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Tied my black and blue chatter bait back on today and used a 4" watermelon red flake Yum Dinger as a trailer. Went to the smaller pond over by the trees in the back. Made a few casts and nothing happened. Went to make another cast and as my luck would have it draped it 20' up over a branch in that tree. My bait still landed in the water near where I was trying for. So I slowly reeled it back in hopes of being able to get it back without snagging it on the branch. As I continued to slowly reel it in it barely broke the surface of the water on it's way up the tree when this almost 1lber jumped on it and hooked himself through the roof of his mouth. Of course not knowing he was hooked that way til I got him in, I set the hook in a downward motion since my line was still draped over the branch. Anyways I reeled him up the tree and kinda popped him over the branch and he did a high dive into the water. I quickly reeled him on in, unhooked him and took a couple pics. Fortunately he didn't get hurt during all that, I released him and he darted back out to the deeper water of the pond. I can honestly say I've never treed a fish before today's episode...lol. ?

When your buddy catches 3 fish while your peeing off the back of the boat ?

We went fishing for rainbows today on a rainy and overcast day. My sister manage to hook into one of these whatever they are and it was burping when i was trying to get the hook out. We have never caught one of these before or knew these fish were in a river/stream/etc. Was pretty interesting to say the least.

LOL ~ Fixed that one for you . . . A-Jay

All good advise, but I use a lot of snaps. There are many good companies producing them and I have yet to loose one this year. I still retie after a couple fish

We actually found a house in a very nice neighborhood on top of a large hill. It is a smaller house that has had renovations but has room for more so we can increase value and put our own stamp on the house. The issue is that there is a risk it may not appraise for agreed price when looking at comparables...even though it is much nicer overall than others we looked at in area. Seller agreed to come down on price if appraisal is low as they seemed to really love the letter we attached to our offer.

Location makes up 100% of the final price of a home. Not what it costs to build. This home is very close to the new Apple Campus. The market here is nuts. My suggestion, buy in the best neighborhood you can afford, even if it's a smaller house. This being your first purchase, if you can get a fixer upper that needs cosmetic upgrades like paint, carpet, etc, and if you are handy with fixing things or have friends that can even better. You'll buy at a good price and with the upgrades enjoy the appreciation that such repairs will bring you. Good luck with your purchase. If you have any specific real estate questions, feel free to pm me. Happy to answer any questions.

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. The most common mistake I see my students make when in a slump is with the hook set. They are not sure if they had a bite & so they use somewhat of a lazy hook set. I cannot over stress the importance of a solid hook set; speed is the key not strength. If you are a smaller person or woman use a heavier rod to gain the speed needed, if you are a larger person use a medium heavy rod to limit pulling the bait away from the fish. So when in a slump I would look for small things to change, like timing of the hook set, speed of the hook set.

You know you're old when...... wait. What are we talking about again?

@Angealy looks to be a fall fish.

Yesterday I went to a small, secluded pond in the woods you have to drag the kayak into. It's a lot of work getting in and out of this place but it holds big fish. I go there in the spring and fall looking for better fish. The forecast showed clouds and rain so I was expecting a good topwater bite; and this place did not disappoint. I was throwing a bone 130 Plopper and a Poppin Pad Crasher and I got on them right away with my NEW PB!! A 6-8; which I know isn't huge for some you you slayers out there but for Maine, it's not a bad fish. And I usually fish for numbers so getting on a good one now and then is an accomplishment for me. Soon after I had another 5, a couple of 4's and some smaller fish. I went looking for more and changed up baits to a 3.8 Keitech and could have caught all the 1.5 lbers I wanted but that's not why I go to this place. So I abandoned that pattern, went back to where I knew I should be, with the bait I knew I should be throwing and continued to catch good fish. Ended up with the 6-8, 3 5's, 3-4 4's, a few 3's and a bunch of dinks. Probably the best big fish day of my life tbh. The 6-8 A couple of the 5's

Keep your head up. My wife and I are closing on our first home next Friday. To say the home buying process is a breeze is a flat out lie. We both have very busy schedules, and we have a baby on the way in March, so we needed something move in ready with minimal-no renovation needed. We had to pay a little more to get something in that type of condition, but we like the place we're getting. It's a beautiful house, has a 1/2 acre of land, and ample parking for an item such as a boat...! My best advice is consider the taxes of where you're moving. We looked at multiple places that were within out budget, and then figured out that the taxes were $500-600 a month... The house we're buying is only around $200 a month in taxes, which is a big difference for our budget.

