Mobasser

I wouldn't worry. If she's having fun and catching lots of fish, that's the important thing.

Good advice by all here. About the only thing I could add would be once you set the hook on a good size fish, keep the line tight at all times during the fight. Hooking and landing a bigger bass can happen very quickly. These fish may have gotten just enoupgh slack.line to gain leverage and throw the hook. With a large bass it doesn't take much.

The plastic worm, and learning how to T rig was the biggest game changer for me 40 yrs ago. I've never found a better way to get consistent action than with a light T rig.

This is true these days Catt. Some guys can't even set an alarm clock. I don't think they know what an alarm clock is.?

I've probably caught more night time hot weather bass on a spinnerbait than most other baits I've tried. One that I had great luck with years ago was the Blakemore CC spinnerbait designed by Charlie Campbell. This spinnerbait featured a huge single colorado blade, which put out a lot of thump on the retrieve. Early on, we fished them with a #11 pork frog trailer, and later various plastic trailers. A 3/8 oz model seemed to work the best for us, with a steady slow retrieve, just fast enouph to get the blade turning. I wish they still made this lure- it was a good one. I remember reading an article in Bassmaster that said a single spin actually put out more vibration than a double spin, because two blades created a vortex effect. We eventually tried double blade spinnerbaits and caught fish on them too. But I think the single spin produced more fish overall. What are some of your favourite spinnerbaits for night fishing?

True, but even finding the best structure etc, the fish still.may not strike. Lots of factors involved

I don't feel the least bit bad with two Shimano 1000 Siennas I bought years ago. For 29.95 each, they've caught scores of spring crappie and some bass too. Going strong now for seven years

I can't really say that I'm intrigued by any bass baits. Everything we fish with is just a slight variation of something that was invented years ago. If I thought something was really new, I might be intrigued.

I always tended to treat fishing like I treated my job. Be on time. It's that simple

Most of us, at some time or another, have probably gotten lucky when it comes to fishing. We may not want to admit it, but sometimes a small amount of luck can help. With serious fisherman, luck plays a small role in success. Our site moderators here on BR, have all caught some really nice bass. Even though I would never speak for them, I think they might agree that skill was the main factor in catching so many large bass. Say for example you locate some bass on a deep channel. You find a bend in this channel, with some sort of good cover right on this channel bend. Of course this would be a prime spot for some good size fish. You set up and start casting, slowly working your bait in this area. There could be some smaller bass here, with a couple of hawgs hanging around. What are the odds? You could make a cast that lands right in front of the biggest fish in this group, and you catch her. Or, you could cast one foot to the right or left of her, and she ignores your lure. If you made that cast right to her, there would be a little bit of luck involved. I had an older guy tell me years ago, that it would be much better to be known as a " skilled" fisherman, than a " lucky" one. Even though I've known a couple of guys who seemed to have more luck than skill, I always thought that being skilled was always better than being lucky any day. How much of a factor do you think luck plays in bass fishing? We should probably take into account that even a top notch pro, or a beginner could be lucky at any time. What's everyone think about the luck factor in bass fishing?

Wishing all here on BR a safe and happy 4rth of July.

I like eggs most every way. Scrambled and over easy, with hash browns. Grits are great with them also. My least favourite are poached eggs, but I'll eat em sometimes anyway. Or some good breakfast sausage on the side.

Under rated- home made pecan pie. Over rated- Crocs. Over rated- flourocarbon line

The fishiest person I ever knew was a guy named Frank Harris. He's the "Frank" in my old post "The one lure fisherman". I was lucky to have met and fished with him years ago. He was a plastic worm expert. 51/2 ft pistol grip rods, 14lb mono line, and round ABU reels. Frank had a simple approach to bass fishing and a rare ability to locate and catch fish in almost any conditions. I learned a lot from him.

Catt, I went to a seminar by Larry Nixon at the sports show in KCMO I think in the mid 1980s. He actually mentioned this guy, and said" always watch out for a guy with a paper sack with some plastic worms. He's probably pretty good". Then at the end of his seminar he held up a plastic worm and said" learn this". I always remembered his advice.

Good taste also... Good taste also...

I've tried beads in the past, with a bead and brass weight. They might help in muddy, stained water, but most times I just go without the bead. I havnt noticed much difference in fish caught with a bead

This is a good thread. Makes you think about some things you might not think about often.

I've kind of been on both sides of all this. I had times when I overthought and overcomplicated my fishing. It never really worked well for me. For the last several years, I've simplified things, and Im better for it. I focus on location as my main priority, and don't get so wrapped up in rods, tackle etc. Keeping things simple has worked well.

My brother and I had to stay back in the clear water pond years ago. This was before flipping or pithcing became popular, and casting was all we knew. We worked the shoreline from the center of the pond.

My brother was five years older than me, and was the one who got me started on bass fishing. We fished a two acre pond on our grandfather's farm in Chillicothe Mo. We had very few baits at the time, and used baits borrowed from my dads, and grandfather's tackle boxes. 99% of the time, it was either a black Arbogast Hula Popper, or my brothers favourite, a smaller wooden frog colored South Bend Bass O Reno. We constantly talked and argued about which was the better of these two baits. He always outfished me. Quietly rowing to the center of the pond, we rowed just enoupgh to move the john boat, casting to the moss, which rimmed the entire pond. I was confused. Was the Bass O Reno really a much better lure than my Hula Pooper? It took me some time to realize it but the answer was no. Both these old baits were equally good. The reason my brother caught so many more fish was simple. Casting accuracy. He had honed his casting skills so he could quietly drop his lure within two or three inches of the moss nine out of ten times. His bait was almost always in the zone, while mine landed on top of the moss, or way too short of the moss line. It's a fact. Accurate Casting will catch you more fish, but I'm wondering if it's almost become a lost art now. Some anglers from my town never cast anymore, they only pitch for bass. Pitching can be great way to present lures, but there's times when it pays to lay back away from your target area, and cast. Do you still think accurate casting is an important skill? Personally, I think it's one the most important skills you need.

Years ago, I threw everything on original Stren 14lb mono, before I tried Big Game. I used the same Stren in 4 or 6lb for crappie fishing, and would catch bass also. I never noticed a lot of stretch in the 14lb, but did notice stretch in the 4lb, when a 2lb or bigger bass was hooked .

You might try a Heddon Moss Boss spoon. One single hook will hook bass well. It's hard plastic, and will ride over the weeds.

Catt, the " counting down" is the hard part. Lots of guys probably are too far above or below the fish. It seems like you have to put the bait right through them to get them to hit. It's tough

They're some of the hardest bass to catch at times. If I can count down to the correct depth, a 4" plastic worm reeled slowly through has worked, but sometimes they're not really feeding, so I move on