the reel ess

Still make it. BD did a show with it last season.

Google Table Rock Lake. Since I already have a wife and am eyeballing retirement, I'd probably go to some place in central FL. Double digit bass are what I'd like to see on a regular basis.

I agree that often times, showing fish something they never see or in a way they never see it can trigger strikes, especially in a small body of water. My buddy has a pond and only fished two or three lures. I'll go and catch 20 or more (mostly dinks) and he'll be amazed. Well, I throw 7-10 baits at them until I find a few they like. I'll bet a wacky Senko under a float would produce as well.

I don't wacky rig much, but when i did, the best hook for hookup ratio was a smaller worm hook. You know, the kind you T rig with. They weren't weedless, but I could just go get them if they made it to the bottom and got hung.

No, that's just dirty. I might make an exception for a PB, but I haven't yet.

I also have a black/blue Strike King (I think) Midnight spinnerbait with matching color huge Colorado blade. But I've never used it at night. It works well in late winter when the water is usually off color. It's a really slow moving spinnerbait that's easy to see and feel upon retrieve.

Yes, black or black/blue will make a better silhouette in low light conditions. It will do the same in the morning and evening. For the longest time I caught more bass on one black/blue buzzbait than I did all others combined. I would start out a morning with the black one and when they quit biting it, I'd switch to a light colored spinnerbait. I have since noticed that pond bass will bite a white buzzbait when the sun is higher or on overcast days.

I really dislike fishing live bait as well. I usually draw the line at the old inline spinner or Beetle Spin. I would however make an exception, like say, a live shiner, for a PB.

Yes, bass do enjoy manna from heaven occasionally.

I grew up on Wateree. It has become a very good bass lake in recent years. But I eventually quit fishing it too. I just don't go looking for competition.

It's topwaters by a long shot. I love it when a bass attacks a topwater to annihilate it. When I was younger it almost stopped my heart! I'd rather catch 5 medium bass on top than 10 on the bottom. I arrange my trips to be mostly in the evening because that's when I feel most confident I can get a topwater bite. Sometimes I go out with 5 topwaters tied on. Second to that I like the good ol' T rig 6 to 8" plastic worm. I like to feel the bite, reel down and see the line moving and WHAM-O! I like spinnerbaits-caught my PB on one. I've really grown fond of lipless cranks lately. They catch big'uns.

I went Saturday afternoon to my friend's farm pond, using the kayak. This place has a lot of standing timber and some cypress trees in the shallow end that usually hold some bass. The fish are somewhat stunted, but they're easy to catch. I managed a few 2 pounders on the frog and caught some smaller ones on a spinnerbait around the timber. It was easy so I thought I'd experiment with a jig and chunk trailer since I'm lacking at that tachnique. I caught maybe 5 fish on probably 10 bites. It definitely is a different feel from the T rig and that's why I've always shied away from it. But I know it's a big fish technique and I need to have it in my arsenal. I'll just keep a jig tied on until I feel proficient with it.

The best advice I can give for fishing a frog is to use it at a place with a lot of weeds or other vegetation. You'll get a lot more bites on and around that vegetation than in the open water. The "walk" won't matter that much on the mat because you're just making fish aware of its presence. I had a frog for years before I ever caught anything on it because I was fishing a sand and mud bottom lake that was devoid of weeds. They'll also work well around laydowns, stumps and docks. They're a presentation that needs to be used around specific shallow cover, not as much in open water. Whenever you see a mixture of these covers, like say, a log around some lilies or weeds at the base of a dock, throw the frog. It works better at the edge, so throw it up on the bank if you can and have it drop in and surprise bass. It's a stealthy critter and you'll be amazed how shallow fish will be even in summer. I got tired of the big lake rat race and bought a kayak and started fishing ponds and smaller bodies of water. The frog excels in shallow places where the fish are looking up. And if you see a fish chase bait around vegetation, always throw a frog at it. Lastly, they'll work better in the morning and evening than high noon. Of course, that's just a generality, not a rule so don't hesitate to throw it anytime conditions are right.

My favorite and the one that stays tied on all the time is the Booyah Poppin' Pad Crasher. If you just twitch-twitch it, it walks easily. But you can occasionally give it a pop. It seems to get noticed on the pads better for me. Believe me, it takes a little time to get the knack of walking a frog. But I catch a lot more right off the top of the pads than I do in open water. The ones I do catch in open water usually attack the bait before I start a retrieve.

