DitchPanda

Gonna say I'm 38 which isn't old but old enough to pick the fights I get into. City court against some high schoolers...not a chance. Now you get me on the indoor court in a dodge ball game against 3rd graders and kids are getting beat down.

I'm trying to figure out the Hitchcock thing. Don't know how he could have wanted to be Shamalan. Considering by the time he was born Hitchcock had already made 45 movies. Think that's some backwards logic there.

Today is post frontal...high bluebird skies. Tried the Ned with no dice...caught 2 and missed 1 on a black marabou vmc dominator.

Only reason I thought they may work is I remembered how many bass I've caught on leeches or a piece of crawler when its hot and I'm targeting walleye. Then I see these little brown and black marabou jigs laying there...and it got the hmmmm? thing going

I'm a weather watcher to. In fact I watched it downpour all day...I'm talking torrential almost tropical storm caliber...plus lots of lightning. Needless to say I didn't get out. But we have been in the grips of drought long enough that ill gladly sacrifice a day off for some much needed rain.

Talking about the small 1\16th and 1\8th jigs normally thrown for small mouth. They are a small subtle presentation. Got me thinking maybe they would also work well for largemouth this time of year in hot water. Anybody doing this?

I'm far more productive when swimming and shaking it letting it pause to touch bottom then right back up again. Most of my bites come on the fall or the initial lift after touching bottom. Never had much luck dead sticking or dragging.

Overrated: I'm of the thought that a little sauce goes a long way..in fact sometimes any is to much Underrated or overrated: Alfred Hitchcock

Well success in fishing is really in the eye of the beholder. Today for example I went out for an hour and fished 3 brush piles...caught a 3.5lb largemouth and missed one other good bite. That to me is a success because I caught a quality fish and had a shot at another one in a very short period of time. However that is not much action. Lots of days I'd take 47 dinks just for fun.

What was so special about the P 70? I've heard great things but never really heard why they are so good

So I recently saw a video on these and they claim they are a copy of the old P 70. I never had one but I've heard some guys claim they are magic. Anybody tried the new P 71 yet?

Well for numbers anyway. Lately I've been getting 2-4 bites per outing. Today I got 9 bites...and put 8 bass on the bank. Nothing big but I had several decent fish for summer...in the 2-2.5 range. Cool thing was I brought 5 rods and caught fish on every one. 3 on Ned, 2 on buzz bait and 1 each on fluke, mojo rig roboworm and Texas rigged worm. Other cool thing is I found some good stuff...line Clippers(not rusty), a rapala digital scale( still working) and a cotton Cordell baby bass big o(new rings and hooks she's ready to rock).

I feel ya...I've been struggling as of late to get on some quality bass...they have been few and far between. My local pond also has big fish...I've caught them up to 7lbs as recent as last year. Even got a 6 in mid October last year. My pb of 8 3/4 came out if said pond years ago so it broke em. This year my biggest fish is just shy of 4.5. Lost one yesterday that may have been close to that. I will say recently all my better fish...lets say 2.5 and up..have come from brush piles off shore. I've been having my best luck with a Texas rigged big worm...3/0 hook..3\16 bullet weight...zoom mag 2 worm in green pumpkin or June bug.

My buddy Brian has a friend named Aaron that is that guy to the utmost degree. In fact I just texted Brian and told him we could fill his daughters kiddie pool with starving piranhas then bait Aarons hook with raw meat and he would still find a way to F it up.

So I remember as a kid growing up my dad using these for plastic worms. In particular the blue mustad ones with the double barb worm keeper up the shank. Never really see these used or mentioned anymore. Anybody use these? Something similar?

Yesterday was tough for me. Hooked a 4 lb largemouth at my first spot fought it in got her close then she surged and cut my line on a piece of rebar. Then I tried 3 more of my good spots without a sniff. Finally at my last spot I caught a 3.5 on a big worm Texas rigged in a brush pile. Decided to throw my flashy swimmer\swimbait combo thru the brush and see if there was an aggressive bass hanging higher up or around the pile. Snagged and broke it off on the 3rd cast. Called it after that.

Guilty as charged to my friend. But I'm trying to do better!

Game changers? Huh lets see * learning about bite windows: there are fish always biting all day somewhere in your lake..but learning that just before sunrise until 8/9am and an hour or 2 before dark until sunset cranks up fish activity really increased my productivity and frankly the amount of fun I had fishing *Learning how to fish a jig: not only did my average size of fish and numbers of big fish increase but it taught me a lot about how fish use and position or even relate to cover which made me better at fishing other baits namely spinnerbaits and crank baits thru cover *learning how to fish cold water: I was always taught to believe that bass don't bite until the water warms...never really had a temp but lets say 55-60 degrees. Then I started learning about jerkbaits, jigs and Ned rigs for cold water bass. What a world this opened up to me. Last year I caught 4 big bass...around me that's 6lbs and up...none of them came from water above 60...in fact a couple came from sub 50 degree water. *learning how to target big fish: this is an ongoing case study for me as I'm sure it is for most of you. But when I learned what water temp and areas big females stage in pres pawn and also when they move back up in fall to target shad my numbers of big fish increased dramatically. Baits aren't as important in my opinion...but a few stand out for me namely jigs and chatterbaits prespawn, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits fall.

