Taliesin

Wow... My first fishing memory was in Italy when I first outfished my dad. That was in '73 and I was 5 years old. I'm told that my mom and dad started taking my fishing when I was 2 months old. Well... since I have been fishing for so long, I have done some upgrading, but I don't keep up with the latest. Not much really. The biggest difference is better depth finders. Since I have been fishing since I was a baby, there hasn't been any change. A few changes in what kind of fish I target (bass to catfish to northern pike to catfish back to bass, but always going for "bream" and bass in "spare" time). Big change here for me. I just got my first boat in the beginning of May. Very rarely have I fished from a boat before. It's taking some getting used to. Another change is the size of the water I fish. It used to be almost all 4 to 8 acre ponds, but now most of my fishing is in a 55,000 acre lake. I am a "just for fun" fisher, but I do compete in a small tourney here. The only way fishing has improved for me is that it used to be "I'm not in school" and now it is "I'm not at work". ;D Has it improved my life? I hope so. It is the main reason I have a great respect for nature. Created some personal difficulties? Yeah... one of the reasons I am divorced is that I only went fishing about a dozen times in the 7 years I was married. Without stress relief I did end up in the Mental Health Clinic. It's changed a little bit. Fishing has always been my way to get away from the world. Now I am thinking about taking it more seriously with tourneys.

I can think of some lakes where it wouldn't work too. There are a couple of lakes around here with 15", 16" or even 18" length limits. You can't win these with 5 2# bass, cause a 2# bass ain't a keeper (unless it's pretty skinny). The tourneys I am in have a minimum of 15" for all black bass (yes, that includes smallmouth and spotted) and the lightest one I saw come in was 2.12# (right at 15"). Many of our tournaments go a full 7 hours with the winner having 3 bass. A few weeks ago we had a bad day of fishing and the winner brought back one fish at 3.78#.

My (bad) habit is to take a soft plastic out of the bag and hold it in my mouth while I get the hook ready for it. I'm here to tell you that Zoom DOES have a scent. It may only be salt, but it tastes great! Culprit has a little, but i don't know if it is enough to even speak of. There are VERY few baits that don't have some kind of scent to them, and all of the ones I have seen around here are the off brands. There are a few baits I can't do this with because of the scents they have. There is a such thing as too much garlic. I have fished for MANY years and never used scents at all (and remember when plastic worms never had anything added to them but color). My biggest problem with soft plastics now is that they are too soft. There was a time when a plastic worm would last through several fish, but now you can rarely use one after one fish has hit it.

I've said that many times, but a lot of my fishing until lately has been for cats. Get to the lake at 7 pm on Friday night and come home around noon on Saturday. Catfish biting from 9 pm to 7 am then the striper hybrids hitting from 7 am to 11. I can't leave while the fish are biting can I?

That's what I bought, but i haven't used it yet. I haven't caught anything big enough to worry about and I live having bass thumb. I see any bass over 3# on the end of my line and that net is coming out.

I guess I am in the same general area as cart7. I grew up with my dad in the Air Force and I am currently in the Air Force. I haven't lived anywhere long enough to really have a "home water". Right now, stationed at Whiteman AFB MO, I would have to go with Hazel Hill Lake near Warrensburg for smaller water and Truman lake for big water.

I saw open water mentioned, but some thoughts on shad schools near shore seems appropriate too: Bass will often attempt to "trap" some of the shad against the shore. This behavior means good topwater action. My normal bait for this situation is a Super Spook Excalibur (salt-water version) in brighter colors, but a Tiny Torpedoe may work for imitating those smaller shad. Walk these baits very quickly and you may be ready for some action. Also hang on tight if you have stripers or hybrids in your waters as they will EXPLODE on these baits.

Some of the waters in my area are infested with asian carp. Yeah... Those ones that weigh up to 100# and fly through the air to hit boaters flying down the river at 70 mph. A very invasive species that has killed people. Surprisingly, these fish start pretty small and grow to these huge sizes by eating plankton. They grow very quickly and eat a lot in the process. They eat so much that they are haveing a large effect on the shad populations in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Think of the effect on bass fishing in these rivers. The bass can't eat these huge carp and the shad population is dropping. It's not good. Catfishing is being affected as well, but not as much since the larger flatheads and blue cats can eat them up to 15#. Our state laws just changed because of this species. If you ever catch one of these, you may use it for bait (it's good for catfish), but you may NOT use it live. You may NOT release it back into the water either. Up until last year my thing on bait was that if I got it from the water I am fishing I would release it back. My only change now is that I make sure that there are no asian carp in there either. Vegetation on my boat isn't really a problem. I do have one lake I go to where I managed to pick up some moss on my trailer, but after seeing the problems with asian carp I am very aware of exotic and invasive species.

