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Finally got my new PB bass this weekend! Fishing was tough and I decided to pick up my crankin stick. First cast out with it (Berkley Pitbull) and this big girl said she was hungry! 21.5" and 4.13lbs might not sound huge in some states, but for WI that's pretty dang good! I had been trying to beat my previous PB for 6 years, and just so happens two months after one of my best friends/fishing partner died it happened. I believe he had a hand in it.

What's embarrassing about the duck?I'll throw a pink vibrator with trebles on it if it works.Ill even turn it on for extra water displacement .

i fished in a charity tournament with my dad on logan martin this saturday. we weren't really fishing for the tournament, but more just having a good time. my dad's never fished in a tournament and we surely didn't take things too seriously! we caught a lot of fish, but most all of them were 10"-11" little spotted bass. i did manage a few keepers and one 4# stud caught walking the megabass giant dog x by this long grass line early in the morning. hit it so hard, running the opposite direction of my retrieve, it literally almost took the rod out of my hands. i caught the rod with my left hand before it went into the lake!!! we had a blast and sure enjoyed fishing that lake!

Planned on hitting it at dawn, but the 30 degree air temps had me rethinking my decision. Instead, I dragged my feet with the hopes that the sun would warm things up a little. It did, but the tradeoff was a semi-stiff NE wind – not a fan. The hour or so ride to the lake went quickly and I was on the water @ 9:30 or so. This is the place that “I had a Day” a couple of weeks ago, so expectations were high. I was not disappointed. Started off slow, a walleye, a few pike and then . . . .Boom. The strike I’ve been waiting ten years for. Six pounds of awesome northern Michigan Smallie. This bass fought just hard enough to take me to my knees, especially after I got a good look at her. Once in the net, she was stout & totally gorgeous. I was pretty pumped. She yanked the scale down to 6.21lbs. A new Michigan Smallmouth Personal Best. The Perch Megabass jerkbait accounted for this catch, along with another very respectable smallie. That one weighed 5.11 lbs. These were the only two bass I got all day. You know who’s not complaining ? This Guy ! Here's a Pic of a decent double. A-Jay and btw way once I got home - there was a very special 'package' waiting for me - more on that in another thread - wow !

Good morning guys. I fish the Sealy big bass this weekend and I'll give you my report. Friday caught 15 to 20 between 3 and 4.59 lbs. most on 3/4 oz football jigs. Targeted wind blown humps in salter and the ridges of Tennessee bay 12 to 18 Fow . Key was using sidescan to find and wood. Sat we repeated the same pattern on Tenn and the cypress slash area of Jessie Lowe lots of quality fish between 3 and 4 but no $$ fish. Sunday we fished Hurricane till 10 with only 4 small fish. Moved back to Tennessee bay to finish the day with numbers but no money fish. Caught fish on c rigs , jigging spoons, with the bulk caught on football jigs

Remove the braid, and either use some black electrical tape on the arbor, or several wraps of plain mono. The braid itself is slipping on the spool.

After landing a new home state smallie PB earlier today, I didn’t think my day could really get any better, but it did. Big Time ! There, sitting on my stoop, was the unmistakable white pvc tube that can really only be one thing – A new rod. “ I didn’t order a rod ?” I said out loud as I pulled in the drive. . . . . . Thank you Glenn & Bass Resource and obviously a very special “Well Done” is in order for @Alpster for a truly quality and ‘made for me’ custom build and one of a kind rod. Please know – you made this Retired Coast Guardsman very happy. I don’t talk about my Coast Guard career much on the forum, but truth be told, everything I have & everything I am as a Man, I owe to that service. It literally saved me. As a younger human I had made some poor decisions that were leading me in the wrong direction. The best thing I ever did was take the oath of enlistment and commit myself to the cause. The journey lasted over 28 years. Crazy how it flew by and much of it now seems like a dream. All my assignments were up & down the east coast from Maine to South Carolina; each saw me conducting & or planning Search & Rescue, participating in Federal Law Enforcement, Drug Enforcement, Migrant interdiction, even did 2 tours as a Drill Instructor – which was demanding & very rewarding. Saved some people, caught some bad guys & worked alongside and learned from some of the most honorable, committed & dedicated humans I could have ever imagined; even managed to have some fun along the way. All the while I had the distinct honor of having the privilege of making the sacrifice to serve this great country. I’d do it all over again in one second. I am very proud of my service and having such a wide array of assignments is in line with the Coast Guard’s motto of Semper Paratus – meaning Always Ready. It’s a tough thing to do – being always ready. But even now, that phase is something I live by and still strive for every day. That fact that you chose to inscribe this on my rod means more to me than you will ever know. I get choked up just typing that. So THANK YOU One & ALL – This high speed Rain Shadow Blank, with it’s very Killer reel seat & split grip will no doubt be my New Jig Rod. A-Jay

