Allaroundfishing

I used 10lb spiderwire on a 7ft medium and used either 6 or 8 lb fluoro and i had a lot of knots slip and fail, mind you this could have been mainly my fault, but since switching up to a 20lb braid and still using 10-12 fluoro I have only had a knot fail once, however I am using the Alberto knot and i'm much more proficient at tying knots. To me the smaller diameter braid was nice because it cut through wind better but the size in negligible when you look at diameter.

Hey man, I cant help you much with the making of jigs and such but go for it, if you enjoy doing it and have some fun and can do a good job you might as well go for it, you never know how much fun you can have and maybe make a bit of money. Plus the feeling you get after catching fish on your own jig is an amazing and irreplaceable feeling. Good luck out there.

ive been cracking them at falls, they are all done bedding and we have cracked them on med divers and squarebills

Ive fished somewhere around 10 tournaments this year and last night was my first night tourney of the year. There were 25 boats in this one which is a good turnout for a "thursday nighter", we had one squeaker in the box and it was around 8:45 when we pulled into our final cove of the night. to paint a picture the cove is probably half the size of a football field but right in the middle theres a little hump that we like to fish as there are generally fish stacked around it. We had fished there for around 10 minutes before a boat pulled up to the mouth of it, no biggie they were gonna fish the outside of a spawning pocket (so i thought), pretty norm for this time of the year. Then they just kept right on the big motor idling no more than 30 feet away... thats right 10 yards of water between the two of us in a pocket thats no more than 50 yards deep and 20 yards wide. we had the Navigation lights on and the interior L.e.d's they could clearly see us. they proceeded to then idle past us and stop right off the point about 15 yards away, literally close enough to hear him twist close the top on his water bottle lid. I was speechless, I cannot imagine being that rude to someone, i don't care if that was a key area for you or you really needed to fill a limit there is no excuse for forcing yourself into a pocket only large enough for 1 boat. We were in there first all he had to do was go to another cove and we would have been fine. Mind you Im in my 18ft center console he was in a 20ft bass boat maybe a 21 i dont know what i do know is that he was close enough that my interior lights made it possible to see the 225 sticker on his mercury. So its not like it was two kayaks or small boats in there. I know im not alone in experiencing this but it really frustrated me last night, especially because according to the tournament director since we weren't anchored or power poled down the team technically couldnt be penalized. What are yall's thoughts, am I over reacting or should I have said something to them?

Im in the market for a new flipping rod, I have a 7'11 heavy which i use for heavy stuff like punching and using 3/4 + weights. I need a rod for lighter applications though, 1/2oz would be the heaviest I would be using. I plan to use it for t-rigs and jigs both... any suggestions, im open to any rod company but I would like to keep the cost under 120. I don't need a reel but if theres a good combo deal that you know about I am open to that too. Thanks, Austin

I was float fishing the Shenandoah river just outside of Woodstock, Va. My little brother and I were in a canoe together for the last float of the trip. (5 days staying with an uncle and aunt) We went on an afternoon float, we put in around 2 with the hopes of getting off the water around dark. My brother was bound and determined to beat my cousin and his son with their record of 116 fish in one outing, for anyone who is curious the Shenandoah is chock full of various sunfish and more 8-12in smallies than you can shake a stick at, (on a 3 or 4 hour float 50-60 fish arent uncommon with two people in a canoe.) The float we were on we had an amazing time, we saw three black bears, some deer and a golden eagle.(which I've only been blessed to see once before.) We had a pretty average day leading up to the final 2 hours or so, our clicker was at 69 fish (if memory serves correctly) and we still had at least another hour and a half left. the sun was just falling behind the mountains as we pulled up to one of my favorite rapids to fish. we both had on Mister twister grubs, he had white and I was using black. At the rapid we caught somewhere between 10-15 fish and we were getting closer to the mark we were shooting for, we continued on down the river just fan casting and every time he would hook up I would drop anchor and get my camera out and take pics of him fighting the fish and landing it. I informed my brother that we had around 30 mins to fish so he better catch the fish we needed, I honestly didnt think we would catch the fish we needed to beat the record as we were on a historically slow producing section of river for me. That little guy fished so hard and with the last bits of light falling he caught the last two fish that we needed that put the new record at 117. As an older brother just being able to watch him catch his fish and the smile on his face when I let him click the button for the 117th time is an amazing memory to be able to look back on.

