Leaderboard

My prostate cancer PSA is 0.1 that's way better than the 8.4 when I started the radiation. Going on three years since radiation in June. One day at a time. Ill never be 100% again but if I can continue bass fishing im golden. Well enjoy the grandson too. Three months to go fishing. God bless. Bigbill

My favorite river in winter!

puppymonkeywolfbaby????

Panorama of Lee Hall Reservoir...

How many elements do you consider? One! If mama gives me a kitchen pass! Some of my best trips & double digit bass come on spur of the moment days!

Recent haul. Making up for the last two "sober" years where I didn't get anything but the necessities - line, hooks, and weights. Doing a reorg for a lot of my baits so picked up some new boxes - one of which is a 3700 Bait Coffin that'll store most of my terminal tackle (I might end up with one more). Love that box so far, feels so nice and solid compared to my old beaten up Planos. Got the Lew's Super Duty 8:1 specifically to handle my topwater/frogging with heavier braid. My Curado and Revo SX don't seem to like it after a long day. Actually almost hit the 'buy' button on a Revo Rocket, but couldn't bring myself to spend that much...luckily Overall it's about 1/3 of what I have on the list for this season. 1 more reel will be coming soon, 2 rods, jigs, spinnerbaits, a few frogs (if there is anything I don't need more of, its friggin frogs), buzzbaits, and more plastics.

All partnered up on a XX DSR

The elusive Snuffleupagus

Bill or the wolf?

For me...............if the water is wet (IE not frozen) and I don't have to work, or have other family commitments I go. Things that keep me off the water: #1 Extreme wind chill.............I'll fish in the wind, but if it's already frigid, I am not going to torture myself. #2 Insane holiday boat traffic.......I try to avoid fishing in the middle of the day on the "big 3" summer holidays of Fathers day, the 4th of July, and labor day. I'll go early or go late on those days. Most of the rest of the summer, even on weekends it's not that bad in general...there is always that idiot or two, but I have learned to deal with it. #3 Lightning.........not worth it. I never get an idea in my head based on current conditions that the fishing is going to be bad, or great on any particular day. Some of my best days have been when they shouldn't have been biting by the "book", and I have had off days when the "book" says they should be biting. I go when I can, adapt to the moment, and usually do alright.

Heres another one from this past summer. I just got back in from fishing walking down the dock and saw these guys cruising.

Go to a casino & win more money. Then....ask me again, lol Good luck with your swimbaiting.

One of the teams from my school got 2nd place with 22 ish lbs. We did decent enough, caught quite a few on a 6xd or 8xd (can't remember) 8-15 fow. Lost 2 fish over 5 pounds and the lure lol. But overall a fun weekend - the weather.

Played around with some scraps tonight.

Digitaka. The highest of recommendations. They even send you a thank you card! The rod is a Destroyer Phase 3 Elseil F4-610X which I got from @Dypsis on here. Going to spool it up with 12# Tatsu and rule the world haha

Not a lake, but a cove of the Potomac. Not my pic....photo credit to my wife

last night we were relaxing at a restaurant until I saw fresh catfish on the menu. the shakes came over me and I got thrown out b/c i stormed in the kitchen and demanded to see the chef's rod/reel combo.

I'm part of a support group down here for that. We meet 6am at the boat ramp, if you're interested.

We finally had a cold snap here in the northeast and I have not been out on the boat in a week. I was teased all winter with the above average temps. and I took full advantage of it. I have had one of the best winters I've ever had. I guess what I'm saying guys is I miss it I think I have some reel issues with this whole bass fishing thing. I might be addicted and am thinking about checking into a rehab. Last night my wife had me walk into what she called an intervention. Some of my old friends were there telling me crap like "you used to like playing basketball with us and now we never see you. They all said they were all worried about me. I got really defensive and started organizing my plastics. It got so bad that they brought in my mom and she was all like Tommy you always were bright and happy with lots of interests and now all you do is sharpen hooks organize all your little plastic things and such. I had to grab a rod just to feel safe. I mean here I was thinking I was fine but not seeing what I was becoming! Anyway it ended and everyone told me how much they loved me and would do anything to help me. That night I got to thinking that I might have some reel problems. I just can't stop looking for that one big hit from a 6 pounder. I can't stop chasing it or thinking about it. I've decided to make some reel changes in my life. I'm getting a new bass boat. Thanks for listening only guys like you who have lived it really can understand.

I'd fish a little but idle and graph mostly. Fish to see what baits are getting responded too and what depth zone they seem to be feeding at. Idle and graph to find bait fish and structure. I've never been a fan of prefishing a week out as conditions can change so much.

was going to say that's one poor looking twist but then thought to myself how hard it would be if like a wolf, you had no thumbs.....

First, know that Rain, Lightning, Crazy Recreational Boating & Jet ski action are all deal breakers; individually and definitely in any combination. So that's always a no go for me. Other than that, my Elements Checklist is pretty simple; Wind less than 15 kts , I'm fishing Wind over 15 kts ~ I'm knocking as much off the Honey Do list as possible. A-Jay

Now your talkin-my-language. Nothing like a big jack to get the heart pumpin.

