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Added a few members to my Daiwa family. Second is my real shelf queen because I've no idea why I bought it and don't think it catches fish but it looks so cool...

Nice ^ lineup The new conquest 101 has arrived... Sweet and incredibly smooth. Added hedgehog air bearings and a zpi carbon fiber handle for now. Will most likely go with a different handle and knobs. Now he can keep the 51s company...

A bit of a rant. My little girl is 25 She's been my little girl since I met her mother 19 years ago. I've gone thru all the nightmare thoughts any dad would go thru raising a daughter. None of her boyfriends have ever met my approval so, she stopped bring them around. This last one really takes the cake. She has been with him for a couple three years. After spending a weekend with us at the house in Wisconsin 2 years ago and watching his behavior and mannerisms, I was done with him. 2 weeks ago they move in together. Being the nice guy that I am, I offered the use of my truck. He whined the entire time about having to move her heavy furniture, while his buddies helped out and didn't say a word. She has spent more time at home since she moved out, but hasn't mentioned anything until this past Thursday. Her mother and I have "date" night every Thursday and she asked if she could come with. She cried about what a dick he is and I bit my lip because she didn't see in 3 years what I saw in one weekend. I got a call from her in tears tonight "come pick me up, I'm moving back home." Just finished unloading the truck. Can't say I told you so but.......

Did you tell her to calm down? Because 100% of the time that does the opposite

Hey all! Early in the morning the air was cool and was in the low 60s. The air had significantly cooled over night, as it had been in the 80s the previous evening. This cold front just made me want to go fishing, since it has been very slow and sluggish fishing lately, maybe this front will make a change, i thought. I ask my buddy if he wants to go fishing at a pond nearby him and we end up going out to fish at around 12:30pm. We arrive at the pond; its very windy out and the sun is high and strong, but the temperatures remain relatively cool compared to previous days: mid 70s. We both toss soft plastics around sticks and drop offs from shoreline and we arent able to connect with any bass. I tie on a booyah spinnerbait and toss it under a tree overhanging the pond, providing shade. I reel at a moderate pace and as i approach the shoreline, out from the shade comes a massive head with huge shoulders. A 6 lb largemouth slams my spinnerbait and i quickly land it. Measured 21 inches long and 6lbs 1oz. Just 6 oz shy of my PB, which i caught in florida 6lbs is a big big fish for up here in New York Excuse my facial expressions in these photos i was very shocked and excited Look at that stomach!!!!!! After this fish, my friend caught a skinny 17 incher that weight just under 2 lbs. We decide to take the row boat out onto the pond to get to some different spots. This is my first time ever fishing from a boat in freshwater. We approach a shady edge covered with trees and with branches in the water. I cast my spinnerbait under the tree, into about a foot of water near the shoreline. And WHAM! I hook up with a nice lunker! My first bass from a boat just happens to be one of my best new york bass! She weighed 5lbs and was 20.5 inches long. Boy did she have a lumpy belly!! Also, she had a bluegill tail sticking out of her throat (i didnt get a photo of the bluegill tail, i wanted to release her quickly) Im so glad i've finally managed to shake the skunk off of me! Its been two weeks too many!!!!!! Thanks BR!!!! -Welds

I caught this 4.1 pounder today on a 5" Baby Bass Senko wacky rigged. He was just short of 20 inches. My heart raced for 30 minutes. (-:

did it involve rusty from the truck stop and a blumpkin?

Jesus. Read what he did about feeding the masses from his fishing adventure.

Casino, Goodfellas, and The Usual Suspects are all pretty well tied. I could also watch Spaceballs or The Three Amigos just about any time. I would rather watch a remake of Ishtar starring Carrot Top and Gilbert Gottfried than a Pauly Shore flick. YOU, sir, need professional help.

It's all about be able to detect strikes or strike detection. No rod or line will make you a better bass angler until you learn to detect the slightest strikes by feeling you lures weight or line resistance change. I have repeated this many times; try sight fishing if you think you can detect a strike using your rod. If you want to be a better bass angler feel your line between the tip of your thumb and index finger...and fish at night. The biggest bass are the hardest to detect strikes, their massive mouth makes very slight line movements. Tom

and if involves another woman.................... Those are the things you do before the ring goes on her finger, not after.

