Fried Lemons

If you're catching a lot of dinks and getting frustrated you should probably change locations and/or presentation. You might luck into bigger fish but the tactics that catch small bass are not ideal for catching big bass.

If you are deadset on braid to leader the FG knot is well worth learning. I've used it to connect braids from 10-80lbs and once I got the hang of tying the knot it has never failed me. Contrary to what a lot of people seem to believe it is not that hard to tie with some practice. You use one hand to keep tension in the braid. Use your other hand and your foot to keep tension on the leader. I do this all the time on the water in adverse conditions and it never takes me longer than 2 minutes.

I've been scouting neighborhood/retention ponds in my area. Found two that may have potential. Seems like the lakes and ponds within a 20 minute drive all get fished and harvested hard. Word is already out about the snakeheads at Little Seneca but I'll throw in an anecdote. I was up one of the creek arms and spotted a small 12"er cruising over the grass beds with a bluegill head sticking out of his mouth.

There’s really no bad way to rig them they just get bit. The weightless nose hook rig is really good in shallow weeds especially burned over the top like a toad. Dead sticked with some twitches it looks just like a dying baitfish. Downside is you get one fish per bait.

Numbers: 4” Keitech Easy Shiner on a 1/4oz leadhead or weightless nose hooked. Size: Hudd 68. Honorable mention to Stanley Ribbits skipped under trees in the hottest part of the day.

Big and nasty looking.

I’m assuming you are referring to the tiny trout magnet jigs. I have used SOS in 2lb and it is very good line. I do not recommend using 4lb unless you are horsing larger than average fish out of cover. You get significantly better casting distance and line handling with the 2lb. You just need to be diligent about checking your knots and line for fraying.

One of my biggest bass came on a trout swimbait from a body of water that does not have trout. I've opened up a few fish I caught schooling and their bellies were stuffed with little 2 inch minnows. I was using a much bigger 4 inch swimbait. I think if you find fish during feeding windows a well presented bait that vaguely resembles something from the forage base should get bit. It doesn't necessarily have to be exactly what they are keyed on at the moment.

I have some of both and could make a lineup from either company and be satisfied. I don’t have any of Daiwas latest low profiles because I’m not digging the TWS they pushed on all their reels. I’ve used the older Steez and Zillions which I really liked.

Go at night and throw a wake bait.

Line breaking above advertised breaking strain is a good thing. It just means the line has been labeled misleadingly and is probably thicker than other lines marked similarly.

Never tried mullet but I've used store bought mackerel which is oily and smelly and pretty similar. It worked but not as well as native fish. If you want to catch big ones try live or cut bait locally caught.

Owner makes some good ones but you'll have to import them. The wire is a thinner gauge making the hooks wickedly sharp and less prone to tearing holes in their mouths.

I like the drawing power of hard baits. I usually toss them first looking for the aggressive biters whenever conditions seem favorable.

I typically use leftover main line as my leaders mainly for shock absorption and abrasion resistance. I recently finished a spool of copolymer so I started using up some fluorocarbon. Where I fish snags are inevitable and I had 3 break offs the last trip. To my disappointment, every time I had to break off the leader would snap right at the knot (I use FG). I know the knots were not slipping because the bit of leader wrapped in the braid was still attached each time. I have used the same system with copolymer and have never had the line break at the knot. For now I'll go back to mono/copolymer leaders. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Additional background info: My leaders are typically 6-20ft. I have not had any problems casting the knot through the guides for multiple trips. I usually have to retie when the leader gets too short. 10lb braid to 8lb fluoro.

You may have just had a bad spool. I had one spool of 20lb that would randomly break off and was garbage. I regularly use the 6lb and 8lb without issues.

I will occasionally bring a friend or family member along but the trip becomes more about me trying to make sure they have a good time than about fishing. It's not that I prefer to fish alone but I don't know anyone who is serious enough about fishing that I don't have to divide my concentration worrying about them and feeling pressured to produce something. I've actually tried getting a good friend of mine into the sport but he just doesn't have it in him. I'd enjoy fishing with other self motivated people but unfortunately I don't know any.

It depends on your goals. This topic is relevant to almost any discipline out there. Most of the information out there is the same basic stuff that has been repeated thousands of times. It gets you to a point of basic competence. From that point on you need to dive deeper into the details if you want to separate yourself from the pack. The more advanced you get, the more minutiae matter. The fact that you're seeking out information says that you are not satisfied with your current level of success and want to improve. If you want to become more consistent then dry topics like weather, pressure, water temp, lure modifications etc. become important.

Took an evening trip to Swains Lock. I hadn't been there in a while and the amount of grass growth threw me off a bit. The lures I brought were treble hooked so I went with the wake bait. I was steering it through some gaps in the grass when this bass struck with a vengeance. Feeling adventurous, I made my way to the river hoping to find a topwater bite. When I got to my spot I could see and hear fish busting through a foam mat. After a few casts I felt my wake get bumped, then nothing. I spent the next half hour making the same cast getting bumped and blown up on without hooking into a fish. Many casts and even more mosquito bites later, I get a huge blowup followed by a heavy weight. Felt like a nice striper but alas it was my old nemesis. Overall not a bad night. I think I could have done some real damage if I had brought frogs.

Amazing how his reputation seems to have been built entirely on lies. And like all liars he had to perpetuate the lies to maintain the fake persona he built for himself. Even if it made him rich and famous, I don't understand how someone could live this way, in constant fear of being exposed. His behavior in the article seems like borderline sociopathy.

Very nice combo, I have been fishing the same reel with a similar rod as of this year. It's quickly becoming my favorite reel.

I was fishing a canal below one of the locks. There was a good amount of water flowing over a mixture of gravel and large boulders. I knew the bass were post spawn and were stacked up feeding in the outflow. In a previous trip I had caught several 3's and two 5's but on this particular day I only had a 3. I moved slightly downstream where I could just barely see the top of a large solitary boulder. I cast out a flat sided squarebill upstream and allowed it to float past the boulder before starting the retrieve. Just as my crankbait dove from sight I felt a heavy, unmoving weight on the end. This was a very snaggy spot so I assumed I was caught on a log or a rock. I gave the bait some slack hoping it would float free. That was when the snag started to move and I knew I had something big. It was the first bass I'd ever felt pulling drag. When I brought it close and it first broke the surface I couldn't believe the size of the head and mouth. My previous long standing PB was a 5lber which this one shattered at 7-4. This was four years ago and I still play it through my head sometimes.

Ha yeah it takes some rock climbing and maybe a wade depending on the water levels. Swains has like 1/4 mile of fishable water but you need to walk for about 10 minutes to get there. I spotted a bass around 3lb following in a crappie I was reeling so there are some decent ones still in there. Widewater is also down another 1.5ft or so. You can actually see some of the offshore structure which would be cool to fish once they fill it back up. I need to get a kayak or something maybe next year.

Some Potomac Gorge fish. Caught on jerkbaits and paddletails. I'll get out again soon and throw a glide. Seems like a good time.

Braid has no stretch and poor abrasion resistance. It is prone to snapping from sudden shocks which tend to happen as the fish gets closer and there is less line out to absorb any sudden movements. I would either step up to a thicker braid such as 50-80lb or switch to something like 20lb mono. I personally like the forgiveness of mono in this application.