Josh Smith

Francho, possibly a couple. One, though, pulled harder than anything I've felt around here recently. I wondered this too. In this lake, the dinks lay on the outside of cover while the bigger bass hang out further in. One reason I've started using frogs is to target those larger bass. Thanks! Josh

Hello, The rod I'm using is a Daiwa Jupiter 7'. It's marked as a MH/F, but it's heavier than any other MH I've experienced. Hookups are solid -- I feel them fine. No local place has heavy rods. I need to try to find something with which to compare. Josh

Here's a pic, gents. Sorry for the low resolution -- it was the old Blackberry's camera taking these. Note all the twigs sticking up out of the water. The spots where I've caught bass are marked, and the holes were made by them trying to come up through the mat to get to frogs. The 12" - 14" bass on the outside are fun, but the ones that blow through the mat are bigger. Worms and jigs thrown to the outside are eaten by the smaller fish. There are other areas on this lake like this, and it seems like all the larger bass hang out on the inside of cover with the outside being patrolled by the smaller bass. Thanks! Josh

The best innovations seem to be affordable super braid and improved plastics. Josh

I believe I've read that the black bass is the smartest North American freshwater fish. Smarter than me, anyway, some days... Josh

Bass make the decision to strike like you make the decision to breathe. Sometimes they just can't help it just like you can't help but breath when you've held your breath too long (bass strikes out of hunger) or when you're startled (bass strikes in defense or from pure reflex). This is likely the closest analogy I've hypothosized in the past 25 years or so. Josh

I think I'm going to try the "bend the hooks out a bit" thing. I trimmed 1/3 of the legs because they just seemed too long. Never heard of bending the hooks until it was posted here. Thank you, Josh

I'm a bit hyper, I guess. I need to teach myself to do this. Until the past three years I used mono only. I'd taken 10 years off fishing for college etc, and missed out on a lot of the innovations. When I left for college, the first superlines were around $50. Got to a point in my life where I could start enjoying fishing again without being rushed, so moved by some lakes. Now I get to play with braid, frogs, and new reel technology! Josh

Thank you. They did smell like release agent, so they all got soaked overnight in Gulp! Crawfish before using. Funny; the Live Target got used before I soaked it, and I caught a bass on it. Josh

I never heard of this. Looking into it. Thanks! Josh

I'm using 50lb braid, and have 65lb ready to spool when this stuff gets too low. My biggest problem seems like I'm not pausing, according to your and others' answers. Thanks! Josh

I am using Live Target, Booyah, and River2Sea. Regards, Josh

If I watch sports, I like Northfield High School. Josh

Small. Quiet. If I can't enjoy nature there's no point. Josh

The "S" is Chinese junk made mostly (I think) for Walmart. Josh

Hi Folks, Yesterday I fished for four or five hours. It was slow. One bass hit a topwater frog I was fishing on heavy mat. I lost that one, but did hook up again and land it when I threw a wacky worm right after the miss. Today was worse. I was fishing frogs on scum and isolated mat. One bass blew up the frog. It surprised me and I'm sure I yanked the frog away from the bass before it could commit as I set the hook as a reaction. I hooked up again in the same area with a different frog. I waited for a moment to set the hook this time, but the bass managed to spit the frog. After that area stopped activity, I moved to heavier mat on the other side of the lake. The first frog toss onto this mat resulted in a missed strike. The second bass from this area took it under water into very thick weeds and managed to get off. So... I lost four nice bass (one felt like it could have been a personal best) and landed a big fat zero for four hours of fishing! Two of those I know I set the hook early. This is the first year I've used a frog, and I'm having to adjust. I've landed one bass on the frog this year, but six or seven have hit the frog. I've lost a total of three or four due to my haste in setting the hook, but the others I can't explain. The bass in this lake love the frogs, but I'm not hooking up. I'm thinking soft mouth. I've been using a 7' MH/F Daiwa rod. Thinking about this, I've lost all of them on this rod. Too stiff, maybe? The one I landed with a frog was caught on a MH/F 6' Cherrywood HD, which is a blended glass and graphite rod. Though it's marked as a "fast" action, it's certainly much softer than the Daiwa. I prefer it for most of my fishing. Do you have thoughts on this? I wasn't wanting to go to a medium rod because of the heavy cover I fish. I was thinking about a long rod with a soft tip like an Ugly Stick, but wanted to bounce this off you good folks first. Regards, Josh

I generally tie direct anymore. The places I usually fish are filled with weeds and the line blends in. If I find clear water, I tie a fluoro leader. Josh

Hi folks, A couple friends of mine like to catfish. When I would go with them, I used my Ambassadeur 5000 on a pistol grip Daiwa graphite rod. (In truth, given the '90s vintage and price of the rod, I'd say it's not a huge percentage of graphite, though it's stiff.) Now, we're talking about going fishing together again. I am wondering how modern bass equipment handle catfish. The specific combo I'm considering for this occassional role is my Daiwa 7' MH IM8 fast action with a 5500c3 on it. I have no doubt the 5500c3 will hold up, but I do wonder about the rod. I don't really want to invest in a catfish rod because I'd not use it enough. Thoughts? Thank you, Josh

Way too much matte under and around the limbs to use anything like buzz or spinnerbaits. There are branches coming UP out of the water, too. I'll try to remember pics next time I go. Josh

Nessy?

Wabash, Indiana went up from $2.59 early yesterday to $2.99 late yesterday. I filled up early. It does this because people will pay for it. Remember when it was around $4 a gallon? Of course, if I drive to Peru, Indiana, I'm sure I'll find it for 50¢ cheaper... Josh

I was trying that with slow falling jigs last night. Next time I need to bring the ultralight for weightless worms. I usually do but last night I had frogs I wanted to try. Today's gear allows me to do more than when I was a teenager when we only had monofilament. I'd have never cast into half the stuff I'm able to today! But there's a new learning curve that goes with it. Josh

I've broken limbs and line off doing this, using 50lb braid. Josh

First, imagine a downed pine tree devoid of needles. Now, imagine a bass that thinks it's a woodpecker. That'll give you some idea. Regards, Josh

I have fished for about 35 years now, since I was two or three. I bought a relatively expensive rod a while back, and it promptly broke. While it was being returned and replaced, I bought a Cherrywood HD to use with the reel that was on it, sort of an experiment. That $20 Cherrywood is now my go-to rod. It is used first, though I take much higher-end rods along. It would be perfect with upgraded eyelets. It's all in what you're looking for, I think. This is perfect for heavy cover. Looks sort of funny with a supertuned and upgraded 5500c3 on it, but it's the most useful setup I have. Josh