Mobasser

I watched an old film clip of a black bear that had been in a circus for years. They were going through his normal act, and something triggered him out of control. He tore up his handler pretty good before they stopped him. There's no way to know what set him off, but he almost killed a guy before they got him under control.

I'm sure there's a logical explanation for what I heard in the woods while I was fishing years ago. I've never been afraid of much. I can watch a scary movie and go straight to bed. Nor have I ever been superstitious about any old legends. I can look back and laugh about it now, but, at the time, it wasn't very funny, and, my intuition told me to get out of there.

This is true. We should never assume that all of them are docile.

Sometimes I think what might happen is that guys don't see the cubs. You might see a large black bear, and the cubs could be out of sight, in brush etc, so they approach the bear. Bad move! I've also heard of blacks bears becoming aggressive if you get near they're food source, but am.not sure about that. I do know that if you get between a brown bear and his food source, especially a recent kill, your in trouble.

There are quite a few black bears in South Mo. I've heard of guys standing and waving they're arms and they run off. But, as has been said, ANY bear with cubs is dangerous. If mama sees you as a threat to her cubs, she'll charge you and mean business.

If you read through any past threads on mid priced spinning reels here on BR, the Plueger President gets many good reviews, and many guys say it's the best in this price range. I bought a new President for my son in law as a birthday gift five years ago, and he loves the reel. I bought one for myself last year, and was dissapointed in the reel. It felt rough, and grinded out of the package. I exchanged it for another one, thinking that maybe I got a dud. The second one had the same rough feel, and a sloppy feeling AR switch. I returned this one for a Lews Speed Spin, and have used it all summer. It's been a great mid priced reel. My only other experience with Pflueger spin reels is with an older( wood handle knob) Trion I bought at a flea market for fifteen bucks. I gave it a good clean and lube, and have used it off and on for several years, with good performance. I've heard some bad reports on the new Trion models. The name Phlueger has been around for a very long time. I feel that if they're going to stay in the game, they need to step it up here. Just my own observations, but for now, I'll stick with Lews and Shimano. Sometimes, company's feel that they have to change they're designs, but, it's not always for the better. Has anyone else had any bad experience with the mid priced Pflueger reels?

I'll say Lews or Diawa both in size 200. If you don't need an AR switch, Shimano Sahara 2500. All should work well.

I was reading an older article by Paul Elias last night. He said that as a general rule, he used plastic worms until mid fall, then switched to a jig. He felt that a jig was the better bait in cooler water. Have you noticed this to be true in your own fishing? Do you base this choice on water temp or other factors?

Fenwick HMG is a good rod in the 100 dollar range.

One of the biggest crappie- 141/2", I caught on a chrome 1/2 oz rattletrap. Not considered a crappie lure...

I've wondered what this means also. Almost any bait can be made to have that " erratic action".

Catt, my wife has a friend that lives in Louisiana. She told us about an old legend called the Rageroo. A Cajun werewolf that lives in the swamps. Her dad actually believed this, and would never fish around the swamps at night. Not sure about this, but I think some folks may believe in these old things. Some of these old tales have been around forever.

Sometimes I do this too. I'll take a small marabou crappie jig and fish it slowly under a float. It catches everything. Tipping it with a piece of nightcrawlers makes it even better.

Well, Holloween is coming up soon. ??

In the Ozarks they have black bears. Not any that I know of in North central Mo.

No bears in my area. About the biggest critters around here are mtn lions, but you seldom ever see them.

When I was much younger, in my latter twenties, I had a wife and four children at home. On Friday nights,the kids would be asleep between nine and ten o clock. I'd take a casting rod, a small one tray tacklebox, a good flashlight and go walk the banks at a small lake near home, night fishing for bass. My night box contained a few spinnerbaits, a jar of #11 pork frogs, and a bag of large Culprit worms, hooks and weights, as well as two Jitterbugs, a 5/8 oz size, and a then new muskie jitterbug. I always fished the same cove. The cove was not very large, and had an old half rotted wooden dock, with one light above, which put out a little bit of dim light. Some guys would promise to meet me there, but almost all backed out, so I made these trips alone. On certain nights, bats would circle the light, occasionally swooping down close by, but there was never any problem with them. One humid night, I decided to hike around the cove and fish the other side. Using my flashlight, I made the hike, walked down the bank and began casting. Directly behind me around ten feet distance, was a large thick wooded area. Very overgrown and thick with trees, vines and deadfalls. No paths or trails in this woods, and I'm sure nobody ever went in there. After a short time, I heard a tree crack in the woods behind me, followed by some loud commotion. This happened again, but sounded closer. I held my flashlight up and scanned the woods, but everything seemed still. There was something in that large woods, trying to get through, and getting closer. I heard what sounded like a larger branch breaking along with more rustling noise, and that was it. My imagination got the best of me. I quickly reeled the spinnerbait to the rod tip, grabbed my tacklebox and quickly( very quickly), made a beeline back to my truck, on the other side of the cove. When I got to my truck, I was sweating, and it took me a minute to calm down. I stared into the woods across the cove trying to see just what it was that made that noise behind me. Whatever it was, it was large enough to break branches and make some serious commotion. Night fishing for bass can be awesome. Your senses become very sharp, and everything is amplified. This all happened over 35yrs ago. I'll never know what was in those woods that night, and I'll always wonder. I still have my black muskie jitterbug too. I've never caught a single fish on it. Now, it's just a reminder of a night time bass fishing trip from years ago. Please share any strange or unexplainable things that you've experienced while night fishing for bass.

A good topic here, and one that's been discussed many times. We still don't know the answers to why bass hit certain colors at certain times. I say carry the ones you have the most confidence in, and the ones that have worked best for you in the past. If your throwing a color you've got confidence in, your more apt to be on your toes, and ready for the strike.

I bank fish a couple of times a week, and, I'm a minimalist fisherman. I carry a small 8x8 zip bag, which I hook to my belt loop. One rod and reel and a few baits. I change what's in the bag depending on time of year. Years ago, I carried all kinds of stuff, and rarely used it. Once you've got things dialed in, you really don't need too much stuff.

I only have one. Mine is an old Harkins Lunker Lure twin buzzbait. It's an inline style, black skirt. I'd fish them just like a single buzzer.

Things have changed regarding ABU. Most guys will remember when they were hugely popular. I still like the older ones the best. 4600C3, and 5500C. I have one 4600C that's over 20yrs old, and still working well.

I don't own or have fished any BFS gear, but I still tend to think that with the lightweight stuff your using, you'll do better with a spinning rod.

Catt, I've had days like this too. Sometimes, I'm all thumbs. It usually doesn't take me long to realize it's just not my day.

I don't think plastic worms were originally meant to be fished on the surface, but I've caught many bass reeling them slowly over thick moss, pads etc.

Mine is a 2500 fi