EGbassing

Yup. Good luck!

? Thanks for the advice. I've been fishing around 7:30 - 8:15 PM recently and done pretty well.

Just got back. One giant topwater blow-up. I panicked and pulled the hook away...

Thanks, when do you generally use the clacker type?

Just picked up my first buzzbait this morning. (the link to it... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Booyah_Buzz_Buzzbaits/descpage-BYB.html) I'm planning on going fishing around sunset tonight to try it out. Should I just use a straight retrieve? Also, was that brand/type/size a good choice? Thanks.

I've seen a few dead gizzard shad in the past couple months and they were all in the 8" - 10" range, but there are a lot of minnows in the 1.5" to 2.5" range. Do you think the smaller bass would be feeding on those, or just shad?

Just picked up a 1/4 oz. SK Red Eye Shad today. Caught a little one on my second cast, and hooked another one that got off. It's the perfect pond lure. Really easy to fish and seems to work well so far. It's a slower sink rate than the standard red eye shad, making it perfect for shallow water. Highly recommended. (Of course, catching one doesn't necessarily mean it's a good lure, because I was wearing my lucky crocs. I can catch a bass using a leaf while wearing those)

Thanks, just picked up some big game mono today. (and a few lures that I didn't plan on getting...)

I must be thinking of a different post. Someone posted that they caught their new PB on a jig recently...

Thanks. That one in your profile picture was caught on a jig, right?

Definitely my favorite way to fish now. I feel like it's going to become more of a confidence bait soon once I start getting more bites and getting better at fishing it.

Yeah, I heard someone (Gary Klein, I believe) say that they rarely swallow them due to the weight. Thanks. Good luck!

Yeah, the problem was that the hook came back around and back through it's lip again.

Are you referring to JFrancho? (Just kidding...)

Kids in my neighborhood are total idiots. I've seen plenty of them killing fish and other small animals for fun. We're getting ready to sell our house this summer...

Went fishing for about 50 minutes today and caught one in the 3 - 4 pound range on a flipping jig. The thing is, even though it wasn't hooked deep, that heavy wire hook was pretty hard to get out. The hook was barbless, but I still had to tear it's lip a lot to un-hook it. Is that common with jigs, or did he just get unlucky?

If you think that's nine pounds, then I can see why you would think the bass you caught on the plopper was 30. Not doubting that it was big, but it might have been in the 15 - 20 range. Still a great catch, but thirty just sounds impossible...

Agreed. I used to hate fishing bottom-contact baits but now I've caught most of my bass on them...

Looks just like you.

I've never used it, so I don't know for sure how well it works, but anything with hooks can catch bass. It looks a lot like any other prop-bait/popper/etc. I don't see any reason why it just wouldn't catch anything.

Glad to help. The regular pad crasher is fine too. Especially in grass mats.

While I do find a thirty pound bass hard to believe, (even in California) I don't think the whopper plopper makes it less likely...

I'll try to answer all of your questions. First of all, yep, a frog is about perfect for your situation, and that setup sounds fine. I would definitely go with a booyah poppin' pad crasher; never had any issues with it, and the price is decent. As for colors, you only need two (in my opinion) - black for sunny days, and a natural color (green and white) for an overcast day. Lastly, I use the "walk the dog" technique 99% of the time. Make sure you're popping the slack in your line and not pulling it on a tight line. Here's a tutorial video on that technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyUmnL_Mei8 Good luck, and if you have any further questions, I'd be glad to help.

? I don't get it...

I've never broken off before, but I can feel your pain... Did you get an official weight, or is 14lbs 3oz just an estimation? I noticed you said in your about me section that your PB is 8 - 9 pounds. Was that a mistake, or could you not count the ones in the 20 pound range for some reason?