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Went out on this morning and with-in 10 minutes had a new personal best! 6lb club here I am (barely)! While I know others have double that or if you are @WRB triple it. But it feels great! I caught it on a 1/8 shakey head with a Berkley Shakey Snake in GP with Chart tip. Very odd bite too. At first I thought I was hung up in some grass as I was hoping it along and all of a sudden it got heavy, in my head I knew it was something different cause I hesitated before popping it free. Then it tugged back and I reeled down and set the hook and drag went a screaming. I kept my composure which is not like me and got him in! This may sound odd but I shoved my whole fist in his mouth just because. Funny thing is I rarely carry a scale but had it today, thank god.

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

Had an opportunity to get out yesterday and go check one of my "big fish" zones. It doesnt put up a lot of fish, but when it does, look out. It didnt disappoint. This may be my last day out these season, and if so, what a way to end it. Lots of footage to edit in the coming weeks when the boat goes away. In the words of Dave Mercer... G-G-G-G-GIANT BASS!

When fishing rocky rivers, if you get hung up during the retrieve while casting downstream, open up the bail and let the water take a big old loop of line downstream of the hung bait, then set the bail and reel in fast. The current will hold your line downstream long enough to tug on the bait 180 degrees opposite the way it was hung, before the reel pulls in all the slack.

My friend and I got on a pretty good walleye bite this evening/night. The walleyes were jumping when we hooked them, which is very strange, but we soon figured out why when a giant musky t boned a 15" walleye at my feet and peeled some line before spitting him out. We didn't have musky tackle with us so we just kept slaying the walleyes and pulling them out of the water before the musky could get to them. Then I set the hook into something solid, and was astonished to see my little 1/16oz jighead with a 4" GYCB curly tail stuck in the snout of the monster that had been chasing our walleyes. Somehow my 10lb leader held up for the 10-15 minute battle and I was able to beach the 42" BEAST!

Well I received diagnosis from the MRI... a torn scaphoid lunate ligament, surgery first week of December. Probably not a total fix but may prevent/delay arthritis. Some level of hope anyway to be back fishing by spring.

So this my story of an First close encounter of my biggest Largemouth i caught. I decided to write this short story for my High School short story project because i ran out of ideas:( So here it is. Relax,Get cozy and Picture the story in your head as you read. It was a nice day to fish. There was the sun out in the blue skies and clear skies over the horizon. It was a busy Sunday at the park, but there was no people fishing. There were a bunch of people walking, biking or jogging at the park instead. So I started fishing and for about three to four hours I had no luck at all. I walked around the whole lake to trying to catch a fish, but still no luck. The only fish I could see was little fish, big as a Sunflower seed, I wasn't looking for that kind of fish. So I basically spent precious three to four hours just circling the whole lake like a headless chicken,For now. The sun was slowly going down the horizon along with the clouds. The whole lake was orange from the sun. I was all sweaty and tired from wandering around the whole pond with no results. I was going to call it a day and go to my home and maybe try again tomorrow?. Still Ii decided to give a another shot. So I used my last strength to fish. First cast, I felt a huge thump which I thought it was a snag. I got disappointed but Ii noticed heavy vibrations on my rod and the line was moving. So I decided to reel it in. I first thought it was a catfish, but slowly the unknown fish got closer to the shore, I saw something in the orange lake water. It was an emerald gleam in the water, A very big gleam. The fish decided to surface and the mystery thing was revealed. It was the largest fish Ii will ever catch in my life, Ever. It was a monster bass. A real monster bass. The bass seemed like it had a giant meal judging by its round belly. It’s mouth was like a bucket. The fish had scars, bruises, and a tattered tail. It seems like the fish went through a lot of stuff. I decided to weigh in the fish and I was totally blown. The scale read 5.6 LBS. A passerby, who was driving by, saw my catch stopped by me. He got out of his car and said “Did you catch that !?” I replied with, “Yes, I just did.” He looked completely blown away, seeing a fish that big. I asked the man for a quick photo and without hesitation he said yes. After a few quick photos I released the trophy back to the lake. I saw the trophy swim towards the sunshine and I never saw that fish again. Ever again. I hope you enjoyed the story. Feel free to tell your opinions or thoughts. Thank you

Failing to protect your skin from UV rays can kill you. Wear a hat, sunglasses, long sleeves, sun gloves and or then the highest SPF sunscreen you can find.

