The Matt Walsh Show - September 01, 2025


Bass Fishing 101


Episode Stats


Length

22 minutes

Words per minute

226.83696

Word count

5,032

Sentence count

417

Harmful content

Misogyny

5

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode I talk about the basics of what you need to know to go fishing and how to set up for a good day of fishing. I also talk about some of the baits and lures you should be using.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:01.000 My dream has always been, for as long as I've been in the media business, is to do a fishing video.
00:00:08.000 This is exciting. This is exciting for me. I don't know if it'll be exciting for anyone else.
00:00:12.000 We're going to find out if there's any interest in the audience for this kind of content.
00:00:17.000 And if there isn't, then there isn't. But I'm interested in it, and that's what's really important.
00:00:24.000 If you're just getting into fishing, if you've never done it before,
00:00:27.000 if maybe the only kind of fishing you've ever done is where you go out with a worm and a bobber,
00:00:32.000 then this will be useful to you. If you're younger and you want to get into fishing,
00:00:36.000 if you're a dad, maybe you want to teach your kids how to fish, these are the basics.
00:00:40.000 This is Bass Fishing 101. Of course, the first thing that you need if you're going fishing is a fishing rod and a reel.
00:00:47.000 So there are a couple different types of reels. This is called a spinning reel,
00:00:51.000 which is probably the most common that you'll see a fisherman out there, an angler out there using a spinning reel.
00:00:55.000 There's also kind of the push button. I think those are called spin casters.
00:00:59.000 If you're over the age of 12, you shouldn't be using those.
00:01:02.000 If you see professional anglers, if you're insane like me and you actually watch people fish on TV,
00:01:07.000 you'll see them using something called a bait caster.
00:01:10.000 If you've been doing it for a little bit, it's a little bit more complicated.
00:01:14.000 Not very complicated, but it's a little bit harder to use.
00:01:16.000 So this spinning reel is what I like to use most of the time. I have a few bait casters.
00:01:19.000 This is kind of a small to mid-sized lake. We're not going to catch any probably 10-pounders on this lake as much as I'd love to.
00:01:26.000 And so the spinning reel is a great reel for this kind of fishing.
00:01:30.000 We also have about a six and a half foot rod here.
00:01:33.000 And with bass fishing, you want to be about six feet to eight feet at the absolute most for the size of the rod.
00:01:39.000 If you go to Bass Pro and you see these massive rods that are, that's what she said, that are 9 to 10 feet,
00:01:47.000 that's like if you're going to catch sharks in saltwater.
00:01:49.000 But if you're doing just this kind of fishing, really, you don't need to go above seven, seven and a half, I don't think.
00:01:54.000 And with rods, you've got light rods, medium rods, heavy rods.
00:01:59.000 It's a very light rod. And because there's a lot, it's very, it's very bendable, as you can see.
00:02:03.000 And I like that because there's more sensitivity to it. You can tell when you have a fish on.
00:02:08.000 What else do you need? You're going to need your hooks.
00:02:11.000 If you go to tackle shop, you're going to see 1-0, 2-0.
00:02:16.000 That's 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 hooks.
00:02:19.000 All the hooks that I have in my little compartment here are 4, 3, 4, 5-0 hooks.
00:02:26.000 This is the kind of hook that I'm going to be using. This is a 4-0, which for bass fishing is kind of a bigger hook.
00:02:30.000 I like the, I like the big hooks. I cannot lie.
00:02:34.000 Now, again, if you're going saltwater, then the hooks are a lot bigger.
00:02:37.000 But for bass fishing, this is kind of a, on the bigger side, I like the bigger hooks.
00:02:41.000 And I also usually use weight.
00:02:42.000 Now, one of the things that you want to look at when you come out are the conditions.
00:02:46.000 So right now it's, so there's a little bit of a breeze and there's a little bit of a current.
00:02:50.000 And so I'm going to use a slightly heavier weight because when I throw the bait out, I want that bait to go vertical.