nice one

I reveived my rod last night, I was told it showed up Friday however I was away at paddlefest. I didn't even know it was there or in its way I happened to be walking to the bedroom after a long day and seen the tube leaning in he corner and knew it was a rod. I knew .ghoti. Had mentioned and sent me some baits in the past saying they were from sponsors as a thank you to our vets and that another package was on it's way. I was not however expecting this custom rod. I was completely speechless. I took some pictures last night but they don't do it any justice I'll post some tonight after work with a little more detail and some words worked up because I'm still in shock and I thank you everyone.

I got a 7-9 on Falcon a few years ago but my PB in Maine (home state) was 6-1; till today. Not much better but weighed in at 6-3. Good morning all around. My buddy and I tried a new hole I got wind of and it paid off. We left my boat behind today for the kayaks. Had to portage in through a small stream and over 3 beaver huts then it opens to a small, secluded pond where big girls swim. I ended up with the 6-3, a 5, 3 4's and some dinks. Definitely going back there again. The 6-3 and one of the 4's

What looks like a perfect day for boating can quickly become hazardous if someone ends up in the water. Boating safety advocates across the United States and Canada have teamed up to promote safe and responsible boating – including consistent life jacket wear every time boaters are on the water – during National Safe Boating Week, held from May 20-26, 2017. “Each year hundreds of people lose their lives in boating incidences, and they may still be alive if they had been wearing a life jacket,” said Rachel Johnson, CAE, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council and lead organization for the North American Safe Boating Campaign, a yearlong effort focused on boating safety that kicks off annually with National Safe Boating Week. “It’s not enough to just own a life jacket and store it on a boat, you must wear it,” Johnson said. U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2015, and that 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets. New life jackets are much more comfortable, cool and lightweight than the bulky orange style most boaters know. Innovative options, such as inflatables, allow for mobility and flexibility during boating activities such as fishing, paddling or hunting. “It’s important to encourage everyone on board the boat to wear a life jacket,” said John Johnson, CAE, executive director and CEO of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. “Accidents can happen too fast to put on a stowed life jacket.” Throughout the year, the North American Safe Boating Campaign will also remind boaters to always maintain awareness of their surroundings and never boat under the influence. Campaign partners will host local events, teach classes, offer on-water training and perform free vessel safety checks. The campaign offers a variety of free and paid resources to support local boating safety education efforts. The North American Safe Boating Campaign unites the efforts of a wide variety of boating safety advocates and is produced under a grant from the Sports Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information and to follow the campaign on social media, please visit www.safeboatingcampaign.com. http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/boating-safety-advocates-across-north-america-promote-safe-and-responsible-boating-during-national-safe-boating-week/ A-Jay

Yeah, that what I said about Okeechobee right before I bombed that event.

You can do it yourself if you are even just somewhat handy - I did, and my wife can vouch for my lack of "handyman-ness." That said, I know my limits and aluminum framing and riveting exceeded them (I used treated lumber). Lots of options though and you'll feel a lot of pride fishing out of that boat when done. Below was my project Jon boat I converted.

@HunterSmith ask all the questions ya want The key is not the depth or the grass, the key is the structure! Grass on structure, wood on structure brush on structure, rock on structure is what we're looking for! These are "cover" & form "breaks/breaklines", bass use breaklines to move along structure. Every lake in the state of Texas is man-made & river channels, creek channels, or bayou channels are the lifeblood of that body of water. "When you say you start a creek/river bed and work shallower, what do you mean?" Before this lake was built the entire floodplain of the Sabine river basin was mapped in detail. I have in my possession some of those maps which do not show shorelines.

loose the flouro and use 12 lb mono.