Easily the most beautiful reel I now own. Will look even better once it's used and marred up a bit. Time to start a custom rod build to pair with this beauty. I hope to have it completed by the spring time. Megabass Monoblock Racing Viola. Only 24 lefties and 24 righties ever made. Sold out instantly. They're trading hands at crazy prices. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time to buy this for not much more than what they originally sold for. I've seen them sell in this condition for $4,000 plus.

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.

Smashed. Mepps spinner 15 feet from shore On a windy day . Love fall time fishing on lake wallenpaupack

I agree. It isn't remotely ordinary that largemouth "nibble' baits. However, and I only saw this once during a tournament in fall. Temps had dropped, but there was that "migratory frog bite" going on. We came in second, using frogs, and a few times - maybe 6 of the bites out over at least 50, the fish grabbed the skirted "legs" and pulled the bait under. Eventually they would gulp or spit. We trimmed them, or switched to old school Scum Frogs, but we both saw it clear as day. Never saw it before, and never since. It was REALLY weird.

As noted LMB don't nibble anything but if you have Smallmouth or spotted bass they sometimes pick up a jig by the end of the trailer. The easy option is to thread on the soft plastic trailer like John suggested. Another option is change the trailer to a 3" or 4" double tail grub and thread it onto the hook. I am not a fan of plastic chunks prefer the real thing a pork frog that is nose hooked. Always must add that swings are free to new jig anglers, set the hook on anything that feels different. Tom

Sounds like you already bought one...? I would recommend against a barrel chambered in .223 unless you are going for accuracy only. Go for 5.56, it's a long story, but basically, the safer route is to have a 5.56 chamber and shoot .223 or 5.56, VS a .223 chamber and shoot 5.56 out of it. It is difficult to build an AR for the same price that you can buy one (assuming same parts in both), because you will need (should have) certain tools. What really ends up happening is that you will end up with an AR that has a lot of upgrades ( this ends up being cheaper than if you bought a base model and modified it). I own many, and have built many, just my thoughts. M and P sport, like others said is pretty limited in what you can do with it. If the AR platform is the legos of guns, the sport is the duplo..... In the 1000 dollar and under range, there are many good brands, Smith and Wesson, Rock river, Spikes, some so so ones, Bushmaster, DPMS. Over 1000 gets you into the Colts (overrated IMO), LWRCs, and many more premium rifles. As with anything, define your purpose and buy a product that will fit. The good-better manufacturers parts will all play nice together, the cheaper brands will be looser in their manufacturing tolerances and less tolerant of modification. TRF

Tri-hull boats ride very rough in water that is even a little bit choppy. Before you invest any time or money, take the boat out on the water and ride around to see if this boat will be something you will want to spend time fishing from. Re powering, adding decks, floors, seating, trolling motors and electronics, will take a lot of time and money. It could be the most expensive "free" boat you've ever seen. Buying a used bass boat would probably be cheaper and certainly be much less work.

