The Budget Angler

The frickin scum!!! I handle weeds. Throws spinnerbaits, seedless soft plastics, etc, but the stupid pond scum is a serious problem for me. Also, chocolate milk water makes it hard to tell how deep it is. I'll be fishing prime real estate right under a tree just to find out it's 8" deep and full of scum

@N Florida MikeI just had one snap my line at the bank. I almost fell in trying to grab her, but she got away.

@Pat BrownI think I'm going to start drop-shotting because some of the fish I cast to didn't spook, but also didn't eat anything I threw. Every time I go to this pond I see at least one quality fish and I'm tired of not catching them. I'll get 'em eventually.

Is there a different name for a largemouth-smallmouth mix? I've heard them both called meanmouths

Caught 4 bass, 6 bluegill, and 1 channel cat today. Two of the bass were on a 3.5" pogy swim shad by powerbait, pure white color. Both absolutely choked it. One of the other fish (and one more that spit the hook) was on a yo-zuri jerkbait (not sure what type because I found it snagged on a tree). The other fish (and one more that spit the hook) was on a size 60 whopper plopper, bluegill color. Based on them eating seemingly everything, you'd think that I would've gotten a mess more of at least a big one. No! Only two of the fish were over a pound, and the 2, 3, and 5 lbers that I casted to wouldn't chew or got spooked (even if I placed the bait 18" in front of them.) It was extremely frustrating. How do you catch fish you can't cast to? And how do you catch anything when each fish seems to be eating a different lure? That's how I caught the channel cat. I figured I might as well try a live bluegill on a Carolina rig. First one got eaten by turtles, so I got a second one. This one died super quick, so I hucked it into the middle (sort of a "you never know"), where the catfish ate it a few minutes later. The third one also got eaten by turtles, so I gave up on live 'gills for bass and watched giant females cruise the shallows. The fish were being finicky buttholes.

@Choporozprobably the bank

I have a trip planned for Crabtree Lake on the 29th, and I believe we'll be fishing near the dam. Is there anything I should know beforehand? Thanks, and tight lines!

@king fisherI just wanna know where this lake is XD

Several things: I'm pretty sure I saw a gator on the drive back from Hatteras in the little canal/ditch on the side of the Hwy, so that was cool. Is it freshwater? Brackish? Salt? The presence of turtles suggests fresh or brackish. If so, has anyone fished it and caught anything? It looks like a super juicy spot but I don't wanna waste my time if there's nothing in there. I think it's connected to the Alligator River? Any help is appreciated! Tight lines!

A lot of people don't realize that wardens are also state police officers and may be involved in sting operations and drug busts. They have a really tough job. I've only seen wardens a few times, and they've always been pretty nice to me. I feel bad that they get such a bad rep. They're enforcing the laws that make sure there are fish for us to catch next year. We need more of them, to be honest. I also believe we as fishermen have a responsibility to narc when someone else is breaking an angling law. I called 406-TIP-MONT on people fishing illegally too many times to count, lol.

@AlabamaSpothunter Didn't know any of that. Dumb question: how can I tell if a bed is active or old? I assume I've been spooking fish off of beds but the water is too murky for me to see anything other than the outline of the bed. Any advice and criticism is welcome!

It's been rough out there, man. I'm not sure what's been up, but in 3 trips I've only gotten one dink. I'm probably gonna go after school on Wednesday, so let's hope the big mommas are hungry! I'm seeing beds, but I can't tell if they're old or new. Seen a few bass guarding fry balls, but couldn't get them to commit to a crank, texas rig, or a whopper plopper. I think I'm gonna try a suspending jerkbait next, keep it in the strike zone longer.

These are all great, guys!

