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2017 was not a good "big fish" year for me. I caught lots of fish in the 4lb range but only two that broke the 5lb mark. I bass fish a whole lot, I spend a ton of time on the water, and usually I run into a couple big ones throughout the year because of that. Long story short, on Saturday, I caught my biggest bass of 2017, a 6-15. I caught it on a crappie jig on 6lb test, fishing vertically over a school of crappie, in 15FOW. And I hooked her in the pectoral fin (the one beside the gill). I have no idea what happened or how it happened, but I'm almost positive she didn't try to eat a crappie that was chasing my bait, because she was on there when I picked it up off the bottom to bring the jig up into the school. No idea at all on how the hook didn't tear out and we managed to get the fish in the net, but I'll take it! This fish was filled out and pretty too!

Since we're starting, I'll post my loot as well. Clayton knocked it out of the park! He must have really done his research. The Crock O Gator is a bait I've been wanting to try and he even got it in my favorite color. He also got me a Showerblow and 6th Sense squarebill in my go to color - bluegill. Then I also got some of his famous handmade vibrating jigs. Then he topped it off with some Damiki rig swimbait heads. I might have to get some more of those off him. Well done @Bluebasser86!

Oh my goodness, I love Jigs! Thank you! I received my package from Siebert Outdoors and these are great! I always have a jig and a Strikeback Spinner bait tied on. I'd had a couple of those before and really like them. My husband was real excited too. I have a feeling he'll be "borrowing" a couple for the next tournament. We will both have a jig tied on for the Southern Open.

George Snyder in Kentucy is credited for the first multiply geared bait casting reel in 1810. My 1st bait casting reel was a Langley Lure cast 330, 1955

I picked up a new Ballistic 3000 today. Happy birthday to me. It's going on my DX742SF. Come on Spring !!!!!

when i was much younger, i lucked up on what was considered the holy grail of fishing tackle at the time - a boron rod at a ridiculously low price at a store that was about to go out of business. to this day, i was more giddy over that purchase than i ever have been over any other expenditure on fishing tackle. and why not? i got a rolls royce for the price of a bicycle. boron rods were the "members only" jackets of the fishing world. and man o man did that rod ever catch fish. very quickly i became convinced that there were magical powers contained within that lightweight super sensitive boron awesomeness. sometimes i wondered if the rod was even crafted by human hands at all. perhaps it was left here by aliens who were watching from afar, conducting a bizarre experiment to see how a bumbling human would react to their advanced technology. in retrospect, i wonder if it could have shot lasers or somehow teleported fish out of the water into my waiting hands if i had only been smart enough to figure out how to harness its full potential. i cherished that rod like it was my only child, even down to polishing my fingerprints off of it after every outing. and i never, EVER let anyone else touch it. it was only natural for me to begin wondering if its powers extended beyond fishing. one day i decided to find out. i had met a girl that i was crazy about. and the kicker was that she actually liked to fish. i decided that she was the only human on the planet worthy of sharing a trip that included my precious magic fishing wand. this was the perfect storm. the girl of my dreams and the rod of my dreams on the same fishing trip. perhaps the rod's powers and luck would extend beyond the realm of fishing. initially, that hot summer day's trip exceeded all expectations with big fish after big fish reeled in, admired, and released. in my delirium, i proceeded to do the unthinkable. i handed her the rod to reel in a fish. biggest fish she had ever caught she said. she offered to go to the store to buy us a couple of cold beverages to celebrate. i wouldn't hear of her buying me a drink. "hold on, i got it, let me give you some money," i said. i laid down the rod and walked to the car, wallet in hand. "be back in a minute", she said with a smile that just made me melt. she turned the car around and headed for the store. too late, i saw it happening like it was in slow motion. she ran right over my precious boron rod!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! i screamed in a pathetic wail that was probably heard in the next county. not knowing what in the world she had done, and probably more than a little freaked out herself to hear a grown man scream like that, she slammed the car in reverse and headed back towards me at the speed of sound trying to figure out what the commotion was about - BACKING RIGHT OVER MY BORON ROD A SECOND TIME!!! i just fell to the ground beside the shattered rod and shattered dreams lamenting this horrible, sadistic twist of fate. why couldn't she just have run over me instead? it was over. it was all over. the mojo was gone. i just knew i would never catch another fish again. i have never felt such rage and betrayal. this woman deserved a fate worse than death. there was no choice. she HAD to be punished for committing this unspeakable act. so i married her. she has been paying for that rod for the last 25 years. and neither one of us could be happier about it.

