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Have you ever had a strange thing happen while bass fishing? One of the strangest happened to me years ago, and I will never forget it. I was bank fishing in Weston Florida in one of the biggest man made lakes in the area. I had caught a bunch of bass in the 1 to 2 lb, size. I caught a nice two pound fish and released it at the edge of the bank and it swam several feet and right into a potato chip bag that was in the water for some time. I don't know if he thought it was a cave to swim into for shelter. The entire fish was in the bag except the tail that was sticking out. The bag with the fish raced away into deep water and disappeared for a while and reappeared in the middle of the lake on the surface. For quite a while I watched the bag motor around the lake changing direction, and diving every once in a while. This went on for at least 30 minutes. The bag finally made it back to the shallows and within reach. I positioned myself to be within rod length. I finally got my rod tip in the bag and my little friend was free at last. I don't know who was happier me or him. It was definitely one of the strangest fishing days I have ever had.

My son caught his new PB today. This beauty weighed in at 5.27 lbs His smile says it all. He caught it on a square bill crank in about 5' of water - after graphing the fish on sonar the first pass around. Exciting on many levels A lot of thanks to you guys for all of the knowledge and assistance you have provided along the way - here's to a great 2017 - and more big fish!!

Got a call from my buddy Robert Perez, aka South Fla (Hawgtech partner with Mike) to go fishing in the afternoon of New Years Day 2017. He wanted to know if I was too depressed after the Ohio State slaughter by Clemson to go fishing. I told him that was last year so I was ready for my first bass of 2017. After a short run in the late afternoon we got where we wanted to fish. Robert drew first blood on a glide bait & then proceeded to get another. Then it was my turn. I had a hit on my glide bait & we were off to the races. Three fish in the boat in about 15 minutes. I got another and then proceeded to lose a really good fish when I scampered to the back of the boat from the front while she was pulling drag & shaking her head violently. We caught another 6 bass before heading into a spawning flat as the sun was setting. Robert was throwing a Spro popping frog & got hit second cast by the big fish of the day at 7lbs-1oz. We caught a four more then headed back to the ramp as darkness set in. What a great start to 2017.

Here are a few of my reels. Shimano JDM Conquest 200 Shimano JDM Metanium Shimano Excense DC Daiwa Steez LTD SV 105XH DAiwa Steez LTD SV 103TN

6 lbs ~ Zoom Magnum Trick Worm ~ A-Jay

My brother and I fished a river in Southwestern Virginia today and we had a blast. Today was probably our best "big fish" day, we landed 4 over 18", one of them breaking the 20" mark. The big ones were all holdover fish I am pretty sure, we catch a lot of wild fish in this area but when they get that big it's hard to know. Very good looking fish either way. In addition to the big fish we caught many small wild trout and a few decent sized stocked trout in the 13-16" range. The stretch of river we fished is several miles below the stocked portion, so it doesn't receive much pressure from what we can tell, and has very nice fish! This rainbow taped out at 19" This brown must have been older than dirt, you could have fit a baseball in his mouth and he had one heck of a kype! Had to break out the Conquest 50 for a little fun too!

I've been keeping my plastics in Plano utility boxes for almost 30 years. I've never had any rot or dry out. They don't warp the boxes or have any other issues except for stuff like power baits, Gulp or baits of that type which I leave in the bags they come in. I rinse the salt off baits that come with heavy salt before I put them in the Planos. I don't use scents which stink up everything they get near so I can't comment about how those work with boxes.

No too weird, but saw a blue heron stalk and kill a fairly good size brown water snake while I was about 15 feet away in my canoe. Also watched my buddy put 4 of 6 hooks on a crankbait through his hat and into his scalp on a windy day. No joke...He calmly cut his line and tied on another crank. I thought he might be in shock as blood was starting to flow pretty good down the side of his face. I told him we'd better get him some medical attention and he said, "not till they quit biting." LOL! Took him another 5 min to get dizzy and we called it a day.

1. Organize Tackle 2. Discover while organizing tackle that I need to replenish a bag of worms 3. "Bag of worms" turns out to be a 20 item TW order

Several large boxes full. I'm not proud of it, but might as well admit it. I consider collecting baits when at deep discount to be a hobby of it's own. The DOE may have the strategic petroleum reserve, but I have stepped up to assemble and maintain the strategic Rapala Crankin' Rap reserve.

