LooksLikeSinbad

That's great! I hope my daughter will fish with me soon. She's only 3, but maybe next summer. Here is the link.

Good call.

The library has FREE bass books! My county even has an on-line searchable database so I can find and reserve books online, then pick them up locally. A lot of them are old but still have good info. Some libraries have videos too.

Here is the article!

164 02/05/1994 Wayne Ginsel Huntsville, TX 13.2 25.75 20.25 Pinkston Carp Sat LQ+2 Is that correct, "carp" as bait? :-?

Someone caught a 13.43 on a Topwater! Imagine that explosion

It looks pretty good to me. It looks like an in-line spinner, no?

Wow!!

These are great! - You see a fallen tree on the side of the road and think "that would make a great lay-down"

What if they have a liability waiver that all anglers have to sign before fishing?

I really like War Eagles spinnerbaits. I recently started making my own:

I like the long, skinny, cylindrical ones best

I've been fishing frogs a lot this year and I found a simple trick that increased my hook up ratio significantly. I'm using hookerz 5/0 corkscrew frog hooks, Horny Toads, 20 - 50 # powerpro braid, m/h rod, baitcaster. I grab the hook right behind the barb with my needlenose pliers and bend the hook point up a few degrees. That's it! Now, the hook points slightly up instead of pointing directly back towards the coil. When I rig the frog I put the hook point just under the "skin" of the frog. So now when I set the hook it drives the hook point up, towards the bass's lip, not straight out towards the (possibly open) mouth.

Thanks, that's it. Anyone here use these? What size treble do you use? Weighted or unweighted?

I was just watching a rerun of the Bassmaster Amistad Tournament from this year. Iaconelli was fishing a talapia swim bait that was rigged up by running his line through the nose of the bait, then tying on a treble hook and burying it in the belly of the bait. Anyone know what kind it was?

Or just hang a treble off of this:

I forgot to mention that I have never had a subtle bite on one of these. The bass usually annihilate it, so hold on!

I have been doing really well with Berkley 10" power worms this summer - I've even caught a few smallies with them! I like them on braid with a 4/0 or 5/0 j-bend hook, 1/8 oz bullet sinker and a parasite clip. I believe j-bend is better than ewg for these because they are thin. I like to drag the worm along the bottom looking for structure. Once I hit a rockpile, brushpile, etc. I'll fish it thoroughly. You can also retrieve it faster, through weeds, along weed edges, etc. Basically, I fish it like any other plastic bait but you have the advantage of more size and weight. And don't worry about the bigger size, bass will go for it. Good luck!

I haven't used it yet but I've read that it works well. Expensive though.

Yeah, it's great. You can get a pretty good deal on a used one on ebay.

Thanks Raul. I have had pretty good success with the brakes at their current setting. I was just curious if there is a way to get more distance than I am now.

I have a Bass Pro Shop Johnny Morris Signature Baitcast reel. It has both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. Any tips on how to adjust them? Are there certain ways to adjust the brakes for different situations? I.E.: casting into the wind, pitching, etc. Thanks!

There are a few here: http://www.ichibantackle.com/showmanufacturer.asp?manufactureid=151&name=IMAKATSU

True. But I'm stuck on the shore and trying to make the most of it. Here are some tips I've found useful: - I found that using a higher-end baitcaster allows me to cast much further. That may be a better investment than a pole-vaulting stick ;D - I also recommend wading into the water if it's not too cold. You get much more room to cast and you can get closer to depth. - I also would recommend getting a topo map of the body of water and looking for depth drop-offs close to shore. - Fish a T-Rig as a bottom search bait dragging it along the bottom looking for structure. Once you find a rockpile, brushpile, etc. fish it thoroughly with different lures and as many different angles as possible from the shore. There is often a few places that you can fish deep from shore. Good Luck!

I don't know much about tourneys, but isn't that risky? Aren't you penalized if the fish dies?