FrogFreak

Berkley Power Worm. Usually watermelon or some other natural color. Purple hues work very well. Honorable mention to the Lake Fork ribbed worms (ribbon tail). Not sure what the color is but it's kinda green. I caught a 5 pounder last year and several good fish already this year on the Lake Fork worm.

I fish Live Target exclusively. I know they're expensive but I very seldom lose one. The one down side to the live target is they are a bit tougher to walk than other brands. When it's time to throw a solid body lure, I throw a rage shad. I just got into them and they are fantastic! I have a 100% hook up ratio so far (6-7 fish). One thing I've done to modify my frogs is go to the hardware store and buy a small suction cup hook deal. Take the hook off and drill a hole in the middle. Not thread a bobber stop on your line, then the suction cup and then put your frog on. Snug the stop up against the suction cup (cup open away from frog) and you have a popping frog!

I took my son (22yrs old) and his buddy out fishing last weekend and they were learning to frog fish. While they did pretty good waiting on the hook set, they watched me set the hook on a fish and couldn't believe how long I waited to set the hook. I like to wait until I feel the fish when they turn away. No, I don't do it every time, I still get excited and pull it out of their mouth from time to time. The point is, we think we're waiting a long time to set the hook and maybe we need to wait a bit more. The upside to waiting to feel the fish is that if you don't feel the fish and don't set the hook, the frog stays in the strike zone for a possible follow up. No matter what you do, if the bass are just swatting at it and not eating it, there's not much you can do other than toss in a plastic as a follow up.

I fish in northern MN and I would recommend anything that mimics a bluegill. Especially right now during the bluegill spawn. Here are my favorites right now: Ragetail Shad Swimbaits Poppers (around bluegill beds)

Try living in North Dakota.... I dare you.

Lure or technique huh......I would say lure if I had to pick one. Heck maybe if you have the right lure and use a crazy technique you'll start a new trend! I'm going to try and burn my football jig on top and see what happens.

I was taking out last weekend at a local lake and a couple cars were parked in such a way that they were blocking the entrance to the ramp area. The car owners were just sitting around and drinking or whatever. I was able to sneak by (I had to go off road). I don't understand people sometimes. I think I've had more trouble with non-boaters at ramps than boaters over the years. It's a boat ramp, not a beach people!

This is an interesting topic. Here's my take on it. The majority of folks on here say they fish better alone. I agree. I think the issue here is that we all fish our own way and it's very difficult to find someone else that takes this as seriously as we do. When a buddy wants to fish with me I tell them what time I'll leave the dock and how long we'll be out. If he's not at the dock on time, I'm gone. I have one friend that I fish with on occasion. He was worried about me at first (I'm in the back of his boat on these occasions) because he loves to skip docks and I'm sure he thought he'd have to babysit me. Well, we both are pretty good at getting out of trouble so the day went great and we had fun. My wife recently started fishing with me. I will admit I feel a bit of pressure to get her on fish but she is a great partner in that she doesn't complain, ties her own knots, lips her fish and generally is self sufficient. Yes, she gets snagged from time to time but I taught her some tricks and she picked up on them very quickly. I will fish with my boys anytime they want to go. That's the good stuff! Only problem is they usually out fish me. I own a boat and a kayak so if I really want the solitude, I just paddle out and enjoy the silence.

My 2 cents is to make sure you don't get overwhelmed with all the information out there. Just pick a couple techniques per major "category" and get proficient with them. Here are my short list of categories: Reaction baits: Cranks, spinners, swimbaits, lipless cranks... basically anything moving that will cover water Slow down biats: Jigs, T-rigged plastics, drop shots, C-rig. Anything that stays in the strikezone for awhile. These are best used once you find the fish or throwing to known structure. Topwater: My favorite, we're talking wakling baits, popper, frogs. Anything that stays on top. I know people can argue that there are more categories but I'm trying to keep it simple here. One last thing, don't buy a scale, it's harder to lie that way!

Kent Hrbek formerly of the Minnesota Twins is still an avid fisherman. Bobby Knight has been on several fishing shows and I've heard he loves to fish.

I don't need any of that stuff, I have bassresource.com! Nuff said.

