FatBoy

Cigarlover stole my gues so I'll go with 3-12.

Alright, it seems like the guesses are all in. So she was 17.5" long and 11" around the middle. The fish calc says that is 2.81 lb or 2lb 13 oz. So the results are... 1. Catt, 2-14 2. senile1, 2-11 3. bassassasin12, 2-10 But remember, we are all winners as long as we try our best and work together as a team. rocknfish, you're next!!!

OK, one positive reply (thanks, bucketmouth) and no negatives is good enough for me. Here it is: I'll post the measurements and est. weight in 24 h!!!

I would love to go next, but I don't have a scale. But for the fish in my avatar, I have the exact length and girth so I know the estimated weight from the calculator. I'd love to hear everybody's guesses just to see how they compare to the estimate. Would that be ok with ya'll?

Alrighty. So what you're saying is to pick a starting bait based on some rules of thumb about what should be good for the given conditions and structure/cover you're targeting then go from there (ie, try something different once you've caught at least one fish). I should have picked up on this before, but I think the most important thing I've learned from this thread is that location matters more than the bait. Is that right? I usually spend a lot time fishing one spot (or at least a small area) while running through different baits looking for the "right" one. But if I understand you correctly, what I should be doing is spending more time trying different locations with the same bait (or switching baits only as appropriate for the given structure/cover). I've been going about this BASS ACKWARDS (pun intended)!!!

I can't compete with some of ya'll when it comes to tiny fish, but here's a nice little yellow bass I caught this pass summer on a roostertail... It's the smallest "bass" I have caught. Actually this was the same day as the fish in my avatar.

Wow, I stink!!!

18-8 (cat), 3-4 (SMB), 2-12 (striper) You gotta factor in the size of the kid here I think...

I'll go with 2 lb 9 oz...

Great stuff, GW!!! I'm going to put that to good use. BUT, when you're working on establishing the location and position patterns, you've got to choose SOME KIND of bait, right? So, in your example, I'm not catching anything on the windward side of that point, how do I know if the fish aren't there or if I've got the wrong lure? Or maybe a better way to ask it is how long do I fish that windward side and how many different types of lures do I try before moving over to the leeward side? Fill me with your wisdom, brothers!!!

I'm no expert, but just to add another opinion, 99% of the time I use a 4/0 EWG Gamakatsu. I've caught fish as small as 6" on this rig, so I don't think the hook can be too big. I rig it texposed.

C'mon...has ANYBODY seen eyes like this? Or did I catch some sort of mutant or something?

My first goal is to learn jigs, too. I can't believe how many people are saying the same thing. For me it's because I read Bassmaster and FLW Outdoors and just noticed how many tournaments are won on jigs. My second goal is to catch a 5 pounder. The fish in my avatar is my PB and it's only 2-8. I've gotta do better than that. Twice this year a buddy hauled in a 5 pounder while fishing right beside me. I've gotta get me one...

Well, better to get in late than never I s'pose... Like the sig says, FatBoy has nothing to do with my size (I'm 6'3" and about 230; not chiseled, but not exactly fat either). My passion is riding my motorcycle (2003 Harley-Davidson FatBoy). Notice the hat and the shirt in the avatar. I think I have more Harley shirts than skivies and socks combined. ;D Like I told LBH a while back, if I could just find a way to combine riding and fishing life would be perfect. He suggested some sort of motorcycle-trolling ;D but I couldn't figure out how to make that work. Any other ideas?

I know, I know. I'm lazy. The thing is, I'm really slow at tying knots. When I don't use the snap, I tend to stay with the same lure way too long, even when it's not working. I just start thinking (generally a bad idea ) that I'll make one more cast before I change. And then I think, well maybe one more cast....and then one more....and then.... Of course, the flip side is that with the snaps, I think I'm changing lures too often (see my other thread on identifying a pattern). And I also know that the only way I'm going to get better at tying the knots is to...well...tie knots. So you're right, I should ditch the snaps.

That's a zoom trick worm on a chompers stand up jig head. I've been experimenting with the shaky head here lately.