00:02:55.000 And if you don't have weight or if it's a smaller weight, then it'll drift, you know, horizontally.
00:03:00.000 We want that vertical motion.
00:03:01.000 And so for me, in my world, this weight is what I would consider a bigger weight.
00:03:05.000 Even though it's only about a quarter ounce, I usually like to go with a one-eighth ounce or a one-sixteenth ounce.
00:03:10.000 So these are the two things that we're going to use.
00:03:11.000 So what we're going to do is we're going to tie the hook on and we're going to put our hook and weight on.
00:03:14.000 And then I'll walk you through really the most important thing, which is what the baits, the lures that you're going to use.
00:03:19.000 And I also forgot to mention when you go to the tackle shop or you go to Bass Pro and you want to look for fishing line,
00:03:25.000 it's a little bit overwhelming because there's going to be, you know, hundreds of different kinds of fishing line.
00:03:30.000 This is called a fluorocarbon line, which I think works great for bass fishing.
00:03:35.000 And they're different pounds.
00:03:37.000 So for bass fishing, I think you want to be in the world of like six pounds to 10 pounds.
00:03:43.000 And that tells you how much weight the line can take.
00:03:46.000 Unless you're very ambitious, you don't need to go above 10 pounds.
00:03:49.000 This is an eight pound line.
00:03:51.000 It's actually kind of an older line.
00:03:52.000 It's been on this reel for probably about a month and it's getting kind of a, you want to change the lines out sort of frequently.
00:03:57.000 But I didn't change this out because I'm lazy.
00:03:59.000 We're going to tie this on.
00:04:01.000 There's all kinds of different fishing knots that you can do.
00:04:03.000 And again, a little bit overwhelming if you're just getting into it.
00:04:06.000 What I'm going to do is call it a Palomar knot. 1.00
00:04:08.000 And you'll hardly be able to see this.
00:04:09.000 You can look this up on YouTube.
00:04:10.000 There's YouTube tutorials on how to do a Palomar knot.
00:04:13.000 I think that's the quickest, easiest knot to do.
00:04:15.000 And it's very reliable.
00:04:16.000 You know, you're not going to have a lot of fish breaking off with a Palomar knot.
00:04:19.000 If I can actually do it.
00:04:24.000 Once you tie it on, you want to cut the tag end.
00:04:27.000 This is the extra line.
00:04:28.000 You don't want that on.
00:04:29.000 You're going to want to cut that off.
00:04:30.000 Now you've got your hook and your weight.
00:04:33.000 Now what are you going to pawn the hook?
00:04:34.000 Then we can talk about the baits.
00:04:35.000 Now, wherever you buy your fishing supplies, very overwhelming.
00:04:38.000 You walk into the bait, the lower section.
00:04:40.000 And there's thousands and thousands and thousands of different types.
00:04:42.000 A lot of what are called moving baits.
00:04:44.000 You've got crank baits. 0.78
00:04:45.000 You've got spinning baits.
00:04:46.000 You've got different kinds of jigs.
00:04:47.000 You've got topwater frogs, all kinds of different baits.
00:04:50.000 But this is Bass Fishing 101.
00:04:52.000 I think the easiest bait to use, the highest percentage, the kind of bait that really works in any condition.
00:04:57.000 And that's going to be your plastic worm.
00:05:00.000 Now, you've got all different kinds of worms.
00:05:02.000 This is called a stick worm, which are very, very popular.
00:05:05.000 Sanko makes the most popular version of that bait.
00:05:09.000 You've got these kinds of worms that I really like that are kind of a ribbon tail worm.
00:05:14.000 You've got to look at the action on the bait.
00:05:16.000 So in the water, that ribbon tail is going to have a lot of action and it's going to attract the fish.
00:05:20.000 What you also have to think about is color.
00:05:22.000 So that's the other overwhelming part.
00:05:23.000 You go, you find there's all kinds of different colors.
00:05:25.000 The kind of color of bait that you use is going to depend on the conditions, the time of day, and the water clarity.
00:05:33.000 So we've got a bright sunny day.
00:05:34.000 It's late morning.
00:05:35.000 And as you'll see when we get down to the water, it's a very clear water.
