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You won't think that's funny 20 years from now young man. Now go to your room!

...I know I certainly did!

Nor will they understand why this is such a lovely sight

Because few will ever understand your love for that Bass Smell or the Peace It Brings the Soul. A-Jay

It's what the little dude is wielding in my avatar He get's pretty pumped up whenever I get it out for him to play with, hopefully he'll keep that enthusiasm once he gets old enough to take the stuffed dog toy off and put a hook on

Just a few jigs... Decided to buy some heads and skirts separately from a few of my favorite places. The end result is about every color combination out there. Those that only fish 3 colors of jigs need not look!

Just a reminder to all the kayakers on here.... wear your PFD. I honestly do not wear mine to float as much as i wear it so that my body could be found in such a tragic situation as the one on this story. I know A-Jay has said it many times and it sounds a little morbid, but the last thing i would want is my loved ones looking for a body.... BE SAFE! This guy was wearing his and while it may not have saved his life, it brought immediate closure to his family. http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84429303/

Now that the rainy season is full blown in the Everglades, I have had to look for areas that don't have a lot of flow. My pardner and I found a place deep in the glades that is usually the last place to be affected by the rain. We had an epic bite. It was about 95 degrees with close to 95% humidity and the bite was going off. We found a pattern very early. The fish were feeding on the levee side of the canal. They were pushing bait up to the hard levee, we even saw a few big fish with their backs out of the water. The two baits that seemed to be working were the Gambler Lures Big EZ and the Strike King Swing Jig with a Bruiser Baits Twin Grub tail trailer. We filmed a video of the trip that can be seen on You Tube: Captain Shane

Good answer - chase some bronze backs on Mille Lacs. A day for the ages ~

***WARNING*** The term Bait Monkey was coined because of crankbaits. Every bass angler goes through the crankbait stage buying more then they can remember what they have! The basics: Lipless, Bill Norman 1/2 oz trap in red chili craw and blue back chrome. Bomber Model 6A and 7A, dark brown craw and silver shad. Norman DD14 and DD, chartreuse pearl or blue-green shad and black-red craw Strike King 1.5 square bill in sexy shad. That is a dirty dozen that shouldn't break the bank and proven lures/colors. I use 12 lb Big Game mono with a MH or H 7' crankbait rod, 200 or 300 series baitcasting reels. Don't over think this or worry about reel gear ratio's, they work. Good luck! Tom

Me neither... I actually found a boat yesterday. It was all done but the test run and handing him the cash. Wife pulled the red card because she didn't like the color..... Aww the joys.....

Peg that sinker when you T-rig and you can throw just about any soft plastic.

Just got this baby in yesterday. It's the 6'8" M-XF model.

Use a Texas rigged tube! They work amazing for deep fishing cover such as trees.

If I had a rig to throw it on already, I probably would own one. But since I don't, it's not just a $50 purchase, more like a $250 purchase by the time I get the rig... and I'm married... nuff said..

It's been a long week, I need to smell that bass smell bad!

Big catfish would about rip the rod out of your hands on the strike and a big carp would take off very fast. A big bass could very easily snap 17lb copolymer in heavy cover like that. The biggest bass I've caught in KS was in a public body of water they call a lake but it's only about 10 fishable acres. I've caught 7 pounders out of ponds that I could cast across. Lots of factors play into fish size, not just the size of the body of water. It sounds like you lost a monster bass to me. Learn from this experience and get some braid on that rod when you're fishing heavy grass! I wouldn't go lighter than 50lb from the sounds of what you're describing.

I bought two reels on ebay that came with braid on them. The line was tied directly and it slipped badly. Pretty sure the seller thought the drag did not work. My gain!

Week 1 is in the books! Some close and some not so close (Jrob ). Good luck week 2 guys!

Good god it's week 1 and you're on track for getting this thread closed by constantly being on the defensive in an argument you and nobody else is going to win. We've had 2-3 threads closed because 1 or 2 Patriots homers couldn't take light hearted internet banter and defended a football team as if it was their first born. Patriots fans aren't going to convince the world they aren't cheaters and vise versa. Start a new "who dun it" and let it go man.....

Feel better wasn't meant aggressive or condescending, it was exactly what I said. You knew you did a half hearted hookset and you lost the fish because of it. Had you left that part out, 99% of the replies would say to wait, not to wait, use braid, do this, do that. The first 3 you landed were the exception, not the rule. I swing for the fences on every technique I use, just set drag accordingly on lighter stuff such as shaky heads. Keep at it and welcome to the addiction.

If you want bigger fish then throw a big shad swimbait. The smallies in Melvern seem scared of deep water. All the smallies 3-5 pounds I've caught out there I bet the deepest was 8' excluding winter months. The biggest was in less than a foot in the middle of the day and the biggest one I've hooked (6+) was also less than 1' deep, also in the middle of a bright, sunny day.

With how it bit and the sound of how it fought I would almost bet anything on a huge carp. Or 8lb bass......

and for the record, i didn't even say anything about belicheat or the cheatriots in this thread....

some stay dry and others feel the pain...

