Mobasser

Well, when I got up this morning to make coffee, and old song popped into my head. My grandpa used to sing it when he worked on his farm. Gimmee a T for Texas, Gimmee, a T for Tennessee. Gimme a T for Thelma, that gal done made a fool outa me. That's where I got the idea for T is for Texas. Thanks grandpa!

Catt, I've used up all my likes! Agree, and thank you

Regardless if you use a plastic worm, craw, or any of the many styles of plastics that we have available. Regardless if you use tungsten, lead, beads, or ewg, straight, or offset hooks. Out of the thousands of fisherman here, how many would call the Texas rig the single, best, overall bass lure you can throw? I'll start off by saying a big YES! Let's here your opinions?

Both of these worms work good. These are some of the most popular worms with bass fisherman. The straight tail comes through weeds and cover well. I like to t rig mine, usually 1/8 to 1/4 oz slip sinker.

I'm saying t rig, spinnerbait, or jig. In no particular order

Catt, I'm still workin 3 days per week, doing some apt maintenance work. Mowing the lawn in between rains, and fishing in between. All is good

Tom, I'm Bubba and Sissy. Both

Yes. "Fairy Wand" is another term that gets thrown around. It's not a fairy wand, it's a spinning outfit. Also, a spinning outfit doesn't have to be a fairy wand. Get a fast action med/ivy with good line, and a reel with a good smooth drag. Lots of big fish are caught with an outfit like this

I'd bet that if we could find out the all time money winning baits, the plastic worm would probably come out on top. Specifically, a T rig

I saw on TW that Garcia has some rods that you can program info into with your I phone. That will probably be the next big thing, computerized fishing rods. I'll pass...

J Francho, my dad had an old baitcasting reel, a Phlueger "Trusty". No free spool, and just a single spool tension knob. He didn't like it, as it was very hard to cast without backlashing, unless you had the time to put in lots of practice. By the time I was old enoupgh to fish, he had bought 2 Zebco 33s. They kind of filled the void between those old casting reels and the early spinning reels. They do now of course, but in the early 50s they were hard to cast for most people. I think that's why spincasters became so popular I don't think there really is any new technology. Just huge improvements on the old designs

I never even heard of this term untill graphite rods became fast stiff actions.

I'm probably a Buubasissy too! But, I like it that way.

These were terms that have been used over the years. I agree, it's always good to help others learn things, but not in a derogatory way

While waiting in line in a tackle shop years ago, I saw a guy get snickered at for buying a spinning rod. He was " Sissy" , who preferred lighter tackle. " Bubba" we're the guys who liked heavy tackle only. I havnt heard these terms for a while now. Thanks to the information we have available to us now, we've come to realize that both methods can work well, and both styles have they're time and place. Bubba and Sissy, you guys are done! You never really served any purpose to us anyway, except to cause division and arguments between bass fisherman. It's past time you quit hanging around tackle shops, boat ramps, internet fishing sites, or anywhere else bass fisherman congregate to talk about the sport. Go find something else to do, and leave us alone. We're all gonna fish how we fish, and could care less about all that nonsense talk. Personally, I'm sure glad they're gone too...

A small paddletail swimbait would be good to imitate the small fry. I'd bring some t rig 4" worms and a popper a or any small topwater you could work fast over the clear water also.

I would put ice in the bottom, then a layer of your fish. Then repeat. If you have some melted ice, drain off the water and add more ice. Your fish will stay cold

I've heard about rods breaking due to high sticking. I think different people have a different take on this. What does it mean?

I would Texas rig those.

