the reel ess

I have the Rapala in 2 sizes and the Hula Popper. Problem with it is the skirt always gets dry and falls apart or falls off the lure. Isn't there a time limit on patents? Seven years?

I have a gold one in the larger 08 size. We have golden shiners in our lake.

Bayou Boogie

I dusted off the 6" lizard on a light C rig last summer to get some action. But it's a killer for spawning bass. They cannot ignore it. I caught the same bedding male twice on one this spring.

Rebel Deep Wee R Mann's Jelly Worm, though I have seen some in monster size Shad Rap. When's the last time someone bragged about it on here? I caught a couple on it this past winter. Li'l George. A great schooling bass bait. Rebel Jointed Minnow. I have one and it will still catch a fish. Original Snag Proof Frog

Preachin' to the choir here. Fish have no clue what the rod cost. I still have two old Lightning Rods in my arsenal. One of them is my finesse rod. The other is my medium trebles rod. Its bend is perfect for this application. You don't need a $300 rod to feel a bite. That said, I do own 2 $100 rods and one that would have been $130 had I bought it retail. I got it from a friend who was changing hobbies for $50. One of the $100 rods seems to be worth the $$$. The other really is not.

My numbers have been low. But size wise, I could have stopped fishing after May and this still would have been the best fishing year of my life. I started keeping a log of the fish I've caught over 3 lbs. A good many of those days were 2 or 3 fish days. I also lost a few big bass. You may notice my scale quit working on June 26th and I replaced it with one that reads lb.-oz. instead of decimals. The only thing I haven't really achieved this year is a new PB. The last two times out I have 1 dink to show for it. ?

I just wear hoodies and layer up until it gets COLD. That way I can peel the layers as the day goes on. Until it gets really COLD. Then I wear a couple layers and a Cabela's Guidewear hooded jacket I got a few years ago. Much colder than 45 and I just won't fish. I know that "cold" means different things to you and me.

A 7 pounder is a great frog fish. I've caught lots of 2-3 pounders on them but only one over 6. I did catch a 7-4 on a spoon fished like a frog. I still consider that a very similar technique.

Well, one of the cons of kayak fishing is the time spent paddling reduces your actual fishing time. I see the SUP as an even worse option in this regard. I also don't really enjoy standing up all day. But I would like to try one sometime.

I tried the smaller frog. With my heavy stick it was hard to get an accurate cast. With a MH spinning combo, I would get hookups, but had a hard time trying to drag the fish out. If there was a junior frog that weighed 1/2-5/8 oz, I'd definitely get it.

Sometimes fish don't even bite the bait when they blow up. I guess they're trying to stun it so it sinks and they can get it easily. In those cases there's nothing you can do. And often, there are only small bass in the shallow cover. Small bass have a harder time fitting a full size frog in their mouths so they miss a lot. If I'm missing a bunch I'll give the fish a little time to feel it before I set. But not too long because it takes them no time to bury themselves in weeds and work that hook out unless they're very solidly hooked. Panfish will also take a swipe at it. Lately, when I can't seem to get any frog hookups I've gone to using a Johnson Silver Minnow spoon with a small plastic trailer. I drag it across the mat. It's less likely to get knocked up out of the water during a strike. It sinks at the edge of the mat, which can draw a few strikes you wouldn't get with the frog. If you use a new one, sharpen the hook. What time of day are you missing the bass? In my experience, it can be very hard to get a bass to take a topwater in open water when the sun is high. I can still get them in the shadows and on the mat, but not in open water. The exception is prespawn into spawn, when they'll just annihilate whatever is invading their territory. Try some other lures. My setup is an X heavy-X fast 7-3 rod paired with a 7.5:1 reel and 50# braid. The drag is cinched down.

I'm not big on buzzbaits. But, as with WPs, they seem to get fewer but better quality bites. I enjoy fishing a WP much more.

You know what they say about that. The day after you retire someone else is doing your job.

Yeah, the buzzbait is the "reel deal" when the water cools. I like the Chug Bug, Spook, Plopper. I have an old Frontrunner lure that you can tie ahead of a Spook that makes it look like it's fleeing the Spook. I have a bass pattern Spook that I intend to try it with soon. I recently saw a video about how good a Bomber Long A is when used as a wakebait. I've had one for years and never caught a thing off it as a jerkbait. After seeing that video (Bassgeek on YouTube) I moved it to my topwaters box.

There's a salesman in our company that is in his mid 70's and has all the money he'll ever need. His children are grown with children of their own. He and his wife have dealt with the health issues that come with age. He's been saying he was retiring for 5 years now. It seems to me the only thing he really likes in life is working. To each his own. A while back I was discussing with a coworker the possibility of taking a half day off to go fishing. I was hedging because I had a good bit of work on my plate. She said "On your deathbed are you going to say 'I wish I had worked one more half day'?"

I do the same, but I'm not retired. I work full-time from home and have been for almost 8 years. It has afforded me a lot of time with my family while my daughter grows up. It also allows me to go fishing in the evening when the days are long. But I plan to retire in about 5-6 years. The wife is already retired from teaching at 53 years old. She went back part time. I don't plan to part-time it when I retire. I just plan to fish more and wait on grandchildren, hopefully.

I wish I lived in FL. For a while my PB was about 7.8 lb on a Chug Bug. It was not an explosion. Before I even started my retrieve the bait just disappeared. Set the hook and it was on. Some of my favorite bites have come on the Whopper Plopper. You don't get many. But the ones you get are usually good bass and vicious. I got a 7.93 lb. in spring on the WP 110.

Every rod has a purpose. I'd keep that one and just buy another one if you think you need it. That way, you have a spare rod and an excuse to buy another reel. I actually use my XH-XF frog rod for pitching T-rigs in colder weather. It's not ideal, but it sure can handle some healthy bass.

Well put. It's the one activity I have where I forget all of life's trials for a few hours. The only time I was unable to enjoy fishing was when my mom was terminally ill. I'll still talk to my late father whenever I catch a big bass. I'll say "Hey Pop, did you see that one?" And I know if he was with me he would say "That's a lunker, boy!". The thing about my dad was that he never made it all about me. He didn't sit there and bait my hook and make sure I was entertained. He was busy trying to break his own PB. We were equal partners when we fished.

Keep it up and you'll catch some pigs that way. You'll get addicted like me.

I want to catch one bigger than the last big one. My lifelong goal is a double digit bass. I don't personally know a single person who has caught a 10 lb. bass in SC. Most longtime fishermen top out about where I did. I probably fished 35 years before I broke into the 7's for a PB. I went to Florida in the winter and caught a 7lb. on the second day. I fish a place that has a decent population of bass from 5-7+ lb. But thus far, I know of no 10 pounders coming from there. A couple of people have made claims, but I've seen no evidence. I want to be the guy who catches and documents it.

I never stand. I don't really want to. If I did, I'd get a jon boat with a casting deck or add one to it. I actually do want a jon boat someday. About 14-16', casting deck on front, trolling motor, trailer.

I'd go with a MH 7'. Spinning rods tend to be a little lower power than BC rods of the same rating. At least it seems that way to me. There are things you can do better with each. But the MH covers more ground, IMO. Truthfully, I have both and use the M more. I use the MH when I want more than 1 single hook bait option. Like flukes.

I've caught pently on a SB/buzzbait with a M rod. They'll allow the fish to completely take the hook before you know it's there and set the hook. But I know a MH can be helped a lot by using mono.