IgotWood

I own 2 Custom Speed Sticks, and I love them! Great rods for the money! I personally do not notice any difference in comparison with a $150-200 rod. if the rod ratings suit your needs, I would definitely recommend them!

I have used blade baits for years, jigging for panfish through the ice. But I have never fished them in open water before. When, and why would you use one? How do you prefer to work them? Casting an retrieving? Or vertical jigging?

I, personally do not like Zinkers. They seem to have far less movement than Senkos. I usually fish wacky, weightless, or on a 1/32oz head. I messed with the Zinkers in my pool and they seems almost lifeless in the water. They did not fall horizontally. The tips moved only slightly, and the worm fell on a weird angle which in a fishing situation could move my bait a couple of feet from my target. I know plenty of guys use them with success, but I'll stick with Senkos. I've tried several other brands too and still stick with the Senkos.

Congrats on the retirement home! I lived in CT my whole life, until this year when I moved to VA.I have a buddy who fishes Roseland a bit. The trout fishing in the Spring can be lots of fun, but the lake is very shallow, and the trout do not hold over well at all, especially this year....very warm summer, and NO rain! I wouldn't be surprised if every trout in that lake died this summer. I like BurrStone's idea. Buy a kayak. You can easily cover that whole lake. Pick up a bag of Senkos and cast to structure near the banks. That's a very simple and productive way to get started. If you're interested in dry fly fishing, wait until Spring when the bugs typically hatch more consistently. Spring is also when they stock the trout there, and trout eat dries!

You don't want felt on the Salmon anyway. You'll break your neck! Invest in a pair of Korkers! They're up close to $100, but I promise you'll thank me later. I don't know exactly what it is about that river, but the rocks are the most slippery I have ever walked out. The Korkers feel like velcro on the rocks. Good luck! I hear it is fishing fairly well.

Where I come from, this is a good way to get your hands broken. I am a very non-confrontational man, but if this had been me, you can rest assured that this guy would never put his hands on a another man's fishing gears EVER again! Seriously though, this is my first season LMB fishing. I have fished my whole life, and I have never see so many disrespectful fishermen before. I'm not saying bass fishermen as a group are disrespectful, but it seems way more common here than where I spent my whole life fishing. I have also met some very courteous bass fishers. It is not ok to touch someone's gear, boat, rods, etc. It's not ok to even walk up to their boat and look inside. If a man tells you he caught some fish, it is not ok to ask where! Figure it out! Fishing etiquette is something that drives me absolutely bonkers! Sometimes we need to take a breath when things like this happen and educate a person, RESPECTFULLY, on etiquette and respect. I'm guilty, I usually ignore them and move on, but that's because I know I will blow my top trying to talk to people nicely about it.

Congrats, man! Whatever you do, DON'T get discouraged when you're not catching fish! Learn something every time you're on the water...what worked, what didn't, what your lures do in the water, temperatures, etc. Most of all, have fun and enjoy being outdoors! I just started bass fishing this year. I did very well with Yamamoto Senkos (or any other brand stick bait) wacky rigged, which is extremely simple. I use a Gamakatsu wicked wacky hook size 2/0-3/0. I also did well with texas rigged soft plastics, especially Strike King Rage Bug in black, green pumpkin, and peanutbutter and jelly. I rigged them on a Gamakatsu EWG 4/0 hook. Have fun! Good luck, and keep returning here for information and advice! These guys are extremely helpful!

I've been doing well with the brush hog on a shakey head. I also like the Zoom ultra vibe speed craw, and Jackal Darts Hog. I only started shakey head fishing a few weeks ago. It sure is fun when the fish are chewing!

I use JJ's quite a bit on black, pumpkin, and junebug. Yes, it usually looks 10x better in the water, than out for some reason. It works well on white flukes too.

St Croix Jig-N-Worm, or Jigs/Baits. They retail around $120. Great rods for the money!

Check out Jackall Darts Hog. I think they are exactly what you are looking for. I like to cut about 1/4" off the front the bait and rig it on a jig. They also work well on a texas rig. They are super salty too!

That was easy. Thanks! No more whistling!

