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Just broke my personal best today! 6lbs even

Thought I would add a few pics of some of my newest gear..

Not a pb but a blemish free fatty.

I'm out here working at a lodge in Northwestern Ontario called Eagle Lake Island Lodge. It is on an island in the middle of Eagle Lake in Ontario. 99% of our guests are american from the midwest. Eagle is a world famous walleye and musky where not many people target smallmouth at all. Smallies are my passion and I was determined to find some early season bass because at home we can't legally fish for bass until the 3rd Saturday in June. Here are a few beauties from the last few days. 7

First cast and first fish on my new recon 682

My most photogenic fish? The 7 3/4 pounder that I didn't get pics of

This photo of a Mississippi river backwater bass trying to throw the bait always reminded me of the Harry and Charlie stories in bassmaster .

Fished from the kayak today in the harbor, caught 4 stripers and 2 bluefish. First saltwater catches of the season. All were caught on a 6.5" pencil popper. Stripers on topwater is exhilarating Post your reports below!!

So I caught this small Largemouth yesterday with the most intense colors on it. Never seen anything like it. Its bottom had an awesome copper color while the rest had some metallic greens and silver. Please feel free to post some of your great and favorite photos instead of your PB's. Although small, one of my favorite catches!

This 2 3/4 pound bass jumped when i tried to get a picture of its length! Pretty cool pic

Learn to watch your line. A lot of wacky rig bites can be detected before they're ever felt just by watching the line. Using a braid main line with a fluoro leader makes this much easier. Sometimes the line with "jump", other times it will stop falling before it should, sometimes it speeds way up. Also check out the link on here on how to unhook deep hooked fish. That little hook is very easy to remove even when they're hooked deep. Pinching down the barb also makes removing the hook easier. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/12981-how-do-i-remove-a-hook-a-bass-has-swallowed/page-2

I believe it makes a difference, yes. That tick, tick, tick sounds an awful lot like a craw moving rocks around. Almost as important as this, is that the bead protects your knot from abrasion by the tungsten weight.

Lake Fork 5" spoon in Magic Shad.....$8

Hahaha...I thought everyone was on board. I'm not lefty, don't own a Steez, and get bored and like to have fun conversations with strangers. It don't get much stranger than this group! Hehehe. It was satire from the get go.

This ain't my PB, but it looks bigger. The other, I admit I should have handled it better. But I did release both.

This.... or they are ticked off that somethings in their "space", and since they don't have hands to smack it with they put it in their mouth. Heck,for all I know we could catch them on wacky rigged strips of tire tread, or a pine cone, but what fun would that be?

Awesome fish, got my first of the year from the beach yesterday.

When you see lots of smaller pike beat up it is usually a result of spawn. I have seen 40" and over beat up as well. There are always bigger dogs in the system that play rough. I have also seen talons marks by raptors that tried to lift off with a pike in check but couldn't lift the weight. Pike are notorious for eating their own.

I got a left handed quarter pounder at McDonalds once. I know it was a left hander, because as soon as I put it in my right hand, I dropped it. I only go to Arby's now. Arby's is the G Loomis of roast beef. Hootie

Try using circle hooks instead of regular wacky hooks. You'll lip a much higher percentage of your fish using these. Just make sure you get the IN-LINE circle hooks and not the off-set style. I also crimp down the barb and have experienced no less success with landing fish. Just makes unhooking your catch easier, in my opinion. With the 5" Senkos I find that the Gamakatsu Inline Octopus Circle hooks, in size 1/0 to be perfect for this presentation. Finally, remember that with circle hooks of any style, you just start reeling your fish in - no hook set is necessary. If you try to set the hook in normal fashion, you'll pull the hook right out of the fishes' mouth every time.

This is the fourth biggest LMB on record that has been caught in Ga and it's still bigger than Florida's State Record of 17lbs 4 3/4oz.

Your assumption is correct Joe. It really doesn’t matter whether you pitch or flip, because the underwater weed caverns cannot be seen from the boat. Most bass lie in the heaviest shade of the weedbed, which is the myriad of shady nooks on the underside of the canopy. Even so, I always wait for the punch rig to make bottom contact. There are 2 reasons for this: >> Even though there might be less shade on the bottom, some bass are bottom-huggers and those are often the biggest bass. >> Bass lying at the underside of the plant crown will often follow the bait down to the bottom without striking, where a bounce or two might coax a strike. Most strikes occur during the "vertical freefall" to the bottom. On days when bass are especially active, soft pumping in midwater around the the underside of the plant canopy can be very effective. Punch weights can vary from 3/4 oz to 1-1/2 oz or more, depending on the plant species and density of growth. In Florida's weedy lakes, the weight I use the most is 1-1/4 oz. In my opinion it’s better to be overweighted than underweighted. Aside from better weed penetration, a faster sink rate tends to trigger more strikes on impulse. On a final note, a common mistake made by anglers is to punch close to the weedline without punching the inner mat. In an expansive weedbed, bass will lie a long cast away from the nearest weedline. That is to say, you're still using short pitches and a vertical delivery, but your boat may be 25 yd inside the weedline. Roger

Check out Lake Fork Tackle on youtube on how to fish the spoon & I think Tom Redington has some as well.

