Daniel My Brother

A friend of mine has a farm with 6 ponds. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and pond manager. My 3 biggest bass this year (any my PB) have come from these ponds. He opens 3 of his best ponds to the girl scouts and boy scouts in the spring, and let's these kids, and their parents, keep whatever they want within legal limits. Most of the folks who come are worm and bobber fishermen, and they catch a lot of nice bluegill and the occasional bass. Sometimes a kid will catch a big bass and the whole group will go absolutely nuts! It's really neat to see. Last year a kid caught a 6 pounder and another caught a 4 pounder. Both fish were taken home and mounted. Many other 2 and 3 pounders were kept. This drove me crazy, but the kids loved it. I asked my friend why he lets them harvest big bass from his ponds and he had 2 responses. First, he says, they've been doing it for years and for every big one they pull out, another one always seems to take it's place. Second, they were having so much fun that he just didn't have the heart to tell them to put it back. He's not looking to raise a state record, he just wants ponds that are fun to fish and offer a good chance at a lunker. That's exactly what he's got.

Thanks for the heads up bankbeater. Keep us posted if you see any good in-store deals.

Fish that are in the "school bus" range need to be weighed on truck scales. Fish around here tend to be a bit smaller, and I have pretty good luck with one of these.

Sorry, I don't secure the tips. I just slide the rod into the base.

I don't personally care to tourney fish...plus my schedule wouldn't allow it (I coach kid's soccer, softball and basketball). That said, I think tourneys are good for the sport of bass fishing so I try not to complain when a herd of strange boats show up at my favorite lake.

I learned a trick from Dink, a member who used to post a lot around here but hasn't been on in a while. Dink is a spinnerbaitin' fool, and his preferred storage method was to use empty Zoom soft plastic's bags. Works well and they don't get tangled. I still use the Plano box to store all of my spinnerbaits, but before a trip I'll pic out the spinnerbaits that I think I might use that day and put them in empty worm bags in the side pocket of my soft tackle bag. It doesn't cost a thing, and the bags reseal, and are plenty strong.

Here's one I built with some PVC pipe and leftover lumber. It functions well, but not much to look at.

Reel: Cabelas Prodigy Baitcaster (the newer one made by Daiwa) Rod: 7ft Med. BPS Pro Qualifier Line: Berkley Big Game 12# Lure: Tiki Stick (Green w/Black Fleck)

Thanks for the heads up. I will sign up today.

Someone once told me: "People won't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. They treat you the way you let them." If you want to keep this job, maybe you need to try and set some ground rules for vacation with the boss so this doesn't happen again. If the boss doesn't want to abide by the rules, then you know what kind of job it is, and only you can decide if this is acceptable behavior.

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You mentioned that you fished 3 to 4 hours a day and that you tried everything including live bait. Maybe you were just out at the wrong time of day. I have the best luck at sunrise, with sundown a close second. Or maybe the cold front caused a case of lockjaw in the bass. Or maybe the guy at the baitshop didn't know what he was talking about and the lake actually stinks. Tough to say for certain...but when I'm fishing and the bite is unusually tough, I switch to light spinning gear and downsized baits, and I try to concentrate on fishing slow, and feeling everything on the bottom. Better luck next time!

I don't think most people in the midwest realize how rare a true 10 pounder is. There was a conservation agent in Central Illinois who electro-shocked lakes for decades and the largest bass he ever held was 9 pounds. I fished with a guide on Table Rock in Missouri. This man fishes everyday on a one of the top bass fisheries in the midwest, and he told me his PB was 8.75lbs. I say celebrate anything over 5 or 6 pounds. I know I do.

Avid, Thanks for adding this perspective. Sometimes I struggle to see past the next fill up. :-/ DMB

^ refuses to let this thread die with dignity.

I don't...but I have a question for you guys who do; do you use a leader?

They run about 3 times up here. First time is around early march. That's typically the best time. Then again in August, and sometimes in October/November. The spring run is a spawning run...I don't know why they run in August, but I suspect it has something to do with all the shad that are everywhere. I went back again this morning, and while the bite has slowed some, there are still fish to be caught.

After the loss, the French upgraded their security status from HIDE to RUN. The next two steps are SURRENDER and COLLABORATE Ha!

This movie was so bad that it was actually kind of good.

Just a heads up to you Missouri guys. The white bass are making their August run right now. If you've got a favorite spot for whites, stop what you're doing and go fishing now. We caught about 200 on Saturday. Many short fish, but several nice ones as well. You can read and see more here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218341870

We only made it to the lake in time to cook up some steaks in the dark and then hit the road home. As good as the Rooster Tails were working, I switched to the Road Runner so I wouldn't have to mess with a treble hook. It didn't seem to matter to the fish.

OK, this is going to sound like a fish story, but we went back this morning and fished for about 3 1/2 hours and probably caught 200 fish! We got bites on just about every cast. The lure of choice was anything small that a fish could fit in it's greedy little mouth. My favorite was a white roadrunner. The rapids were roaring so loud that we couldn't hear each other at all. When we'd catch a good one we'd just look at each other and smile and shake our heads as if to say "this is unbelievable." Here are some pics... Mark with a nice one Here's a more typical one Check out this fat Kentucky bass. I can't even count how many of these we pulled in It's a little risky getting to the good spots, but well worth it One more Kentucky bass for the road Thanks for looking!

'Merica's gonna miss Bernie Mac. I will too. Funny guy, great show, terrible loss.

CR is right. They stock stipers in lakes around here to control the gizzard shad population. Landlocked stripers won't reproduce, but they get to a good size and don't seem to hurt the LMB population.

**EDIT: PICS ADDED BELOW** On the way to the lake tonight, a buddy and I stopped by a favorite spot on the diversion channel to see how high and fast the water was moving. While we were there he made a quick cast just below the rocks and immediately hooked into a nice white bass. Another cast, another white bass. Another cast, another white bass. As quick as you can say rooster tail, I grabbed my rod and pitched into the riffle. In short order we were reeling 'em in as fast as we could get our line in the water. With heavy baitcasting gear, I was poorly prepared for tossing feather light spinners into tight quarters, but when the white bass are running, you don't need to be precise. We caught 'em until our wrists got tired, and kept enough for a couple nice meals. Around here the white bass make about three runs a year. If you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you'll never forget it. We're heading back in the morning to see if the run is still on. If so, I'll take pictures.