Bucky205

I throw my Senko's on a 6' M/L with 15lb braid and a 14 lb flouro leader. I shoot docks for crappie with the same rod in the spring without the flouro. I can throw it far enough that watching the lines for bites becomes very difficult. I rarely feel the bites on my Seko's, I just see the line jump.

Here in Alabama the south we have a lot of windy days through the spring, and early summer. I can't even imagine how the guys up north deal with 20 degrees and heavy wind in the winter. It is aggravating to know where there are good fish and the wind is 15+ across your spot. The only way I have found to deal with it is to put the boat into the wind and throw heavy baits up wind. You can move into a slew or a creek to reduce the wind, but you are coming off your fish. Anybody have any techniques for beating the wind?

Somewhere where the breaking strength of the line will not be exceeded.

Outside bream fishing with my dad or granddad on the Black Warrior, bass fishing on Rodman Reservoir is my definite all time favorite.

We are in a post spawn pattern here in Alabama. They are not really feeding heavily just occasional reaction bites. Makes fishing tough. They will migrate back to the main reservoir as the water continues to warm. I'v been fishing points that transition from the bedding area back to the main channel catching a few throwing a green pumpkin Carolina rig.

It will tear through when you set the hook. I use the T-stops to peg the weight, the advantage is that it completely covers the hook point and makes it much harder to snag. You can throw it into very heavy cover without snagging. LOL, even when I cast into a tree or across a dock I can usually get my worm back.

I carry either a Ruger LC9S Pro, or a Glock 23 depending on what I'm wearing. The Glock is my favorite. What I don't like about the LC9S is having to sling shot the slide when reloading, and the accuracy is sub par to the Glock. The LC9S does conceal better than the Glock in light clothing. With the LC9S even in shorts and a T-shirt you have an invisible 9mm, and it is very affordable.

We use to catch our own shiners a lot in Florida. W would anchor up between the weed beds where you see shiner activity. Throw out a couple of handfuls of dry cat food and wait a few minutes. If shiners are around you will see them feeding on the cat food in a very short time. Make a cast with a 5' or larger net into the shiners, sometimes you catch a bunch, sometimes only a couple, sometimes none because they didn't bait up. I would get a bag of cat food and ride around to a few different locations to see where they would bait up well. Once I found that place I would get the net out.

I like throwing frogs around grass if you can find it. Open water I would rather throw a zara spook, or a rapala floating winnow. Bass do like holding on rocks, and rip rap, I would try a crank bait there. Abut 15 to 20 minutes is about my time limit on a pattern, if I am not getting bit, I move.

Just part of it. If you and a buddy are fishing from the bank and you start getting bit, he is going to end up throwing at the same stump. It happens in a boat as well. The guy in the front ends up getting first shot at likely spots, guy in the back will hit the same spot if the guy in the front got bit.

The only reason I prefer top water this time of year is finding shad, and top water. For whatever reason I have better luck finding shad first couple of hours. I absolutely love top water on a still summer morning.

Wow, you guys have caught some nice fish. I used to live beside Rodman reservoir and Rodman is known for big bass. I have busted 9 several times, but can't seem to get over the 10# mark. Largest I have ever seen is 14.3, I can't even imagine the fish that WRB caught. I would have to quit fishing after that.

My experience has been they cast well but most are on a single foot and fragile.

I take a lot of kids fishing and love spin-cast for that. You can pick them up at garage sales for as low as $2.

We have really clear water where I live and I throw a lot of braid with a floro leader and an FG knot between them if I'm fishing plastics. Crankbaits, flipping, and pitching 20# mono works for me, I get a lot of nicks in my line flipping and mono saves a lot on line cost, and I like that little bit of stretch when flipping. I've used both braid and floro flipping and I end up ripping their lips off.

As many bass as we relocate here during tournaments, I think tey are all in the marinas. In reality bass live to be about 15 years old, with a growth rate somewhere between 1/2 to 1 pound a year. A lot of bass over 5 years old have probably been hooked at least once. I know if my food source fought back as hard as a rod and reel, I would find another food source.

You can troll an Alabama rig on a heavy rod and it will definitely work. I bass fish for sport. But I will eat a mess of crappie in a heartbeat. B.A.S.S. and FLW they are not allowed. It's funny the local tournaments allow it but I don't see a lot of people throwing it, or towing it.

Drive to the closest Walmart and have them price match. I ran into this same deal on the 7' MH for $9. For what ever reason online it would only come up with that price if you were shipping to a single store in my area. My store price matched it.

1) Make sure your lubricating your knots before you cinch them down, saliva works great. If the line burns from the cinch you have a very weak knot. 2) I get a lot less bites on straight braid on slow moving soft baits, maybe try adding a fluorocarbon leader to your braid and see if your strikes increase. If you can figure out what they are eating in the pond, try to imitate it.. 3) It may be the fish are holding on or along the riprap, or even bedding this time of year. Try a couple of cast parallel to the shore. If they want to hit 5' out, keeps your bait 5' out as long as possible. If they are bedding and you can see the beds, drag a 4" white lizard across the bed and see if they will pick it up They might not eat the lizard but they will pick it up to move it off the bed A wacky rig is definitely worth trying, as is a shaky head on a pond. Gut hooking is usually caused by waiting to long to set the hook on a soft bait. If you wait to long they are going to swallow it.

Yes, and IMO it really helps, especially on plastics in clear water. I had rather throw mono on top water. or jerk baits. Braid to the hook in the muck. I have a friend that was a non believer in fluorocarbon. He and I were fishing and catching a lot of small bass. Both of us were throwing 7' MH/F Ducketts with identical Shaky Heads, only difference was the line. He was using 12# mono and I was using 14# fluorocarbon. I was catching three fish to his one. Out of curiosity we switched rods, now he was catching three to my one. We swapped rods back and forth a couple of times with the same result.

I prefer the FG to the Alberto. I really like how the FG passes through the guides on cast. The FG has beaten just about every other knot in strength test. Some people think it is just to hard to tie in the boat, I am totally blind in my right eye, if I can tie an FG anyone can.

Bass tend to eat anything that doesn't eat them. There should be a state biologist assigned to the area your fishing. Give him a call, ask him what some of the food sources are for bass in that area, Most areas the food source is seasonal, ask the biologist what they feed on at different times throughout the year. I would guess that shad and crayfish will be high on the list. Then throw stuff that looks like their food source.

LOL, It definitely happens. I retie and go on. It's so thick down here If I didn't hang up occasionally I wouldn't feel like I was bass fishing. I have a lure retriever that does well, but I only use it when there is some value to the bait. Brush hog, weight, and hook may be worth .60.

Welcome, I am a newbie to the forum as well. I lived in Palatka as a Navy recruiter for 3 years, and then stationed in Jacksonville for awhile. You have some great bass fishing there. St John River, Rodman Reservoir, Lake George, etc. are all fantastic. At one time Palatka was considered the bass capital of the world. I saw a 14-3 come out of Rodman, I didn't catch it, but it is the biggest bass I have ever seen still alive. In Febuary they are usually wanting to go on bed in your area. If you have access to a boat check Salt Springs near Ocala on 315. Water is crystal clear and a constant 72, February usually brings some really good bed fishing. You can fish it from a canoe, or kayak no problem.

I watch my line really closely. If I see it move against, or across the grain I set the hook. I got a 7-14 two weeks ago on a green pumpkin brush hog and never felt her hit. Line just moved unnaturally and I set the hook. Lot of things you drag across feel like a bite. Hook sets are free, I've rather set the hook on an obstruction than miss a fish.