Luke Barnes

Basically like the title says. Do you explore new lakes, ponds, rivers, or stay to the same one or two when you go? When I started out I went to a different place every time. Then I started getting comfortable at a few places and only go to them now. But thinking about it, I caught more when I went to new places and tried new things and didnt try over and over to get that big bite like I did the last time at the same place.

I think I'm understanding what you mean. Why not just use half the amount of strands to begin with. To make a thinner skirt without much bulk but without the ends sticking forward by the head.

You sir have something that can not be bought or shown on the most high-def imaging setup. You have experience. If I were to fish with you at that lake I would trust every word you said. But with my little knowledge of bass in general is that it changes so much from one body of water to another. For your lake I don't doubt a single word you said. But if you were to go to a different lake I wonder if it would all still hold true. Different water and different fish, even in the ponds I fish, change so much.

I'm solely a bank angler so I'll give my opinion on not having electronics and fishing off shore. I dont know whats out there so I have to go by feel. If everything around a spot off shore feels one way then I hit something different, I'm casting to that spot with every lure I have tied on, if I can reach them. Obviously I'm not casting a weightless wacky anywhere near as far as say a t rig. But if i don't catch anything in that spot I will move on and hit it again later. This panned out for me fishing a decently large pond I couldn't cast to the middle of. I cast a rage craw out and after a second or two felt something different than the previous casts so I cast to that area a few times and bam. Granted it was a giant crappie I was still happy. I rarely spend more than a cast or two in the deepest, farthest spots of a pond but once I learned about feel more, I started casting off shore alot more.

I think this is the main reason MLF was created. To say " we release them where they were caught after a quick weight" Ive heard mixed feelings about the competition side of it with anybody can catch dinks but it takes skill to find and catch five of the biggest. My opinion is a mix of both. I like the fast paced action of MLF but seeing some of the big ol hawgs that were caught on a B.A.S.S tournament is exciting. But I would rather see the catch, the reaction, the moment it comes out of the water. Not a guy holding it up on stage. Back on live bait, ive never been able to specifically target one species with minnows before so I dont know why I would want to start trying now when I kinda know how and when and where to use lures.

What's been weird for me is the Zako has been plenty durable for me. I havent had to swap new ones on yet, but the BBB Swimon tore up second fish and has been less than desirable in the durability dept.

One of the few times ive gut hooked a bass it was with a super fluke. The bass inhaled it and had it in its gullet so fast and I wasn't paying the most attention. That was one of three bass, that i know of, that I killed. The others being on a shakey head for whatever reason. I literally stopped throwing the shakey head because of it but not did it catch fish! This interests me so much. Ive combed the web for how bass are treated at tournaments. Not much bad about it put there because it would raise a huge stink among activists if the truth about every tournament was disclosed.

I looked at them alot for swim jigs because i use the regular Zako on chatterbaits but when I put one on a swim jig i didn't like that it didn't really move the Zako unless I was twitching the rod. But I got to BPS and saw the Sungill color in the Berkley Power Swimmers and went with them because they are really durable and that extra second they may hold on because of the Powerbait is always helpful to me.

The drop shot. So many people on here and the pros say I couldn't get bit except on a drop shot. The principal behind them is great and I think they should work amazing but for me they don't except.... For Panfish. I used to keep a tiny drop shot tied on and could slam the Panfish but ive only ever caught one bass on one. I retied that rod with something else and it probably won't get a drop shot tied on again this year.

I want to go shiner fishing. Meaning I want to catch some shiners because its my goal to catch every species I possibly can.

I haven't looked at all the colors available for these and wow I love this bluegill pattern. I love lipless but I need to throw them more.

Ive wondered about that. Every pond needs a 50lb flathead to keep the bass in check haha. But the first time someone caught the flathead they would keep it. Maybe one day I'll venture out to jenks and give it a try. I lost my fly box with every single fly I own so no fly rod fun there though.

