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Got my second largest of the year so far on a buzzbait this past Thursday right after a torrential downpour that I got to thoroughly enjoy since my rain gear was in the truck.

Here's some pics, a longer report to follow. Had a few days to fish with Callum from Happy Go Fishing charters, he needed a break from lake trout so we fished largies on Thursday and crushed a good bag on squarebill cranks and throwing sticks to isolated rock. On Friday we hit big water smallies and smashed em up on 2-5ft flats throwing prodigy tubes.

Caught this 20.5" guy back on the 4th on Monroe Lake in Indiana dragging a Zoom Ol' Monster on a 1/2 oz swinging jig head. Only fish I caught all weekend.

Summer is a stable season, but it's also a mixed bag. One part of the population will move to deeper water, while another segment will remain shallow and cling to shallow vegetation. The metabolism of bass in summer is the highest of the year, therefore food intake is also at a peak annual level. With nature in full bloom, summer is a horn of plenty and forage is at peak levels. As a result, the high demand of summer is easily satisfied by a rich supply. So instead finding bass feeding wildly in summer, we're dealing with well-fed bass. During early and late summer, bass tend to respond to a faster retrieve and more action, times when frogs, spooks & buzzbaits do well. But during the highest water temps of midsummer bass tend to overheat and bass action generally slows down. One of the best defenses against the "dog days" of midsummer is to fish after dark. All that said, one of the best cold-plans in summer is to focus your game on the outer edge of weedbeds (deep weedline). Roger

thank you for your service Clayton

I can't say that I've ever encountered that, but a good defense would be to make sure that 'their' holes and 'your' holes are different places. Roger

http://www.10ftu.com/products/softbaits/h-b-original/ Bam.Done.

Fished the Alley, Miami Canal North and South yesterday with SouthFLBassHunter from 7am to 3pm. Contrary to weather reports the weather was actually awesome. We encountered 0 rain. Outside temps were nice and bearable, water temps were low to mid 80's, and water the level was up 1 ft. Boat traffic was minimal which is always a bonus. Started fishing with the frog and never put it down for the rest of day. Didn't have to. The action was consistent and it progressed to out right crazy throughout the day. We left at 3pm exhausted, and the fish not showing signs of slowing down. When I looked at my fish counter, I managed to land 25 bass, all on Mr Froggy. Here are some pics. Enjoy!!

Use a net... oe

Size 0 surgical tubing cut into small bands.

Good solid advice. The last thing you'd want is someone slinging rocks into your hole.

Some think throwing stuff in the water excites the fish and gets them to bite.

So I went to the GON Blast (Georgia Outdoor Network expo). Which is always cool, but it's mostly hunting/deer stuff. But, I rounded a corner and Mike Bucca had a booth. I couldn't believe it, in fact I was a little "star struck". Luckily, my brother was able to carry the conversation while I pulled it together. It was awesome meeting him, he's a super cool guy. That makes insane swimbaits. In fact, we talked for like a half an hour. I ended up buying a Balsa Bull and a slow sink 5" Bull Shad (and a freebie Bull Shad decal). He said he was a member here, and talked to Glen at Icast. So Mike if you read this...shout out.

To quote Forrest Gump: Stupid is as stupid does.

Spooking the fish out of their "Holes" may have merit as a solid angling tactic. Especially if one could control what they did after they departed said "Hole". Otherwise, presenting a bait directly to or in very close proximity to these magic fish holes, may be met with the desired results. btw - I think I heard that KVD is coming out with a Red Eye Sexy Fish Hole Bait at next year's iCast. A-Jay

Took my buddy out on my boat last night for some late night fishing. We both haven't fished nights and it was a blast!! Most of our bass came around midnight! I caught my first ever Midnight Bass 3lbs even and my buddy hooked into a 3lbs 8oz as well. With a mix of 2lbers. 3lbs even 3lbs 8oz

Thank you Mike. I have the Conquest 50 gear sets on the way from Plat and when I put the new gears in, I am putting a Conquest 50 on this rod. It's either going to be a Conquest 50 with an Avail spool or I am going to get an Aldebaran BFS XG Limited. First victim

Catching bass in the Dog Days of Summer is almost always a challenge - for everyone. During July & August 2015 the Bassmaster Elite series is only holding 3 events; which are in NY, Michigan & Maryland. Review how many Big Bass photos we see here in the summer as compared to spring & fall when the bass are shallow. Doesn't mean you can't catch them, just shows it's a little harder, so don't get bummed out. Very often the shallow bite is very tough in the summer. Fishing at night can help put the odds in your favor. If you can get off the bank (kayak), I agree with Roger - look at deep weedline as a place to start. Good Luck A-Jay

"From a human perspective, they're like Twinkies"

Or vice-versa!

