broncoboxer

Zoom Super Fluke.

I caught a fish with the first cast of a Jitterbug. Haven't caught another fish with a Jitterbug since...

Spell check is good, but nothing beats a good old fashion proofread (e.g., I assume you meant "It bugs me" instead of "I bugs me") Nice one.

No worries. Have a great night and greater fishing!

Great show. I'm going to order the book "Sow Belly" now that I've learned more about the three gentlemen who hunted Dottie day after day.

In this instance the word you're looking for is "they're." If that college student truly is an arrogant punk, then I agree wholeheartedly with you. But I believe it's just as bad when a guy who has never attended college assumes that all or most of the folks who did are a bunch of pompous jerks. Most of them aren't.

Or to/too.

I'm loving the way this final day is playing out. Ike, Skeet, Martens all in the running. Heck, Evers can still gain a lot of ground--he's only boated 2 keepers. Can't wait for the weigh-in.

Guys, I'm stoked. I tried out the 120 Volt electric pump just now. It worked like a dream. That Sea Eagle 9 raft was fully inflated in 5 minutes flat. And I never broke a sweat! I'll be fishing a lot more now that I know it won't be such a hassle.

I fish from a Sea Eagle 9. I have a 46 lb thrust Minn Kota on it. Great little boat. But it is a pain in the rump to inflate and deflate. I recently purchased an electric pump. Haven't tried it yet. We'll see if that makes set-up less of a hassle.

The bass in my avatar was caught on a Zoom Super Fluke. In fact, I've caught more fish with a fluke than with any other bait. Like many others, I rig it weedless and weightless, with an EWG hook, skin hook the point and fish it with a twitch-twitch-pause rhythm. I love Flukes. Stick with it and so will you.

I took some Gulp Alive Minnows out to the Pamlico Sound to do some inshore fishing and had a lot of luck. In a one hour period I caught a nice sized speckled trout, a red fish, a black drum and got numerous bites from pin fish. I'm a believer.

ROFL.

I own a Sea Eagle 9 inflatable motor mount raft. I power it with a 45 lb thrust electric Minn Kota trolling motor. Let me tell you what I like about it: 1. It's highly portable. Deflated, it fits easily into the trunk of your vehicle. No trailers necessary. 2. It has floor boards so I can stand and cast. 3. It's inexpensive. No gas. Just the one time expense of the raft, battery (to be replaced when necessary, trolling motor and the registration). 4. It's rugged. I don't think I could puncture this thing with a fishing hook if I tried. Here's what I don't like about it: 1. It's a pain in the butt to inflate and to set-up. Even with the high-powered foot pump that comes with it (and the even higher-powered hand pump I later purchased) it takes 20 to 30 minutes to get it ready for the water. The motor mount can be a struggle, too. 2. I'd be remiss not to mention how embarrassing it can be when the locals at your boat ramp are driving in with their bass rigs and pointing and laughing at the guy who's sweating his rear off working a foot pump. I just purchased a 120 volt electric pump that I'll plug into the SUV. My hope is that it will do the job effectively and keep me from (1) burning 2000 calories on the pump and (2) looking like an imbecile. The thought of sitting back with a cup of coffee in hand while the electric pump does its thing warms my heart. 3. It's really not suitable for more than 1 person. While it may have a 1200 lb weight capacity, there's no way two guys can be on that thing and fish comfortably. 4. It's a raft, so you're not going to take it onto big waters very often. Not safely, at least. And you're not likely to take it far from the dock because there's always that chance the trolling motor might give you problems. Let me tell you, this thing is no kayak. It's one heck of a work out to paddle this thing any real distance. So, anyway. Those are my thoughts. Some day I'll actually get a bass boat. Until then, I'll make do.

After watching LBH on Lunkerville tossing a new colored Trick Stick every time he caught a bass, I care less and less about color. However, Berkley's studies (from the book, "Knowing Bass.") showed that bass hit a two-toned lure (silver and black) more than any single color. Some colors were hit less than others (orange and red actually drew fewer strikes than a lot...). Regardless, I'm not sold on color. Yet still I find myself "following the rules." You know, dark colors work best in dark waters. Bright colors work best on bright days and in clear water, etc. :-/

Green Pumpkin Zoom Super Fluke fished weightless and weedless with a 4/0 Offset EWG Gamakatsu hook.

What's the average depth? Any particular deep spots? How about weeds? Any grass, lilly pads, etc.? Some quick suggestions: 1. Soft Plastic Stick Bait (Senko, ***, Tiki Stick, Yum Dinger, etc.). I might try a green pumpkin colored lure, maybe with a chartreuse tip. 2. Zoom Super Fluke rigged weedless with a 4/0 EWG hook. 3. A good topwater lure (LC Sammy, Zara Spook, Jitterbug, Rapala Skitterwalk or Skitterpop, Rebel Pop-R, Heddon Torpedo, etc.) 4. Jig & Pig. I'm no expert, but these could be productive, especially if you put on one of those Rage Tail Craws as a trailer. 5. Crankbaits. Since it's a pond, I imagine you'd want a shallow diver. There's plenty of good ones out there. Rapala DT6's are good, but there are plenty other great brands too. Just look for shorter lips. Also, don't forget lipless crankbaits like the Rat-L-Trap, Rattlin' Rapala, Strike King Red Eye Shad, etc. 6. Spinnerbaits. Since the water is murky I'd go with Colorado blades to add more vibration and water displacement to get the bass's attention. Also, throw some Chartreuse colors on the skirt--again, to get the bass's attention. 7. Weedless frog. SPRO, Scum Frogs. 8. Oh, and for Roadwarrior: a GYCB Fat Ika T-Rigged skirt up and weedless.

Deadly serious.

I cast them, let them hit the water, and then begin a twitch-twitch-pause, twitch-twitch-twitch-pause sort of retrieve. The twitches cause the jerkbait to dart erratically, which drives bass nuts. And the pauses are super important too. Let that bait sink on a semi-slack line. I imagine it looks like a dying bait fish. That suddenly comes to life! Bottom line: I love fishing soft plastic jerkbaits. It's a fun way to fish, and it's an effective one too.

Have you tried the Duper Flukes or the Jerk Shads by ***? I just got an order in this week and hope to try them out Sunday morning at the same pond where I caught the fish in my avatar. They look and feel as good as Zoom Super Flukes (which are my favorite baits, by the way). We'll see how they look in the water soon enough. I must say, I'm looking forward to it.

Softer than a Senko?!? Sure the fish hang on. That's because the worm must rip right off the hook with their slightest head movement.

Yup. True class from the best bass angler alive. Kudos, KVD.

No kidding! Koto's performance proved it. At the live weigh-ins, Koto said he culled like 40 fish today! And this after I spent all morning fishing (6 hours) and getting one lousy bite. But hey, Road Warrior. That one bite was on a Senko. My first Senko bass.

Got my first Senko fish this morning. From 6:00 am to 11:30 am I fished a small lake in the Fort Bragg area (Overhills Lake--once owned by Percey Rockefeller). In all that time I had one bite and one bite only. And the Senko was the bait that got bit. The fish was small, under a pound, but it kept that awful skunk away.

I agree. The drama between KVD and Starks was engaging. The ESPN production was pretty darned good too. Thumbs up.