350% more

19 or so (+?)inch smallmouth. Tape measure wouldn't lock........

Bingo! At least for me. This is taking an understanding of structure deeper. This is the functional aspect Catt mentions, and I've discussed here in threads past. Sounds like an "inside turn" on a breakline to me. An "irregularity", even within a flat can produce bass, provided the flat simply holds prey. If there is adequate food present, some bass are likely to find it. On the small waters I fish I can often either see what's going on through the surface (clear water and high vantages) or, of late, I've been shooting underwater video. Here's one description: From a high bank above a rapid drop-off at the end of a major point, I spotted several bass in about 4fow. They were hunting bluegills in sparse brush just off the steep shoreline. When they became aware of me they got nervous and moved ahead -to a single small piece of brush where they stopped to observe me -shifting to security mode. I moved ahead and they moved to the next piece. I moved ahead and they dropped deeper, to a deeper piece of brush, where they stopped, bunched up. I moved again, and they dropped deeper still, and out of sight. I returned a half hour later and they were back to the shallower bush, coming back into hunting mode. If I'd waited they would have gone back to hunting the shallow 'gills in near-shore cover. This description covers two birds here: behavior/function, and what it looks like.

This one was caught on a keitech, but the 8+ pounder i lost was on a neko rig skipped under a dock

Feeling so lucky this morning. Cold and rainy here in North Dallas...woke up at 6 and almost said the heck with it, but I got out and braved the elements. Total of 9 in two and a half hours, this moose being the best of the bunch by far. Gonna be a great year. Ps. Thanks bassresource, she came on a rattle trap, which I only threw bc I read here that they are good winter lures lol!

I don't see this thread ending well

Strike King Silent Red Eye Shad for me . Caught the fish about 20 foot deep on a point , hopping the lure like a worm . I dont know the weight . It had the length of an 8 lber and the girth of a 5 .

http://seaguar.com/freshwater/technique.html As a fan of this company and their fishing lines I am proud to have Seaguar rejoin us a a sponsor. Welcome aboard!

I have "some" stories of strange behavior. One is,.... My home lake has alot of homes on it with docks, and there was this one home I liked that was for sale, and I'd dream of buying it, well it sold, and one day after I was flipping the line of docks where its located, and I was moving along quietly and caught a few smaller fish as I was doing so. I got to a few docks away from "my dream home" and noticed a woman sunning herself on it's dock with some earphones on. So I just continued on flipping and when I got to her dock I flipped in next to it's piling and BAM! instant hit, I set the hook on a nice 7 or 8 pounder, as I lipped it I said "YEAH BABY!" as it was the best fish I had caught in a while, and the woman jumped up, as I startled her,.I apologized,.. but she just kept slowly backing up, I said again, "Im sorry, I didnt mean to startle you", before I released the fish,.. and she replied "I didnt know there's fish that big in here", and quickly scurried off the dock and into the house. a few weeks later I was back fishing those docks, and there was a for sale sign back on that lawn again. One day just after work, I decided to go bait fishing for stripers at the bridge not far from home, before dinner. I grabbed my gear and cooler with some mackeral in it and off I went. I got there and was surprised that there wasnt many people fishing, just a few there. Traffic was heavy as it was about 4 pm, so i figured everyones just getting home from work. I got my tackle ready, when it was all set I cut a large piece of bait, put it on the hook and cast as far out as I could,.. Instantly a seagull dove down on the bait, came up with it in its mouth, and proceeded to swallow it.,.. so,..., there I was during rush hour traffic, on a busy bridge, battling a seagull with a surf rod, I got hollers, horns beeping, and some people stopping to see whats about to happen. I finally get the bird close to the rods tip and its going frantic by now, I grab the line and pull it close, but not close enough to hurt me or it, and cut the line as close as I could to it, I had no other choice as this thing was flailing about trying everything but attacking me, to get free. About a few days later I pulled into the Beverly peirs parking lot (just downstrem) and one of the lobstermen, that I give some of the mackeral I catch off the pier, for him to use as bait, in exchange for a couple lobsters now and then, had the same gull under his arm and was removing,....MY HOOK!,. The gull had landed on his boat and kept following him around till he noticed the hook stuck in its beak..so I had to explain my story. Now thats irony

