Mobasser

I've been a fish fillet lover for many years now. I don't know how many of you guys like hot sauce on your fillets, but I'll recommend Zatarains Cajun hot sauce. It's super good. I've tried most of the brand's on the market, and so far it's the best.

Colors can be a huge choice, but I only carry three or four also. I've had good luck with purple, grape, blue, and black. Everyone has they're own choices, and it sometimes fun to try new colors also. It keeps things new and interesting. A-Jay, at some point we've all been under his thumb. It takes a lot of willpower to break away from him, once he gets a hold of you.

If you have a good idea of what the fish are hitting on, you've got the bite dialed in. It may be any number of baits. An example in my area during the hot summer, topwater early in the mornings, then plastic worms to finish the trip. If the day is overcast, topwater may work longer. If you know this, you can only carry lures that work during this time. You can adjust depending on the season

I've never heard of this Catt. Sounds like a fast way to get the job done.

I've done well on some windy days, especially on lipless baits. But the question is how much wind. A chop on the surface is good, but much more than that I havnt done well.

This. I've caught bass using older round ABUs, and with newer Lews and Qauntums, which are faster. Both work. As J Francho says here, the slack line is a very small amount, and these baits fish best on a semi slack line.

Purple and grape shades are my top two. Blue a close second. I think confidence plays a big part here. These colors have worked for me for a long time, so that's what I use most often.

I used to carry everything too. Probably 25 yrs ago, I realized I never used even half of it. So for one 3700 box, I'll take plastic worms, weights/ hooks, spinnerbait, jig/trailers, spook and buzzbait, rattletrap. That's it. I still catch as many fish as I did years ago, and I'm.much more mobile now. If you've got the bite dialed in, you really don't need a huge amount of stuff.

As a kid, we kept all the fish we caught to cook. Back then, everyone I knew always cleaned the fish the same way. Gut them, cut the heads off, and scale them, then pan fry. When I was around 20 yrs old, I was taught how to fillet a fish, and have cleaned fish this way for over forty years. If I have a big mess to clean, I use a Mr Twister electric fillet knife. With just a few, a Rapala fish fillet knife. Years ago I picked up a board with a clamp on one side. It didn't really work out well, and I've done best by just gripping the fish by the mouth. I always try to start the initial cut just behind the side fin, and lay the knife flat, cutting back to the tail. I was taught to not cut all the way through the tail section of the fish. Stop the cut when you reach the tail section, flip the meaty part of the fish back over, then cut the skin away. The only other cut is removing the rib( side) bones of the fish. Some fillets end up as sort of a Y shape, with no bones. The fish we cleaned as kids always tasted good, but we had to pick through bones when we ate them. An old cook once told me that he liked the old gut/ scale method better, and that he thought the fish tasted better this way, but I still like fillets the best. And, I can strongly recommend the Mr. Twister electric fillet knife. I've had mine a long time. It's cleaned a bunch of fish over the years, and still working well. Another big plus with fillets comes with young children. They can enjoy fresh fish also, with no fear of getting any bones caught in they're mouth or throat. I think this helped my own kids learn to like fish when they were young, and they still like it now. Do you do anything different when you fillet your catch? Have you found any fillet knives that have worked well? IMO, fillets are the way to go. No bones about it.

Crappie are my own favourite to eat, but I sometimes keep a couple of bass to cook. All I do is fillet them, put in an egg milk mix, flour, and fry to golden brown. Salt and pepper to taste, and give two or three shots of Zatarains Cajun hot sauce. The Zatarains sauce is the best I've tried so far.

If it's just very light surface rust, I'll try to clean it off, otherwise I throw them away. Fishing with rusty hooks is kind of like using old rotten line. Both are well worth keeping fresh and new.

Plastic worms are my favourite bait, and I throw them all through the fall.

I don't belong to any other forms, BR is the only one. There's really a lot of good anglers here, and most are pretty open minded. This is why they're good. There's really a lot of ways to catch bass, from conventional methods to some we rarely here about. Most all the comments are good here. I think it pays to be open minded, and the main thing is to use the methods that work best for you. An example: big bass won't strike a small bait. Its false. It's been proven wrong, but many guys still hold onto this falsehood. It just hasn't happened like that in they're own fishing, so they'll disagree.

