Obviously, there are no set in stone rules to fishing, but im talking about the things that you here and for the most part seem to be true... example: i read and seen tons of videos on spinnerbaits that say, use a nikel blade in clear water and a gold in murky. So my objection is that my lakes have no silver forage and that a gold blade looks alot more like a blugill than a silver one! (btw the blugill around here are mostly sand colored). anything like this you guys do or notice or whatever?

I use fluoro for topwater.

I get a lot of flak for it to.

The thing is there is no rules to fishing, and thats how new baits and techniques get discovered.

I use fluoro for topwater.

I get a lot of flak for it to.

The thing is there is no rules to fishing, and thats how new baits and techniques get discovered.

how does that work for ya? does it act any different than mono?

Not that these are rules, but I was always under the impression that the coloration of the blades on a spinnerbait dealt more with flash and the illusion of what the blades represent.

My choice of silver, gold, or painted blades has more to do with sky conditions, water clarity, and the mood of the bass.  While many people say to use silver blades in clear water or sunny skies, I tend to lean towards them when I want to maximum flash.  I use gold or painted blades when I want something more subtle.

If there was a rule that I was going to live by, it would be that the fish will tell you what they prefer on any given day by how they respond to the bait. 

I use fluoro for topwater.

I get a lot of flak for it to.

The thing is there is no rules to fishing, and thats how new baits and techniques get discovered.

how does that work for ya? does it act any different than mono?

My lure sits lower in the water, but not submerged. It gives it a bit if a different action and it works for me. I've also just let em' sit there and i've never had a lure "Sink" under the water.

I use fluoro for topwater.

I get a lot of flak for it to.

The thing is there is no rules to fishing, and thats how new baits and techniques get discovered.

how does that work for ya? does it act any different than mono?

My lure sits lower in the water, but not submerged. It gives it a bit if a different action and it works for me. I've also just let em' sit there and i've never had a lure "Sink" under the water.

this sounds really interesting i will definately giveit a try...in twenty years when my 6 feet of ice thaws >

I use braid on all my rigs. No leader, except I might try a #12 CXX leader on my finesse jig/Ika rod this year.

Alot of people use copoly or flouro for plastics, but I hate it. Zero memory, zero stretch, and it lasts an entire season, then you can flip it on the spool, and now I'm trying to see if there's a dye I can soak it in to give it a dark color again. I love braid. It improves sensitivity SO much. I also like how it just rests in the guides, also improving sensitivity. You get no-doubt hooksets, and it's much cheaper in the long run.

I also mainly use ~4 different lures, year round, and that's pretty much about it. I fish ponds 90% of the time, so my lure selection includes:

1. Soft plastics- Any and all Rage Tail baits, Fat Ikas, and an occasional Trick Worm

2. Jigs- Flipping and finesse

3. Mattlures Baby Bass and now the Tournament Series

4. Frogs and Rage Shads

I don't use Shimanos.  ;D

I don't really do any major things, but there are a couple:

I use braid for spinnerbaits (most people use mono or fluoro).

I used to use snaps on everything I threw.

I just fish what I think works, If I think a crank will catch a fish there I throw it, If im in a pond or something I fish topwater all the way I just do what I want, I still catch fish, I really dont feel like memorizing every lure technique and getting into all the perfect rod for every lure.

Just about every body of water I fish is loaded with copious healthy Pike.

Regardless of the target species (lmb/smb) just about every rig includes Surflon Micro Supreme at the business end.

That includes most every soft plastic rig except drop shot, and every moving bait except occasionally deep cranking.

And it doesn't seen to matter to the bass at all. They have consistently inhaled jigs, spinnerbaits, frog, and many other baits in very clear water all rigged with this knot-able wire. So there you have it. That's my story and I'm stick'in to it.

http://www.americanfishingwire.com/smsupreme.asp

A-Jay

Just about every body of water I fish is loaded with copious healthy Pike.

Regardless of the target species (lmb/smb) just about every rig includes Surflon Micro Supreme at the business end. 

That includes most every soft plastic rig except drop shot, and every moving bait except occasionally deep cranking. 

And it doesn't seen to matter to the bass at all.  They have consistently inhaled jigs, spinnerbaits, frog, and many other baits in very clear water all rigged with this knot-able wire.  So there you have it.  That's my story and I'm stick'in to it.

http://www.americanfishingwire.com/smsupreme.asp

A-Jay

The only problems i see with losing lures is that it could hurt the fish that bites you off...and the obvious fact that you lost a lure. I don't fish with very expensive lures, so that solves the latter. I don't care much about a pike swimming around a lure in his face either. They still eat. Had one boat side with a popper in its mouth and thought, "Ooo, free popper." Then my line cut, lol.

