The Bassman

I had Erwin A Bauer's Bass Fisherman's Bible many years ago. I remember one quote in the lure section where he predicted a revolution in the industry with regards to soft plastics. Quite the prophet.

This coming from someone who's not a tech wiz but clearing cache just means clearing your browser's cookies, not just the site. Regular maintenance.

There's a ton of decent choices available. I see that you're not far from the Kodak BPS. Would be a good hands on place to start.

Lots of toys to play with. That's what makes bass fishing different.

As some have mentioned something like a finesse wacky that falls slowly. Gotta have some wind to throw anything reaction (at least in my experience). You posted this as I was writing. Certainly drives the point home.

You pretty much answered your own question. Feathering is the key word. Again, as in the driving/clutch analogy your thumb will develop a natural ability to ease the lure down. Flipping really doesn't involve any particular settings as you're manually dropping the lure in place. Pitching requires very light settings. I would initially focus on your casting. Looks like you're making good progress.

This has been addressed several times. Regardless the stated strength or brand use diameter as your point of reference. And take those numbers with a grain of salt. Braid is difficult to measure as accurately as mono.

Nice. Would pass for high end JDM.

What I see as I follow this thread is a very good student who is going to excel at this. My bit of advice is to understand that no matter how much one studies technique there's no substitute for experience. It's like learning to drive a straight stick. You develop a natural feel for it. The "educated thumb" comes with time.

Welcome. You're doing better than I did at 14. My bass boat was a pair of old canvas high tops for pushing the pedals on a generic Stingray bike.

You had your lure in the right place at the right time with the right retrieve. It just happened to be PB&J.

A little color in the water and a chatterbait go together real well. Add a breeze and all the better.

I'll never forget wading Sugar Creek by me several springs ago and catching smallmouth with parasitic lampreys attached. I think it occurred on about three fish. They were app. 8-10" long and would come loose when I reached for the fish. Only saw them that one spring.

Had a real productive outing today with the best being this one at probably 5.5 or better. Had a unique sight fishing experience where a duck served as my marker. Apparently a bass took a swipe at her and as she jumped up on the bank I followed with my Fat Ika. Result; one three lbr. with a taste for duck.

Surprised there's not more guys mentioning this. It's all I've ever known as well.

Remember how those flat rubber skirts used to stick together after they dried?

Mostly fished smallmouth in creeks as a teenager. Inline spinners, Rapalas, and live bait. Looking back, the level of proficiency I achieved left a lot to be desired. Still it left fond memories.

No music on the water. Whatever I was listening to on XM while driving gets stuck in my head, though. Kinda fun fighting a bass to Van Halen "Jump".

I found the same to be true with the Yo-Zuri. Great looking bait but I got tired of cleaning the hooks after every cast. Tried a BPS Egg but couldn't get the lure to run straight. I've never been too good at tuning cranks. My favorite wake is the Azuma Wake-Z. It's really big and requires a little stouter tackle but it's the real deal on big fish.

They just bailed me out this morning over a bonehead thing I did to a friend's Curado 201B. Forgetting that the handle nut was reverse threaded I stripped the threads trying to loosen it. New driveshaft and nut shipped under 10.00. How do you improve on that?

We had this discussion not too long ago and the rock bass didn't get much respect. I personally love the fish. Where you're at I'm guessing you're fishing the Eel River. Some of my best memories are from fishing rock bass (goggle eyes) on Sugar Creek in Boone and Montgomery counties. For kids nothing beats a half nightcrawler on a #4 Aberdeen hook and a small split shot. And it'll catch everything else.

How better to define such a scene:

I used to fish PP on my older Shimanos with the rounded spool lip and it was a genuine pain. Newer Stradics are much better but I still get the occasional tangle when I least expect it.

I amassed a lot of stories about goofy coworkers and bosses when I worked on crews. I've been self employed since '91 so I'm the only goofy worker on the crew now. Have never really enjoyed my trade. Fishing's a lot more fun.

I use straight braid so I tie my knots to not use up more line than necessary. If I'm careful I have less than a half inch of tag. I still trim it a little because I'm a neat freak.