MIbassyaker

Yup, and this is why you shouldn't worry too much about the plastic smell. Water-solubility is the major factor for whether bass will detect a scent. So many oil-based scents we can smell easily in the air neither attract nor repel bass. The biggest things to avoid are DEET and SDS: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-perfume-to-some-odor-to-others.html

Without the internet, I wouldn't know anything about "drop shotting", "chatterbaits", or the difference between rod power and rod action. I also wouldn't know anything about baitcasting gear, whether I should have some, or when I should use it. And quite aside from instructional info, I wouldn't know nearly as much about fishable waters in my area, as i wouldn't have had access to all the maps, lake surveys, and tournament results I can find online. I regularly fish places I would never have known about without the internet.

Close quarters usually calls for a shorter rod. The Fenwick HMG line at $100 has 6'0" Light and Medium-light spinning models that would work for this.

Been awhile since I got anything new, but the itch has come back this winter and I made a few orders today: --Some Fogy bladed jigs and Cosmic spinnerbaits from Siebert Outdoors with some of his new skirt patterns. --Some misc. blades, heads and other components from Barlows to make some more more jigs, bladed jigs and Spinnerbaits. --Presidents day sale order from another site for a few keitechs, craws, lipless cranks & jerkbaits, including my first Vision 110... Got spring on my mind...

My spinnerbait box is about 3/4 browns and greens with gold blades. In my case it is indeed a bluegill/pumpkinseed/other sunfish thing. I fish small inland waters, most of which don't have the white/silvery schooling pelagic baitfish like herring or shad. Not that the bass won't eat white spinnerbaits, but when I've had the big "feeding frenzy" bite, it's always been on browns/greens/golds

I probably fish chatterbaits more often nowadays, but it still seems to be the case that, at the right time of year, in the right waters, during the right conditions, there's nothing more effective than a spinnerbait. I'll always give a 3/8oz gold double-willow a shot in the shallows spring and fall at least, and situationally the rest of the summer.

I just don't think improving your fishing has all that much to do with how many different lures you use, or how nice your rods are. Rather, getting to where fish are is the key to catching them.

I'd buy a kayak instead.

The moderators will move it when they see it.

Yeah, I have a few with copper blades. I actually fish with gold and copper blades more than silver. My rules of thumb are mostly about forage and water clarity/stain. I like gold blades for places I fish that have mostly bluegill and sunfish forage. I like copper blades for darker, brownish-colored water, which in my area is common in the rivers.

three biggest largemouth: 1. black Cavitron buzzbait 2. gold double-willow Stanley spinnerbait 3. black Cavitron buzzbait three biggest smallmouth: 1. 4" Senko 2. 4" Strike King Ocho 3. Whopper plopper 75

Caffeine shad and Yamamoto D shad are both good. They're a little heavier than the zoom super fluke.

Thinking about this description and the places I fish that would fit these conditions, I'm doing something similar....but if i've got shaded hard cover, there's no way I don't have a topwater -- a popper, say -- on one of those rods. Maybe the heavy t-rig for bottom stuff in all depths, the wacky worm for mid-column, and a popper for the top.

This would have aged better as a real prediction than as a sarcastic one -- 2 out of 3 fishing on the last day, including the leader...not bad!

Good commentary here on the prospects of CT record bass by long-time northeast bass guru Rich Zaleski: https://www.richz.com/fishing/blog/?p=105 The Michigan state record for largemouth is smaller than yours: 11.94lb, caught in 1934. Another one the same weight was caught in 1959.

Great fish. Yes, 7-10 years sounds about right for CT. In MI, a 5lb largemouth in most waters is about 10 years old. It doesn't really look like the same fish to me. I think you got two 5-ers in there.

You are looking for simple rules-of-thumb to help you decide when vs. when not to throw a t-rig. The reality is, a texas rigged worm excels in a wider variety of situations than almost anything else. It makes more sense to ask this question about other baits before asking it about a t-rigged worm. If you have more than one rod, there's an easy rule-of-thumb: tie a worm on one rod, and tie a moving bait on another rod. Try them both in each area you hit and let the fish tell you what they want. Whatever they bite, keep doing that. If they stop biting, change it up again. If you have one rod, it's not a bad strategy to just put on the worm, lead with it and fish it everywhere. Exceptions might be (1) summer mornings and evenings, try topwater first, and (2) Spring and Fall, try a spinnerbait/chatterbait/crankbait/jerkbait first.

For me, whether a senko gets the t-rig treatment or the wacky treatment depends on how I want it to move as I bring it back. If I want vertical movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., lift-fall-lift, etc.), I will go wacky. If I want horizontal movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., jerk/drag/twitch- pause), I'll go with the t-rig. Both have their time and place.

There is no wrong answer, but one straightforward approach is the "one-two punch": First make some casts to an area with a moving bait, then a few casts to specific targets with the worm before moving on.

Nice! The question now is: Who's going to catch the 9lber tomorrow?

https://www.bassmaster.com/video/live-2020 https://www.bassmaster.com/video/bassmaster-live-mix

I don't really like a lot of the commentary, but I like hearing the anglers talk while they're fishing. I've been putting on the live mix instead most of the time, and checking in on the main stream only occasionally. Its funny that, as secretive as they try to be, lots of guys can't help themselves from giving a running monologue to the camera about what they're thinking and doing.

1. Studying up on bass seasonal behavior and location. 2. Trial and error on the water.

Bass are generalists and will attack anything at times, including cut bait. But they are primarily visual feeders. So your best bet is to rely on bait that looks like live prey rather than something that just smells like prey. Cutbait and doughballs attract fish based on scent dispersing through the water. Catfish hunt by scent much more than bass, and will hit cutbait readily. But cutbait doesn't move, and doesn't much look like the live baitfish, invertebrates, or other critters bass like to hunt. Ideally, you'd want something with both visual and smell cues. Live bait has the right visual profile and wiggles around on the hook, and it tastes and smells right. Failing that, a lure with the right shape and movement will probably outperform a blob of stuff that just smells or tastes good but doesn't look or move like anything. Actually, you can catch bass on bacon! But it is about the action:

I have a long-time fondness for the Heddon tiny torpedo. As for more modern designs, the yo-zuri is a good one, and I also like the bagley pro sunny B and rapala skitter prop. I haven't tried the new Berkleys yet, but I have a spin bomb and a Spin rocket waiting impatiently in my topwater box to get subbed in this year. Propbaits are really underrated in my opinion, and deserve more attention all through topwater season.