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I went crazy at BPS today... wife cashed in her credit card rewards so I got to go on a shopping spree! Got a Carbonlite rod in MH/XF and M/Mod., paired with PQs. Geared up on hardbaits and a few other odds and ends.

She has a Siamese cat,....well now she has two. Hootie

Of course! But I think "gut feeling" is experience. I find the longer I fish, the more I can find areas that "just look bassy" and have them pan out. I was frogging last year and I happened to notice 2 small logs laying half in the water and half on the bank angled away from each other so they formed a little pocket right at the shoreline. I saw it and I knew......there was a big girl there. I was right at the very edge of my casting range. I let one fly and plopped right in the middle of that pocket. The fight was on immediately. A nice 6 lber. I was all over this particular area that day and was having lots of success but when I saw that pocket, my Gut told me THAT was where the big one was. I was right.

Like most of us I'm all about the "New Thing". Whether it's technique or the lure that KVD used to win The Classic. Bagely B2, Rapala DT6, Shadalicious, Blakemore Randy's Swimin' Runner, etc. We are all looking for that silver bullet. But I'm old fashion and think there might be a better approach or at least a couple of things to consider. The fact that there are very few things that are prohibited at the professional level is a sign. Trolling? Hmm, not in tournaments, but for the rest of us there is no better way to cover a lot of water. As Rick Clunn said, "Catching fish is easy, finding them is the challenge." Back in the Stone Age, before electronics, trolling was perhaps the most effective way to find fish. When we got a strike we stopped and fished that area thoroughly with a variety of lures, but especially the Creme purple worm! Is there any lure other than the Alabama Rig that is outlawed at the professional level? Hello! Double down and troll The Rig. When you find the fish, stop and throw your other favorite lures if you like. In the spring, fall and winter there is nothing more effective for BIG bass and if your water also features stripers, that's another bonus!

LOL ~ Back in the day - before I understood the cardinal rule ~ 'never let the dog(s) watch your food' ~ I'll admit to being the victim of beef thievery . . . . that would be cooked as well as uncooked but expertly seasoned. I hate that. So somehow I'm never lonely in the kitchen. A-Jay

It seems to me that the angling world has gotten a little carried away with line buoyancy. If you've ever fished with 'lead-core line' or 'monel line', then you know how a true sinking line behaves. Fluorocarbon is just a tad heavier than water, and just a couple of bubblets will keep it on the surface. Polyethylene braid is just a tad lighter than water, which is buoyed in large part by 'surface tension'. A couple grains of sand would break the surface tension and cause braid to sink. The small difference in specific gravity between fluoro and braid is only noticeable when both lines are immobile and hovering in the water. On the other hand, fluorocarbon is an obese line with a diameter that's twice as fat as braided polyethylene. As soon as both lines are moving forward in the water, the effect of 'water resistance' becomes a bigger player than buoyancy. Any lure-troller will tell you, when he's looking for maximum depth, he's trolling with braided line. Roger

After a good day of bass fishing the bite went cold late in the day today when suddenly I caught three monster crappy on a jerk bait. In 5 minutes I caught a 1 lb 14oz, l lb 11oz and this big 2 lb 2oz. I know the State record is well over 3 lbs but a 2 pound crappy is not that common and I caught 3 big ones in about 8 casts. Crazy.

Steaks. Big, fat, juicy steaks. When forced to cook indoors, it's actually pretty simple. I prefer Prime bone in New Yorks or eye of ribeye. 2" thick is the ideal cut. Set them on the cutting block for at least an hour prior to get them to room temp. A good even coating of course sea salt on both sides as they rest. Place a cast iron skillet on the stove top, heat it up as hot as you can get it. Le Creuset is amazing as noted earlier, I've also become a big fan of Finex. The 10" is all you need for 2 steaks. https://finexusa.com/product/finex-10-cast-iron-grill-pan/ At the same time, set your oven to broil. 500 degrees. Rack on the top tier (as high as it can go with room for the skillet.) With the skillet now nice and hot on the stove top, place both steaks on it. Sear for 3 minutes. Turn. 3 more minutes. Use a mitt and put the skillet into the oven on that top rack and leave in there 3 more minutes. Take the skillet out, transfer steaks to a butcher block. Pour a little clarified butter and olive oil on top of the steaks. Grated black pepper. Let sit for a few minutes. Perfect medium rare. Sometimes I'll put bleu cheese on it as well. Paired with twice fried French fries in duck fat or garlic mashed potatoes. Now I'm hungry.

