Mobasser

I fish with an older friend who has some arthritis in his hands. Wrapping his handle with grip tape has helped him, because it increases the size of the grip. He's had no problems with them.

Even though I've never served in the military, I have a great respect for all that have served. Many members of my family have served. Grandfather- WW1. Father- WW2 . Brother- Vietnam. With current events as they are, I'd like to say this: To all our veterans, past and present, know that your country stands behind you, and stands strong. Know that you are not forgotten, and will never be. Know that the job you've done is greatly appreciated by all. To all our veterans, thank you. Thank you for the service you've given your country.

Go with some good mono and forget the leaders...

I've used the Yum craw baits also. T rig, light 1/8 or 3/16 weight. I usually use the natural craw color. Slow hops on the bottom with an occasional pause. Sometimes, drag them a few inches at a time works also.

Last summer, I gained access to a pond, and fished it three nights ago for the first time this season. Driving into the area, my grandson Aiden commented on all the grasshoppers that were jumping around. In years past, we've had summers where the hoppers were really thick. This summer I've seen a fair amount, and they were thick in the taller grass surrounding the pond. Most of these hoppers were 2 1/2 to 3" long. All are a tan/ light brn color. We started fishing, and I started with a plastic worm. Six feet from where I stood, a larger hopper landed on the surface. He fluttered around for a few seconds, and was quickly sucked in by what looked to be a 3lb bass. Aiden tied on a Rebel crikhopper, and caught six bass in the last 30min of daylight, twitching this small bait on the surface. The bass ignored my plastic worm, which is rare. We've had many good threads on forage that bass eat here on BR. This may be just a theory, but I'm convinced these fish have honed in on this grasshopper hatch. They cruise the shoreline, and the hoppers get blown into the water, or jump in when they're spooked, providing the bass with an easy meal. We've all learned that bass are opportunist, and will eat almost anything that resembles food at various times. Does this sound correct? If these grasshoppers were not so thick, they would probably be targeting some other forage. Fly fisherman have many good hopper imitations to choose from. The little Rebel Crikhopper is a good pond bait also. Are there any other smaller baits that work well as a grasshopper imitation? The Crikhopper has a rep as a small fish lure, but the best bass Aiden caught from this pond was 17", so the small fish rep is not always true. Any other baits( besides fly fishing) that you've had good luck with when the grasshoppers are prevelent?

I have no superstitions. My only ritual is locating some bass....

Look for and fish visible areas. Look at the shoreline for small points, cuts or anything different from the surrounding areas. Cast to and fish the entire water column in these spots, then you can line up these areas with triangulation. It's an old technique but still works today.

Because of the weeds in my local lakes, I can't do much deep cranking anymore. I used to enjoy this, and at times it worked well. It also made me physically tired after a few hours. I would imagine that big swimbaits, because of the heavy tackle needed, can wear you out also. In a past thread on jig fishing, WRB made the statement that jig fishing is tiring. For me, this is 100% true. The constant staring at your line where it enters the water, and being on the ready for a soft hit from a bass, can be mentally tiring for sure. The concentration and focus needed to be good at jig fishing is tough. Jigs are my most tiring bait to fish. Are there any baits that seem wear you down more than others?

The color you have the most confidence in, will work the best.

Very hard to choose only one, but I think I'll go with a Mr. Twister Phenom- 6". Good worm all around, and I can trim it down to make a finesse worm if need be.

RIP Lonnie

I've used them a good amount, and it's probably my wife's favourite lure. She calls it the " catch all". Fun to fish, and catches everything

Roadwarrior, if you havnt already, take a look at Dale Hollow Tackle. They have the Punisher hair jig, and an aspirin head hair jig also. Both look good

I have a bunch of Arkie hair jigs, size 1/8 and 1/4oz. When I use them, I use a small Zoom chunk trailer.

I have practiced and worked on my casting accuracy for years. I'm no expert by any means, but as the season moves along I can hit 7 out 10 targets most times. Sometimes, it's better to stay back from a spot and move in quietly. I also think it's one of the most important skills to develop in bass fishing.

Most all of my big worm stuff is during the hottest part of summer. Lots of good choices mentioned. And as Catt has said here, the Mr. Twister mag 12" buzz worm is a very good one.

I've done much of the same. I use jigs much more in spring and fall. They work just as good in hot weather though, and I should be throwing them also.

One thing that can definitely make a difference in feeling light strikes is night fishing. Your mostly fishing by feel alone. When I first tried night fishing with t rig worms years ago, I quickly realized I had probably been missing fish during daylight hours.

WRB also made a good post on this topic called SKILL, regarding high end rods and strike detection. Lots of guys do well with mid priced rods/ reels. This says that it's not always about the tackle. There's more going on here. Time on the water

What I've realized through the years for one, it takes several skills to be good at consistently catching fish. Accurate casting, reading water, understanding your electronics and everything else involved. Last spring, a guy caught an 8lb bass from a small local lake that I fish also. He got his picture in the local newspaper with the caption" big bass hunter scores the big one!" He caught this 1 fish on a Rattletrap. I saw him bank fishing one hot July morning and he told me he hadn't caught much since his big bass. I already knew this. Once it got hot, his trap wasn't working anymore. When it came time to fish slower with a plastic worm, he couldn't do it, because he missed all the strikes! THIS, of all things in bass fishing is the hardest of all. And it confirmed what my old partner Mike always says." When the fish are slamming fast moving baits( which are those rare times), almost anybody can catch a few, but when the going gets tougher, the jig/ worm guys will usually be on top, because they're feeling the strikes, that many others miss". Why have so many big fish been caught, and big tournaments won on jigs and soft plastics? They're fishing for the fish that won't chase faster baits, and, they've trained themselves to detect a all the lightest strikes.

Good post Catt. Jigs and soft plastics are probably the most effective baits for bass overall. But, they take the most time to learn, and it comes down to strike detection. I struggled with it 40yrs ago, and still miss fish sometimes now. If we could tell a novice fisherman one thing to learn, it would be to develop your ability to detect strikes, on jigs and plastics. If they can do this, other things will fall into place for them, and seem easy by comparison.

I have way too many soft plastic baits at home. It's always fun to try a new one, and see how it works compared to your favourites. But, all soft plastic baits can and will work at times. You really don't need that many.

I fish a smaller lake that has bluegill as the main forage. The best thing I've found is a 4" to 6" plastic worm in junebug or purple. A light T rig or shakey head both work, with a lift drop retrieve or a slow swimming retrieve. Fishing them slowly has worked best, in all seasons.

I have the basic model Lews LFS casting reel, for almost two seasons now. It's been great.

You've said that it's the retrieve that catches your fish, and not the actual plastic bait? This is akin to Charlie Brewers Slider fishing style. He fished his 4" worm in lakes all over, and caught many bass, including some big ones. It was the retrieve that made it work.