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Due to matters that were out of my hands, I had to move back up to Shreveport. That being said, before I made the move yesterday, I spent Thursday and Friday fishing the smaller pond. Only caught one each day, but I had a good time anyways. My son came with me for about an hour and a half on Friday and then yesterday before I left to come up to Shreveport my son and I went back to the pond for an hour. Didn't catch anything still had fun. Never caught the big un that is in there. Almost did Wednesday night. I'll have to make a post about that. The pics below are from Thursday and Friday. Hoping to have some latest catch pics from up here soon to post. I'll actually have an opportunity to get out on a boat occasionally now.

Step 1 to becoming jerky

Got in a couple hours last evening. Decided to fish the N. end of the lake closer to home. Its shallower overall, and weedier. The middle and south end is deeper and usually holds more quality fish and numbers, so I fish it more. So the bite was off compared to the last several trips. Could be the high pressure system. Could be partially that the lake was slick calm. Could be it was that part of the lake, although I caught my pb.in that area. Still caught 7-8. Still biting the 4 inch tequila worm .Nice evening on the water anyway. This was one of the better ones.

Hi guys. Been quite a while since I've posted or even been on. I have had an interesting summer. Been teaching my brother in law bass fishing. Had no idea what I was getting myself into. First, we're both retirees. He, in his late sixties and me, well, let's just say well past that. First day he shows up with 2 Zebco 202's and spaghetti rods. I expected that so I had 2 baitcasters ready for him. Surprisingly he mastered the anti backlash thing fairly quickly . Keeping the lure in the water, that's another story . Half the crankbaits and spinnerbaits that I gave him wound up unreachable in the trees. By the end of October the trees are already decorated for Christmas . He managed to fall out of the boat once , with cell phone in his pocket. Fortunately that was in August, so no danger of freezing. Also close enough to shore that he was able to stand up and climb back into the boat. I threatened once to beach the boat and run up to the nearest Wal-Mart and get him a coloring book and a box of crayons. Seriously all in all we had a lot of fun. Looking forward to next year, I think....? Hootie

It's almost always an adventure fishing in south Florida, even when the bite sucks, like this morning. My friend and I fished the canal on the Boca Raton/Delray Beach line. The first interesting sight was a great blue heron on a dock trying to swallow an large oscar and practically choking on it. He finally managed to spit it out onto the deck and just stood there looking at it not knowing what to do next. Fishing was a struggle, just three small bass and a miniature peacock. A boat near us, though, landed a clown knifefish, quite an interesting creature. And then I caught on a jig, for the first time, a jaguar guapote, seen in the photo. I thought it was a crappie for a few seconds, then I noticed the cichlid fin pattern and recognized it as a guapote from photos I had seen.

Smoked a brisket for fight night.

nice. @slonezp I haven't hunted yet this year, but my backyard camera last night looked good.

I have quite few favorites, but this is my latest "favorite" fishing picture. My 3 year old with her first musky...

I've been fishing all of my life. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've started to exclusively target bass. Despite reading, buying quality gear, and spending time in the water, I haven't progressed as much as I think I should have. It occurred to me that I've never taken the time to really learn to fish different lures. I've always had a habit of switching up quickly if something wasn't productive. Today, I challenged myself. I took out three rods, along with two lures to use on each. I've read about how Fall can be very productive or very slow. I wanted a productive day. I brought out lures that I thought would work best in the conditions. Instead of constantly switching lures and techniques, I was forced to adapt, slow it down, and pay closer attention. I ended up having the most productive day of my fishing life. I didn't catch huge fish, but I caught numbers. I landed 13 in six hours on the water. In doing this, I learned more in six hours than I have in years. I think this is something I'll do occasionally throughout each season, just to learn to fish specific lures more effectively.

I remember that article, Rick was the best back in his time.

One of the best bass fishing articles I ever read as a young angler was by Rick Clunn on lure selection in which he describes lures as tools and select the proper tool for the job . It had me thinking about choices and has guided me through several decades of bass fishing . Before selecting a lure think about what you need a lure to do .

