/0 Daichii hook with a screw lock in the eye... one bag worked right, the other bad didn't. And the megastrike in the bag... I've done that before, and each worm only lasted for 1 fish - and that was if the worm actually stayed on the hook during the cast. They got too soft, so now I just keep them in their orginal pack zipped up, and inside a Plano storage box. If I want scent on it, I put it on 2 baits the morning before I leave the house, and they last a lot longer than permeating the whole bag. Not to mention, sometimes you want some scent, sometimes you don't

Carter's is hard to fish from the bank.. We bummed out at Yahoola too in our tourney. We weighed in 3 fish for 3lbs and took 3rd place. Our fish were caught on a jerkbait and spider jigs. We caught about 15 fish, but none of them were over 12".. close, but no cigar

we used to live at walden crossing... you're bout 3 minutes from my house. that ultravibe speed craw is good - i forgot about that. Put it on a shakey head and go to town! The super speed craw is good too, just a little bigger. Good luck out there at Carters.. we'll be at Yahoola. I just saw they edited out our fishing website for self promotion.. I wasn't trying to promote, just show him what lakes to fish around us. Our memberships are closed anyways, but sorry if I abused the rules, that wasn't my intention.

I live off exit 16 too.. actually, right off the exit you make a hard right onto Lower Scott Mill Rd, then right on Brick Mill.. I live in the Brick Mill subdivision if you know where that is. I've caught the majority of my fish at Carter's off those spanky jigs. The pumpkin with strands of chartreuse. As far as worms go, I've use a shakey head with watermelon and caught some little ones. I use Roboworms a lot and up there I caught some on Oxblood light. I would think green pumpkin, black, and watermelon would work... those and june bug are the only worms I throw and do good on. Pumpkin might actually be the best color - I heard LB say the clarity was 5-6' right now I don't fish Allatoona.. I should since I live right there at it basically, but I fish a lot of the electric only lakes. The closest to us is Lathem Reservoir which is off Hwy 369. Lake Acworth, Carter's ReRegulation (on the other side of the dam), Yahoola (Gainesville) and Cedar Creek which is on the other side of Gainesville. [edit]Edited to remove self-promotion[/edit]

Brandon what lakes are you fishing? I live in Canton and fish a lot of the places around. They aren't spawning yet, but they are getting ready and looks like they are starting to stage. Last Sunday at Lake Acworth, I caught a 4lb female, threw right back to the same spot and caught a 3lb male... looks like they are going to be on the banks at the same time. As soon as the bed is made, the female will probably jump right on it as soon as he's done. Work with texas rigged soft plastics - lizards, baby brush hogs (green pumpkin for stained, watermelon for clear water). You can also throw a senko out - they should bite slow baits right now, and dead stick everything. You're gonna have to work slow, especially fishing from the bank. I've only seen a few fish caught on spinnerbait lately, so I don't think that bite has picked up yet. You can also throw lipless cranks, they have been hitting that hard for the last few weeks. Just work everything SLOW... you'll pull something up on the bank. Good luck EDIT** just saw you were going to Carters... Jerkbaits off points (I know you're on the bank... tough stuff). That brown jig might come in handy though, especially if you can find some rocks. I don't know if Carter's fish have moved up shallow or not, but last time I was out there I was catching them on 1/4oz spanky jigs with a peanut butter/watermelon NetBait trailer. Carolina rig your lures later in the day... but it's going to be a slow bite.

in the beginning of march and 50* water temps, i was flipping a 6" brush hog and caught a 6.1# off the bank.. last week caught another 4 & 3lb texas rigging baby brush hogs on roads beds.. lipless cranks, senkos, baby brush hogs, lizards and craw patterned cranks are all I throw in April.. and they aren't on beds yet in the part of GA I live in

I'm going with 7.5lbs... that close to the body you can just about tell the length and from the girth... well, it's a HAWG either way

I've had the best luck on Green Pumpkin/Watermelon laminate 5"... I use a 5/0 Daichi swimbait hook with no weight, it's got a screw in the eye to put the worm on... so far, that has got to be one of the sharpest hooks out of the pack I've ever used, and it's strong too... I'd rank it right up there with my Owner hooks

