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Hey y'all, just wanted to share this fine specimen I caught yesterday (12/14/17). After not fishing for almost a month, I decided to drive to a buddy's house to fish on his neighborhood lake. Big bass was the agenda, and the arsenal was swimbaits, and also a bulky jig for extra thick cover. This is my first year in the swimbait game, which I have taken semi-seriously. I started the year with a possible PB (no scale handy) on a Mattlures Bluegill. After yesterday, it looks like I get to close the year with a definitive PB, and a true swimbait passion. After throwing the Mattlures for the majority of the day without a bite, I managed to straighten my hook on a sunken branch. I decided to switch to a Huddleston 68 Special ROF 5 to finish my lap around the lake, my first time ever throwing the lure. I had gone all the way around the lake, getting used to the feel of branches and trees with the occasional false hookset. I approached the last spot, a steep point with cover strewn about right by my friend's house, and I decided to try something different. Instead of casting up or down the point (parallel) like I normally do, something told me to try casting across the point (perpendicular). I figured if a big fish was holding there watching lures go by all day in the same direction, maybe something different would trigger it. On my second cast I felt another tap, but something just felt different than the trees I was feeling earlier, so I set the hook. I had the fish moving fairly easily, and wasn't sure of the size until the mouth breached the water. I immediately told myself "Oh crap, this is it. This is happening". I was by myself with no net, so I reminded myself everything I have learned, read, or watched online about how to keep a Huddleston fish pinned. "Keep the fish moving forward. Don't let her turn. Keep the rod bent. Don't stop reeling". As I grabbed her lip, I let out a Ric Flair "WOOO!", then got her on the scale, as my friend came over to check out the commotion. The scale read 8-8 both on the boat, and on the dock, where she was released back go the cold depths. This experience opened my eyes in a number of ways, not only with swimbait and cold water fishing, but also just approaching things differently around big fish, as they didn't get that huge by being the same...

Nothing like scraping ice off your truck windows at 5am in single digit temperatures.

Had a tough day on the lake today, a few small bass on a blade bait and an a-rig in 41 degree water. When I pulled in a big gizzard shad on my blade, I threw him in a bucket and gave myself a little extra time for a pit stop on the way home.......

Asking for any product to be great & cheap can be a tricky proposition. One that can and often does result in a loss of time, money & effort. Not a fan of any of that. While Power Pro is a quality product, in my experience, there are some better and several worse. I like Sufix 832, Seaguar Smackdown and Daiwa Samurai - each of these require a little bit more of an initial investment than Power Pro. I do think of it as an investment, as all of these quality braids excel in durability. Meaning that unless they are subjected to extreme use, they will LAST a Long time - even several seasons of regular use. So while the initial coin drop may be a little steep, what one gets in return, (zero stretch, loads of line capacity, the elimination of line twist on spinning gear & super long casts), IMO is well worth it. YMMV A-Jay

Got two on the first two docks , both on a 10 inch watermelon seed ole' monster. This one was the better one. Not another bite after that.

You know it's winter when 8 year old threads pop back to the top

Sorry it took me a bit but finally got a highlight video of my final morning at Lake Baccarac! Took me awhile to do this but it was worth it. Hope you like it!

That’s a great picture. Arlington today.

BR latest sale thread has saved me far more money....and cost me far more money...than the TW X mas sale ever did I don't know whether to thank you or curse you IndianaFinesse.

Winter still hasn't arrived here. SUN 12/17 50° /39° Cooler; occasional a.m. rain Hist. Avg. 40°/22° MON 12/18 56° /37° Intervals of clouds and sun Hist. Avg. 40°/22° TUE 12/19 56° /32° Mild with plenty of sunshine Hist. Avg. 40°/22° WED 12/20 57° /43° Mild with sun and some clouds Hist. Avg. 39°/22° THU 12/21 54° /21° Partial sunshine

The MLF anglers are clearly some of the very best - but I think we can both agree that during those derbies, they are not looking for Trophy bass - especially when a 'score-able bass' in most cases only needs to be 12 inches. SO many of those shows, (and it is 'entertainment') because of the format, end up being dink fests where the majority of the field is targeting docks in 3 feet of water with a light action spinning rod & a shakeyhead. Not saying one couldn't get a DD bass that way, but let's just say that it's not a common practice So IMO, MLF derby results do not reflect any body of water's DD Bass holding potential. A-Jay

I'm kinda glad TW is only putting garbage up for the 25 days sale....keeps me from buying even more stuff i dont need!

Since the cabin fever has clearly set in for some, time to start talking about the annual official, unofficial Bassresource road trip! It's going to be at Table Rock Lake, MO on April 21st and 22nd (but you can obviously stay longer if you'd like). I have a pretty good sized group of local KC area guys already planning on going, and I believe @roadwarrior @.ghoti. and possibly even @J Francho might be there. We'd be happy to have anyone that wanted to be there. Just want to put the idea in everyone's minds and give you something to get it your mind off the cold And a couple pictures from our trip this previous spring to help your decision.

If guesstimates count then I will add Tamaulipas MX, lake Guerrero. Caught several big bass that I estimate around 10 lbs., back in the mid 70's. No scale and we didn't care what they weighed back then. 10" red Fliptails worms ruled and we went though a few 100 bags. Tom

No experience with Cousins though I’ve read a few good things. Only KLX I own is in the CRT series for crankbaits. It’s a great stick, nicely build, great feel. If you can wait till Kistler has another sale upgrade your selection to the 7’3” Heavy Helium 3 for a few dollars more, well worth it I love my Helium 3 sticks. One option id throw out is if you’re comfortable going up to 7’5” American Legacy has the Megabass Orochi XX EMTF still available for $199. Again I don’t own one but this rod is widely regarded as one of the best in the series and very popular for jigs just under 1/2 oz down to about 3/8oz plus a lot of other uses. I have many other Orochi XX rods and they’re fantastic, at this price they’re a steal. Do a little searching and you’ll find a lot about this rod. If you need a stick for 1/2 oz jigs and up they still have the Tour Versatile in stock as well which is also a versatile stick with a fair bit of power. The suggestion if the Avid X is another great option as well in your price range. Good luck!

