Mobasser

As has been said, college is not for everyone. Lots of kids start school, then drop out. I made my living as a carpenter. It was never easy, but paid well. One thing that I think will always hold true, is that there will always be a need for skilled tradesmen in all trades.

Charlie Brewer Slider, Beetlespin

I rarely if ever see any post on accurate casting anymore here on BR. I'm wondering if it's because so many folks pitch from closer distances instead of casting? But, a pitch is another type of cast as well. It seems like casting accuracy is becoming a lost art anymore, but, it's an old school skill that's just as important as your bait choice or the rod and reel your using. I've been watching a video of Larry Nixon slowly working his way along, and his casting is perfection in motion. Overhead and sidearm casting, depending on the situation at hand. Each cast lands where he needs it to go, with the bait quietly entering the water. Very few can be as good as Mr Nixon on a given day. But, it pays to learn to cast accurately, and will help land more fish. I hope it's a skill that's not forgotten. Anyone care to comment here? What are your thoughts on accurate casting?

I mostly always use Gamma or Mustad. I only use EWG for thick fat plastics but not too much. Not sure if there's really an advantage to straight shank hooks for everyone, but I seem to hook more fish with them.

My brother and I started out with Eagle Claw #95 worm hooks, way back in the early 80s. They were good, but you had to keep them sharp, and, they only came in one thickness. We missed fish with them, mainly because the rods we had weren't stiff enough, and couldn't drive these heavy hooks into a bass. Over the years, I've tried several different hooks, Tru Turn, Mr. Twister, and various Eagle Claw. These days, younger guys have got it made regarding hooks. With the hooks we have now, you can tailor your hook size and thickness perfectly, and the hooks come super sharp right out of the package. I'm sure it's helped novice anglers land more bass. We could argue about the biggest innovations in bass fishing for days on end, but I'll say the improvements in hooks have to be near the top of the list. The last several years, I've come full circle, and have gone back to straight shank worm hooks for t rigs. I believe the straight shank hooks help me land more fish. But it's all personal preference for us. It's hard to buy a bad hook these days, and we sure can't blame missing fish on the hooks were using. What's your choice for a t rig hook?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

They say that turkey will make people sleepy. Most Thanksgivings, this seems to be the case. Most guys end up in a chair after dinner and become unconcious.They don't do this on purpose, it's just one of those things that happens to us, especially as we get older. At any rate, I hope all members here on BR have a good Thanksgiving.

I have used both rattles and other non rattle jigs. Like others, I can't say for sure if rattles have made a difference or not. I'd say carry some of both types, as the bite can vary day to day.

I've heard the term " junk fisherman", a few times before here on BR. What does this actually mean? What is a junk fisherman?

Most bass fisherman I've known are picky about the baits they use. When I've gone to buy new baits, I look them over carefully. I compare colors, and try make sure the baits are molded consistently, and packaged well. My wife on the other hand, does just the opposite. She'll walk buy, and pick a package of plastics, then say, " These look good, they should work". She makes her choice based solely on how the baits look, most always on the color. She gives little consideration to how deep the baits will run, the correct retrieve to fish them, or the time of year they may work best. She picks out fishing baits much like she does a new purse, sweater, or new shoes. Yet, it's amazing how well her non scientific method works at times. She could care less about water temps, time of year, or water clarity. But, she catches fish, pretty consistently. She prefers smaller stuff- tubes, small plastic worms, light jigs etc, and almost always uses a very slow steady retrieve, always with the same rod/ reel combo. I think next season, I might try following her lead, and maybe I'll catch more fish. Im sure I've been guilty of over thinking everything in fishing, and trying too hard to make sure everything is " perfect". I've been trying to figure this one out for years now. Her method works amazingly well, and she's outfished me several times. Pick a bait, start throwing it everywhere, retrieve it super slowly, and like she says" something will bite this one". And, if she doesn't catch anything, she never complains. She still has fun just being out there. Sometimes, taking a simple approach to fishing can be a good way to go. I've seen it work many times over the years.

Solid black/ orange fire tail. An older angler told me to try it in clear water , and it worked. Grape/ orange tail can be good at times also.

