the reel ess

I forgot the tube. Nary a bite on a bass-sized tube. Although the crappie size tube really draws in all kinds of fish. It's one of the best baits I've found in creeks too. I've been bass fishing with my buddy when they won't bite and we'll start trolling for crappie and catch a few bass mixed in.

No. I've never fished them. Always wanted to. I know there are a lot of big bass in them. I do like stripers. I grew up fishing Wateree because my family has a house on it. But in the last 5 years, I've only gone there enough to make sure my boat will run. My mom passed away a few years ago and it's just not the same. I've been down the Wateree R a few times in the kayak, but that's a chore getting shuttled back. I bought a kayak a few years ago and started fishing a local reservoir that I got permission from a landowner to go in. They have a landing too so I can take my big boat if the water's too cold to get the soggy butt. It's a lot easier to catch fish in a huge pond with no competition. And there are some really big bass in it. There are two other small ponds that people let me fish as well.

T-rigged Senko-type stick worms. Not a bite although I had great luck wacky rigging them in early to late spring. Dropshot, thought I haven't given it a fair chance. Jig. Always get bored and pull out the ol' T-rig. I feel like I get 4X the bites on the T rig. Johnson silver minnow. One bite-missed. I've caught two flounder on it though.

Try them around bass on the bed. Use white so you can see them when the bass bite because sometimes they'll just move them away. What he said. use them around wood cover, stickups, blowdowns, docks... Bump them off of the cover. Fish hate that and want to kill this bait. Fish them as slow as you can and keep them on top. I find that for me black is the best color. I think the Spook doesn't work as well for in stained water. That seems to be my experience. I have several Super Spooks, one junior and a couple BPS Excalibur knockoffs. I've had one banner day on a Super Spook. But I bought a Chug'n Spook, Jr last spring and I did quite well just before sundown after the dog days hit. It seems to draw them in better than just the quite swim-swim action. It will walk, but you can also pop it. When you do it splashes a little. I caught a couple over 5 lbs last summer on it.

I HATE when the strippers run. Stripers now, that's a different story.

Start reading here and post your specific questions: http://www.bassresource.com/content/search?SearchText=beginner&BrowsePageLimit=30 There are lots more on YouTube. Welcome to the board! I don't know what your comfort level is with rod and reel types. Probably start with a medium-heavy spinning or spincast combo. Buy a few of the basic lures as mentioned in these articles. And improve with the ones you like the best. Then branch out in the directions you like. If you can get to a place with lots of willing bass, like a friends pond, do it. It will encourage you. Getting skunked will likely be discouraging.

I'm very jealous. My wife has asked me several times where I'd like to live if I could move anywhere and I always tell her FL.

I go whenever I can regardless of barometric pressure, moon phase or even when my very knowledgeable fishing buddy says "they ain't bitin'" and I try to attack it from top to bottom every time, except in cold water. Also if I go in the middle of the day, I won't start with topwater. If I go late, I'll end up with topwater. In winter, bass won't chase a topwater so then I concentrate on the bottom-to-middle.

1/2 oz, 3" Rat L Trap all the time. I keep a metallic gold one tied on because there are shiners where I usually fish. I have some smaller but the big ones seem to work even in winter. I might try a larger one, but it's grassy where I use them and they're already weed-fouled enough as it is. The trick is to keep them just above the weeds to trigger strikes. When I get in shallower water that gets difficult. I usually switch over to a Colorado blade spinnerbait then. My buddy has a little better "luck" than I do when we're on this pattern. He uses a CC Super Spot that's a couple shades darker gold. His seems to be "in the weeds" less. I might go buy a Spot, but I have 2 Traps and they do well. No real need.

I do fish smaller cranks, like a Shad Rap or the smaller size Trap, on a medium spinning combo. But I prefer a BC combo for real cranking. My left hand is just too uncoordinated for it.

