Leaderboard

Hit up my top gem pond in the pouring rain and started throwing a Stanley TopToad. Couple lazy blow ups from some of the smaller bass that didn't connect. Switched to my tried and true swimbait that caught one over 10 in Florida. Threw it in the area where I caught the upper 5'er the other day. Second cast it got SLAMMED. Was hoping like mad I had a good hookset as it was a long retreive. When she got about 6ft away from me her head came out of the water a little and I knew it was def. over 6. Reached down to lip her with a soaked slippery hand as she thrashed her head around. When I got her securely in my grip I had a hunch it was over 7 and it was . Scale was going up to 7lbs 6oz but it settled on 7lbs 4oz. After my hands stopped shaking I made a few tosses with Stanley again as I'm getting soaked. A 5plus'er blew up and missed the frog not far from me. I had to stay a lil longer after that. Eventually my reel started acting up from being soaked and I packed it up. Big girl woulda been 8 plus in pre-spawn. Maybe I can find her again.

My tournament partner and I made it to Minnesota for the BASS College National Championship this week. We fished a lake for fun yesterday and had a blast! Practice today wasn't too shabby either with a 4.8lb kicker. These fish are all built like tanks up here!!

All I can think about reading your post is that we must live in totally different places cuz right now its 90 degrees in the shade here in Alabama Too your question, fall for me is all about shad. Spooks, crankbaits and really anything white.

Here's a 3 minute video I put together yesterday. I thought you guys might enjoy it. If you don't, it's free and short. It shows bass and walleye, sturgeon, and muskies, along with some baitfish. I will check back and try to answer any questions you might have as best I can.

Last Friday I took the kayak out to an 85 acre lake and shortly after I got there the winds were hitting 20 mph, I stayed close to shore as I worked my way around the lake trying to stay out of the wind as best as possible. The water obviously had a good chop and water vis was next to nothing. After a couple of hours of not even a nibble I remembered reading that such conditions called for a loud and flashy bait. I put on my biggest buzzbait, silver blade, bluegill skirt, and started casting it into a shallow bay, 3 feet of water with weeds to within about 6 inches of the surface. I really cranked it back hoping to make a lot of commotion and get a reaction strike. Third cast I caught this nice bad boy at 17". It's my first ever on a buzzbait.

I know this ain't considered slaying them, but for me it's very exciting. Can't seem to find where they all are. Just one at a time...lol. I've now caught 3 bass in 4 days. Add another one to the list of junebug red Ol' Monster catches. Caught this earlier this evening back at Lake Buhlow. Guess this lake is becoming slightly promising after all. I feel like I'm learning something from all you good folks on here. Thanks a million everyone, y'all ROCK!

Walked the banks for a few hours tonight and caught 8 or 10, all dinks. Forgot my jerkbaits, so the fish had a rather easy time. The biggest and the smallest.

The only thing falling around here is my sweat. I'm a fan of buzzbaits in early/mid fall if the water's flat, and if there's some wind I'm going to be chucking cranks till my arms fall off. Jerkbaits are unbeatable later in the fall if you have good water clarity.

Ive had solid catches since i got my slayer 10 but they were in NY. this is my first decent sized catch thats local to me. on a black buzz bait.

As a courtesy to a local High School fishing club, I used to regularly take young anglers out for both practice and tournaments. They were too young to run the boat but I could let them tell me where they wanted to fish and let them run the TM. I made some very interesting observations. The biggest mistake I saw them make (and this applies to all in a tournament setting) was that while in practice, they were cool headed, analyzed what they needed to and for the most part found fish. Come tournament day with the same anglers in my boat.....once that blast off adrenaline hit along with the excitement of the tourney and the competitive spirit taking over, they would go out and in no way replicate how they were catching them in practice. Fished too fast, no patience on a spot, easily frustrated, over analyzing, second guessing and about a dozen other things that they did right in practice, they did wrong on tournament day. Moral of the story in your case......breathe deep, relax, go fish and don't let it get in your head. It's only a slump if you think it is. Find out why you are not producing and correct. That is the mental side of the sport.

I don't have Fall fishing techniques I don't have Winter fishing techniques I don't have Spring fishing techniques I don't have Summer fishing techniques I do have bass fishing techniques I adjust locations accordingly

My 10 point from 2014. Shot him at 45 yards with my bow. One of my favorite memories of hunting.

Slumps are something we all deal with; I've found through the years the best way to handle them is to get back to basics. I know what my strengths are and fish towards them; I suggest you should do the same. If you are good at Flipping/Pitching, Texas Rigs, Cranks, Spinners, or what ever concentrate on those techniques. If you are good at shallow water, deep water, or grass concentrate on those areas. I've learned to down size my tackle to just the basics, it is extremely hard to be a master of all the available techniques. I'm very good at Jig-N-Craws, Texas Rigs, & Spinner baits so I fish where I can maximize these strengths. I'm not that great with Crank baits so when in a slump I don't waste time fishing them. I don't try new techniques either when in a slump.