If you were born anytime after WW2, there's a good chance you've used a Zebco spincasting reel. Zebco started as The Zero Hour Bomb Company in 1932. This company made remote detonated electric bombs for the oil rigs in Oklahoma. Dropped into an old well, or a pre drilled hole, these bombs blew open the earth, to get at the crude oil. In 1947, a watchmaker, RD Hull came up with the idea for a fishing reel which would never backlash, after watching a package of meat being wrapped with twine from a revolving spool at a grocery store. The first reels were a flop, and didn't work well. By 1949, he took the concept to Zero Hour, and the first Zebco push button reels were born. In 1950, Bill Carter, a rep for Zebco made 3, 453 cast in 14 hrs to demonstrate the no backlash feature of these reels. By 1953, Zero Hour Bomb Co became Zebco, and the reels were selling very well. The impact of this on fishing was HUGE. Thousands of folks who had never been fishing, or had tried, but given up, bought a new Zebco reel and took to the lakes, rivers, and ponds from coast to coast. By the mid to later 1950s, spincast reels were accepted and used everywhere. Some famous users of the Zebco reels were Hall Of Fame slugger Micky Mantle, and then president Dwight D Eisenhower, himself an avid fisherman. Due to Zebcos success, other companies followed up. Johnson, with the Citation and Century reels, Shakespeare, with the Wonderreel, and Sears and Robeuck, with the Ted Williams line of reels. By 1975, Zebco had sold 70 million spincast reels. I've heard many guys be critical of spincast reels over the years. The main complaints are based on the early models. A slow retrieve speed, or a poor drag. I received my Zebco 33 in 1965, as a Christmas gift from my grandparents, along with a Heddon fiberglass rod. My reel still works as intended, after 50+ yrs. Before that I was a cane pole fisherman. It opened up a whole new world for me. Almost overnight, I was casting, and target casting, and I'm still obsessed with casting, and accurate casting now. Many, many, fisherman got their start with a spincast reel, and some went on to become famous top pros in the sport. The newer models have improved on the early designs. I wouldn't hesitate to use one now. On a recent trip to Texas, I saw many of the old oil drilling rigs, sitting idle, and rusting away, along the highways and back roads of Oklahoma. This is where spincasting started. Do you use any spincasting reels? What models have you used? And, have you ever caught any big fish with them? Regardless if you like spincast reels or not, we can't deny the impact they had on the sport. Zebco has been a household word for as long as I remember, and the invention of the spincasting reel changed sportfishing in America from then on. Tell me about your spincasting experience, from years ago, or currently.

Had a couple of hours to fish this afternoon. Myself, Catt, and Scaleface spoke about tungsten slip sinkers the other day, so, I stopped by Wal Mart and bought two packs of SK tungsten slip sinkers. 1 package 1/8, and 1 package 3/8 oz. So far, I think I like em. I like the smaller size, and I think they transmit some extra feel on my Texas rig. I rigged with a Zoom finesse worm, color Old Purple, Gama 2/0 straight shank hook, and my usual Big Game 12lb line. I can see the benefit of tungsten, although I've fished standard lead sinkers for many years. They're certainly not cheap at 10 bucks for eight sinkers. I'm still undecided on them. I may try some brass sinkers also. I can paint them myself if need be. Ended up catching one keeper, and three smaller fish today. I'm sure I'm late to the party on these tungsten weights, as it seems like everyone has been throwing em for a while now. I still need to fish them some more to be completely sold on the benefit verses the cost. Lead weights have worked well for me for a long time, so, we'll see how it goes....

Agree Catt. Splitting hairs with this. Hook color doesn't make any difference to me.

I've used original Stren for years. 8lb

It's all true. There are lots of millionaires these days. More than ever. Lots of them are millionaires on paper only. They may own property, houses, buildings and land. They might have investments also. Sometimes, these things can be hanging from a thread. I've done carpentry work for two guys who were paper millionaires. One retired, the other went broke. It can happen. Hands on skills are always good to know.

I have caught fish that follow in by stopping the retrieve or twitching the lure. This works if you can see a bass following before he gets too close to the boat, or the bank.Usually I'm not always watching my lure when it's within two feet of where I'm standing. By that time, I'm focused on reeling up and casting again. I think lots of guys spook following fish, or don't even realize they have a bass following, because they never see them untill it's too late to react. He's already spooked by that point, especially in clear water. It all sounds good, to jerk the bait or stop the retrieve, but I doubt it actually works much of the time.