A few years ago.......... Your impeller needs replacing. You leave something like that sit, that long, here in Florida and it will dry rot. Also, mud dabbers will put mud nests in any hole they can get into. That whole system may need flushing out by a mechanic.

Tying direct is perfectly fine. Backing allows you to spool up 2-3 reels from one spool of braid.

The reel was purchased in the spring in anticipation of the rod. It has been patiently waiting in it's box. Now they're together! TwinPower 2500HGS with St. Croix SCV 7' MLXF

I'm a Plano box guy. I'll label the box with a sharpie and when I open a storage locker they're all in a row and easy to grab what I need. I use the normal size and the thin boxes. For yak or bank fishing I'll stick an assortment of plastics in 2 - 3700 size boxes and make up 2 more with hardbaits. It's always more than enough for a days worth of fishing.

I can tell you one thing for sure..the road to the super bowl bypasses the great state of pennsylvania..just like the last 50 years, and if I lived in buffalo I would love the bills also..after all what else can you do..

Actually my 4th child is due this friday, so I am actually more excited for that moment. . It be awesome to crush the Pats..

Lmao... you were close..

Lmao.... Our Defense is no joke... Brady is going down..

This just in: ESPN reports predictions of week 2's matchup between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills: (pats in yellow, bills in purple)

Good deal man. This is what I love about fishing. You coulda left that place and nobody woulda blamed you. Sometimes the fish surprise you. You surprise yourself too. You become like, a fishing god for a day.

my pet ducks especially enjoy Duck's Sporting Goods. There are many sales on bread and feather shampoo that they seem to enjoy.

This is true cause they aint good enough cheaters

I store them in the original bags in Cabela's electronics storage bags. I have a few of them. one for tubes, one for dropshot baits, one for sticks & creatures, one for my electronics!

The part that is hard for me to grasp is why it is ok when a little money or bragging rights is on the line, but not ok for joe shmo to do it for pictures? I'm going to assume that a fish sitting in well working (key words "well working") livewell doesn't get anymore stressed out than he was earlier when you crossed his eyes with a jig. The point is to do everything that you can to make sure the fish returns to his natural environment alive and well. Sometimes that doesn't happen, whether that be from a livewell, or the catch. I would hope that anyone who puts fish in the livewell "babysits" them and if they start acting up, the are released back into the deep. As stated earlier, to each his own. Certain topics will never be agreed upon.

Caught with a previous generation GL2 :

What rod are you using for jigs?

I used to do it, I don't anymore. In fact, it's now become one of my top pet peeves about bass fisherman. Everyone now has to hold up a fish, act like a fool in front of a camera, and put said fish pictures on Facebook so Aunt Mildred can give them a huge pat on the back, and tell them how great they are. It's a plague created by the whole Facebook/social media thing, were a society of "hey look at me,I'm great" attention hogs now. In the future, any fish pictures I have taken are reserved for a new personal best, and/or a worthwhile accomplishment.... Winning the local beer money tournament with 12lbs doesn't quite qualify.... But for those that think it does.... Knock yourself out, just know that I think your an idiot.... Fwiw ..lol

Under the conditions mentioned I would target fish in 15-25 ft perhaps even a little deeper. I would drop shot smaller profile baits. A dream shot works amazing in the conditions you mentioned. I prefer to dropshot with 8 lb flouro but sometimes I use 6 lb. Gulp minnows and leeches are great drop shot baits too.

I agree with this post. Reading carefully to what happened to the OP, the majority is quick to jump on the knot. I am sure if we were to find that frog, the knot will be in place and the line snapped elsewhere. Bad knots slip, they don't "snap"

I pitch 1/2oz the most, and flipping/pitching is 60% of my fishing. I'll go to a 3/8oz if the fish are being finicky, if the forage i find is smaller than average or if I just want a slower fall. Plus for me personally find 1/2oz a lot easier to handle unless you are skipping it. In thick grass I'll go up to 3/4 or heavier to get to the bottom. Buy a couple of each and see what you like best. 95% of my jigs are 1/2oz. Other people only use 3/8 or 3/4, I think its more of a personal preference just like gear and lure brand.

Incredibly cool Slone!

The Potomac river was a cruel, cruel place today! The wind was so bad that we would just motor up a creek and drift down the banks to fish, if there was a laydown you had one shot at making a presentation. Couple that with a high pressure system and things were just lovely....My first fish came on a texas rigged baby brush hog pitching it at the edge of the grass, the second one came on the edge of the grass with a senko. Two bass for 5.13lbs was enough to get third place and lock in a shot in the State Championship this spring! Winning weight was 11.8, the only kid who caught a limit. Second place had 3 bass for 6 something. A huge thanks to those on BR who gave me some pointers on fishing the Potomac!

Is that you in that photo Goose? Love that hat!! Hootie

I would downsize the bait a bit more for those aquarium fish!

snagged this deal: