Mobasser

Good tackle is an investment. Keeping your reels clean and lubed is the best way to protect your investment. And, it makes the whole experience of bass fishing more fun.

This thread goes hand in hand with A-Jays thread on heat stroke. Drink A LOT of liquids. Cover exposed areas of your skin also. I usually try to start drinking water one or two days before I go fishing. A salty snack might help also, and may make you more thirsty, which is good. We can catch some good fish in the heat, both deep and shallow, but the heat can wear you out quick if your not prepared. Good replies by all here.

I know we have many members here on BR who are good at fishing for bass in both shallow and deep water. On a typical hot summer day, which do you prefer? What would you consider your most productive summer patterns? I do a little of both. We run the banks very early in the morning, then move to deep water structure to finish our trips. What seems to work best for you?

I fish alone much of the time, but have an older friend who goes with me sometimes. He's as good or better than I am. I don't ever care who catches more fish, and I like to see him catch some. If I catch more he doesn't care, nor do I care if he outfishes me. We both have a good time.

Even though the Perry bass has been argued about for years, I think it should still be recognized, along with Dottie and the Japanese bass. We'll never know the exact answer. This thread makes me wonder how many other huge fish have been caught over the years, but were weighed on poor scales, or never checked in?

Catt, this is 100% correct. My folks grew up during the depression in rural Missouri. It was very hard times. Any fish of any size or species would have been kept to eat, to feed the family. No catch and release back then. Then you had the dust bowl, which transplanted much of Oklahoma and Texas out to California. Some of them never made it. Fishing was more about survival for many of these folks.

The original Snag Proof lures were made in Ohio. I remember seeing these baits almost everywhere that sold fishing tackle years ago. The Snag Proof hollow body frog was a big seller for this company, and I've heard some guys say the original frog was a great lure. They also made a crawfish, a leech, and I believe a weedless worm. We have baits made with the Snag Proof name now, but I've only seen frogs available these days. I'm sure many guys remember these older Snag Proof lures. Did you ever fish any of these baits, and did they work well for you?

One of my best mods was to cut the fat, thick pork in half on a #11 pork frog years ago. This made a slimmer trailer with more of a swimming action on a spoon or a smaller Bitsy Bug style jig.

Tight line whenever I can

Part of what makes this record so interesting to learn about is the mystery of it all. As Catt has said here, rural Georgia in 1932 was a whole different world. We may never know the correct answer here. Part of what makes this record so interesting to learn about is the mystery of it all. As Catt has said here, rural Georgia in 1932 was a whole different world. We may never know the correct answer here.

Zoom chunk, rubber skirt tail section of a straight plastic worm. Pork rind baits are back now, but costly.

Take off the snap, and tie direct with a loop knot if you can. They will land on the back, hook facing up. Reel them slowly over any weeds, pausing occasionally.

With large parts of the lakes becoming thick with moss, pads, and other surface weeds many of us start fishing frogs, toads, and rats during the hot summer months. These baits are loads of fun, and at certain times, can catch some good size bass. Another alternative to these baits are weedless surface spoons. Some of these spoons have been in production for so long a lot of novice bass fisherman may not even be aware of how deadly they can be on summer bass. I have three that I keep on hand. 1. Johnson Silver Minnow. 2. Heddon Moss Boss. 3. Johnny O Neil Weed Wing. The Silver Minnow has been mentioned several times here on BR. Add a skirt or chunk trailer. The Heddon Moss Boss has been around for decades also. A hard plastic spoon with a skirt attatched. This one rides over moss, pads, and weeds really well. The O Neil Weed Wing is shaped like the Silver Minnow, but with a small prop in the front. It works best over more sparse cover that won't foul the prop. Take a few minutes to sharpen the hook on these spoons. Most of them have a thick heavy hook, and can take a little time to get super sharp. I fish all these spoons on an older 8 power Fenwick casting rod, ABU 5500c reel, and Trilene Big Game monofilament line, usually 15lb. These days most guys would insist on braided line for this style of fishing, but I still like my mono the best. So far, in all the years I've thrown these spoons, I've yet to meet a fish I couldn't land. These weedless spoons can draw solid hard strikes, can cover a good amount of water on every cast, and can be a good alternative on those days when your favourite frog isn't producing over thick weeds. For a real classic, productive summer bass lure, rig the Johnson Silver Minnow with a pork rind trailer, get out there at sunup on a hot summer morning, fan cast the entire weed, pad, moss area with the spoon/ pork combo. Be prepared to get bit. It will happen. Are there any other fans of the weedless surface spoons? What models do you like. And, do you have any tips or advice you can share here about these baits?

