galv

i've been using the strike king shaw's pro series 5" salty stick recently. i think they are most like senkos out of all the many stick baits i've tried and are relatively inexpensive. just doing a quick internet search, i can't really find much information about them, so maybe they don't make them anymore. wish i'd known i'd like them so much. i would have bought a lot more last time i stocked up on baits. i've also been using tiki sticks, yum dingers, mann's hardnose. maybe the senkos are the best but i've caught good fish with all of the knockoffs as well.

wow. i'm gonna try and break my rod next trip

my buddy bought that combo late last year. he has no problems with it.

i've never used it and maybe they've improved it, but i've witnessed a buddy firsthand snap his line no less that 5 times on one 3 hour fishing trip. i could barely contain my laughter.

i usually bring 2 rods but really only need 1 because i lazily throw soft plastics the whole time :-[ depends on where you're fishing, but i like just bringing a 6 foot rod, so you're not walking through the woods getting all caught up on trees and crap getting all ticked off because you felt the need to bring all your gear including your 9 foot saltwater trolling rod. also the bug spray is a must and i like a small radio with headphones because i can get kinda bored when the fish aren't biting.

i'm not a complete idiot when it comes to getting fish off but i'm always looking for tips from more experienced anglers. mainly gut hooks but another example earlier this year i nailed one of my biggest fish 5lb 130z with a really solid hookset burying the hook in the top of her mouth all through that fleshy part and out the top. this thing just wouldn't come out. i forgot to bring my pliers but i'm not sure they would have made much difference. i was just ripping away trying to get it out until my hand was bleeding. naturally during this my fishing partner is trash talking calling me a pansy and what not. same thing i'd do to him. so after about a minute with no success i dumped the fish back into the water then let him have a shot at it. after a minute or two he finally managed to get the hook free doing the same thing i was. unless i'm lucky enough to catch an 8-10lber which would have a good chance of being the yearly state record, i'd like to get the fish back into the water as quickly as possible and give someone else a chance at catching it again

i've been using the yum dingers and tiki sticks recently just to cut down on expense. i haven't noticed a huge difference. the two biggest fish i've caught this year were on the same green pumpkin black flake senko half an hour apart. didn't have the scale, i'd estimate 6.5lbs and 6lbs. caught a 5lb13oz on a bumblebee yum dinger and a 5lb5oz from shore on a watermelon/chartreuse tiki stick. fished a pack of mann's hardnose worms and caught some nice fish with those too. if i was fishing with money on the line, i'd use a senko, but i can't justify the price difference for just casual fishing at this point. when i stock up i'll usually buy a pack of senkos and a couple packs of something else.

hahaha avid. tell all the dummies you're fishing for snook. i'm writing that down ;D

you've got some patience at least i think after 2 minutes i would have tried to horse him out and take the chance on snapping the line 2 hours

i'm gonna guess around 18

i saw that this morning too and that was awesome

toss it out let it sink, maybe raise it up a little then let if fall again. i've been thinking lately that i fish this too slow even and it might be more productive to cover more water than i do. seems like if i don't get hit or see some type of commotion on the initial cast, jigging the worm around rarely entices a hit. if possible i'll try to cast so i can cover a few good spots before the worm gets back to the boat. when reeling from hole to hole i'll vary my retrieve and see if i can get some type of reaction strike then just stick with whatever may be working.

i get that a lot with pickerel but so much with bass. looked down the other day and a monster pickerel is staring me in the face from 3 feet away

a lot of the time when i get the tap tap tap i'm convinced it's crappie. sometimes i'll catch a pickerel with the tapping but rarely. bass even more rarely. i like to think i've become pretty good at sensing how hard the fish has or hasn't yet hit the bait. helps with braided line. if it's real light taps i'll usually try and wait until the fish actually starts moving with. the line will be moving not jerking intermitently.

were all the fish bass? im guessing it was line. i was fishing earlier this year and my buddy caught about 20 to my five. we were at a new unknown pond and all we were catching were crappie and perch. after a few hours we gave up on even trying to catch bass. they obviously didn't like my braided line but were all over my buddies lighter mono line. both of us were tossing spinners and i was having a tough time, while my buddy was catching them with his lure by accident hanging off the side of the canoe into the water. i ended up catching the 1 and only bass of the trip.

not sure on the average but i don't fish huge bass ponds and the fish aren't as big here as down south. when it's 2.5lb and over i'm like "good fish" 3.5 is like "score! sweet!" then it escalates up. this year i've caught one 5pound 12 ounce and the one trip i didn't have the scale i caught one of similar size (similar location. i checked to see if it was the same exact fish) and one even bigger i'd estimate 7lb. even if i catch a monster it's probably a dink to someone like Fish Chris but it doesn't really bother me. its a great catch considering the circumstances.

jim how about some paragraphs? my eyes hurt now

i caught a huge snapper last month. by miracle after i was finally able to reel it in and had it against the side of the canoe, the hook fell out. wasn't really looking forward to messing with it .

i'd get some new line first of all. 10 mono will shred under pressure in thick cover. i use braided 20lb suffix or powerpro. try draggin soft plastics across the top and sinking it in holes and off the edges. i like to use something senko like, but harder so it won't rip and slide down the hook as easily. tiki sticks are good for that, yum dingers aren't bad, senkos are alright but can be high maintenance.

sounds kind of like the water i fish. i've been having sucess with 5inch senkos and yum dingers

my home lake is within walking distance right across from my buddies house. i could probably draw a detailed map of it 8-)

i was cleaning up with the yum dinger the other day. i think it's a good cheaper alternative.

i was fishing yesterday and was having a great day. i caught 7 bass and 2 pickerel and was looking for the double digits. and surprise surprise i probably made 40 casts after that and on 38 of them i was fishing like money was on the line, but the 2 casts i wasn't paying much attention and i look down and line is ripping off my free spool :-[ > gotta keep at it.

i've caught all my big bass around 6-8pm. this is a shallow pond and the bite usually isn't great during the day. helps when it's the 2nd or 3rd day of the water warming up.