It really does make a difference. While I still use Power Pro braid for some baits (reaction strikes and some topwaters aren't bothered as much by line visibility) I do use mono for my slower baits. In waters that are really weed choked I stick with braid too. And I mean REALLY weed choked. They can't see the line for the weeds.

When I go fishing I'll either have a numbers or size fix. For numbers I'll usually go for bass, but might go for channel cats and small blue cats. If I'm going for a size fix? It's striper hybrids and blue cats. I still want to catch a blue cat over 50# and the waters here hold some over 100#. Sometimes I'll be undecided on numbers or size. That's when I really go for bass and go for the bigger ones. If i start to feel "burnt-out" I'll switch species in a heartbeat and keep going.

I agree with some of what has been said here, with a little to add to it. I grew up fishing farm ponds. It's a documented fact that there are about three times more bass caught per hour of fishing in farm ponds than in larger lakes. They are a LOT easier to catch, though some ponds will only have smaller ones. When you get to the pond, pick a couple of lures you think will work and use those. If you are still there after a couple of hours with nothing then move to another bait. Since pond bass are easier to catch (probably due to low fishing pressure) you should be able to catch them. Once you have caught a few with your lures you will have the confidence in them to use them successfully on larger lakes. That being said... My confidence problem that I am working on now is fishing larger waters, unless it's cloudy . I am slowly getting that confidence, but it is even more difficult on the waters I am fishing. Even people that fish this lake 2-3 times a week will get skunked in our tourneys. Not long ago the winner of the tourney brought in only one fish at <4 pounds. I am pretty sure I have a handle on in now after going out Thursday (3 pm to 9:30 pm) and Friday (11:30 am to 9:30 pm). I may have only caught one keeper bass in both days (length limit is 15"), but I caught it early on Thursday and spent most of the time just searching for similar structure. I found enough that I will be able to bring in fish for this Thursday's tourney (1 pm to 8 pm). And if I don't catch fish? I can still feel fairly good about it since many of the people in the tourney don't .

So many lures I am confident with, so little time. A quicker list would be those lures I am not confident with: crankbaits of all kinds (working on it and gaining some with lipless) jig-n-pig (working on this too) c-rig (I should be confident with it, but I seem to do better with t-rig :-?) That's it... The bait I would use if I could only choose one? It's a toss up between spinnerbait or t-rig plastic worm. There are very few situations where I can't get something with one or both of these.

We have a pond here on base that has some starving catfish in it. I target them with a Rooster Tail. Caught three the last time I went (about an hour trip). I've caught them from 1/2 to 8 pounds.

Not the only one. My biggest bluegill was a 12" on a Tiny Torpedoe. All last week I have been catching a lot of green sunfish on plastic worms too.

I tend to use the Zoom Super Fluke (haven't found any knock-offs around here) in some of the smaller waters around here. The only ones I use are the pearl white. The smaller waters are really clear and the larger waters I fish have a LOT of shad. How I fish it all depends on how the bass are hitting. I usually use a 1/0 hook, but weight varies. If they are hitting near the top or fishing a lot of weeds I'll go weightless. If I need to get a little deeper I'll go with 1/4 to 3/8 oz of weight.

I have to agree here. In the lake I usually fish white is almost always the best topwater color since everything is feeding on shad.

Well... It's my boat so I can take up all the room I want. Gamakatsu worm hooks and weights (any brand) from 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. A VERY wide variety of baits to t-rig or c-rig (any brand and anything I think will catch fish). This takes up a small tacklebox by itself. The big tacklebox has: Spinners (including buzzbaits) of all shapes and sizes, but I won't spend more than $3 on one. I have caught a LOT of bass on $1 Wal-Mart spinners. Rooster-tails from 1/8 oz to 1 oz. This is one I buy by brand because other brands of in-line spinners don't work right for me. A little bit of variety in crankbaits (any brand, but I do prefer those brands that print the depth range on the box). Tiny Torpedoes, Super Spooks, and Jumpin' Minnows. Three more by brand. I've always been a fan of the Tiny Torpedoe and the other two entered my box for striper hybrids (and went on to catch black bass). Weedless frogs (any brand) Jig and Pig (any brand but Eakins is taking a lead) For my fishing during my lunch hour I have a little bit. A few Rooster Tails and spinners in the truck, with worm hooks, 3/16 oz weights and a couple of soft baits in my pocket (green pumpkin brush hogs right now). Frankly confidence isn't everything, but it does play a part. I have confidence in everything in my tacklebox, but they all have a best time and place.

