Trox

For me, It's NRX and Aldebaran. Like fishing with a feather and crazy sensitive... Another good reel for that rod is like everyone is saying, da STEEZ! NRX+Ald=$920 , NRX+Steez=2 pennys off a grand (both before taxes, better buy from TW!)

Hey fellas, It's that funny time of year again when summer starts to wind down and fall begins to peek around the corner (whoohoo!)... Looking for some general insight on when people start to throw less dropshots in offshore brush piles, and pick up more moving baits. I know it's different around the country due to the differences in climate and all that jazz, but I'm trying to dig and see what are they key changes in weather, water temp, etc, that tells you it's time to start focusing on the fall bite? I know that most of us will let the fish do the talking, but other than that, what are the key differences that you look for during this (very early) summer-fall transition to start switching up techniques?

I recently bought... and sold two St. Croix Legend Xs that ran me over $400ea. I know a lot of people love those rods, but to me, there was zero value in them. Here's an example of why: I was prefishing for a tournament one time trying to find grass lines with a jackhammer chatterbait paired with a LegendX and a Metanium MGL. I'm sure most of us know that the jackhammer is the higher end of Z Mans collection and throws off some fantastic vibration under normal circumstances... Anyways, I threw that combo for about 2 hours that day. On deck, I had a $100 rod with a crappy Johnny Morris reel that I never really use with an origional chatterbait that I tied on months ago (it was cheaper equipment and more of a backup than anything). Somehow, that chatterbait from the cheaper pole came off the hook keeper and fell into the water but I didn't notice until I turned on the outbard to start crawling to another area while I sis some more graphing. Once I started moving, I noticed the origional zman chatterbait in the water next to me so I got up to reel it in and put it away and wow... That thing rattled my teeth it was vibrating down to rod so hard. I was blown away... I never picked up either one of those Legends again... Lesson learned that price really doesn't mean anything when it comes to quality. Now, I'm sure St. Croix makes excellent rods, I mean I hope so because people seem to really like 'em but I get better bottom feel and all around sensitivity with rods a quarter of the cost. Since, I replaced both those rods with another G.Loomis NRX and GLX, the only rods I personally feel are worth that kind of dough and I'm VERY timid to venture out and try a different brand again for this very reason. Now, I've found that high end reels are kind of different, once you get over the $300 range it becomes more of a preference issue... Most high end reels will perform very well, but the rods can make or break you and the fact that there are no real industry standards to follow, each company make their rods very different from the next and can make for a frustrating buyer experience with the money being spent. Hope this answers your question

Good story! Yeah, It's definately been an evolution for me. Started off bank fishing, then moved to a kayak where I stuck for about 10 years, then got into a little bass buggy with my first cheap sonar. Very cheap sonar/fishfinder, but it did what it was suppose to do. Then finally, got into my first bass boat last February. I'm glad you mentioned the fact that "you don't regret having crappy gear", that's exactly how I feel as well. The years I spent finding fish without sonar and catching them with very low end gear, has made me 1) appreciate what I have now and 2) a better fisherman overall. Also, being able to catch fish without sonar can be extremely useful because when you can find fish strictly by observing the environment around you, it just adds to what the sonar shows. Also, any setup over $200 can be considered high quality, even cheaper if you REALLY do your research... The fact that I lean on the more expensive side is purely choice. I recently bought a couple of rods that I bought for $420/ea just to turn around and sell them. The short: I had a jackhammer chatterbait on one of them and was fishing it pretty hard. Later, when I decided to move, I accidently left a much cheaper chatterbait hanging in the water on a much cheaper rod. When I went to pick it up I instantly noticed the additional vibration... Holy crap... Those "high end" rods were sold by the end of the week lol. With that being said, if you are looking for a fantastic rod for the money, that rod that shook me up my arm was a *** ***... $100 - out performed a St. Croix Legends Xtreme. And to prove that that was not just me, I handed the rods over to my co-angler for a second comparison to make sure I wasn't going crazy but I wasn't. That $100 rod outperformed a $400+ dollar rod 10 fold. So yeah, great gear can definately come at a resonable price and being a fellow "serious fisherman", I'm can assume your gear performs fantastically and some research was put behind each purchase. Oh, man. If I could only get my wife bitten by this same bug I'd be set... and even more broke lol.