Buck was "old school." Keep in mind he didn't pass away until 2005, and fished pretty regularly up until the final few years before his passing. Still, at least on his own boat (or boats he'd rent - very frequent), originally he only used his own needle unit. I've posted a pic below (top), poor quality and all. In his later years, he did have a modern flasher on board, but he only rarely used it, mostly just for checking stuff. Note in the second picture the flasher isn't even mounted - it's just laying on the deck He much preferred to put one of his lures downstairs to learn all he needed to learn that way. He also wasn't a fan of LORAN/GPS. Didn't believe they were accurate enough when compared to line sights. He did use maps to see what he could and mark general areas, but beyond that, he made his own detailed maps (hand drawn) of the exact areas once he fished them thoroughly with his lures. Mapping is another very important aspect of Spoonplugging. Here's a few words from Buck on the subject:

Another way to help visualize how fish will relate to structure is by watching the wind. Go out on a windy day and look at how the wind hits various objects. If you just walk around your house, you will see that if you stand in front of the house with the wind blowing in your face, there will be some areas where it is stronger or weaker, water currents work the same way. The fish will get on the edge of the current, but usually not right in it unless they can find an obstruction. The sides of the house will tend to block the wind, but if you move very far from the sides, you'll feel the wind at full force. If it's fall, you will actually see leaves gathering in these little "eddy" spots along the side of the house, those are the type of places fish like to hold in! Obviously, there will be a rather large slack area behind the house as well, but the most active fish will usually be closer to the current edge. Look at the top of the roof on the back side of the house where the wind is coming over it with the slack right behind the high spot of the roof, that is where you will find that feeding edge, not at ground level! So the sweet spot on the front edge is low, but the sweet spot on the back edge is high. This analogy applies to current mostly, but the idea of those edges can also be applied to slackwater too, just look for shade edges or other types of breaklines and then look for the cover or irregularites along them, and always be trying to find the ones that connect to deeper water in a logical way. Here's another analogy: Take a football field, the whole thing is marked out, end zones, sidelines, yardage markers, everything is laid out and everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. The concept of structure, and why it's important to your fishing is that to the fish, the structure in a lake is as clear as the markings on a football field are to us. They all naturally relate to the contours and structures, breaks, break-lines, etc. in the lake. They are almost NEVER just hanging around without relating to some type of structure, it's just not how they are wired. Understanding structure isn't like a magic bullet that will instantly make you an expert fisherman, but if you invest the time to learn about it, it will probably become the bedrock of your fishing strategy. In other words, even though all lakes are different, once you begin to grasp the structure concept, you can zoom in on the likely holding areas and migration routes that may be in play at any given time. Also, you will begin to develop a better understanding of why the fish you caught on a given spot at a given time may have been there to begin with, and this will allow you to start constructing your patterns much faster! That's it in a nutshell to me. You've still got to understand seasonal patterns, weather influences (fronts, wind, clouds, rain, light penetration), water color, food sources, is current present?,and more....But if you at least get educated about the playing field (structure), you will always have a foundation to build all of these other elements on. IMO, there isn't a faster or easier way to get that education than by reading BP's Spoonplugging book. It won't change your catch rate overnight, but it will change your mindset about fishing overnight

No pics, but during the early spring I was "testing" my new ulterra trolling motor, utilized the spot lock , (awesome option by the way) and while using a rapala perch patterned x-rap, I targeted females moving up towards a spawing area. I was catching them off a submerged stonewall in about 15 to 20 feet of water anywhere from 4 to maybe 5 1/2 pounds (probably ten of them). Three old ladies enjoying a nearby shaded back porch kept yellin out to me, and they had fun at it..."Thats a good one!",... 'Wow!, another one",.. "You got the magic bait mister!",... and finally,.."Come pick me up ,..I wanna catch some too" (she was kidding).... Sadly,.. I only got to fish 6 times last year and this was the "most" successful day I had of them. There was another good day up on Winnipesaukee with my daughter, with some decent 3 to 4+ pound smallies and the biggest being her first smallie ever, but nothing to compare to my "spawning highway" day

Yep, Today's mid priced stuff is so good I don't think you need any more. Heck ,guys are making a living with average equipment. .I think it's the Indian not the arrow.

Rapala Skitter Walk on a cold, foggy September morning.

