mmayes

I do not feel so bad now. At least I am not alone in it happening. I love the Rapala's and the older Shad Rap had wire connecting everything internally and never had failures like this. Mayes

Over the course of the last few months I have had a string of failures with the DT 4's and 6's having bill separation. Anyone else had this happen? Mayes

I have caught them on anything and everything if they are around in numbers and they are in some spots I fish. The biggest thing is being able to get a hook in them. Their mouth has very few sports you can set the hook in and have it hold. On a side note, a hook with the tennis ball like fuzz or just the ball of fuzz will catch Gar pretty consistently since their teeth get caught up in the fuzz Mayes

I usually fish 2" or 2 1/4" tube jigs, but when throwing a grub body, I will buy Arkie brand or whatever Walmart has in white painted head 1/16 or 1/8oz for really windy or deep fishing. The 1/8oz also work well for White Bass when they are running. I don't worry about bending a hook on a fish but it is nice to get the jig back on lighter line if the hook will bend. My equipment I fish them on is usually a 6'6"-7.0' Medium light fast or Xtra Fast action Bass spinning rods with a Shimano Sedona 1000 with 6lb. Mayes

Nice! I had a rather healthy Crappie grab a D-bomb with a 5/0 widegap hook the other day. I normally target crappie with 1/16oz tube jigs in the spring Mayes

I catch a ton of these fish in the spring Crappie fishing the swamps at home. They put up a heck of a fight and the fun thing is if you miss them, keep putting it in their face they will continue to hit until you finally get a hook in them. The only down side is they will mangle whatever it is you are using. Mayes

In the last month or 2 I have had almost all my success on Creature Baits (Dbombs, and Trench Hogs, and Bandito's) texas rigged with a 3/8oz tungsten weight, dt 6's and dt 4's as well as weightless Flukes Mayes

I judge each situation and act accordingly. I have been known to put kid or their parents right on fish so they have a good time. I have also been known to help other anglers that are from far away catch a few fish so they also have a good time. most friends I will also help out (provided they are trustworthy). I have picked up a lot of useful as well as utter BS from others. The tourney anglers usually look down their noses at me from the 60-70K bass boats with all the latest tech gadgets because I have a plain jane 16ft john boat with a tiller outboard and hand controlled trolling motor and don't do much conversing. I usually ask them if they are catching fish and that's about it. Mayes

I enjoy fishing with competent anglers or with kids/adults that want me to teach them. I am not a fan of casual anglers who would rather catch fish with every cast and get bored because they have to work for them. I fish mostly by myself because when I can go a lot of people are not able to and the kids think it is too slow (bass fishing). They are spoiled in the Spring when I put them on Crappie Mayes

My Grandfather was who got me into chasing Bass. He was an excellent angler and known in the area we lived in. He was adept at casting with either hand accurately. He talked bass with everything from a flyrod to a casting rod. I got to be with him when he caught his last Bass it was a little over 7. He and my father would pack me fishing with them in the child carrier and set it between them while they fished before I could walk (I was walking at 9 months). As I got older dad was on the road so much and mom worked my Grandfather was self employed and had a lake house so we would spend every available time on the water. We would for fun catch crappie by the 100's in the spring but it was a sideline to break up Bass fishing. I was started on an Ambassador Red 5000 at age 7-8 and was proficient with it and the 5000C by the time I was 8-9. I caught my first what I would call big bass (by KY standards) at 13. It weighed 8.9lbs and I had 2 5lb fish with it. I fished hard and wanted to fish at the Pro level as a teenager and my dad discouraged that. I burned out on Bass around 19 and did not fish very much over the next 15-20 years other than as a sideline to Crappie but still managed every year to catch one 7-8.8 a year. My hunting partner got me back into the passion about 2 months ago and I have made up for lost time since. I now live on the lake I grew up on and have torn the cabin down to build a house. I can be found most evening fishing the last 2 hours of daylight. Mayes

Sorry I am a Western KY Guy Mayes

I am 46 from Western Kentucky and live on Lake Beshears. Been catching Bass there and other places since I was old enough to walk. I am not a tourney angler and prefer to fish at my pace and with friends for fun. I am usually found on the water the last 2 hours of daylight trying to catch a few. I also actively target large Crappie in the Spring in the Swamps and Sloughs I duck hunt in. Mayes