00:05:38.000 And I love clear water personally.
00:05:40.000 This is about six to eight feet of visibility, which is very clear.
00:05:43.000 And so for that type of fishing, you want what are called natural colors.
00:05:47.000 And so that's a color that looks like the color of a fish in the water, in other words.
00:05:52.000 Now, if it's getting dark or if the water is really murky, that's low visibility conditions.
00:05:57.000 And then you're going to want a color that's either very dark, very, very dark.
00:06:01.000 And it creates a silhouette that the fish will see in the water or bright.
00:06:04.000 And that's when you'll see guys fishing these like chartreuse yellow, bright yellow, pink, that sort of thing, or really dark.
00:06:10.000 So for me, there's only two kinds of colors that I ever really use because I think they cover any kind of condition.
00:06:16.000 And that is a black or really dark blue type of color or green pumpkin.
00:06:20.000 Probably the most popular color of bait is called green pumpkin.
00:06:23.000 It's a very dark green.
00:06:24.000 If it's high visibility conditions, I use the green pumpkin.
00:06:26.000 If it's low visibility, I use a black or dark blue.
00:06:29.000 And it always works for me.
00:06:30.000 So the type of bait that we're going to start with that I can't recommend enough.
00:06:33.000 So you look at this.
00:06:34.000 This is called a brush hog.
00:06:35.000 That doesn't look like anything that if you actually saw this in the lake, then that means that there's been some sort of radioactive spill.
00:06:42.000 You have mutant creatures in the lake.
00:06:43.000 Get the hell out.
00:06:44.000 Don't swim in it.
00:06:45.000 This does not look like anything that a fish would actually eat.
00:06:48.000 But that's fine because fish are very stupid and they're instinctive and they're reacting to color and they're reacting to movement.
00:06:54.000 They're not thinking to themselves, oh, that doesn't look like something I would eat.
00:06:57.000 They're reacting to movement and color.
00:06:58.000 What I like about it is it's got a lot of movement.
00:07:00.000 You know, it's got all the kinds of different parts of it that move.
00:07:03.000 There's a lot of action in the water.
00:07:05.000 And so that's going to trigger it.
00:07:06.000 So for the bass and their head, to the extent that they have a brain at all, when they see this, they see a bait fish.
00:07:11.000 They see like a panfish, a bluegill.
00:07:14.000 They might see a crayfish.
00:07:16.000 They could see it as a frog.
00:07:17.000 I mean, in their heads, they see anything because it's got the color and it's got the movement.
00:07:22.000 So I love these things.
00:07:23.000 I use these all the time.
00:07:24.000 I'll show you how we put this on.
00:07:25.000 Again, Best Fishing 101, there's a lot of different ways to do this.
00:07:29.000 But the most common and the easiest and most effective, I think, is called the Texas rig.
00:07:34.000 You're going to take the bait.
00:07:35.000 You're going to put it in on the tip of the hook here.
00:07:38.000 You're going to drag it around like that.
00:07:41.000 Okay.
00:07:42.000 So you see what we got.
00:07:43.000 And now you're going to put this part of the bait into the hook and you're going to bury the hook in the bait.
00:07:48.000 So you can see that it's a very flat, very straight across presentation.
00:07:52.000 The hook is not coming out.
00:07:54.000 The hook is buried in this bait, you see, and that's going to make it relatively weedless.
00:07:58.000 And that means that you can fish it in the weeds, in grass, around lily pads, and it won't get stuck.
00:08:02.000 If you have the hook hanging out, that's going to limit where you can fish it because the hook will get stuck on rocks and logs and sticks and everything, all the muck underneath.
00:08:09.000 Two other things you need if you're going to go out bass fishing.
00:08:11.000 One is you need something to cut line with.
00:08:13.000 And I always have, this is a Civivi, I think.
00:08:16.000 I carry this everywhere I go all the time, but especially when I'm fishing.
00:08:19.000 So either you've got a pocket knife or you could use little scissors or even sometimes you see guys with nail clippers.