I'm a baitcaster fan as well. I own 2 spinning rods and I think I might have thrown them 3 times... basically for drop shotting which I have yet to make myself stick with. I've got 2 Daiwa Vientos and those things have never let me down... Hardly ever do I have any backlashes, and they reel and cast with ease.

he's right on the sand and rock... that's how we lay things out in the military. they did that incase the water level receded and needed more shore line. don't plane in that area if you can help it, never know where the actual depths are supposed to be. but considering this map is from the 60s, i doubt you have anything to worry about.

You gotta remember you live in Atlanta - law suit capital of the world! Believe me, I know - I live in Canton and work in Dunwoody. I am also an underwriter for Risk Management and theres no way in Hades you want to get the liability insurance. You'd more than likely get that one person in the neighborhood who needs gas money more than you - they find out you have $1million limits of insurance, then tell their kid to do something stupid so they can get the loot. You think it's a crazy idea, but I see claims come across my desk like this all the time - and when kids are involved, there's no mercy in the court. Best thing you can do is get the parents to bring the kids to the lake, drop them off with you for a couple of hours. Don't advertise it as babysitting, because then you are liable again should something happen. If the parents leave them on their own accord, you're pretty much off the hook. You aren't being paid, and you don't have to have a license because you aren't babysitting. They will usually tip you pretty good for just taking their kids off their hands. If you have a Home Owners Association (HOA), bring it up at one of their meetings and see how they react. They will let you know right off the bat whether they will allow it or not. One other thing, make sure you know the parents well enough for them to leave their kids with you. You might want to think about taking the parents along the first time and go thru the whole class thing with them so they know how you react with their kids. If you plan on having a lot of kids at one time, be careful because I don't care who you are, there is no way one person can keep an eye on 10 kids at one time and keep them out of harms way. Kids are too nosey, and if they aren't the ones being instructed, they'll surely find something to get into. Hope you can figure something out.

I've caught my biggest fish when it was 95-100 degrees - In South Carolina where the humidity and everything else makes it feel closer to 115 (that is actually worse heat than when I was in Iraq wearing full gear, atleast you could breath there!) I fish creek beds during this time of year - 5 feet with structure (stumps, logs, etc).. I cast parallel to the shore and sit right on the edge of the creek bed where the ledge drops off from 5-15 feet. I sit in the same spot each time I go and I'm always pulling in bass ranging from 5-10 lbs. People then want to come and fish around me because they are having no luck - I don't mind that though, there's enough fish in there for everyone and I like watching people pull in big fish they are not used to catching. To me, I guess it's all about giving and teaching people where/how to fish on lakes they know nothing about.

I only use baitcasters and here is how my 3 main reels are set up: 1. Daiwa Viento - Kistler Helium LTA - #15 Triple Fish Fluoro (main rod/reel used for everything - course all I do is worm fish) 2. Daiwa Viento - Powell Max - #30 Stren Super Braid (my wife's setup, when she goes fishing) 3. Daiwa Alpha Itos 103A - GLoomis 6'6" - 15# PLine Halo (this is the only line that I have found to use on this reel. I don't use this reel as much and should look into selling it. If anyone wants to do a straight up trade for another Daiwa Viento for the Alphas Ito let me know. It's practically a brand new reel even though it looks like it really needs to be cleaned. I don't take it out with me fishing, just sits in the garage. I bought it brand new 2 years ago. If interested, email me at russell.edwards@aig.com or jre010@yahoo.com - I don't get to check out these sites that often anymore.