Hey guys, I thought it would be cool to share the moments that we realized the differences that "the right gear" makes when bass fishing. I got this idea after reading another topic in regards to how eveything fishing got so expensive... For me, I grew up fishing with whatever my mom would end up buying me. Usually, it was a $20-$40 spinning reel with an Ugly Stick, and there's not too many kids on the block to tell you how your setup really stacks up and why. All we cared about is that we could put a worm on it. As I got older and through high school, my ideas of fishing never really matured. If I bought a reel, it was always a spinning reel, and if I bought a rod, it was always an Ugly Stick. I mean, my PB came off of simple setups like that, so why change? Finally, In my early 20s, I started to branch out a bit and got my first casting setup (I had never gotten one before because when I was 6yrs old or so, I backlashed my step dads reel so bad that I completely swore em off forever). After a few frustrating weeks of backlashes etc, etc, I finally got the hang of casting one and of course had to buy another. Still, they were just rods and reels with no specific technique in mind - but they caught fish, so there could be nothing wrong with them, right? ...well yes... that is right. In a way, a fishing pole is a fishing pole and if it catches fish, it works. At least this was the way I thought. This went on for some time. I jigged with my casting pole, I finessed with my jig pole, I drop shotted with my flipping stick (This is a bit on an exaggeration though, because in order to actually have a flipping stick, you had to know enough to need one - but you get the idea here). I caught fish. I was happy... It wasn't until one day I decided, what the heck, I'm going to spend a little bit of money and get a pole worth more than $100 and see what all the fuss is about. So, for the first time, I started to do a little bit of research. I figured that if I'm going to commit to a high dollar pole, that it warrants a little more attention and effort than just going to Academy and bending a few sticks. Some time went by, but eventually I made the purchase and received my first quality rod. It was a MH-F (which was also a new concept for me) because I learned that you can pretty much do anything with that. A little later, I took it out for a spin and threw a 3/4oz jig. That was it. For the first time in my life, I was actually able to really feel the bottom. I could tell the difference between rocks, gravel, grass, etc, and I tell ya, I was B-I-T bit!! How have I gone so long without knowing the difference a real rod can make? It was at that point that I started really learning the in and outs of bass fishing. I began reading articles, watching YouTube videos, and drilling sales reps at Bass Pro for answers. I was also the last time I was ever able to hold any money lol. Over the next few years, my two setups turned into 15 and I no longer own one under $400, except for one... a 10 year old, $70 spinning/Ugly Stick setup that still catches fish This topic isn't at all intended to support the buying of all super high end equipment... Along the way, I've bought $100 rods that outperform $400 rods and $100 reels that hold up to $400 reels. What this is all about is that "moment" you felt the difference. The first time that chatterbait actually shook your teeth out, or the first time you felt a bass "tap" your lure where not just any old rod and reel would have allowed you to do so... Did you go out like me and immediatly start the journey to re-build your entire aresenal? Did you begin your search for more info, maybe learning the names of a few pros along the way? Did it re-ignite a passion? Thought this could be an interesting chat! Cheers!

I live in SA but have always had a bass boat under me... Crescent Bend, Lions Park Lake, Soil Conservation Sites (there's like 6 of 'em), The pond at Leon Creek, Elmendof Lake and Helotes Creek are some spots just to name a few... You will have to Google their locations. I've never fished any of them personally because you can't put a boat in, but people are pulling out some decent catches from time to time and kayaks can get into most places. Hope this helps.

Don't listen to any of these guys on here... They are just trying to keep you from one of the best kept secrets in bass fishing in case they ever have to compete with you in a tournament. People who have been around know that Bass are attracted to the smell of money. I once knew a guy who fished and he told this me this secret. What you need to do about a week before your next trip, is go to the bank and request a MINIMUM of $100 in singles. The more the better. Get a box and dump in the cash. Then, get all of your stuffed Plano boxes and just dump everything in there. The direct contact with money is what makes a good bait deadly. And the longer they are kept in the money box, the nastier they get with the scent of luxury and believe me, they will be able to tell how long you let those puppies soak. Dude, people be slayin' bass all day with this technique, and if you got good credit, go ahead and print out your credit score and toss it into that box as well. 30lbs sack by 9.