I’ll get this started cause I’m like a little kids when new fishing stuff arrives and I had to open right away. If someone would like to let me know who sent this I will thank them.

Still working on it. I'm painfully aware of it. No ETA on a fix yet, as it's extremely complicated. The good news is that the periods of slowness have reduced. So we're chipping away at it.

Sad to hear they are stocking a non-native but hypothetically sterile fish for this problem. Though hydrilla is a non-native invasive as well. Reading the above comments regarding your game and fish officer sounds like they are on track. I think it is important for bass fisherman to remember they are not in the business of managing a lake just for us and our fishing opportunities but for the public and for all game species. So while weights or quality fishing for some has declined the opportunities for the public might have increased.

So, here is what I found out about Briery after talking to one of the conservation officers in charge of managing it plus several others: Every year they do a spring electric shock Spring of 2017 they noticed # of bass is up, most bass in size of 18 - 20", however trophy bass population is down. Last shock they got one 24" (8-9lbs), and a lot of 18-20" in 4-6lb range...quantity up, trophy sizes down. Trophy sized bass in Briery are down for following reasons: 1st stocking in 80's and those bass got huge because little competition 1st stocking started dying out in 2000's 2nd stocking group was in 90's, again these grew big due to lack of competition 2nd group started dying off recently Subsequent stockings did not get as large and chances are will not grow as big as first two stockings due to increased competition and maturity of lake. As lake ages fish normally are smaller for reasons stated. Grass Carp & Hydrilla Hydrilla is invasive vegetation and chokes out spawning areas, natural grasses/weeds and uses lots of nutrients that will normally fuel plankton which is imoprtant to baitfish food chain. Fisherman loved hydrilla because they can catch alot of LM fishing its edges, but it comes at big cost to fisheries ecosystem and health. There was more bass when they had tons of hydrilla but the fishery was less healthy and was not sustainable. Grass carp were introduced 10 years ago to control the hydrilla which was choking out natural grass and weeds. The grass carp have done their job and the conservation folks are concerned about lack of vegetation. The grass carp are starting to die out. 1/3 of 1st stocking of grass carp are dead and rest are aging so not as threatening as younger carp. Helping Briery With hydrilla under control they have noticed an increase in natural pond grasses and weeds. They also have a plan to reintroduce natural grasses shortly. The lake is stocked with 250,000 1" - 4" bluegill each year and they have reported increases in natural bluegill which is very positive for the lake and bass - Looks like I am switching to Blugill patterns from shad:) Bottom line is they are aware of anglers complaining about less trophy fish but they are increasing the numbers of fish in 18-20" range. Of the local lakes: Briery has most quality fish Sandy River - most trophy size Lake Burton - most huge fish but are reportably very difficult to catch - sounds like a challenge:) .

when i was a kid a friend from out of town came and visited and we went fishing in a local pond. we were probably 12-13. he had never fished before and i remember he hooked up to a little bream, and instead of reeling in the line/fish, he just turned away from the lake and sprinted while holding the fishing pole until the fish came out of the lake. i just remember thinking "where's he going??" i guess there's more than one way to skin a cat.