Im going to be fishing my first Bfl tournament as a Co angler the 27th of April up on Kerr lake. What is expected of me? I plan on bringing snacks and drinks to share with him, water, beef jerky, etc.. Should I offer him gas money/ money for food or other expenses. Im kind of torn because, A. Im not fishing against him I am simply riding with him and fishing my own division. B. He isn't taking me to my spots I'm following him, if he wants to make a 40 mile run thats his decision and im there for the ride. Maybe im taking this all wrong but to me when i take people on my boat when were fishing local tournaments I accept gas money, however we are a team in the local tournaments and I invite them on the boat with me, as for my boater he is signing up and paying extra to be in the boater division, this comes with the knowledge that you will have a co angler with you. Im not trying to sound as if i'm not willing to pay, I just didn't know if it was considered the norm. Also my fishing gear should I just go over it the night before with him and talk to him about what i want to bring/what he thinks i should bring. Or bring my general arsenal of rods (3-4) and my bag of tackle.

If you call ranger you can get carpet and upholstery for that exact boat in the stock colors for that boat.

If you're looking for quality, I and quite a few others will agree ranger is the quality bass boat to go with. They're not the fastest boat out there but as you said you don't care how fast it will go as long as it gets you there, in my experience a ranger has kept me the most dry and has beat me up less than any other boat I have rode in. As for a motor, you cant go wrong with a Yamaha or Evinrude, Merc makes a mean motor too, but i'm a Yamaha guy and its hard to beat a yammy, especially the newer four-strokes, they run smooth as a top and are quiet as can be. Honestly there is no one boat that we can recommend to you without knowing your personal tastes, i gave you a brand but not a specific boat because until you step foot in a boat you wont know if you like it or not. I personally would see if any friends of yours own a bass boat and would be willing to take you out so you could get a feel for the boat. Good luck ?

Lookin good, keep us updated on how she runs!!!

I dont like that they do this because it could give younger kids the impression that its right to do but as Hower said it adds shock value and more clicks. Definitely isnt the most ethical

Im the president of the fishing club at my school, as a highschool angler i fish with one other partner in official tournaments for B.a.s.s or Flw, but when we have club deals ill fit several anglers in my boat so everyone gets the chance to be in a boat. Love that your'e giving back that way it sure helps having someone to support the kids, i know from experience. Thank you for taking time to help kids who aren't privileged.

When people bring up not wanting to spend money on tethers saying "oh well i always have it in my hand or in reach" I just think why not spend the $20 bill and save several hundred, rather than kick yourself if you capsize or have a mishap. It must take a certain mindset to be that way ?‍♂️.

I have float fished the Shenandoah river for the past 8 years with my great uncle, even in that time the amount of litter from people has increased drastically and its a D*** shame, its still a beautiful river but certain areas are especially hard hit on the north fork. The areas around woodstock are the worst, Chapmans landing used to be beautiful but now theres people who come with the whole family and leave their trash and diapers and such around. We had one incident where we confronted them, however this did little but when the police showed up and we showed the videos of them throwing diapers in the ditch and other trash soon several of them left in handcuffs. The Virginia Dnr guy thanked us for turning them in and said he wished more people would report stuff like that. So it just shows the game/fish commision is willing to try to help if you can report people who are and have evidence.

My little brother is 11 years old is one of the sweetest kids i know, even if he does get to be a handful sometimes I love him to death. Yesterday (thursday) my father had the day off and was able to take my brother out fishing, (while I was stuck in school). My brother loves to fish but because of his adhd he has a hard time being patient enough to keep at it when were not catching them, however when we get into the fish he is a totally different kid who is focused and intently fishing for the next bite. Its a shame a kid as sweet as him struggles the way he does, he has dyslexia and struggles daily with school and kids picking on him for struggling the way he does. He is such a gentle soul and luckily along with some help from the school we have him in specialized classes with tutors to try to help, however there is no therapy as good as going out and fishing. Last night he couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had even if he did lose (A BIG ONE ?). Seeing his face light up talking about fishing is what keeps be going everyday and drives me to fish harder and strive to try to live my dream and be able to share that with him. If you need a new prospect on life take a kid fishing and watch it change the way you look at things.

Lookin good, Congrats!!

Also wouldn't be too bad for throwing a shad rap, its a bit long but that extra length means you could really rip one of those out there, but yea a Ned rig and wacky rig would be good, as well as grubs and such, Might make even make a good crappie rod if you're gonna do some multi-species stuff.

Yea finally my home lakes are getting the recognition they deserve, all three lakes theyre gonna fish are some hawgzilla factories, heres a pic of me last weekend in my highschool tournament.

This is my new favorite technique and ive found it most effective to ram it into what ever cover and as soon as you feel it roll over the log, stop reeling for just second if not just a slight pause then go back to cranking. This is super effective especially in cooler water.

Never know when someone isnt as fortunate as you or is running into tough times, keep some of that with you and offer to help someone in need, whether it be donating to a charity or paying for someones gas or meal. An act of kindness can change someones life really quickly ?

A boat that size I wouldnt go with any less than a 70 lb thrust and a 24v system would be best as it wont drain as fast and should provide plenty of power. You definitely dont need an extremely powerful motor like a 112 or something similar but a 70 should work.