I hate citrus shad,but I couldn't pass up theses Excaliburs

What you have to keep in mind is that for baits, Bass Pro makes -0- of their store brand. Some other major manufacturer does as part of their product line and they package as a Bass Pro product. The real fun is figuring out who actually makes the bait and if it is cheaper than the "original".

HI, There some nice set up here ... you guys in US don't have the same mentality as us, in France. Here if you show people that you have great combos, you are treated, they say it's useless ... but if we give to them, they take ... lol ... In France, you can't show everything you have. Here is mine, - MajorCraft Volkey 70H - Shimano Chronarch 151HG - Shimano Zodias 1610MH - Shimano Met' 13 - Megabass French Limited F4-68X - Shimano Met'13 HG - MajorCraft Corzza 69M - Shimano Scorpion 201 14' I just grab recently a Shimano/Jackall Poison Adrena 172H for my frog setup, and a Powell Max 704CB, my first amarican rod, but I think i felt in love with the Poison series, and I'll try to get the 172MH-G and and 1610L +/- BFS for this year.

Has gut feeling played out in your bass fishing? With all the available technology, information, known patterns, situations out there for us all to read up and study on. How does your instincts play into the game? Like your at work and notice the weathers been stable for a few days, sunny skies, light breezes, and you know a certain sun beaten shoreline thats destined to hold some nice bass, hiding in its shadowed docks, weeds, and laydowns. You figure that if the weather holds, 2 days from now you have a afternoon off, and somethings telling you to be there flipping/pitching that cover. The day comes, and your nailin' em for a full 6 hrs or so. You end up with a bunch of smaller fish, a boatload of 3's and 4's, a few 5's, a seven, and a nine pound slob! You get home with a huge smile, and know,..only you know whats just happened. (unless your A-jay with his go pro,..lol) ^5 bro Or, Your prefishing a tourney for a lake you know, found good fish, but to get to them you must pass over a main lake point that you've always figured, during the right wind should be a good area, but have yet to experience that wind. The day of the tourney comes, your heading to your fish and as you approach that point, the winds right and your finder is showing tons of bait, so you come off plane to give it a 20 minute "shot",.. just because of your hunch or, "gut feeling". You cast out a spinnerbait and within 2 handle turns, your baits been slammed by a four plus, you cast out again, and another. By the end of the day, you've not only beat up that spinnerbait, but took home a check to replace it with many of them. Outings when you nailed it, via consideration. When you figure "this",.... and "this" not just works, but pans out better than anticipated! If I recall correctly, "good days" were reported here last year, by many of you. But what Im asking about is, not just a good day, but when a good day came from that "gut feeling", by your intuition, instincts and following through to fruition. Are these instances more often than not? Or, are they few and far between? This could be good considering the vast audience here. Pb's are awesome by all accounts, but I think "gut feeling instances" can actually supercede a pb in many instances. (unless they are combined) As for me? "Nailing it" via gut feelings has been few and far between as of late, hopefully subject to change this season..,..lol So, heres a good chance for you to share, burn some time, tout thyself, cut up, even brag. But most of all, a possible chance to look at your approach, your gut feeling, and assess its effectiveness from a "typed out" perspective, and adjust if need be. Im also hoping that this will help some with confidence, and effective assessment. Not much will boost ones confidence other than recognizing successful moments produced by proper assessment, in conjunction with a gut feeling... Then yet,.... there is also the general "Hey, check this out!",..."I win!",.."Nanner Nanner!",. "I knew it" and of course, "I can die now". ,....lmao Lets hear it Whatchagot?

