Black Hawk Basser

I've done well with the BPS 10" ribbontail type of worm. Motor oil is the only color I've had. I'll reiterate that you will still catch dinks with them, but they are a really good "dog days of summer" option.

Coppertreuse has been dynamite for me.

I often fight a battle in my mind between fishing based on intuition and fishing based on memories.

More guilty pleasure than cliche: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Cranberries - No Need to Argue The Mars Volta - Octahedron

I agree that probably nobody needs as many as they have, but that's not as much fun! I will say that there are times where I've switched plastic baits and the one I switch to worked better than what I started with. Could be the difference in color, fall rate, action, or all of the above....who knows?

Rattle Trap, Mepps Comet Mino, Original Floating Rapala

It's a bunch of BS that Tony Boselli isn't in yet. Cmon, man.

That is a bummer. This year has been bad for algae blooms with the super hot weather early in the summer along with lack of rain/wind. Ag runoff in Iowa is rampant. What's crazy is that it used to be much worse. Without the CRP initiatives, buffer strips around streams, cover crops, etc, we'd really be screwed here. I'm afraid my favorite little big bass pond is headed for a downturn. Some a-holes threw crappies in. Never a good thing for bass size structure in a small pond. I guess I'll be harvesting every single crappie I catch there in the winter or any other time.

Fair enough. I still think its worth it for the Coppertreuse ?

I stick with the regular TRD in the river for smallmouth and walleye. I have been using the big TRD for largemouth in my favorite bass pond. @TnRiver46 If I'd have used regular Dingers or whatnot cut in half for my river fishing, I would have spent $10-15 in baits in the last year, instead of one pack of TRD's. Besides, I don't think anyone makes a color pattern like Coppertreuse, which is killer! Something to chew on..

Awesome trolling baits. Berkley Flicker Shads are a good cheaper option, too, although I hate the stock hooks on them. They have a ton of cool pattern choices, too.

I would think that if there is a mixture of both shad and sunfish, there may be some bass keying on shad and some keying on sunfish. Perhaps it depends on the activity/behavior of the forage at any given time to determine which to imitate. You'd probably have to fish with several different methods to figure that out each time. You're in my area. I've found that in places with shad and gills, you can get on a really good bite for suspended bass, especially in the evening hours. Some may be chasing shad out in the deeper water, and gills are suspended near the top just off the deep weed edge. A fluke works pretty well in this situation. I hope this is sarcasm. Crappies tend to really throw off the balance in a pond. That's why they don't stock them in the first place.

Sorry bout your bad luck. I think I have one going out. Sounded pretty "grindy" last time I pulled my trailer. I know very little about trailer maintenance...guess I'll be doing some YouTubing.

My dad got me into fishing with a simple cane pole, a hook and some crawlers for bluegills in the wastewater lagoon behind the water treatment plant he worked at. He wasn't a fisherman at all, but was a good man who knew the importance of giving me good childhood experiences. I also fished with my grandpa a few times, but he was mostly "over it" before I got old enough to ask him to go. I guess I was introduced to bass fishing by In Fisherman magazine, along with show hosts like Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Hank Parker. I remember my first forays bass fishing with Yum 4" flipping tubes and Lake Fork Craw tubes, probably suggestions from In Fisherman's resident bass guy, Steve Quinn. It was probably a good thing that I really got started fishing slow, bottom oriented presentations, as we all know that is generally the norm in bass fishing.

I'd be watching more Olympics, too, if it was more clear what was actually on. Sometimes it says fencing or but they're showing swimming or something else. I'd watch the basketball but I think that's on Peacock.

I do still get excited, especially if I am planning an early morning outing hoping for topwater action. However, I haven't been as excited as usual, lately. In fact, lately, my passion has waned for all of my hobbies. I build rods and tie flies in my spare time when I'm not fishing. Once in a while I will build a rod to sell, and I just can't bring myself to even sit down without feeling disgusted about it. Dunno why, really. It may just not be my thing after all. I have a tungsten ice fly business that I've really neglected in the last 4 months. I really burned myself out last fall/winter with producing baits, and I needed a big break. I will be getting hard back at it very soon so I can have some inventory to move before winter hits.

Non-football fans: Meh.

Occasionally mix in a small squarebill crank in lieu of the WP. It may get bites from aggressive fish that are not quite aggressive enough to blast a top water. You may catch other species, too, which is always fun to me.

I don't know how many times I've been sitting in an ice shack, not catching crap, and for fun started to whoop and holler and laugh, saying stuff to a friend, like "This is awesome!", just to see how many people start to come around and drill holes within 20 feet of us. That never gets old.

I don't have to worry around here, as only about 1% of the anglers around here actively bass fish. The vast majority are meat hunting for bluegill, crappie, perch and walleye. The worst I get is people approaching me and asking if I'm catching. When they realize I'm bass fishing, their interest wanes.

There's rumbling about the Eagles being interested in a trade for Watson. God, no!!

Jeeezus, they are about $6.50 where I live in Iowa. I've seldom gone through more than a pack in a day. Usually it's a little less than that.

One thing is for sure with Name, Image and Likeness - If the NCAA gets too involved, it'll be a huge disaster.

Yep, I do, for about 20 years now. I'm trying hard lately to cut way back in hopes that I can get to the point of putting them away for good. Thinking about an extra $2,000 a year towards other stuff is pretty good motivation.

I saw that. Joey Jordison, former drummer of Slipknot, also passed at the young age of 46.