FishDewd

I caught another catfish on a squarebill today lol. I found this one spot where I kept getting pecked everything I went near it. Finally got the retrieve dialed in and a little cat chomped it. Little harder to remove cause two trebles went through the upper and lower lips. I'm becoming a squarebill catfish master!

Are you doubting my paper? ? It was a real assignment! Lol. Well it was an odd topic for English class, professor told us to pick some obscure topic and give our opinion on it. I actually did a very elaborate job on it, going all the way back to old Celtic legends. She was expecting an answer in the end as to whether I thought it was real or not... I left it open for the reader to decide because I didn't feel strongly enough either way. I doubt it's real though... but it was a fun topic all the same.

I wrote a college paper on the loch ness monster lol. Got an A on it too!

Yeah that one! Couldn't remember the proper name lol. Don't forget about those Russian kids who supposedly got attacked by Bigfoot, ran away naked from their torn up tent, then got blown up by Russian missile testing. That's one gotta be my favorite so far lol.

Yeah that''s pretty much what it looks like, thanks guys. I'm not too concerned about the mechanical side of things as much as doing calculations by hand that I haven't done by hand in quite some time under a timed format. The timed thing is what gets me. I've found some pretty good resources though for practice and it's coming back to me now lol. That's one bad thing about modern schools is that we tend to get too reliant on calculators to do easy stuff, then we forget how exactly to do easy stuff. Not to mention any curve balls they may throw since I really don't know what to expect lol. I'm just nervous.. it's really the only offer I've gotten so far so I hate to blow it there. @12poundbass you are correct, it's the interview that's the actual hardest and most vital part. These guys are going to be stuck with you (me) for a long time, so it's best that the company knows what kind of person they're dealing with before committing to your (my) training. At least I am already aware of that going into it lol. The questions they'll probably ask will be along the lines "tell me about a time you had a dispute with a coworker and how you solved it". To me that's a hard one because I've never really had such a dispute with a coworker. I'm not sure if that's a reasonable answer or not, but maybe it would be if I then explained what I would do if such a dispute were to arise.

Hey all, Most of you don't realize because I'm not sure I ever mentioned it, but in January this year I officially obtained an AAS degree in a field called Process Technology. It's similar to engineering, but the engineers design it, and we run it, maintain it, log it, analyze it, and troubleshoot it. Anything manufacturing related has P-tech process operators. Been trying since then to get into a company, I've applied to maybe 50 at this point, and the company I really wanted to work for, which is very close to my my home, has contacted me earlier today and invited me to take pre-employment testing next Tuesday. I expect the following testing fields: basic math, science, technical, mechanical, cognitive, and behavioral. Specifically, if anyone has been involved with the company INEOS that'd be even better because that's who I'm testing for. It's a brand new linear alpha olefins unit. I'm really excited for the chance, but also really nervous. It's a competitive field and it's very hard to get in to. I don't want to blow this. I'm studying up as much as I can, but I know there are some very smart people on this forum and anything at all you can do to help me out I''d very much appreciate. This is a life-altering opportunity for me and I want to nail this. Of course... this is only the first stage, next comes interviewing which is where it really matters. Still. Lol. I have to get through this first.

Technically, there has been footage shot over the years... all highly disputed of course. The one that got me more than anything was the "original" Wright-Patterson footage because the "creature" in it had some distinct characteristics in its walk that most agree would be near impossible for someone in a suit at that time to have replicated. If you watch that carefully, the creature exhibits several signs of having a pretty bad leg injury. An interesting gait that a normal person couldn't replicate, suit or not, as well as signs of a muscular hernia in the thigh. Could it be sort of camera illusion? Of course it could be... interesting though. Anyone heard of bionic birds? Term I recently came across, but not sure what I think about that lol. I mean, they probably don't exist, I know that... guess I just wished they did. So I can have one as a pet and eat Jack Links Beef Jerky with it of course!

Those are totally related to bass fishing and fishing in general! I don't remove most trebles without a good pair of needle nosers. For example, I had a little bass hit a crankbait on top water the other day (first bass crank catch, whoooo!), but the little guy was so small that the front hook got him in the corner of the mouth, and when I set it, the lure looped over and hooked him in the back right through the dorsal. I wasn't about to mess with that without pliers! Back on topic: I carry a gun at least in my car, if not on me, most a lot of others on here do. But I also carry a pickup magnet attached to about 100' of paracord. Why? To magnet fish of course! Never knot what you may find! I'm yet to find anything amazing, but I have pulled lots of old, rusted hooks, sinkers, and corroded nasty lures out of the water with one. I see it as cleaning the environment and saving fish.