So, I'm in the boat today, cranking a Wiggle Wart parallel to a contour line on the bottom, where the depth drops from about 6 fow to 8 fow. I make another cast, crank down to depth, and start the retrieve. The rod mushes up like I've plowed into a bunch of grass, then the "grass" is moving sideways, then the "grass" starts a run and is peeling drag. I see the line coming up, and THEN, out of the water in a great tailwalk is a big honkin' largemouth bass! Mouth open, gills flared, head shaking, then back in the water. She makes another jump, then I finally get her close to the boat. THEN, she takes off again and makes a run under the boat to the opposite side. I stick the rod straight down into the water and watch the rod bend under the boat. I'm thinking real quick - am I anchored? No. Good - she can't wrap around the anchor line. All I have to do is keep her away from the trolling motor. Get her back to the left/port side of the boat - rod still sticking almost straight down. Get the net ready, and carefully bring the rod tip up and guide the (tired) fish into the net and into the boat. 24 inches / 7.65 pounds. A little Wiggle Wart for brunch? Her nickname must be "Chunk"... Time to say goodbye - see you again soon (I hope)... Tackle was a St. Croix Legend Extreme 7'2" Medium-Moderate rod, Calais 100A, 10lb YZ-US line. That rod is a true moderate action rod, almost a noodle rod. This was a FUN fish to catch on that rod... NOW, looking at the features on the left gill plate, and comparing to some other photos, I believe this is the SAME bass that I caught on June 29th. This catch was within 100 yards of the June 29 catch. She weighed 7.41 pounds back then. Yeah baby - catch-and-release in action!! The story of the first catch is here: Went For A Boatride - Powered By A Grub Eatin' 7.4 LMB

My new Michigan PB ~ A-Jay

Hey A-Jay. I see you like Erie for smallies. My B-in-Law has been beating on me to go up with him (Presque Isle) for smallmouth. I really need to take him up on it next spring. He's all about walleye right now. Sweet stick there roadwarrior! Thanks for the link.

A Pflueger Supreme XT Spinning Reel matched with a Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth Spinning Rod. A Sweet set up that balances & fishes very nicely. The price point is fair & reasonable as well. Choose the action that suits your needs. btw - these rods work perfectly on green bass too . . . . . A-Jay

I never go fishing without several jigging spoons. Not super exciting to fish but you can sure load the boat fast if you find the right school of fish.

Texas Rigged Craw Worms

Raider, if you need a place to stay for awhile I got an little space for ya here at my house if you don't mind gassy six year olds and a dog in the bed! I'm here for ya bro.

The Scorpion weighs a whopping 6.7 ounces. I think you can handle it. You may already be aware, but after buying your 1st Jdm reel you'll want another, and another.

Just another chapter for your memoir. As it stands right now it would be longer then Moby Dick and war and peace combined.

I'm lucky she didn't have access to a ladle. Or I would have gone from bleeding black and silver to being black and blue.

It is tougher in a kayak unless you have a kayak you can stand up in. You will also find that for the most part you don't horse the fish to you but rather keep tension on the fish and pull yourself to the fish.....at least that is what usually happens for me when fishing dense cover like weeds or lilly pads

X3

Snuck in some fishing early this morning with my buddy before my day of errands begins. Was out on the water around 06:45 this morning, it was slightly cool around 64 degrees when we started fishing. First pond we went to was absolutely choked with vegetation. While the top of the water was clear of debris, you only had between 8" and 2' of water to fish in. I tried a couple of the new baits I received in the newest MTB (won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't received theirs) but had no luck. We loaded back up after about an hour of no bites and went to another pond about 15 minutes away that we knew had no vegetation. Only problem with this pond is we have been consistently skunked there for the last year. I was not optimistic about my chances but figured we would give it a shot. Fished for about an hour alternating between Senko and Horny toads - nothing doing there. Swapped to one of my new Siebert jigs and started fishing out towards the middle of the pond. Each of us landed one fish on jigs - and while it isn't anything to write home about - I was doubly excited, it is my first Siebert jig fish, and it appears Siebert jigs have helped bust up our long lasting curse of being skunked. Anyways here is a picture.

