the reel ess

Interesting. But most places I fish are private-no limits or regs. Though I rarely keep any for myself, I keep them all at one buddy's pond because he tells me to. They're badly stunted there.

Yeah, I've tried the double fluke before, but never caught anything, but usually do catch something on the fluke. On the other hand, why do a dropshot with no bait on the bottom when you can do this? Or the variation mentioned above with a shakeyhead?

I have a place where the fish are dumb (stunted) and usually very willing that I'll give this a try.

Check out Chad Hoover's "jig & twig" presentation. Genius. Has anyone used this before?

I have floated from the dam to the first bridge on the Wateree R several times and I've caught bass every time. It seems to me every tree, limb, rock or other object on a deeper inside bend is worth a cast. I've also caught some large bream and peanut stripers. I've seen lots of gar and people catch a lot of big blue cats at the tailrace. I've mostly used shallow craw cranks like the Rebel Wee Craw. It seems to me when it's hot and bass are mostly in a negative mood, they'll still bite in the river. It's cooler with more DO.

I love them early and late. But I won't hesitate to throw one during the day into shadows or when some cloud cover comes over. And if fish are busting bait at the surface, a popper can slay them any time of day. I love all topwaters and I have quite a few I have yet to catch anything on. Mostly mice and rats. I like to wind up a trip by casting a topwater wherever I'm taking out right at dusk. That has saved me from a skunk on many trips and often it's a big'un. I had a 50 fish day at my buddy's pond one spring. They bit a Torpedo all day long.

NM

If you fish a place with healthy bigger average bass, a 3 year old might weigh 4 lbs. The same fish that grew up in a pond with a large population and a finite supply of forage will weigh less. There a 3 year old might weight 1.5 lb and cannot get the nutrition to grow larger. That one stands no chance of being trophy size. Nor do most of the fish in that pond. That place needs a lot of people to take everything they catch.

I've been told by a state fisheries employee that you can't fish a pond out. They will get over pressured though. You can take some of the big ones out, but more will grow to replace them. If you don't take enough fish out they get stunted. That's probably what you're experiencing. The rule of thumb is to take 25 lbs of bass per acre per year to avoid stunted bass. I caught a previous PB at my friend's pond 14 years ago and I haven't caught a big fish there since. Stunted. Strict catch and release is not a good way to manage most ponds. I have another friend with a pond that lost a lot of fish over the dam last spring when they had a flood. The average fish there have gotten bigger and they have bellies. I would suggest you start showing them some lures they haven't seen and fish lower light periods. There will still be some big ones there. There are always some more wary fish that just won't bite artificials well.

I've never been one to make impulsive decisions with money. I looked for a truck for a year and a half before I finally found the one I both wanted and could afford. Just going down to the local Chevy dealer and buying what they had would have cost me $8K more.

No one has mentioned Facts Of Fishing with Dave Mercer. Supposedly his show is a day on the water, edited to show him catching. But at the end of the show they tally the casts, catches and hours they took. Sometimes it's 8 hours. I'd be dead on my feet after 8 hours standing.

There is a show named Carolina Outdoor Journal that comes on NC public television where the host admits to having to delete hours and even weeks of footage because nothing happened. He goes on the boat and does the video production then acts as a host in the studio replaying the footage he has gathered. He;s always honest about the struggles and I love the show for that reason.

Right. that's why I put it in quotes. This is kinda like wrasslin' vs wrestling. My favorite shows are the ones where I can learn something. I like to see a Hank Parker struggle to catch 10 fish because that's more often the way it is for me. Lately I've seen him combine two shows into one and admit he had a hard time in one of them. When you subtract the commercials and the in-show commercials, there's only maybe 10 minutes of actual fishing.