My wife and I have been watching Life Below Zero, about people living in the Alaskan wilderness. Is that how you were living? It fascinates me and I would love to live like that for a few months. To ground myself and bring me back to earth. Plus I bet the fishing was amazing!

That makes sense about the Wels. Flatheads and Blues are better when they are under about 10lbs. I'm so curious how fish like Zander and Greyling taste too.

I live in a land locked state in america so never thought about shark fishing or any saltwater fishing. I wonder how Wels Catfish taste???

Right? I use Max Scent Generals but they are about as durable as a Senko. If its still there and not lost the worst thing is i just made two Ned baits! Back in the bag they go! I will never buy the new Lil General because I have them already haha.

Something I am going to try is using Gulp Alive juice on non gulp baits. Amazon made a screw up and delivered a jar of 1" gulp alive minnows to the wrong house so they sent me a 6 pack!!! Plus the one that was mis delivered! So I have 7 jars and will take the minnows out of one to make it a soaking/dipping jar. Maybe pour some in a bag or two of soft plastics I use the most. We will see how it does! But i will go to my grave convinced of one thing. When the bite is at its toughest I throw out a 1" Gulp Minnow on a tiny jighead under a bobber and it almost always gets bit and half the time I catch a bass. Biggest ive caught was a 3lber on one and what a fight on a 4"8 UL with 2lb line!!! If they don't bite that I'm packing it up and either moving spots, bodies of water, or going home.

Max Scent general rigged weightless on a wacky rig. I could take it anywhere and have confidence. The other is 1" Gulp Minnows on a 1/64oz jighead under a small slip bobber. That has beat the skunk back more times than I remember.

Polarized glasses. I forgot mine one time and stopped at a gas station to buy some cheapies, because I would rather not fish than fish without polarized glasses. Agreed 100% here. Messed up one time and hit my wife's medication and wanted to sit and watch a bobber all day. But when i have sativa im good to go until i get hungry and didn't pack any snacks..... @Bass_Fishing_Socal same here. I would panic if I got to the water and my battery was dead or my tank was empty.

If anybody has a tube of mega strike laying around just getting in the way I'll take it off your hands!! I use Bang craw/shad, KVD fish sticks, and Bobby Garland slab jam or whatever its called. I like them and think they help with the fish holding on longer. Yesterday the only thing I got bites on were Max Scent and Gulp products. Tried a ton of lures and colors and actions, but the max scent and Gulp were the only ones to actually get a bite to then turn into a catch.

When I was very new to fishing I bought a kit off Amazon and it got me on the water. None of it was too quality or anything but it had such a huge assortment it helped me figure out how i like to fish and also what the fish like. But my first step into getting more serious bass fishing I bought an Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp bass kit from Wal-Mart. It has EWG, offset worm, drop shot, and wacky hooks. Bullet and drop shot weights, bobber/sinker stops and some belly weighted swimbait hooks. So about all I need terminal tackle wise for the techniques I use. Well worth it. The Zman Ned Rig kit is a great way to break the ice on the ned rig. It has everything to fish a ned assuming you have the equipment.

I take pictures of some fish now days. I used to take pictures of every fish but now only stand out ones. Weird markings, big and healthy, caught on a weird lure, or if its a Panfish if its big and has a really nice color pattern. I used to take pics of Every. Single. Fish I caught and it filled up storage on my phone after a while.

Exactly. I cant afford a vacation home but an Airbnb is a different story. Then we can switch lakes or rivers. However I have thought it would be nice to have A towable RV that I could park at different lakes throughout the year depending on where we want to fish and hang out. But that is a long ways off financially. Right now I'm struggling to pay for and maintain one house with a wife and three kids. So we will stick to Airbnb. To this, I have a close friend with a single wide trailer on a lake and he doesn't fish. So I guess he chose it for the scenery and maybe swimming. But even he says its alot of upkeep besides the normal house just to go hang out.

Wels catfish would be so amazing to hook into.

Ive heard of this pond so many times but I have yet to fish there because every time I drive by it there are people hammering it and I imagine it is one of the single most pressured bodies of water around. But what the heck I need to give it a try.