One time I only took a spinnerbait to the lake. Fished it exclusively for hours and hours and didn't get a bite. I still hate spinnerbaits

Yep, get to work 13 hours tonight instead of 12. When the clock goes from 0159 to 0100, that's the longest hour of the year. The joys of working midnights

Sunrise from the front porch this morning

This is my new PB. Got her in Virginia at 730 am, it was 40 degrees out, and the water was misty/foggy because water temps were warmer than outside... Tossed the topwater frog out by a stump and she came ALL THE WAY out of the water and inhaled the frog. Insane fight. You can see how happy I am. I left my scale in the truck, but she measured 24 3/4" long. A Virginia citation in length (state is 22" or 8 pounds). My previous PB was this July, weighing 6.10. This fish was far longer and heavier. Amazing fish. Tight LINES!!!!!!!!

This is my all time favorite because it represents the culmination of 15-20 years of chasing a dream.

Upon arriving in Shreveport, for my move back, we had to pass by Academy on the way to the house. So we stopped there for a little while to browse. Bait monkey got me for a little more than I planned. Was hard to resist due to some of it was on clearance. Ended up getting some Sufix 832 Advanced Superline 30lb braid with GORE performanc fibers, a 3/8oz H2O Express spinnerbait in foxy shad color with a gold willowleaf blade and a nickel Colorado blade, a pack of Strike King Rage Tail 3.75" Rage Swimmers in green pumpkin color, a pack of H2O Express 5/O EWG offset heavy wire hooks and a pack of Eagle Claw size 2 dual lock snaps. Went fishing at the duck pond afterwards and ended up losing my Booyah Pad Crasher sunburn color in a tree on the other side of the duck pond(not used to be able to cast to the other side of ponds like that.. lol). Went back to Academy, on the way to the house, so I could replace it. Picked up the Poppin' version of it instead, it was 3$ cheaper and I've been wanting one anyways and also picked up my first jerkbait an H2O Express Model SJS suspending jerk shad in American shad color. Hoping to get a way out to a body of water today and see if I can catch something to post.

My son fishing with me yesterday morning before I had to leave to come back to Shreveport. Wish we woulda caught something. It was really nice being out at the smaller pond with him though.

I have been fishing like ever since Moving to Florida. I used to try a new technique, take maybe 7-8 casts and then put it down. After fishing a few tournaments I realized that the only guys winning for the most part were the guys who would stick with a plan, and being in Florida, If you can't Pitch & Punch, Understand weeds and bottom composition, or effectively fish a trap in grass, and especially learn to fish the open water out in deepest parts, it was hard to compete or always have a chance. I spent an entire year doing nothing but Pitching heavy weights to learn how to catch better quality fish, I am still improving but after doing that for almost a full year, I noticed that my confidence went way up when trying to figure out other techniques. Being well rounded is not only important but also makes fishing more fun. I love nothing more than learning how to fish deeper water and struggling on every trip, then all of a sudden you catch a few fish and a light bulb goes off and then you realize what you have been doing wrong. It still pays to always have a go to technique to catch fish, but even a bait as "simple" as a spinnerbait is a technique you can always improve with, same with any technique. I stopped worrying about colors and brands and not changing lures all the time and that helps. Good Job, If you look at the best guys, they all have 1 technique they are known for, but most of them can pick up a drop shot or a Jerkbait etc. and still catch fish if necessary. Right now I am trying to learn the Neko Rig, and even though it looks easy, I have not figured it out yet, so its been a bait and rig I try all the time & force myself to stick it out instead of grabbing another worm. I like to first practice in ponds or places I know have fish in front of me to learn, this way you know if you start catching them it is most likely not luck. The guys down here you have been doing well seem to be fishing this Damiki Stinger worm on a Neko rig, you would think it is simple, but I think figuring out the right weight, line, & speed is harder than just letting a wacky rig sink on slack line.

It depends on the lake around here. Some lakes that are lined with trees and cover that isn't normally in the lake, and the lakes lack much cover, high water seems to make every fish in the lake move into the newly flooded cover and the fishing is great. Some lakes have lots of cover already and are lined with trees and bushes along with having lower fish densities, makes it almost impossible when the water gets high and the fish scatter. Ones things for sure, you won't catch them if you don't go.

Shimano Sahara 3000 for finesse applications use 8-10 lb line Black Max for texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits use 12-20 lb line. The heavier the cover, the heavier the line.

Went tonight to the Horrendous Pads with my brand new flipping stick, a Dobyns Champion XP DC766FLIP that arrived on my doorstep last night. This fish was my only bite but it was a good one. I was impressed with the new rod -- much more sensitive than my other big stick. It was easy to pitch the hefty jig accurately and I was able to control the fight. The fish tried to wrap me around the leaves but I was able to lead her out of the nasty stuff nose first. Also, I think a heavy weed guard on a jig helps get fish out of thick pads.

