Mobasser

My brother and I stayed at our grandparents farm several summers to help out with chores. We fished two farm ponds almost every evening. My older brother was my teacher, and taught me all the basics of bass fishing. Sometimes a kid from a nearby farm went with us. We almost always used surface baits from our dad's and Grandpa's tackle boxes. My brother was a patient teacher, and I have great memories of those times.

Tonight, my wife and I will be going with our grandkids to trick or treat. It's always a good time. In the small town we live in, it's still popular with the kids. As a kid in the 1960s, we used a pillow case for our candy sack, and made our costumes. I was a ghost, a pirate and a cowboy. Lots of folks made treats like candy apples, cookies, or cupcakes. We usually just munched these down along the way. My dad never seemed to worry about us trick or treating, and would say ok boys, have fun. The goal was to get as much candy as possible, and I remember the pillow cases being heavy with candy when we were finished. If your going out with kids or grandkids tonight for trick or treat, have a good and safe Halloween. Do we have any BR members who will be taking the youngsters out for trick or treat tonight?

Doug Hannon wrote about the plastic worm years ago. He claimed that the plastic worm was the one lure that bass could not remember or become used to. I think this is true 100 percent. Through most of the season the plastic worm works. It's always fun to mix it up and try new or different things, but the worm still rules much of the time.

I think some folks get hung up on certain baits. If the fish don't hit them, they think they don't work anymore. The bait may not work that particular day. Next week you could be making a killing with it.

A plastic worm has been a consistent bass catcher for 50 years. It still works, and will continue to work in the future.

I think it all takes time. But, you'll end up a better fisherman by finding patterns yourself, and fishing your way, with your style.

A- Jay, those are awesome! Those are the type of pike that made the covers of Field and Stream and Outdoor Life when I was a kid. I daydreamed about those big pike quite a bit. Thank you sir

Being from Missouri, I've never caught any pike. As a kid, we called them northern pike, and I always saw pictures of them jumping out of the water on the covers of outdoor magazines. I know we've got many members here who fish for bass in waters that have pike also. What's it like? Do you catch a lot of pike on bass lures? Do pike break lines easily? Are they a nuisance, or fun to catch on bass gear?

I like this one, and also a Bill Norman Triple Wing Buzzbait.

I'm picky about my bottom contact rod. But, I've thrown other baits on several different rods.

I used to get the Riverside brand of soft plastics. They made some good stuff. Long gone now.

I'm a fan of Culprit worms. 7" blue, purple, and black. It's a great worm, and one of the classics.

I think I would have liked fishing with WRB and trying for a huge fish when I was much younger. At my age now, I enjoy fishing my small quarry lake. No crowds, and a laid back relaxing fishing trip is where it's at for me.

I was in my early twenties. Now I'm 67. A guy who owned a tackle shop told me to slow down. He said if you want to catch more bass, slow down. It's been true all these years.

Eight years ago, I began fishing an old rock quarry lake. It's become my favorite place to fish. The water is very clear in this lake. Prior to this I fished a much larger lake with plenty of boat traffic and noise. It took me two seasons of trial and error( mostly error), to learn to fish this clear water. Here's my observations: 1. Make longer cast, and stay back from the fish. 2. Try not to approach close enough to flip or pitch to any shallow fish here, you'll probably put them down. 3. Avoid putting a shadow over these fish, at any depth. 4. Generally, smaller baits and lighter lines work best. I've watched bass turn away from large flashy spinnerbaits here. 5. Try to avoid loud talking, or dropping things in the boat. 6. Topwater baits, especially moving top waters, can be great at times. The Zara Spook is my favorite, a white buzzbait second. To sum up here, I've learned that clear water bass can be caught consistently, but, they can be unforgiving at times. They become very tuned in to they're surroundings, and a stealthy approach is always needed. I'm still learning how to best fish the gin clear water. If you fish clear water, what are some things that have worked well for you?

I've had Shimano reels going back to the 1980s. Before grease and oil brands became a big thing, I used ABU grease and various oils to lube these reels. I never had a problem, and the reels still work well. I'd say you've got everything you need.

I have an old friend who lives in Ft. Meyers Florida. He's in Missouri now for a week visiting family. I hope everyone is safe, and can recover. Best luck to everyone in Florida.

Catt I agree. I don't know if there's a true way to test line stretch in actual fishing conditions. You feel a strike. You set the hook. Your rod is moving, and the fish is moving. How do you measure line stretch in this scenario? I don't think you can.

In a recent post, Glen made the statement that he thought line stretch was over rated, and it's one of those things that bass anglers worry about, but don't need to. After all my years fishing, I agree with this. I fish with mono and co-poly lines. I can't say that line stretch has ever been a factor. And, I'm not sure that I've ever actually felt the line stretch on a hook set. Do you feel that line stretch is over rated?

Good recent news A-Jay. Always keeping you guys in my thoughts, and hoping for the best moving forward.

I have a small box that clips to my belt loop for bank fishing. I drilled several 1/8" holes through the box, to allow air to circulate and keep things dry. If a hook becomes rusted too much, I throw it away.

Ive posted about Mepps spinners before, and I've caught a good number of bass the last two seasons on size 3 and 4 Aglia and Black Fury Mepps. I've had the best luck on the undressed plain Mepps spinners. A friend has been doing well on the Mepps Comet model, using the 1/4 oz Comet. If you use the Mepps Comet, what sizes and colors have you done well with on bass?

I keep two light spinning rods rigged with 4 lb Trilene XL all season. I use them for crappie, bream, and stocked trout around late November.

I tried stitching many years ago, after reading about Bill Murphy. I made a basket from a plastic bucket to catch the slack line. I even ordered some 9" plastic worms from De Long. At the time, I didn't have the patience for it. Now I'm much older, and slower, so I may try stitching again. To do it correctly, it takes more patience than most fisherman have, but has been proven to be a deadly technique.

When I was a kid, my brother and I fished together and kept every single fish but carp. We never knew anything about catch and release. I started releasing bass in my later 20s, and catching crappie or bream to cook. I've been doing that now for a long time.