I'm finding myself more often it's easier leaving the tackle box in the car and just stuffing a bag of an assortment of soft plastics in my pocket. It seems there is a lot that can be covered with one hook. I do my fishing from the bank so I just take 2 rods with me when I leave the house. Lately they have been one Texas rigged and one weightless 3/0 hooks, and a cargo pocket of soft baits. Im no expert at it, but it seems very easy and effective way to be ready on the go and be able to travel light.

Visited a friend in Baltimore and we went fishing at Loch Raven on a rental boat. It was kind of rough without a depth finder. Had a bite or two shallow, but everything else was 20-30 ft water. No luck with black/blue jig or watermelon/red worms. They seem to only hit shad color baits (drop shot fluke + vertically jigged swim jig). I didn't think they could even see color that deep. I guess deep water bass fishing could be fun with the right gear and technology, but Florida seems simpler. Bass were about 1.5-2.5 lbs.

That moment when you're turning into a secluded cove...and you can see that the whole pocket is empty....when you really, really have to take a leak....it's like 'Yeah!'

For me its when I set the hook and and the fish doesnt budge . My most disappointed moment is when I realize its probably a catfish or a stick . I fought stick last week that came to the surface fast and I was saying " dont jump ,dont jump " .

One photo with the Portuguese President on a tournament this Saturday...

There are plenty of studies on bass in this regard, and it is quite apparent that many can learn (become conditioned) over time in certain situations. As for terminology, at least in most psych classes, conditioning is considered a type (or subform) of learning. Back on the bass, studies both in the lab and field tend to bear out that; - bass are most susceptible to a presentation the first time they are exposed to it - if continually exposed day after day, catch rates will quickly plummet - bass, at least in the lab can learn and remember, for very long periods of time, certain artificial lures, and can't be fooled into hitting them again even months later - in every population, some bass are more susceptible and some bass less susceptible to being caught. Some will be caught many times, while others may never be caught. It's a typical bell curve. - Some bass are more prone to hit certain presentations than others, almost appearing to have 'favorites' I've spent a lot of time fishing small subdivision ponds over the years, and have seen firsthand how easy it is to overpressure fish with repeated, specific presentations. It's much better to rotate ponds, or rotate presentations within a pond over a period of days or weeks. It's one of the big reasons I think anglers who bring everything with them and expose a majority of the bass to a majority of the presentations, trip after trip, are likely only hurting their overall success and catch rates in the long run. It's much better (IMO) to fish a single presentation on any given day, and change that presentation the next time you go, eventually cycling back to the original.

In my case its shad and they are everywhere . Some days they are shallow , deep , on the main lake , in the creeks ... I dont know if they can be patterned.

If I have a bad tournament, I want to get back out on the water and compete again, almost immediately. I used to dwell on bad events for a long time after and threatened to quit tournament fishing all together regularly. I've grown a lot. I've realized that in the end, it's just fishing. We're always going to not win more than we win. Might as well relish in the victories and shrug off the losses. If not....beer always helps

Keep at it. River smallmouth fishing is uniquely satisfying. This is from my first trip to Erie. Also happens to be my personal best smallie.

Location, depth, speed. Lures are just tools. Sometimes too much information can be detrimental.

I dont expect a much different bite than what I have experienced all summer but one never knows how the bass are going to act .

Today's offering. Sleepy spaniel after a tough morning beating for pheasants.

First time out in a bit, was a numbers game instead of size thanks to the past couple of days of odd weather...

The reasoning behind people saying that is those are "reaction" baits where the fish are not necessarily sitting their analyzing it before chowing down. It swims by rather quick and they are forced to decide then and there "do I want to eat that" and line visibility probably won't play as big a role unless they are already super finicky. With the worms you are generally fishing them slower and the bass has time to swim right up to it, stare it down, and decide to eat it or not. That's the theory anyway, whether or not you decide to buy into it is your choice and you should experiment and prove it to yourself one way or the other. Personally, I like leaders for most techniques unless the water is super dingy or I'm fishing topwater or punching. I've caught them on straight braid, but I've also caught 12 fish fishing the same lure, same areas, as a friend who caught no fish and was using straight braid, and I had a leader on a bright sunny clear water day. This happened two times in one summer, same conditions two different friends. That's as close I've been able to come to "proving it" to myself that they are necessary sometimes. So when in any doubt I use one now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... easy there. No need for crazy talk. lol

That was a sturgeon. He is horribly deformed. You wouldn't think he could get by like he is, but we have watched him grow over the last several years.

Sounds like fun! ...a 38" pike will get your heart beating! This one is a 38":

Well, here's the first delivery of my Black Friday in August binge. I finally started throwing jerkbaits this past year and figured it was about time to get a dedicated setup. Also, strangely never had a Wiggle Wart.

Something about a bald eagle being in captivity seems wrong, but this was unable to live on his own...

