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On any body of water I have ever been to, there have always been largemouth on the bank or in shallow water, year round, as long as there is food. Bass are not "sensitive" fish, they are at home in just about any depth, and are quite adaptable. They will go where the food goes. In lakes with lots of shad, I imagine they would go deeper in the summer, because that's where the food goes. In a grassy natural lake, you'll find them everywhere. It's not uncommon for me, in the same day to catch a bass in the middle of the hottest part of the summer in 6 inches of water and then in 20+ feet of water.....................because food is in both places.

Just the name of the game when you're fishing through rocks. Most days if I'm dragging a jig through chunk rock I'd be pretty happy with only losing 4 jigs.

My favorite is the ones I make. They're all my favorite colors, especially when they're catching fish. In bluegill lakes, I fish this one. or this one Stained to dirty water I like this one, or black and blue Really muddy water I go for one of these.

Alright, I'm done for this offseason. Been thinking about upgrading my jerkbait rod for a while now but could never find anything that excited me enough to replace the Gen1 Cumara I've been using forever...Since my favorite jerkbait is the Vision 110, why not go with a rod named after it? This thing is very unique, the handle is short so the effective length is almost the same as a 6'9" Cumara I was using previously. It has a moderate action but the tip is still pretty stiff so it doesn't feel like a noodle, it's an odd combination...Almost like the deep flex doesn't 'activate' until more weight is applied. I can't wait to get it on the water, shouldn't be too long now .

Always have a small trash bag with me when I'm out anywhere. People suck.

I'm guessing they have to be like that or risk showing some kind of favoritism towards the angler they're paired with. Kind of like how NFL officials aren't supposed to high five a player or show anything that could be construed as cheering for a team. Watson was fishing a BPS Nitro spoon is what I've heard, so a generic flutter spoon. The guy is a riot for sure, he even had my wife laughing, who has about the same sense of humor as the officials do when I'm watching fishing shows.

Y'know, it just occurred to me that it's my birthday next week. I'm going to go ahead and say I'll be posting in this thread again very soon.

A-Jay

Get your prostate checked for cancer. Early detection is the key to survival. It can hit us males at any age. God bless, Bill.

My best day bass fishing happened Jan 2, 2016. Me and a buddy went fishing in a nearbt lake in a John boat. Ended up getting on the water around 1pm. We decided to use 3/4oz black and blue football jigs with matching rage craw. My First cast ended up with a 2lber and he doubled up with a 3lber. My very next cast(second case for me) I hooked into a 7lb 10oz beauty. My personal best! I didn't want to get too excited by drawing attention so we kept it quiet. Within the next 30 minutes i pull out a 6lb 14oz, 3.15, 4.01, 6.01 and a few more 2lbers. My buddy wasn't so lucky and only got a couple 2-3lbers. 3 hours into our trip I was saying that I never thought I'd be trying to cull a 4lber. 2 casts later I landed a 7.3. We fished for 4 hours. My friend got 5 fish 3lbs and under. I ended up with 11 bass. My top five weighed 31lbs 13oz. The Stars were aligned for me that afternoon. During that time I lost my lucky jig on a bad cast. I decided to take advantage of the bite so I went out the next morning with my new son in law. He never caught a bass before in his life. I gave him instructions on deep water jig fishing. My first cast I felt a slight difference as I was dragging. I pulled up my jig and it was wrapped in some braided line with my lucky jig still tied! First cast got my jig back! We fished for 30min or so without a bit and I started to get discouraged from the previous day's magic. We moved a few times before getting on fish. He caught a 3lber for his first fish. His second bass weighed 6.4. And his 3rd fish ever was 4.8. Not to be outdone I got a 7.8 and a 6.4. I also lost the largest bass of my life 10ft from the boat. My son in law is now hooked! I told him not to get used to that kind of action and that I fished for many years before landing a 6lber. I mentioned these fish in a previous post but wanted to share again of my best day bass fishing. I went back twice after that and only got 1 fish. The next time going back to that spot(10days after) we had 2 boats on the water. Another buddy caught a nice fish and paddled over tonweigh it. It weighed 7lb 4oz. We noticed it had a red round hole under the left side gill. That was my 7.3 I got 10 days earlier. The hook on the scale busted thought the bottom of gill plate on 3 of the bigger fish. No doubt in my mind that it was my fish from before. Same general area just a lil shallower. Bit a jig too!

Rage Baby Craw, Craw and Lobster.

I learned years ago I can either have lures in my tackle box or fish in the live well but I can not have both! Some days I loose em some days I don't!

As you know, I have the Radisson 12' canoe, similar to the Sportspal 12' but with a lighter hull weight. I can say that while these 12' boats have two seats...they would be VERY cramped with two people, especially if both are fishing. If a two person capacity is important...you might want to consider the 14' model.