i usually fish by myself... so i will talk to other fishers around me, i like talking and not paying attention to the lure because that is when i catch most fish - by accident because i immediately set the hook when i feel something. other times i have my radio going, so ill get lost in the music or something stupid - guess when im talking to others i have this "challenge" going on to get more fish in the boat with others around

others may do it differently, but i will let the fish take all the slack and get the line taught... then i will pull my rod with a quick jerk opposite of the way the fish is going (if its running).. otherwise, if it hits it and just keeps biting it, i'll wait, make sure i have all the slack out of the line and then pull the rod into my chest to complete the hook set... one thing that i do different than you, i use 1 line, without leaders, swivels and all that.... i put a bead on the line, get my weight, tie a palomer knot with atleast 2' of line hanging thru. then i just tie my hook on at the tag end of the line... less chances for the fish to get away and you dont have to worry about the slack between your swivel and hook

i think i got a bad batch of mustad hooks a while back, i couldnt keep them straight after catchin a fish... switched to gamatsku (however you spell it) and my personal favorite Owner Hooks...

keep fishing! i'll use a floating rattle trap, and a weighted TR'd plastic... some of my best fish are caught when its raining because all the other boaters have gotten off the water

WAY TO GO!! now if i could only use my own advice and it work! did you work any around where the pond if fed by the rivers/creek? and did you throw out off the bank and find any holes? only reason i ask is becasue i keep a log, and i fish some places like you do and i want to put it in there that it worked for you

one thing you mentioned - he was in the front of the boat and you were in the back... were you follow up fishing behind him?? if so, he was getting to them before you were i used the gulp scented things, and the powerbait worms, but i dont use scent much - all i ever catch on that is catfish

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM059 & http://www.dunnsfishfarm.com/bass_spawning.htm i think these 2 just answered my questions.. thanks for your responses - this lake doesnt have lampreys or eels... i just got off the phone with DNR and they said more than likely it was post spawn lesions. I described that reeling the fish in was like pulling a log until it started running. that is probably the strongest 2.5lb i have ever reeled in He also told me that since they were external lesions, the fish are fine to eat. He just told me to be sure to filet everything out of there for the next month or so. That's not a problem because I filet and skin everything i decide to eat fresh.

i look at it like this... if a fish is hungry, he is going to bite - regardless of the moon, weather, or any other thing for that matter. I think it's more a matter of YOU finding the fish, be it trial and error, than anything else. i do keep a log, with phases and all that, and after looking at it, i have caught more fish deep when the moon is full +- 3 days, and on other days i can catch them anywhere. i'm not saying that the moon is not a factor, but i eat when i get hungry, and i eat the same amount every day of the year

you might also try throwing some Zoom Trick Worms weightless... they float on the top and have got some unreal action.. .i would throw it in the same places you are catching them off the rapala floaters... as for location, i would try the area where the river runs in/out of the pond. thats generally a good place to locate the bass waiting to ambush prey in the current. if you have perch, try to find where they have been bedding, and throw some swimbaits that resemble them and work them maybe 3-15 yards off the bank - bass love eating the little ones that wander too far away if its mossy and all that on the bottom, throw a c-rig 4" lizard about 18" back from the weight. It will tell you where the open spots are, like where the fish have sort of "cleaned" them a place out to hang tight. i have caught a lot of fish in this type of vegetaion with the C-Rig. It lets the lure work up and down in them, and most times the worm/lizard will stay weedless because it has no weight hope this helps a little

most times i will fish it right in the middle by eyeballing it... however, lately i've been putting the hook a little closer to the more narrow end - doing so puts a little more wobble on the heavy end. I doubt it makes any difference, but if i were a fish i would bite it - (crazy thing is, i have yet to catch a fish wacky rigging - guess its just because i am a die hard Texas rigger) but ill try more

i said before i hadn't caught anything wacky rigged - i was wrong... on one of those casts where i threw it out and let it sit, i caught was i thought was going to be the biggest fish i had ever caught... i made sure to not let it jump, and it never really tried. actually it never gave much fight. i got it up to the boat and it ended up being a snapping turtle which was about 1.5' in diameter. he was genuinely hooked, so i got the ore and was going to get it between the mouth and hook and push it out - well, he decided he was hungry and bit thru that hook and the end of my ore. I guess there is a snapper out there somewhere now with a pierced lip, because the other part of the hook stayed tied onto my line. And i had to buy another ore. oh yea, just so you know - those snappers can jump out of the back of your truck, i dont know how, but it happened