I lost my PB about a month ago. A possible double digit. Almost got it to the boat before it saw my ugly mug and took one last HARD run, snapping my 12lbs line like it was nothing. It was totally my fault. I should have tested the drag before I even picked up the reel. It was also during a tournament which made it that much worse... Anyways, after about 30 seconds of shaking my fist and cursing under my breath, I turned to my co-angler and said "Dang Hybrids!", then went on fishing again. I just wanted to pretend that I never saw it. The worst part is that when it got close enough to see, my co-angler was too busy stumbling for the net to catch a glimps. And with that being said, I'm sure no one believes me either lol. It's all part of the game... and in the end, all it did was feed my hunger for the sport.

Glenn recently posted a very good video about this. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/summer-bass-fishing-video.html

I bought a MotorGuide X3 about 3-4 months ago and am not really impressed, other than the fact that it works and was only $600. Here's the short: I bought an X3 from Bass Pro, used it once, everything was fine... Then as I was driving down I-35 to Austin, stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I noticed in my rear view that my trolling motor was running with the prop pointed in (I know, my fault for not unplugging it altoghter, but sometimes I forget. Also a bonehead move to face the prop that way). Unfortunately, I couldn't do much else but watch in horror as it shredded my bow until I was able to get to the shoulder, get out, and turn it off... There ended up being some type of mechanical failure with the X3 that now, unless I hit the kill switch every time, it would consistently run regardless of what you were doing on the foot pedal. All I could do was switch speeds. Anyways, bows shredded, but lesson learned. Luckily, I was still "kind of" inside of Bass Pros return policy. They gave me headache stating that once it goes into the water, the store warranty is voided. Anyways, I argued that until my face turned blue like "how am I suppose to know if it works unless I use the dang thing! And the issue didn't even start in the water!" but that's besides the point... So now I'm onto X3 #2... This one has been working for me great since I installed it around three months ago, except for one, very annoying thing... After using it 2-3 times, something happened with the boat mount whenever the motor is deployed. Now, although it does lock into place, there is a good 1/4in gap on both sides (where the boat mount hits the motor mount... if that makes sense) giving the motor shaft some play. So now, whenever I turn left or right, the motor mount will rock a bit, making quite a bit of noise. When the motor stops, the motor will settle back down but it will rock a bit before hand. It's pretty loud, metal rocking on metal, and my biggest concern is that I know that noise must transfer into the water... My solution? This weekend I plan to place two small foam pads on the boat mount where the trolling motor locks when deployed... no more metal on metal, hopefully it will be much quieter... but other than that, the motor works great! XD OH! and I have to re-adjust the directional arrow every now and again... Note: I have it installed on a 21' fiberglass bass boat, moves it around just fine but ever since I purchased it I've been wishing that I got just a bit more thrust. If your boat is much heavier than the average bass boat you will definately want the get your dad more than 70lbs. Or not, I'm sure he will still love you either way lol. Hope this helps...

Ugh... what a topic!! I actually got asked this question a couple of weeks ago by my cousin when my wife and I were visiting Austin and I was unable to give a solid answer other than the smart "to get away from her" remark as I nodded at my wife (Jokingly of course!). My lack of a response really got my gears turning about her question... I mean, I've been fishing all of my life! How could I not answer what would seem to be the easiest of questions?? Then during my next time out on the water, it hit me... You see, I was diagnosed with ADD in high school due to my inability to concentrate for longer than 5 mins on just about anything. I mean, who could when there are always so many things going on, right?! At least that's how my mind works... But that being said, I could always hit the water and lose myself BASS FISHING for hours without any distractions, doing nothing else. cast after cast. fully focused the entire time. Growing up, I did some cat fishing, some live bait fishing, etc etc, but never found any enjoyment in those activities. For me, when I would just cast out a liver or live bait and let the pole sit, I could never focus on what I was doing. I found that staring at my rod tip or a bobber for hours just left me bored, distracted, not mentally present, and as I grew older, it would just end up becoming an excuse to drink beer. I would find myself thinking about school, work, why my ex girlfriend is such a horrible person, you name it. I was never really there. But when I bass fish (game fish)... something magical happens that I have never been able to experience outside of the activity. My mind empties... and for the first time since the last time, I am not worried, angry, stressed, or anything... I am just bass fishing. With bass fishing, both my hands and mind are kept totally occupied. The 10 different ways to fish each lure, the research and knowledge of color selections and when to use them, the time of day, water temp, moon phase, and everything else that goes into bass fishing effectively completely consumes my body and mind. During that time, I am not concerned about next weeks meetings at work, chores at home, or anything that could possible be stressful about life. I am just fishing, absolutely submerged into the moment, and finally living free from those burdens that life can bring... at least until I trailer the boat XD And that, my friend... is why I keep chunking those lures.

