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I stood there watching him skip that jig, saw the realization in his eyes when the bass inhaled his jig, & witnessed the ensuing battle...priceless!

We get one life. We are extremely fortunate to have been born in a country where we have the freedom to do many things. How we choose to exercise that freedom is an individual choice. Being satisfied & content with the path we take goes a long way. Money is often a means to an end. Think big picture. A-Jay

I don't think I'm willing to fork out money to buy my dream combo (MB Super Leggera) but I do have one that I feel like it will be the best combo I will get a chance to fish. The only problem is......I haven't fish it yet either lol. Ice just melted, bass season is open yet, I just got back from a long vacation. Now itching to use it! BTW it color matches!!! Let the hating begin.

It probably means most of us are pigs & women just don't like us.

Just had one of those days Monday. Went and fished one of the power plant lakes that is a lake that's well known for it's big fish potential. It's also known for being extremely difficult and has been especially so this winter. I hadn't caught maybe 15 fish out there all winter so I wasn't super excited to fish it. Despite that, after the first 30 minutes I already had 8 fish in the boat and had my hopes up. Got to one of my favorite stretches of bank and was tossing a Dep's 175 Slide Swimmer when it got hammered. Fish had it crossways in her mouth and I was sure it was mine. Right next to the boat she jumped and tossed it! Would have been my biggest swimbait fish for sure. I jumped around the lake, kept catching fish pretty steady. The wind kept me from fishing one area I really wanted to fish so I went back to where I lost the big one. I switched to a KVD 8.0 which I bought just for this lake. Got back to exactly where I lost the big one, which is kind of a rock slide that's slide all the way out to a small drop off. Bounce that big bait off a few rocks and it got stopped. The fish jumped once, another big one but I could see the bait had one hook in her top lip. I had a bad feeling after I saw that and it came to be when she jumped at the boat and liberated herself of my bait, another big one gone. At the end of the day I was back to another of my favorite spots that had been really productive earlier and cranking a 1.5 squarebill when I finally managed to hook and land a good fish. My biggest one of the day went 5lbs 6ozs, my biggest so far this season, but it should have been so much better.

It was actually 26 bass, 8 whites/wipers, and 2 crappie On top of losing those 2 big ones I did have a mini heart attack when I thought I'd stuck a monster on my Slide Swimmer, rocks do such a good job at really stopping a bait!

If one-pound bass are flying chest-high, better cross-your-legs for two-pound bass! Roger

Turn your brain off, your gonna scare people...

I was disappointed with the lost fish, but actually had a great time except for the winds. It was the first time I've had fun on this lake in quite awhile and the big fish, lost or landed, are always fuel to feed the flame to come back.

that's awesome. had to laugh a little at the title of your post though. congrats to you and your wife.

NORMAN, NORMAN, oh and make sure to pick up some NORMANS lol seriously love just about every crank in there line up and they can cover just about any depth you need to hit. Plus for the price you just cant beat em.

O'Reillys pub.

This made my day.

Many a good man has traveled down this Mysterious & Ominous path, some made it half way, some went a little further; but No One has been able to go All The Way. I have tried many times and failed miserably every time - It was Ugly. So I say it Just Can't be done. Now, if I Think I'll need it, I bring it. Good Luck to you. A-Jay

If I had a "go to" lure that worked when all else failed, that would be the only thing I threw.

Loved my Carver amps in the 80's

How compatible are y'all? What are your strengths? What are his? Weaknesses? How well y'all game plan strengths & weaknesses will determine how successful the team will be. Y'all must fish as a team not two individuals out fishing! When done in unison both anglers can cover water quickly & thoroughly, which allows y'all a greater opportunity to establish patterns faster.

Better investment than a coke habit. Don't drink. Don't smoke. What ya going to do. The only thing I can say is " Enjoy what you got " Don't be intimidated by 60k Ranger boats. Don't worry everyone else has 200 + hp If what you got floats and allows you to catch fish, enjoy it. My little aluminum bass boat is bought and paid for. It was in my price range and no need to go into debt for it. Would I like a nice shiny new fiberglass bass boat ? Hell yeah ! But I have lots of interests that require my cash. Could I afford to buy a winter house in Florida with a payment book on a 60k boat ? Nope. Just fish and enjoy life.

