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I fished all morning with the water temps in the high 40s. Around noon, the sun came out and I was able land a few good bass. My best came on a red lipless crank: I thought for sure she was my PB, but 4 lb 9 oz.... Either way, it was beautiful out and I saw tons of deer. This is the first year I didn't put the rods away and pull the bow out. I kinda like this new routine.

I was initially planning on wrapping up my season with yesterday’s trip which included some nice smallies. But with a third day in a row of mild air temps and very fishable SW winds, I caved and headed to the same lake I started this fishing season off on. That first trip was memorable and as it turned out this one was just as sweet. The water temps are hanging in the mid 40’s and the water has stayed consistently clean. This makes the jerkbait bite here a very viable option, one I’ve been taking full advantage of for a while & especially today. This lake, like many up here, is loaded with yellow perch. Just so happens that SK makes a very nice jerkbait replica of that particular smallmouth delicacy – it’s been the bait of choice past few trips. Both the standard (3 hook) and the deeper versions get bit but today it was the deep bait – exclusively. The Leeward side of main lake sloping sandy points that dropped into the deepest water was where I focus the majority of my efforts. By positioning the Lund up on the shallow side of the point in about 5 ft of water (Love the Talons) I would cast off the deep side and work the bait back to the boat. The fish definitely wanted the lure to contact the sand & then pause. At which point they were Hammering it. Nothing subtle about the strikes today – Good Times. This seems like an appropriate way to wrap things up and I feel (reasonably) content to do it. Looking forward to next season. A-Jay

Caught the Sunday morning on a bps slim dog walking bait. Right at 19 inches, and only fish I caught that morning.

Bring less baits.. spend more time fishing than switching. I found my catch rate going way up once I downsized to a small pack vs a backpack.

Never take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night. Now, about this bananas in the boat thing. I take bananas on the boat all the time. A nice snack you can eat with slimy hands. A little extra potassium doesn't hurt either. However, keep in mind one should never look anybody in the eyes while eating one.

Yesterday evening I fished a Missile Baits D-Bomb for the first time. At 5:15 I caught an 8 pound bass. At nine PM I ordered 50 more D-Bombs.

Little Fish, looked for you Sunday. Fishing was pretty good this weekend in the mornings. Caught a few nice fish Saturday morning. Had a 5 and a 4, a couple of 3's and a handful of 2's. Tons of small fish, I'm sure 100 if you count the small yellows and whites too. It was every cast for a good while. Did not get a bite Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning was slower, 30 or so with maybe 5 or 6 keepers. Sunday afternoon slow, 4 keepers. Much better than I had been doing. I think if i fished for the bigger fish when they are hot and heavy I could catch a few more but i just love the action.

Mine is a obvious tip but hey ya never know. Tip: If your by yourself using the boat ramp make sure to set the emergency brake before you exit the vehicle to unload or load.

Spinning gear

The "Metanium" name goes back nearly 20 years and includes the discontinued models of Metanium XT, MG, MG7 that ran from about 1997 to 2012. There was an earlier Metanium DC (digital control), also now discontinued, that ran from around 2008 to 2014. The current Metanium platform began with the 2013 model (aka "Metanium 13"). The Met 13 was superseded just this year by the Metanium MGL (aka "Metanium 16"). Also in the lineup, starting in 2015, is the new-generation Metanium DC - based on the Met 13 platform. So, for current, new, production models, you have the Met MGL/16, and the Met DC/15. Both of these reels are available in several gear ratios (6.2, 7.4, 8.5) and in RH and LH models. Both of the current models are the same physical size - Shimano labels them as "150" size. This is a photo of the Met 13 and Met DC:

Cast across the hill, not up and down.

You might check if any of their regular H2O lineup is on sale. It's the end of the year and they'll often have some on sale, although they may not be marked on sale (it's usually just a couple specific models). I picked up one of their 7' MH/F micro series (normally $80) for $35 not to long ago. They're great rods and the micro series up are plenty sensitive to fish a jig.

I fished with my retired buddy this past weekend on Lake Fork. We caught several solid bass fishing in the sticks using Carolina Rigged Controlled Descent Lures set to fully float behind the weight. Cant wait to get back!

Nah, definitely looks like some super top secret, prototype Gamakatsus.

