the reel ess

I thought they were kind of big before they were put in so bass wouldn't eat them. My friends have some. They make there presence known in that pond by splashing around in the shallows.

T-Rig worm for me if there's a hard enough bottom. If it's mossy, something weightless like Trick Worm or fluke.

SC's good. Not exactly Alaska or FL. But we have beaches, coastal plain, piedmont, mountains, salt & freshwater fishing and hunting. And a pretty good year round climate.

I've also had stripers straighten out the split rings on crankbaits made for bass. DD22, among others.

Same thing here. had a 5+ largemouth bend a snap out. I was using a wacky rig for only the second time and killing them, mostly good fish. They were getting hooked at the back of the throat and pulling loose so I thought that's what happened till I saw no hook on the end of 18# braid. Lesson learned-everything's tied on now. I did catch another 3 pounder to save the day. My near sight is getting awful and I was getting lazy about tying low-vis line.

I have never gotten that method to work. I apparently don't have the feel for it. Does it work better with a particular line? Fist time I saw it done was by Rick Clunn with a shallow squarebill crank. He did repeatedly. As for the rod tip method, I can't tell you how many times I've heard a pro tell you not to destroy your expensive rod that way. I still do it. The method I use most is to go to the other side of the snag and pull the opposite direction. You have to really be dug in for that not to work.

Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance and a handful of other pros are already hawking copolymer line from Hi Seas.

Every time I let someone borrow a spin combo, they inevitably will have a wad of knots in less than 30 min. My best buddy's personal record is third cast. No matter how many times you tell them, they don't fish enough to remember to close the bail by hand. They don't even believe you when you tell them until they have to put that combo away for the day. I'm trying to teach my 10 year old daughter now.

I know just the place I want to try them.

$20 Calcuttas. On my second pair in 8 or so years.

Daiwa Procaster Magforce 100. It still had the pushbutton spool release. I wanted it because Bill Dance used it on TV. Ahhhh, it was 1983. I remember it just like yesterday. I got her for XMas. I laid out of school "sick" to learn to cast it. I've had many after. But until recently, I never had a better one. I got a used Johnny Morris cheap and had it worked on by BPS. The Daiwa finally fell apart. It had been fixed 3X with free parts from Daiwa.

I got a bag of watermelon colored Zoom Speed worms in my stocking a few years ago. I was organizing bags I forgot I even had and ran across them. I've never used one. What application are they best for? Do you rig them weightless like a Senko? They seem heavy like those. edit: I should have mentioned they're the "cut tail" design.

I read of a study that showed bass in captivity preferred crawfish to bluegill 9:1. Make of that what you will.

I go to a place I know they are and occasionally catch a big one even when not specifically targeting big 'uns. Fish in winter. Pound the bank during spawn. Fish early and late...even nighttime in the summer. But my wife told me if I got wallhangers mounted I would have to build a shop to put my trophies in. That's cool and all. But I don't have the $$$ for that yet. So I haven't kept any trophies, or even a bass over 3#, in the last 12 years. It seems counter-productive to take a big bass out of the water where I want to catch big bass. The odds are too stacked against bass growing to trophy size. Plus it's very disrespectful to a landowner to do so. I just take pics and release.

Sage advice

+1 that! I have a 7' MH Lowrider that I bought for $50 from someone who sold their boat and got out of fishing altogether. I have a Johnny Morris reel on it loaded with 17# floro so it's even more sensitive. You could feel a tadpole fart on your lure from a mile away. I have been pitching with it but not using it nearly enough because I like reaction baits. On the cheaper front, I have three Lightning Rods that get the job done just fine at $40.

Thanks. Yeah, I was noticing it losing color. But I just had to break off the other day and it was very strong.

I just started using Fireline this spring. It's pretty awesome stuff. I use 20# test and it has the diameter of 8# mono. I've been landing more fish with better confidence. How long do you use it between changes? A whole season? I fish about once a week for 3 hours when possible. I use it on 2 spinning combos. Thanks

The mono gives +/-10% stretch so you won't pull the bait away by reflex. It also floats. Most topwaters were designed for mono and other lines will sink a little, pulling the topwater down on a long cast. But who wants to respool? Here's a fly fishing trick. Take some paraffin wax and rub the last 5 feet or so of your line to cause it to float. It'll last a while. They do that to avoid changing line and leader to fish a floating fly on a sinking leader. Not ideal, but a quick fix when afield. I'll admit I never tried it. You can use a rod with a softer tip to offset the line issue. Loosen your drag if in open water. You can also not watch the lure. I know that's hard to do. But it seems to help my reaction when I'm looking elsewhere, my mind's wandering and a fish blows up on the lure. You need to give a fish at least a half second to take the bait before you set the hook on it. If they miss it, reel up fast and toss a Senko to that exact spot. You'll catch a few that way.

I've painted a few cranks and got my daughter to color a white X-Rap to make it look like a gold shiner. That's about it.

If it doesn't have that ugly red mucky oily look, it's not stagnant. If beavers made it, it probably has no gamefish in it. But as mentioned before, you can stock it. It is a beautiful pond. Looks like a postcard from Canada.

Torpedo (40 in one day), wacky rig Trick Stick, weightless Trick Worm have caught most of my fish. I've gotten a couple over 5 lbs and several in the 3-4 range. But no trophies yet. At this point that's what I'm looking for. One on PopR, few on Rapala minnow, X Rap, Bomber A, Roadrunner. Fish have cooperated so I haven'y gotten to frogs yet.

Yes, it's tough. I've had a problem with that too. I wacky rig them. I'm thinking of an octopus hook. Problem is they think it's real and want to EAT it right away.

They're maybe engaged in spawning. Maybe they aren't hungry.

Here's another face: wacky rigged. Toss it to a target (stump or overhanging limbs) let it sink. If that doesn't work twitch a few times. Repeat. Such fun.