RoLo is spot on about buoyancy. Many think that braid will have some big effect on getting lures to sink. With the lighter braids that I use, a small bare hook will cause the line to sink. Braid has no effect on my suspending baits. It doesn't cause the nose or any other part of the lure to rise. It also isn't buoyant enough to keep any diving bait from reaching its maximum depth. If you don't try and match the line diameter to mono, and use the lightest line you can, your lures will run as deep as possible.

Since some are talking the 20th century My job when fishing with my Dad was "sculling" our Jon boat by seating on the front with a small paddle! I would troll a spinnerbait while Dad dropped shiners in the holes of cover with a canepole! When I first starting fishing Toledo I trolled timberlines with Mudbugs & Hellbender's

1" bone in rib eye Lawry's w/black pepper charcoal med rare

If I never hear the word battery again, I will be a happy man. In the last 3 months I replaced 4 batteries in the boat, one in my truck, and 1 in the ol lady's car FWIW, for the trolling motor I went with 3 group 31 wet cell NAPA deep cycle batteries which are made by Deka. $128 a piece

When I had my 2 man I used to always troll on my way to the next spot. I caught a lot of fish and some big ones doing it. My first bass over 5 pounds was trolling a Yo Zuri crankbait in fact.

Speaking of the cows - If one has the freezer space (and perhaps one or two like minded carnivore friends and an emergency generator) it is not uncommon to actually purchase an entire or half cow. Cuts are package & labeled for freezing and Butches here do quite a bit of this. After the initial purchase, it's often a good way save a few bucks while helping to ensure a consistent quality product. A-Jay

I like to use the lightest weight possible during the winter, 1/8oz has been the magic number the last couple times. I've actually been using a baby brush hog on a shakyhead and doing well.

Well I guess Gary's info was not good enough to pull the trigger. The problem might be you want a rod that cost $300 + but you want it for $110. The Fury is one of only a few models like that. He spent over 2 years working on that series till he got the high quality blanks just right. The only other rod I can think of that might fit your parameters would be a Powell INFERNO 765 SBR CF MH FAST CAST MULTIPURPOSE ROD. http://www.powellco.com/inferno-series-rods/Inferno-Casting-rods/Inferno-765-SBR-CF-MH-Fast-Cast-Multipurpose-Rod. I would not buy it without speaking with Keith, the owner of Powell Rods, first and get his input. I have spoken to him in the past and he was fantastic to work with.

Just something to think about, I personally spend top dollar on a cranking battery due to it running everything except the TM. As for TM batteries, get something that you can replace locally. You should always be replacing all of then at once, not one at a time. Having them locally makes things a lot easier.

Another vote for stradic fk, I've got the 2500 and it's the best spinning reel I've ever used.

That's pretty good ole son! Pat & I started out when I hired him as my carpenter's apprentice 45 yrs ago. He always panics quicker than me, wanna to go check on the boat to which I replied "go head". I firmly believe in " gut feelings ", "intuition", or whatever adjectives & adverbs ya wanna add to it. After we done all the homework, research, preparation next comes real time on the water where we react to the changing conditions based on past experience. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it don't

It is a dedication. Once your in, it is great tho, but it's not cheap as you know.

Fun thread. Good stories. I esp like Catt's story -the way its written. Storms n such -It pays to be aware. Or know what that is you're hearing.

Agreed, but if you buy the $20 knockoff and it falls apart, then the $50 doesn't seem so bad.

$50 is very reasonable for a good swimbait, if your not willing to dump $50+ on one bait then the swimbait game is not for you. I'd rather have one $50 bait that slays them, then 10-$5 baits that don't.

Cast iron works well for me when cooking indoors!