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Yes, they are titanium framed guides. This is Major Crafts top bass rod. They retail between 240 and 280 depending on model. It's a lot of rod for the money. Even factoring in the 50 to 70 bucks you'll pay in shipping for a 1 piece, it's still a lot of rod. Major Crafts build quality is 2nd to none. They have a factory in Vietnam where all rods are assembled. It has also been confirmed at Icast that they are bringing over 2 lines to the US market this year. One is the Corzza, the other I haven't confirmed yet, but I have a suspicion it will be the Speedstyle.

Condolences to you & your wife A-Jay.. I'm thinking the visitors would rather see & deal with any bears over Raider Nation.. If they see raider they will report a Bigfoot sighting..

Come through grass on the bottom better. Here's a potential drawback. They don't dent or bend so they can be abrasive on your line knot. I've been using a glass bead between the tungsten weight and the hook. It protects the knot and certainly doesn't seem to be hurting anything. I heard Scott Martin refer to this as a sort of T-rig rattle.

Trailers lights only work in the driveway

Changing colors is bad business! If by chance you happen to catch a bass right after changing colors, you'll spend the rest of your life believing that color made the difference. I take great pain in selecting nice colors for the bass to enjoy. If a bass doesn't appreciate the pretty colors I choose for him, he can take his business elsewhere Roger

Childrens fiskars work just fine.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/153571-line-cutting-tool/?hl=+cutting%20+braid http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/102637-how-do-you-guys-cut-braid/?hl=%2Bcutting+%2Bbraid http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/149146-favorite-cutting-tool/?hl=+cutting%20+braid http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/136141-fishing-scissors/?hl=%2Bcutting+%2Bbraid#entry1515143 http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/132598-what-yall-cut-your-braid-with/page-3?hl=%2Bcutting+%2Bbraid#entry1470783 http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/129097-braid-cutting/?hl=%2Bcutting+%2Bbraid

Took advice from others on here and picked this bad boy and have very pleased. WWW.boomerangtool.com

Caught this Florida Trophy Catch certified beast yesterday around 1:30p when it was about 95°+ out here in Jacksonville, FL. It was awesome got her on the gopro too When I stop being lazy I am gonna make a post about the year I have had it has been awesome, and if I throw my buddy's pics up it goes to unbelievable

Gamakatsu finesse wide gap from 2-2/0 Never had an issue with them over the years.

Pretty fish AJ, I like the storage setup you have for all of those rods!

I'm home with my family most the time it's just national guard. Other then long summer ATs and schools I've gone to and one deployment I'm home and work a civilian job just like anyone else and go train one weekend a month. With talk of a deployment in the next two years though I kinda want to stay in but I think it's my time to leave. And yeah my story is being told by everyone it's kinda funny but it's made its way up to the battalion commander that a short timer was out bounding and assaulting with a 240. Him and a bunch of other higher ups have been bugging me this whole AT about staying in there is a $14,000 bonus to re up plus I would make sgt as soon as I re upped but it's not worth it to me anymore but is very tempting. Im definitely going to miss and and probably want to be back in a few months when I'm home all month long with no paid get aways shooting stuff.

Lathe area. Bandsaw area. Drill press and wrapping/drying bench. Before the power wrapper.

I'm not a fly fisherman but with that rod I could be. Looks great Scott & Steve.

A-Jay -- drop shot is a technique... what bait do you use on the drop shot? oe

Forget about the trees, they are not remarkable to the fish that live there. Fish the bottom contours just like you would any other lake. You need to fish shallower than 17' and deeper than 8' to be where the fish are. It's SUMMER and the thermocline sets the pattern.

