blckshirt98

I'll only note conditions if they're out of the ordinary for the lakes I fish. As a shore guy I only have a handful of spots and here in Cali the vegetation, water clarify, water levels, wind, cloud cover, etc are fairly consistent. I'll note conditions if I had a particularly good/bad day, or if something was really out of the ordinary.

Buy a spinnerbait with a closed eye!

It looks like you can sign up for free samples of those Trapper hooks (shipping Dec 2016) - https://trappertackle.com/sign-up-for-free-samples

Flash sale at Dick's ends tonight at 7pm PST, Sienna FD or RD for $17.98, save a couple of extra dollars off of their discounted price - http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=shimano sienna&origkw=shimano+sienna&sr=1

As a shore guy I'll fish a location and whether or not I catch anything or not, will move to another location to give the area time to 'reset". I may or may not come back to fish the area again depending on my success in other spots, and what those other spots are telling me. If there's a grassline that's usually a guaranteed fish that's giving me nothing that day, and I move on and I'm not cathcing fish at other grasslines, but I catch a couple of fish out deeper by some rocks 10 feet farther out, I won't go back to the first grassline. By the same token if other grasslines are showing me fish, I'll most likely go back to that original spot at some point again.

I'm in agreement in the 4.5-5 lb range. Any fish over 5lbs will look huge to the naked eye but once you get it on a scale you'll be surprised at how much lighter it ends up being compared to what your eyes are telling you. Remember that even the pros on the Elite series catch hundreds if not thousands of fish each and every tournament and the big bass of the tournament will often be under 7 lbs. An 8lb fish is a BIG F'ING FISH that you'll probably think to yourself you just caught your first DD.

2-4 bass in 2.5 hours of fishing this time of the year from shore is solid. A bass every 30 minutes in the middle of summer would be an amazing day, a bass every 1-1.5 hours is more common.

I use 15lb braid on my spinning reel that i use to throw smaller KVD 1.0 and 1.5 squarebills. I have about a 50% success rate of saving hung up squarebills in these sizes by pulling on the line because the treble will bend before the line breaks.

I use a Boga since I started out fishing the surf and it got so many rave reviews by the surf fishing community (halibut have some gnarly teeth) You do lose some of the preciseness with the analog scale and only 1/4 lb weight increments (I got the 15lb model) but it's built like a tank and will last you a lifetime. On a sidenote, Bogas are almost impossible to find on sale so what I did was get one from American Legacy, because when you first sign up for their newsletter you get $25 off your next order of $100 or more, which puts the Boga right in the wheelhouse.

FLW just put up a post with the "Best Of" winners - http://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2016-07-14-icast-2016-new-product-showcase-awards - The Savage Gear duck looks awesome in the water. - Looking for a price on those St. Croix Legend Glass rods. - Those Trapper hooks have me scratching my head, can anyone explain the theory behind that hook design? - I've been eyeing the Old Town Predator kayak since i first came out, but was trying to figure out if a Hobie with the pedal drive would be a better option, but now the Predator has it's own pedal drive system, so that ends the debate.

I used spinning gear only for the first few years once I started to fish again, and started to use baitcasters only recently. Baitcasters have their place especially for heavier setups/lures, or if you need to cast accurately (into holes in cover, under tree branches, etc). You can still use a spinning rod for what I just mentioned but once you pick up on using a baitcaster you'll use that instead of a spinning setup because you'll just instinctively know it's the better tool for the job.

Sniper, InvisX, or CFX.

I use a palomar knot to a Norman Speed Clip and have never had a lure break on a cast.

It sounds like those fish are biting everything, top, mid, bottom, finesse, power...just bring what you have the most confidence in, but ask about the pond conditions (i.e. is it covered in moss of other vegetation, full of submerged tree stumps, etc) so you can fish effectively.

Just stick chunks of Alka Seltzer in your baits that have air pockets or cavities for rattles.

Time - arrive at the lake as soon as possible (preferably when it's still a little dark where you can see where you're walking but too dark to tie a knot) or later at sunset. Once the sun comes out and it starts to get hot, you're at a disadvantage from the bank. Location - look for the usual fishy spots and ambush points - any cover/structure, dropoffs, points, etc. A long flat featureless stretch of water is something you want to avoid. Presentation - dropshot and squarebills. Fan cast from 30-60 degrees from the shore. Don't cast straight out as far as you can, most of the fish you catch will be fairly close to shore. Work the dropshot slowwwwwly and don't shake the rod vigorously, just a light tap every few seconds. With squarebills just work them back on a nice steady retrieve and stay alert all the way back - there are times when I've gotten bit right at the brief pause at the end of a retrieve when I'm about about to lift it out of the water for a re-cast.

Yup, largemouth, I've caught more small largemouth than anything and some of the dinks have small mouths.

Do you have any social media accounts like Twitter/Instagram/SnapChat/etc? If you have any established social media accounts with pictures of you fishing, and you have a lot of followers, that would go a long way to show you're active in social media and people are seeing your activity.

I had to look up trot line, limb line, and jug fishing. The only reason why I'd use any of those methods is if I were trying to catch fish for food, and even then it might have to be a survival-type of deal.

I actually prefer using a MXF spinning rod for smaller crankbaits up to the KVD 1.5 size. Once you get to the KVD 2.5 size you might start to feel it a bit when the rod loads to cast, or when you start cranking back in. But smaller crankbaits you should be perfectly fine.

I like using XF rods for dropshotting because you just need a quick wrist flick/sweep to set the hook!

Don't worry about the chocolate milk, bass rely on their lateral line to locate prey more than their eyes, and, 3 feet is plenty deep for bass to hang out in!

I always use Norman Speed Clips with my crankbaits because it's so much faster/easier to swap.

When the baitfish are being pushed try using a shallow running squarebill like a Strike King KVD HC or 1.0 and cast parallel to the shore just a few feet out from where the baitfish are spazzing out, Don't burn it back too fast try to give the impression of a injured baitfish that got chased into deeper water away from the main school. Or use a dropshot and cast it out parallel just the same a few feet out and work it back slowly like an injured baitfish. When the shad are being chased to the shore at a local lake a dropshot will usually get bit in the first 10 seconds.

I tried the VMC Spinshot hooks and while they work it's a lot of extra work to re-tie. You might want to try the Gamakatsu G-Finesse Swivel Shot hooks. They're pricey but they replace the line tie loop at the bottom of the swivel hook with a crimp like drop shot weights have so it's a faster re-tie. For line twist in general I started using a small Spro Power Swivel to attach my fluoro leader to my braid mainline which has helped a lot. If you're talking about line twist from the fish trashing about once you get it out of the water, only something like the Spinshot or Swivel Shot hooks will help with that.