Fished a tournament at lake Somerville a couple weekends back and was surprised at the comeback that the lake has made over the last few years. Average bag of 18 anglers was a little over 18lbs with 26.06 taking the cake. Big bass was 9.05lbs. Limits were met for most anglers by around 9am (tourney was safe light - 3pm) During my stay (I camped there the week leading up to the tourney - we so happened to schedule our family fishing trip during the time of the tourney), I heard three different stories from three different locals about 8+ lbs bass being pulled out all within the last month. I had my encounter at Somerville Marina when I lost what just may have been my first double digit at the boat while picking apart the only boat docks on the lake during the tourney... I wish I had never seen that fish. Haven't slept well since. Anyways, there wasn't a day that either me or my co-angler didn't pull out a 4-5lber or two. White bass are going absolutely nuts at Rocky Creek. Hit my 25 fish limit there every morning on the plopper during temporary breaks from fishing largies and hit a few 20"+ Hybrids as well... needless to say, we're gonna have a bountiful fish fry this year. So with all that being said, looks like Somerville is making a solid comeback as a black bass fishery. A breath of fresh air to someone who's family's annual fishing trip is hosted there every year. The only drawback is that it is a rather small lake and due to it's proximity to Bryan College Station, can quickly become a party lake on Saturdays and Sundays, but other than that, FISH ON!!!

This is when I would start working my lures differently to trigger reaction strikes... Fish will bite even if they're not hungry, but you will need to give them a reason. A good example would be self defense. My favorite way to get fish to react: "jig and set" a lipless crankbait (with rattles) - a lot of people forget that there are different ways to fish these lures other than just varying the retrieve tempo or swimming it normally. "jig and set" is a term I made up to help people understand the way I will sometimes work a lipless for a reaction. Basically I will let the lipless sink to the bottom then rip it violently (pretend you're setting a hook), then let it settle back down to the bottom like a jig. The violent action that comes with a hook set also cause the rattles to scream, a lot of times forcing the fish to react. I discovered this technique during a situation quite like yours... I was so frustrated that I had to try something new. I called it the "jig and set" but later found that Tim from Tactical Bassin' also uses this method for lipless cranks. A tip that I took from him to add to it's effectiveness was to use Lucky Crafts LV500 cranks instead of Rattletraps due to the additional weight (faster sink and additional casting distance to keep the space between easily spooked fish) and a different rattle noise. Made a noticeable difference when I made that lure change also. Since, I've loaded my tackle box with LV500s. Anyways, there are lot's of ways to trigger a reaction strike, but I thought I would share my favorite. And of course, it doesn't ALWAYS work. Nothing does. But it's just another tool to add to your arsenal. Key takeaway here is REACTION REACTION REACTION!!

Here's my recent story: I had a trolling motor fail on me just a couple of days before a tournament and between paychecks, so I went to Bass Pro to sign up for one of their credit cards just to get me competitive in the tourney with expectations to pay the balance in FULL with my next paycheck, then close the card... Unfortunately, they gave me a 3k limit when all I needed was a $600 Motor Guide... and I was in Bass Pro... Next thing you know, I'm also walking out with $800+ dollars of plastics and lures... needless to say, I had to spread those payments out a bit. They say that "alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one that you can get yelled at for having"... My wife tends to disagree #fishaholic #noregrets

You ever want to know what it feels like to be on the other end of a "Taken" movie? Take a picture of a bass fisherman's 10lbs+ catch then leave town... we will find you! Great story!! Great fish!!

The biggest bass I've ever caught tapped like a bluegill... better to set the hook and be wrong, than to not and be sorry.

Howdy! I've been a reader of BassResource material for a while now and figured it was about time I start contributing to the forums a bit. I picked up my first rod when I was 5 years old and have been hooked ever since (about 23 years). I've been through almost all of the stages that long time freshwater fishermen living in Central/South Texas go through while finding their niche as thy grow up. Catfishing, Crappie, White Bass, Bow Fishing, you name it. With that being said, I am grateful and blessed to have found my true passion in bass fishing and am very glad to be here!