There is NO line or rod for that matter, that you can just throw and KNOW without a doubt that there is a fish on the other end. No matter how much we wish there was, it just doesnt work that way. Sure we keep looking and comparing everything sold wishing for that magic bullet, but it just doesn't exist. So the next best thing is to try different things that will in our minds give us an edge. And what is the best way to do that? Buy what you can afford, ask for advise on the best way to use it, and remember why its called fishin. Mike

DON'T KNOW THAT PARTICULAR BRAND , BUT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING SIMILAR , THE 3:16 MISSION FISH IF JUST LIKE IT , MAYBE A LITTLE THINNER BODIED , TAKE A LOOK -- ( yes, it has red eyes )

I'm not a big fan of anything Booyah but love the Xcalibur traps. Hopefully they didn't change the design any and have good quality control. If not, I think I still have 8 XR50's in Rayburn Red so I should be good.

You can get submersible led trailer light kits online for about $50 or so. It has a tag bracket with it. Super simple to install. Maybe look into it.

Does this come in any other patterns ?

Look up Bigmouth and Bigmouth Forever. These contain some amazing underwater footage that captured bass in their natural habitat. Here's a clip from the latter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znc0wCeUACc

FYI Raider ~ Hide your Jerky (and your Crazy) A-Jay DNR Warning People About BearsPosted: Jul 24, 2015 8:37 AM EDTUpdated: Jul 24, 2015 11:47 AM EDT The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is warning people about bears. The DNR has responded to dozens of nuisance bear complaints so far this year. They say adult bears move during mating season and younger bears are looking to find their own territory. A DNR wildlife specialist says bears are traveling a lot and people should call the DNR if they need assistance.

mono works fine on a baitcaster. You just need more practice or a different baitcaster .

Not my most productive (Skitter Pop) but it is my favorite: Bass Pro XPS "Top Knocker" I wish it was still made. It has a heavy ball bearing inside that rolls on a track end-to-end. If you twitch it gently just right the ball rolls back and creates a delayed "knock" that shakes the lure and seems to drive any bass looking at it insane. I get some really violent strikes on this. It also casts a mile, even further than a zara spook.

Braid weighs a smidgeon less than water, while fluorocarbon weighs a smidgeon more than water. A few years back I ran my own buoyancy test using a short trace of braid versus a trace of fluorocarbon. The braid trace floated uncomfortably, often with one or both ends under the water. The fluoro trace would hesitate on the surface (apparently due to surface tension) then sink slowly. If one teensy sand granule was clinging to the braid trace, it would sink slowly like fluorocarbon. If one teensy air-bubble was clinging to the fluoro, it would remain on the surface like braid. Roger

the other thing people are neglecting here is that just because braid "floats" it doesn't mean it will pull your baits to the top. It may float but it is not providing flotation.

The Pop Shadz are a copy imo from the Chug Heads that D.O.A. lures has been selling for years and very popular in the Inshore Florida scene as well as here in Tampa to Orlando Florida and apparently the Big O. Most guys use paddle tail swimbaits and the CAL 4" is like the Bass Assassin Turbo shad which is great for Trout in saltwater and I use swim senko's, Keitechs, the 3.8 fats will fit, the reg size fits well, 7" senkos and huge flukes work as well as 12" Ribbons. I don't like the pop shads only because they are limited in color and action and size where I can mix 7-8 colors with a Strike king Caffeine shad or even a swimbait and it acts like a keel, plus gives baits Eyes and you can add weight and it is something I have no idea why is not more popular. You can fish any bait back to the boat and find topwater bites you wouldn't normally know about...I know guys on the Big O use a lot of D.O.A. baits since the owner designs many of his soft baits for Bass specifically for Florida Bass fishing and the CAL flukes are killer in gold rush color and a black chug head... here is a pic, you can find packs of 5 for $2 online and they are a solid investment. I find the zman baits cast better than I expected but if using a weighted hook they land upside down from time to time and it is not a swimbait where the chug heads enhance the swimming motion, the Pop Shadz are topwaters, similar to the pop frogs they have had out for ever but are super light. These are legit https://www.google.com/search?q=doa+chug+head&biw=1366&bih=712&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=WeT3VKioJ8aZNu2UhNgI&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=k8HKGKWnjE5xMM%253A%3BJUuiT83omPTTGM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.sportsmanswarehouse.com%252Fimg%252Fproducts%252Foriginal%252F1208487_2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.sportsmanswarehouse.com%252Fsportsmans%252FD-O-A-Lures-Chug-Head%252FproductDetail%252FSoft-Baits-and-Lures%252Fprod70154%252Fcat101094%3B738%3B640