I love me some Bill and I'll leave it at that. But I've heard a lot of people, even guys who have shows, say that it's more common for show hosts to "cheat" to put together a decent show each week than it is for them to show only the fish caught. ie: A lot of show are plain fake. Especially when it's really an infomercial for a particular lure. They'll catch their fish on a T rigged worm, but put it on the lure they're hawking. I think that has declined in recent years because the quality of the production is so much better. They don't do 5 different camera angles that appear to be one catch. But they do go to managed fisheries like Bienville and others that produce well to film episodes. They also shoot more than one day wearing the same clothes to make a show. I know 50 or 100 fish days happen, but ask yourself how often. And every bass looks like it swallowed a bowling ball. That's because it's being fed. Would you watch a show where the guy goes to the lake to catch 2 dinks?

Snag Proof Original Frog. The very one in my avatar. It caught a previous PB for me. They make a model that's light (supposedly about 1/4 oz. for spinning gear-I'd say less) and another 1/2 oz. that's for BC gear. I caught that old big mama on the lighter one using BC gear one steamy July evening about 14 years ago. I still have that very frog and it still catches fish.

I was bad at this when i started bass fishing. Setting the hook is a feel thing. When I set the hook on a single hook bait, I swing away as soon as I think the bait's in the fish's mouth. If it's a spinnerbait or other fast moving lure, usually a good swing of the rod will do. If it's a T rigged worm, or craw or a frog, I try to cross their eyes and keep them coming my way so they can't get off. Less time during the fight means fewer fish get off. Sometimes I skate them across the water. Higher speed reels can help with that as well. As for trebles, I usually don't set it as hard, especially crankbaits. Sometimes with trebles you'll hook a fish, it'll jump, then when you see it again the hooks are in a different place. There are more hooks, but weaker leverage on your part and better on the fish's part. I take it a little easier with those and use mono line and more limber rods or at least a rod with some tip action. As stated above, put that rod tip in the water, but keep the same amount of pressure when you think he's gonna jump and you'll lose fewer. Good luck and keep trying.

I have one that's locked up now. As for the straight fall theor, every one I ever had would get the line a little kinked and not roll off the spool like it will off a spinning reel. I know there are high quality spincast reels, but for that money, I'd buy a decent spinning reel.

Can't tell you how many times I managed to foul it up, mostly due to line twist, when I was a kid. And my dad didn't carry an extra spool of line so I was finished. I don't really see any major advantage they have over BC and spin gear for the advanced angler, but I see a lot of disadvantages.

I've never caught many bass trolling. I used to catch a lot of white bass and peanut stripers doing it though. It wasn't unusual to find a yearling largemouth chasing the bait with those "other bass". Now I troll with my friend for crappie and occasionally there is a bycatch of bluegill or bass.

I caught a 6.5 (I think because it was weighed with a really cheap spring scale) at my buddy's pond about 14 years ago. I haven't caught a single big bass at that place since. Not one, and I fish it quite a bit. I know it better than the owner as he has told me before. But I started fishing a local reservoir that's known to have big bass. Three years later I finally got one better, but still not 7 lbs. I'll bet I've caught 15 fish over 5 there and several over six before finally getting a new PB. I did have one certain PB straighten out a light wire hook though.

I wonder if that turns the fish on in the summer, kind of like an aerator. This is true. Where I'm from a lot of people put something under their dock in winter to attract spawning crappie in the spring.A lot of them will tell you to flip under there. Thy're the worst. My dad would always say's "I hope he hits a stump" when one came by.

Teach a man to fish and he'll start replies on the latest tackle purchase bait monkey thread.

They can be dumb around me. It's OK because I'll put them back.

If you're fishing or swimming or just enjoying your day on the dock, it's bad form for someone to come pick apart your dock with casts. If you're not there, it's fair game, IMO as long as they don't damage anything. Here, in SC, they can legally get on it and fish if they want and you can't even run them off. It is illegal for them to fool around with a boat that's docked there because it's registered as someone else's real property.

No. It went under the boat and straightened out a hook. Strongest bass I ever hooked by far.