Edit- there will be a part two once i get the chance to sit down and type it. So as my final tournaments of my highschool career are winding down, I started to realize what a trip its been. Last year was my 1st year of tournament fishing and boy was it a rough ride. 1st tournament 28 degrees and windy (this was October in North Carolina) so to say that we were not expecting weather like that is an understatement. Down at the Chowan river in Edenton Nc. Mind you this was my first time really gearing up and going after bass, i was lucky i had a team mate that was an extremely good fisherman and taught me many things. 1st tourney, 2 fish for 7 something pounds, 4th place, 2nd tournament late November Kerr lake Nc. 29 boats. By this time i had a little more knowledge and was better prepped. Fished all day with only one keeper that my partner caught on the first cast of the day. Came in 24th out of 29, two-way tie with .98lbs (what are the chances??). Third tourney of the year Kerr lake AGAIN march 14th, we zeroed, came in a 11 way tie for last place. (Side note only 19 teams fished that day, NO team caught a limit). Then even after that crappy tourney We decided to fish the Student angler federation Nc/Va state championship which was the following week on Kerr lake AGAIN (we didn't learn lessons very well). We didn't get to practice before the tournament but my dad and i had spent every weekend in march on Kerr so we had some ideas of what to do. My dad and i camped in a tent at a campsite right next to the boat ramp, it was perfect camping weather. The Tournament day arrives and we are getting ready, my partner shows up and we get the boat loaded and now we wait for the all clear to launch the boat and start staging, we are in my partners boat, an 88' challenger that is 15ft 6 inches with a 70hp merc on the back, We were out gunned and out classed in every manner that day, but we couldn't let that get us down, we were boat 13 and had a choice to make on do we go make a long run first and get the snot beat out of us, or do we run to a lil ol pocket that we thought there might be some in. We ran about 5 mins down the lake getting passed on both sides by boats that were screaming down the lake, im pretty sure theres still marks from where i clenched so hard ?. This is the part of the story where its important to realize that fishing is such a mental game, we went in knowing that we were going against some of the best anglers in both states and that they had the latest in greatest, boats or graphs or what ever else they might need ("need"). We went out that day not knowing what we were gonna do, just that we were going to go catch fish and try our hardest to win. It was tough, I only caught one fish which was culled out by my partner no more than 10 mins later, I also lost a good fish around 3ish pounds that would have helped, but in the end none of this mattered, in the last 25 mins we put on a show of which I am still in awe of today, we pulled up fishing behind not one boat but three, all along the final stretch by the weigh-in site, these boys were all throwing reaction baits around buck brush, so we did the logical thing and picked up our flipping sticks. on the very first pitch my partner set into a fish that was sitting right beside the stem of the little piece of brush. and it was like all hell broke loose. This fish jumped itself straight up and into the piece of brush, and got his line so wrapped up that it was left dangling just out of the water thrashing but being held up from his line, a quick manuver with the net and the fish was safely cradled up and unhooked, an absolute brute of a Kerr lake bass 5lbs or so, she culled out around a 1.5lber. then we repeated that pattern on every single bush for the last 20 mins and culled 6 times aswell as replaced one of our under 14s with a 4.5lb brute. We weighed in with just under 17 pounds, 16.80 to be exact. Anyone who knows kerr understands that 16lbs is a respectable bag for that lake. When they announced that we had won I gave my partner a hug and was just beyond excited, the feeling that rushes through you is an amazing one for sure. Our biggest fish was 4.82 beating out the second biggest which was 4.73. I would like to take this moment to take everyone who read through and got to experience some of my excitement second hand, I love the bass fishing community so much and especially the bass resource community, y'all have helped me through some bad times and some amazing times and i am so proud to be a part of this community. Also side note im the tall one on the right and my partner trevor is to the left.

thank you that is very helpful, i should clarify i only use the rem-oil on the outer parts such as the worm gear and then when i take the handle off i usually drop a few dabs in there to be sure. I would like to thank everyone who commented and helped me, I am going to do some of the basic stuff myself and just purchased some shimano drag grease and some oil. Seriously y'all are the best, thanks to the people who gave me the feedback or even helped others indirectly ?

So im fairly new to taking apart baitcasters for cleaning and maintenance, what do you use to clean the inside of the reel, and what would you use to lube up any moving parts? Currently I use Rem-oil to keep any corroding at bay but it isn't a stellar lubricant so im looking for ideas or even a video link that helps explain the whole process.

Last year at my highschool state championship on lake Norman we were skipping docks with shaky heads and wacky rigs, I used spider-wire 12lb braid in the moss green color and I caught just as many fish as my partner who was using 10lb fluoro, i even caught a 3.5lb brute of a spot that had me all wrapped up in a brush pile. The only bad thing about braid is some people cant stand the fact it sometimes catches wind more than other line types.