papajoe222

It just may be that you hold the rod in a different position when you're on shore. I don't know about you, but I cast a lot farther when I'm in a boat and standing than I do from shore. In the back of my head I'm concerned that I'll catch an overhanging branch or something and end up having to do surgery on the line.

Original, Floating Rapala and Smithwick Devils Horse

Sometimes I do them all at the same time.

I use them at night, during the day, spring, summer, fall and even in my dreams. I love a short arm single spin (no trailer hook) run across the top of a weed bed only to let it helicopter down the edge when I reach it. It's also a great drop bait for ledges. During the summer, I switch between a Colorado and an oversized willow blade at night. Sometimes they just prefer that different vibration.

Welcome. If there is good cover (rocks, wood) on the bottom, that is a good place to fish. An easy answer to the lure question is crankbaits. Different ones run at different depths. Check the package when purchasing. You'll want one that will bump the bottom cover. When you feel it bump something, pause your retrieve. The lure will float up over the cover, or a fish will hit it. Shorten up on your casting distance and you'll likely eliminate a good majority of backlashes. Distance will come with experience.

Sounds to me like you were targeting and catching the males. If you were up in the spawning areas that's likely the case. The other thing that may be happening is you're catching the more aggressive, smaller fish. Bigger fish, unlike those smaller ones, rarely chase down their prey. They also don't feed as often. That doesn't mean they only prefer larger prey, only that because they don't waste energy chasing or following prey, they don't need to feed as frequently. When they aren't feeding, they will be holding in a secure spot: Tight to cover, or deep. Finesse tactics, those being presenting your offering close to, or on top of cover and keeping it in close proximity for more than a split second, target them. The size of your offering matters less than the location. If you're going to use faster presentations, be sure to bounce them off of the cover, not just run them past it. One more tip: Multiple casts and make them from multiple angles. All this is time consuming. That is why most tourney anglers will go for a limit of smaller fish before targeting bigger ones.

You can use a plain ball jig and 'stupid' rig it. It'll still have that enticing fall and it's just as weedless as T-rigging. It's actually better in weeds because the weight is part of the jig and doesn't separate from the tube and wrap line around the weeds.

Sauce?? I go with a rub. Gotta let the flavor of the meat come out, not cover it up.

I love baseball, but (aside from the DH), the recent rules aimed toward speeding up the game and preventing injuries are an insult to the game. Players like Rose and Fisk would make fun of that kind of pampering of players.

Try using a loop knot to attach them. It'll give it the most freedom to move.

If you want to get the most action out of a tube, go with an internal tube jig. BP TenderTube jig heads should work well on a 2in. tube. The hook's bend will likely be into the skirt area, but I've done that before on 3in. tubes and it didn't seem to have any negative effects.

I've cleaned a number of river fish with beer bottle caps in their stomachs. Made me wonder what they'd been drinking.

Check out ' How to read a topo map' on YouTube There are a few that show the structure and what it looks like on a topo map.

The only purpose of the seal on a bearing is to keep contaminates out and/or the bearings in. Many companies use nylon seals or metal ones, the nylon being of different colors. What really matters is the ABEC rating. Ceramic or steel, the overall rating is what's important.

Simple Green (or any cleaner/degreaser) and a tooth brush. Be sure to rinse.

Tubes are my go to bait in gin clear water. On one small lake I fish, I can see bottom in 17ft. if water. I stick with either translucent colors like smoke, or attempt to match the bottom color as close as I can. I use an internal jig and either drag it, or stroke it. Sometimes I'll drop shot a smaller, nose hooked tube, but only if I see suspended fish on my sonar. I'll stick with pumpkinseed or watermelon seed then.

It's tough to detect a bite watching your line when it's windy. I'm a line watcher and have been since I was a teenager. The youngsters I teach start out with hi-viz yellow braid so it's easy for them to see. I use it for wacky worms, tubes, hair jigs and shakey heads as my eyes aren't what they used to be. It also helps with feeling the bite, so for us it's a win win.

Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper and Zoom Trickworm. The Bottom Hopper is a high floater and comes in a 4.75in. version. Both are great for wacky rigging also.

I have a number of them in my 'Skunk Repellent' box. I also will let youngsters use them when they become fairly proficient at casting, until then it's the good old Beetle Spin.

Anytime there is an upswing in the water temp. this time of year, the bite will usually turn on. Just the air temp going twenty degrees or so won't do it, but if the sun is beating down with that same increase in temp., the surface water will normally rise enough to get them moving. Spring weather is likely the most unstable of all the seasons and the possibility of a perfect, mostly sunny day when the water temp will rise enough to turn the fish on, isn't in our favor. Fish whenever you get the opportunity and fish the conditions you're faced with . It may not be the best time of day for the season, but it beats waiting around for the perfect conditions.

Ah, you two need a little alone time??

Likely, not. I have ceramics in five of my reels. Three have Boca's and two HH and the only time I can tell the difference is when I open them up to clean them. One thing you will notice for sure is the noise the ceramics make. I'm half deaf, so it doesn't bother me, but it drives my partner nuts (I make sure I'm always using them when we fish).

If you remember that first and foremost, a shakey head is a JIG. It can be hopped,dragged, dead sticked, yo-yoed, swam.....you get the idea. There are times when you accidentally figure out how the fish want it, but more often than not, you need to experiment with different retrieves. Glad to hear you had an awesome outing, sunburn not withstanding.

Learn techniques that target suspended fish, because once the spawn is over, that is what those bass will be doing if they're not up shallow foraging. Using different Crankbaits that run at various depths, you may be able to find the depth of some fish willing to bite. Generally, on overcast days, they'll be high in the water column and on bright/sunny days deeper. Learn to count down a sinking bait and keep it at that depth and you'll be able to use a larger variety of lures. Topwater is another option. In clear water there are times when the bass will come up twenty feet to attack one. Just remember to pause it occasionally.

I've run both lipless and shallow running cranks along with a paddle tailswimbait on a jig head. It's a great way to get a smaller bait deep.