roadwarrior

I think walley and trout, too. He has held a couple of state records (striper at least once, maybe twice).

I have that rod! The ES70MF is my main rod for soft plastics and light/ medium weight jigs. I think you will be quite pleased.

Welcome aboard!

Before you get confused by all the helpful advice our members offer, spend your time in the BassResource.com Library. Start in the Beginners Section, but don't stop there! I think the articles that we have assembled will help you far more than specific posts that you read here on the Forum. Keep a notebook and jot down specific information that can help you get started. Otherwise, the amount of information (some of it conflicting) is often overwhelming. Remember this: Fishing conditions are dynamic, they change all of the time. There is no "BEST" line, lure, color, rod or reel. What is often referred to as "the best" is just someone's "FAVORITE." That is not to say that experienced fisherman cannot offer you some darn good advice, but keep in mind that even though many of our members have been around and fished a broad array of equipment under every condition, it still may not be the "best" choice under certain conditions. I suggest you start out with good equipment and just a few, technique specific lures. Focus on one or two presentations and you will probably catch a few bass. From that base you can grow and develope more options. Unfortunately, this is not the best time to start fishing in a large portion of the country. Where you fish is more important than what you fish. If you are going to fish now, soft plastics are probably your best option. This class of lures will generally catch bass, year around. Another option I would recommend is a blue & chrome Rat-L-Trap. Just cast and retrieve, parallel to the bank, close to cover or around structure. If there are bass in the neighborhood, you might catch one. Otherwise, you will still have some fun using your equipment and practicing your cast.

Percy Priest is near Nashville, but Dale Hollow is too far to commute back and forth. I suggest talking with Jim Duckworth and Fred McClintock for specifics. Nationally, they are two of the top smallmouth fisherman and are very familiar with all fishing options in north central Tennessee. Fred is multi-species and would be my choice. http://www.trophyguideservice.com/ Still, I would think think Lake St. Clair would be a better option.

Yeah, that was a great show. They have always put on a big production, but it is especially exciting when your favorite Country Music stars perform and then win! Man, I was all over that show and pretty pleased with the selections.

Welcome aboard!

Well, even though I fish the Tennessee River, I think if I were planning a Big Trip, I would choose Lake Erie. Numbers for sure (which is good for the wife) and you still have a chance at a trophy size smallmouth. Fishing Dale Hollow or the Cumberland River in general could be very special, but the numbers are generally weak. Planning a trip on the Tennessee involves too many variables unless you live here or have a lot of flexibility. (Now through early March is the best time for big bass around here, but weather and water flow can be dicey). So, for my money, I would focus on finding a great place to stay and an experienced guide on the Great Lakes. June in the northern states is a VERY pleasant month and would be a nice break from Texas about that time of year, too.

Smallmouth bass differ from largemouth bass in terms of preferred prey and environment, but the lures and techniques used to catch them are very similar. Lets take a look at the differences first: Smallmouth bass are associated with structure, not cover in most reservoirs, streams and rivers although that is not always true in natural lakes. Rock piles, boulders, ledges, humps, ridges and pools are a more likely setting than any type of vegetation, timber or shade (like a dock). Smallmouth choose hard bottoms, gravel and stone. They are almost always associated with access to deep or at least deeper water. Bronzebacks will always be in current if that is an option. They prefer rocky, steeply sloping primary points versuse rounded, gradual, secondary points. Target current breaks, the front and side of eddies and transition points. Nationwide the primary diet is said to be crawdads (65%), but that is hottly debated in the Mid South and I suspect in the Great Lakes regions, too. Smallmouth tend to stage at ambush points, letting their prey come to them rather than chasing baitfish in shallow water. Cooler, highly oxygenated water is a big plus. Smallmouth are generally lighter than their cousins. Although they tend to appear fatter, the widith is shorter (top to bottom) than a comparable largemouth. For example, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a 22" smallmouth should weigh about 5 lb 3 oz. A largemouth of the same length would weigh 6 lb 6 oz. If a green bass is a battleship, a brown bass is a submarine. Now let's look at the similarities. Both species have a comparable diet: anything that moves! You will sometimes catch largemouth when fishing for smallmouth, but it usually doesn't work the other way around. However, Kentucky bass are often associated with smallmouth. In terms of equipment, the requirements are basically the same. The only difference, based on my experience, is that smallmouth appear to be line shy and for the most part, largemouth are not. For finesse baits, I suggest light line. For hard baits (reaction lures) I don't think line size or visibility is as important. I recommend fishing a 7' medium power/ fast action spinning rod for live bait and all finesse applications. For hard baits, I usually use a baitcaster.

