Leaderboard

Thats how its 600 lures in one. There are 575 BBs.Every BB you add its makes it a different lure!

My wife is starting to think I have some type of disorder. The early spring of 2016, I was invited to fish a pond. I guess this is where it happened. I had a single small flip top, old school tackle box that was half empty and 2 $20 spinning combos from Wal-mart. In 3-4 hours of fishing, I must have caught 25 bass. From this point forward, bass fishing has been on my mind about 90% of the time that I'm awake. Flash forward a year and I have a fishing kayak, 7 rod setups, 12+ boxes full of lures, several drawers full of soft plastics and accessories out the wazoo. If I'm not clicking thru TW or scrolling thru this forum, I'm scanning google maps in search of a new pond, stream or lake to fish. After an entire day of fishing, I spend the drive home thinking about when and where I can fish next. I've never been this into something in my entire life. I almost feel guilty at times. Are there other people out there that can relate? Just want to make sure I'm not the only one...

Cold Water Bass – We are always talking about how ‘lethargic’ bass can be and how the cold water slows down their metabolism. Accordingly, the advice most often given to would be cold water bassheads is to ‘slow it down’ - fish that jerkbait with a good pause. Slowdown that jig presentation. Don’t over work that lipless bait. Reduce the size of the hop on that tube; maybe even want to drag it. I’ll say at one time or another, I prescribe to just about all of that. And for good reason; I’ve caught some very respectable bass in cold water doing it. So the other day I watched a video shot by Aaron Wiebe host of the Uncut Angling Youtube channel. (Great channel btw) Anyway, he was ice fishing up in Manitoba. The AquaVu footage, besides being pretty cool, showed very clearly just how slow bass are in cold water. Obviously, the presentations mentioned above are not for ice fishing, and although the water temps I’m fishing in early season are warmer than the ice water shown, sometimes it's not by much. I think these images can help to demonstrate to (or remind) us Bassheads, just what a ‘slowed down bass’ looks & acts like. It really does look like slow motion. I do believe that although the bass I’m fishing for early season are definitely ‘warmer’ and seem a bit more active than the fish shown here, I think that seeing this can help remind me to fish appropriately ( slow), especially after the first fish catch of the day, which often sees me starting to want to fish a little faster; and then wondering why I'm not getting bit anymore. I started the video at a spot to show the slow motion bass - but the rest of the video is certainly worth watching. A-Jay

No, you're not normal. But you're a normal fisherman. Welcome to the club. Lol. ?

Well, I've been fishing for near on 60 years now and still can't sleep the night before a trip is planned. Get use to it.

No your not "normal" but don't worry there are many messed up people out there.

I use mainly 10lb braid on my spinning reels. It handles excellent and is stronger than the rated 10 pounds. I've gone to almost all braid on my spinning reels after years of hating braid. I have green, pink, and white braids on my rods and see no difference in number of bites, just visibility for me.

WELL, when you do the math that's only 13 cents a lure But you've got to pity the guy who springs for $80, then loses the lure on his first cast!! It suddenly occurs to him that there won't be another 599 lures, that he lost all 600 in 1 cast Roger

I'm trapped at the compound during a huge, world-ending blizzard. Work has been cancelled for the end of eternity and I'm stocked with food (the usual- bread, eggs, milk, Ben & Jerry's Chunky Munkey). This is going to be about my ordeal and how I'm coping. Some of this blog will be a long, slow decent into madness. Some will be about what I'm doing to pass the time. The first hour since I woke up has not been good. Ran out of Chunky Munkey and am not happy about it. There is about 10 inches of snow out there and I'm wondering if the nearest grocery store is open. Mike & Mike on ESPN is covering women's college basketball. I didn't know Rebecca Lobo's teeth were that large. They almost don't look real. Snow plow just passed by my place. Wasn't plowing the snow, just driving around looking for a place to park. Worst hour of my life. More to come.