I'll use it weightless or t-rigged depending on the depth I find them at and the cover on the water. Weightless for surface (down to 2' deep) or heavy weeds and t-rigged for the deeper fish (weight depends on depth, but usually no more than 1/4 oz). Around here I usually use the pearl white.

For the larger cats, the secret is the same as targetting larger bass: Bigger baits mean bigger fish. And don't be afraid of getting skunked. Also, the bigger channel cats "usually" prefer baitfish (cut or whole) from the same body of water. I usually use live baitfish from the same waters (usually bluegill or green sunfish for the lakes, shad for the rivers). On the lakes I tend to catch some really good bass while catfishing too.

Almost everything was already said, but my guesses: Dull hooks will kill you every time. Gar are difficult to catch when you are targetting cats, especially with dull hooks. With very little current, you may be having the same problem I found here. As soon as a fish feels the pole, they don't want anything to do with it any more. Baitclickers really shine here. Around here the fish usually don't hit hard enough for circle hooks either, so baitclickers become even more important.

IMNSHO the best catfish bait is some sort of fresh baitfish you caught (or netted) out of the body of water you are fishing. Depending on the size of the baitfish and the size of the catfish you are targetting you can use it live (maybe making a couple slices to release juices but not kill), chunked, filleted, cut in half, or whole (but dead). An all of these cases except for live you can also step on them to release more juices. A couple of exceptions to this: Sometimes you will find a lake where the channel cats prefer "stink-bait" or "soured" versions of the above baits. Flathead catfish usually prefer live bait.

I do have one 6' pistol grip rod (Ugly Stik M action). I have an Amb 4600 on it and I love the combo. One thing though. I have been fishing for anything that swims for over 30 years. I have 18 different rod/reel combos that vary from 4' 6" to 15' (my 9 "bass" rods vary from 5' to 7' 6"). It takes some time to get used to any new combo, but the practice pays off. I can pick up just about any rod/reel combo and be casting it fairly well in about 10 minutes. There are some I still think I need more practice with (rods over 10' and baitcasters with smaller baits), but I still manage to do ok.

I carry 3 baitcasters and 3 spinning combos. One spinning combo doesn't get used much until I can replace the rod though (just getting worn out and it's more of a catfishing setup). What I usually keep rigged for our tournament lake (Truman lake in Missouri, Long Shoals Marina. Almost no weed cover on this lake to speak of): Casting (Mono line. 1 M that is almost ML with 12# test, 1 M with 15# test, and 1 MH with 17# test): ML: Crankbait (usually rattle-trap.) M: Jig MH: T-rig (lizard or worm, starting to use brush hog; sometimes c-rig with same baits; and on occassion a Super Spook) Spinning (Braided line. 1 M that is almost MLwith 30# test, 1 M with 40# test, and 1 MH with 65# test): ML: Tiny Torpedoe (may change to small spinner, in-line spinner, or small crankbait. On another lake I'll use a frog) M: Spinnerbait (it's what a spinning combo was made for anyway) MH (not often used): Large spinnerbait or buzzbait. It is often set up for live bait. This usually allows me to have something available to catch fish. I have been concentrating on catfshing for many years and have gotten back into bass fishing this year.

My bank fishing is usually for an hour or less (I fish during my lunch hour). I only take one rod for bank fishing, with a small variety of baits in my pockets. I pick which rod (and lures) I want to use after I arrive and go from there. For a long time I just used one. The bass in my quick-fishng spot are on the smaller side, so a M baitcast setup was what I carried. I usually carried spinners and plastic worms (t-rig). Those are my "go to" baits that won't poke holes in my pockets or kill my hands too often when I dig for another lure. I spent a lot of my life fishing from shore and usually went with t-rigs while carrying one rod. However, I would often have a topwater or spinner tied on when I started and the big tacklebox wan't more than a quarter of a mile away. If the bass REALLY wanted something I didn't have with me, walking back to the car/truck wan't much of a hassle. Lately I have been doing this deliberately too. Limit myself to a technique I am not as familiar with and get better at it.

Hmm... I can't find the difference from a quick research, but I was always told that less than 10 acres is a pond and larger is a lake. Dictionary definitions just say that a pond is smaller than a lake.