Austin has a number of good fishing lakes, but the problem is growth. In the last 20 years, the city has boomed (I'm a 3rd generation Austinite, recently removed to San Anotnio) to what feels like 4x the population. The positive: All of the following lakes are BEAUTIFUL and can be fished effectively most weekdays. Can also produce some BIG fish. The negative (On the weekends after 10am): Lake Austin: fishing is almost unbearable (it's a dammed river about 75yds from side to side, and NO ONE will slow down for you) where you can expect at least 2 ski boats per minute zooming by. It's basically a party lake. Lake Travis: Although you will be able to tuck away into pockets and get some good fishing in, traveling to those honey holes can and will be a chore. Lake Travis is known to have a lot of yacht and ski boat traffic that can produce waves up to 4ft in height. And on a windy day, forget it. I always left more frustrated than anything. Lady Bird: Trolling only, and you will be forced to navigate through up to (but not limited to) a thousand paddle boarders, unfortunately, that's not an exaggeration. Walter E Long Lake - just off Toll 130 (If your talking to a local fisherman though, call it Decker Lake - They changed the name of it a few years back and most people refuse to except that fact lol). Only problem with Decker is that if you get there ANY later than 6am on the weekend, most of the spots are gonna be taken due to the small size of the reservoir. It is a powered lake though, so that has it's benefits and is part of what makes it so popular. Plus, pulling away from that small lake WITHOUT a 3-4+lbs catch is somewhat uncommon. Other than the dam, shoreline is strictly reeds. Ugh, I hate to be so negative but as a native Austinite, the relatively small number of lakes compared to the ever increasing polulation makes it an easy topic to rag on... Well... those are the primary lakes that Austin has to offer. Outside of this list will require a good hour drive. I'd go the DFW route if fishing is your main concern. Unless you love bicycle lanes.

Originally, I bought a pair of binoculars to find schools of white bass during their spawn, which is the only time I don't hunt lunkers. But during one local tournament, I was having a hard time catching anything when I saw a boat go over the spot that I was just picked apart and pulled two into the boat... That was the moment that I remembered I still had my binos in the side compartment and within a matter of minutes, I was Sherlock Holmes uncovering the mystery of the century. I started doing this after I noticed that they were working their rods (jigging) the exact same way that I was, but getting bit so it must have been the bait. Anyways, I found out that they were also using some type of craw imitation, but without a skirt. After that, I removed the skirt from my jig and ended up catching a couple before switching locations... Moral of the story is, bass can be picky... You could be using a black/blue spec craw and catch nothing but trees while someone else is using a pumpkin seed craw and catching hawgs. My story just happened to be about the jig skirt. There's no shame in asking other fishermen who may have more experience with a body of water what they are using. More than likely, they were in the same place that you were at one point and had the same issues before they finally found out what the fish want. I've never met a fisherman outside of a tournament that wasn't open about the baits being used and I feel that the willingness to share tips and tricks with others is just something that tags along with the passion to fish. And for bonus points, if you stroke a fishermans ego a bit, he may just give up his best kept secrets. So save yourself some time and heartache, ask around... Or whip out your binoculars and become the lake spy. There's some fun to be had in that too lol

Dangit... I knew joining BassResource.com was going to be the death of me. You see, I'm recently married so my financial situation has changed quite a bit and I haven't been following the new gear releases as closely as I used to because of it. Then I hear that they are (or have, according to Jelvas), coming out with a new Aldebaran 50 MGL... With that being said, if you need me, I'll be in the doghouse... with my new Aldebaran.

Kind of a tackle junkie, and I do have a few combos in the $700+ range. Unfortunately, more often than not, I end up regretting a purchase like that after a few hours of fishing the new gear because I fail to see the value in the combo and end up getting more use out of a $200-300 combo because at times, they just out perform some higher end products... But this... Shimano Aldebaran 50 HG + G. Loomis NRX 7'1" Medium - Ex fast I have literally found myself on a bite using a different technique, but still switching off to use this combo just because the reel feels so dang sexy during the cast, the rod will have you setting hooks into minnows its so sensitive, and I can cast most finesse style baits (even weightless Senkos) 30+ yards with ease... It's the only high end combo that I have EVER truly thought was worth every single penny spent and is just a joy to fish with.

21' 2005 Pro Craft 210 Super Pro Pro