A few years ago, I started a project to build rods for members with military service. We built a few with member donations. And then the idea just stalled. Glenn suggested we should start this up again, so we did. Glenn reached out to Batson Enterprises to see if they wanted to be a part of this, and they graciously agreed to donate everything needed to build four rods, to get us up and running. They deserve a huge round of applause for supporting this project. Special thanks goes to Bill Batson, and his entire crew for their generosity. I contacted some guys about building rods, and got Scott Hovanec, Mike Lawson(DVT), Ronnie Van Huss(Alpster) to join me. We built four rods using Rainshadow Immortal blanks, and components from Batson Enterprises. Another special round of applause to Scott, Mike and Ronnie for joining me in this project. Many thanks gentlemen. We have started shipping these first rods, and they should be arriving soon at the doorsteps of the first four BassResource members who have past or current military service on their resumes. I expect to see posts from four surprised BR members in the near future. They do not know what's coming their way. I've seen some pics. There are some fine lookin sticks going out. Now, this time, I would like to keep this going. I told Glenn I would build as many as we could raise money for. I am asking for any and all BassResource members to consider making a donation, so we can keep this going. It doesn't need to be a big donation. A few bucks from a bunch of members will go a long way, if we all get together. Roadwarrior agreed to be the "bank" last time we did this. I'm hoping he will do it again. Hint, hint, Brother Kent! There are alot of BassResource members who either have served, or are currently serving. Let's come together, and say thanks this way. They certainly deserve it, don't you think? Edit: just heard from Scott. I received an Immortal blank. Scott got a Revelation blank. Dont know what Ronnie and got. Sorry for the confusion. I assumed since I had an Immortal, they would all be that. You would think at my age i would not assume anything! ------------------------- Here's how YOU can be a part of this great project!

Lately I have taken under my wing an 11 year old boy who loves to fish. His dad died of cancer about 2 years back and his grandpappy can't fish much anymore (heart condition). He's an enthusiastic little bugger and is always wanting to try new/different baits, etc. I've been hesitant to lend him my baitcaster as I can envision many backlashes in our future but he's used my spinning gear to good effect. Some of the baits he's wanted to use haven't been particularly suitable for where we were but I've endulged him as I think it's more important to satisfy his curiousity rather than catch fish (which he's done anyway). As I am getting older I've been wondering WHAT I was going to do with some of my surplus baits but I think I now have the answer/solution. I've already made up a small box for him and will probably add to that as time passes. Everyone should adopt a little kid.

Ok so yesterday a small crew of us went two hours north for some fishing in the woods .. it was me my two sons and my buddy Shawn .. the challenge was to catch a north woods bass 20 inches or bigger / 4 pounds or more .. we were fishing waters that hold large and smallmouth bass .. also these waters are known to hold giants for Wisconsin ( over 5 pounds ) the weather was horrible wind and rain not to mention it was cold .. this was a challenge none the less .. So long story short .. we didnt get the challenge.. missed the length by one inch , the weight by 1/2 pound .. ? But hey we caught a nice mixed bag of bass .. till the next one ☝? tight lines .

I'll tell you a funny story about Loxahatchee. Years ago there was a tackle store in Broward County that used to run regular tournaments. They were buddy tournaments and very popular. At the end of the year they had a Classic for a big cash prize. As luck would have it my buddy got in a fight with the tackle store owner and decided not to fish the classic. This left me without a partner. The classic was at Loxahatchee and I had never fished there before. At a bass club meeting another member told me his brother also needed a partner for the classic and that he fished Loxahatchee all the time. I took him up on the offer. In those days I fished out of a high performance bass boat with a hot 150 Merc. At the time it was one of the fastest boats around. The day of the tournament I met my new partner and we were sitting in the marina waiting for a flare start. Back then they shot off a flare and everyone took off all at once. As you can imagine it was quite an experience. Anyway, before we took off my new partner told me to stay put when everyone else left. This was really annoying as I was used to charging off in a cloud of spray. After everyone left he told me we were going to fish the marina itself. I shut off my motor and we started fishing. The water was running and I fished down the outside bank with a Texas rigged worm. About 3-4 casts in I was surprised when I got a hit. I set the hook and put a 6 pounder in the boat. We fished that bank and put 5-6 pound fish in the boat all morning. The fish were stacked up in front of the marina and we were in plain view of the tournament officials. After we limited out we spent the rest of the day riding around. We won the classic easily and could had never fired the big motor. Great memories!

LOL, popped collars attract bugs, too.

This gal was half and half somehow.

I have & use a few Shimano rounds reels, & spinning reels - the rest of my 'arsenal' is all Quantum casting reels. For whatever reason I just have not had any of the problems that seem to plague others. And here is a small sampling of bass that were casted to, hooked, fought & eventually landed on a Quantum Casting reels. They work just fine for me. YMMV A-Jay

Ignore the label and try fishing the frog. It will either work well or not. The deciding factors are going to be if the rod has a soft enough tip to cast the frog well, and at the same time has enough backbone higher up the rod. I have some older flipping sticks that work ok for frogs, some of the newer higher mod ones not so much.

I just finished reading all 253 pages. It was a great read!! @Catt, @Bass_Fanatic and many others have done an amazing job keeping up with this. This thread has opened up the way I break down and fish a body of water, for sure!