I like to add a glass rattle horizontally across my Zoom Super Flukes in the head, it looks like eyes, and gives the bait some sound

Don't eat yellow snow

Do yourself a huge favor and switch to a light braid or other similar type line (Gliss is my personal favorite). Just use a short leader of mono or flouro for the abrasion resistance and you'll be fine. It improves most every aspect of the technique from castability, bite detection, hookup ratio, line twist, and fish landed.

Busy life? Make sure and schedule fishing days on your calendar!

Find a location with plenty of baitfish and the bass will be close.

Try fishing a spybait like a slow motion jerkbait ~ A-Jay

So I went out bassin yesterday afternoon for a couple hours. It took a while to find some players, but meanwhile, the perch were out on the field to play. I caught the two biggest yellows I have ever seen. I've caught a lot of big perch growing up in CT, but not quite as big as this. The bigger one taped out at 18.25". I couldn't believe it. I measured it twice to be sure. I don't have a digital scale, so I used the 60lb Boga I had with me (LOL). It teetered near the 3lb mark, but didn't quite reach 3. And as luck would have it, my GoPro wasn't running! I could swear it was, but I was very disappointed when I got home to review the footage. I'm new to the GoPro, and already I want to throw it in the garbage. Anyway, I went on to find some bass in an area which is usually unfishable, due to the weeds. Water was gin clear, and 63 degrees. No big bass, but I did finish up with a legal limit (which were all released), biggest 3 were 15-16". I hope to go back soon to where I found the bass. I think I can drum up a much better bite if I had more time.

Fished a couple tournaments since my last post, figured I'd do an update. The smallie season is winding down, almost time to get ready for ice. About 3 weeks ago we did an open tournament and had a good bite going. The 7 1/4 I posted before was caught during part of our prefish. The bite died on tourney day, but we stuck to our zones throwing smaller swimbaits and dropshots to scrape up a 22 pound limit for 3rd place. A couple days later, I had some time to scoot out and check some new zones and was able to land about 15 fish, the biggest 5 going around 24-25 lbs. The most fun that day was finding a school of herring surfacing over 80 feet of water and getting 3 smallies feeding on that mess. Had my final tourney of the season yesterday and our prefish went well. Morning bite was garbage, but the afternoon was on fire so we knew we would have to capitalize on every bite. We didnt land a fish for the first 2 hours but figured out a deal in 40-50 feet of water and put over 20 fish in the boat, the best 5 going 27.3 lbs. Good enough for 1st place, by an ounce. Tight tourney with several 24+ pound stringers. Good way to end the season!

I fish those same baits often and can cast them just fine on my normal cranking gear, but I generally opt to throw them on spinning gear and 8lb test instead, especially the 1.0.

That's what I was thinking. Must not have had the body to match that mouth if she only went 4.9. Still a very nice fish, especially from the 'yak!

Y'all are giving the Bass' little brain to much credit.

I have presidents in size 25, 30 and 35. I like them all, but I think the 30 is the sweet spot. think you gain too little compared to what you lose going down to the 25 or up to the 35, compared to the 30. That is, going down to the 25, I find the drop in line pick-up, drag and spool capacity not worth the weight reduction of one ounce. By contrast I don't think the gain in line pick up and spool capacity going up to the 35 is worth the weight increase of over an ounce and a half. Of course this is largely a matter of taste, and I wouldn't have known I had these preferences without trying the different sizes in the first place.

The 25 is okay but here is another option. First let me say after years and years of using other reels I have settled on Pflueger Presidents for my wife and I. We own around 7 or 8 of them and all function flawlessly. Some are almost new and some have at least 10 years of fishing time on them. We fish with 6925, 30. 35, and 40 models, so I can tell you from real life experience. I recently picked up a new finesse spinning rod. It is a 6'6 medium power fast tipped, rod similar to the St Croix Avid X 6'8' medium xf rod. I really wanted that one but sometimes the budget gets in the way, oh well! Anyway, my friend Bryan has one of those St CRoix Avid Xs and he matched it up with an Okuma RTX 30. This reel has a composite body. It is super light, super smooth reel and has a larger IPT than my Pfluegers. Check it out. I played with his, liked it and found one online for around $70. I like mine a lot. I set this rod combo up to do exactly what you want. I rely on my friend to field test his equipment for me. He fishes at least 4 times a week and catches really big bass, big stripers and big snakeheads. If it can last a year for him, it will last 10 years for us, LOL

for me i found that backing the reel with braid has helped immensely with casting distance