I am pretty new to baitcasters. I have two Lew's Pro G's which I bought brand new about two months ago. The fish like a dream. However, I followed the instruction in the box for maintenance, and added a drop of the oil supplied with the reel, onto both ends of the shaft, and in the other oil port near the bottom of the reel. Anyhow, Since then, one of the reels whistles really loud when I cast now. The reel casts just as well as it did out of the box, but it makes that noise, and it's driving me nuts. Any ideas? Anything to worry about?

Briery Creek Reservoir in Virginia is well known for huge bass, and being in SC yourself, I don't think you'd have to spend a fortune to get there. I have never fished it myself, but I know a few folks who have. I just moved to VA a few months ago. I plan to make a few weekend trips there in the spring.

On a bright night with clear skies and a half-full moon, lighter colors often work well. Water color and clarity will also have an affect on how they see color at night. I've been night fishing for stripers my whole life. A close friend of mine, devout fisherman, and optometrist, conducted some research and wrote an article on how a striped bass' eye works, physiologically. It's a very interesting read, but you may drive yourself crazy trying to choose colors afterward. I'll see if I can get my hands on it.

I started messing with the neko rig late this summer, and did pretty well with it. I like senkos, and Zoom Trick Worms, and I weight them with Eco Pro Nailem weights in 1/16oz. I'm primarily fishing in 2-6' with it. You may find a different size weight works better for you.

The Strike King rage Tail shad look amazing on the back of a chatter or swim jig. I'd like to say it works, but the fish on my local water seem to neglect the fact that winter is coming, and they have a serious case of lock jaw. The shad looks great to me! I know if I can get on the fish some day when they're in a biting mood, it will work well.

I think I may try an A-rig this week. I don't have the proper rid for it, but I'm curious to see the fish will react. It's so frustrating to get into fish, knowing that they are active, and can't get a bite. Something else I haven't tried is a wake bait.

This is my first season for LMB. I had a great summer, with lots of big numbers in quantity, and quality. July and the early half of August was absolutely spectacular. Once the middle of August was here, my bite slowed tremendously. September was a complete bust, except for one big fish. I noticed that by late August, the fish weren't biting well in the normal spots I was finding them (trees/laydowns). I started seeing fish moving around in open water, on flats, and near drop-offs. I have been trying some hard baits, and topwaters, and some soft plastic swimbaits and chatters. The past two times I was out, I was able to locate several good sized pods of bait (probably gizzards), and a good number of fish pushing them around. To my limited knowledge, this is typical of fall, and many fishermen anticipate this part of the season. I'm lucky to catch 1-2 fish per outing, and the fish seem to be much smaller than usual, less then 2lbs. Yesterday, I was able to get on top some bait and fish. They seemed aggressive as they were chasing my bait to the side of my kayak, but wouldn't bite. I tried everything, cranks, topwater, chatters, worms/creatures, etc. I got frustrated and moved to a promising flat. There was plenty of bait and fish. I was able to draw a couple of short strikes on a fluke. I must be doing something wrong. Any tips?

It was one of my top 3 baits this summer! I couldn't even tell you how many fish i caught on it....including 2 over 6lbs and many over 4. Loon and bone is all I fish.

Friend of mine trolls Alabama rigs from his kayak in the spring and fall. He does very well. The kayak allows him to be more stealthy and have good control of his depth. I am quite new at bass fishing, and haven't tried it yet.

Any weight? If so, how do you rig the weight?

Newb question....how do you rig your flukes? There were a couple of recent situations where I should have fished them, but I have no experience with hem, and wasn't sure how to rig.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I would have scored the small fish, but the tournament was biggest fish by length. You could score as many fish as you like, but only your biggest will be scored against the rest of the competitors. The two fish I caught were probably shy of 12"....I didn't bother...lol! Well, it seems now that the fall transition period is in full swing. Time to find different ways to catch them.

I took a big old bite of it this weekend. This is my first season fishing for LMB. I have been quite consistent all year with fish over 20", and I decided to join a local kayak tournament. This is the first tournament I have ever fished. I anticipated it for months thinking I would have a strong shot at winning. Well, with that hurricane/tropical storm last week, the lake was up about 2-3', and the water had cooled way down. The bite was non-existent for me. I landed two small fish that weren't even worth scoring. I tried everything I had with me. I was getting lots of bites on wacky senkos, but I couldn't get the hook set on any of them. I spent the day banging the banks and lay-downs. The water was very dirty, so I didn't suspect them to be in open water. It was a bad day. Definitely need to become a more rounded fisherman!