I wish the trap tournament was on a Saturday, then I'd fish it. I work at a church, so kinda hard for me to fish on Sunday's lol.

Did it look like this ? These things seems to be showing up all over the place . . . . . . A-Jay

Put in my order for a Curado 70 XG and a Scorpion 70 HG this morning Hoping the Scorpion gets here before the Classic but I know the Curado won't get here before then. Always wanted to own a Scorpion, excited to finally make it happen.

Only $100 Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want. It's easy to blow a bill on Keitechs, hooks, and jigheads. Try some of the regular Swing Impacts and the Fats in a couple different sizes and colors. Electric shad is my favorite color, but I have yet to find a color of them that I didn't like. You can fish the SIF's on a screwlock swimbait hook or a jighead, so you'll probably want some of each of those. Might want to try them on a Scrounger or fish head spin. I also really like the Zman MinnowZ and Diesel MinnowZ for something that will last much longer. Bad Shad, Smokey Shad, and Redbone have been good for me. If you feel like stepping into a little bigger bait, you might try a Savage Gear 3D Line Thru trout. You can stay with the 6" bait so you don't need specialized gear, and they're only $13 so you won't break the bank either, and they last for a long time.

Snell knots have been around forever, common for pre rigged bait holder style hooks. The reason being easy to tie the snell knot has very high reliability. A snell knot tied on a flat eye style hook creates force on the hook eye to rotate the hook point upright and into the fishes mouth. Tom

Yeah, it really comes down to what Tom stated, whether he is truly using ultralight gear and baits or just light or ML fishing. If he is using 1/16-1/64-oz. jigs, etc. or similar tiny baits, then 3# PP will fish circles around 10# PP (.006" dia.) when it comes to casting distance, as well as bait control and feel in deeper water regardless of leader. 3# PP microline is about .0034" on the micrometer, or about 8X tippet material in fly fishing, which is about 1.75 lb. actual breaking strength equivalent nylon/fluoro., about half the diameter of 10# PP. For comparison, 2# Trilene XL is .005" in diameter. If he's fishing 1/8-oz stuff, then much less of a deal with the 10# PP. -T9

My PB crappie so far 1.43lb caught on a tube

https://youtu.be/ee735pZ6kxk

Ultra lite isn't light...it's u l t r a light....think 1lb to 4 lb mono and braid with equal diameter. Tom

Skitter Pop, especially in firetiger.

Extended Warranty Insurance is such an interesting deal. One one hand, it makes us feel good knowing that we're "covered". On the other hand, it makes us a little bummed out shelling out the Cash. And I always find it interesting how the manufacturers are so willing to "Insure" a product while it's new and not really prone to failure but that same offer is rarely available down the road when the item actually has a decent chance of needing repair. So when I look at this as a betting man, it looks like the manufacturers are betting that while the item is new - it won't fail, but they'll be happy to take my money, At the same time, by purchasing the "insurance" I'm betting that the new item will fail, so I pay. It's a tough call and a matter of what makes us feel the best about it all. For me, I'd save the $900 and put it in the bank ~ call it the "Emergency Motor Fund". Then after the warranty expires, if there is a repair need - use The Fund to support the cost. You may not ever need it for a Big Repair & could use it for whatever ~ like routine maintenance. That's my story & I'm sticking to it. A-Jay

Thanks for the report june-bug. Isn't your camp around midlake? I'm on San Miguel. Headed up Thursday night for a week. Hope to give a good report. I'll probably be fishing midlake/1215 area. White basscat/yellow bolt/purple trim, stop and say hi if you see me.

My little pond in Maine....

This is a cool thread, lots of Potomac River in here, I like it! Here's another Potomac shot...Tournament field lined up in a no-wake, about to blast off. Bonus picture from Erie, the guy at the marina said it was 'nice' out on the lake this day...His boat is obviously bigger than my 20' Stratos (the other boat in this picture is also a 20' Stratos) .

Are you going to try to break it out in the middle of the fight?? Talk about making it go from bad to worse.

Incoming 3 months from now when she gets upset : " and you went fishing on Valentine's day!" good luck

Jack-The-Horse lake...sunset....Northern Mn. Bottom pic is my "home" lake. Happy Holler Missouri. Not a big lake but very "bassy" LOVE this thread

lake norman, nc at dusk my dog on the old inflatable when he was little pup! the dog on his first swim and actually not a lake, but a fish house near tampa, fl

This is me in the canoe on one of my little neighborhood lakes last October. I didn't know that someone had taken this photo until I saw it on the front page of our local weekly newspaper as part of a "why we live here" feature. The photographer must have been using a LONG lens since the dam of this lake was quite a ways behind me. I emailed the newspaper and requested a copy of the digital file.

Two of my favorites from this year.

A couple of weeks back I found a GoPro in the gulf of Mexico.I have pictures of the person who lost it but cant Identify him . I posted it on Facebook so maybe he will see it . If not I have a new camera .

I have several Mitchell 300s and a couple 308s, all made in France prior to 1970. I picked up a 1955 reel and a 1959 a few weeks ago and used them to catch four walleye on the Potomac River on Christmas Eve. The Mitchell Reel Museum is a great source for Mitchell info and has a good forum, too, for history, servicing and identification. Pat