Gut Feeling? Intuition? Yea I could tell y'all stories about monstrous bass or humongous stringers but ya get this instead. Bout 2 °clock in the morning Pat & Catt are about 3/4 of a mile offshore in Pat's 15'50" Alweld with a 25hp Suzuki. Fishing was alright nothing outstanding so I mentioned to Pat, "let's run over to Fin-N-Feather & fish the docks". To save a little time we decided to cut across Community Flat (1,000 acre grass flat) which is to shallow for a bass boat but in a Jon boat we alright. About 25 yds from the Housen' Bayou boat lane we run a ground! I'm talking about stuck like Chuck, I'm talking take your shoes off, put your wallet in the tackle box, ya going out the boat. Got the boat out fired the Suzuki off ran to Fin-N-Feather! Fin-N-Feather marina consisted of 3 rows of covered boat slips inclosed by a seawall of wood pylons. We generally fish the deep water (outer) boat slips but this night Pat pulled the boat all the way back to the shallow water side. We just got the boat in pitching distance & out of no where we both heard the wind howling through the pines across Housen' which is over 1/4 mile away! I hit the trolling motor on high pulling to a slip up tight to the bank, by the time we grabbed the rods, & started to run the floating dock was rollercoastering 3-4'. We run behind the closest building which thank God had a awning attached; the rain was absolutely going horizontal! Pat stood frozen starring around the corner at the boat, Ole Catt got under the awning, put his head on a lifevest, & fell asleep! Gut feeling, intuition, or divine intervention! Don't! Don't care! Thanked God I wasn't on the main lake or stuck on community flat!

Bass don't know their lakes don't have shad in them. For all they know, they've just never seen one before. I catch them on shad colors in bodies of water with no shad all the time.

I've got one. A few years back my brother in law took me to this somewhat secluded spot where you can catch decent rainbows off the bank. Very limited access but not heavily fished. I've since been back a few times, and every once in awhile you catch a smallmouth instead. I got to looking at this place on a map and the complete lack of boat and bank access made me believe there was something to exploit here. This year with my new kayak I decided to try it out, paddled over to a rock face that looked good, and within a few casts with a 4" blue/black Senko I was being dragged all over the place and finally landed a 3lb6oz smallie my PB by far. I had a couple other decent outings there, but I didn't even start until late summer and I'm ready to hit it harder this year.

Interesting Paul ~ 'Hunting' a big bass, especially in a target rich environment, often sees me trying to tune into the next level. Looking & listening for the most subtlest of signs that may give her position any. See now what you've gone and done . . . . . .I'm all jacked up and we're still weeks away from soft water. Grrrrrrrrrr A-Jay

I guess I could see the confusion since actual PTFE has a density about twice that of water and would in fact sink, I'm not sure if 832 just blends some PTFE fibers into it or is mainly made of the stuff, but whatever the reason it does in fact float.

Man... no! Hmmmmm.... depends on what you consider "gut feeling". If you mean "fishing history"... I actually have to squelch that some. I guess over time my "reading conditions" has become somewhat second nature, or at least knowing what to do in a lot of circumstances. Guess I tend to be pretty intellectual though. I want to "understand" and be able to explain -put language around- what I'm experiencing out there. I've done so much of that -experiences are always going through the mill- that... I guess I agree with Jaderose: Ah! But I can tell you about gut feeling in other ways... hunting in particular. Lots of stories there. While hunting, if my heart starts to beat -an uptick- I make myself freeze and go hyper-aware. It's become VERY useful. One example is in my snowshoe hare hunting. Every once in a while I'll get the uptick, and it comes from either approaching a real potential hot-spot -just the right combination of topography and esp cover. Sometimes its more accurate then that... like I'll freeze and suddenly a hare materializes, white on white, holding and waiting for me to pass. Sometimes it's a tiny patch of lemon yellow -the coloration of the foot hairs of a hare. My brain has processed it before my conscious mind can catch up. Interestingly, that color gets my heart going, esp in context. I've developed many such "signs"/tip-offs for many creatures. What I believe is happening is I see it via "blindsight", that is, the brain's processing mechanism is faster than the conscious mind. The trick has been to know this, and be ready to -actually develop the habit of- freezing and becoming hyper-aware. Oddly, I don't think of fishing that way. Although it must happen there too?