This last paragraph is why I think its important to be objective instead of subjective before choosing very colors, techniques or baits. Just because something saved you day once doesn't mean you should come home and buy out tackle warehouse of every color. We've all done that and that's how you end up wasting fishing time and money ending up with a box full of baits you never throw again. Ill even add as it pertains to color that yes its fun to go down the rabbit hole and really dial it in. But day in day out for most baits and bodies of water white(shad)....green(sunfish/perch)...brown black and purple(crawfish) will consistently produce better than most colors. There are exceptions of course...pressure and water clarity can be huge factors. But just because someone hammers them on a drop shot on a orange and red roboworm with the tail dipped in blue JJs magic doesn't mean that color is better in most situations or bodies of water then green pumpkin or brown. One example ill give is I got on this bite years ago on a mojo rigged havoc bottom hopper in the black emerald color on my home pond. Suddenly I had 15 bags of them my new favorite color. That bite lasted 2 summers then my water color changed and I can't get bit on it. Never really had luck on it elsewhere. But if I put a June bug or green pumpkin bottom hopper on the same rig I can get bit almost everywhere.

Well let me say this...I caught my PB when I was 19 on a crappie jig...that was luck. In 20 years of bass fishing I've caught more bass over 6lbs in the last 5 or 6 years then I did in the previous 15 years. That's not luck.

Ha good point. Nice positive spin...I suddenly feel much better. Thank you!

So some baits just seem to resonate with people. You find yourself drawn to them...even if they aren't your favorite to fish your still pulled to them. Maybe they don't quite click with you so you find yourself pondering how does this work or what am I doing wrong. Or maybe there is some sort of mystique there you can't put your finger on. For me two baits really intrigue me. Can't really say why but for some reason these are the 2 I'm obsessed with. Neither is my favorite bait...in fact they aren't even top 3..yet I'm always trying to figure out the subtleties and nuances. Bait 1 are crankbaits. They are unique in that they are made in so many styles, colors, actions, depth ranges, applications and even materials. Because of this they are effective in cold cold water, the hottest water of the year...and of course everything in between. They are also one of few moving baits that are made to be fished 2 inches to 30ft deep. Bait 2 is the Texas rigged worm in its endless iterations. Like the crankbait endless styles, sizes and colors but that is not what interests me. My interests lie in trying to unlock the mastery of this rig. For all purposes the worm is one of the easiest things to fish. But I believe there is more going on. Otherwise why would other pros...many very accomplished worm fishermen in there own right...tout Larry Nixon as the best worm guy ever to walk the earth? Don't know but I intend to do my homework and find out. So now I leave it up to you all ...what baits or techniques intrigue you?

True story. To be fair if it was a PB you guys would never hear about it. I'd delete my account then go in my back yard and burn all my gear.

Depends on the circumstance. If I'm fishing I don't like to set strict guidelines...today I wanted to be out no later then 7...I got out there at 645. Now when it comes to work I'm basically never late. I say basically because it happens but its rarely my fault. I think I've been late 3 times in the 8 years I've worked at my current job. Once I left early because we had whiteout blizzard conditions..like can't see the end if your hood bad. Ended up driving into a huge drift that was hard packed and it high centered me..had to have the guys from my plant bring our plow truck and a chain to yank me out. Next time was a few years ago during some horrible flooding. Bridge indicator online said the bridge north of my house was open...as I pulled up they put the last barricade across. I had to drive 55 miles out of my way to get to work. Those two I don't take blame for..not much I could do. The last time was this spring..forgot daylight savings time and didn't change my clock. That's on me.

Got out fairly early this morning to try and beat the heat. Rolled up to my first spot...a nice rock jetty lined with chunk rock and broken concrete. Off the end of said jetty a decent cast length away is a brush pile. The shorelines close by are also rip rap. So I try a swim bait and popper along the shores and down the sides of the jetty with no takers. Moved out to the end and started working the brush. I ran the swim bait along side with nothing. Switch to a weightless senko and first cast get the telltale thunk, line swims off and hammer the hook home. Feel a good heavy fish surging to the surface and a 4lber comes rocketing out of the water. Fish is fighting harder than normal...I've caught my share of 4s...even jumping again so I take my time and enjoy the battle. Then it happens...I've got her near shore and I take a minute to assess do I swing this girl or where can I get down without slipping on a rock?...take my eyes off her for a second she surges basically at my feet line touches a piece of cutoff rebar and game over. If I woulda watched what I was doing instead of looking away like a dumba$% I woulda had fish in hand instead of another one that got away story. After all these years you think you'd know better...but just when you think you got it figured old mother nature humbles you.