Sounds cool to me as well... I can't say I don't like them since I've even seen a musky or a pike at all up close irl... certainly not in the wild anyway. About 99.9% sure they don't live here. But if I got the chance to fish for them I would in a heartbeat. I'll fish for anything at least once lol. I say go for it. Unless it's a giantly huge musky I would assume that the bass rod could take it if you play it smartly and not force it in. Let it tire itself, all that good stuff... may take a while for a big one. But worth it? I think so! Don't know until you try!

Good genes! I'd kill to catch one that weighed 3 lbs lol. Seriously, I'd do a backflip off the boat, dock, shore into the water... whatever the scenario happened to be lol. 11 pounder and I'd have a coronary and would have to be escorted out of there via ambulance! Possibly even get a psychiatric evaluation to make sure I didn't hallucinate the entire event!

I agree- when ponds give you lots of big bluegill, make fish tacos!

That does seem pretty fat for a 6" bass! I don't think it's impossible though... I've seen some weird ones that were fat and stumpy, then some that were long and skinny. I have a lot of the latter here, 6-16" but that range from a quarter lb. to barely a pound to maybe close to 2 lbs. in some instances. I'm shocked such bass haven't been more aggressive with lures.

Sounds good to me, but I don't know a great deal about frogging. I've been dabbling with that myself. I just need a shorter rod. I've been using an inshore Lew's plastic/topwater rod (TP1) that's a medium-fast. Not sure it quite has the backbone to set the frog hooks (but I would sure try if it got a hit!), and at 6'9" it's a little too long for me to walk a frog real well. I can pop it along real well like you describe though with the up/down motion (poppin' pad crasher). Think I need about a 6' rod ideally to walk it real well. I can get a little walk going sometimes, but I have to have it more at an angle from me to do it.

I was thinking "Born to be Wild" but that also works.

That'll never happen! :P

Interesting... well we know that at one time there was a species of great ape called Giganto Pithicus which by all rights looks just like what we now know as "Bigfoot". So this indicates that either A.) people are basing their "sightings" on that animal in an attempt to gain fame, glory, whatever... or B.) it didn't quite die off, and there are now sub-species that evolved from that primate still located in remote parts of the world. Personally, I think it's possible. There are a lot of places out there not very well explored. I've been in woods so deep before that I really do not believe that I would have been able to see an intelligent creature 10' in front of me that didn't want to be seen. The problems with credibility is that we have these... idiots, for lack of a better term, like that show "Finding Bigfoot" or whatever it's called, where guys bumble around in the wilderness making tons of noise, doing "calls", etc... I don't think that's the way to go at all if one was actually serious about maybe seeing an animal like that. But that makes me wonder, where did that supposed supreme illusive behavior come from? Were they hunted at some point? Idk... maybe? I've seen some pretty compelling evidence personally, so I can't rule out the possibility. I think it's cool to think they could be out there. Biologically it works anyway... scientists want to claim there isn't enough for them to eat but I beg to differ since most primates have a very wide diet that consists of many things, similar to us humans. The argument of "oh, well, we've never found a body" doesn't even work. A lot of mammals hide when they go to die: bears do it, deer do it, tigers do it... pretty common not to find remains of them either. So who knows? Lol. I'm just gonna say... possible, unlessI see one with my own eyes. :P

I was gonna start a new topic, but... meh. I have this one and it's perfectly fine. I actually caught my first bass today on a crankbait! Only catch of the day, but it made me happy. It was probably the smallest bass I've ever seen though lol. He literally hit it on topwater. I had just casted it out to a spot where I saw a splash moments before and let it sit until it rose up to the surface, as I normally do. Saw it getting popped, then felt a little jerk, so I reeled in and set it. He got jaw hooked and back hooked he was so small lol. I didn't have a chance to take a pic. I went to pull out the back hook so I could take a pic, and he flopped off the front hook, out of my hands, and onto the asphalt/rocks that were there. I scooped him real quick and tossed him back in before he could mess himself up too badly. Btw, it was a Berkley squarebill, the bluegill colored one, and I did tie this one directly onto my braid without a leader. Couldn't get more after that, but at least now I am 1 for catfish and 1 for bass lol.