I have two plain older BC Lightning Rods that I bought when I was lower on funds than I am now. I use a 6'6" MH for single hook reaction baits and a 6'6" M for treble reaction baits and topwaters. Obviously, for $40, they're not the highest quality rods on the market. That's why I use them for applications where sensitivity isn't crucial. They have been durable and they're both still in my 6 combo arsenal. I think the integral lack of sensitivity is helpful in these situations because it keeps you from setting the hook before fish have fully taken the bait, especially with topwaters. This rods is great for TW baits. I have used the MH a few times for T rigs. If I pay close enough attention I can still feel bites. I liked the older LR's enough that I bought a 7' M spinning rod about a year ago for smaller treble lures like jerkbaits. So now I have 3. I do get the need for sensitivity with other presentations, but there is no call for a $100 for these applications.

My buddy does a little better than me using a Cotton Cordell Super Spot in metallic gold. It's a deeper gold color. Besides that it looks almost exactly the same. I don't know if it's the color, the design or the fact I fish from his back seat, but he seems to catch a few more and bigger fish. Anyway, if I cast this one into a tree, I'd have to climb the tree to get it back.

I've been thinking about it too. There are some tricks to make braid more economical. Spool up halfway with cheap mono then tie on the braid and finish filling the reel. No bass is ever going to make a 20 yard run on you. When you want to spool up a reel, take the used braid off another reel. It'll be new on the end that's been buried on the spool. I have 20# PowerPro on both spinning combos and 65# on 2 BC combos. The 65# does not seem to deter bites. If I thought it did I'd just use a short leader. I do still have 15# mono on the reel I use for Rat L Traps and bigger treble baits. I just seem to have good luck with it so I see no reaon to change it.

I just looked it up and my I just say "Geez, you're right!" Aluminum frame reels usually costs a minimum of $80. Can't beat this with a stick.

I have one, I've caught two flounder on it. I missed a bass in a grassy pond I fish.

Set the drag a little looser if you're gonna use a snap. I had one straighten out on the first big bass of 2015. It was a good brand. Norman, I think. I started tying direct ever after. They may catch 200 bass, no problem, but tackle rarely fails you on a small fish.

I never got much on them either. I was fishing an older hydroelectric lake with little in the way of vegetation. Then I started fishing a smaller local reservoir with a lot of grass on the bottom. My buddy told me to get some in gold. We don't rip them back to the boat unless the fish are really chasing. Usually we reel them just fast enough to stay out of the grass on the bottom. Now there's always one tied on. Bigger bass like it too. As you can see it's kinda worn.

Which one do you like? I need to buy a few too.

I also have a fly rod with floating line and an assortment of bass and panfish frogs and poppers that I NEVER use. That just feels to me like trying too hard to put yourself at a disadvantage to the fish.

Craws. I was convinced there weren't any in my local lake because I hadn't seen any. I wouldn't even use craw pattern cranks. Only shad patterns and only worms for soft plastics. Imagine my surprise when I tied on a Bomber crank in craw pattern and caught one on the first day! I fish T-rigged craws now more than worms. I was late to wacky rigging because I thought it was gimmicky-also caught bass the first two times I tried this method. Throw flukes in there too, but I did catch some stripers on them. They're in my rotation now. I'm late to the jig party and I haven't even gotten to the dropshot, A-rig, chatterbait and a whole host of others.

Exorbitantly overpriced gimmick at that.

NM

I can't say. Just giving a little anecdotal evidence of how I never saw one, yet they were there. Maybe salinity is too high there???

I've known guys who swear by a bait with some orange or red and will even paint it on if it doesn't come with some. I believe it can be a trigger. I try to get topwaters with an orange belly if I can. Sometimes bass just need that little extra something to trigger a topwater bite. But I've heard no science behind it.

Not to argue, but when I was growing up, my parents had a lake house. I NEVER saw a crawfish in that lake until I was over 30 and I caught a bass with a claw hanging out of its rear end. They might still be there.