roadwarrior

Welcome aboard! Take a tour of the BassResource Library. You will find articles on every type of fishing, lures and techniques. If the bass are there, you can catch them, promise.

The fish are already wet. I don't change anything. As long as there is no threat of lightning, I'm fishing. If you are looking for rain gear, I reccommend Cabela's Guidewear.

In-Fisherman, Inside Line and Bassmaster

Maybe. I have been testing scents for a couple of years without discovering any particular pattern. I am currently using the GYCB MegaStrike which has a consistancy of vasoline and comes in a convient tube. I do like the way it feels, it makes soft plastics slimy. As to the scent, well...I seem to do just as well with or without this or any other product, and believe me I have tried a lot and still have some of most of them. Does it really help? I don't know, but I'm not buying any more and when this stuff runs out my experiment is over. I won't be using scents in the future unless something changes dramatically. Note: Nearly all soft plastics these days are some formula which includes salt and scent. So, to some extent salt and scent are probably helpful, but additional scent on top of that...I don't think so.

George, You make a compelling case.

I can be on my main river in two hours. I rarely fish lakes that are more than a five hour drive, but I sometimes drive eight hours, one way. If it weren't for FL, TX and CA, all the best bass waters in the United Staes would be within these general parameters!

Well, the best days of the week are days ending in "Y". As for times, I suggest A.M. or P.M. Most of my biggest bass have been caught between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M.

Well, I generally agree with Roger on most topics and I'm not arguing the logic on this one. Presentation and the right location go a long ways and account for a high percentage of big fish taken. But, to consistantly catch big bass, the size of the bait can come into play. Smaller fish are much more aggressive than larger bass. To take a specific example, I watched a demonstration of the Fat Ika by Mike Whitten, GYCB writer and Pro Staff, at the BPS this spring. The 5 & 6lb bass attacked this bait as it fell, the big bass were curious, but just followed it to the bottom and watched it until it was moved. My point is that if smaller bass are present, you generally need something that you can get past them. Not only do I fish for big bass only, I really don't want to catch smaller bass, ever. So, for me, bigger baits are a solution to the problem of catching too many little fish. My big bass bait is the 6" Senko.

To answer the specific question, "What is a big bass?", I think 5lbs is the answer here in the Mid South. As others have said, 10 lbs is the magic number, but a big bass is still anything over 5 lbs.

An "average" cast is around 25 yards (75').

Focus your efforts on structure in deeper water. Steeply sloped, rocky points surrounded by deep water is a prime example.

First wash you hands THROUGHLY, TWICE with a regular bar of soap and warm water. Then squeeze a lemon or rinse your hands in a small amout of vinegar, then rinse again with water. I like to then apply hand lotion or if it's been a particularly rough outing, I'll substitute Neosporin for the lotion. This does wonders for your hands.

This is what I would consider the "Perfect Structure" An isolated hump, up to fifteen feet below the surface, in the middle of the lake or in current on a river, surrounded by very deep, clear water. Having a few big rocks, rock piles and a hard bottom on this hump would be a plus. Bait fish are sometimes attracted to these oasis and big brown fish make it their home and nursery. Me like big brown fish!

Dr. Raul, Your words paint a detailed picture in one's mind, excellent illustration.

When bass are in a feeding frenzy almost anything will work, but my preference would be either a Rat-L-Trap type lure or a suspending jerkbait. The last time I had this opportunity I happen to have on a Lucky Craft Pointer 128. A huge advantage with this lure is your ability to make a long cast.

Matt Fly, Man, we're on the same page on this one. I flipped through Bassmaster to take another look at the ad. Yeah, it sucks, but so what? It's not nearly as bad as that series Calvin Klein ran with models who looked like they had been hooked on heroin for ten years. There are a zillion other examples of poor taste, but I just don't think it's worth our time to get all jazzed up over "soft sleeze". Plus, as others have said, the Berkley ad is just plain stupid and we all know, there's no shortage of stupid.

"Neither" With very few exceptions, I don't fish Berkley products and don't ever read their ads. I have seen this series, but would have never given them a second thought if this thread hadn't come up (I must have missed the original). Avid mentioned Gangster Rap...now that's offensive. I've only heard bits and pieces, I can't understand a thing they say, I guess I'm not fluent in whatever language they speak. Erectile dysfunction? Yeah, I really like those commercials, too, especially when I'm watching a football game with my teenage daughter and her boyfriend! I guess the dumbing down of today's humor or the numbing effects of all the crap on television has caused me just to ignore or block out these types of displays. I'm not mad, I don't care. Berkley didn't have me to lose as a customer, but I won't be jumping on board anytime soon, either.

Yep, I do most of my biz with Cabelas and BPS. No problems, ever.

Fat Ika, Gitzit, grub, lizard.

rodpilot, Line memory is not (generally) a big issue with baitcasting equipment. Spiderwire (and all braids) have no memory, none whatsoever.

Well, I hadn't used a soft plastic in five days, but this morning I only caught three little bass on topwater. After running some errands I went back to the pond around 11:30 and fished a 6" Senko. Yep, the chronic disease has flared up again. I try to understand why people complain about the durability of GYCB soft plastics, I went through three on six fish in an hour and a half. Two of the three baits were lost on single fish. However, the first bass was a monster and the next two were 6-7 lbs., total estimated weight ~25 lbs. I am going to keep fighting Senkonlylimitativsm. I'm going to focus on diversity and fish Fat Ika and Gitzits more often.

Gitzit...I just meant a tube.

I want to fish in Florida with George Welcome.

Rather than a Senko and a C-rig, I would store the C-rig in a ziplock bag for easy access and start with that rig set up with a shallow crank (Bomber Square A or Bagley BII). Sometimes the shallow crank works better than topwater early, in low light. When you decide to go deep, your C-rig is a quick change and I would also have a Gitzit handy.

You can do that when setting up your profile and signature. Look at mine, left side at the bottom.