00:08:24.000 And the second thing that you absolutely need, and it's kind of irresponsible to not have when you're fishing, are pliers.
00:08:30.000 Because what you're going to find sometimes is that you get a fish on and if they swallow it, then that hook is going to be hooked.
00:08:35.000 It's gut hooked. The hook is hooked deep down in their throat, basically in their guts.
00:08:40.000 If you don't have pliers to get that hook out, then you've got to cut the line and throw the fish back with the hook caught in its guts and it'll die.
00:08:48.000 And we don't want to do that. We don't want to kill the fish for no reason.
00:08:50.000 So always have something to cut the line, always have pliers.
00:08:54.000 So we'll walk down. I got this all ready to go.
00:08:56.000 I'm going to take a couple other types of worms with us. 1.00
00:08:58.000 So if this isn't working, we can switch it out.
00:09:00.000 Find something that you're confident in, something you think it will work.
00:09:02.000 Go out there, start fishing, and then you adjust as you go.
00:09:05.000 So let's head down to the water.
00:09:08.000 So now we're down to the water. I've got my GoPro on.
00:09:11.000 I'm a real YouTuber now. Mom, I've finally made it.
00:09:14.000 One thing you've got to keep in mind when you're fishing, this is one of the basic rules of fishing,
00:09:18.000 is that 90% of the fish will be in 10% of the lake.
00:09:22.000 And what that means is that when you look out at the water, most of those spots aren't holding any fish.
00:09:26.000 Okay, the fish like to relate to certain areas of the lake.
00:09:29.000 They like to be in certain areas. So you've got to go find them.
00:09:31.000 That's what I like about fishing. It's hunting. You've got to go find the fish.
00:09:34.000 Unless you're going to do live bait, a worm or something, you throw it out with a bobber and you just sit and wait.
00:09:38.000 That can be fun to do with the kids, but I like to go out and do it hunting style.
00:09:42.000 Let's go find them. Let's find where the fish are. Where do fish like to be?
00:09:45.000 Well, sunny day like today, they like shade.
00:09:47.000 Okay, fish don't have eyelids, so they can't squint when the sun's in their eyes.
00:09:50.000 It's hot. They like cooler water. So you want to look for shade.
00:09:53.000 They like structure in the water. I'm standing on a dock right now.
00:09:56.000 You know, so a dock has its structure. It's also shade because they can be under the dock.
00:10:00.000 Tree stumps in the water, logs that have fallen in the water, rocks, anything like that, any kind of structure.
00:10:05.000 They like to be around. If you find isolated structure, what that means is that you look out of the water and all by its lonesome, you see a stick popping up or a stump and there's nothing else around it.
00:10:15.000 There's a very good chance there's going to be fish there because that's the only structure around.
00:10:19.000 They also like vegetation because vegetation has bugs and that brings smaller fish.
00:10:23.000 They're going to be looking for the bigger fish. You're eating the smaller fish. Vegetation oxygenates the water.
00:10:28.000 And there's also shade. And so I'm looking around what vegetation I see. I see right over there.
00:10:33.000 There's some some grass. And I also know because I know this lake that there's all along here, there's underwater vegetation.
00:10:39.000 Now, if you really get into it and you start researching before you go to a body of water, you get a topographical map.
00:10:46.000 You find out what's happening underneath the surface of the water, which maybe you don't feel like putting that kind of energy into it.
00:10:51.000 I understand I'm an insane fisherman, so I like to get the topographical maps.
00:10:55.000 So I know that there's an underwater creek channel about 20 feet that way.
00:11:00.000 The fish like to be in that. So it's kind of like a divot in the ground and they like to hang out there.
00:11:04.000 I'm not on a boat right now, so I only can access so much of this lake.
00:11:08.000 So we'll just start fishing and see what we can see what we can find.
00:11:11.000 I know what spots I'm sort of targeting, but then you just got to you just got to go.