I never had allergies as a kid. My doctor told me that it's common for folks to develop allergies when they get older. Now at 64, I have allergy problems each fall. It always comes on in mid October when the farmers are cutting all the crops here in my area. I'm getting plenty of sleep, but feel sluggish, have what feels like a bad head cold, sneezing, and some cough also. I never realized how bad these allergies can make you feel. My doctor didn't want to prescribe any medicine for this, which is good because I don't like taking too much stuff. He said to take Clariton, dress for the weather, and drink lots of water to stay well hydrated. I'm sure I'll be fine- I always am. But for two to three weeks every fall I feel rough. Anyone else have allergy problems? Do you take a prescription medicine or just let it run its course? I'll be glad when it's over.

J Francho, I think a big part of it for me is the fun factor. The lake I described has a good population of 2lb bass. Catching them on the lighter gear is a blast.

I've always enjoyed using both baitcasting and spinning tackle. On many lakes, both can work well for a variety of different baits. The lake I fish most often is an old quarry lake. The water is very clear, and deep in spots. Years ago, I started fishing this lake with heavier casting gear, and I wasn't doing well catching bass here. At the suggestion of a friend, I started fishing this lake with a spinning rod and lighter line, along with smaller baits. I made this tackle choice out of necessity, trying to improve my catch rates. It's worked out well over the years. Regarding your own tackle, have you chosen your gear out of necessity, or because you prefer one type of tackle over the other? Baitcasting or spinning tackle?

A-Jay made a thread some time back about the reintroduction of pork rind baits. I hadn't ordered any, so last weekend I finally bought a jar of #11 pork frogs. Mine are blue, which has always been a good color for me. They appear to be the same as the ones I used years ago. A-Jays thread brought back a lot of memories for me. My first jig and pig bass in the mid 1980s, came on a black Arkie jig, with #11 pork trailer. After that fish, I always had a couple of jars of pork baits in my box. Even when plastic trailers became the big thing, I still stuck with my trusty pork rind baits. Eventually, I fished them on other lures also. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, weedless spoons, and jigs of all sorts. The argument against pork baits is a long one. They are more costly now, they require a little more care than plastic baits, they're only good in colder water etc. To all this, I say nonsense. The secret lies in the soft meaty texture, the look, and the unique action, which in my opinion, can't be duplicated with any injection molded baits. There's a very good reason why almost every outdoor writer of past years recommended pork rind baits. I'm hoping that there's a renewed interest in them. I'd like to see the 3" and 4" split tail eel, and the smaller #101 spin frog brought back also. These days, if you were to ask ten fisherman what to use as a trailer, you might get one guy who says use a pork rind trailer. Most all would say to use plastic, and we have a huge group to pick from. But pork baits still can have a place in your tackle, and are well worth the extra care it takes to use them. Although I can never speak for anyone else here on BR, I think many older bassmen would agree. In my opinion, one of the best trailers you can ever use.

I'll take three days of consistent weather, regardless of conditions.

Before the internet was available, all we had were magazines, and advice from other fisherman. I read all sorts of magazine articles back then. After a few years, I realized that much of the info I read didn't always apply to my lakes. I bought lots of baits that I've never caught anything on. Now, I've narrowed it down to a few things that work the best on my own lakes. Because of the internet, we're flooded with info now. Much of it is useful, some pure hogwash. We've all become skeptical to a degree. I think it comes down to being able to take in the info you learn, and apply it to your own waters.

I will say that in over 40yrs of bass fishing, the only thing that actually worked as taught was Slider Fishing by Charlie Brewer. It's caught fish for me as he said. I've read and heard so many other things I'm pretty skeptical. And we have to remember, what's works great for one guy, may not work for you.

