blckshirt98

I've ordered a few rods online and every TW rod has arrived to me in perfect condition because they do a great job packing their rods with bubble wrap in sturdy tubes. The only times I've received a snapped rod was when I bought them from places that don't specialize in fishing so aren't as careful with packaging - Sierra Trading Post, Sport Chalet specifically.

Shimano for sure.

For me confidence fishing means a bite is just a twitch of the rod away; confidence in the lure I have tied on, to how I'm working the lure, to the location I'm at. Time passes by faster as I'm focused on fishing. On days when I'm not fishing with confidence I feel like I'm just going through the motions, and I think of what other things I could be doing instead of fishing. I'm not paying attention to my rod or line, I'm not alert to properly set the hook because I'm not expecting a bite, I'm not working the bait properly (usually too fast), which all leads to fewer bites/no bites/missed bites.

The Delta is a finicky beast, are you checking the tides? Also do a google search on "cooch fishing summer delta bass" and read some of Andy's write ups on summer bass in the Delta.

Here's a picture of the baits - https://scontent-sjc2-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/13402459_1284146301615664_1890680231_n.jpg They look like a mix of familiar baits - looks like they'd work fine for anything where you're looking for that baitfish profile with a lot of action.

I'm a 100% bank guy and I'm taking a break until the weather/water temps cool down some, so I probably won't go back out until early September. You're picking a tough time of the year to fish, especialliy with this heat wave hitting the entire country. Take some time off and wait for the Fall bite!

Crud, I was gonna take this weekend off but now I might go out because of the current moon phase.

Someone just posted this in a local forum, I never knew the reasons why many CA reservoirs stopped receiving trout plants - http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Trout-plants-halted-it-s-a-load-of-bullfrogs-3260074.php

This is the first time I've seen a lure with a wrap-style finish too. Is the Megabass lure underneath a clear plastic or metallic flake plastic? It's kind of hard to see in the pictures...I'm guessing it's some kind of metallic flake plastic so the wrap has better light reflection.

Bass will eat anything that will fit into it's mouth so those should all work just fine!

Split ring pliers are a huge help swapping out trebles...after coming close to sticking myself with hooks trying to just pry the split ring open with fingers or a regular plier, the benefit of having the right tool for the job becomes very apparent. If you're looking for a good hook that isn't on the upper end of the price scale, try the Mustad KVD 1x Strong 2x Short Triple Grip, but get them in the 11 count packs from TW. I don't know why they sell 6 hook packs for $4.99, but 11 hook packs are only $1-3 more.

Bottom color light or dark is all that matters, fish will never see the sides/top of the frog.

I've got some reels where the line guide stops moving on a cast, others where the line guide will move on the cast...I always that either one was by design of that specific reel!

I use Texas Tackle split ring pliers for my split rings, and a generic long reach needle nose plier to remove hooks from fish. Also use a Boomerang Snip to cut line. It might be tough finding one tool that does all three of those things well.

I've found sound great deals in the Cabela's Bargain Cave over the years. No Cabela's brick and mortar stores near me, but it sucks losing another online store where I can find great deals. I wonder if BPS will keep the Cabela's brand name and existing stores, or just turn them all into BPS stores.

You can go as heavy as you like, you just want to keep in contact with the bottom and not have the wind/current push your bait into places you don't want it to go. 3/16 and 1/4 are what I usually use. As for baits it depends on how you're going to be fishing. Small hook/nose hooking plastics I'd use a Strike King Dream Shot, Jackall Crosstail, Yum Sharpshooter, or Molix Sator Worm. Larger hook/power shot, T-rig weedless style you'll want something larger like a Zoom Trick Worm or a 6.5" Yamamoto Kut Tail.

That's weird, that's not even paint it's more like a "wrap".

Another musky bait that caught my attention is the beaver by Beaver's Baits. The paddle tail gives it a unique look and gliding swimming action - https://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/products.php/id/4268

I'd ditch all the topwater stuff unless you see signs of bass breaking surface. Topwater might be the most exciting way to fish but for me I seem to get less action (not to mention the lower hookup ratio) so if you're just trying to catch fish go with someone more subtle. It also looks like that pond is smack dab in the middle of the suburbs close to Chicago so it probably gets a ton of fishing pressure. If you see any kind of grassline near the shoreline, in the early morning try running a squarebill along the edges or toss a dropshot as close as you can to the edge of that grass and let it sit there with light taps on the rod. So if I were there from 530-930am, I'd probably do something like below which is toss a squarebill and run it from 10' and in, and, toss a dropshot from the 10' mark and in.

As a shore guy I sometimes don't want to deal with the hassle of bringing/juggling multiple rods so as the saying goes "necessity(or in my case laziness) is the mother of invention". 1) I don't like spending time cutting/re-tying different presentations so the first thing I tried when i wasn't sure if I wanted a dropshot or bottom presentation was that I set up a dropshot, but instead of a dropshot weight I used an Owner Shakey Ultrahead, with a Damiki Air Craw. I actually managed to get a huge hit (on the Shakeyhead) but the fish broke me off. I'm glad it worked but it made me realize that if I get a breakoff I lose twice as much tackle, so I stopped using it. 2) Instead of having to re-tie I've adapted a quick clip system where I'll use a quick clip (Norman Speed Clip, Tactical Anglers Power Clip, and now trying a Gamakatsu G-Finesse Tournament Snap) where I can swap out lures or a rig (tied onto a Spro Power Swivel) by just connecting the lure or the Power Swivel to to the quick clip. I can go from dropshot to crankbait to shakeyhead to T-rig to splitshot to anything else that can be pre-tied to a leader, in a matter of seconds.

One thing I think that gets overlooked with unhooking gut hooked fish is that you need those hemostats or long reach pliers to be able to get under the gills of smaller fish and then reach and twist. I first got some fancy expensive pair of pliers that were fat in the head that I thought were going to last forever, but trying to remove my first gut hook on what was a decent sized fish was difficult. I don't even carry those pliers around anymore.

One of the reservoirs here has old tire piles that found their way into the water, another has 2 entire cars that found the reservoir. But yeah, Christmas trees seem to be popular, and those PVC trees are popular (search google images for "fish PVC tree") though I'm not a fan of the PVC since that stuff is basically plastic you're tossing into the environment. I'd go for Christmas trees and tree stumps if I had an option.

Lighter baits and casting rods have never gone well for me no matter how much I adjust any kind of braking system. Instead of struggling to find the right casting combo/setting, I just throw lighter stuff on spinning rods!

That's the first time I've heard of a borrow pit too. Do they stock them with fish after they're done digging out the dirt they need?

I'm same/not the same on stuff like this. If someone is fishing with their kids I don't like hooking up if it might show up the parents in front of their kids. Maybe one fish so the kids can get excited about seeing a fish, but after that I really just want to see the other people catch something. If they ask what I'm using I'm more that happy to tell them what was working, but I won't approach them and and give unsolicited advice. If someone is fishing and has a bucket/cooler where they're keeping fish, nothing is more satisfying than catching a nice fish, then letting it go back into the water within earshot of them.