Here is my suggestion. Go put a Berkley Lightning Shock rod in the 7 foot medium light in your hand. Sometimes you can find one at Walmart, but if not go online. The rod costs $50 from Tackle Warehouse, but often can be found cheaper. I have two of the Med mod 6'6" casting and my wife owns 1 6'6" spinning. We use them for treble hook baits. We both have used them to catch bass and stripers and unintentionally big blue catfish. Another good suggestion for that exact purpose that i own and like is from Dicks Sporting Goods. Go online and look at a Quantum Escalade 6'6 medium power. It is basically a fast action rod. It specs for 6-12 pound line and lures weighing 1/8 to 1/4. That is a misprint in my experience. I regularly throw baits up to 1/2 ounce. It is a great finesse rod. It sells for $100, but is on sale for $50 Match either rod with a Pflueger President 6930 or 6935 for $60. I found a deal on an Okuma RTX30 for $75.That reel is a very light reel with a higher gear ratio. Either of these reels will give you a great combo.

That's a heck of a mouth on her very nice bass!

Here is my two cents. I use a lot of braid with a leader made of 10 pound P Line CXX copoly, about 4 foot long. I do not think it is that necessary in stained water, but I do it more because i am confident that line will break around 22 pounds, If I need to break off I can still do it and not loose a lot of expensive braid. I fish off color tidal water here at home, clear rivers around here as well, and then I go to Tennessee/ Kentucky and fish those super deep, clear. big impoundment lakes (like 60 miles long) like Dale Hollow and Center Hill. I do not like changing my gear around for every different situation. It might not be ideal, but I would still do it this way and am successful. For a single trip I would try a leader of P line or even Trilene XT if you have some. Try something like 14 or 17 pound XT, which is always available at Walmart. If you fish it and you are having trouble cut the leader off and fish it tied direct. See if it makes a difference I doubt it will.

I use X-mas ornament hangers. Buy them after X-mas and get a 100 pack for like 25 cents.

I'm done. Was out for 4.5 hrs on Chisago today and banged a bunch of 3 lb'ers on jerkbaits and football heads but no big bites. Very happy to end season on a good bite. Also caught at least 8 gators and donated 1 Lucky Craft Pointer 100 to the cause. I hope that slimebag gets it stuck in his throat and feeds himself to the turtles! Water temp was 50-51.5. Pretty warm yet for November so still good fishing to be had. Would love to go again next weekend but I gotta do some hunting.

In my opinion, hte secret is layering. I start out with light weight fishing pants, T shirt, and light fishing shirt. To start the day , depending on the temp, I'll have either breathable rain paints on over the light pants, or insulated pants on. On top, I do a fleece over the fishing shirt, then a wind shirt, then depending on temp, a hoodie sweat shirt or just a breathable hooded rain jacket. Very flexible, very comfortable. Don't forget an ice fishing fleecy hat over your billed fishing cap, and fingerless gloves or mittens with exposable fingers, and you can handle anything. Take layers off as it warms up. Very comfortable without spending a fortune.

I finally pulled the trigger on a hudd 68 ROF 5 and threw in a few swimjigs to replace the ones I lost this season to complete the order.

Need to jump in & say hello to all & give a quick intro, got back into bass fishing about 2 months ago after a 25+ year hiatus(fished TB hard for about 5 years in latter '80's--then headed to Gulf for about 20 years & when I 'lost' my crew--ie kids grew up & moved away--AND I got too old for all that bouncing out there, I shut it/that down.:)...Then the urge hit me a couple months ago & I'm back @ it ---again...Will mostly fish Big Bass & south & hearing there's NO GRASS----wtcrap????!!!......BTW LF, grew up in Bunkie but after graduating BHS in '70, haven't lived there since...:(...... Hope I can get the hang of things again---man, there's more baits(colors etc etc) out there than Carter's got little pills......Ya'll keep up the good posting here, hopefully it'll rub off on me......