What is that one trip that was so epic that it's etched in your mind forever? I'll go first: I was a kid and my dad had taken me to a brackish lagoon in SoCal. It was our typical spot, full of small bass and sunfish, and perfect for kids. We netted mosquitofish, crawdads, and small shrimp to use as bait. I plunged my hand into our bucket, hooked a mosquitofish through its lips with a #8 hook, and cast my bobber and small split-shot setup near some cattails. My bobber went under, but the line wouldn't move. "Dad, I'm snagged," I said as I tugged on my line. He turned, his eyes went wide, and he grabbed the line and pulled. Our bait bucket tipped as he ran back, and as my brother rushed over to see the fish, he hooked the dog. That bass was well over 10 lbs, an oddity for the lagoon and the biggest bass I've ever caught, to this day. That's just one story though, and I'm excited to hear yours! Tight lines!

probably just my skill (or lack thereof)

I'm just newly back into bass fishing after a 4-year hiatus in Montana. We have huge pike, monster trout, but almost no bass over a couple lbs. Even then, I had a couple of spots for bass and fished them religiously. At least in the past years, Spring sucked ass. I always missed prespawn, never saw fish on beds, and never caught a bass over a lb when I was up there. My dad caught a random 5 lber, which was the only decent bass I saw up there. So this Spring has been amazing for me. I've caught a satisfying amount of bass, some of them decent, and I'm starting to see bass guarding fry and beds. Y'all got it good down south! Tight lines!

Across the street from the library at my college is a little pond that is choked with poison ivy and just looks dead. . I went over there after an exam one day, and caught a beautiful prespawn hawg(19", probably about 4.5 lbs). I had never fished it before because it's small and the water is hard to get to, but there's definitely fish in there. I got snagged on an underwater stick and as I pulled it up, about a dozen pinky-length bluegill spooked. Apparently that's how they're gettin' fat.... God, I gotta go back there! Maybe tomorrow....

Here in NC, our bass keep getting thrown around by rain. It seems like every time we have a good stretch for them to start spawning, the rain comes through and sends them deep again. At what point will they just spawn anyways? Tight lines!

I mostly bank fish and I don't have electronics on my raft or kayak, but I've noticed the same thing myself. One tree will look great, I'll cast on it and catch a fish, and then the next one I cast on is absolutely dead. One lake I used to fish was similar to what you were saying. The boat slip dock was located in a crescent-shaped cove that was choked with every type of weed, max depth of probably 30'. The perch, pike, bass, and pumpkinseed loved it. Now, right around the corner was a bigger cove with the same weed cover, orientation, etc. I would catch numerous perch, many pike, several bass, countless pumps out of the first one, and nothing out of the second. Stuff like this just happens sometimes. That's my excuse for fishing so much, it's so I can learn where the dead zones are

I have a trip tentatively planned for Jordan lake Monday the 8th. What's been working for you guys? It's muddy water, so I have an idea as to what to use, but anything specific that works well there? Thanks! Tight lines!

Some of mine: Keep moving Always bring a tape/scale Always bring pliers Never keep the first fish you catch (that one was the easiest to catch so I want that one to reproduce) If you lose 4 rigs/lures, go home early Senkos only come in 4 colors: green pump, watermelon red, black and blue, and chartreuse pepper Do not fish spinnerbaits, they don't work

d**n. That's expensive.

Yeah, shoulda seen that one coming. What do you typically use for the big bois?

I should probably open this post by saying I'm in college so I don't have a bunch of money to throw at this. That's the main reason I want to start making senkos, I spend way too much money on them after bass inevitably mangle them (or I cast them directly into a tree and break them off). I know up front that it would cost a lot of money, but what are the things I have to have to pour my own plastics, just so I can budget and see if it's worth it? Any help is appreciated

Whenever I'm fishing a new lake or pond, I always cast out a worm under a bobber. Something about catching gills and shellcrackers is just fun. During the winter I target catfish (and I don't catch much). Also salt species like drum and specks. If I'm up north, I love trout, pike and perch. I recently caught my first grass carp (on a whopper plopper, if you can believe it!). I realized halfway through this post that I was just naming every species in North America.