flyingmonkie

It's be best method, no doubt! You don't even have to land the fish to weigh it. If she get's off, you know it was at least an 8 pounder.

Throw the new Whopper Plopper buzz bait - guaranteed they've never seen one before... they won't know what to do!

I do it by hand. Works every time. "Yup, feels like another 6 pounder!"

River2Sea sure did hit the jackpot with that thing...

That's great! I used to fish there a lot several years ago. Aren't they draining it right now? Do you go to school here? Welcome to the forum!

When I look for Sodom reservoir, all I get is "East Branch Reservoir". Is this it? https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4010718,-73.5807284,1980m/data=!3m1!1e3 If so, it looks awesome! I see lots of shallow underwater structure (rocks, I assume) on satellite. Also, it looks like there are shorelines lined with laydowns. Being an okie, I start shallow... I'd be flipping every bit of laydown wood I could find. Sticks = money in rocky lakes. Second move would be to main lake points and around the islands. This type of year, I'd be deep cranking, dragging a football jig, or a c-rig. Anytime i came across underwater structure like rock piles or boulders, I'd work them over... especially on the shady side.

Every time I Googled one of my questions, I ended up on BR. Figured I'd cut out the middleman.

Incredible! A species of bass that has evolved a human defense mechanism! His appearance ensure he will never be cooked.

Just recently, A-Jay started one of the best discussion on night fishing ever documented. You should read through this. There was a spin-off thread about bright nights vs. dark nights. All good stuff.

I HATE DROUGHTS!!! We wrapped up a 100-year drought 2 years ago, and many of our lakes were at 50% volume - a few dried up. :/ I actually don't mind it from a fishing perspective. You can learn ALOT about where you normally fish! As "lo n slo said", study the lake when it's down, and mark structure that is normally under water. I used waypoints from the peak of the drought 4 years ago just this past week! If you have a long drought, chances are you'll get updated satellite imagery on Google Maps which can also be very telling. Soak it up! Maybe even take pictures. Then go fishing. You have a lot less water to cover, your fish are more concentrated, have less shoreline cover, and often, your water is clearer. It should be pretty easy to predict where fish are holding. When water is dropping, fish pull out... so look more offshore Drought is usually associated with heat, so look for the classic summer areas where water could be cooler or have more oxygen (shade, grass, current, fresh water, etc.) If you're not fishing deep water, you should be near deep water. "Deep" is a relative term that differs across all bodies of water. Look for structure that fish move along as they establish their comfort zone (points, steep banks, bluff walls, channels, etc) As gloomy as it seems (droughts make me depressed), you will get rain again! We've been well above average the past two years and have all but forgotten about the drought. Hang in there - your lakes will fill up again and then you'll have all kinds of new shallow growth to fish!

I slayed them today on a green pumpkin with yellow on the bottom of the skirt, and a green Rage Menace hooked vertically. Killer bluegill imitator. Now that I have confidence with swimming, I guess I'll give white a shot.

Come to Oklahoma! In some of the shallow stained water I fish, a SB is about the only thing you'll catch 'em on! Big difference in a single Colorado blade and twin willowleaf... different bait in my opinion.

For all you veteran swim jiggers, is white your go-to? My jigging experience started at the bottom and is working it's way up - I'm having a hard time getting away from green pumpkin variations... i know it's a confidence thing. Ott DeFoe was tearing them up on a white swim jig at Texoma.

Just caught a couple this evening on a Siebert jig myself! I don't have anything other than anecdotal "I crossed his eyes!" observations, but I have more confidence in Siebert jigs than any others in my box... regardless of style.

Maannnn.... this is hard. Why you guys have to be so black and white?! Well, you've got the Texas Rig part right. That's 80% of it in my opinion. I don't leave home without a good craw, ribbon-tail worm, beaver, and creature bait to stick on it depending on how I'm fishing.

Hey Big Easy! I just fished as a co-angler in my first Open (Central Open 1, Muskogee OK) and it was absolutely incredible. I will be fishing in all of them for the rest of my life. I was really nervous about being in the boat with a pro (fished with a previous Classic champ on day 1!), but it wasn't bad at all. - Be prepared (PFD, rain gear, sun gear, food/drink, culling tags) - Pack light (4 or 5 poles and 5 or 6 plano boxes) - Bring gas money ($40 is suggested in the Opens, I gave $60) - Get at the ramp early! When there are 200 boats launching at 6am, the line can get long quick. - Be respectful of the boater. - SOAK IT UP! Such a blast!

I use them frequently - great value! I feel like the larger square bills tend to get hung up a little more than a Strike King would, but hard to beat for $3.

Get some parasite clips, work great on Flukes!

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/handling-bass.html http://www.catfishedge.com/how-to-hold-catfish/

Get them both! A pack each in black/blue, black/red, green pumpkin, and watermelon! ... I'm so sorry. Apparently the Bait Monkey is "speaking through me" tonight. Please ignore.

Bait Monkey is standing on my shoulder... I keep shooing him away. "It's not Father's Day anymore!" I say... "Who's going to raise a stink over a dozen jigs at regular price?" he says. You're right, Bait Monkey... you're right...

Can't disagree with what's already been said. I'm almost always going with a craw trailer (Rage Craw, Rage Menace, Paca Chunk, etc.). Will vary the action based on water temp (more action with warmer water).

6 AM at the latest.

This is a commonly debated topic on here, and one of my favorites. With 1' visibility, braid was likely not the issue... especially considering you're punching mats (looking for a reaction strike). Most pros will punch mats with either 50-65lb straight braid or 20lb flouro

Been doing this for years! I call it HD Dropshotting. Regardless of what you call it, IT DOESN'T WORK... don't waste your time.