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Caught this tank yesterday. No scale or measuring tape(didnt have my normal bag,nor did I expect this size catch). Laid her down for just a second so I could take a pic to show scale. She swam off beautifully and I packed up and drove home feeling high.

Best part about visiting in laws on Thanksgiving is hitting their private pond after lunch. Here’s 9 of the 11 I caught in a couple hours. All roughly the same size. Can’t count the number of missed hookups. And the two I caught today Once again, working the t-rigged Yumdinger(junebug).

Just bought a Tatula SV 6.3 had it out to break it in. Rod I put it on was 7' MH/F Helios used a 3/8 SPRO Hair jig Slow going five hours just one fish.

Lost one today that was easily over 10lb. But we still had a blast catching them on lake Istokpoga.

Thanks guys! Keri and I knew the anglers would be up for this, as they're always ribbing each other. You just have to toss the ball and they'll run with it. It was fun to do!

If ya don't tell em there's no crawfish they'll never know! Bass will not see your crawfish & freakout screaming there's not supposed to be crawfish here! They'll see an easy meal ?

Fished from about 3 on today . Post front conditions. Not a cloud in the sky. Worked hard to get 8. Most were caught on a 10 inch grape shad culprit. Its funny, but as I woke up this morning I was thinking about using this bait today. No hawgs, ( I lost one though ) but all decent fish.

Let me start out by saying I love to drink coffee, every day, all the time. My wife on the other hand can't stand it. So when Strike King came out with coffee tubes I bought a pack, mostly to bug her. A few weeks later we were out on the lake going thru an area we called the " bowl", an area around 25 ft. deep, flat and smooth, no rises, humps, anything of note. The fish finder started picking up fish, just off the bottom. I have no idea why they were there, but they were. I dropped the anchor and as it was a really windy day we both cast off the stern using, I really don't remember. No joy after 20 minutes. For something to do I tried a coffee tube. Caught a fish, then another. told my wife to try a coffee tube. Said " it must be the coffee!, I got a dirty look, but she dug thru the tackle bag and found non coffee tubes, same size shape and color., and tried them. After I had caught 7 fish to her zip she finally broke down and tied on a coffee tube, and started catching fish. I'm not saying coffee flavor works all the time, or for everyone, but that day we had the same line, hooks, technique ( letting the tube rest on the bottom slowing twitching it in) and were fishing within feet of each other, and the fish ignored the non coffee tube but devoured the coffee flavored one. We ended up with 18 fish from that one spot, LM, SM, and Pickerel. From that day on I have used coffee, caffeine, flavored soft plastic with great successes. The latest being the swim'n caffeine shad. This is the only bait I keep tied on full time. I caught my first fish on it this spring, my last one on it this fall, and many in between. As I said it might not work for everyone, or all the time, but for me at least 90% of the time coffee, caffeine , flavored baits are my go to, get er done, high confidence baits to use. Note: in the interest of full discloser I have never caught a bass holding a cup of coffee in it's fin, but you never know. Jim

Had this guy come in checking a doe and drilled him at 30 yards.

Not really in the market, already have a 5 and 7.

Ya snooze ya lose

I don't know what is in Gulp® juice, but I'm pretty sure it's fish crack, no respecting fluke (flounder) tournament angler fishes without it. I rub some Smelly Jelly® on soft plastics when bass are spitting it out quickly, and that usually seals the deal. Bacon grease, garlic infused olive oil work well. Fish slime in a pinch...

Fished the canal at swains for the first time in a few months. Water was drawn down 2-3ft below usual. In these conditions there is usually a sweet spot that holds most of the fish. The rest is either dead or dinks. I found the sweet spot in a slightly deeper stretch with a single piece of isolated cover. 3 bass at 3lbs apiece caught on consecutive casts 14" 1.5lb crappie

Shhhhhhhhhh............ A Senko with a screw in bullet weight cuts right through the Potomac grass mats. I caught a lot of fish on that bait this summer.

