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Been a while. Thought you might enjoy a conversation I had with a friend over the weekend. Fish was 4lbs 4oz.

The best part of jig fishing is setting the hook and seeing your rod bend in half and the reel screech to a halt. Then the fight and higher blood pressure wondering if she will get unhooked. Man, don't you guys just love setting a jig? It still gives me a rush and gets my blood pumping.

Lake Okeechobee was good to me today. After a lifetime of close calls I finally broke the glass ceiling with my personal best bass weighing in at close to 10 3/4#'s. The bite was red hot in the Kissimmee grass near Kramer Island. My client got a fish close to 7 #'s and before this big girl exploded on my top water swim bait(Gambler Big EZ). I was using a Chronarch 200e7 with a Hawg Handle on a Fitzgerald Rod and 50# Tuff Line.

A circus owner ran an ad for a lion tamer and two people show up. One is a retired golfer in his late sixties and the other is a gorgeous blond in her mid-twenties. The circus owner tells them, "I'm not going to sugar coat it. This is one ferocious lion. He ate my last tamer so you two had better be good or you're history. Here's your equipment -- chair, a whip and a gun. Who wants to try out first?" The girl says, "I'll go first." She walks past the chair, the whip and the gun and steps right into the lion's cage. The lion starts to snarl and pant and begins to charge her. About halfway there, she throws open her coat revealing her beautiful naked body. The lion stops dead in his tracks, sheepishly crawls up to her and starts licking her feet and ankles. He continues to lick and kiss her entire body for several minutes and then rests his head at her feet. The circus owner's jaw is on the floor. He says, "I've never seen a display like that in my life." He then turns to the retired golfer and asks, "Can you top that?" The tough old golfer replies, "No problem, just get that lion out of there."

Went out in the kayak this morning and got this 7.7lb 23.5in bass, then on the very next cast hooked into one who looked bigger when i got it by the kayak, then it turned down and broke the line. I should have retied after the first one..

Here she is! The newest jig to the line up. The Dredge is build around an Owner Deep Throat hook in two head styles. The famous Brush head and my New Football. The Dredge Football has a recessed eye and a flat bottom on it. The Dredge's skirt is 55-60 strands wired tied to the collar. http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/index.php/dredge-jig-new I have also updated 90% of my pictures and skirts. We will be finishing up the rest. Please feel free to look around at our new look. Here are a couple of my new jig colors Bream Chart/Shad Bloody Shad

10 Finkers Ole vas vorking at da fish plant up nort in Dulut vhen he accidentally cut off all ten of his finkers. He vent to da emergency room in the Clinik and vhen he got dar da Norsky doctor looked at Ole and said, "Okie dokie, let's have da finkers and I'll see vhat I can do." Ole said, "I haven't got da finkers." "Vhat do you mean, you hafen't got da finkers?" he said. "Lordy- it's 2013 and Ive's got microsurgery and all kinds of incredible surgery techniques. I could hafe put dem back on and made you like new! Vhy didn't you brink da finkers?" Ole says........."How da fock vas I suppose to pick dem up?"

On their wedding night, the young bride Approached her new husband and asked For $20.00 for their first lovemaking Encounter. In his highly aroused state, Her husband readily agreed. This scenario was repeated each time they made Love, for more than 40 years, with him thinking that it was a Cute way for her to afford new clothes and other incidentals that She needed. Arriving home around noon one day, she was Surprised to find her husband in a very drunken state. During the next few minutes, he explained that His employer was going through a process of corporate Downsizing, and he had been let go. It was unlikely that, at the age of 59, he'd be able to find Another position that paid anywhere near what He'd been earning, and therefore, they were financially ruined. Calmly, his wife handed him a bank book which Showed more than forty years of steady deposits and interest totaling Nearly $1 million. Then she showed him certificates of deposits issued By the bank which was worth over $2 million, And informed him that they Were one of the largest depositors in the bank. She explained that for more than Three decades she had 'charged' him for sex, These holdings had multiplied and these were the Results of her savings and investments. Faced with evidence of cash and investments Worth over $3 million, her husband was so astounded he could Barely speak, but finally he found his voice and blurted out, 'If I'd had any idea what you were doing, I would have given you all my business!' That's when she shot him.