You bet! Caught me many a 10 and even a few world records! Where? In a dream-state.

Have you considered trying a thin braid? A lot of crappie guys around here use light braided lines because they're thin and have great sensitivity but also strong enough to straighten out a lot of crappie hooks so they don't lose as many baits in the brush.

DSG/F&S ships items from a store. We call the orders "pick lists" and I have to dig up lures for people 80x a day during this season lol. If we dont have it, it will ship from the next closest store, while the rest ships from the closer store.

I was running the snow blower yesterday at 6 am. It was a balmy -4. Actually broke a sweat.

Living the dream. A-Jay

If that was in my town, someone would try and take it back to a store for a full refund.

For my money, a good tent beats sleeping in the car any day. I have a nice Kelty that goes up in about 5 minutes. There's also some cool tents that hook up to the back of a wagon or hatch. It's just easier being able to stand up to get dressed, etc. It also sucks being trapped in a car in the rain. I'm sure you already figured out the pros and cons, just offering my two cents after doing what you plan to do for years. I have slept in my truck a few times. It sucked.

wow, thank you all for your welcome Yes Italy it's very beautiful and the people it's very good (not the politicians...wroste in world) We have bass in our natural lakes or ponds and rivers smaller than USA lake (I follow elite series and FLW) The dimensions are less than USA bass...here in Italy a monster bass it's 3kg or more (6,6 lb). we have two types of fish that you don't found out in other places in the world: the Esox flaviae and the salmo trutta marmoratus. that fishs must be giant (esox 130cm and 25kg and the salmo 1mt up and 12kg) we use float tube like outcast fish cat or similar. We have boat like skeeter and other but you see it only in a natural lake or big river (garda lake, brenta river) This year I had catch a few bass (2kg up) ciao a tutti!!!

Perhaps bring along a 'friend". A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ There's quite a few - but here a couple to get you started. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/lure-making-parts/ https://www.barlowstackle.com/Default.aspx A-Jay

First snow at our new house.

Picked up a new pair of hiking / shotty weather boots. Liking them so far.

One of the bucks I passed on this season. He was nice on the one side, but his main beam was broken off on the other right beside his brow tine. Sorry for the poor quality, but this was taken with my phone, through my scope, at a deer about 200 yards away.

Some developer humor.....

If you want to give them a name, I think you should call them jerkbaits. Unweighted or with small nail weights, they will behave erratically like a jerkbait pretty much the same way a stick bait (Senko) will behave if you T rig the Senko. To me, if you use too much weight or with a jig, they lose the jerkbait action pretty much the same way a Senko loses it's jerkbait action when you put them on a jig or wacky rig it. Just like any soft plastic, you can rig them anyway you like. If it catches fish for you, you aren't doing it wrong.

They were the fore runner of the fluke.the original soft stick bait. My favorite way to fish them is texposed weightless. Kinda like a fluke but with fewer jerks and more of a slow glide pause.

Like a Boss.

A 45.5'' northern pike is a very nice catch, especially from the ice. Thats fish alone is easily worth a long day of ice fishing. Spearfishing on the ice sounds fun as well, but I prefer to do freedive spearfishing which is my favorite form of fishing(even more than bass fishing). Would still consider doing spearfishing above water since it looks fun.

Got some early holiday gift cash in time for the sale. Order placed.

I use a 5.2 to 1 Johnny Morris for the deepest divers with a lot of resistance but I could get by with about any gear ratio .

First person that opens up their gift has to start a new "loot" thread..new rule.

Be nice if people had their choice of interior colors.

Did you ship it yesterday? Was it shipped priority?

Financing aside, It's normally cheaper to buy electronics online than to pay full retail from the boat dealer.

The same warranty language is moving to Texas. Time to rest this horse, don't you think ?

A-Jay

Be aware that the TG76BN Mustad KVD's in bulk are not the good conical Ultra point. They are regular angle cut and not very sharp. And cheaper here. http://cedarrunoutdoors.com/25pk-6-kvd-tg76bn/

You got it, lava lamp next to the Lowrance Hook 4!

Funny, that's the same thing I say when I buy toilet paper in bulk.

State parks are perfect for this. Most are on fishable water, have low nightly cost and are secure.

Camp in a secured area and you should not have any problems.

That wouldn't be too bad. My brother in law caught a 45.5" 25lb pike off a tip up that looks like it would've been a riot. Another thing to consider that I enjoyed was spear fishing. I never got one, but it was fun sitting in a shanty over a huge hole just watching fish swim around not even aware that I was just above them.

Only had a few hours yesterday on La Cygne in the johnboat with a trolling motor only, but still did pretty good considering how limited I was in area and time.

Contrary to what all the "pros" do, I don't over think my set ups. I just grab a rod or two and go fish. I find it much easier to use a few rods at a time that than having the deck of my boat covered with a different rod for each bait.

Thread works well but can be hard to tie when a weed guard is in the way. If you go to my You Tube channel, I have a vide showing an easy way to wire tie jigs, I'll see if I can link it here. I use 26 gauge craft wire from Darice, it is a permanent black dyed copper wire and won't rust.