Welcome aboard! As others have suggested, go to the Beginners Section and dive in. There is enough information contained the articles you will find in the BassResource.com library to keep you busy for awhile.

It sounds like old line to me, too. Nylon monofilament deteriorates over time. Fluorocarbon lasts forever and many blends (Yo-Zuri Hybrid for example) last for years.

That's special...Thanks.

Welcome aboard! Instead of just buying a bunch of stuff, I suggest you keep a running list of lures that are working for members of this Forum. This will guarantee a few things that wiil catch some bass and will save you a lot of money. I would also suggest focusing on one or two techniques ONLY to begin with. Get better before you get broader.

Add a few lipless crankbaits to your collection, specifically the Yo-Zuri RatlN' Vibe. Other suggestions would be for shallow presentations: Norman Fat Boy, Bomber Square A, Mann's -1 and Bagley BII.

We'll see. "Style" and fads run in spurts. Maybe this is just another way to market the "next new thing."

I think you are better off taking a chance on the loss rather than documenting all the money you have spent. Your wife might find the evidence!

Well said. (I would add visibility to you list of features.) There is no "BEST" line, there are only "FAVORITE" lines.

Nylon monofilament can get "old" even when it's brand new. The most probable answer is that it was a bad batch of line which Berkley is notorious for among many (all) product lines. Another possibility is that there is a nick in one of the rod guides. These will cut a line, particularly if it happens to be the tip top.

LV-200 or LV-300S. These lipless cranks catch bass and are user friendly (cast and retrieve). Another easy to use lure is the Rick Clunn 2.5, which as Raul pointed out, are currently on sale.

Excellent!

I suspect Raul is technically correct and it doesn't surprise me that fishing lingo is deficient. The post I made is about the distinctions fishing companies have promoted. These classifications may be disingenuous even though they are commonly used in the industry to identify different lines.

The basics: Monofilament: One nylon component (ex. Trilene XL) Copolymer: More than one type of nylon combined into to a single line (ex. P-Line CXX) Fluorocarbon: A crystal with approximately the same light refraction index as water (ex. Triple Fish) Hybrid: Bonded nylon and fluorocarbon components (ex. Yo-Zuri Hybrid) Coated: Copolymer core with an exterior coating of fluorocarbon (ex. P-Line Floroclear)

I think you will like that rod, a lot!

Sweet! (The 400B might be a little more reel than you want for bass fishing, but it's one heck of a reel for other species where line capacity comes into play.)

I had the opportunity to fish with "Bud" Jenkins on Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake last weekend. We met Friday evening and fished both Saturday and Sunday. Bud is an experienced fisherman, a tournament director and a man of many talents. We were faced with some very difficult weather conditions on Saturday and Bud knew exactly what adjustments we needed to make to fish several prime spots where we could get out of the wind and still fish areas that are generally productive. Sunday the weather broke which allowed us to fish places that were inexcessable the previous day. We fished Barkley in the morning and Kentucky Lake in the afternoon. Bud knows these waters and did not hesitate to take me to his honey holes. Although we sometimes fished different lures, for the most part we fished similar techniques. I can tell you this, Bud's presentation worked a lot better than mine! Bud started out early with a couple of strikes and boated a 4.75 lb largemouth early Saturday. Sunday started out a little slower for him, but he managed to catch three bass. I, on the otherhand, pitched a perfect game. On one of Bud's prime spots I was able to hook up with what felt like a heavy fish, but unfortunately it came unbuttoned before we got to see her. All in all, we had a very enjoyable weekend. Thank you Bud! p.s. I have a couple of pictures I will try to add to this post later this week.