Usually don't do a fishing report but I just had to add to all these good stories. Smokey Mt had their first club tourney on Chic yesterday and it was an amazing day. Also an interesting day. My non-boater caught six fish....five keepers. I caught around 20 with three keeps. But .... one was 7# 2oz which is a personal best for me in Tennessee since moving here. What was amazing was it was on a jerkbait and just plain kicked my @#$!. Can't remember the last time a fish pulled off line like that unless it was a striper. Was beautiful too in that it was snowing too. So anyway ... WOW....Tight Lines to all...

Like it, but I haven't even tried the Ned rig yet! Too many rigs, too little time on the water for me!!

Trust me.....it won't!

It's a healthy addiction if it gets you outside. That's my justification

Does a bear TRD in the woods?

My all time favorite PB.

I call the "Bread & Milk" folks the "French Toast Brigade". What else would you make with bread, milk, & eggs? Good luck to everyone in the path of this Nor'easter.

My mom used to tell me, "argue with a fool and you're liable to act like one." It took me many years to have enough maturity to actually follow her advice. As others have said, life is too short to fight with idiots unless they give you no other choice. Well done.

If fish are going to start biting only $80 and above lures I guess I'm going to get better at golf!!! Just plain out of my league.

You did the right thing - in the end you'll still be you and he'll still be him - which apparently must be quite a sad deal. I'd highly encourage a picture of said Knuckle head with what ever you have available (Phone, camera, GoPro) and perhaps video would be even better. (especially if it was somehow done incognito) And then Plaster it all over social media - someone in your area is bound to recognize this fine human - The curse filled rant would probably be rather entertaining for the rest of us socially acceptable people. A-Jay

I have just the opposite perception on 'finesse' type rigs; and this includes most any & all light line and somewhat stealthy, light or no weight presentations including drop shot. Rather than using them After I've exhausted other methods, or after I've alerted a particular group of fish or a piece of structure / cover to my presentence, especially in clear water or when fishing pressured fish, if I think it's the deal, I throw the finesse rig First. This has proven to be a decent way to pluck out the largest (or wariest) bass out of a spot before she can get wise to my presence. If I beat the water to a froth first thing by machine gunning a "sizzle" plopper (That was for you @Team9nine) through it for 20 minutes, not even a chicken rig can undo that. End result - I'm toast. A-Jay

A friend made the first tubular round end weights. Larry MeCain passed away last year after moving to Florida and was tool maker who like to bass fish, sold the tooling in the early 90's to the folks who marketed the Mojo weights. Larry designed the mojo lead weights to be crimped onto the line like a split shot. We pegged a glass bead with a strand of rubber for a stopper before the Carolina Keeper was available. Iovino made a wire tool to pull the rubber strand through the mojo weight back in the 90's and it became known as the mojo rig. Today I use black brass round nose cylinder weights because the hole is larger and doesn't deform allowing the weight to slide freely and use a glass bead for added sound clicks that works very good for me. Spring is a good time to be dragging a mojo or slip shot rig up hill or on the spawning flats. Tom

Can you think of any lure that is less 'technique-specific' than a swim jig? The skirt is optional, and when you remove the skirt you've got a hook, a weight and a fiberguard. A swim jig gets its distinction from the trailer, a lure that can be fished anyway your heart desires. Roger

Hit a good fish this year. I've caught hundreds but they've all been turds. PB&J Ned rig.

I will swim any jig I have tied on. I'm not sure why people assume you only swim the pointed head versions. The head design is made to come through vegetation but if I'm not fishing grass. My brush jigs do it all. Hopping, dragging, and swimming.

Im sure there were quite a few roaches produced during research and development

Wait a minute now, fellas . . . Us old timers remember how Fishing Facts magazine used to remind us that there's no "magic" lure . . . they may be wrong. Ha!

A twin tail grub attachment! Just what i always wanted! hahaha Are those clear things crank lips?? I can tie one on faster than i can put that thing together.