Seeing as I've had a 8' bass hunter for over 30 years, I figured I may find some upgrades on this thread, so I just finished reading all 99 pages yesterday. I found some helpful tips and will be finally adding a new seat,.yeah,..I still have the original plastic "bucket" seat, some clips for my oar, and maybe even a new telescoping oar at that. Even thinking of the push pole/anchor pole option as well. Which is actually a neat idea. Ive had 2 anglers, 2 batteries, and 2 motors on it and actually did so on its maiden voyage. Its kinda tight, but so much fun, and I caught my pb bass off of it prefishing for a tourney with 2 anglers on it. Do I recommend 2 anglers on a 8 ftr? not really. If you plan on fishing 2 anglers off your puddlejumper, get a 10 ftr or bigger, you will need the room. Just because I was crazy many years ago, doesnt mean you need to be as well,...lol, With the 2 motors and 2 batteries, larger waters, rivers, and long days on the water, were more available to me, as well as, the faster moving rig being better for short outings, pinpointed approaches, leaving the boat in the back of the truck for the next days outing, not having to re-group, and recharge the batteries, knowing its still got enough juice to "safely" use. I didnt ever have to switch a single motor from the front to back, ever have to paddle back to the ramp, or turn around to properly control the boats position. Having 2 motors and batteries is a "option" on these rigs, that I highly do recommend. When loading and unloading at the ramp? I just take the 2 batteries, and the back motor off. My 8 rods are strapped in at both ends of the pontoons, I have a dry box for the saftey requirements and "essentials" positioned in the rear of the boat and tackle bag next to it. Life vest is attached to the seat. So, in and out,.. is a quick and easy deal. Motors and batteries wiring have minn kota's quick connect plugs for all connections and I do recommend these as well. They make it alot easier to deal with all around. So nothing is really "loose", and only a few attachments are needed. This allows a quicker and easier transition at the ramp, I'm in, and fishing in just about 3 minutes at the ramp, and same when heading home. I dont have boaters staring at me, with a hateful gaze, thinking I should be elsewhere. And "roadside" launchings go quicker too, so traffic really isnt a issue. Before I got this boat I already had a full sized 8' foot bed on my truck. Once the boats in the bed, no tiedowns, no straps, close the tailgate and Im done. The seats never flew off on the highway as the seats were kinda hard to remove, and vests are not loose, nothing did I ever "loose". I did later get a cap for the bed, making it even better as rain doesn't pool up in the boat, and my "expensive" rods/reels aren't in the wide open for thieves to prey upon. These puddlejumpers are unique, smart, and quite effecient if you set them up right. Over the years I've got alot of compliments, added a few upgrades, and had some incredible outings on it. And if this bass hunter ever goes to the junkyard? I will replace it with another similar rig. I do also have a deep-v tracker, but thats no good for the thousands of puddles holding great bass fishing. I look back on the 30 years of fishing off this platform I've been graced with, and couldn't be happier with its performance, comfort, and adaptability. Ive fished on waters that range from tiny "puddles" right up to the Conn. river, and coves/ bays on Lake Winnepesaukee. Seen some simply incredible sunrises and sunsets all over New England, wildlife I never knew was present here, and found hidden "gems" on the web searching satillite images that I deem "incredipuddles" as the bass were untouched, large, and lure friendly. We, as pontoon puddlejumper owners have a great tool to use for our sport, we can hit waters bass boats cant, and even fish their lakes if we choose. Just be careful out there, we are not invincible,.. just thrifty, fortunate, and capable. In summary? things I'd recommend to "new" raider owners? Use 2 motors and batteries, variable speed motors if possible and around 55 pd thrust, and check out the minn kota quick connect plugs, well worth the 10 bucks a set add a fishfinder, doesnt need to be expensive get a plano drybox for safety requirements and essentials ie: flares, flag, horn, docking ropes etc. but when out fishing ?, have the horn out and ready Smaller tackleboxes/bags are your friend, you dont "need" a tackleshop out there with you. add some rodstraps on both ends of the pontoons,..trust me here. BE AWARE! large wakes, weather changing, and idiots out powerboating and not paying attention,... can be deadly. YES! DEADLY!,..... Its easy to get focused on "fishing" instead of "boating" on these rigs, so keep your wits about you

If it's an older boat, before you do anything, make sure the transom is good. If you are good with fiberglass, you can make any way you want. It will probably end up costing more in time and money than you really save over just buying an older bass boat. If you are talking about using a bunch of wood and just building decks on it, probably will be pretty heavy when done, but again. but if you are handy with the stuff, a sawsall and enough wood and you can do it. Just don't expect to have a nice modern looking bass boat when done.