Bottom line, i don't fish with leaders to prevent bite offs.

And what's all this about rules of fishing? There's only one rule in my book:

- don't fish with something that doesn't work

I fish from shore on a pretty clear lake, use braid and also my favorite shirt(as seen to the left) is bright yellow. Even on sunny days I still catch fish havent been skunked at this lake for years. Iv caught bass, catfish as close as 4'-5' from me.

Maybe a third of the time i will only take one type of lure with me to a lake. I use nothing else but that presentation. I bring several of the same thing in case i lose it. Forces you to stick with it once you purchase it and give it an honest chance.

I guess it's not to believe in "the rules of fishing".  There will be no hard and fast "rules of fishing" until the fish agree to abide by them.   ;D

As far as I'm concerned predatory fish are pretty much the same where ever they happen to be, of course there are always subtle nuances that vary from species to species.

I don't watch fishing shows on tv, nor do I know or fish with any bass fisherman other than myself, I'm not the most knowlegeable on baits and techniques.  I employ the identical baits and techniques that I use in saltwater to catch bass.  I use spoons a great deal and most would never use one at night, I do all the time and it works exceptionally well. I like keeping my fishing real simple.

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got"

85-90% of the time I'm throwing some sort of plastic & 75-80% of that is Texas rigged

As far as I'm concerned predatory fish are pretty much the same where ever they happen to be, of course there are always subtle nuances that vary from species to species.

I don't watch fishing shows on tv, nor do I know or fish with any bass fisherman other than myself, I'm not the most knowlegeable on baits and techniques. I employ the identical baits and techniques that I use in saltwater to catch bass. I use spoons a great deal and most would never use one at night, I do all the time and it works exceptionally well. I like keeping my fishing real simple.

Funny you mention that.  In the 1960s my wife and I took a trip with my parents to St. Augustine, actually just a bit south of it.  We stayed in a mobile home park across the road from the ocean.

My dad and I spent some time fishing from one of the piers.  The park was sandwiched between the ocean, and a marine estuary, where another visitor showed us how to catch mullet using his cast net.

I saw silver fish sporadically jumping.  I took my freshwater rod and started casting a small hula popper.  In a few casts one of the fish took the lure.  Turned out to be small tarpon maybe a foot to sixteen inches long. 

If memory serves, it was early fall, late September or early October.

I use fluoro for topwater.

I get a lot of flak for it to.

The thing is there is no rules to fishing, and thats how new baits and techniques get discovered.

I do the same exact thing.  So I guess I do break the rules. LOL

A couple of the Pros at a class

Nashville addressed the issue of using fluorocarbon

with jerkbaits and topwater. The point they made

is that you are defeating the fundamental design

for both lure classes.

8-)

If there was a rule that I was going to live by, it would be that the fish will tell you what they prefer on any given day by how they respond to the bait.

I never match-the-hatch in the strictest sense. If fish are feeding on fish, I throw something fish-like in action  - close in size. If fishing rocky bottoms, I'll cast a jig, creature bait or tube and sometimes a crankbait. I have no idea what they just ate and don't care. I never try matching forage colors - too many times they ignore them anyway and eat bubblegum . A few colors are all I need for 90 % of each lure design in my huge collection.

There are rules for each body of water we become experienced on and most are seasonal in nature. I change with the seasons - that's my rule of thumb.

I do just as well using braid with topwaters as with f/c, but then again most of the topwater baits I use are soft plastic frogs, bugs and sticks.

I toss Frogs like the Bronzeye in the dead of winter.....

I figure that if the bass is big enough and strong enough to come through the ice, it is well worth the effort......

;) : :

What friggin 'rules ???

As far as I'm concerned predatory fish are pretty much the same where ever they happen to be, of course there are always subtle nuances that vary from species to species.

I don't watch fishing shows on tv, nor do I know or fish with any bass fisherman other than myself, I'm not the most knowlegeable on baits and techniques. I employ the identical baits and techniques that I use in saltwater to catch bass. I use spoons a great deal and most would never use one at night, I do all the time and it works exceptionally well. I like keeping my fishing real simple.

Don't tell bass guys that, they are under the delusion that its a different ball game, and select "techniques" like they are ordering from the dollar menu. I guess if I lived in Arkansas or some other landlocked state I would feel the same.

i use firetiger in clear water sometimes

ive eaten a banana on my kayak

I break the rules badly...rather than having a reel/rod set up for each type of fishing i have two set ups...period.

a baitcaster for spinners, cranks, softs and top water

and a spinning outfit for the same but i use this when im wading

i use one type of line for both set ups...(different lb test of course)

i never have a problem catching fish no matter which set up i use....

2 set ups and im set