PersicoTrotaVA

It happens. Not all hooks are created equally. I would just sand it off if its not bad. If its a coated hook and its doing that, I would try a different Swim Jig.

My first combo that I can remember was a Zebco 404, on a Zebco 5'6 or 6' rod(pistol grip), spooled with 20 lb mono. My favorite lure to use was a zoom fat albert grub, but not a zoom, it was a walmart special. The color was bright green. I used to put it on a lead jighead, 1/8 or 1/4 oz and just slow reel it back on the bottom. I also liked the gray slug gos rigged the same way and fished the same way. I was 12 and I thought I was Bill Dance hahahahaha.

If you need any tips just let me know. 1/16 jighead seems to work the best with 5 in worms(senkos). It's so easy it should be illegal.

Love my Lew's reels! IMHO best reels for the money.

Definitely in Fall pattern now. Getting lucky with my days off and they end up being beautiful. I am killing it on the the wacky rig.

I bring 3 rods with me at most. I have my crankbait or spinnerbait, my texas rigged or tube rod and my wacky rod. Something, somewhere in the lake will hit one of those presentations for me(usually its the wacky). I suggest to fish it slow, take your time and pay attention to whats happening around you. Follow the birds, follow the turtles, follow the baitfish. Let the fish tell you what they want, don't force what you want onto the fish. I suggest trying a weighted wacky rig(Flick Shake) instead of the drop shot. You can cover more water with the wacky rig than a drop shot and the presentation is almost the same. You should be able to find fish quicker with it.

It's approximately 20" long. Looks to be at least 4 lbs probably around 5 lb. Very nice fish! I love the black coloring on him.

I didn't even know he was on there. I don't know what possessed him to even try for it...

I really like the defishing soap that came in the MTB a few months ago. My brother eats an orange or 2 and rubs the peels on his hands. I love the smell of bass on my hands...its like napalm in the morning, the smell of victory. Alcohol and sanitizers are for wusses. Bacteria puts hair on your chest. PS-This is what this part of the alphabet would look like without Q and R

3/8 oz is my magic weight. To me its the perfect balance of casting distance and depth. If I need it to go deeper, I just let it sink longer. The only time I will go heavier is when I know for a fact I will be fishing in water that is 10 feet or deeper. The only time I will go lighter is during the spawn, when fish are in shallow water.

"The head plays games, but the belly never lies" I always fish what my gut tells me to fish.

I like to fish. Pond, lake, river, mud puddle, doesn't matter to me. If there are fish in it, I will try to catch them. I like to bank fish as long as the body of water is small enough to walk around and there isn't many trees and stuff on the shore so I can fish the whole shoreline. There is nothing like throwing a backpack on with some plastics in it, carrying one rod and going "hunting".

I haven't targeted crappie or bluegill this year. 3-6 lb fish love this little Keitech jig. The jig lasted a day, but I caught several of them this size. I love super finesse fishing!

1/16 oz MONO Tungsten Spin Jig by Keitech. I haven't gone smaller because I haven't tried to yet.

When I have followers or lookers, I usually change colors and that gets them. If it's following, its interested but not sure if it's food or not. Sometimes just a change in speed, a stop, a speed up, can trigger a strike, but you said that wasn't working. I would try that before a color change but, usually after that its a color change and that gets them. If that doesn't work, that's when I put whatever I am fishing down and try something different and start all over again hahahahaha.

This isn't necessarily your fault unless you are waiting too long to wack em. A fish can turn and this usually gets them in the corner of the mouth. If you bury the hook and don't gut hook them, to me thats a good hookset no matter where in the mouth it gets them.

Is it for sure a rapala?

A bathtub, kiddie pool and for all you rich people, real pools, filled with water and different rigged plastics and crankbaits, spinnerbaits, whatever baits. I like to see how baits move with different actions of the rod. This along with research and "yard fishing". Though I do agree the best practice is on the water.

Is it this? http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/bxandtrade-minnow/BX+Minnow.html?start=9&cgid=rapala-lures

Black, silver, gold, green, red, brown, purple with yellow polka dots, is it on sale? Seriously though, I think red hooks have their time and place. The Owner Wack Rig hooks are light green and I still catch fish on them.

Straight black, or black and red jig with a coosa special paca chunk.

A picture is worth 1000 words...

I've never found anything out of the ordinary in their mouths. I have cut catfish and bass stomach open before and found many interesting things. I think the most interesting thing I found was a fully rigged steel wire bottom rig leader, weight, hooks and all in the stomach of a 2lb catfish. I have no idea why he ate the whole thing, It must have hurt going down...

You sir, are a REAL man. I don't know how many pansies would have quit after that, but you sir, did not quit. Massive respect!

I think it all depends on confidence. I love to wacky rig fish but I can't get my brother to try it. He likes to fish grubs, I am not to fond of it, even though I have caught fish with them. I don't limit myself to one technique but I do know what my strong one is(wacky) and which ones are not as strong(jig, crankbait). I should practice my weaker techniques more next year and I will. Hopefully by 2016, I will be the bass angler I want to be.