Others have given some great advice. Here's mine: Watch Glenns videos. He gives good practical unbiased advise. There is a ton of information out there. Try not to get bogged down by all of it. Set your sites on learning a new technique or two each year. This is where Glenn's videos will help. Try to get a general idea of how to fish with certain conditions, but again, don't get bogged down with too much info. I'm talking general advice like go deep in the heat of summer, shallow during the spawn etc etc. Find the way you like to fish. I love top water and I throw top water when I shouldn't, I just can't help myself. Pay attention to the guys on this forum, they have been there done that. When you see thousands of posts in their profile information, pay attention!

I know I've mentioned this before but be careful when you get a scale. Once you do, all the fish you caught that used to be 5 pounds start shrinking. I say leave the scale at home and estimate, it's much more fun.

Man, great arguments on both sides here. I read the article last night and I have to say, good for him. If he wants to spend a lot of money to grow a world record bass, I say fine. I personally don't like the idea of shooting a deer on a hunting ranch, killing a pheasant that was just released from a cage or standing next to the stocking truck to catch trout but it's a difficult thing to articulate. I suppose if it doesn't feel like fair chase to me, I dislike it. I also don't like hunting over bait. I want to work a bit for it. Now, I'm not saying it still won't be work to catch this lunker, I'm sure it will be. It just doesn't feel right to me. I can see all the holes in my opinion so go ahead if you'd like. It's my opinion. I say grow a 40 lb bass if you want. I always dismiss the lunker pictures I see in the back of bassmaster when it reads "private pond" as well. Just me though. Each to his/her own.

Are there any bass clubs around the Detroit Lakes Park Rapids area?

I love Bill Dance. He's the man! Doug Hannon was awesome as well. I really liked when he'd go underwater and talk bass biology. I do remember a show in the 90s with Fish Fishburne that cracked me up. Fish was never too serious. I agree that there are a bunch of bad shows that push product like crazy these days. One that I do enjoy is called Hook and Look. It seems that they must be inspired by Doug Hannon. I like seeing the bass take the offering on camera!

I grew up in Oregon fishing for trout and salmon so I didn't get into Bass fishing until I was stationed up here at the Air Base. A co-worker from Alabama (Patrick) took me along to this very small reservoir and gave me a Hula Popper. I tossed it up by a lay down on the bank and the next thing you know, ole bucket mouth exploded on my lure. He was all of 12 inches but that started a lifelong addiction that is responsible for a light wallet and a content soul. Thanks Patrick!

I live on the border of ND and MN so I'll comment on both states. Well, in North Dakota it has to be Nelson Lake near Center, ND. It holds the state record and it's a warm water discharge lake for the coal plant so it has open water all year long usually. Hard telling which is the best lake in MN, there are too many to choose from. Leech is hard to beat but there are many that will say Mille Lacs or Minnetonka. Lake of the Woods has some giant smallies as well. And if you like bass that have never seen a lure, go up to the boundary waters.

Oh man, you guys have inspired me to make a DH replica! 4.5 inches long right? Did the original sit in the water with the rear section submerged a bit?

The first step is admitting you have a problem. The second step is......never mind I have to hit Cabela's again. Gotta go!

I'm a huge Rage Tail fan. They catch fish and they sponsor my favorite forum!

I see a break line as any place where two different items meet. These items can include the following: Weeds v No weeds. Different weed types. Rocks and weeds. Current and no current Elevation differences Water clarity (stained v clear) Water temp It's the difference of the two items that matters. The more abrupt the difference, the easier I can identify them. It's those subtle differences that I have trouble with.

I own a wavewalk (wavewalk.com). It's the best Kayak I've owned. I have a bass boat and a kayak and I'm not sure which I like better. If I had to choose just one, Id keep the Kayak though. I love how I can put it in the water anywere, it goes on top of my wifes subaru easily and I can sneak up on the bass.

Love it! My dream is to some day own a Ranger myself. Good for you!

Ditto (except the tourney part, I don't do tourneys), I started last year and caught one fish towards the end of the year. I have to set the frog down and punch those mats. Also, I caught my first fish on a jig last year. Unfortunately it was a Northern but I plan on throwing it a lot more this year.