I'm waiting, sometimes too long I think. A lot of fish seem to swat these frogs, and miss them compltetly.

I'm wondering if anyone likes and still uses the original Scum Frog? I got back into frog fishing two seasons ago, and had fair success with the Scum Frog. I've bent the hooks up a little, and sharpened them good. Still, like others have posted, I've missed a good number of strikes. Frog fishing is addicting, and frustrating at the same time. I can't blame the missed strikes on the Scum Frog or my tackle. Hopefully this season will be better with the hookup ratio. Do we have some here on BR that like the original Scum Frog?

Some really good bass fisherman rely on just a handful of well chosen lures. They're secret is that they know when and where to use them.

I love throwing a popper the last hour before I go home on humid, summer evenings. I cast shallow around shorelines and over deeper water standing trees and weed patches also.

Dale Hollow in the 1960s

I would still recommend that a novice practice and learn to get good with a t rig. After the topwater bite dies off, or the fish refuse a spinnerbait or lipless lure, for me, the t rig plastic worm is my go to bait. Teach yourself to slow down with a t rig. It's been one of the best and most consistent bass lures since its invention.

My grandson Aiden was and still is my fishing partner. Now, he's working after school and most weekends, so I fish alone much of the time. I don't mind it, but I do miss having him along sometimes. I've known a few guys over the years that I wouldn't want to fish with anymore. I do have an older friend who still goes with me sometimes. I like getting him out there when he's able to go, but that's not often. So, if you see an older guy in an old aluminum boat, or a canoe, or bank fishing in the evenings by himself, that's me these days. Most times I'm fishing alone. It's all good.

Most of us have probably heard this: "fish won't bite good after a heavy rain because so much food is washed into the water". For the most part, I never believed this, and it would be impossible to know how many food items are actually" washed" into a lake. Now, I've realized this may be at least partly true. I fish an area that has two small lakes, separated by a road. A large, 18" culvert pipe runs under the road. After a heavy rain, the pipe gushes water from the larger lake, into the smaller one. In the past, I usually passed this area by. Last night, I wasn't catching much, so I made a few cast in front of this culvert pipe, casting shallow and working deeper with each cast. I ended up catching three bass about 10 to 12 ft from the culvert pipe. There had to be some reason these fish were here. I can only assume that craws, minnows, or other food items were coming through the pipe, and the bass were hanging around for an easy meal. My lure was a t rigged Zoom finesse worm with a 1/8 oz weight. When I cast in front of the gushing culvert, the light rig washed down to the deeper water. I gave the worm rig one or two slow hops, when the fish hit. Has anyone else had much luck fishing around culvert or drainage areas after a heavy rain?

There's a lot of rigs out there nowdays. Most of them are probably derived from the original Texas rig, a bullet weight, worm hook, and plastic worm. It still works just as well as it did years ago.

We probably have a lot more guys here on BR who can pattern and catch fish in the hot summer than the spring. Springtime can be tough. I still have bad days in the spring. Hot weather fishing is usually more consistent.

My #1 rig for almost 40yrs. I wouldn't even consider going bass fishing without some bullet weights, worm hooks, and plastic worms.

Arbogast Hula Popper, black.