Labeling ponds as "easier" or places to "hone" skills is a bit inaccurate. Most ponds are under a tremendous amount of angling pressure and that can make fishing frustrating and cause a beginner to question everything as sometimes nothing will work in a small body of water. One thing is for sure, the size of the body of water makes no difference to the size of the Bass living within. My friends at BPS all concur that the majority of big bass they see come from small bodies of water. The State record in NC is almost 16 lbs and came out of a 2 acre farm pond. 16 years later no lake has produced anything close. I will concede that locating bass in big lakes is tougher but catching them in ponds can be much tougher. Of course, the definition of "pond" and "lake" can play a big role in this debate.

Okay this may be a little harsh but just hear me out. At the end of the day your kids are going to see things, it is how you talk to them about it that matters, just sending them on their way is the issue or not caring at all. One of the main issues i see is there doesn't seem to be any actual parenting going on anymore, because it's easier to give the kid a phone or distract them or hide things instead of taking the time to actually parent them. Yes i understand that kids are going to see things you may not like and you may not be able to do anything about it, but why are you not actively talking to your kids, seeing if they have questions, paying attention to what they're doing, who they're hanging out with. Do you know why? because it's hard work being a parent and a lot of people have gotten lazy. where if you take the time to talk to your kids and take an active roll in their lives and then teaching them values based on your experience maybe they'll learn. But sometimes kids have to make mistakes too and honestly sheltering them from the world doesn't do that. I'm sick of people trying to hide everything that they deem "offensive" or "dangerous" the world doesn't conform to you, money is the biggest factor in anything if someone pays for an ad in a magazine or on tv then they have earned that right to have it there. kids need to learn about drinking and smoking regardless of how unhealthy it is and it's you're responsibility as a parent to talk to them about it. so don't blame B.A.S.S for allowing someone to have an ad, because they paid for it to be there the product is legal it exists in the world. Hiding it from them does nothing, heck maybe it makes them more curious about what it is and if they should try it. giving your kids knowledge is more important than anything else. you also need to seriously look at who the target audience is. most people watching a tournament on tv or reading bassmaster magazine are of legal age. that means that the advertisers who place ads are going to think about what these people like, wouldn't you like a cold beer after fishing all day? i would and i'm an adult so i'll have one. i know this is a big rant, but seriously guys why does everything have to be censored? is it that big a deal? maybe my way of thinking is a little old school but this is how i was raised and i don't think it's unreasonable to actually parent.

I like the passion you have against smoking and trying to make a stand. Nevertheless, to piggyback off of A-jay, focusing on parenting is more important than anything discussed here. I am no better than anyone else and am not trying to become too preachy here, but I have never smoked or had a drink of alcohol in my life. Didn't matter if commercials, advertisements, or peers tried to influence me since I learned what I needed from parents who taught me about keeping my body healthier and took an active interest in teaching me with their words AND example. Like Glenn pointed out, there are bad apples in every profession, but one of the reasons I love this sport is because of the amazing people I have fished with and the integrity they provided.

I usually just gnaw on the drywall and pace back and forth until I see a robin in my front yard. Then I scream at it "What took you so &^#@ long you stupid bird!". That is usually when the neighbors call the cops and I have to explain some things. After the short trip to the police station I start gearing up. Organizing tackle, making plans, arguing online about who makes a better rod, reel, mono, experimental nuclear fusion device until the weather gets to the point where I'm somewhat sure a fish may decide to attack my lure just for the fact that it hasn't seen that lure in months. If I'm right its a good day. If I'm wrong, I find that stupid bird and hold it hostage till things go my way. Cabin fever....never heard of it.

3/8 Jig - Black/Green. It gets my biggest LM of the year more often than not...and stuck my #1 and #2 LM of the year on the same tournament day this year . One of these was 6-1 and the other was in the upper 5 range (didn't weigh the second one). Coincidentally, my biggest smallie of the year was also on the same jig, but it was only in the 3 lb class...It's usually a little better and on something different, but oh well...No complaints .

The person that keeps Ole Catt on his toes is my grandson Aiden (Bayou Boy) Savant!

