The Bassman

I wear open palm Simms fingerless. They're feather light so you don't know you have them on. One thing of note, though. Another thread on the subject included the question why wear them when most of us are wearing short sleeve shirts, anyway. Good point. They do give you that "he knows what he's doing" look. lol

Wealth of info! These are things I see every day but presented here in a very beneficial way. The deep edge weedline has been my fish "factory" this summer, exception being the sudden bursts of bass chasing bait to the bank. Of course, it always happens as I'm just retrieving a long cast.

Follow @Team9nine and you'll see he uses pretty much one thing and catches more bass than most of us. This summer my pockets have been my tackle box a good deal of the time.

Seems to be the case with me, also. This might sound like a plug for the site, but since joining my catch rate has gone way up, hence more incidents. One thing that helps is to fish more soft plastics so I don't have to deal with trebles.

Bought one of these last year and caught a few with it. Main problem is keeping the prop clean. One piece of grass and everything stops. Ploppers are the same way except you don't expect them to be weedless.

I have three Shimano Zodias that are everything I could want in a spinning rod and are comfortable enough. That said, I also have three older Cabela's Pro Guides with palm swell hump reel seats that fit me like a glove (not oven mitt). They get the most use.

Mine get used for ponds and the front yard.

Welcome to the 1980's. Reels were 8-10 oz. and guys were chucking 1/2-3/4 oz. spinnerbaits. Hank Parker still does.

I've got a Loomis 722c GL3 and 723c IMX. I also slightly (1.5") shortened the handles and added a nice butt cap. Wonderful, timeless rods.

Fishing on foot as I do sometime makes long casts necessary. The mechanical advantage of short casts is moot if I can't get the lure where I want it.

He's apt to be holding a big cat as he is a bass or walleye.

Gorgeous creek. Made for wading.

Indiana holds the world record of 3 lbs. caught by a 7 yr. old in 1969. Seems this species doesn't get much love around this forum. They're some of my fondest childhood memories when I would camp and fish on creek banks with my dad. I find them to be quite aggressive and decent fighters in the creeks I fish. Don't recall anything different from other fish as far as making a mess.

At that stage they are more fingerling than fry and are growing fast (if they don't get eaten). A lot depends on the particular body of water. Not sure when they would be catchable. Probably 2-3 yrs(?).

BPS has a 7" Sticko. I've heard other guys say they're not too different from Yamamoto.

I bought one bag of max scent Generals on clearance and couldn't wait to use them up. Fish or no fish, I can't stand the smell.

I heard Tom Mann once say that fresh fish smell was the best fish formula there was. I'd take that to mean that as you catch fish your lure is scented on its own.

Impromptu outing while wife was cooking supper. Water was green with algae bloom so I gave a chatterbait a go and caught six, this one being the best, maybe just shy of 3 lb.

I go without a leader myself. A lot of guys use them here but I personally think 6lb. is too light for what you're doing. That said, some line manufacturers like Sufix and YoZuri rate their lines light. I think something around .28-.30 mm would serve well.

Sure hope you took your shoes off when you came in.

I've recently had some of my best action with Fat Ikas when I thought I finished a cast and sped up to throw again. I had a 5 lbr. crush it at rods length just before I picked it up. To quote Sheriff Buford T. Justice; "Now that's what we call an attention getter".

Site loaded just fine for me. So many reels, so little time (and $$$).

I remember them turning green in the water. Been a lot of years.

This reminds me of my teen years in central IN except for the kayak. I'd catch small craws (I was afraid of the big ones) one at a time and fish them on the bottom with a small split shot or under a bobber. I used a light wire aberdeen hook. You never knew what you'd catch. Maybe a bass, rock bass, little sunny, bullhead, or a carp you couldn't stop. I don't remember having issues with snagging but I did tend to move my bait frequently. Makes me want to try it again.

I've been caught a couple of times on smaller hooks. After unhooking a few recently that were hooked crosswise I'm seriously rethinking going barbless. Got a good deal on some KVD Elite triple grips. Shape of the hook should keep the fish pinned and give me some peace of mind. In my experience the worst offenders are dinks, not good sized fish.