I guess I forgot about this one from just a couple weeks ago.

If some lures work real well when the fish are not biting , just think how good they would be when the fish are biting .

gillcrackers! a lot of people catch these and mistake them for regular old bluegill. very cool little fish and they fight like champs on lite tackle.

Hi All, It's late so I have to make this quick, I might edit this post in the future... I've been waiting over a week for the boat I use to be put in the water... Last Friday was the first day I zeroed after the fishing got good, and when I checked the water temperature it said it was 52*. This is relevant because when I checked my 2014 fishing log I noted that right when the water hit 52* last year I struggled for over a week to catch anything. I figured the fish must be transitioning into the spawning phase and must have moved out of the Marina I fish, so I knew it was critical that I needed to get the boat in the water by Monday so I could locate the bass either on points or in coves. After work today I made a call and found out the boat was still not ready, but it could be put in the water today if I help out and believe me I was more than willing. I knew a storm was moving in tomorrow (Tuesday) and today was pre-frontal & overcast so I really had a feeling today was critical. The boat finally got put in the water and the first thing I did was go retrieve two Bladed California Swim Jigs that I made some bad casts with and got hung up. The first one was over two weeks ago and the Keitech was swollen up from being in the water so long. The other one I lost just last week in a laydown but it was still working fine. I rigged up two rods, one with a DropShot (for finesse), and the other with the Bladed California Swim Jig I retrieved from the lay-down (big fish bait). It was getting around 5pm when I finally loaded up the boat so I only had a few hours left as it gets dark at 8pm. I immediately headed toward the near by point to try and locate fish, and after about 20+ casts I had a hit on the Bladed California Swim Jig but no hookup (I was using this bait to try and locate large pre-spawn bass). At this point I knew I was on the right track and after a while I just locked it in my hand and forgot about the DropShot. I made a few casts to some docks before you get to the point and Boom hooked into my first fish a 3lb 0oz Smallmouth Bass (Largest SM so far of 2015). A few docks later I hooked into a 2lb 02oz Smallmouth Bass. By this time it was getting around 7pm and I wanted to check the docks inside the bay for fish that might be moving toward the back where a creek runs into it. (I wanted to check the creek but didn't have time). As I was fishing into the bay about 4 docks into it I made a diagonal cast into the open water between the dock I just fished and the next one deeper into the bay. When I retrieved the bait 1/4 to 1/2 the way back to me ''SLAM!'' I hooked into something big. My rod bent into a complete U shape and the fish started taking drag. I thought I just hooked into a nice pike or probably my biggest bass. As I pulled it closer I could see it was a Largemouth so I quickly pulled it in and lipped it. NEW PERSONAL BEST 6lb 10oz! previous was 4lb 04oz I caught over 11lb of bass today in just 2 & 1/2 hours, and a lot of that time was used up taking pictures for my 2015 log. I think I might retire the bait since I just caught my new PB on it... [ 3/8oz Strike King Pure Posion Chatterbait (Black & Blue) + 4.8'' Keitech Swing Impact Fat (Rainbow Shad)] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pics of the Smallmouth's I Caught Earlier... 3lb 00oz - 18'' 2lb 02oz - 16'' WolfyBrandon

Hit the local CPL for a short trip after work, and caught a 4 lbs 2 oz fish (again! lol). Muddy muddy water, pitched a bunch of laydowns and that was the only bite I got. Number 8 over 4# this April from this place. Wonder what's up with her reddish anal fin. My (semi) homemade jigs have been putting in some good work. Also, my Kistler Helium3. Best $140 I ever spent. It rained a bunch today, and Wally Creek is in spate.

