Mobasser

Always stand. I like to be mobile and move when I need to. A chair is just one more thing to haul around.

Lots of guys think of lizards as only a spring/spawn type bait, but they work all season. In a couple of lakes I fish, I've never seen any salamanders or lizards there. But the bass still hit them. I just use Zoom 6" or sometimes 4" lizards Texas rigged or shakey head. Cast em anywhere and everywhere that looks good. A 6" or bigger lizard reeled slowly over vegetation can be good also.

Agree Catt, it can go both ways

What might be going on is if you catch a good bass on a one fish spot, catching him could spook other bass holding there. They won't hit, so you move on. A decent size fish hooked and thrashing around while you play him, could easily spook other fish holding in the same area.

The original swimming worm came from Florida. Use a Zoom Trick Worm or Creme Scoundrel. Put a good swivel about 12" up the line and rig the worm with a kink where it threads on the hook. This causes the worm to spin on the retrieve Doug Hannon sold a version of this one pre rigged years ago.

I was recently given a French made Mithcell 308 by a friend. The reel is in clean original condition. The gear box on this reel is packed with old grease. What's the best way to clean out this old grease, before I can add new grease to the gears?

I have an ABU Cardinal 4, which I've owned for years. I havnt noticed any problems pulling fish out of moderate cover with this reel. Although I don't use it as much now, in my opinion it's one of toughest best all around spinning reels ever made.

I havnt heard of these either.

These days, I just call it light tackle fishing. I use several different 4" plastic worms, rigged standard t rig style, shakey head, or Brewer Slider head. These have all worked well in a clear water quarry lake I fish. I like using these smaller worms because of the consistent hits from bass of all sizes. Something is always taking a pop at them.

Catt, I agree this can be hard on a huge body of water. The lake I mentioned in my original post is an old qaurry, about 6 acres. I found a hump with my depthfinder that rises 7ft in the middle of this lake. It lines up with the painted tree I mentioned. My grandson and I have caught many bass fishing on either side of this hump. Some guy found this spot a long time ago, by using triangulation. I don't think it should be written off so quickly. It can still work, especially for folks who don't have any electronics. It can work on lakes, ponds, rivers, or anywhere that has some bass. It takes more time and effort, but once you find a spot like this, you've got a good fishing spot for years to come.

I believe the world record smallmouth was caught by trolling a diving Bomber plug. Years ago, guys would troll to locate fish, then anchor and cast. Not my own favourite way to fish, but still works. I've caught a few crappie by trolling for them, but prefer casting. Just because your trolling doesn't guarantee that you'll catch anything...

A-Jay, it's an art for sure and sadly a lost one. I think this was used by fisherman years ago, before so many huge impoundments were made. I can still see it working on smaller lakes today.

On a small lake I've fished for years, I always noticed a tree on one bank that someone had painted a 6" circle with red paint years ago. I never gave it much thought until I realized someone had painted this red dot to line up this spot with other markers on the shoreline as a way to locate a fish holding area. Triangulation is nothing new. Some writers have said American Indians used this method hundreds of years ago, as a way to mark productive fishing spots. If I'm understanding this correctly, once you catch fish in a certain spot, line up with three objects on the shoreline. These can be anything. Pick something to your right, to your left, and directly in front of you. Figure the length of your cast to reach the triangulated spot, and try different depths in the water column. If your limited to bank fishing, or fishing a lake where boats are not allowed, it would pay to learn to do this. There's something down there that consistently holds fish. You may never know exactly what it is, or why the fish hang around this area, but there's some structure or objects in this area that they like. It's an old school way to locate productive spots, and by " triangulating" these areas, you can keep these spots locked in for future fishing trips, and hopefully help your catch rates improve along the way.

Catt, most of my own fishing is casting to breaklines. Weeds/ open water, or two different weeds close to each other. These spots have usually been good. I'm always trying to find something a little different from the surrounding cover. Most times, a depth change is the ticket.

Charlie Brewers Slider fishing. Even though this is a slow method, the steady reeling will cover water well. Use a thinner 4" plastic worm, rigged weedless on a Spider Slider head. " Polish The Rocks".

I always go fishing whenever I can, regardless of bright sun, or overcast conditions. But if I were given a choice, I would choose an overcast day over a bright sunny day anytime. Looking through my logs. I've kept over the years, I've caught more, and usually better size bass on overcast days, than when the sun was beating down. Overcast sky's seem to put more fish on the move, and seems to make them hit spinnerbaits, lipless lures, and topwaters better also. The same bass that ignore a Ratlletrap on bright, flat water will smash the same bait on an overcast day. A very slight chop on the water is the icing on the cake on days like this. Have you noticed better catch rates under overcast sky conditions?

Around my area, Falcon rods are kind of a sleeper. Not as popular as Loomis or Fenwick, but I think just as good.

I fish with a combination of older and newer stuff. I've never babied it, but took care of it through the years. I bought it to fish with.

When your looking at cover, try to find something different from the surrounding cover. It can be anything. Bass like to hide around that one thing that's slightly different.

I like 1/16 - 1/8- and 3/16. Sometimes I'll go to 1/4, but I've done better with the lighter weights.

I think it was in the mid 1980s, when I first saw a plastic worm with glitter added. The first ones I saw were a medium blue color, with shiny glitter added to the mix. The tackle shop where I bought them called them " electric blue". Until then, the only plastic baits I had used were standard colors, worms in black, grape, purple, and blue shades. I was skeptical of these " electric" worms, and remember thinking they probably wouldn't work very well. Of course, that was wrong. They were a hot item, and sold very fast. One shop sold them out of shoe boxes, at .25 cents per worm. Guys would come in and buy handfuls, and talk about catching scores of fish with them. All this talk only fed the demand, and soon after came purple, grapes, greens, and other colors, with shiny glitter added. I'm not sure what company first sold the glitter plastic baits, and, they had probably been around before I first tried them. I've had good luck with them over the years, especially in grape and purple shades. Now of course we have glitter, " electric," plastic baits in every color under the sun. But when they first hit the shops here in Mo, they were a hot item for bass fisherman. Do you remember your first glitter plastic baits?

Small marabou jig

There's several ways. Use a bobber at different depths, crawl the worm slowly on the bottom, or use a worm blower. Put a split shot on the line, hook the worm once, and give him a shot of air, letting him float up off the bottom. The only problem you might have is with panfish. It's hard to keep the little guys away.

Years ago, when I hooked my first bass on a t rigged plastic worm, I knew it was special. A simple t rig has continued to produce well for me for almost forty years now. I wouldn't go bass fishing without it.

Catt, this is partly why I fish plastic worms, and other plastic baits so much. If I lose one, no big deal