I don't really think fish are smart animals. Think about it. Reptiles, fish, and insects were here before mammals and birds. Without getting into that too deep you should be okay. I've fished clear water where I KNEW the bass saw me and yes they seemed a bit shy but when that lure swings into their face they can't resist. Again, I think bass have a brain developed strictly for instinct. I don't believe they possess any cognitive ability...

I've thrown it on 30 and 50lb braid. I watched a video on YouTube where this guy catches over 25lbs in 2 CASTS!!! He lands a big one and a 5 LB at once then he lands an even bigger one and another over 5. Biggest was 9.12

I have had both and can tell you that the lens quality on the Costas are better but the price point is what scares many people away. The one caveat to this whole discussion is that in actuality, the manufacturer is not the limiting factor in your decision - your own vision is. The amber lens from Oakley, Native Eyewear, WileX, Amphibia, Hobie Polarized, Maui Jim, Ray-Ban, Costa, Smith Optics, etc are not equivalent to one another. Your best bet is to find someone that has a lens color you like and go out on the water and see for yourself. The other factor to consider then is the fit. Although the lenses for Costas are far superior to Oakleys in my opinion, none of the Costas fit my nose structure or face comfortably. The nose pads on the Oakleys just sit better for me. Your face may be different. It's a shame too, because I love the Costa designs and the inshore green lens color. Heck even Hobie Polarized (whom I have a Pro Staff deal with) doesn't have a frame or nose/bridge configuration that fits my face without giving me a splitting headache. Forget the brand and go for fit first, then worry about lens color.

Hit Lake Michigan this morning. First time with the new boat on the big pond. I'd like to thank all the weathermen who incorrectly forecasted W @ 7mph all day. Water SHOULD have been like glass on the Chicago lakefront. My son and I launched at 6am out of Diversey Harbor and winds were blowing WNW. By 8am were straight out of the north and shortly thereafter NE @ 12-15mph. That may not sound like a lot but those winds have been blowing from waaayyyy across the big pond. I couldn't guess the size of the swells but we'd go up and see the sky, and down we'd see the water with no sky. Nothing's better then riding over a crest and there is no water beneath you so the boat just drops in the air until it hits the surface. The Lund and the Merc handled well. I couldn't go faster than 20mph with 10mph being ideal. We did get wet, but it could have been worse. We even caught a few smallies. Camera died but nothing really to speak of. Biggest around 2lbs. EDIT I forgot. I got to put my graphs thru their paces today. My home lake(s) are big soup bowls void of any offshore structure aside from a few fish cribs. I really had a chance to put the SI, DI, and 2d thru their paces today. I didn't get any screenshots, but I was able to match images on the DI with the 2d. Using the SI, I was able to differentiate rocks jetting off seawalls vs seawalls void of any rocks or structure. Located baitfish, navigated to a waypoint I set (a shipwreck)with the help of Lakemaster, and with the DI saw the mechanicals of the locks as we locked thru from the lake to the Chicago River. Good stuff! Wish I had a 1198 instead of the 998.

SCALE

Nice one!

What I love about the jig is you can flip it, pitch it, cast it, skip it, swim it, hop it, pop it, crawl it, jiggle it, Fish it shallow, deep or in between, fast or slow. I personally like a black/blue or green pumpkin and even sometimes white in a 3/8 oz. In deeper water I would go to a 1/2 oz. or if I was (forgot punching it through thick matts) Oh yeah, I don't even have any other colors. On bright sunny blue bird days when the bass have their nose touching some type of cover and the strike zone is the size of a dime. Then the jig is my choice of lures. "I like Jigs!"

