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Wow, about two hours ago I was out on a strip pit with my brother in a canoe. I've not caught a big bass all year because I've been working so much I've not had chance to fish as much as I want to. I'm usually too tired to fish during the weekends. Anyway, it's Friday and I have tonight off. My brother and I got the canoe out for the first time this year. He was tossing a giant magnet in the water to see if he could pull up any cool junk. I was casting a small soft swim-bait and soft plastic lizard (Texas rig). For the first hour or two I only got a few bites small very small bass. I decided to take the lizard off and put on my number one all time lure - five inch Yum-Dinger. I started casting a little further away from the bank and more in the deeper water when it happened - I felt a fish grab my lure. Then I pulled the rod up to make sure the hook was set. Then the battle started - My rod, a seven foot Shimano Clarus medium heavy rod bent like it was going to break. My brother thought my rod was going to break. I was using my favorite line - Sufix Elite Mono eight pound. I had my drag set a little tight but that bass started yanking line off my Shimano Symetry like it was the Incredible Hulk. I tightened the drag more and it still pulled line off. Then that bass went straight down under my canoe and there I was, holding my rod with a big bend in it, hoping my eight pound line holds up and the rod does not break. Also, I had the barb crushed down on the hook - a 3/0 Gamakatsu round bend. That worried me some. Eventually I was able to work that bass up. I lipped it and wow - a big mama! I weighed it and it came it at a little over six pounds, one ounce. That bass was one of my biggest and definitely my biggest ever summer bass. All my other big bass have come in the spring time. I don't catch big bass that size that often. I don't know about other people, but it was sure a work out for me. Holding that rod a certain angle, reeling some, letting the drag out, etc... It was very intense and physical. Interesting fact, all my big bass have come on spinning reels (I only have one baitcaster) and all my big bass have come on either eight pound Sufix mono or six pound Sufix mono. That Sufix Elite mono has never let me down. Also, the hook I had on was tied probably a month ago. Instead of retying a fresh knot, I figured I would not catch any large fish so I kept using the hook with old knot (Triline Knot). That Triline knot and Sufix line did its job. Anyway, I'm happy over this. It's either my biggest bass ever or my second biggest.

Before I take any reel apart to clean it, the following conditions MUST exist (no exceptions): 1) The room MUST have wall to wall shag carpeting. 2) The ceiling fan and several box fans MUST remain on full blast. 3) The floor and desk MUST each slope no less than 15 degrees (combined to acheive a 30 degree slope-minimum) 4) I MUST first have had a really bad day at work and in traffic 5) The reel MUST have been engineered by a close relative to the Marquis de Sade 6) Most of my tools and screwdrivers have been borrowed by a friend and I MUST be reduced to a pair of oversized channel locks and a bent screwdriver. 7) The cat, who USUALLY prefers to keep to herself MUST feel a sudden and persistent urge to climb in my lap. 8) All but one of the light bulbs in the room must be burned out

Spent the week on HHI again and got out with my guide buddy, as I tend to do The wind made it tricky to get to the good tarpon spots so we chose Plan B, which was targeting schools of monster Jack Crevalles with surface presentations. I'd caught Jacks before but not like this. Someone really needs to explain to my why people look down on this fish. They roam in voracious packs, they eat both live bait and artificials, you can target them on light tackle, watching them eat is an adrenaline rush, and they fight like crazy. What's not to like? And it's much cheaper to target these guys than to fly halfway around the world to target Giant Trevally We went 3 for 4 after I pulled the hook on one of them. The big boy was 33 lbs, the other two were 24-25 lbs each. Not a bad consolation prize after the silver king didn't cooperate!

Fished today. Didn't fish hard, had my wife with me is we just rode around and looked most of the day. Did catch a few schoolers on a jerkbaot and a dropshot and then broke off possibly the biggest fish I've ever hooked in a brush pile on a jig. When I set the hook into her she bowed me over and then turn and ran. When she did my rod broke in half!! I managed to turn her twice, but I would reel her up 4 ft and then she would turn and rip 20 ft back off! Ended up breaking me off on the second run. I don't know if it was a bass, but if it was, I'm positive I would have gotten a free replica today.

I will absolutely buy more reels than I need.

Absolute's *Texas Rig weighted or unweighed tied on 24/7/365 *Jig-n-Craw tied on 24/7/365 *Start the day on deep water structure *I'm ain't here just to fish...I'm here for your fish *You will only underestimate me one time!

