the reel ess

Not gold enough. The Trap is VERY gold (online pics don't do it justice) and the Spot is darker gold. I know it sounds like splitting hairs, but it really seems to make a difference.I actually took one of my daughter's markers to it to make it darker gold. But I wore a lot off catching fish and bumpiing bottom. It's probably a confidence thing, but hey, it works.

I have a bunch of Traps, but only use the gold/black one because it kills where I fish most of the time. It's becoming just plastic white from all the use. It has caught me a lot of bass and I'd climb a tree to get it back. But my buddy has even better luck, or so it seems to me, with a CC Spot. I can't vouch for the Red Eye. Since I see they don't have a metallic gold, I probably won't be buying one.

Were they big fish following?

This right here! I had a fish blow up on a frog and take it under three times in the same place before I figured out it was a bluegill. There are BIG bluegill in this place. I've caught one on a Spook.

I've got an old Lowrider rod that would do all these. It's their LFC-5-17 Big Crank 7' MH/MF. They still make it. But I use it as my T-rig rod simply because it's easily the most sensitive rod I own. I have braid on it so hooksets are not an issue.

Yeah. I recently had to throw away some worms that got wet in the bag and discolored. Apparently the bag was not watertight. But those in the article look VERY discolored.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/skinny-fish.html A BR article on skinny bass retaining plastic in their stomachs. In the picture, they don't look new as they do in the OP.

I've caught a few Quasimoto bass with a hump, but never a question mark belly like that. Very interesting.

I remember remarking that this looks like a lure I could use for a year solid without a bite. A lot of Live target's baits look gimmicky to me. Here's a video of a guy using both frog and sunfish during several hours of the day.

I've missed a bass on a Trick Worm that took my worm then the next time around the lake caught the same bass on another bait that spit my worm up. But that was same day. I don't really see how a bass could eat for months and still be able to spit that bait up. When they get hungry enough, they get really dumb.

Not that I think this is exactly what you need, but I use a 7' M/Fast. I mostly use Senkos wacky rigged. This is not a method that pays off for me every trip, so I don't have a dedicated setup for it.

I have the last generation of this boat It handles great in shallow water I've had it on a tiny river (creek until it rains) as well as a medium, rocky river and it was fine. It's nimble enough to go back to a spot you've already floated past

Anywhere from MH/mod to M/fast ought to do the trick. I use a 6'6" MH/MF Lightning Rod for the spinnerbaits (chatterbait) and buzzbaits and a M/MF Lightning Rod for the cranks and topwaters. But they're almost interchangeable. I really love the action of the Medium for topwaters with trebles and Rat L Traps. These are some applications that don't require much sensitivity, which makes the cheaper rod a good value.

Braid will still dig in. I have 50# on two reels and it digs in when I have to yank it or catch a big fish. Just deal with it. And why not use something thicker for your backing unless you already have the smaller line? I use 15# Big Game just because I have a lot of it laying around. But you'll use less of a thicker mono.

Yeah, what he said. This is not something I do much, but I can't stand NOT to fish.Around here, what I do is go to ponds about 6:30-7:00 and fish till dark. Most of the good bites come on topwater right before dark. But it's not quite that hot here.

A reel in the 7:1 speed range would be better for frogs, but what you have will work. The rod matters more. I had a MH Falcon I was using for frogs but recently bought a Cabela's Tourney XT 7-3 Hvy FROG model and it makes all the difference. It's not just the good hookset, but also the ability to get the fish to the surface and drag it in over pads or matted vegetation. And some will get down IN the stuff, then the backbone of the rod comes in. Couple that with a high-speed reel and you can ski the fish across the surface once you get them to it.

It's funny when they say "BIG FISH!" and swing a 1lb 14 oz over the side. I do enjoy the rules about handling the fish and the fact they put the right back, not drag them all over the lake all day.

Eat them, give them away and throw them over the dam. And they'll still probably be overpopulated. You may need someone to come in and do a shock survey and possibly remove a lot of small fish. A body of water that size might be too big to manage by just keeping unless you let everyone in. Hog Basser's advice is the best on this thread. Understand, a lot of places I fish, the average is below a pound.

Mann's Hardnose are extremely durable. Not sure if they still make them but I have a bunch a friend gave me.

They have to get numbers and continuously. I remember one Shaw Grigsby caught an 8 pounder and nearly missed the top 3. You'll see more bites with smaller baits-maybe a lot more. But they'll be smaller bites. Your average fisherman is looking for somewhere in the middle of numbers and size.

I haven't tried shakey head for them because I imagined they'd bury down in the weeds and muck in the ponds I fish. But then I fish T rigs with success. I guess i just have to give it a shot.

I have had a weightless Trick Worm tied on the same rod since last spring. I know rigged weightless, it's not going to cut it year-round at a major impoundment, but it will in the ponds. If they're chasing, I'll use like a jerkbait. If they aren't, I'll drag it. You can C-rig or T-rig with weight. It's Gerald Swindle's shakeyhead worm. I even wacky rig it and it works! Maybe it even works better than a Senko for that because it's thinner and won't cover the hook point when you set it. If it's summer, I'll have a frog on. Spinnerbaits are universal, buzzbaits, Spook Jr, Rat L Trap. And I never leave home without a T-rigged craw and several different worms. What's your favorite colors in the Trick Worm? Mine's bubblegum, limetreuse and methiolate. I can't seem to buy a bite in the natural colors. I haven't tried black. I'm also going to get some magnum sized ones because Swindle did a YouTube video on them. He says they're the most versatile worm in the tackle shop. He prefers black.

If you can't squeeze the water out and get it to walk better, it's time for a new frog. I have one that's doing that too and it has been my best froggie. Some people on here try to mend them. But I can't even see the hole or tear in my frog. They aren't that expensive, considering all the bites they get in summer.

Converging structures and covers with bottom bumpers. Knowing myself as I do (pretty well) I'd attack the headwaters with a topwater early and often. Especially in the evening. When you save the photo to your computer, open it and rotate. When you send the pic to your email it should ask you what size you want. Choose medium and it should be low enough file size to Congrats on this beautiful bass fishin' postcard of a property. This is a dream of mine and I hope to achieve it before I'm too old to enjoy it.

A lot of people are saying color is secondary, or even tertiary to the whole equation. But it's not when you know there are bass and you know what type bait to use. Then color is the difference between bites and no bites. Fish in a particular reservoir I go to won't bite certain colors. I can stubbornly throw them while my buddy in front of the boat throws other colors and catches fish. Well, if he offers me a color he's catching on and I don't have it, I'm taking it until I can get some. I have a big plastic container full of natural color soft plastics they don't eat where I fish. I keep them for other places, but I don't carry them in my bag unless I go to a new place. But that doesn't mean I change colors with the sun or water conditions. Once I have a good idea what they eat at a place, I stick with it. If I go elsewhere, all bets are off. I know people don't like the neon colored worms like limetreuse or bubble gum. I haven't found the place they won't get bites.