For me, the moment that keeps me addicted to fishing, the moment that makes me wake up at ungodly hours to head to the water, is that moment just after you set the hook and feel moving weight at the end of your line. That moment even before you can really tell whether it's big or not, you just feel that weighty "alive" feeling at the end of your line, it's almost primal. Just thinking about that moment makes it worth the hot, skunk days, the bleary eyed, stiff mornings. What about you all? What's your favorite moment in fishing? Landing the fish? Topwater bite?

Enjoyable weekend. Caught a few on a neko rig Saturday morning, then took my step daughter out Saturday after noon. Ended up with 4 channel cats, 2 bluegill, and I stuck 2 on a jig. Hoping to get out to one of my big fish factories this Saturday.

My dedicated reel is a Calcutta 50A, 23" per turn! I believe too anglers fish spinnerbaits, swimjigs, chatterbaits, & buzzbaits to fast. Covering water quickly aint the same as covering water effectively!

Well over 60 species of freshwater fish that I can think of this moment. Have caught more species of saltwater fish than freshwater fish.

Hate to tell you, but I agree with @Outdoor Zack. $80 might get you into an Abu Garcia Silver, but I have a hard time recommending it. Sucks to hear, but I think if you can get your price point closer to $140 for the combo, you'll probably get a number of suggestions for something you might be happy with. Tell us a little more about how you plan to use it: what sort of conditions, what lures, shore or boat, etc. Why 5'6"?

Well, as usual... I go looking for one thing and talk myself into a completely different deal. Bait Monkey strikes again! Was looking for a lighter swimbait rod that could also handle big jigs and the occasional inshore duty and came across the following gem: a 7'11" Shimano Crucial (green blank, full cork) MH/F swimbait casting rod for $99 BNIP. She's a smidge lighter than I was originally looking for, but 1-3oz is actually pretty ideal for what my actual (read: not internet delusions of grandeur) life intentions for this rod will call for and I know for a fact I love the Crucial handles and blanks. I just got confirmation on shipping and it should even get here before I leave Sunday for a 3 day fishing trip out on horseneck at a friend's grandfathered-in shack out past the state beach. No running water, no electricity, lots of beer and lots of boating, fires on the sand and my most pressing decision being which Alchemist or Lawson's brew to sip on next. It's been years since a legit "me" vacation. I cannot wait.

Topwater blowups all day every day

Every single jig bite at night ~ And anytime I need my passport to go fishing A-Jay

Largemouth, smallmouth, meanmouth, spotted bass, white bass, striped bass, wiper, walleye, saugeye, sauger, flathead, blue, channel cat, black bullhead, yellow bullhead, long nose gar, shortnose gar, spotted gar, yellow perch, northern pike, muskie, creek chub, blue sucker, quillback, smallmouth buffalo, black buffalo, shovelnose sturgeon, bluegill, warmouth, green sunfish, longear sunfish, redear sunfish, hybrid bluegill, rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, common catp, mirror carp, grass carp, drum, goldeye, butterfly peacock bass, blue tilapia, bowfin, paddlefish, multiple chiclids, suckers, rock bass, goggle eye, sculpin, gizzard shad, white crappie, black crappie, black nose crappie. Looks like 55 that I can think of.

I prefer to present Spinnerbaits & Vibrating jigs at 5.7:1 ~ something around 25 inches per turn works for me. Usually this one Swimjigs go on a 6.6:1 reel for me. A-Jay

Went to the park and my 7 year old wanted to take some pictures

20, I think.

Dinks for days. But at least they're biting. Lipless crank, black/red flake Senko.

After almost 2 weeks without being able to go fishing, had about a couple hours to wet my line this evening after work. Could only go to Lake Buhlow, not exactly the best fishing there, to get my therapy in. Tried out my new Zoom Centipedes, Ultravibe Speed Worms and the Ol' Monsters. Didn't get any bites on the Centipede. Got a couple bites on the UV Speed Worms including one that snatched off more than half the worm all the way to the hook. Was using Gammy 2/O EWG offset hook. Took that off and put on a 4/O Gammy EWG offset hook and the Ol' Monster. Caught this 1lber, I know he ain't that big, but he took that big worm pretty aggressively. It was right after a little drizzle of a shower. Even though I didn't catch a big un, I was thankful to land this little guy. Any bass beats no bass any day.

Back out on the bank for 2 hours after work this evening. Major cold front moving through the state last night and today with highs mostly in the 60s and W winds, along with a rising barometer. Still managed to land 38 bass, so a good trip. Better water clarity than last week helped, I believe. Here's a couple: One last pic to reiterate my thoughts on tackle management from shore...a sneak peak inside my tackle box for tonight's trip. It's in both pics, but you can't see it tucked away in my t-shirt pocket - mobility rules!

Our haul this past week. Yes that is the Potomac, Virginia side. The rest are home in Jersey.

After I sold my gears that I rarely use and wanted to go different direction on the stuff. Those have arrived at my door ready to be adopted. I still have few parts coming in (96mm handles for on three baitcasters) did the monkey get me ?