Looks good to me! I'd throw it!

Can fish see our line?? Possibly so.. Imo I don't worry too much about it. There are tons of factors that go into catching fish. Bass fishing can be, in some aspects, very complicated especially bass fishing. To me it's challenging and that makes it fun. I try not to over complicate it too much. If fish are smart enough to recognize what our line is they may be too smart for me and I may need to look for another hobby lol.!!

3/8 oz swim jig bluegill color

Welcome home!

I find my best success with a short 6-6'6 MH rod. For me it is strickly a target game. Sometimes I cast sometime I pitch whichever the target is at the time. your not out to impress anyone here... just get the freakin thing in there. I bounce it off stuff, whack the trolling motor whatever it takes. It also depends on what I am trying to imitate as to what area of the water column I fish. If I am throwing a shad or bream swim jig then I fish it off the bottom. If I am throwing a craw type jig I let it fall tot he bottom. In deep water like that, I throw a 1/2 -3/4 to get it down there quick. If I start picking up fish on the fall I drop back to a 1/4 or 3/8 same color to slow the descent and keep it in their face longer. You may also have to play with your trailer, a sweet beaver type trailer will fall slower then say a salt craw. The key to any type of vertical structure fishing is pay really close attention to where those bites come from. Good Luck!

That might be 44 RUSSIAN pounds. Lol, not 44 US lbs. Nice fish, Putin.

So I guess this means we are all really screwed if they can see our line . Seeing big shinny hooks should be easy then. Maybe someone should come up with flat moss green or flat black hooks . Ed

Grantman has a good point. It is new, it is their "flagship" from what I read. I believe the Exo will get redone next yr. BUT the Tour MG just looks cool, that spool and handle are sick. I used an older energy, and just got the the energy that is going out this yr. they both feel nice, the one cast great n worked good. I am not trying to steer u away from the smoke, because I think that is a fine reel and would own one in a heart beat. I just threw the tour mg out there because I thought u wanted a comprable to the exo, a light weight, 10+1 and max drag is slightly better than the smoke.

Welcome to the club!!

He is asking about PVC bunk products that make loading and unloading much easier. Not the standard carpet bunks. The ones I recommended screw down on top of carpeted bunks. They also make full PVC bunks but many are not to be used with riveted boats by the manufacturer for what ever reason. Some rivets can tear up certain types of PVC.

I know some people disagree with me, but I find that the most general consensus is something that, basically looks and swims like a fish. Here is a picture of some of my stuff that I dont think anyone would argue that something here is not a swim bait, maybe with the exception of the mouse. They don't have to be 17 inches and weight 2 lbs (obviously exaggerating making fun of some of the guys that get caught up on size), there is some pretty small stuff in this picture but generally they do tend to be on the larger size

Losing the big ones will keep you coming back for more.

My personal best came out of a small pond in Florida... fished weighed just over 12 pounds. No leader, straight 40lb pound power pro on a texas rigged zoom lizard. Granted this was a small pound, so it didn't receive quite the fish pressure a lake like Clear Lake would, but I definitely wasn't the only one who fished it.

Length of day has as much to do with fish activity as water temp. Especially in summer, as it is right now. I wouldn't worry about the water being too cold. It's not to the bass. It's probably perfect for them actually. If a front just came through, then that would influence any negative activity of the bass more than the water temp. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Don't forget, even when the surface temp is in the upper 70's, the temp 10' down can be considerably cooler. And it take a lot to change the water temp down there.

