Mobasser

Get out there at first light in the morning. Just about the time your ready to go home, most of the holiday weekend party crowd will just be getting up.

On the lakes I fish, bream spawn pretty shallow. Usually in 2ft of water. In the clear shallows the bass are spooky. I've caught a few by fishing several feet away from the bream beds, but never right on them. Clear shallow water especially on sunny days, hasnt been good.

This is slightly off topic here, but don't overlook size over color. Sometimes, color may not matter at all, but switching to a smaller bait can work. If your not getting any action on one bait, try a bigger or smaller one before you move on.

I've had some fast action prior to a storm.Lipless baits or spinnerbaits have been good.

A-Jay, well said! There's a lot of great folks on this site. I feel like I've gotten to know some of them over time. And, the wealth of information here is outstanding! Thanks for being a part of it and making it all happen.

When I first tried a shakey head, I only used a Zoom Trick worm, because that's what was recommended by everyone. It's worked well, but since, I've had good luck with Zoom finesse worms, Zoom Chigger Craws and Roboworms. I think a lot of soft plastic baits can work well on a shakey head.

Booyah has a good light spinnerbait. A Johnson Beetlespin can be good also.

A big part of what makes BR the best bass fishing site on the web is our site moderators. We've got guys from up north, down south, both coast, and the Midwest who give good, honest helpful advice here. You guys are doing a great job! I'd like to say thank you to all of our BR moderators here. Thanks for keeping the ball rolling for all of us here on BR.

Sometimes, especially in bank fishing, a shorter rod can be better for topwaters. The shorter length helps with not jerking the lure away from the bass too early on the strike. A shorter handle length can help also.

I'd be happy with a Shimano Calcutta casting reel. I've got most everything else covered.

Because I've gotten up at 5:00 for forty years, I can't sleep in. I get up in time to get to the lake at sunrise. Usually 4- 4:30

Black Walnut!

An older friend who I fish with recently bought six jars of new old stock Uncle Josh Jumbo Pork Frogs, in the grn/ white color. He's given me two jars to use, so here's the game plan. I'll be using these jumbo frogs with a larger size 4 single hook. The hooks have a wire weedgaurd, the style that goes from the hook eye, and goes under the hook barb. I see the benefits here for one, the toughness and reusable durability of the pork rind, and secondly, the large single hook, which I'm hoping will keep a fish pinned better. This seems like a big year for frogs here in Missouri. Scores of tadpoles around the banks on my trips so far, and many frogs of all sizes hiding around the moss edges and some lilly pads here. Most of the cover we'll be casting over is a mixture of sparse moss edges, some thicker pad areas, along with a few blowdowns and stumps that are visible. I think the pork rind frogs are going to work good here. Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on all this? Any different hook style, or rigging info?

During the peak of the Covid crisis, our Academy Sporting goods store, like many other tackle stores had basically no tackle. I remember stopping once over the winter, and counted roughly ten bags of soft plastic baits, and little of everything else. I'm happy to report that I stopped by there today, and the tackle was very well stocked up. The soft plastics isle was full, as were the hardbaits. Good selection of lines of all types, as well as hooks, weights, and jigheads of various sizes and brands. Only one area was a little understocked- the rods and some reels. A guy told me they expected a big shipment in early next week. I've come to like Academy over the last three years. Good brands here, and you can catch some great sales at certain times of the year. We were all having a hard time finding fishing tackle for a while. I saw post here on BR about tackle shortages all over the country. So, I'm happy to report, at least here in North Central Mo, our Academy is alive and well.

I stopped by our Academy store this afternoon and they've stocked back up on all the Zoom baits that they carry. They're also stocked up pretty good on lots of other stuff also. I hope they continue all this.

I've had good luck on the Owner Screw Lock heads. Well made and very good quality hooks.

I'm needing a new headlamp for night fishing this summer. I plan on picking up a new flashlight also. Are there any brands that have worked especially well for you? I'm interested in a small but powerful pocket size flashlight, and a good durable, dependable headlamp. I'll be both bank and boat fishing. Thanks in advance

I'm sure I'll like this. Thank you!

My longest casting reel is an older ABU5500C. With a full spool and 10 or 12lb mono, you can really bomb a long cast out there. A newer one that cast well is a Lews LFS.

I think color choice comes down to confidence. Lots of colors can work well, but if you " think" you'll catch fish on a certain color, you'll probably do better on it.

Catt, how's it going? My wife has a friend in St. Charles Louisiana. She took some pictures of the flooding there and sent some to my wife on Facebook. She had some minor damage, but not real bad. The reports on the news looked much worse. You guys ok?

I'll have to say purple/grape colors. These have worked fo me for a long time.

Yea me too. I have different makes I swap as I need too. Most all work fine. No real brand preference.

I've had the best luck on the big worms when it's hot in the summer. I use 10" size the most. You can increase your chances on bigger fish with the big worms, but not always. Last season I caught several 8" to 10" bass on a 10" worm. But they're definitely worth a try.

I'd try to match that one with a red shad Culprit