Catt, I'm at page 17 (loooooong way to go) but one thing I have noticed a lot so far in the brief reading I have done (I am copy and pasting all of your posts into a word document so I can just focus on reading your content) is you like to fish at a depth of 15' +/- 2'. How would you make this work if fishing in a small arm of a lake which does not go 15' deep? Many parts of Canyon Lake which seem like a good place to fish are much more shallow, so should I avoid such areas? While your content may be based on Toledo, I do recognize that much of this information will apply to bass fishing as a whole. Appreciate what you are doing

Canoe.

Got on a few post spawners today on a local reservoir, caught them in water willows on a frog and flipping a jig, fun stuff! A school of bass came up chasing shad in open water and the only bait I had tied up that was even close to something one would throw in that situation was the frog, and on my first cast where the fish had been breaking, one actually ate the darn thing! Definitely a first for me and I have spent a lot of time on schooling bass.

Check for kids playing on your lawn...

Caught my first ever Master Angler fish May 1st in the form of a 25.0 inch splake. The entry requirement was 25.0 inches so I literally just met the minimum. Wanted to wait until I got the patch in the mail as confirmation and yesterday it came! Apparently it's one master angler catch per person per fish species per year. So I can get more Master Angler patches, they just have to be Master Angler catches of different species for this year. Fish On

I'm just happy they won and didn't get swept! Make believe was thinking they'd even win one!!

Bring those to Lacassine

You are right on both accounts. BTW its also hard feeding the bait monkey when you are 48, don't live with your parents, have a low paying job, need to pay 20% of all your medical expenses, dress like a homeless guy gave you his hand-me-downs, own a car that breaks down every thursday, lives in a town that raises its taxes twice a year, etc, etc, etc. But we all still do it. Jump on the bandwagon and be happy.

Me and dad caught 21 this afternoon and evening. 14 on baby ribbets and 7 on caffine swimmin shad. No size to right home about but soild 14 to 16 inch fish.

I agree with Dwight, but I catch more on a Big EZ because I almost never throw a Skinny Dipper Roger

Finally quit surveying. Fished this afternoon in Six Mile a lil while. Caught 8. Jerk bait, crank bait, and only one on my spook. Still can't even make em fart on my frog. No size. Headed to Rayburn tomorrow if it's not a monsoon!

A "MH" st croix is pretty stout. A Med would fit the bill.

I've owned two Quantum reels and a rod....... never again

I was just so stoked about this lure, that I beat a path to my local tackle shop. Then I got the bad news! The Suicide Duck is not available in 'Gadwall' nor 'Baldpate' I'm Outta Here!

There are TONS of choices - at many different price points. I have been using the Streamlight 61051 Trident for years in many different applications. Offers 3 levels of lighting (two white modes & one Green) Best part is it's one button (one hand) operation - and over 60 hours continuous run time. For the money & what you get ~ I highly recommend this one. A-Jay https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00064YL78/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Talk about getting some females following to your boat ..

I prefer slot on the bottom,imho it hides more of the hook and is slicker through weeds.No wrong way to fish it.

Wow - great job to all involved. And a big thanks to all who served.

A 5.11lb & and a 6.21lb - which just happens to be my New Michigan Smallie PB ~ Oh Yea ! A-Jay

I've been sitting on these pics for a couple weeks because I couldn't post them til the project was announced. Since my forte is cork and reel seats, I declined the pre-fab grips and did my own thing. Please excuse all the fuzz on the rod. The microfiber towel I wiped it with seemed to deposit more dust than it removed! Butt cap with Army insignia inlay. I wanted to do more with the grip but a technique I have been experimenting with wasn't working out . The reel seat hardware provided wouldn't work with my plans of using acrylic, so I substituted in Fuji SK2 hardware. I had a bit of scrap left from the reel seat, so I turned a matching winding check. Slogan decal provided by Batson. Personalized decal by Decal Connection. Alps guides provided by Batson.

I want to salute the the 4 warriors honored with these rods, and the members who built their rods: Warrior Branch Builder Sam Army S Hovanac AJ Coast Guard Alpster Clayton86 National Guard Ghoti Oregon Native Navy Mike (Delaware Valley Tackle DVT) I can't tell you how proud I am of these folks - both who served, and who took the time to build the rods. SALUTE! And again, many MANY thanks to Batson Enterprises for donating all the rod components for all the rods! Y'all are too awesome for words.

I think this topic should be pinned so it doesn't drop off the page.

applause to you ghoti! even tho i never served, i have the greatest respect for all whom are or have. great idea! let us know how to help . it would be an honor.

I have them on the boat for catfish and bowfin. Never have thought of using them on bass nor would I consider using them on bass.

You could get an x-rap, x-rap countdown, x-rap shallow shad and a skitter walk for the price of one of those 110's... But by all means.. spend your money. I think if megabass was the 6-7 dollar lure and rapala was the 26 dollar then people would rave about them more... They all catch fish !