garvin

I've only had one break on me, but the more importantly, when are they going to finally release the weedless Shroomz?! I want to be able to fish them in weeds, brush, and stump fields WHERE THE BASS LIVE!

Carolina rig Weightless Texas rig Ned rig Square bill Shaky head or weighted weedless wacky depending on my mood.

I can't imagine NOT throwing a worm. I'm including Senko-type baits in this category. It's one of the first baits I learned to fish with back in the 70's, and accounts for more than 75% of the bass I've ever caught. I don't go to the lake without at least one Texas rig, a Carolina rig, a weightless Texas rig, and nowadays at least one or two finesse rigs all with 4 - 7" plastic worms, plus a Ned rig (even though it's more of a grub than a worm). If you're not throwing a worm at least part of the time, you're robbing yourself of a great tool for putting bass in the boat. I think people get turned off of them because of the extreme patience needed to be successful with this bait, and not everyone's wired like that. But I have to tell you, there have been plenty of days when they're the only thing I can get bit on, and I've even had days when it's like throwing venison steaks to hungry wolves.

Sorry, I told you wrong on the second one. It's at Barker Cypress and West rd., not Hwy 6 and West. It's right across Barker Cypress from Lone Star College. It's called Horsepen Creek Park. Sorry, I don't know anything about Copper Village Trail.

If you're willing to drive out to the Cypress area, there's a couple of spots that are good for bank-walking. One is near FM 1960 and Hwy 290 on the NW quadrant, behind Goode Co. BBQ on Wortham rd. You can see it on Google maps. It's a pond that's in a residential area, but there's a powerline field on one side, a bayou on another side, Wortham rd. on one side, and grassy field on the 4th side, so it's pretty well separated from houses. I always park in the business park about a block away since there's no place to park around the pond. It has a sidewalk/jogging trail that goes all the way around and I estimate it's around 4-5 acres. I always have luck pulling out some nice chunks from it, and although they aren't that big (1-2 lb.), I did hang and lose one that looked closer to 3 lb. Ned rigs, finesse worms, and squarebills do the trick for me there. Also in the Cypress area is a really large pond / small lake that's about 60 acres. It's on FM 1960 (actually Hwy 6) near west road. You can find this one on Google maps also. It has a large parking area and it also has a sidewalk that goes clear around it. Lots of bank area. There are weedbeds that grow from the shoreline out to about 20 feet in some places and you can find bass in them especially in the morning. I like to throw a weightless senko and drag it across the weeds. I've caught them there between 1-3 lb. but I've talked to a number of others who have seen folks catch 7-8 pounders there. I've heard a frog works good for the big ones although I haven't had much luck with them myself, but have nailed them on the senkos. The bite turns off a couple hours after sunup, so it's best to get there super early or late in the afternoon.

What area of Houston are you staying?

Down here in the ol' Lone Star State, it's been hovering around 100 degrees for the past month, nearly cloudless and rain-free days, and water temps are in the 90's. Bite's been super slow, and it starts getting brutally hot by 10 AM. Can't wait for October.

All of them.

The problem with fishing today as a recreational activity is decades ago, there was a much bigger fish to angler proportion. Today, less fish habitat due to development and a human population that's blowing up at a scary exponential rate has brought that proportion down quite a bit. If you have 100 apples and 5 people, there's lots of apples to go around. If you have 100 apples and 1,000 people, well... someone's not getting any apples.

I actually caught the same fish twice - at a 2,000 acre impoundment called Fayette County Lake. I broke off my Carolina rig shortly after setting the hook. I re-rigged, which took a few minutes, then went back to fishing the same spot (my boat was tied to a tree in the middle of a flooded forest in about 9 ft. of water) when I got another bite. When I boated the bass, it had my previous rig from the swivel to the hook in still in its mouth.

From favorite to least favorite (in terms of what is productive for me in most situations) Carolina rigged plastics Texas rigged plastics Weightless Senko or Zero Ned rig Crankbaits Chatterbait Drop shot Shakey head Spinnerbait Skirted jigs/jig & trailer

Congrats! There's not much better in this world than crossin' the eyes of a biggun!

