Mobasser

Some folks call it a gut feeling, a hunch, or a sixth sense, but, it's all intuition. Most fisherman, after they fish a number of years, seem to develop this, and may not even realize it. Something tells you to change baits, color, or retrieve style, and it works. It could be casting to a certain area. Sometimes, it's an area that other fisherman pass by. I've seen it work in my own fishing, and, saw an older friend win third place in a club tournament years ago, stopping to cast at a spot that others zoomed past, on the way back to weigh in. But, he was much more experienced than I was at the time, and I later realized he based this gut feeling on years of experience. With access to many spots, he chose this one, and it worked. With all the high tech gear we have these days, many anglers probably wouldn't want to admit that they caught they're PB, or did well based on intuition alone, because this is counter to the way we fish now. It would be impossible for us to know how many big fish, or tournaments have been won based on a gut feeling, and many would dismiss this as superstitious nonsense. But I think it works, because a keen intuition is based on experience, and time on the water, and eliminates the luck factor. Intuition in fishing is not something you can buy. It can't come from the best tackle, boat, or electronics. It's just something you know, after years of fishing. Any thoughts or opinions on this topic? Have you ever used your intuition to help you catch more fish?

In the hot weather, usually first is topwater. I don't give it much time if nothing strikes, and quickly switch to a plastic worm

Blk/blue or junebug

I've often thought that competition for food items come into play also. Even when a predators food is abundant, and he's not really hungry, he may grab an easy meal just to keep another predator from getting it. It could be selective feeding also, depending on what items are available.

Zoom Trick Worm or Zoom finesse worm. June bug color. Owner screwlock head

Good read, and good comparison with your hunting experience. Fishing pressure, weather, cold fronts and type of forage available to bass might all help to answer this. One thing for sure, bass do get selective at times, and these days have been the hardest fishing for me.

Great job as always Glenn. Thank you!

Catt, I've never used these, and this is the first I've seen of them. Looks interesting

I'll say overall good list. I think there's too many baits that are similar or a spin off of one design. As far as soft plastic baits go, I view the Creme Scoundrel as the big daddy. Without that one, we'd never have Senkos, grubs, tubes, lizards, or any other soft plastic baits that we have now.

Plastic worm

I think it would be impossible to know if more fish are hooked and landed these days on longer rods, as opposed to maybe 30-40yrs ago, when rods were shorter overall. Most guys would probably say that more fish are hooked now. Rods are lighter weight now, which might help with quicker hooksets, and being longer, take up slack line quicker on a hookset etc. But, as far as strike detection, that's all up to the angler, and his own sense of feel. It all starts with feeling the strike, regardless of what length of rod your using.

Catt, Catt, the guy who taught me how to fish plastic worms was absolute deadly with a 5'6 straight grip casting rod. He probably never thought about moving more line on his hookset, longer cast, or anything else. That was all he ever used, so, that's all he knew. But, he was good. Of course, that was over thirty years ago, now everything's changed. Sometimes, I get stuck in the past...

Shorter Rods can be very accurate at casting, but a longer one is probably better for pitching. Nice. That Berkley is 5'6 long, but with a straight handle, not a pistol grip.

Agree Mike. My old Crucial is around ten years old, and it's still one of my favourites. If I break.it, I'll have a hard time replacing it.

Looking at rods at two local sporting goods stores recently, I found very few rods shorter than 6ft. Most all( casting and spinning) are 6'6 to 71/2 ft long. Like all of us, I've seen rods get longer and lighter over the past 30yrs. Lighter has been good. But longer, maybe not always. Years ago, some very well known bass anglers liked and preferred shorter sticks for bass fishing.This may have been to cut down on weight, but not always. A shorter fast stick can be good for many things. Vertical jigging, close in accurate casting, some topwater styles involving slack line( spooks) and bank fishing certain areas etc. Shorter Rods of 5'6 to 6' are not in vogue now. Most anglers I know go with longer rods, and it's all individual opinion what feels and works best for you. Many of the older members here can easily remember when rods were not quite so long. Some may still use a shorter rod for certain things. If you've never tried a good quality rod of 5'6 to 6ft, they can still have a place in your rod lineup. Made with a good blank, guides, and handle style they feel like nothing in the hand, and casting distance can still be very good. I'm wishing some of the better rod companies would bring back some shorter rods in they're lineups, especially fast action rods, with a choice of handle styles, both casting and spinning. Anyone else think this way? Are you happy with the current" longer is always better" trends in bass rods?

I've never been a golfer, and I don't plan on taking it up anytime soon. I'll give the Rapala a shot again, but I have caught many more fish on a Rogue or Bomber.

Some days are diamonds, some days are stones. I had a good run two weeks ago, the last two trips havnt gone well. Part of life for a fisherman...

When I first started bass fishing, one of the first baits I bought was a Rapala floating minnow, in silver color. I bought this bait from reading( before the internet) about it's effectiveness and fish catching ability. Florida fisherman Doug Hannon ranked it as one of the very best baits, in the larger sizes for catching big bass in his state, and many outdoor writers of the time called it a " must have" in your box. For some reason, my catch rates on the original Rapala have been poor. I've caught many bass on Smithwick Rogues, Bomber Long A and similar long plastic minnow plugs over the years, but the floating Raplala hasn't worked well for me. I've always liked the looks of these baits, and the balsa construction. The new ones come with VMC hooks, which appear to be good. I have four of these baits. F9, two F11, and one F13, in silver/black, gold, and blue colors. For users of this old classic, how do you rig and fish them? Snap or split ring? What retrieve has worked best, and under what conditions have you had the best results? I'm hoping I can put these to good use as I've had them so long.

When I was younger, I had older more experienced guys help me out. I've always tried to keep that going, and help other anglers however I can.

Yes, on occasion.

I'll pick round bend.

Happy Birthday A-Jay. Thanks for all the good comments on my post, and good fishing advice. Hoping you have a great birthday!

Many of the bass in your pond could be feeding at night. Night fishing works on ponds in the hottest weather. If your allowed to fish this pond at night, give it a try. You can use the same baits that you throw during the daytime.

I like to keep my rod tip up through all this. I can see the line and see hopefully see any strikes I can't feel.

Catt, I make a cast, and let the bait fall straight down on a slack line. I keep my rod tip up, and raise and lower the rod from 10.00 to 12.00 position, taking up any slack when I lower the rod back down. I can still feel the strike, which usually comes on the drop. Windy days are harder, as I need to take up slack line quicker. It's actually not as simple as some guys might think. As you and WRB have said, it's about controlling your slack line. Too much reeling, you can pull the bait out of the zone. Not enouph reeling, and you've easily got too much slack line out. This is when the best fish of the day will hit, and you'll miss him. It takes some practice for sure.