This is super common early on, but it's easy to fix so long as you just put in a little time. - Know your tools and when to use them. Football heads are great in pebbles to medium sized rock. Once we start talking boulders or rip rap, it might be time to swap them out for a drop shot. I will rarely fish them in wood unless I'm just way too lazy to tie on an Arkie jig. Similarly, Arkie heads fish great in most cover, but also have limitations around certain kinds of rock. Accept that fishing in cover may mean lost tackle (especially from shore where you can't troll or paddle over to free yourself), but using the right jig will minimize this. - From shore especially, learn using the lightest jig you can while still allowing you to feel the bottom. It'll give you a slower rate of fall, allow you to cast without dropping a bomb on the water, and give you more forgiveness when you're learning to to feel your way through cover/snags. Small jigs like Bitsy Bugs have caught me both, smallmouth and largemouth over 19". - As you're working the jig, try to visualize it moving through the cover as opposed to blindly reeling or dragging. Think about every movement having a purpose. I've also heard BASS Elites refer to this as trying to sneak the lure through the cover so that fish won't notice it, and think it's a good way to visualize it. In most instances, if you're moving the jig slowly with your rod and not your reel while emphasizing feeling everything on a tight/semi-tight line, you'll find that you're snagging a lot less. - Lastly, consider the immediate offshore structure when you're fishing a jig and realize that you're always going to be pulling it "up hill". If you're fishing steep banks with rip-rap or other super snaggy snags keep in mind that you're dragging a piece of lead up hill through it and that most bottom contact baits may not be the most ideal for that scenario and you may be better served fishing a crankbait. Once you get the basics down, you'll be shocked what kinds of crazy water you can work a jig through without snagging.

It might be good, give them something they haven't seen before!

Nailed it... I thought I'd want a rod locker with the neatly organized rod tubes at the front and holders for the rod butts... ...turns out that's not what I want at all. I can get more rods in there is I don't have those restrictions...and as a dedicated multi-species guy who has no idea what I'm gonna want to use until I get out on the water and see what's working...that's what works best for me.

What's the point?...sorry for the barb, eye'll try to temper my sharp comments, I guess there is a gap in how I understood your statement, maybe my perspective is a little bent, or I'm just set in my ways and other folks' ideas don't penetrate my thinking, I'll try to reverse my position and off set my prejudices.. (I can't think of anything for kirbed, but I'll circle back if I do)

This is my 146. It looks like yours dwarfs mine by 10-20 inches. Maybe I'm going crazy. Great deer regardless. Congrats

Just pack it full ~ A-Jay

Never take a picture holding someone else's fish.

As other eluded to, whats best for you depends on how you will fish the worms and where. For example, I rarely ever fish worms in deep water, I don't drop-shot or fish deep water. The vast majority of time I use worms it's skipping under trees, into tight shallow spots etc....I never drop shot and rarely t-rig in open or deep water. So for me I like a spinning setup because I can skip a spinning rod/reel WAY WAY better than a baitcaster. I personally use a Megabass Orochi X4 F3-610X4S Aarons Martin Limited - FINESSEE rod; Med-light/Medium Power, Med/Fast Action paired with a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500FA 6.0:1. Think first how you will fish a worm and where, this will dictate optimum set-up....or two......:)

If it works, I don't ask why. Life's too complicated as it is. Why add more to it questioning whether the scent made a difference? FYI, I rarely throw a soft plastic without some kind of scent on it, but that's me.

Keitech has 50% off select lures and colors still. https://www.keitechusa.com/keitech-swimbaits/ I ordered Friday and package here already, I just ordered more via my coworker that ordered him a bunch

Personally, I'd go with rods and reels as a big ticket item and then pick up baits/lures one or two a week over the winter. This keeps it economical and also provides an excuse to go to the tackle shop on a regular basis. I force myself to only purchase one or perhaps two items per trip, it makes sure you stay selective and don't fall into the 'one of every color' trap that the Bait Monkey likes to lay.

One way to save some dough is go cheaper on the spinning combo. While I have two St Croixs, Eyecon and Premier, I find myself using my ugly sticks with 20 to 30 buck reels the most. I have a couple of Shakesphere Excursion reels that have lasted me ten years of hard fishing and run 20 bucks. as for tackle, when on a budget, get only what you know you will use next year, this of course is impossible to decide lol. Try to limit buying anything that does the same thing as tackle you already own

You want to get $775 worth of gear but only have $125?...

As an active shore fisherman, I snag a football jig just about every time I fish with one. It happens to me 9 out of 10 times it seems. Texas rig - none! if I was fishing with my kayak, could be a different story, but fishing from shore, a jig just gets donated more than catch fish for me. Any other shore fishermen share the same experience?

GYCB Football head w/wire guard, Gamakatsu hook or his Hula grub jig. Tom

There is no simple answer. There are at least a dozen ways to rig and fish a worm and countless worm varieties. Texas and Carolina Rig - a MH 6'10'-7'6 Fast or Extra Fast action casting rod with a fast reel Flipping and punching - H 7'+ fast action casting rod with a fast reel Drop shot - ML to M 6'6"-7' Fast or Extra Fast spinning rod Senko/wacky rigging - 7' M Fast or Extra Fast spinning rod Those are kind of your basics that cover most ground but conditions can effect those choices, too. I'd suggest reading some of the articles on the page and using the search function when you get a chance. You'll find that there's a lot of very good, very specific information that will cover most, if not all conditions and presentations you're likely to run into. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Or the opposite. You pick it up and it feels like your jig is gone, it's not there any more. Set the hook!!!