I'm with this guy on this. I even remove the split rings. Around 2/3 of my baits have a snap on them already.

This is my favorite. Its a Cosmic spinnerbait. My favorite colors are the Chartreuse white, Sexy shad, or bluegill flash.

Seriously dude ya gotta stop that! ?

You know your old when: You you can't trust a fart. You wake up twice to pee at night. You GO to the garage at 10:00PM, and when you get there, you have no clue! Its just wonderful getting old! Lol By the way, I have a 1964 Mitchell 300, my first serious fishing reel.

Got to leave the shop at noon today for a meeting that got canceled, so why go back to work when I can go fish my favorite spot, New Orleans City Park, for a few hours? Needless to say it was a good trip. Caught 6 in just over 3 hours of fishing. 3 between 1.5 and 2lbs, ***.1lbs, and one 4.7lbs (pictured). Got em all on a custom 1/2oz flipping jig that I made during our shop meeting this morning ?

Got ahold of a good one today on the Chattahoochee. 6lber, green and red seiberts jig

I decided to make this thread because I recently bought the new Lund Renegade. While doing so, I had a hard time finding much information about it other than whats on Lund's website since it just came out not too long ago. By making this, I figured you guys can ask me questions about it if you have any and I can try to help you out the best I can. So far I am very pleased with the boat. Here are the details about mine: It is the 1875 Bass Model Gray in Color I had the Mercury 115 Pro XS FS put on it I also upgraded the trolling motor from a Minn Kota Edge 45 to a Fortrex 80 I have not gotten any electronics yet, it still has the Hook 3 that came with it Still deciding on what shallow water anchor to go with. Remember, I am definitely not a boat expert, just trying to help out a little!

Reading several threads regarding sensitivity in bass fishing rods prompted me to ask this question, what is bass fishing rod sensitivity? Nearly everyone wants a sensitive fishing rod that can detect the slightest strike or the difference detween structure texture like sand, clay, soft mud, clam shells, etc. So tell me how do you think a fishing rod helps you determine changes in bottom structure or detect the slightest strikes? Tom

If the bait has a split ring then I just use a palomar knot. If it doesn’t have a split ring then I use a Decoy egg snap in size 1-1.5-2. Most baits these days have split rings, so the only reason for a snap (not a snap swivel) is quick change outs of baits. If I had to pick just one size snap then I’d go with the #2 from Decoy.

That is now the plan, thanks

I use a Palomar for both kinds of baits listed, no issues. I can tie a Rapala knot, but didn't see a difference except it was harder to tie and the hooks tangled in the line more often.

Kbeeb I asked myself the same thing. So logically I went to Google, and so glad I did now I know what walmart to hit for fishing tackle it will tell you roughly inventory of stores in area, prices etc.

Yes ~ Standard deal is (3) 31's for the 112 Fortrex and the 4th 31 runs everything else. (including the 360 imaging) Days where I'm on the TM a ton (especially in the wind & waves) I'm glad I have the 3 31's Other days when I'm spot hopping, using the Talons a bunch, catching fish & running the live well pumps, I almost wish I had another battery for the rest of it. btw - and on a separate note - I purchased a jumper battery to take the worry out of a dead cranker - I've not ever really come close but - now it's not even a concern - works on the truck 6.2L also - I'm alone on some big water a lot - especially early & late in the season - there' spotty cell phone coverage also, so I need to be mostly self sufficient. Food for thought Check it out. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016UG6PWE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 A-Jay

I'm running 36V and a 4 bank to include the cranker. Between running the live well recirculating pump, 2 Helix 10's, the nav lights early morning or at night and the twin Talons going up & down all day, it's pretty much a must. Especially since I don't always make a long run back to the ramp at the end of the trip. That one 31 is usually the battery showing the need (by lights on the charger) for the most recharge. A-Jay

I recently got skunked for the first time ever (fishing from a boat). I tried everywhere on that lake. But, i was trying to force them to bite what and how i wanted. Next trip out I took weather conditions into consideration and a little logic and I we able to make a decent day out of it. Sometimes you just have to go back to basics.