There are a lot of people not cut out for the trades. Trust me, I've worked with them. The reality of it is, some people aren't cut out to do anything more than flip burgers and work as a cashier. Not like either of those is a bad thing, our economy needs burger flippers and cashiers just as much as it needs tradesmen and corporate big wigs. As a country, we'd be better off if courses like "how to create a budget and live within your means" and "how to respect your fellow man" and "the world doesn't revolve around me" and "think with your head and not with your heart" and base judgment on facts and not opinions" were taught in middle school and high school.

@Bluebasser86 will always be there for you. Lone Star was fun Thursday night. While Brian was playing around with the dinks, I landed a 4-2 on a YUM wooly bug. Fishing was pretty tough for @Doc-Drew and I as I don't think we had 25 fish between us, but we probably had over 11 pounds with our best five.

with a soon to be 2 week old baby and a 6 year old in the house my fishing time is somewhat limited. Luckily for me, my wonderful wife said she had no issues with me going out fishing last night. I loaded up and was on the water right at 9:15. There was still some ambient light but it was getting dark pretty quickly. I decided to throw a frog around the lilly pad edges to see what was going on. about 30 minutes in had a hit but missed him. I threw back to the same spot and he hit again. I am thinking it's probably a pickerel because i don't see bass hit that many times usually but apparently night fishing is a different game. On the third hit I got a solid hookup and realized it was not a pickerel....it was my first citation sized (length) bass of the year. Of course the one time i want my scale i don't have it but hey, that's how it goes. I continue fishing till about 2:00am and land one more fish on the frog....another citation sized fish. I did lose a couple fish on flukes and caught one little one on a creature bait. All in all it was good evening and got my first two citations of the year. I am gonna try my best to get out again tonight if i can get another hall pass lol

Got to fish an hour or so before dinner and caught 14 all on a spoon off a ledge. Man it's great to be back on the bend. Gonna hit it early for a couple of hrs. Then back to the camp for a little work and family time .. ?

My little order of paddletail swimbait supply stuff came in today Reaction Strike, Rage Swimmer, Jackall Rhythm Wave, Owner 1/8-1/4 Offshore swimbait hooks, 16# sniper fc one of the Reaction Strike baits was an odd color

Just going to put this right here in celebration of the new Pixie R... My 4 horsemen, right to left as listed: 7'2" HXF 13NVBlack, w/ Lew's BB1 Pro and 40# Smackdown. Tied on is a Slither K. 6'10" MHF Megabass Destroyer Phase 3 Elseil w/ Shimano Exsence DC and 8# CXX. Tied on is a 5" Mag Draft. 7'1" MXF G. Loomis 852c w/ Daiwa PXL Type R and 20# Smackdown. Tied on is a t-rigged Huddle Bug. 7'1" MLXF 13NVBlack w/ Shimano Stella 2500S and 8# Gliss. Tied on is a Keitech Mono Spin Jig with a TRD trailer aka TungsteNed. And the "kids' rods", which I "sometimes use too" lol (Right to left) 6'6" MHF Ugly Stick Elite w/ an Abu Cardinal STX30 reel and 30# Suffix 832. Tied on is a 1/2 oz Mendota rigged savage 3D craw. 6'3" MF 13OmnBlack w/ a Skeet Reese Pro Carbon 2500 reel and 6# CXX. Tied on is an OSP Bent Minnow. 6' MF Berkley Amp w/ a Shimano Sienna 2500FD and 10# PP. Usually a t-rig or Ned rod. Probably going to just sell that middle kid combo for a rod to put my old Ito reel on for cranks, spinnerbaits and jerks. It seems I just like casting rigs better for that kind of thing. Feeling pretty good about what I'm running now though, so just adding and dialing as I have time and expendable income.

I absolutely will not catch any fish while sitting on the couch at home.

Absolute: Thank the good Lord for each and every day on the water. Sometimes I have taken them for granted and when I didn't get to fish for several months and it was awful. Have fun relax..don't get caught up in all the BS....tourneys or not.

Enjoy fishing.

1. I absolutely refuse to make fishing complicated. 2. All braid, all the time 3. I wont use flouro or mono leaders. (See rule 1 above) 4. No tournament fishing. 5. If it ain't fun, pack up and go home.