I found a picture of the pike.

Well, my binge was all online, so it will be a week before it all arrives. I also picked up the Critical Concepts 1, 2 and 3 books. I have enjoyed a lot of the stuff on their site, so wanted to check the books out.

Jigs are easy. Bass eat them. You'll become a jig lover, just like the rest of us.

Hey djektd Santa is dropping them off to you , have you been good? Mike

6th photo down. Upper right, Mann's hardworm. Left, second from bottom, Poe's RC1. It's always interesting looking at lures people have accumulated. Thanks for sharing.

I fish up until the water is too hard to launch. Having said that, the bite definitely slows down as the water gets colder but I can still muster a fish or three here and there. I went out last Sunday in 43 degree water and caught 28 from 630am to around 1030am; pretty good bite for 43 degrees. It did shut right off after that and that's what we usually experience is a good bite for a short time, and then the window closes. When it gets cold you can fish all day and only have a small window where they bite. And it's ususlly in the same spot as it was for us that day. We busted them pretty good till it slowed, went to some other spots where we didn't do well, back to the first spot, off to more, and back there a third time to get the last few biting fish. And they were all on one bait...my tried and true fall, cold water bait wait for it the original Bill Lewis rattletrap in red craw. This bait cannot be beat in cold water for me.

If you had an Edge prior, that was a cable steer. You may have some trouble going to an electric steer after using a cable steer. Some people can seemingly go back and forth between the two but a lot of people have trouble when they try to switch. If you want a cable steer like your Edge was, and spot lock, then the most logical option would be the Ultrex.

Reality Check ? The Jig is one of the most productive lures for fishing heavy cover of any type known to anglers. The Jig is one of the most productive lures for catching larger than average bass. But despite its pure awesomeness the angler must keep in mind there will be days when the bass simply do not want a jig. So to all the young anglers (not chronological but experientially) struggling when casting, flipping, pitching, or punching with the Awesome Jig keep in mind there will be times when the Jig aint gonna be that AWESOME.

Denny Brauer: tournaments entered 376-times in the money 216 - 2.9 million Gary Klien: tournaments entered 434-times in the money 275 - 2.7 million Weapon of choice 3/8-1/2 oz black-n-blue jig! To be consistent at bass fishing we must put all the odds in our favor, that is in the things we can control. I aint saying throw only black-n-blue, what I am saying is when ya wondering where to start...there it is!

Congratulations to the young man.

Got some border patrol smallies this evening

I went with the ulterra because I want a TM that I can easily control the depth

For me, the choice comes down to the foot pedal. I refuse to use the ridiculously tall foot pedals that come with cable steer motors. Electric steer motors are a bit slower to turn, but I’m not so impatient that I can’t wait a second or two for it to point where I want. Remotes are handy but I don’t use it while I’m fishing. Being able to control it however from anywhere on the boat is nice. The iPilot on the Minn Kotas is great where you point it in one direction and it will hold your course without your having to stay on the pedal. Spot lock is also a must have. Your budget is the only limit.

So many out there it would depend on your boat etc but one thing I will say without a doubt. Buy the one that does the most or is the most you can afford. Nothing worse than a great boat, all the fishing tackle you need and a crummy trolling motor.. You just can not enjoy yourself by trying to bargain hunt a trolling motor.

I just got my order of Dobyns D-Blades from TW. They look awesome. They get a test run tomorrow.

Things we do to fish!! Lucky for me I have access to a nuke discharge lake of 3,000 acres. Never freezes or drops below 50 degrees no matter what the outside temp. If I can get there, I can fish. Little tip.....don't take the plug out of your boat before you drive to the ramp or you will have to sacrifice a whole thermos of coffee in the bilge to thaw the ice that now is now frozen in the threads.

Used to have a tradition of fishing on New Year's Day with a friend of mind because his birthday is on the 2nd. Several years ago it was 9* when we launched with a high of 21*. One of the coldest days I've ever fished soft water but we caught quite a few fish that day. It's crazy some of the things you don't think about that you learn fishing cold conditions. A metal spinning reel stem between your fingers is like holding an icicle, micro guides are not an option, changing baits is almost impossible, braid turns into a slightly flexible icicle, you can backlash a reel really badly if there's enough ice in the reel or one of the guides to stop a cast, you can get a headache from running if your forehead isn't covered well, all kinds of fun stuff. I'm almost to the point that I prefer those conditions because I'm rarely sharing any water when it's like that and the fish seem to bite better when it's nasty in power plant lakes. When the steam is freezing to the buoys and your cold weather suit, you know it's really cold.

cedar is a good wood so is basswood.