I'm not just saying it because I'm a fan and i hope it happens, but Lester is a pretty grounded and decent guy, I don't think he's just blowing smoke...but we shall see.

LOL. Yet another good reason to use left hand wind baitcasters right there!

Oh, we're going to catch ya. You guys will pull away again in the winter when the water gets hard up here.

Went to buckmaster caught two little lmb but it was awesome cuz I used new crankbait. Rapala floating minnow. My first crank baits fishes. It's almost better to catch a small one on something new then it is to catch a big one on a senko.

I was talking on the phone to an old friend who had randomly called me after three years. I changed out my rig to throw a live worm so I could toss it out and let it sit while I talked. During the hour phone call I noticed several folks down the shore a bit kept making catches while my line didn't so much as barely twitch. After I hung up I put my phone down on the little table beside my chair and....there was my live worm squirming around. I had thrown out an empty bait hook.

Nice fish jaystraw

Fox, fair and balanced.....................but of course !

It's an odd thread because I totally missed getting my point across. It was intended to show anyone looking to getting into using a. One person vessel that they can get by with out electronics. A crank bait or two and a fishing rod/reel gan provide most of the same information I tend to over explain thing and end up confusing many people, including myself. The din din, mama should have been part of a PM and not in the post Sorry guys. Don't feel bad if you didn't understand, I didn't and I wrote it!

Took your advice this afternoon and caught my first bass on a spinnerbait. To top it off my wife caught her first and second bass on a crank bait. Good times

I always back off the. Drags on my reels at the end of the day. Do I always remember to reset them prior to heading out again? I remember to put the plug back in the boat most of the time too.

One day I cast a soft plastic lure out and forgot to engage the spool and before I switched hands I gave it a few pops and something grabbed it, I switched hands and tried setting the hook and created the mother of all birds nest...

Got out today on Highland Lake and froze our butts off! Felt way more like October than August today, and fished like it as well. Pretty slow until the afternoon, and then caught a 3lber and then this 5 lb 13 oz beauty. Love that place. Shane, I'm trying to free up a Saturday as soon as possible!!!!

I've never done that but I have forget to reset my drag after catching a 5lb smallie a few months ago. She fought like a tank and I was gentle because she seemed like she was heading up to spawn. After I let her go we moved down the bank and I flipped under a dock a hooked into a 2lb smallie and I almost fell out of the boat because my rod kept traveling upward. My friend had a good laugh and I looked like a goof doing a double hookset but it was funny at the time.

Thanks Mike. Also I love my HawgTech's they look Sweeeet!! on my 2 Curado I's.

One of the best things I did for my tin boat was add a 24v variable speed trolling motor.

Smack her on the ass when she gets a bite, that should help.

Most important thing you can teach her is to fillet and cook a fish My girlfriend always wants to come fishing, but she has the attention span of about 5 casts, and then she's putting her rod down and reading a book. Good luck to you, and hopefully you have better luck than I have.

Fantastic fish. Congrats in landing it....twice. Maybe on your third time it'll be over 8lbs. Give it a couple of months to fatten up.

Power Pro hi-vis Yellow + sharpie.

Plat is a japanese tackle shop. Best pricing on most jdm reels is this place http://japaneselure.gostorego.com/

Hmmmmm. Sounds like the chatterbait bite would've made me start strokin a jig. Other options: definitely a crankbait. Fish head spin. Flutter spoon. And I personally would've started out with a c-rig. EDIT: A Texas rigged big worm might have produced too!

A-Jay

I have two scales. A $20 Berkley digital hand held, and a $300 Equalizer table top tournament scale that I use at weigh-in's. Both weigh fish exactly the same. For example, my biggest fish that I weighed for lunker this weekend in a tournament I fished, weighed 5lbs 5oz. on the Berkley scale, and at the end of the day, on this clubs tournament scale, which is the same as mine, it weighed 5.29lbs....................good enough for me. I generally find people who "think" their handheld scales are "way off", don't really have a clue, and think 3lbers are 6 in the first place.

Finding & catching Summer time Smallmouth can be tough. But yesterday, deep cranking was working right in the middle of the day. Dodging the ski boats & jet skis just made it more interesting . . A-Jay