Here's a rule of thumb regarding weight for a T rig. You want as little weight as you can cast, but enough to keep the bait on bottom and enough to overcome wind because you have to feel the strike. That's usually in the 1/8-1/4 oz range. I usually try 3/16 oz with baitcasting and if that's too light, I will use 1/4. Very rarely have I ever used larger than 1/4 oz with a T rig. I use tungsten bullet weights most of the time now, but it's not necessary. As for the retrieve, Just cast it out, slowly pull a couple feet with the rod, reel up slack, pull, reel, cast, repeat. Sometimes in weeds the bait will get fouled with weeds and feel heavier. Just give it a quick, short jerk to free it up and resume retrieve. Weeds are just something you'll have to deal with. For really weedy, shallow ponds I'd probably go with a weightless Zoom Trick Worm over a T rig. You can just slowly reel it through the weeds or work it like a jerkbait.

What lakes? I'd be afraid to cross Wylie or Norman in a kayak. I've done it at Wateree, but was still wary. If I was getting one for those lakes I'd get a neon color. I can only comment on the one I own, which is a Pescador Sport 12'. I like a SOT for fishing. It's easier to get in and out of. I can really fish when it's cold and stay dry if I'm careful. It looks like the Vapor is on the $400 range. You have to get what's right for you. But one thing I've learned from using mine is I'd really like to have a rail-type seat, not one that's molded into the kayak. Mine has a padded seat with a lower back support, but it doesn't take long for the butt to go to sleep. That option usually puts you in the $600 and above range, but you can always look around for used ones. Craiglsist is a good source. You might try Badin Lake or Tillery if you can. They're not very heavily fished and there are no skiers. It's a good drive from you, but Stumpy Pond is on the Catawba chain and it's usually deserted. I've been the only person there before. Good Luck.

There are times when I've caught big bass on consecutive trips, but rare. I started fishing a place with a good many big bass in it about 4 years ago. Since then I've probably caught 10 or 12 fish over 5 lbs., including by PB last fall. But this year I have not been so fortunate. I've lost several fish that I know would have exceeded 4 lbs. I lost one just Wed evening.Those are the breaks. But I also have dealt with the passing of my dad this year and haven't been fishing nearly as much or I've fished other places. But I've made a conscious effort to use big bass lures everywhere I fish. I have one place that i caught a previous PB at that I have not caught a fish bigger than 2 pounds in the 12 years since. I guess the moral of the story is: Fish where there are big, unpressured bass. Big ones will be the first to shut down if there's a lot of fishing pressure. They'll just feed at night. Fish big bass lures. Try mornings and evenings unless you can actually stay and fish nights. Fish where the dinks are not. Big bass are loners, not usually schoolers. Try live bait if you have to. Eventually the big one will bite.

This is great. I recently bought some 6" ZMan Swimmerz and can't seem to find the right size/weight hook combo. I emailed them for a suggestion and they ignored me. A big soft swimbait rigging video would be good (unless there's already one and I'm missing it).

Senko on a spinning rod.

It was so close and so unconcerned with my presence, I wondered if I could have picked it up.

My best retrieve with the 40 seems to be reeling so slowly that it just swims on top.

Weightless or finesse worms catch me the most when I try them as well as T rigs. But they're not my favorite or what I use most. Those would be topwaters like frog, spook, buzzbaits, rat, etc. These are what I catch the most on because they're what I dedicate my time to. I plan my trips and locations to use these baits. I want to enjoy my fishing by doing it my way. I'm not competing with anyone and I'm also targeting bigger fish. I also love spinnerbaits and lipless cranks. I'm easing into soft swimbaits.

Warn the backseat partner before trimming the motor. Scares me every time. My dad was notorious for this. But he had a pontoon that went 25 MPH max so he wouldn't get them in the prop. We started using concrete blocks for anchors because it was much cheaper to lose them.Both the rope lugs on his pontoons were bent from doing this. If your boat won't start check the kill switch. Yep, I actually missed fishing time because my kill switch was open. Always work from the easiest fix to the harder stuff during the process of elimination.

Throw the kitchen sink. Yeah it's frustrating. Even when there's a few bass busting it can be impossible to get one to notice your insignificant little bait. A popper of some kind can get noticed. If you can, see some fish swirl or buts the surface, as Tom said, throw a Pop R at them. I've caught some that way. You need to have that rod in your hand and I'd crash the Pop R right at the action and make a commotion. I also had some luck with a smaller L'il George when I was a kid too. At least you can cast it far enough to cover a lot of area.

Barbie or maybe Batman should do the trick