Took a trip to BROWN TOWN today!

planning on fishing jigs really slow this weekend and i'm out of my usual siebert footballs so i had to get something to use this weekend figured i'd try tungsten and then maybe i will be ordering tungsten footballs from siebert this winter and some kvd chunks because i want to try them out

This 6 pounder isn't my PB but I caught it about 30 seconds after my Ned-rig-hating friend declared that Ned doesn't produce big fish. He was at BPS the next day buying Ned rig tackle.

Here is mine.

Well, this isn't me, but it is my favorite fishing photo. This was a friend of ours (green shirt) when we lived in the Bahamas. He is Canadian, and some of the guys with him are Bahamian, others are winter residents. They did a fishing day southeast of our island at a place called the Diana Banks and came back with this catch - 11 wahoo and 2 dolphin/dorado/mahi-mahi. I got a few wahoo fillets out of the deal. Note the wahoo lying on the dock with it's tail missing. That is a constant threat when fishing down there... sharks are drawn in by the commotion of fighting and landing fish - I lost as many as I landed on many fishing days there.

My 23 1/2" 6 pounder. I've caught a 7 lb but I don't have any goods pics since it was at night and I was by myself.

My dad and me sometime in the 1950's. Even with a toy fishing rod I had the bug. He's been gone 6 yrs now and I still miss him like crazy. Jim

This was my first bass of the year awhile back. Not a very impressive fish, but it is my favorite fishing picture. I never got to meet my grandpa, so when my wife looked at the picture later on and commented how I look just like him, it has become very special to me.

Hey guys this is my first post. I love talking about smallmouth on norris and cherokee. Been reading for a while and thought it was time to join.

I've been meaning to post this. I was down on Falcon Lake, TX a few weeks ago when I got this 11.38 lb. bass. Caught on 10" worm, half-ounce tungsten weight, 25-pound flouro. line. Fishing in 28 FOW. My new personal best.

A-Jay

If you are using the z man shroomz head, for the ned rig, you can lose a lot of bigger fish with a stiff rod. The light hooks on those jigs need a soft rod to keep bigger fish from bending the hook and pulling free. I unfortunately learned that the hard way.

Ebay had a MH that’s now gone but there’s a Medium still available: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112628842179 Nice! I may be pulling the trigger on that one myself...

Rod arrived today from jet. It is the original Tatula, not the Tatula XT. Hot Dog!!!

Rarely use a steady cadence and always experimenting with changes of cadence to determine what triggers strikes. Everyday and often every hour cadence or pace changes. Tom

Been there, drug the boat up to the ramp until I heard the skag dragging and raised it. No damage done but hurt my pride.

I'm one of those guys lol I didn't drag it all the way up the ramp but until I heard it. Just flattened out the bottom 3/8 inch and scratches it a bit.

I've got a silly question....Why does resale value of a reel...or any fishing related equipment...matter if it's what you want to use? We're fishermen, not stock traders...expecting to make money...or even break even...on used equipment seems like a fool's errand to this simple fisherman... Maybe I missed the point of the OP...but if I wanted something because I felt like it'd improve for fishing...I'd buy it. if it didn't work out...I'd sell it. No way I'd worry about potential resale value...

Did catch a fair amount of fish on the Booyah Clacker buzzbait.

My son and I with our SMB PB. All 3 of us had a hand in the catch.

Standing on a boat dock my grandson Aiden asked me to tie him a jig on, after handing him the rod he proceeds to flip the jig under the dock. I started to say that aint gonna work but before the words left my mouth his sets hook. First jig fish & first Hawg!

...then theres my avatar photo . I remember this day well . Caught these at a cousins pond with a cane pole and nightcrawlers . First timeI caught this many fish .

Caught this girl yesterday, breaking my PB. I'd say its prob 4 or 5 lbs, but of course I didn't have my scale. My buddy hadn't shown up yet, so this is the best picture I could get.

I like the way this one came out

Been quite a few 'favorites' over the years. Tough to call one all time favorite. Some of the more recent ones come to mind but I'm going with my son's first 'by himself fish' & one of my first trips. A-Jay

I don't know if I could ever pick a favorite, but these two are up there.

This is probably my favorite fishing picture that I have on my phone. It is from this may when I landed my personal best during a tournament.