Thanks for trying to help. I am not on Facebook so th as Y's not an option. I have a Galaxy S4 phone so not sure why I am not able to upload pictures. When I select the attachment icon on this site I am given 4 options. Camera, camcorder, voice recorder and documents. Gallery doesn't come up. I tried putting some pics on my 10 inch tablets screen and take a picture with my phone but got the pic size warning. I am really puzzled why gallery doesn't come up as an option. Oh well. I've really enjoyed reading all the posts on this thread about the bass raider. Nice to see others like this boat as much as me. Just wish I could post my pictures and possibly help others with what I've done. Going out Saturday to a hard to access lake. No houses on it. No docs only thick woods. Only one way on through a 40 foot spooky path of 12 foot high reeds. Got to push pole it. This keeps most people off the lake. But once you get in open water it's a bass anglers dream. Spring fed lake with shallows, deep holes, lily pads and reeds. This weekend will be the 5th week in a row my cousin and I have gone. The best part.....haven't seen one other person on the lake every time we've been there. Catching nice bass every time. Looks like they've never been hooked before and fight like it too! Lovin life right now.

The double digits club! 11.30lbs monster. Caught in Tallahassee, FL on a black trickworm. First big fish on my NRX 852s & '16 Stradic CI4+. The combo handled it like a champ. I'm going to be smiling for days! I always told myself I would never keep a fish under 10lbs. This one is going to the taxidermist in the morning.

These are Cabin Creeks Salty Spiders body and collar. 3in is large, the 2 inch model is small.

At least part of this year's Black Friday special at Cabela's will be Quantum Energy reels & Tour KVD 150s. Nice reels. Not sure the sale price but obviously it will be priced very low.

If I was to buy something it would more along the lines of a Calcutta but the curado b is a tank of a reel. It'll hold up if you stay on top of maintenance

Well done! Simply beautiful! My favorite reel platform for sure.

You definitely lucked out then at that price. A buddy bought one a few months ago for $3,200.

Bassnatcher, if you send your phones pics to facebook, they will automaticlly be sized to a smaller size, then you can load them from there, to here. Someone here informed me of this and it worked for me

I've been a Chiefs fan for as long as the Chiefs have been in KC. Years past, the Raiders were a bitter rival, but I always respected them. You always knew what you were getting with the Raiders. Straight up big boy football. Looking forward to the rematch in Arrowhead on Dec. 8. Tom

Why compare 17' Triton w/115 to 18' Xpress w/150, compare the 17' Xpres w/115. I agree a Xpres X18' w/150 should have a more stable ride and wind performance, lot bigger and heavier boat. Thr big difference between glass bass boats vs aluminum is maintenance and care, aluminum boats can take a lot more punishment from the owners then glass boats. Compare my 18' old 1988 SF175 Skeeter I had for several years that was a 75+ mph safe ride in 3' chop. Can't come close to the performance or storage with aluminum boats of equal length and weight to glass bass boats, It's like comparing apples and oranges. I really like what I see in regards to the Xpres line of aluminum boats and haven't fished or test driven the Xpres and can't remember ever seeing one on our local lakes. Tom

Draw you own conclusion

7' MH/M Composite Cranker from Academy. $60 for full price but they go on sale often. I mainly use mine for squarebill to mid depth baits but have used it for bladed jigs as well.

Jeff, we fished Chisago last thursday and really struggled. We saw dozens of nice fish cruising around remaining patches of cabbage in 3-4 fow, but could not get them to bite. Came back several times, even at dusk, and they would not bite. Tried it all. Knowing there were so many fish in these areas meant a lot of switching baits. We did catch a few small ones in another part of the lake, similar weedbeds. Water temps were 52-53. Tough. Today I fished another area lake that has been real reliable and got blanked on bass. I only had a few hours and only got a few pike. Water temp was 50-51. I read an article not long ago about rising water temps in the fall tend to shut down bass. Speaking for myself, it's been true. Heading to the Croix tomorrow.