Rebel Craw >

I would've done exactly what you had done, but the incident would've left my mind as quickly it entered. You done the right thing which makes you the bigger man, now turn the page (life is short). Roger

Bass on beds are not feeding, they protect the nest site from intruders especially anything that eats their eggs. Small minnows, bluegill, crawdads, salamanders top the list. Tom

Really depends on the size and where the fish are, sometimes the smaller bed fish will be up real shallow and are very aggressive anything from a shakyhead to a smaller jig will get them to strike I would recommend lighter line. The bigger ones (3-10+) set up in deeper holes but are usually still close to the shore, they really like the back woods parts of small lakes and ponds, this is where it gets tricky, if you can see them, great throw a bright color jig or brush hog over their heads, but usually you have to guess where they are. Like I said usually in a deeper hole(3-8ft) in the sticks, I only throw 3 lures in this situation, black and blue jig fished pretty slow, a slow rolled chatter bait bluegill or natural color, ant the most killer bait is usually a simple Texas rig I like 5 or 6 inch Junebug curly tail worm remember it can take a while to get that monster bite the other day I threw the curly tail worm 30 min straight in the exact same spot until I got the bite but it pay of the fish was almost 6 pounds hope I was helpful

Great video, but like all general rules in fishing there are exceptions and cold=slow is one of the ones where I encounter numerous exceptions. Slow and deep is a great starting point, but if it isn't producing (in cold water one fish an hour, I feel is producing), I'll speed up and/or move my presentation up the water column. My point being; good information is invaluable, but not infallible.

Blank: Rainshadow SB720-4 in TiChrome color (6' 4pc.) Rings: American Tackle Guides: Recoil spinning guides and single foot fly runners (Black Pearl color) Hook keep: Kigan XLA in TiCh finish. Winding check: Mudhole dimpled (red) Butt Cap: Mudhole (red/silver) Cork: Wave burl Thread: Prowrap Silver Shiner and Gudebrod Red metallic Finish: ThreadMaster and TM Lite Decal: Decal Connection red over silver. Measurement marks are located at 16" and 20" from the butt. I started this rod sometime in December of 2015. Got the grip turned, then some other projects came up to put this one on the back burner. Last May I picked it back up and tried to wrap those #$&&+***$&## Recoils. After some more cussing, I put it back in the bag and there it sat til last week. Steve asked if it was possible to have it done for a trip he was leaving for tomorrow. I told him "In theory, it was possible.". Last coat of finish went on the stripper guide on Thursday and he was able to pick it up today. I hope the red pops out in the sun as nicely as it does under my crappy dungeon lighting.

Loose it and there goes 600 lures lol. No thanks il take the banjo minnow please!

You are fishing where juvenile bass are located, they are very aggressive and easy to catch. Wrong location for the cold water period or too fast retreive speed for the larger size bass to react to. I would look for banks and points that have sun on them most of the day light period with rocks in lieu of wood or shade. Slow way down and dead stick the jigs and shake them before moving the jig more than a foot forward. Long pause you jerk baits, it should come to a complete stop between jerks in cold water. Rip the trap off the bottom and let it fall back down and rest between lifts. Structure spoons and ice jigs are ideal for verticle jigging in deeper water....use your sonar to find the bait and bass. Tom

There really is no wrong way to fish a swim jig. I fish them anywhere and anytime, clear water, dingy water etc...in the grass, open water, etc...as for retrieve I mainly use a nice steady retrieve, but I will speed up and slow down, I will give it a pop occasionally and have been known to let it fall to the bottom and fish like a normal jig and then go back to my retrieve. Just experiment and you will find what works well for you. I prefer the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper for a trailer, but will also use single tail and dual tail grubs as well. I also use a 5/16oz swim jig from North Star Baits. For equipment I use a 7' 2" MH/R action Daiwa Tatula rod and a Tatula Type-R high speed reel with 10lbs fluorocarbon line. But honestly you can't go wrong with a swim jig, they are a great producing bait and you can fish them anywhere and anytime...