What you refer to as a 'female point' is an indentation in contour lines, commonly called an inside turn. To be sure, "major points" are widely touted and universally loved, but nothing stokes my interest more than a sharp INDENT in bottom contour, the sharper the better. The existence of a major point is typically betrayed by shoreline configuration. As a result, major points are worked to death by anglers. But more than this, a 'point' is a geometric shape that acts as a wedge which tends to diverge the traffic flow of predator & prey. On the contrary, an "inside turn" (indentation in depth lines) tends to converge the traffic pattern, thereby enhancing 'population density'. Roger

I wish every event would go to Major League Fishing rules. They get time penalties if a fish touches the carpet. Also there is no cradling allowed, the fish can't touch any part of your body except your hand and you can't release them above the gunnel. They weigh and release all fish immediately. These rules and formats do much more than protect the fish from miss-handling and dislocated/broken jaws. It allows the bass to return to its bed during spawning and it removes all the stress of live well holding and bag weigh-ins. Also, at most events all the bagged fish are released in one spot and that leads to locals coming in behind the release and fishing around the release area try to land trophies. In general, people who would do this don't catch and release. It is an insignificant expense to put an official on each boat in TV sponsored events.

I grew up pond fishing but when I started fishing big water it was a different world. I fish Ky and Barkley and you may be right out in the middle of the vast lake fishing a road bed or ledge. It blew my mind that you would fish this far out. Of course you fish the banks as well but the time of year has a lot to do with it. Current also plays a big role here. It takes some time to eliminate unproductive water that all looks the same to an untrained eye. Get maps of the lake if you can. One point may look the same until you notice one has a creek channel right next to it. These things make a huge difference. The best thing to do it hook up with someone that is accustom to this type of fishing and let them show you the ropes. The learning curve will be much shorter if you do.

Knowing how to bass fish well is much more important than how much your gear is worth,nothing will change this fact.I have a custom bass rod (was given to me as a gift over decade ago) which is very light and strong,but it hasn't caught me as many bass as my rods that cost me less than $50 each. In fact, almost every bass I have caught over 8 pounds has been on fishing rods under $50 each.I do spend more money on saltwater rods/reels, since saltwater fish put more stress on my fishing gear and saltwater is much more corrosive than freshwater.

How much do you gain with the better equipment ? I'd like to respond with a question of my own ~ How much do you loose with worse equipment ? May not matter as long as the angler knows where, why, when & how to use it. A-Jay

It may be just me but seems the tournament guys often beat the fish to death anyway. You watch them on TV ski them across the water then sling them in the boat and the may or may not catch it. Then the fish rides around and gets carried 10 miles to a different location the then tossed around some more then release many miles away from its original spot. Not so bad maybe unless it was on a bed. I know money is on the line but come on...slow down and stop being so spastic while bringing the fish in. I would love to see all pro tournaments go the to catch, weigh, and release that the MLB fishing uses. That way these nesting fish aren't forced to abandon their beds and less stressful on the fish. It will never fly though.

Today the quality of rods and reels that "retail" between $100 and $200 has improved immensely from the equipment available for the same price just 5 years ago. If you are fishing with a Daiwa Fuego reel then you have a good reel and Fenwick has always made good rods. At the point you are at you are not costing yourself many fish or handicapping yourself much. Yes a G Loomis NRX or Dobyns top of the line Champion would be really sensitive for bottom bouncing baits. Plenty of anglers do just fine with rods that do not cost over $250 though. A $400 reel is not necessary either. Having said that I do suggest realizing what techniques your combo does well. Most likely jigs,texas rigs etc. Make sure you complement it with a good spinning rod and reel combo that lets you handle lighter baits. For this maybe a 6'8 to 7'3 medium power fast action rod. Here is a rod I would recommend spending say $140 to $250. The other combo worth looking at is a 7 foot to 7'3" medium power moderate action baitcaster to help catch fish on crankbaits, squarebills, spinnerbaits and even some topwaters or jerkbaits. These baits need some give to keep the fish buttoned up. This can easily be a $100 to $160 rod. The suggestion of a Tatula CT is a good one. For years i fished with one rod and only a few type of baits, Heck back then I could fit them all in a Plano box, one of those with several drawers and an open bottom area. Today I need at least a 17 foot bass boat to carry all of my tackle!LOL

Expensive equipment will never be a substitute for knowledge,skill and common sense.But it sure looks good.