00:11:16.000 How do you operate one of these? This is, again, a spinning reel.
00:11:19.000 You want to hold the line with your finger like this and then you flip. This is called the bail.
00:11:24.000 You flip the bail, hold that line with your finger, and then as you're casting it, you let go of the line.
00:11:30.000 Once the bait hits the water, you flip the bail back.
00:11:33.000 I'm going to cast it, flip the bail.
00:11:36.000 One thing you can do, let it hit the bottom, and then you're going to drag it along the bottom like this.
00:11:42.000 I'm already hung up on something.
00:11:44.000 You reel up the slack and you drag it on the bottom.
00:11:46.000 And that's a good way to target fish that might be feeding off of the bottom. 0.70
00:11:50.000 I've already caught something. Look, my first catch.
00:11:55.000 A little clam here.
00:11:56.000 You can't say that I didn't catch something. I did catch something.
00:11:59.000 So there we go.
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00:13:12.000 If you're fishing for a while and you're not getting any bites, either it means you're throwing the wrong kind of bait.
00:13:17.000 They're not interested in the bait that you're throwing.
00:13:18.000 Maybe it's the wrong color. Maybe it's the wrong shape.
00:13:20.000 Maybe it has the wrong kind of action for them.
00:13:22.000 It either means that or it means you're just in the wrong spot.
00:13:24.000 And if you're confident in the bait, and I'm pretty confident in this bait,
00:13:28.000 and I'm very confident in the color for these conditions.
00:13:30.000 So I know I'm not going to change the color up.
00:13:32.000 So if I'm not getting any bites after a while, it just means I'm in the wrong spot.
00:13:35.000 There's no fish around here.
00:13:36.000 Or if they're here, they're not hungry.
00:13:37.000 If we catch something, I'll be able to show you this, but we've covered everything to get us to this point.
00:13:43.000 Then what happens if you get a fish on?
00:13:45.000 How do you know that you have a fish on your hook, especially if there's no bobber?
00:13:48.000 You're doing traditional bobber fishing. You see the bobber goes down, you know you have a fish.
00:13:51.000 How do you know if you don't have the bobber?
00:13:53.000 Well, there's two ways to know.
00:13:54.000 One is you'll be able to feel it.
00:13:56.000 You're going to feel not just a tug, but you're going to feel something taking the line and moving it.
00:14:00.000 And you're going to watch the line. You want to see the line. Can you see the line move?
00:14:04.000 Now, the moment you feel the first tug, you want to wait. You want to have some patience.
00:14:08.000 Because you want to get the fish to get the bait into its mouth and move with it.
00:14:11.000 And as soon as that happens, you're going to do what's called set the hook.
00:14:14.000 Setting the hook is really important.
00:14:16.000 And people that fish and are just getting into it are kind of amateurs.
00:14:19.000 You'll see them, they get a fish on and they just start reeling right away.
00:14:22.000 You don't want to do that because you're going to rip the hook out of the fish's mouth.
00:14:25.000 So when I know I have a fish on, I'm going to reel down.
00:14:29.000 Was that one?
00:14:31.000 Might have been one.
00:14:33.000 I'm going to reel down the slack if I have a fish on.
00:14:35.000 Actually, there is a fish right there.
00:14:37.000 You're going to reel down the slack so you have a tight line.
00:14:40.000 Always keep the line tight.
00:14:41.000 And then you're going to come up like this.
00:14:44.000 You're basically going to bring, and you're going to do it a lot more violently than that.
00:14:48.000 Very hard. You're going to bring the rod up to about 12 o'clock position.
00:14:51.000 That's the fun part. Okay, now you have the fish hooked, right?
00:14:54.000 Now you've got to reel it in.
00:14:55.000 But the thing is you're actually not reeling the fish in.
00:14:57.000 You're pulling the fish in, okay?
00:14:59.000 Again, if you're kind of an amateur, when you're bringing the fish in,
00:15:02.000 all you're doing is you're doing it all with the reel.
00:15:04.000 And you're just reeling it like this.
00:15:05.000 And what's going to happen is you're going to lose a lot of fish that way.