I love the old boron rods, i've fished with my uncle's BPS boron rods and its really fun, as for the speed master i have an old spinning rod from my dad and i still use it on smaller ponds around me! Hope you read up on these two cool products, best wishes.

I haven't fished swim jigs (yet!) but a t-rigged Menace Grub is one of my top producers for river smallmouth.

This is a patented feature available ONLY on Rage Tail products.

The most complicated thing about fishing in my opinion is figuring out what the fish want. So easily i find myself trying a few things on any given day and if they don't work I end up wanting to give up and go to the house. A habit i need to get out of. Taking the time to thoroughly figure out what they want. Paying attention to the little details is something i struggle with. the funnest thing about fishing is just being out on the water and taking it in. Even on the worst days of fishing i can still stay out for hours just because i enjoy everything about being out there. the smell, the views, the FREEDOM! I try to never take any day of fishing for granted!

Buy it................or don't.................I really don't care. How's that?

Maybe I would do poorly in this tournament your fishing, but in 50 degree water, with wind, during the pre-spawn period...............the last thing I would be doing is trying to eeek out bites on finesse presentations in deep water.

Went out and did a little "measured" casting behind the house. My property is 50 ft and the neighbor is 54 ft, and the other neighbor is 56 feet. All the fences were measured. Started throwing weight Zoom flukes with a Alphas SV on a 6 ft 8 GLX jig and worm, and a TDZ on a 7ft Medium Light Loomis Crankbait rod that is a little slower and loads the light lure a little better. Both reels have 14 lbs nanofil. Winds was light and SE at 5 mph and a bit gusty to 10 mph at times. Casting east to west, both setup manage a surprising 100 to 104 ft with the slight tail crosswind. Magnetic cast control was set at 4.5 to 5. Going back against W to E against the SE crosswind, magnetic cast was set at 6 to 6.5 and it was a struggle to get 80 ft. Then I tried my normal flick side arm cast. Distance was 70-80 ft. This is the normal cast for me since I don't employ those over the head catch the wind cast unless I'm throwing topwater for distance. Put on a Super Spook Jr which I believe weighs 1/2 oz according to Heddon, it was struggle with the tail crosswind to reach 150ft. That was surprising. I thought it would clear all three property line but it ended up about 10ft short of clearing my property line. Magnetic cast control was set at 4 for both reels. Since the Super Spook Jr is not as aerodynamic as a pure 1/2 oz weight, I would guess 170-180 ft with straight up 1/2 oz tear drop casting sinker. Just got the Alpha SV last week and I love casting a Zoom Flukes on it. So easy to palm and very comfortable for all day casting.

4 jigs in an hour ? not bad, normally I loose 4 jigs in around 10 casts, and probably 3 of those will be on the first cast.

I just got a 6'9 ML Villian spinning rod. I haven't used it yet but it looks and feels great in hand. It seems to be a bit more on the M side than ML but it might be a bit more versatile because of that. I'm very pleased. Check FFO if you haven't already. I paid $60 for mine. Good luck.

In this sport there are no absolutes so, shaky or drop ? you have to try both to find out which the fish prefer, also, I don´t from where most bass anglers now think/believe that shakeyheading or dropshotting have to be done with noodle super extra ultralight rods, hair thin line, micro reels and feathers as sinkers/weights, shakyhead RIG and dropshot RIG are that: RIGS and rigs can be done with any friggin´ weight and the appropiate gear depending upon needs to match the conditions of cover type & density, wind speed and depth.

My favorite jig trailer is.... a 5lbr fat girl with a hook through the roof of her mouth taking a ride to my live well.

I guess I was the one that struck a nerve, wasn't trying to though. If you really want to make a statement that makes your boat stand out and be different when sitting in that line of 100 shiny, new, bass boats, be able to put a big sticker on your not so shiny, new boat saying "IT'S PAID FOR!"

Equally important, get a colonoscopy. It can actually prevent cancer in many cases, by removing pre-cancerous polyps during the procedure.

I am a plastics freak & Rage Tail is in a class of it's own!

If you have to be convinced you don't need em!

Rigged sideways on a bladed jig or swim jig, they're money. They're also a great bait for flipping weeds because they're compact but have a lot of action and a thick body to hide a heavy hook.

No you can not check my prostate bill!

We have the St johns river here and I believe its tidal down 100 miles or more.I haven't fished it much in recent years.The patterns I fish are:Cypress trees on High tide,low slung docks,the outer edge of weed beds on low tide , and the shrimp run in late summer.The bass gorge on them.So use live shrimp under docks in late summer.If there's been a lot of rain,you can fish closer to the ocean and in periods of drought they will be further away from the ocean.

Missouri (and other states) have a good number of jets boats running in rivers too shallow for propeller driven motors. The wake from these boats is causing the damage. Nobody said the wake from prop boats don't do damage. The jet boats are going where no power boats ever went before.