Update.. I did meet up with fishnkamp (Bob) and spent about 3 hours soaking in as much as I could. It was awesome and a pleasure to meet with him. He assessed my rods and reels and showed me some of his gear. He had a written breakdown of spinning rigs and baitcasting rigs waiting for me. Later that evening he took the time to email (lengthy) basically reiterating everything we had discussed with suggestions... again.. awesome. Thanks Bob!

Never said it was easy, but it's worth it. Once you get used to it, it's really not that bad either.

Use a scent, as it masks your scent. Stay quiet, water transmits sound faster and better than air does The fish are in the water,.so ,...keep your line wet!.,... lol

Don't run away from the wind. It should be your friend.

Okay, I'm going to do my best describe what I am asking you guys. My question is, What does a river ledge look like on a topo map? Im trying to use Navionics Webapp to find some river ledges for next summer, but I can't find what I'm looking for. The whole river obviously is a continuous ledge, but all I am seeing is a the river run the whole length of the lake. Can you guys throw some screen shots of what a good summer time river ledge looks like on a topo map? Thanks guys

an oxymoron if I've ever read one... oe

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.

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

Hey guys, I've been lurking around here for a while so I figured I'd say hi and ask some some advice. I'm going to Toledo this weekend and need some recommendations on what to use. I bought some Carolina rig tackle and some deeper crank baits. Could you guys recommend some plastics colors and any must have items I should pick up before heading up there. Thanks, Vince

There's no such thing as too shallow.

I find it funny that whenever somebody posts a picture of a big fish they caught, there is a segment of the angling population that spends an exponentially amount of time trying to discredit the photo, rather than simply congratulating the angler on a great catch....especially when they don't even know the guy.

Thanks Ronnie. Fire when it is this dry is very dangerous! My first time out in a while was not good to say the least. I found bait balls and schools of fish but not much luck. I stuck to offshore structure on Tx. side after getting a very late start yesterday. Needed to run that boat and get the cobwebs out. I need to rethink and retool. Probably hit it tomorrow.

Nice to see you back Dam Yankee. My last trip up was just after the cool front came through. Wind was strong out of the north/northeast. I found one of my 2X6's on my boat lift cracked so I had to get that fixed up, plus got a new mattress for our bed so I had to deal with that. I caught a few fish around 16-18 foot deep on a drop shot. I also went to a small pocket I found fish in a few years ago around this same time. About 1/3 of the way across the cove is a bunch of timber/brush laid out in a line going from 20' moving into the cove up to around 12'. I caught 3 on a PBJ football jig and another 3 on a crankbait that dives 10-12'. The next day I was leaving my cove but my engine never came up to temp (probably trash in my thermostats) so I fished a boat dock that has a bunch of brush. I caught one just a hair under 6 lbs. I moved to another side of the dock and noticed in the direction of our camp a big plume of white smoke. I took off for our camp and called the better half asking if the camp was on fire. Not the camp, but the woods maybe 50 yards and across the road were. Called 911 and once they arrived found out there were around 6 other fires along Hwy 1215 plus a couple on 191 by Lanan Bridge. No idea who started it, but with the breeze it was spreading pretty quickly. It smoldered for a couple days until we left. I'll be back in a few weeks. Good luck guys that are going.

Florida strain LMB were planted into lake Chabot in the mid '70's, over 40 years ago, this bass is at least a 3rd generation FLMB. Tom

BassObsessed, Thanks for the report. Wow, 14 pounds larger than my PB! My dad and I used to fish for trout at Lake Chabot (a long time ago).

Found another boat. Looks like there might be some fish in it

The good thing about the side looking imaging technology is not only do you see "what's below", you see what is "over there" too.

That's the best answer.

I keep all my old senkos I used with a T-rig then use them on a Wacky rig. I cuss more when I lose one of them more than when I lose a fish!