I'm going to hold out my answer until I get back from Lake Baccarac later this month.

You guys are giving the OP lots advice and don't have a clue if the rod is spinning or casting, used for underwater lure presentations or whatever else the "sensitive rod" is going to be used for???? Meaningless question. Tom

HELLO! These things are beautiful and lightweight! Can't wait to throw them out. JLS even threw in a surprise jig for me. Thought that was really nice of them

I use left handed casting reels, but I stay away from the left handed rods because you have to tighten the reel seat nut down with an expensive metric pipe wrench.

I caught a sleeping bag on a jigging spoon once. I unhooked it and released it quickly before I found out if there was anyone still inside it or not.

The fleet hanging out on the floor

Today marks a great moment in history! I finally convinced my girlfriend of two years and avid angler to let me teach her on casting reels. The very first thing she did his hold the rod out in front of her and click the bail.....without her thumb on the spool. She also picked out her very first backlash. Overall was a fun day before work and the gratification I felt from getting through her head the joys and benefits of having versatile equipment was great. Anyone else had to battle with their significant other over learning casting equipment? The picture below is less related and just a picture of her with a nice rainbow.

What a great race! Yep, it was history.

When we do happen to get stuck we throw it in reverse then forward. If that doesn't work you have to pull the motor up and clear the prop. If it gets too thick we use a push pole.

Wow. Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah. That's right. I don't have any rod racks. However, I do have a 2 x 4 I can mount one on. Since I work in a machine shop, I can make my own plastic washers and spacers. Thanks a lot for sharing. Bet a lot of people will take advantage of your idea. I know I will.

It's the most basic solution you can do. Workout and stretch daily. Building muscle around your joints will help support them. Not working out makes your joints do all the work. Doctors love to give meds and replace joints. Find yourself a trainer that will teach you what you need to do to live a better life and just do it. Many will spend thousands on a boat but won't send a thousand on there health and well being. To me that doesn't make sense. The older you get the worse it will get so start while your younger.

Lucky Ducky. Hope you rip some sizeable lips..........

If you go back out to fish for them, I have a particular lure that I consistantly catch Bowfin on regardless of conditions. It is the Rebel Jupin Minnow in Bone White. Of course some days will be better than others, but every time I go to the spot where i know thier is Bowfin(for me its the St. Marys River In Florida) I have used this lure and at least had a few bites, and usually hook up. I have also caught Bass, and Longnose Gar on it, but mainly use it to target the Bowfin. They run about $4-$5 online, and they are very consistant for catching Bowfin.

#15 braid has a diameter of #4 mono. It's really pretty thin. Braid doesn't do well with toothy critters anyhow. Tie on a leader of mono/fluoro

What the orthopedic defined to you is tendonitis. That's what it basically means. Consistent and repetitive movements on one or more planes over long periods of time. Tendons are connected at the end of muscles. Although a professional massage may be extremely uncomfortable, it will help break up the tissue and cause a healing response. I know it sounds counter productive however its a very common and effective practice among massage and physical therapists. It worked for my shoulder and my elbow. Didn't look forward to it, but it worked wonders. Best of luck. Another thing that might help is to use your non-dominant hand for while when using the mouse on the computer.

I think we're done here.

I am a big (literally) fan of the Berkley Lightning Rod shocks. I have been fishing them for several years now. They are not as light or refined as the Vendetta's and Veritas's I have been using the last couple seasons, but when it comes to feeling bites, they hold their own with those rods. I have been on some kind of bizzaro, backwards gear quest the last few years, downgrading tackle to see how cost effective/cheap I can fish, and still fish at a level acceptable to me, and these rods (the LR shocks) have scratched me where I itch.

Im drinkin and cleaning my boat right now lol

When you have a 10 acre lake full of dinks, ya gotta spice things up to keep it interesting. Neon swimjig

I'm liking the new bps crankin stick 6'6"mh

You sir, just don't get it! One can never have too many rods, reels and baits!!

I dont see the point, in open water I'd want trebles..

You will get bites, but just curious as to why you wouldnt us a spook or popper.....I mean the only reason you use a frog is because its weedless, your going to be giving up action and hook up ratios for no reason. Just my opinion.

A few from the last week or so. 17.5'' 17.5'' A few smallies showed up. I even got a handful of browns saturday morning.

The week or so in review.... My buddy Brad with Mr. Waldo In the midst of this nice weather streak as of late, it was 45 degrees this particular afternoon we were out... Brad with a nice Sammy!! We saw Mr. Bear swimming out in the middle of the lake another day Rocky Balboa made an appearance..caught on a chatterbait.....those things are CRAZY!!!.....LOL Walleye Chunks ready for the deep fryer...MMmmmmmmm

It's funny, I have a room in my house dedicated to fishing gear (enough gear to fill out a small tackle shop). Yet, all I carry in the boat is one "Plano 1150 Bill Dance Tackle Box" (17'' x 12” x 5') On rare instances when I can't find what I want, my wife usually has it in her big tackle bag. Roger