00:15:08.000 Because as you're reeling, it's making the hook kind of jolt around in the fish's mouth and it might come out.
00:15:15.000 So what you're actually going to do to reel it in is once you have that fish on,
00:15:20.000 you're going to be kind of reeling down the slack and pulling like this.
00:15:23.000 Reel down the slack, pull until you have that fish over here. 0.94
00:15:27.000 And that's going to keep that hook still in the fish's mouth. 1.00
00:15:36.000 Okay, so I've hit this part of the area pretty thoroughly.
00:15:38.000 So I'm pretty confident there are no hungry bass in this little area here.
00:15:44.000 Oh, that's another bite.
00:15:46.000 Yeah, there's one there.
00:15:48.000 Now, fish will bite for different reasons.
00:15:50.000 This is, you get what's called a reaction bite.
00:15:52.000 And that's the instinctive just, they see it move and they grab it.
00:15:55.000 You'll get a defensive bite.
00:15:57.000 Defensive bites, particularly if it's during the spawn and the fish are on beds and they're spawning,
00:16:02.000 and you drag that bait across a bed, then they're going to attack the bait.
00:16:06.000 Like defending, they're defending their eggs, defending the bed.
00:16:08.000 And then the best bite that you could possibly get is they're actually hungry.
00:16:11.000 And they're out, they're out hunting themselves for something.
00:16:14.000 But the kind of bite I'm getting right now, I'd say is probably more of a reaction bite or just pure curiosity.
00:16:20.000 You know, fish don't have hands.
00:16:21.000 So they're exploring the world.
00:16:22.000 They're trying to figure out what something is.
00:16:23.000 And they're just sort of nibbling on it.
00:16:27.000 You throw it back, catch and release.
00:16:29.000 Do you cook it?
00:16:30.000 I'm catch and release.
00:16:31.000 And so, yeah, there are a lot of people who say, well, that's the point.
00:16:35.000 You're just out here fishing all day.
00:16:36.000 You catch fish, you throw them back.
00:16:38.000 I think the point is the act itself.
00:16:41.000 That's what I like about it.
00:16:42.000 What's the point of anything?
00:16:44.000 Not everything you do has to bring about some immediate, tangible benefit.
00:16:49.000 Now, you're also learning a valuable skill.
00:16:53.000 So this is a real skill.
00:16:54.000 This is one of the reasons why we have human civilization is fishing.
00:16:58.000 That human beings thousands of years ago figured out how to do some version of this.
00:17:02.000 And we wouldn't have human civilization without it.
00:17:05.000 You know, if the crap ever hits the fan and human society falls apart,
00:17:10.000 well, put me on a body of water, give me some fishing tackle, I could probably bring in a fish.
00:17:14.000 So I know that's a skill that I have.
00:17:16.000 And the benefits of fishing are, you know, enjoyment.
00:17:21.000 As I said, you learn patience.
00:17:23.000 You're out in nature.
00:17:25.000 See all the life.
00:17:28.000 That's the other thing, too, is that when you're fishing, you want to look for signs of life,
00:17:31.000 especially if you're having a hard time and not catching anything.
00:17:34.000 So you're looking for signs of life.
00:17:35.000 And that's really anything.
00:17:36.000 That's obviously if you see fish in the water, that's a good sign.
00:17:39.000 You want to fish around there.
00:17:40.000 Do you see birds?
00:17:41.000 Do you see like waterfowl?
00:17:43.000 Do you see frogs, turtles, anything?
00:17:46.000 The more active the lake is, the more that you can see going on on the surface and around it,
00:17:50.000 then the more likely it is to hold the kind of fish that you're after.
00:17:54.000 It's just important to have hobbies, too, as a man.
00:17:56.000 And I think in particular as a father, something you can do with your children and pass on to them.
00:18:01.000 I got into it probably when I was about 30, maybe a little, maybe a 28, 27, 28.
00:18:07.000 So I've been fishing for 10, 12, 13 years because I wanted to have some kind of actual hobby.
00:18:15.000 Aside from if you don't have a hobby, then what do you end up doing these days?
00:18:19.000 You end up just all your free time.
00:18:20.000 You're sitting around staring at a screen.