I think we both know. He'd have saved COUNTLESS hours of dragging Spoonplugs around to map out the lakes he fished, but... He would have still caught the same fish on the same structure situations he located with the Spoonplugs, just probably more, and faster Thanks for starting this one Catt. I hate how these threads immediately devolve into a discussion about BP though, I want to talk about bass fishing!! One thing about STRUCTURE and its LOCATION, to me it's just like deer hunting. You can look at a Topo map of your deer woods and find funnels/ridges/saddles/structure galore, but the ones that are productive are the ones that connect the dots, like a funnel b/w a CURRENT food source and a bedding area, or b/w a buck bedding area and a doe bedding area or food source, etc. These can change as the seasons/food sources change, and fishing seems to work the same way. I think a lot of people look at the maps and sonar, go to a great looking spot, and don't catch them, then get discouraged because they maybe fished it at the wrong time. I guess my point is, some nice looking structures just aren't productive at all, or aren't productive at all times during a given year. What are you're thoughts on this? Of course I've read BP and many other variations on the theme, but we've got Catt on the hook here so let's get class in session

Better equipment won't directly translate into better results or make you a better angler. It may however enhance your fishing experience. Higher end equipment is usually lighter, more sensitive, casts easier and smoother. If you give a pro angler a $100 rod and and $100 reel and $10 line he would catch plenty of fish and probably notice little drop in his production. Give a new angler or an angler with less knowledge and experience a $500 rod and $500 reel and he may not notice a change in production. Have the battle of fishing is what info you have between your ears. Choosing the right locations, structure, presentations, etc. are for more valuable than a better piece of equipment. I have been bass fishing for over 20 years. I find that nicer gear to me makes fishing more enjoyable especially when it is a tough day of fishing. Plus the lighter weight outfits lead to less fatigue meaning I can fish comfortably longer.

New Envy black 610 m casting and a 71ml spinning. Replacing some stuff.

Mike, last year I fished St. Croix Avid, both 6 1/2' and 7' rods matched with Shimano Stradic 2500s filled with 6 lb. fluoro to present 3/32 oz. and 1/8 oz. jigs as well as 1/8 oz. T-rigged plastics and the Duo Realis Spin Bait 80 which weighs in at 3/8 oz. These outfits whupped a number of smallies between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2lbs. You want a medium light rod because they load better for distance with the small baits and they also provide a little more shock absorption when a big smallie makes a fast move. And there's no problem with hook setting because you're using baits with comparatively small, light wire hooks. Of course, there's still room for angler error if you don't have your drag set properly or if you're in too much of a hurry to get a still-hot fish into the net. The set ups I've described above are fine tuned to my style and will be back to work in April.

Upgrade the equipment between your ears, learn bass behavior and everything you can about the prey they prefer to eat. Knowledge doesn't cost much and is priceless! Tom

Ponds are a great place to learn how to fish. They are usually easily accessible, small, and have abundant fish. The basic food chain of a pond will be more complex in a lake. There may be more types of baitfish, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and largemouth. Black bass might not be the apex predator. Pike, Musky, Stripers, and other large game fish rule the waters of a lake. At different points throughout the year, fish will be located in different areas. This aspect of lakes makes them hard to fish on tough days. The fish can spread out more, and will be less likely to bite. It can also be much better on good days. When you put together a pattern of getting bit in a certain area many times, you have the opportunity to catch lots of fish. Lakes also produce huge fish. The complex food chain allows them to feed more and get bigger. Fishing a lake can be both similar and different than fishing ponds. Many lures that work in ponds will also work in lakes. It is easy to bank fish ponds, because you can fish most of the pond from shore. In a lake, you are limited to the accessible part of the bank. This makes it hard to catch offshore fish. Fish will still relate to cover and structure like they do in ponds. Good Luck, Crusty

Middle of the road gear is really good these days. I wouldn't worry about it.

Bass can and do travel long distances across open deep water to relocate or to feed on baitfish like Shad and trout. Several tracking studies confirm bass making several mile journeys stopping mid lake at underwater (humps) islands for short and long time periods. We can tell ourselves the bass are following baitfish, they can't see down below them into 300' of water. There is a lot we don't know about bass. The flip side of this is bass follow physical structure breaks, weed lines or thermo breaks that funnel into feeding zones on a regular routine. Tom

4" jointed swimbait from LTB. Little over 6lb. LMB out of Pat Mayse Lake.

An old, cheap BPS Uncle Buck's white double willow, hammered nickel blade spinnerbait...on the trailer hook.

Mann's Baby 1 Minus that was 8.13. Caught it on July 5th on a pretty hot day.

Rage Space Monkey, can't remember which color. 1/4oz jig rig in about 18" of water.