'Shad' is just one family of baitfish that anglers collectively refer to as "minnows". From the anglers perspective, "minnows" include shad, shiners, chubs, smelt, dace, ciscoes, herring & so on Though every lake & river contains baitfish, the species involved will vary as to region and waterbody. Nevertheless, selecting a lure with a "fish-shaped" profile will accommodate all the minnows. With regard to color, even without the benefit of knowing the indigenous baitfish, you won't go far astray by adhering to hues like silver, blue & green. Roger

I'm throwing that sucker like I stole it. After I have a good limit and he asks if I have an extra one I tell em I might rabbit I might

Getting ready for the spring assault! I don't think we have enough. http://www.booyahbaits.com/

One of my favorite shows, can't watch it without salivating profusely: feel free to watch all those videos.

@Darren.I use a float-n-fly on winter largemouth in ponds and small rivers regularly. I use a gulp minnow on a lightweight jighead ususally 1/64-1/16

I used to work in a slaughter house in high school. we had several request for hanging the beef for a longer period of time. or ageing it more. also look for meat with fat lightly marbled thru it. hopefully grain feed. a cow standing and eating doesn't build up muscle .more tender. I deffinatly like the charcoal method and adding a few small blocks of hard wood for flame kiss and flavor. but I was taught to cook hot. which instantly sears and seals the meat, gives you those grill marks.. usually no more than two min. per side keep flipping, total time usually 8 to 10 min. litely powder each side before cooking with garlic powder. this is a tenderizer and flavor. then sprinkle with your favorite steak seasoning, both sides patt in then grill when charcoals turn white. you can go to a meat or processing place and they will slice it any thickness right off the rack. P.S. don't forget the invite ill be over!

A real man shouldn't ask the best way to cook a steak, there is only one way to cook a steak and that is grilled over the fire, wood or charcoal; there's this magical comunion between man/meat/fire that dates back to when we were hunters hundreds of thousands years ago .... of course, back then it was a fresh killed mammoth steak.

I'm glad I haven't bought a CI4+ then, LOL. My wife would be putting me out to pasture... My FI, FJ, and FK Stradic 1000s will have to do for now. Fortunatley I'm super happy with 'em!

I had to grab one since they're being discontinued by Daiwa for some reason. 7:9 SV103 with a few little changes. HH air hd spool bearings worm shaft bearing upgrade SV spool spring mod 90mm carbon handle rcs cork knobs black accent parts

The mild winter here this year has probably made the float n fly much less effective than usual. Better luck next year maybe.

Agree. I think @TOXIC meant "none of" when he typed in "-0- of", not "off".

Yes. At least once This "good day" in particular came after days of rain... Water table was crazy high, winds up, overcast, I was only one there that day. Boat launch was flooded, but I had my yak and was determined to get out. There's a covered "canal" between two bodies of water. I had a gut feeling there were bass feeding there, at the mouth where the water was "spilling" out. Parked my yak against the rocks nearby and cast a 3/8 oz wacky jig with a green pumpkin/gold flake Trick worm. Don't remember how many I caught, but dang, it payed off. Funny you mention the topic "gut feeling". I was telling one of my sons just this week that I had a "gut feeling" this is going to be a really good fishing year for us. While it hasn't truly begun, I truly believe it will be great. I've had other gut feelings out there that apparently were nothing more than gas, LOL. Those didn't pay off.

Reverse sear. And we can't have a food thread without mentioning scrapple...Scrapple

Wow Thank You So Much For The Kind Words! I’m really blown away by all the positive comments here! You guys are awesome. Your comments really make everything worthwhile for all of us here at BassResource. We often receive the negative feedback and complaints, which can be a drag sometimes. Positive energy is a terrific motivator! It’s fantastic to hear so many people enjoy this site, and are getting real benefits from it. That has always been our goal. We will continue to aim even higher. Thanks again for your positive feedback. It really means a lot! Glenn

Still don't know who Richard is lol? Somebody from tacklewarehouse?