I agree with ajay on trying a different area, my suggestion is that you move a bit deeper. It doesn't always have to be way offshore either, just pulling off the shoreline to the first dropline is often all it takes. Right now they are off of main lake points (last week before the cold front the were just inside coves) and at the openings of coves in the 10-20 foot depth range schooled up alongside the crappie. Next week once the water warms up a little I expect the bass to start moving shallower, probably just inside the coves but off of the banks a little. Look for coves near the wintering areas, with a defined channel running through them. Jigs are good this time of year, but until the water temperature hits 50 again winter baits seem to work well also. Lately I've been catching them on a shaky head and a four inch finesse worm, ned rig, jerkbaits, and some on the dropshot fished vertically in deep water. Just remember, the bass are still moving slowly and the biggest bass even more so.

My local Dicks has Jawbone items on sale 5/$10, which includes the Sunfish. I just bought 10 of the Sunfish for $20 total

Abu Garcia "for life"

If anyone is able to help me out I lost a G Loomis NRX 7ft5 extra Heavy fast jig rod and Curado 200HG reel over the side of the boat the other day. If anyone ends up finding it somehow I would really appreciate it if they let me know. Thanks.

Hmm... I see a custom build in your future!

The Orochi XX Diablo Spec R is the winner hands down. Balances well, and has amazing sensitivity. It's not even a contest. The E6X is a decent rod, but it is nowhere near a $200 rod. It would be much better down at the $100 price range.

Man... not much you can't do with a swim jig. I have one tied on almost all the time -a dedicated rig. Most basically, it's chuck-n-wind. But being a jig you can fall, crawl, hop, rip... in a pinch. Bass eat them. That's the main thing to know. Ditto.

Looks like the "600 lures in one" claim is just another way of them saying there are 600 combinations you can make from this mess of parts. Lol...a buzzbait blade? Really?

rebel teeny r Rapala UL crank Rapala Mini Fat Rap Strike King Bitsy minnow BPS Mini Crank

Starting with lures. Many times lure selection is extremely important, depending on pressure and fish size, they're usually extremely picky, but when you find what they want it's hot and heavy. For topwater: Poppers, heddon tiny torpedos and buzzbaits are usually effective. Black is my favorite all around color. Crankbaits usually anything that dives halfway up the water column works best. They never worked well for me when I fished closer to the bottom. Good cranks are the KVD 1.0, 1.5 and smaller Flickr shads Xrap xr-8s are expensive but they are really good for both size and numbers Good colors are pink,clown, and hot steel. Drop shot is an amazing bait when the bites tough, any finesse worm around 6 inches works good (can switch out with a split shot rig) Shaky head craws catch fish anywhere, anytime. I like 1/8 ounce heads with a 3 inch green pumpkin chigger craw. Wacky rigs are the best numbers rig. 4 inch watermelon candy was the ticket for me. There are many other lures you'll find to like after doing a little exploring. If you can find hellgrammites they're killers. In the hottest days of summer are going to be your best days, but spring and fall you have to use dropshot, finesse craws, and jerkbaits if you want to get bit. For areas current breaks are your best friend. Anywhere where there's a big change from fast water to slow pools will be your most productive spots. It pushes baitfish and provides cooler water. Bridge pilings are always good, as well. My biggest fish came out of my rivers "pond". The river pooled up into fairly deep water and I caught a lot of big fish. If you see foam on top of the water give it a try. Those are general rules but every river is different so it's all about exploring

You absolutely did the right thing. Had a similar experience when a buddy and I were fishing some docks when a kid and his (presumably) g'pa decided we weren't worthy to fish the spot. They threw at my kayak. I had some choice words like "Seriously?! Can you not see I was here first?" He mumbled in reply...short story. I think I even posted about it here. The elderly man did nothing to correct his idiot grandson of his utter stupidity. Fortunately I caught a (IIRC) 3 or 3.5# bass right in front of them! Then I made plenty of noise with my paddles as I got out of "their" spot. But I've encountered more good-natured folks on the water than trash like that, thankfully.

Similar incidents happened to me a few times . Fish long enough , its inevitable .

Caught my personal best today at FT Stewart, GA. 7lbs 8ouncesSwallowed a black and blue jig