I was doing soooo good... Then I went to DSG and they had all missile baits 20% off so I bought 9 bags of the d bombs. They also have KVD square bills at 4 dollars and 20% off all other strike king lures so I will have to go back. So I said to myself I'm done for now, then I walked out of gander 20 minutes later with 6 xcalibur xr50 one knockers, and I made the mistake of picking up an *** black rod and really liking it, so it will probably only be a matter of time...

http://youtu.be/gwEmQNd6wMA

] Why I love Indiana gun laws. Never leave anywhere without carrying my firearm. To many weirdos out there that try to find an opportunity when your alone

Sorry to hear that happened to you and your friend. Its so hard to figure out some of the jerks walking around among the masses. We can cure cancer, have a heart transplant, but you can't do a dam thing for plain old fashion stupid!!!!! Don't let this effect your life one bit.

This morning as i was trying to revive a dying fish (RIP lil feller) a bunch of these tiny birds (4 or 5) swarmed me and basically did an old school pokemon style "wing attack" at me. They never touched me, but i could feel the wind as my heart nearly exploded from the surprise. After i let go and hunkered down they dragged it to shore and pecked it like no tomorrow. Last year i hooked a 45 lb turtle....probably my most interesting non fish fishing encounter. "ITS A BIG STICK, Nope.....Its Franklins Mother....Uhhh what do i do now"

One of them

What kind of poles are those? Seems like Shakespeare Sturdy Stik to me. (that's not silk, but stik). I mean, that's what it says on the rods.

Guy... Toughen up some, that's life. I wouldn't let that stop me from fishing. Good & Evil co-exist. That's just the way it is...

He can't help it, he just had his lower unit serviced.

The short answer is no. I've got a few decent rigs. Once I own a rod & reel combo, it isn't a dream anymore - so I got to dream up a new one. Just another first world problem . . . .

Nice! Any woman willing to give fishing a shot and listen to instructions and catches a fish, passes the "cool" test with me! Ya got a keep-her!!!

Paging Dwight, come in Dwight.

I hear ya. I'm just saying you can get away with a smaller hook and was just giving you a general idea of what is needed for rigging baits the way you are wanting to. If you are just wanting to know hook sizes to fit all of those baits "perfectly", a 3/0 and 4/0 will work fine except for the longer paddletails. A 5" or 6" paddletail will require a 5/0 or 6/0 hook. You don't want to go small on paddletails. With too small of a hook, you might not be able to rig them right and it would mess up the action.

There are some nice JDM options at that price point ..

Priorities my man, everyone's in a different phase of their lives. I'm just fishing out of a little beat up bass tracker. I can afford a $35k boat right now, but my wife said no boat until the baby. I had to sell all my 12 setups to step it up to high end gears. It's just a tool in the end, but I like my tools a certain way. I don't knock people with starter setups, we all started somewhere. It doesn't help me catch more fish, but I can honestly say I do enjoy my fishing time more with the gears I really want.

I didn't know they made apple flavored Kool-Aid. That's why I clicked on this thread, but it's just about computers. Thanks for getting my hopes up.

3/0-4/0 will do fine that's what I fish on all the above baits and have no issues even on lil fish

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn93/bobbyblue396/Mobile%20Uploads/image_2.jpg

I see where you're coming from, but some swim baits are definitely reaction baits. Burning a TT through grass is just one example

Dont be ashamed of your tattoos. Dont stop fishing either. Looks dont make a person, you made the right move by continuing about your business. Go out and have fun. Ill second the response requesting tat pictures. Lets see what ya got!

Should of just rolled your sleeves up...

While fishing rip rap last year with a buddy I had one get in my boat. My friend who is a large man, six foot five two hundred sixty pounds, screamed like a little school girl. I noticed the snake coming towards us, the water snake (non venomous) came in through the transom just climbed on the motor and wiring and came right in. My friend was on the absolute very tip of the bow haha, I grabbed my flipping stick (pun intended) and flipped his ass back in the water. He came right back in, same way, I flipped him back in, but since my friend threatened bodily harm to me, we had to leave, and not give the snake a third chance lol.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-12-22/news/fl-crocodiles-return-20131222_1_crocodile-lindsey-hord-alligator

If there's a chance of freezing temps, I lower it.

One sentence: Bill Dance Bloopers.