Just got 3 new Lew's in. 2 Tournament Lite G's and a Tournament MB, all with the 95mm carbon fiber handle added on. I put the MB on my E6X crankbait rod, a Lite on my IMX topwater/jerkbait rod (both are replacing my old MG's) and the other Lite is waiting for a home

I'm just gonna tell them about it when we do the next one. I've already changed the hooks on it and whatnot. It was definitely a surprise, didn't even notice until I caught this big guy.

If your having trouble in a particular area and you know bass are there, take the time to find exactly what they are eating then match your lure to color and size. Then take color and size and match that with a lure that is as life like to the bait as possible and try to make it move or swim just like the real bait would. Add some scent to match that (use craw scent for craws, obviously), and you should be in business. Good luck

Bring water.. seems obvious but I've had a couple trips ruined because I forgot to bring something to drink being so excited.

Bright day...bright bait. Dark day...dark bait.

These are not worm weights but you can do them the same way. May stick a bit but I just twist the wire and they come off.I powder paint the weights then cure them in toaster oven.

I grew up fishing straight Dacron braid before mono became readily available back in the 50's. Back then we didn't have soft plastics, lures were plugs, jigs and spoons mostly what is called reaction lures. Braid diesn't affect the faster moving lures action because today's braid is very small in diameter. Braid doesn't affect a jigs action or soft plastic worms and bass are rarely line shy fish. I agree adding a leader aides in breaking off snagged lures when using 40 to 80 lb braid and it helps to reduce line twist using spinning reels. The question is how does adding a FC leader help? FC has a weakened knot joint 2 places used as a leader, almost impossible to get 100% knot strength with FC line. So in my opinion adding a leader is a confidence issue that bass can't see the line and is debatable but real in the minds eye for those who believe it. Tom

All these baits are only about half the size of the magnum squarebills listed. Not saying they aren't good baits, but for a guy looking for a BIG squarebill, they're a bit on the small side.

I have had a workup, changed my diet, drink more water and the stones frequency has lessened dramatically. When I had my xray, there were too many to count in there and I chose to pass them. I also choose to not take any prescriptions.

Looks like Raiders are legit this year. They're due. Probably because they got a lot of former 'Hawk players and coaches now.

Lake Chabot in NorCal is a clear water trout lake with excellent depth of light and visibility, the type of water where FC line is considered essential. Consider this fact; a 19 lb FLMB was caught on a sunny day Oct 28 2016, a few weeks ago at Chabot and the angler used 65 lb braid tied directly to 3/4 oz jig with GYCB black w/blue flake Hula grub fishing a deep submerged tree. Tom

There's no such thing as too shallow.

Being from NY here are some of my observations on vegitation in the bodies of water I fish that may help you once you have ID'ed what your looking at: Submergent veg: Milfoil = bass.......... if it's green and healthy. Once it turns brown and slimey, and looks like "rust" falls off it when you hit it with a lure, get away from it, as the bass have left it. Milfoil takes it's sweet azz time getting going in the spring, as it really likes nutriant rich, warm water, and a cool dry spring seems to keep it down. Deep water coontail = bass. This stuff stays green in even the nastiest water, and way late into the year. There is ALWAYS life around it. Like Milfoil, it takes a while to get going in the spring, but by late summer it's usually pretty thick, and stays thick and green longer than the milfoil. Curly leaf pond weed = bass......... IF milfoil and coon tail are not available, but if they are, they really seem to prefer the milfoil and coontail. On my lake this weed is the first one in the spring to "take off' and get lush...as it seems to like really really clear water, and cooler temps. But then it wilts and dies in early summer when water temps start rising and when the water starts getting a little color in it, and is replaced in the depths it grows in by milfoil and coontail. Eel grass.........avoid it. They NEVER and I mean NEVER seem to be IN the eel grass, but will cruise the edges of it. At some point in late summer/early fall eel grass uproots, and floats, and makes floating mats...........sometimes they get under it, but they still don't seem to care for it much. carpet weeds........like chara, coon tail moss (looks like deep water coon tail, but just grows close to the bottom in shallow to mid depths)....never seem to be many bass around this stuff or in the area it grows as it mostly grows on soft mucky bottoms Elodia.........looks like hydrilla, but it ain't, and I rarely find bass in or around it Emergant veg: Pads of all sizes............they all hold bass if there is enough water under them, and the bottom under them is to the bass's liking.t Cat tails......... they typically grow in muck, and other than the odd hard bottom areas that intersect with them , I rarely find them to be productive.