00:18:22.000 And I don't want that kind of life.
00:18:25.000 I mean, I'm glad you're staring at a screen right now, but that's not.
00:18:28.000 You should have more. There should be more going on in your life than that.
00:18:31.000 Now all my kids know how to fish.
00:18:34.000 In fact, just before we started filming this, my 12-year-old daughter,
00:18:38.000 because I told her we were filming some fishing thing,
00:18:41.000 she wanted me to make sure I tell the audience that she is a very good fisher
00:18:46.000 and she's the best in the family aside from me.
00:18:53.000 Okay, so we've tried off the dock a little bit, and you're limited.
00:18:56.000 You can only hit so many spots from the dock.
00:18:58.000 I haven't been able to get any fish to commit, so you've got to get on the move.
00:19:01.000 You've got to go look for them.
00:19:02.000 So I'm going to get into the water and just walk.
00:19:05.000 Now I know there's a little cove, and we can't go all the way to the cove,
00:19:08.000 but over there there's some vegetation, and as you enter into the cove,
00:19:12.000 that's a spot where fish might hang out.
00:19:13.000 So I'm going to get into the water.
00:19:14.000 I'm just going to walk over there and see if we can find one.
00:19:17.000 Prime time for fishing really early in the morning, especially in the summer.
00:19:25.000 For sunup until about two hours from then.
00:19:28.000 Sunup is 5.30, then from about 5.30 to 7.30, which I really enjoy.
00:19:33.000 Now you've got to drag yourself out of bed.
00:19:35.000 But for me, one of the happiest places to be on Earth is a lake like this at about 6 a.m.
00:19:41.000 on a day where it's going to be really hot, but it's not hot yet.
00:19:44.000 And you've got a cup of coffee, and you're just out on the lake fishing.
00:19:49.000 And then to about, in my experience, about an hour, 90 minutes to an hour before sundown.
00:19:57.000 So if sundown is 8.30, then prime time starts again at about 7.00.
00:20:04.000 That's when I've caught my biggest fish, actually, this summer is about 7.00 to 7.30.
00:20:08.000 Because things are cooling down.
00:20:10.000 The sun's going down, you've got more shade.
00:20:13.000 And in the summer, the fish are just going to be more active when it's cooler.
00:20:17.000 When they've got enough light that they can see, but it's still cooler.
00:20:22.000 But right now, I am just striking out.
00:20:28.000 Now, one important tool you have to have with you, aside from your knife and your pliers, is your excuses.
00:20:37.000 When you're not catching anything, like I'm not right now, you've got to have a good excuse.
00:20:42.000 What are you going to blame for that fact?
00:20:45.000 Because it can't just be that you suck at fishing.
00:20:48.000 So for me right now, the excuse that I'm landing on is time of day.
00:20:56.000 I'm going with a time of day excuse.
00:20:58.000 And also location.
00:21:00.000 There's still fish there.
00:21:04.000 Cannot get him to commit, though.
00:21:09.000 What's going to happen, I'll tell you right now what's going to happen, is we're going to finish up filming, and then I'm going to keep fishing, and then I'm going to catch one.
00:21:19.000 That's what's going to happen.
00:21:21.000 Well, as the prophecy foretold, as soon as we stopped filming and the gear went away, I decided to go back out of the water.
00:21:30.000 Because I can't end a fishing day without catching anything.
00:21:32.000 It took about five minutes and I finally caught one.
00:21:34.000 So it's not a big one.
00:21:36.000 This is a largemouth bass.
00:21:38.000 The difference between a smallmouth and a largemouth is that the large has a larger mouth.
00:21:43.000 And also it has a horizontal line, which you can sort of see going across its body.
00:21:47.000 There's maybe a pound and a half, two pounds.
00:21:49.000 Not a huge one.
00:21:50.000 But we did catch one on the brush hog in the kayak.
00:21:55.000 So it still sort of counts.
00:21:58.000 And there it is.
00:21:59.000 And we'll put them back.
00:22:00.000 Does that mean we don't have to do another fishing video?
00:22:03.000 No, because now we have to do another one so that we can catch a bigger fish and actually reel it in on camera.
00:22:10.000 So stay tuned.