Daniel My Brother

^5. Re-read the final two sentences of the original post.

I'll take ghosts over termites any day.

$20 for a buzzbait? Only if it used a $10 bill as a trailer.

My wife never gets that close to me. The smell keeps her at bay.

How big are the ponds? I can't imagine fishing a single pond for 8 hours. Last Sunday we fished 9 ponds on two different farms in about 5 hours. The biggest was about 8 acres, the smallest you could cast across the widest point. We always got bit in the first 5 minutes, but when the bite turned off, it was off. On the smaller ponds the window was only a few minutes. Whatever the reason, when the fish wised up, we moved on.

Excellent!

There was a fellow here named Catt who had a different three tap theory: First tap is the fish grabbing the bait. Second tap is the fish spitting out the bait. Third tap is me smacking you on the head for not setting the hook on the first tap. Another thing he used to say "What do you thing they're grabbing it with, their fins?" I miss Catt.

The wallet was willing, but I couldn't find a free day to make the 4 hour round trip.

I agree with what the folks above are saying. This time of year I look for warm, shallow water. If the fish aren't shallow, they're probably at least close to shallow water. If it's sunny, I'll start by fishing soft plastics with light weights, tighter to cover, and try to be more stealth in my approach. If it's cloudy I figure the fish are more likely to roam, that when I'll experiment with fast moving baits. If the bite is still slow, I'll downsize my baits. Of course none of this may work for you, and it might not work for me either. It's funny you say that you must be doing something wrong. Most of the time that's just part of fishing, eliminating the wrong until you find the right.

That's a monster! What did it weigh?

WOW! Congrats on a great fish, and pic!

You're gonna fit in fine around here.

I like Bang Garlic. Don't know if it helps me catch more fish, but it reminds me of the Italian restaurant back home.

Ice first, then soda. Just tilt the glass to the side and don't pour the soda directly on the cubes. Less splashy.

Everybody misses some fish, but if you're missing 3 out of 4, something is wrong. I doubt it's just the hooks. Are you sure the bites you're missing were bass? I get a lot of tap, tap, taps from bluegill when I'm fishing soft plastics, especially if I'm beating the banks. If they're pulling the tails, pinchers, legs, or other appendages off your baits, it's probably a sunfish. Assuming they're bass, and assuming your bait is rigged properly...it could be the hooks, it could be the line, it could be the rod, or it could even be operator error. Sharp, quality hooks are a must. Mono stretches more than braided line or even floro. If you're making long casts with mono you may struggle to get a good hookset. If you're using a slow, whippy rod, you'll also struggle to set the hook. Soft plastics should be fished with a stiff, fast action rod. The longer the rod the more leverage you'll get. When you feel the bite, drop the rod tip, reel in the slack, and set the hook...hard. Here's hoping you have better luck this year.

You can certainly make a case for my Cardinals in the N.L., but I worry that we're too old, slow, and injury prone.

Holy Carp, I'm an idiot. I just spent 30 minutes responding to a post made in back in July! I hope someone can use this information.

Not sure how far you're willing to drive, so I'll work my way from in town to out of town. You didn't mention a boat, so I'll stick to places you can fish easily from shore. If you're looking to kill time over your lunch hour, there's a little 1 acre or so pond in Kiwanis Park that has a good population of smallish bass. Cape County Park North and South both have decent lakes, but they get a lot of fishing pressure. I've caught fish out of both, but I've caught bigger fish out of the South lake. Drive a little ways to Trail of Tears State Park and you'll find a little 20 acre lake. It's pretty easy to fish from shore and has a good population of 12 inch bass, with some better fish mixed in. Fish soft plastics in the weeds in June and you'll have plenty of action. One of the most unique places to fish is The Block Hole. You'll find it just north of NUT Junction. NUT Junction is where routes N, U, and T connect. Fish as close to the falls as you can get with small spinner baits for white bass, spotted bass, and crappie. It's pretty popular on weekends, but during the week, you can pretty much have it to yourself. Not far from The Block Hole is Lake Girardeau. I fish there about once or twice a year. I hear there are monsters in there, though I've never caught one. Still, there are plenty of places to fish from shore. Old plantation access is about 15 minutes west of Jackson. This is an access to the Little Whitewater River, where you'll find a decent population of Smallmouth bass. Don't expect to catch trophies, but you will have a good time. Great for wading. Out past Patton on 72 you'll find one of the most beautiful spots to wade fish for smallmouth in Southeast Missouri, the Castor River Shut-Ins in Amadon Conservation Area. It's like Johnson Shut-Ins, but on a smaller scale, and a fraction of the fishing pressure. There's also good access to the Castor River in Marquand. Drive a bit further to Sam A. Baker State Park, and you'll find even better smallmouth wading on the St. Francis River. You won't have to go far to find fish, the waters around the campground are very productive. Make at least one 3 hour trip this summer to the Current River or Jack's Fork. There are a ton of places to rent canoes, and the fishing is outstanding. Take your time floating and fishin. Most of the smallies are around a foot, with a few better ones mixed in, they fight hard and jump high. Better to go during the week and avoid the drunks. If you cross the river into Illinois, the closest big lake is Horseshoe Lake. Not really worth your time for Bass, the Asian Carp have pretty much ruined that. However, you can do well fishing for channel cats in the heat of summer. Good luck!

Congrats on staying persistant and turning your luck around.

Finally, somebody found a way to make Senkos more expensive.

I'm in. Quick question, after I break the Missouri record, is it ok if I cross over into Illinois and break the record there as well?

You probably didn't hear much about it this offseason, but apparently the L.A. Angels picked up a new guy who's supposed to be pretty good. I'll go ahead and pick them as my sleeper in the A.L.

About 20 bucks. But seriously, like Packard mentioned, the president is a noticeably smoother reel. Both have been reliable for me. I actually fish the Trion more because I like the rod that it's on.

Another vote for the Pflueger Trion or President.

I don't know that I would assume anything on a boat this old. There's a lot of wood to go rotten in the floor and the transom. I would only consider this a good deal if boat mechanic I trusted told me it was. A couple other things to consider. Is a big fiberglass boat the right choice for the waters you like to fish? Do you have a vehicle that can tow a 2,000 pound boat safely?