SuthernProg never said anything about swimbaits. He said soft jerkbaits, which I take to mean things like the zoom super fluke. I don't have much experience with hard jerkbaits. But I spent a lot of time this summer and early fall throwing super flukes into and through cover. You can also work a super fluke in open water I suppose. So it seems like the soft variety would be more versatile. But, as others have said, they won't suspend on the pause like an x-rap, etc. So it seems like you would be better with the hard ones in cold water.

Here's another pic I just downloaded from my phone. This one shows it even better. I adjusted the contrast, but I didn't do anything to the color...

OK, I hope this pic comes out -- it was taken on my camera phone so it's not great quality.... But look at the color of the eyes! They're REALLY light yellow. You probably can't tell from the pic, but it was so noticable I could tell something was strange even before I lifted him all the way out of the water. I've never seen a fish with eyes like that. How bout you? Is this a common thing? (OK, I know he's a dink. Only about 8". But that's not the point... ;D)

How many fish do you have to catch before you can call it a pattern? For example, say you catch one bass on a shad-colored rapala DT-10 along a ledge. That fish could have just been passing by. Or he may have hit a bright colored bait just as readily. Or he might have gone after a totally different bait, like a senko, in the same spot. So one fish can't make a pattern. Do two fish make a pattern? Or three? And once you catch one fish, how long do you keep throwing the same lure in similar areas before you figure out whether that one fish was the start of a pattern or just a fluke? I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't what to be a junk fisherman. But it seems like I usually catch one fish, then nothing on that "pattern" for a while, so I change up my lure or place. Then I'll eventually catch another, but then change up again...etc., etc., etc. How long should I stay with a given lure/location to try to establish a pattern? How often do YOU switch.

I tried out the shaky head for the first time yesterday afternoon. After trying cranks and rat-l-traps in this small pond with no bites, I rigged up a zoom trick worm (big texan color; sort of brown with gold and red flakes) on a stand up jig head (forgot the brand). The worm was texas-rigged (sort of) and I was surprised to see how well the tail stood straight up when the jig was resting on the bottom. I just threw it out there, let it hit bottom, and gave a little shake every now and then. I landed a 15 incher and 12 incher within about 30 min. (No pics, unfortunately. I know without pics it could be GAMEOVER for me ;D. But you'll just have to believe me on this one.) On the first one, I felt a solid thump right after I had given a little shake, and set the hook hard. The second one was a little different. I went to drag the worm a little bit and felt some resistance. I think it was caught on some junk on the bottom. So I gave it a good pop to get it free. As it settled back down I felt weight on the line again so I set the hook. I think he must have been watching the worm, and when I popped it off the bottom I got a reaction strike. I was really happy to see that both fish were hooked solid right in the roof of the mouth. Ya gotta love that! Anyway, I was pretty impressed with the shaky head. Fishing has been really slow at this pond lately. Sticking two decent fish in 30 min was doing pretty good IMO.

I've heard a lot about the shaky head rig here lately, but I haven't quite figured out exactly what this is all about. Can some of you guys gives a quick run down on... How to rig it? Where/when to use it? How to work it?

Good stuff, guys. My pond has little interesting structure. It's basically just a big bowl. There does seem to be a bit of a flat on one end, but that's about it. My problem is that I can't seem to find the right depth, I guess. I've been trying cranks at a bunch of depths, lipless cranks and spinnerbaits, but not much luck. Also, the water's gotten really murky during the last couple weeks. I don't know if it's turn over, or what. But does anyone know about bluegill behavior as the water cools? What are they doing this time of year?

I've been reading a bunch this fall about bass following the bait fish this time of year. They all say to find the bass, you need to find the bait fish. But most of what I've read is talking about shad-based reservoirs, etc. How about small ponds where the main forage is bluegill? I imagine the same idea applies; to find the bass, find the bluegill. But where can I find the bluegill? Where do bluegill go in small ponds when the water hits the low 50s? Shallow? Deep? Where?

I'm in a slump too. This is really my first fall fishing for bass and I was expecting some better action :-[ I also fish mostly small ponds and water temps are in the 50s I guess. Last weekend I caught a few, including one nice fat one (for this particular pond), on wacky rigged senkos. BUT, the bite was very light. I never felt a thing. Just saw the line move a tick, set the hook, and there were the fish. Lookin' forward to that video, LBH!