I have yet to have a day where I threw a Ned and didn't get bit. Z-Man said they're coming out with a weedless ShroomZ head this summer. Can't wait to be able to throw it into cover without cringing.

I would suggest picking one bait for your first outing. For me it would be a texas rigged worm since it is so versatile and effective. Learn how to rig it, learn the fundamental technique to present it - YouTube is your friend. Then go out and fish it. Then add another bait and learn the proper way to present it as you go, maybe even wait until the third or fourth outing before worrying about trying another bait. If you bring 5 different baits the first time you try freshwater fishing and are not comfortable with any of them, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy it!

Two weekends ago, on the water 10 minutes, get to a cove with the big motor, drop the trolling motor, black smoke starts pouring out of the foot controller. It nearly ended there as the worst day of fishing ever. Brother in Law said, "you have an emergency paddle and a pin anchor, right?" It wasn't great, but we caught bass and that pretty much made me forget how miserable I felt earlier. Still cost me 200 bucks to fix the trolly.

Yeah, I would actually rig the plain end to butt up against the jig head, but it still looks like it has dreadlocks.

H2O Xpress! Because they're cheap, well made, have VMC hooks, and they work.

I like them. I fish in Texas where water clarity is usually stained to dirty and still catch them. I use mostly green pumpkin, followed by watermelon/red and black, but green pumpkin gets bit the most. Mostly 5", but I have caught them on the 4" too. And for me it has to be Gary Yamasenkos, although I've tried other brands but lack confidence in them. I only Texas rig them, weightless, and try to resist the urge to impart action to them. Cast and let fall slack, let sit for a few seconds, then sweep the rod tip up and repeat, sort of like fishing a Texas rig worm but even slower. Lots of times, it'll hang like you're snagged and sometimes I am, but sometimes it's a fish. The only thing I hate about the Yamamoto brand is how they basically rip apart after catching a fish, so you're replacing them a lot. I use some super glue on the head end and that seems to help, but I still tend to rip them up fishing in brush where they're constantly coming into contact with sticks.

Opinions and success may vary and depend upon the angler's preference, the only wrong way is the one that doesn't put fish in the boat for you, but I'm a believer in using the Z-Man TRD over half a Senko. And I fish with Senkos a lot. I like the action of the tail end floating up at rest because I get a lot of bites dead-sticking the rig, then twitching it. I think it looks more lifelike with the butt end sticking up rather than laying flat on the bottom of the lake. I've tried using half a Senko once and didn't get bit so I switched back to a green pumpkin TRD. I'm also going to try a big Ned rig - a Z-Man Hula StickZ and 1/6 oz. ShroomZ head. The Hula StickZ is essentially a big 4" TRD with a head of hair.

I've skunked out on Fayette County Reservoir and Sam Rayburn both this year. The worst part is the second burn when your wife asks you how you did and you have to admit you drew a big, fat goose egg and she laughs and goes, "Really!? Not even one? You could have stayed home and mowed the yard and caught that many!"

You could also see if BPS or your local sporting goods stores have the Z-Man Hula StickZ. I just ordered some (along with some 1/6 oz. ShroomZ heads) to rig up Ned style. At 4", they're a slightly bigger presentation than the TRD, but still made from Elaztech, so the floating and durability is still there.

Personally, I haven't caught anything over 2.1/4 pounds on it, but man, it sure is a cure for when you're going a while without a bite. I'm a weekend (and the occasional weekday) angler, and I've only used the Nedster for the last two outings, but we saved an otherwise slow day the first time I tried it where me and my BIL caught a batch of nice 1-2 pounders to round up a day of fishing.

The Ned rig is also known as a "dookie rig." Take a look at a ZMan Finesse TRD and you will realize the inside joke of TRD (hint: say it as a word, not as the individual letters). Also, what makes the TRD so effective and necessary is the buoyancy of the bait. As it sits in the water, the tail end pokes up and the head points down, like a feeding fish or crawdad. Senkos and a lot of other baits sink and don't give the same presentation.