With lighter line, I've been using a reel and sweep hook set for years. With heavier casting gear, I set the hook quickly, with a hard fast pull.

On the small lake where I fish, I've almost had the place to myself lately. I'm fishing in the late afternoon, and with daylight savings time, wrapping up by 5:00 or 5:30. Saw one crappie fisherman two days ago, and that's all. Everyones deer hunting, or have put they're tackle away already. It's been nice. Still using plastic worms, and on some warmer days, lipless baits. I'll keep throwing at the bass untill it finally gets too cold. Hopefully, I've got a few weeks left.

Even though I don't know all of you personally, I feel like I've made some friends since I joined BR. And, I appreciate all the good input, from all the members here.

A big thank you to all of our veterans today. Thank you for the service you've given your country.??

Catt, that's a good one there.

Over the summer I was throwing more plastic crawfish baits, along with my standard plastic worms. In a past thread, Team9nine posted a crawfish bait hack. Using a needle and threading braided line through the nose of the bait, to make long thin antenna. I've gone between three baits. Zoom 3" Critter Craw, Paca Chunk, and some older Larews Salt Craw baits. The Critter Craw has a longer antenna molded in. The Larews and Paca Chunk have shorter antenna, around 1/4" long. I've chosen the Critter Craw because it's as close as I can get to the old Hibdon Baby Guido Bug, which was a good producer for me years ago. In my clear water lake, the results of this tinkering have been that the longer antenna outfished shorter ones by a good margin. I used to always think that craw baits just needed to resemble the general shape and size of the prevelent craws in the lake, and, a lot of times this is true. An example is # 11 pork frogs, which somewhat resemble a craw in shape. This may not be the case in murky or stained water. But, in clear water it's made a difference, where the bass are generally a little spookier, and have more time to analyze your bait. At least in my clear quarry lake, I'll be sticking with baits that have longer antenna. My experience has definitely shown that the longer thin antenna waiving around out front have drawn more strikes from wary clear water fish. And lastly, I'd like to thank Team9nine for posting this crawfish bait hack. This is what started me experimenting with this. You might try this with some of your own baits. It never hurts to tinker a little, and you can improve a craw bait, and possibly make them more productive for you. It's worked out well for me.

One thing that makes these threads good for younger guys. If they're not familiar with the names mentioned in this thread, they can look them up and read up on these anglers, and get a better understanding of finesse fishing in general.

Take a chrome or shad bait, and dot the sides with a black waterproof marker. It makes a good crappie imitator. A white bait can also work well. Lipless baits seem to work especially well for this.

I'm wondering if Fenwick is still popular with BR members here? Mine is a 5'9 HMG med spinning rod. Because of the shorter length, I bought this one new for half price. Mine is the older tac handle style. It's been a great rod for four years now. Any members here using any Fenwick rods? And, have you had good luck with them? I still tend to think they're a good value.

I always enjoy these threads on the history and how a certain style got started. In this case, finesse fishing. So many good anglers helped develop this style all across the country. I also believe that by learning about the past, you can become a better fisherman. Put all this info together, and you could develop your own finesse system, which works good on your home lakes. That's what all these guys did years ago. They experimented, tinkered, and tried a variety of things to develop they're own styles of finesse fishing.

Catt, the reason I knew about Roger Moore in this thread because I remembered you mentioned him in a past thread on finesse guys. I looked him.up and learned about him. And agree Guido Hibdon was very good also.

I think that in the Missouri Ozarks, guys have been throwing light line for a very long time, probably before anyone ever really heard the term finesse. Some Ozark lakes are deep and clear, so they adapted with lighter line and smaller baits.

I too recognize Charlie Brewer as my own finesse king. I still use the Slider jigs now. Others, Billy Westmoreland, Don Iovino also made great contributions to finesse fishing. I'm sure there are more. One example is Roger Moore from Branson Mo. He used Mithchel 308 reels and 6lb line fishing the B.A.S.S. trail years ago. He never once got skunked in many tournaments he fished. Guido Hibdon was a great light line fisherman as well.

I don't have pike or sadly many walleye close to home, so I do this with bream, crappie and bass.