We had planned a camping trip in the Ocala Nat.forest in the 90s.My wife was off so she started early with the kids to a swimming hole on the way to our camp choice(Buck lake).So the plan was for me to meet them at the swimming hole by 630-700.(I got off work at 5).So I get everything loaded up and get to palatka without incident.When I realized I forgot bait shrimp for the trot line.So I stopped at a b/t store , get the shrimp, get back in the truck and my batteries dead! So I get 2 different people to try their cables but its totally dead.So I'm standing there wondering what to do next and a third vehicle pulls up.OLD f-150.Driver gets out and asks if he can help.I said it would be nice if he could take me to the closest parts store(I have no idea -I'm not from palatka and no google back then.Shoot - no cell phone either.)So the old man with the truck says( or rather he SLURS) there's one right down the road and we'll go there if you'll drive.So he's drunk as a coot and I start off driving the truck and he's giving me directions but he's drunk so he's waving his arms and trying to help me find find the parts store.After about 50 yards I realize that if you were rating the brakes on a scale of 1-10 with o being the worst it was maybe a 1.I had to stand up on the brakes to gets to get any result.So we make it to the parts store and its the girls first day on the job.And 100 batteries to choose from.After 15 minutes it ended with her statement " I'll get the manager".So we get the battery,get back in the truck,and clickkkk.Now his battery is dead!!So we go back in the store and get the reluctant manager to break out some new cables and get the truck jumped and I drive the back to the b/t store.I get my battery in and thank the drunk and start on my way.But now his truck won't start!So I try but its no go.And him wanting me to take him back to the parts store.But I just didn't have the heart to drive that truck again.So I justified it by telling him I was late meeting my family ( which I was) and I left him there cussing.The truth is,I didn't think my wife could find the campsite and would be driving around lost in the woods.So I get to the swimming hole and no family.So now I'm not sure if she went on to the camp or went all the way home.(Remember no cell phones)So I choose to go to the camp because its closer,and I'm driving around the lake in the woods and all of a sudden, my middle son jumps out of the palmettos and says Hey dad!Never been so glad to find them.So we get the wife's 4 wheel drive stuck and the next day we all get the runs from drinking water from the melted ice in the cooler.I don't remember if we caught any fish or not.!!!

They are durable as hell, great action and can be used many different ways. Rig it vertical on a bladed jig from C&C Custom Baits and hold on.

I find that they tend to hold deep on very hot days,and come up shallow when it cools down in the evening.So a good place to fish is shallow cover near deep water.There the bass has all its needs met.And in the middle of the day fish the deep water near the cover.Deep holes in open water work well too in the middle of the day.

Mann's Baby 1-Minus. I've probably caught more fish from shallow cover on a 1-Minus than all other crankbaits combined. I fish a ton of grass, wood, and rocks in 1-3 feet of water on the Potomac, 1-Minus is always on the deck. With the rod tip high it can be a wake bait. With the rod tip low it can get down to 2 or maybe 3 feet depending on your line choice and length of cast. It's not always thought of as a squarebill, but it deflects off cover just as well and comes through grass better than most. Good bait to have in your arsenal.

Good rods they were. Still functional.

First thing I would check is the voltage from both switches. If the pump is working on manual and not quite right on auto I'd almost bet you have a bad switch causing low voltage resulting in the pump barely running. Start there. And you should have posted this in the boat forums.....next time.

No lashes. I probably move the majority of posts, especially OUT of General. The selection is based on "predominate theme". For new members and topics that I do not consider "clear", we leave a note that the thread was moved and the location where it has been placed. The goal is to to keep the Forum organized and provide structure. Not everything will fit perfectly, but thought always goes into a move. -Kent

This is because the topics were not posted in the correct place to begin with. So mgmt is actually doing us favor by moving these threads in the correct forums.

i bet they're told to be like that because they all act like queen's guards! also, i think they film like multiple days in a row with the same officials each day it looks like. i guess after a few days of riding around watching someone else fish i might be a little jealous and hardened too!

YakAttack Cellblok. a little pricey, but i drilled ZERO holes and can remove my whole set up in about 10 seconds....

Swimbait stuff. Minus a box of hudds which now rest in a watery grave in the depths of an east Texas reservoir

Avid X 6'8" Medium, Extra Fast.

Triline Big Game in 10-15 test for baitcaster, and I use Easy Mono on my spinning rods

Go back and read my statement again. I didn't say long casts weren't a factor nor important. But hucking it out there as far as humanly possible? And needing to know how far everyone else's maximum distance is? Not needed. In fact, getting a good hookset on such a mega-cast would be difficult. Long, controlled casts for specific purposes, such as clear water and crankbaiting, has a purpose in bass fishing.

Bagleys Honey B is good for shallow bodies of water .

Around Orlando. Lale Toho and the Butler Chain. Also a couple of free lakes on Disney resorts.

Unfortunately I fish my local neighborhood lakes and the bite must be different than what you guys experience at okee or lox, lol. I have plenty of days without a single bite.