I'd go 4-bank. I doubt the rectifier will keep the cranker fully charged.

Topwater season is here! Caught this little guy on the 110 at the white river.

split rings... oe

Rapala skitter walk, baby bass color

I know a few guys that shoot squirrels while they're fishing. They can do so legally as long as the big motor is not running

You know it is A-Jay

Also drive through the neighborhood at weird hours and times and days. All of the houses we were serious about, I checked out he neighborhood to see if there were kids playing, loud neighbors etc...didn't find anything but i figured it was worth a few dollars in gas

Is that your unbiased opinion?

big bass usually like lures one of two ways: very slow or very fast. lots of good recommendations above for slow so i'll add fast. try long lining deep crankbaits. drop ur crankbait 250ft pass the strike zone. disengage the reel and get on the trolling motor heading to the opposite end of ur target. then start cranking. you can be on the bottom in the strike zone for hundreds of feet so it's a very effective way to cover lots of deep water with a fast moving lure. drop a marker buoy to let yourself know where you started and also trying different angles. don't limit yourself to crankbaits bc you can do the same with a carolina rig. it's a good method to get lots of distance between you and big bass. good luck!

Hi Richard. If there's anything you need translated, I'll give it a crack for you. There are lots of regional names for fish that can be confusing, but if you spend a little time looking at reports and looking at the pictures attached you will soon start to cotton on to what they're talking about. Word of warning, if you get to go to the States or Canada bass fishing it might very well spoil you for fishing back in the UK. Trudging a canal bank in the winter for a small perch or two doesn't really compare with screaming across a lake at 80mph and then flipping mats for aggressive largemouth or getting a feisty smallmouth to smash a popper. I'm ruined.

Steep and cheap has some newer different styles of Costas aand Smith's up.

Thanks @1201vilbig. That $5 Plopper just cost me $150. Quantum Smoke baitcast reel, tungsten, Raps...candy store

Baby D Bomb on 12lb fluoro somehow landed this 41"er that took me through a root wad and was jumping on the other side!

It's very bleak A-Jay. I have no desire to ever experience snow ever again. Much less live in it. My Aunt lives at 8,000 ft in the mountains of Golden, Co. and I don't know how she does it. Different strokes for different folks. I think there may have been 1 weekend so far in 2017 that I have not been fishing. I plan to keep on pace. I will fish harder for those of you who can't, and make a few extra casts in honor.

And on the 8 th day the AllMighty, said: "let there be bass fishing" .... and North America was created. Wanna hear the good news ? we got Northern Bass strain ( ya know for those poor fellas that can only decently fish for bass part of the year bfrore freezing their rear end during the winter ) and Florida strain for us the southern folks that are blessed with warmer climates and can bass fish year round, that don't mean we don't have Northern strain too.

Nice bass! Congratulations on your new PB! ?

Senko got the big one of the outing right at 4 pounds. St Croix 7'6" Legend Elite, Daiwa RG-AB, 8# Nanobraid. Hit about 20 feet out just past a weedline in 2-3 fow.

I was plan to take the boat out to check the shallow creek to see if any big bass hide in there, but my wife got a honey-do-list for me. Chang of plan and I didn't have a lot of time, instead just went to the spot I caught those 5 bass a few days ago. Since I lost my black-blue, I tied Seibert Fogy chatterbait in green pumpkin with Zman diezel trailer. Caught total of 3 with the biggest around 4.5lbs. Video

Caught a good one yesterday from a local strip pit, of course didn't have my scale with me. Some weight guesses please..? Thanks in advance. (She was immediately released after video.)

Buddy wanted a fish fry so I took him marsh fishing, we 20 caught in 4 hrs all the same size!

The bite is still going strong here in upstate NY. Yes, that is a Chug Bug stuck to my jeans. And they're still hitting on top. Caught one with a gnarly scar. All fish caught had bellies like this.

To pick a starting color for soft plastics, I normally follow the below. But if that color doesn't work, I just start going thru the colors I have. There are times where the color they bite doesn't make any sense (at least to me). For example, I was fishing a small lake that was ultra clear with a bright sun and the only color I could get bit on was junebug. Clear water w/ sun: shade of watermelon clear water w/ lowlight: green pumpkin stained water w/ sun: junebug stained water w/ lowlight: black