One day an old fisherman was walking his mule down a trail from a mountain lake with two large baskets , one on either side of the mule, they were both loaded with small minnow sized fish . The old fisherman is thinking to himself ," I can't wait to get these fish back to the orphanage to feed all the children for the next week ", At this time coming up the trial mounted on a fine quarter-horse is a young gentleman of class and as they passed the young gent is thinking, " Wow look at all the bait that old man has ! Those minnows would sure come in handy for fishing on the ocean tomorrow ". ( By Lanzbass)

That is called running on pad. Performance bass boat hulls are designed to run like that. My Bullet doesn't operate properly unless I'm properly trimmed and running on the pad, and that means all but the pad is out of the water. There is a lot going on in this video, and while it might seem like he knows what he's doing, he doesn't. In many of the passes, he's attempting to drive through chine walk. You don't "drive through" it, you prevent it with steering input. The only way to stop chine walk is to trim down, and then lift off the throttle - IN THAT ORDER. When passing a wake, or turning, you should trim down a bit, and lift off the throttle a bit, using the hull to split the wave. Otherwise, the wave causes the bow to slap, and you see the worst possible scenario here. You don't even need a a wake to do it, just lifting the throttle without first trimming the bow back down will do it. It's a great video for showing how not to drive, but as far as the advice to wear your PFD and attaching your kill switch, that sort of goes without saying.

I'll pitch any bait on any rod. It's just a casting style. If the trees are 20-30 feet from the boat, then pitch it. If farther, then cast it. There is no "ideal day" for pitching. It's just a way to get the bait to the fish, quietly. If you are casting to timber in 20 feet of water, you'll have to strip line off the reel to feed the bait on a slack line fall. Otherwise, the bait will pendulum back to the boat. This is actually where a spinning rod can be an advantage. You can simply make your cast, and leave the bail open, and the bait will fall straight down with little resistance.

Thank you all for the welcome. I really look forward to talking to everyone and gaining some knowledge and info on being a better fisherman.

I used flood/driving lights mounted as close to the out side ends of the bumper as I could get to get the best coverage. Lights close to the hitch didn't work for me. Also, install a 12V DC auto relay controlled by the backup circuit and add a 14 awg direct power feed from the engine fuse block to the relay; the direct 12V feeds the add-on backup lights through the relay. Otherwise, on my Dodge Ram, the factory backup circuit wasn't strong enough to power the trucks backup lights and the add-on lights.

Only the bass know the answer to this question. Tom

I think the idea that fish will see your line is way overrated. If you fish really clear water for highly pressured fish, it might make a difference but for the most part, I don't think it does. If fish will hit an A-rig with all the metal hanging off of it, they will hit a bait with braid.

Well if you don't have a scale & you catch a new pb it is not a true pb Then we have to live through another post of how much do you think this weighs?

My sunglasses. No sunglasses, no trip.

My hat. Sunburned scalp is not fun. Tom

Needle nose pliers and some chartreuse JJ's.

sunscreen...being lobster red is painful.

Needle Nose Pliers. MegaStrike. Map.

Well being a 20 year old, I was raised with technology/smartphones/ect, so im going to leave those off. Honestly I wouldnt go without my cigarettes.

Lucky hat

at least a second rod... fishing one style gets old quick.

I read it and I learned a lot from it, very good read.

Smart Phone-Honestly GPS, contact with 911 or assistance. I wouldn't head out without it. I keep mine in one of the Berkley waterproof containers.

Needle nose pliers and good set of cutters. Not sure if that is obvious or not, but ever since being hooked in the fingers with trebles and 3-4 lbs hanging off my hand for dear life I will never again fish without them. Since I incorporated that rule, I have never had a hook incident again.

Waded the Potomac up by Harpers Ferry last night with my brother. Managed a few nice ones on a white super fluke. This is about the average size I was catching

Where was that? I have one buzzbait but have never really used it. Here's a silly question: Has anyone fished the "lake" at Best Buy in Woodbridge? I stumbled upon a fishing report last night where a gentleman briefly fished that lake and caught a largemouth on a spinner bait. There are fish there, and I have to believe it's not pressured... would be interesting to check out. I would just feel awkward parking in the BB lot and walking into the woods with a rod.