Jaderose

Weather in NOWEMO has been terrible this spring. I have not been out yet. It's either been too windy or too cold or too cold AND windy or raining. Bleah.

First I'll answer the question.....I'm in 3 and 4. I want to catch big bass the way I want to. For me, that's mostly with a frog. I feel no real compulsion to teach but that's because I like to fish alone and I don't really have anyone to share it with. Maybe a Grandchild eventually will change that. Second....a story I feel compelled to share. I fished some as a kid but never cared that much about it. High school and college came and went then adulthood. Never really thought about fishing. One year for Christmas in my early 20's my old man got me a rod and reel and some tackle. A baitcaster I had no idea how to use and some generic tackle. I knew I couldn't use a baitcaster (no internet vids) so I traded the reel in on a Zebco at a local Mom and Pop. I thought it was an odd gift and set it aside without much thought. A year or 2 goes by without ever using the gift. One day, my (now) ex-wife and I get into an argument and I decide to leave the house rather than fighting with her. I was heading to a bar as I was a very heavy drinker then. (Sober 20 years now). I walked out on the porch and saw that tackle sitting in the corner. I grabbed it. I went and got some worms and went fishing. No liquor. I had a ball. It changed me. I was not bass fishing. I was just pulling in bluegills and tossing them back. I was "hooked!" I won't say I quit drinking that day or anything but I found something ELSE I liked to do BESIDES that. Fast forward a small stretch of time and I was walking to my (by then) usual fishing spot when I find a Mepps Comet Mino on the ground. What the heck? I tied it on and threw it. And caught my first bass. Would love to say it was a monster but in reality was probably a lb or maybe a little more but HOLY CRAP was THAT fun! So I got some bass lures and started doing that! It was WAY BETTER! Fast forward another small stretch of time.....Walking with my stuff to my usual spot when I find ANOTHER lure on the ground. A Scum Frog. I had no idea what it was. Did not know it floated. I tied it on and tossed it around. Nothing. I ACCIDENTLY threw it in the middle of a scum mat that was near by that I was deliberately avoiding. I cursed and started reeling...BOOM! Blow up! I did NOT catch that fish but that was the most exciting thing I have ever seen! I threw it out there again and BOOOOM! YAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO! This was the best thing ever! Problem was that I DID hook that fish but had NO idea how to fight it and was using a light line Zebco. I broke the line almost immediately. Obviously, this started an obsession that continues with me to today. All because my Old Man had a little foresight that I might NEED to fish some day and I FOUND 2 lures. I thanked him many times before he passed and he never could answer why he got me that gear. He just thought I needed it. He couldn't have been more right. 30 years later, I still thank him when I'm sitting on the water and chucking frogs and just loving life.

All I know is the day I hooked a 13 lb catfish on a Senko and fought it for a minute or so on pretty light tackle without seeing it was one of the most exciting days of my life. Until I got my first glimpse of the fish...lol.

If only there was a video! 6 Ways To Rig A Tube Bait | Video | The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide® LLC (bassresource.com)

I talk a lot about Frogging on here and I would consider myself "Decent to Good" at it. The one thing I CAN do (at least I think so) is "read" an algae mat. Especially after a cast or 2. You can tell the depth under it by color, density of the mat, the way the water ripples after your frog lands along with other tells. It's very helpful because it allows you to target more productive areas efficiently and let's you "show off" when fishing with a buddy. I went out with a guy a few years ago and was calling my shots. See that stick over there? Bass there. Cast to it...BOOM! It's not magic nor do I think I could even teach it. It's just experience after a couple of decades or so of weird obsession with froggin. It would be the ONLY way I would get in a boat with somebody like Ish Monroe, Dean Rojas, or about half of you guys and go head-to-head. I might get smoked but I'd give it a shot.

Wow....yeah, I would happily sacrifice a rod/reel for that hawg. BRAVO!

Been there, done that, felt the pain. It happens and the smart ones learn from the errors. Be a smart one!

Scum Frog Trophy Series Natural Black/Green. Learn it, know it, live it.

You can pick up H&H Spinnerbaits on Ebay for around a buck each. I've caught a ton of fish on them.

All of the above but sometimes you just gotta give them a tip of your cap and a fond farewell with a warning that you'll be back. Tell them your name is Ishmael.

I've seen these. Where you buying them from?

Not exactly a Shakey head but I have boated a TON of fish with these. Extraordinarily versatile and right in the sizes you're looking for. I've put every type of plastic of every size you can think of on these. Owner Ultrahead Finesse Ball Head - Tackle Warehouse

You've already answered your own question, you just don't realize it. If you are gonna use this for Frogging. Even a little. Get the 8. You can use the 6 but the 8 is better. As others have said, you slow down your retrieve for other things but you want that speed with a frog

We're ALL guilty of this. and by all, I mean me! Some days you get locked into old familiar ways even when the fish aren't interested and we keep fighting. Those are the days you gotta pull out that stuff you never use and try something new. Easy to say...harder to do. Especially for the more stubborn among us. *looks in mirror*

I knew this thread would go south pretty quickly.

Yep.....I'm up in Savannah and I usually fish out of a Bass Raider. The little lake I fish has tons of standing timber I can tie off to and I can also anchor but when we get consistent 30-50 mph gusts, it just doesn't work. I am constantly fighting it and it makes about 75% of my little lake totally unfishable.

I haven't been in my boat yet because of the unrelenting wind this spring. I gotta bite the bullet and just deal with it because I need to fish. I went out to my little lake last night and just sat there staring longingly at it

Good ol' H&H never break. I've never understood why more spinnerbait makers don't use free-swinging hooks

There actually is one less than a mile from me. It's a dumpy looking place that I am not interested because last I heard they wanted something like 400 or 500 a year to fish a 3 or 4 acre pond that looks completely uninteresting and the one time I checked it out, I was told quickly and rudely that unless I was a member, I was trespassing. I wasn't fishing or really doing anything. Just looking at the water. Screw that. ps...It might not have helped when the guy told me the dues and I laughed and said you're kidding* me. *I did not say "kidding"

Yep. Totally understand. Every year begins a new cycle of learning the lake again. Things move around. Downed trees float to a different spot. MoDOC might add a brush pile or change some things. Sometimes fish just move on. A lot of the old standbys will always be there but there are new twists every year. Getting ready to find out in the next week or so if this confounded wind would settle down

I know the little lake I fish most like the back of my hand. I bet I have 20 of these spots all over the lake. Those spots you KNOW hold fish. Might be a large brush pile you can sit at for an hour and pull them in or it might be one twig sticking out of the water that holds a single. Just gotta find em.

Got me. First reaction was WHOA! Gotta get some!

I use 30 lb braid on one of my BC's but I wouldn't go below that

Stik-o's are the only thing I still buy from BPS on a regular basis. I caught a weird sale on 30 packs a couple of years ago and stocked up big time. IMHO, they are as good as Senkos.

*has many comments. Realizes can't use any of them without being booted or getting a timeout. leaves thread without replying*