Kind of funny, I just saw the Bassresource video on how not to get hooked when landing fish. Too late. This was my hand in the ER Sunday night. I landed a little un an didn't notice the trailer hook hadn't penetrated the fish anywhere at all, so I was holding the fish and reaching to get the bait out when it gave a good thrash and the next thing I know I am feeling a tug on my finger that wasn't quite right. I looked down and the spinner bait hook was still in the fish mouth, the trailer hook straight through my fingers with some blood seeping out of the holes. Now I live out in the sticks, so the ER is a half hour away. I go home and my wife drives me to the ER. Of course, I try to remove this myself a couple different ways but nothing works, so i figure let the Medical professionals handle it instead. At the ER, the Doc says, no biggie, we'll just cut the shaft on the long end and slide the other end out. So he numbs up my finger with a Lidocaine block, gets out these little tweezer cutters and begins. No luck, hardened steel hook. So they try wire cutters. No luck. I take the wire cutters away from them, put one end on a table and put my full weight down on the handle trying to get it to even dent the hook. No luck. But the nurses are about to pass out watching me work on it myself, while cracking jokes about how its my mess, I'll clean it up. One nurse says "so how did you you do that?" and I can't resist... "Well, I was chasing this Bear through the woods....." and the look on her face is quite funny. "Fishing. Last cast. Caught one, wasn't paying attention and this trailer hook (I hold my hand up and slide the lure back and forth in the eyelet of the hook that's through my finger) went through this finger." She turned white and left the room. So anyway, they can't figure out a way to cut it and I tell them to get some bolt cutters. Only problem is it's Sunday night, July 4th weekend, 930 and the maintenance folks are out having fun and no one can find the keys to the room where the bolt cutters might be, let alone know where the bolt cutters actually are. So I lay back and go to sleep. My wife tells me later that every now and then I would do that jerking thing you do when you're in between sleep and waking and the spinner blades would tinkle. When I woke up I got the cutters and removed the rubber keeper altogether so I could get the spinner bait away from the hook. That was at least some progress and made it easier on my hand not having to hold the spinner bait. Eventually the maintenance guy gets there, like around 11, and I really did appreciate him coming in. It was that or drive home to get my bolt cutters and DIY it and then probably drive back to the ER for some sterilization stuff or whatever just to be on the safe side. Doc comes in with bolt cutters, asks me to grab the hook where its sticking out the farthest, he places the jaws either side and with a quick squeeze a "tink" emits and I am holding the protruding hook and barb end in on hand, shaft in the other. I sit down and he slides the rest of it out and I am free. But heres comes the worst part. He tells me to let my finger soak in antibiotic/sterile fluid for fifteen minutes and then I can go. Then he comes back in two minutes later and says he wants to flush it out some too. So he puts a syringe with a rubber tube attached that's about the same diameter as the hook in some saline, draws it up nice and full and shoots it in the top hole as I hold my hand over the bowl. No big deal, I feel it run though and dribble out the bottom. Then he flips my finger over and stick it in the other side to go back the other way. He started squirting that stuff in there and my finger exploded into pain like it was on fire and then it shot across half my hand, other digits and thumb shaking like I had just got shocked. I nearly passed out, and up until that point, this was no big deal, despite what it looked like. My wife jumped up and grabbed me because she thought I was going to fall over. Ouch. So anyway, Doc says "Ok, it's sealing up, I'm not going to do that any more." Thanks Doc. Best news I had all night. Anyway, after all that, once that hook was out, (and they stopped shooting saltwater in the hole) it stopped hurting in about 5 minutes. I left with the spinner bait intact and a band aid on my finger. Moral of the story? I guess it's be careful, cause the hooks these days are pretty stout and if you get one stuck in you, it might be harder than you think to get it out. I am just glad my lack of caution didn't result in something worse than a hole in the fleshy part of my finger. It was't too bad, I was back playing my guitar the next afternoon. I had never been hooked at all before, I hope I never get hooked again. Lesson learned.

Straight braid. A leader imho, is another point that can fail over time on hooksets.

Fished 4 hours this morning 1st skunk of the year today. I just wasn't in the zone. My casts were off, My main lake spots on the Chain that were producing 4 weeks ago were so choked with weeds, it was impossible to move the boat around. Fish were striking short on swimjigs but couldn't get so much as a bite on anything slower. Came home and washed the boat for the first time since April of last year. Sure looks pretty when it's clean

Here lay a cruel joke on the middle class. Many of us were duped into thinking that college was the answer.

I try to offend as many people as possible.............and it somehow has worked out pretty good for me. If it didn't I was going to just start posting pictures of naked women................that's always a good move.