I've always just used ball head marabou jigs. When you raise them, they drop straight down, with the marabou going upward on the fall. In the Ozarks region of South Mo, and northern ARK,they sell a lot marabou jigs that are purposely poured lopsided, or out of round. Most are lightweight jigs, and sold as trout jigs, but they can work well on bass also. Two companies that sell them are Zig Jigs, and Lilleys jigs. These are both good qaulity. Baked on paint finish, Mustad hooks and tied well. Because of the lopsided head, they have a unique action on the fall. Instead of dropping straight down, they have a winding, spiraling action, unlike any ball head jig I've tried. The action is more like a light rigged plastic tube bait. Phil Lilley is the owner of Lilly's Landing on Missouri's Lake Taneycomo, and sells these jigs at his tackle shop there. I bought six to try out the last time I was down there. He told me to make a long cast, and, without letting the jig hit bottom, snap the rod tip up six inches, and let it drop on a semi slack line. The idea was to get as many " falls" as possible on a single cast. Almost all the action takes place near the bottom. Fishing from the dock before we left on Sunday morning, I hooked and landed a 14" smallmouth bass, my only smallmouth to date, on a black 3/16" oz lopsided jig. I've since messed around with them for LM bass at a lake near home. I caught several LM bass on these jigs. I'm convinced that the spiraling fall of these " offset, lopsided " jigs is what triggered my strikes. I'm not sure if this style of jig is unique to the Ozarks area, or is popular in other parts of the country? For a photo of what I've described here, do a Google search of Lilleys Marabou jigs. Mr. Lilley has a front view photo that shows how these heads are poured. Others I've seen are more pronounced, with one side almost flat, and the other rounded. Either way, the end result is a Marabou jig which has a dropping action unlike any ball head jig I've used. Most all recommend throwing them with no trailer, with the dying marabou being the main attraction. Just a slightly different take on an old bait, but one that works well. Has anyone else used this style of marabou jig, and are they popular in you area?

Yes, you can use them all year. Zoom 6" lizard is one of my faves.

The only other strange experience I had while night fishing involved another person. I was fishing the same spot around the old dock, and decided to walk down the bank and cast. I probably walked about 40 or 50 yards, and didn't catch anything. I started walking back to my truck, which was parked near the dock. I was reaching for my keys and heard someone say" catchin anything"? It startled me. I could barely see what looked like an old guy sitting on the rock wall which was near the parking area. I said" what's your name, do you live around here"? No response. He just sat there looking at me. I layed my rod in the truck, got in, and took off. The next morning, I got up early, and my wife said we needed some milk for breakfast. I took off to town for a gallon of milk, and saw an older guy hitch hiking on the road to town. Of course I didn't pick him up. In all my night trips to this spot, I had never ever seen another person there. How he got there, and especially, how he got off the main road and down to the lake, I'll never know. I'd never seen him before, and have never seen him since. When he first startled me, I almost confronted him. I was mad because he didn't say anything, and didn't identify himself. Now, I'm glad I didn't confront him. Sometimes it's best to just mind your own business. The only other strange experience I had while night fishing involved another person. I was fishing the same spot around the old dock, and decided to walk down the bank and cast. I probably walked about 40 or 50 yards, and didn't catch anything. I started walking back to my truck, which was parked near the dock. I was reaching for my keys and heard someone say" catchin anything"? It startled me. I could barely see what looked like an old guy sitting on the rock wall which was near the parking area. I said" what's your name, do you live around here"? No response. He just sat there looking at me. I layed my rod in the truck, got in, and took off. The next morning, I got up early, and my wife said we needed some milk for breakfast. I took off to town for a gallon of milk, and saw an older guy hitch hiking on the road to town. Of course I didn't pick him up. In all my night trips to this spot, I had never ever seen another person there. How he got there, and especially, how he got off the main road and down to the lake, I'll never know. I'd never seen him before, and have never seen him since. When he first startled me, I almost confronted him. I was mad because he didn't say anything, and didn't identify himself. Now, I'm glad I didn't confront him. Sometimes it's best to just mind your own business.

Agree. Mithcell is another old longstanding brand, that seems to have lost popularity now.

I have since picked up a Diawa Revros size 1000 for panfish and stocked trout. Very good reel for the money. Also still have an older Diawa Laguna size 2000, still going strong.