farmpond1

They've certainly increased my catches. I love 'em. You can, if the bait isn't too badly torn, extend the life of a "full size" brush hogs by tearing off the first half an inch or so (when they get torn) and rerig it. (Baby brush hogs are a little too small for this).

All crawfish molt as the grow Didn't know that. Or I'd forgotten. At any rate, even that argument isn't valid then.

If they aren't too deep, try an X-Rap or Husky Jerk. Jerk them erratically and give them plenty of pauses in the retrieve. Try lighter line and cast some distance from to boat (to avoid spooking the fish). Just some suggestions.

I hear a lot of people who advocate downsizing but if it, indeed, works (which I personally haven't seen), it must be for reasons which elude me. As the season progresses, the surviving/remaining prey fish will have gotten larger. So, unless bass prefer runts for food, it seems to make sense to go larger instead of smaller. The only exception I can think of is young crawdads with softer shells being preferred over larger, mature crawdads.

What kind've waters will you be fishing? Rivers? Ponds. Large impoundments? There is a huge choice of baits appropriate for covering the water column from top to bottom and I'd want to know more before answering your question.

Probably the brush hog. It looks too big and clunky with so many protuberances to appeal to anything except a far-sighted and starving dink. But in the spring, especially, it kicks some serious butt. In second place is the buzzbait. Except, perhaps, for when bass are busting shad on the surface, I wouldn't expect a buzzbait to perform worth a hoot. But bass love them (or hate them). Drives them mad-I suspect.

First thing is this, don't get so down on yourself. Every fisherman I've ever known has dry spells-especially in the summer. Summer is a most difficult time for many fishermen. Second (or third, or fourth), not every body of water is born equal. Some are veritable gold mines while others have innate problems (too shallow, too polluted, overfished). You may not be trying the best body of water. Although I do think a plastic worm is a good all around bait, I find it a little amusing that you list your arsenal of baits and then insist on fishing only one type (the worm). Try them all. One of my go to baits-especially on spooky bass-is the floating Rapala. Sounds like you have one of those. Cast it out. Let it sit for awhile. Than twitch it. If that doesn't work, using the rod tip especially, bring it under the water a few feet and than let it float back up. Often they'll hit it on the rise. If that doesn't work either, try a steady retrieve back to you. If there are hungry bass in your lake, they will clobber the snot out of a Rapala. What time in the morning are you getting out? Sunrise? That's generally the best time during the summer. Once the sun comes up much more than a little over distant trees or buildings, the bite often tapers off. I hate getting up really early myself but if you want to hedge your bets, that's the time to be out. Until evening, anyway. Only vampires should be proud of saying they suck at something. You don't suck. Just keep trying and if what you are trying doesn't pay off, try a different lake.

Are people really this stupid? What? You think you can go shuffle out in traffic like some kind of twit and expect that everyone is going to dodge out of your way? As I always say, I don't ever want to run over anyone but my car has no opinion on the subject.

Seems to me it's a bass. While the teeth seem extraordinarily long, I believe only the ends of the teeth protrude out through the tissue. Without the tissue, they seem ominous. But this is just a guess.

Maybe they thought their boat was amphibious.

Believe me, I don't get to brag that often. But it's fun when you can.

East Central Illinois Until a few weeks ago, outstanding. Caught two of my personal best and plenty of others besides. The heat has been putting me off lately (me probably more than the fish) and they sprayed the lilly pads on my favorite pond so that hasn't helped. But generally speaking, really good. Probably the thing which helped me the most is fishing mostly private ponds and limited access lakes. When I was restricted to public access lakes, my success was very spotty. Getting permission from some landowners with access to water (which isn't beaten into a froth regularly) has helped immensely.

Let's see... (with a few notable quotes in parenthesis) -Casablanca ("I came here for the waters" "What waters? We're in the desert!" "I was misinformed") -Shadowlands ("(Prayer) doesn't change God. It changes me.") -Silence of the Lambs ("Do you still hear the lambs, Clarice?") -There's something about Mary ("Franks & Beans!") -Office space ("It's not that I'm lazy. It's that I just don't care") -Deuce Bigalo, male gigolo -Saving Private Ryan -Aliens (Get away from her! You b*tch!") -Mr. Hollands Opus -Sideways -Planes Trains & Automobiles ("Those aren't pillows!!!") I know this is more than 5 but five doesn't even cover every genre.

After the space shuttle Columbia disaster, it was unlawful to withhold debris. So, at least in one example, no, you can't always keep it.

I always said if I had my way, I'd have little girls and then, in their very early teens, trade them in for boys. Until they act up- then ship them off to military school. This probably explains why I don't have children.

A buddy of mine (who you may know from this forum) has joined a bass club. He's fished one tournament so far and said he had fun. He asked me if I wanted to join and I responded by saying I would sit out this season and wait for his overall assessment. Anyway, that's gotten me thinking: Is it unusual (or possibly even unheard of) that a bass club conduct tournaments where the only prize is "braggin' rights?" Or perhaps just a trophy that you get to display until you are unseated? Has anyone ever tried it? Would it attract any interest or is a cash prize the primary allure for most people who fish tournaments?

Well, let's see. So far I've gotten my line wrapped around a seagull, a Canada goose, and a bat-which, while technically not a bird, does have wings. It was pretty P O'd, I can tell you! The Canada goose put up a heck of a fight once it got airborne.

There have been a few dissenters but I'm with the majority: Your bass is a largemouth. From where I'm sitting, there's no question about it.

It could be that your hooks are dull. But more likely, the culprit is your drag is too loose. If you can easily strip line off the reel with two fingers (assuming the line isn't looped over one (or both) of them) you need to tighten 'er up some. And keep a fair amount of tension on the rod when you are playing the fish. And don't ever point the rod tip at the fish.

Agreed! Sometimes color means nothing and sometimes it means everything. And only bass can tell you when (if not why). Sometimes it "makes sense" and sometimes it doesn't. That's one reason why the bait monkey has such a grip on me.

Were the bearings recently packed? Perhaps they were just packed too tight. Did you have a lot of downhill runs where you had to press on the brakes for extended periods? If the breaks are getting hot enough to seriously affect the viscosity of your bearing grease, I'd guess you have problems. But that is just a guess.

I about spit out my coffee on this one! ;D

He said?????????? ?????????????? Yes, this sounds like bull to me also. Not that you are making it up but that he (the alleged gun totin' fellow) did. It reeks of fabrication. :

Uh, not to be a naysayer and I'll probably get flamed for this but aren't speed limits posted for a reason? As in safety?!!! I have no great sympathy for speeders who get caught and if I get a ticket for excessive speeding (which I fortunately have not), I figure I've brought it upon myself.

Not to hijack this tread but doesn't the subject name sound a bit like a veagra advertisement? I regularly talk to a female coworker who likes to fish. She and her husband go up north every summer. She actually seems interested in my fishing exploits which is rare among any of my coworkers (or maybe it's just me they're not interested in?) Anyway, I postulated that while a fair amount of women like to fish with their boyfriends or husbands, few would continue to fish if their respective guy stopped (or got hit by a truck, or whatever). She thought this was mostly true. Too bad because IMHO fishing shouldn't be linked to gender. But what can you do? I was in the sporting goods section of a Farm & Fleet the other day and there was a woman there looking at fishing stuff. I'd seen her there once before. Perhaps she was looking for a gift for her guy but I have to admit that it piqued my interest. (It's almost like she was wearing bacon). Anyway, you just don't see a lot of that.