If I can't find fish, a stick bait, or a worm texas rigged under a dock will always get me at least one fish. No reel on this planet is nearly as good as a Shimano Core The NRX is over rated If my wife is okay with me going for a long period of time I will most likely end up getting skunked

A Swim Jig was new a while ago and then it sort of cooled off. I loved it then & I'm loving it now. Tom Monsoor was one of the first to bring the technique to main stream bassing. His lighter version both head weight & hook wire requires a less beefy approach but really excels in shallow to mid-depth applications. More recently modern anglers have pumped up the bait with bigger hooks & heavier heads for more Combat type situations with heavy line. That certainly works but on pressured lakes & in clear water situations the scaled down subtle action of a swim jig with a grub or a small paddle tail is still very effective. A-Jay

Bill Lewis makes the Rat L Trap. Any other is an imitation. Some imitations are good though, maybe even better. But I own a bunch ot real Traps and none do this.

$200 is an outstanding price for that reel. I think I paid $275 for the one I have, and I consider that money well spent.

Yeah I am in love. It really launches light baits in a way that doesn't even seem possible. I can't even imagine how well it does with a honeycomb spool! I really think I probably got the best deal of all time on my Pixy R. @desmobob would you believe I got it for well under $200 after the seller swapped the handle and knobs out for a Tatula's? If anyone is looking, be patient. If the deal you want isn't there, give it time or put out the feelers. You never know who will see it and what deals they may be willing to make!

Good Luck with that ~ A-Jay

I've been able to get my hands on the Big TRD. They definitely catch fish like the smaller TRD does.

(January, 2016) Absolutely refuse to put it up at all!

Heyooooo! So here is what I have done so far... Rod Straps on both pontoons. Drain plug at the stern. Wired it myself as I bout the BR10...not the 10E. It was very easy....ask if you need help. Built a rudder out of some scrap wood, broom handle and scrap SS sheet and a gate hinge. 1/2 in plywood floor with outdoor carpet to the rear and 3/4 inch treated plywood to the front...I cut it to the right length so if I wanna stand and fish I have an elevated casting platform when I turn it 90 degrees. Umbrella holder. MinnKota Battery Center to check charge levels and charge the phone/portable speaker. Still have a lot more to do but I got it out on the water today and had a blast. 50 lb thrust MinnKota was perfect esoecially when the wind picked up...

geese what did these matt guys ever do to you lol lets see my favorite thing to fish has always been frogs.. but for pure numbers its gotta be a jerk bait

I've fished live bait for about 4years now and have never gut hooked a fish after switching to circle hooks

Get yourself one of these. You can find them almost everywhere.

@Bass_Fanatic Love it when ya set hook & they set hook back!

2.6 ounces per gallon for 50:1 ratio

https://brinkmansbaitandtackle.com/baits/ Google is your friend. I'm in Missouri. It's closed now by the way

i watch andy instead of the news

I've always said, when a seller feels he's getting too little and the buyer feels he's paying too much, you've reached the right price.

I texted my friend who is a Chief Warrant Officer USCG Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist

Came in yesterday 703SF

I just ordered a lot of 28 old Bill Norman lures from Ebay. Mainly did it to get a particular lure that there were 9-10 of in the lot that isn't made anymore for a gift for my dad (it's about the only crankbait he'll use). So, saving the "Quarterbacks" for his birthday, what should I do with the rest? Well, maybe I should save them to help build my nephews' tackle boxes, I don't know. The guy I purchased them from is local and sent me a message that he has a lot more vintage Bill Norman's, here we go!

With those two thoughts ya in trouble

To me this sounds like when I had a test and didn't study till the last minute. I'm a T-rIg worm or a Spinner bait guy. Both work year round.

I will Absolutely Hate to put the boat up this & every Winter. And will Absolutely Love getting it out in the Spring. A-Jay

If its that time of the month LEAVE the wife at home! Never forget the plug. . . (again) If you see a beer in my hand at the lake don't ask how's the fishing.

Absolutely will not; Hook up the boat and trailer without checking tires, lights, batteries, gasoline/oil, drain plug, PFD's and drinking water. Use my rods and reels without checking drags, line and tie fresh knots on any lure/hooks for sharpness before using them. Checking sonar units and trolling motor before launching. Fish during day light without sun screen, hat and sun glasses. Launch the boat if it's severe stormy weather with high winds, lightning and heavy rain. Tom

This is the knot I use for flouro. The only name I know to call it is the "Shaw Grigsby knot." Since I have been using it, I've had no fish break offs.

At my local DSG they are almost always on special for 1$ a pack. At an average of about 20 cents per worm, brush hog, lizard, what have you, you can't go wrong. They are always all mixed up on the hooks so you have to pull them all off there to find something good.