If you've never used it before, don't worry about soft plastics, that'll come later. What I'm going to recommend instead is you focus on something smaller than bass to get the feel for it: the humble, tasty little bluegill. Or any other perch for that matter that is found in a pond or lake. There are two hooks you can use: a dropshot hook such as those Gamakatsu makes, or my personal favorite is the spinshot hooks by VMC. Get some small ones, think in Gama they are a size 1. I forget what exact size of spinshot I have but it's pretty little. The spinshot has two distinct advantages over a traditional dropshot hook: 1.) they have a built in swivel so you can attach your mainline directly to the top eyelet. This swivel allows it to always face towards you and never get tangled up. 2.) the bottom eyelet allows you to run a completely different line than your mainline. I use a low strength line no more than 2-6 lb test. If the weight gets stuck, break it off and it saves the hook without needing to retie the whole thing like a standard dropshot hook. This is the only good use for Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line. Weight: depends on the depth and the water chop. I like to use somewhere around 1/4 oz for most applications, but sometimes you need more for deep water or if it's really choppy... lets say 3/8 or so. But I use 3/16 a lot because I fish for the bluegill in the shallows off of shore grasslines since I really know this technique well. It's finesse. Use the weights that pinch onto the line so you can tie a "lefty kreh knot" aka "the figure 8" to secure the weight on easier. Also makes it easy to change out weights. Baits: since I'd like you to start out with perch, just use regular old live earthworms. Use just enough of one to slide it up the hook shank and let a bit dangle over the hook tip. Pole/reels: for perch, use light action. My go-to perch dropshot rod is actually an $8 zebco dock demon since I am not usually casting it very far. Just kinda flip it next to a grassline near you. For other fish this will vary, but I'm just getting you warmed up to it here. So use what you have that has a soft tip. Reel doesn't matter whatsoever. This is a great start to get the feel for how it works. Basically, it's similar to a jig working it, but a bit different. After you cast it, take out all but a tiny bit of slack. You want to be able to jiggle the bait without moving the weight. Very subtle twitches. That is key. If you're not getting any hits, drag it a few inches-few feet and repeat. But if you focus on grasslines in perchy water, they should smoke it pretty quickly. This technique is self-hooking. When the line starts to run, reel out the rest of the slack and lift up on the pole. Doesn't take much of a set at all since the hooks are so thin. Master that, then move up to a stiffer rod and larger dropshot hooks in either traditional style (wacky rigged) or worm style (t-rigged) using trick worms, finesse worms, etc. I haven't tried much else soft plastic wise, but those do work.

I found some crawfish baits... I think it is Excite, but don't quote me on that, but they float and work real well on a ned rig. Haven't used them much for such though. But they look just like a mad crawfish taking defensive position, pretty cool stuff.

I don't use mono on my baitcasters, but I like Sufix Superior and Stren as mainlines and as leaders, and P-line as a mainline on spinners.

Well... some of us have never even caught any 3+ lb bass, so I'd say consider yourself lucky. :P

Depends on what stickbait it is, and what the conditions are like. A senko doesn't usually need much help getting down unless it some current/chop on the water. Sometimes when you get a current it can cause some side-side shimmy that will carry the senko kinda weirdly as it falls. Easy to mistake for a fish, for me at least. In such a case I like to use a wacky hook with a small 1/16oz or so weight attached to it. This makes it come down true, and also tends to make it fall weight-first which means the hook is in an easily strikeable position as it sinks. I also like a small weight for buoyant baits, like a TRD or similar. Without a weight it's going nowhere lol. Otherwise, for sinking baits like a senko, if there's no chop or current to worry about, just rig it weightless and let it do its thing. I've caught a few both ways.

Depends on what stickbait it is, and what the conditions are like. A senko doesn't usually need much help getting down unless it some current/chop on the water. Sometimes when you get a current it can cause some side-side shimmy that will carry the senko kinda weirdly as it falls. Easy to mistake for a fish, for me at least. In such a case I like to use a wacky hook with a small 1/16oz or so weight attached to it. This makes it come down true, and also tends to make it fall weight-first which means the hook is in an easily strikeable position as it sinks. I also like a small weight for buoyant baits, like a TRD or similar. Without a weight it's going nowhere lol. Otherwise, for sinking baits like a senko, if there's no chop or current to worry about, just rig it weightless and let it do its thing. I've caught a few both ways.

Depends on what stickbait it is, and what the conditions are like. A senko doesn't usually need much help getting down unless it some current/chop on the water. Sometimes when you get a current it can cause some side-side shimmy that will carry the senko kinda weirdly as it falls. Easy to mistake for a fish, for me at least. In such a case I like to use a wacky hook with a small 1/16oz or so weight attached to it. This makes it come down true, and also tends to make it fall weight-first which means the hook is in an easily strikeable position as it sinks. I also like a small weight for buoyant baits, like a TRD or similar. Without a weight it's going nowhere lol. Otherwise, for sinking baits like a senko, if there's no chop or current to worry about, just rig it weightless and let it do its thing. I've caught a few both ways.

For lakes around here, probably 1/2 oz. For two reasons: depth, and lot's of boats making big waves. If I throw out 1/4 oz or less there is a good chance it will never touch the bottom.