The Bassman

Really missing my smallies. Our streams look like coffee with cream and really no lake options around here.

Had a fun evening with my new friend "Fat Ika". Can't believe that hybrid sunnie got hold of that hook.

Gammy.

One thing I did that helped my hooking % was to trim away some of the plastic directly in front of the hook point. Creates a low spot on the bait.

Who uses 'em? I finally tried them out and had a very productive session. Rigged backwards they look just like a fleeing crawfish. Screw lock 4/0 EWG made one bait good for at least 10 fish. Definitely another tool in the kit.

Bought a knockoff 110 on E-Bay last year. Works great at catching snot moss in the ponds I fish.

Looks pretty weedless, too.

Z-Man Jackhammer for 14.00 which is actually a good price. I keep throwing my five buck chatterbaits for fear of losing it.

Really good to see you holding fish again. By the lack of activity on your blog I thought this HB 1279 thing had you in a funk. These rains have been very good to me lately fishing around drains.

I have fished this a lot over the years with great success. Heddon used to make an even smaller one but you couldn't get it to walk.

No poison ivy here but can you believe the way the lawn care contractor destroyed the bank because they mowed last week when everything was just as wet?

Was able to take advantage of a big rain again. My favorite honey hole was just ten minutes from where I was working so I was able to sneak away on a "long lunch". Fished an hour, caught and released 21, grabbed a quick sandwich, and went back and finished painting the living room I started. Now that's what I call being productive.

I don't live on the water but have to sympathize with dock owners who have to deal with inconsiderate fishermen who hit and snag things like boat covers with errant casts. Weedless soft baits would just seem logical.

Berkley Lightning rods had EVA when they were introduced in '83. There were probably others before it but this comes to mind.

Welcome and thanks for bringing this thread back. I didn't know it existed. Lots of good info from guys I interact with now. As far as your issue goes you need to check your HOA rules. Most allocate common ground around ponds. Some don't. Always view your use of the pond as a privilege, not a right. My experience has been to make friends with residents. I've had no issues.

I had a situation just yesterday where a teenager was having difficulty landing fish. I walked over and found out he had just had some sort of nose surgery and was told not to bend over. I gave him a hand and counter to the notion that kids aren't grateful he was very receptive. He told me that he was just getting into fishing and was using a very cheap spincast outfit with a half ribbontail worm on a tube head. I made a friend that maybe I can help develop his skills. I'll be 65 in a few weeks and this made my day.

We had a lot of rain this past Fri. and Sat. I have one HOA lake in particular with a large stormwater discharge that I love to fish after such these events. Sat. evening in 40* temps and drizzle I caught over 20 in an hour with many over 3 lb. and one easily over 6. Talk about living the dream! That spot will soon become a shallow, algae choked (from fertilizer runoff) unfishable place until the next big rain.

Picked up a 6'6" Clarus a while back and was really impressed with it. I think the lack of endorsement is because it hasn't been handled by most guys, whereas the Triumph seems to be more readily available (and more familiar).

I think color gets too much play in bait selection. Speed and depth control are the key. Truthfully, I buy a lot of lures because I like the color.

Don't give up. The internet leaves one with the impression that they should be catching bass all the time. When I was 14 (many moons ago) what I considered a good day would be a wash today. Be patient. Read these forums and articles. Accept the learning curve. You'll catch your first bass and won't look back.

I think what's throwing some guys of is that it's so fat and that makes its mouth look small. It's clearly a LM. Coloration varies with water conditions.

I have five really nice baitcasters (an older Curado 100b up to an Ald 50 and Bantam MGL). They get lots of use in the front yard but when I go fishing I almost always grab one of my spinners. BC certainly has an important place in certain situations but for me it's nice to not have to be an engineer and fisherman at the same time.

I fish ponds a lot but dog days are the time to jump in the creek for smallies. Just wish I was able to do it as well as I used to.

You gotta wonder what someone who isn't familiar with bass fishing jargon would think of this.

I've enjoyed the best of the pre spawn bite this past week. Many bass up to 4 lb. My late winter posts wishing for moving bait action have definitely come into play. Nothing like a 4 lb.'r crushing a bait at rod's length. Sort of my poor man's "musky strike". Nesting's certainly close. It'll give me a reason to stop playing hookey from work and get some jobs done.