My wife started fishing with me after I bought my first boat, [an old 14 ft sylvan v hull I gave 650 for] all she had caught the first 6 or so times out were small Crappie and a few bluegill. I told her we would try to go after some big bluegill one Sunday Morning so I stopped at the bait shop and bought a few dozen waxworms. She had only fished with lures to this point. I baited her hook and told her to just watch her bobber and when it started moving wait for it to go under and then she would have a fish. She sat there for a few minutes and ask me "is this all there is to this?" I said yes this is bobber fishing' well she starts daydreaming and looking around at the birds and such when I told her, Gayle, your bobbers gone. she pulls back on the rod but gets something she didnt count on, something VERY big on the other end. She was screaming what do I do! I told her you have watched River Monsters, pull up and crank down, about that time it took off nearly pulling the rod out of her hand, she grabbed the rod toward the tip I told her NO! It will break your rod keep your rod tip up, she raised the rod so far back she got the line tangled around the hood on her sweatshirt, yelling help me help me. So I took her rod and got the line untangled from her hood, handed the rod back to her and told her its your fish you land it. She did manage to get it to the boat and I was surprised to see a 28 Inch long Carp! She said after it was in the boat, Oh my god my heart is pounding, my hands are shaking! I told her, see fishing is not so boring now is it. We caught several more large carp that day all on waxworms. She has came a long way since then and after 3 full seasons can now hit her marks when casting, and spends lots less time in the trees and bushes, and on several trips has out fished me. She is still my sweetheart.

It's simple addition: 4 hours of free time + 42 degree water + nominally clear turbidity + Siebert Finesse jig + Cosmic Chunk trailer = chunky largemouths. First Pic: 4 lb 9 oz Second Pic: 5 lb 11 oz

If your boat has open cleats, then there is a significant probability, especially if fishing with kids and others not tuned in to the potential, that you will have a rod broken by its getting under the open cleat end and simply picked up. Note the pictures. I have such a boat, and could not find retractable cleats that would work on my boat, so I searched for another solution. If you have some of the flexible polyurethane foam, about 1 inch thick, that comes as packing with electronics (I never throw it away-has so many uses), you have a solution. It is light, clean, doesn't flake or quickly degrade, and snaps on and off in a wink. Cut a piece of the foam out that can enclose the cleat and be about two inches longer than the cleat. Then cut out the center to allow it to be placed over the cleat. Leave them off until on the water, storing them in a handy place, then before fishing, cover the cleats. Piece of cake. Note the photos, (note the image, not the title, I screwed up on titles) and if you have questions, please ask. This simple, free, solution can save you a broken rod.l

Yeah but can't blame him for not wanting to get in trouble.

There is a another site I'm starting to like just as much. Can't talk about here though.

You could always ship some to yourself. ?

Baitcasters have been around for a long time, for sure. The early ones weren't nearly as sophisticated as today's reels. My first baitcaster was a Shakespeare 1920 Wondereel made sometime in the early '50s. No free spool, zero bearings, retrieve ratio of about 2.4:1, all this on a 5' steel rod, but I still caught fish with it. Today's baitcasters are mechanical marvels in comparison. Tom

Waaaay back when I had a friend who performed exactly zero (0) maintenance on his fishing gear. It was not then and to this day it is not uncommon for him to fish with only half a spool of line. On this day his line was looking mighty shabby. I said too him, "Your line needs to be replaced." Nope. So we're fishing a deep pool on a river. He's using a Rooster Tail (he always uses a Rooster Tail). He hooks into a nice bass. As expected, *POP*. Line breaks. My friend is bumming. I refrain from saying anything. We continue to fish. The fishing begins to slow and I elect to fish the far end of the pool with a night crawler under a bobber. It isn't long before my bobber goes down and I pull in a good bass. One of the better ones I'd caught in my early fishing career. HUGE by our meager standards. Low and Behold! What does it have in its mouth? A rooster tail! I take it out and hand it to him, saying "You want your lure back?" Perhaps it was funnier at the time but back then...it was hilarious!

I know most of your are going to say not to modify my 10' Jon, but I will be using it in small lakes and ponds in dead calm water when i don't want to launch my big boat/there is no ramp/it is too cold for the SUP. My boat is a 1036 Sears. I do need to replace the transom at some point. It has two metal benches and a front section that is like a standing platform. I want to make an elongated platform out of platform with carpeted plywood. I want a few hatches for storage, rod straps and maybe a pedestal seat. Will either use a 55lb thrust bow mount or a 55lb transom. What do you guys think? anything else? this is kind of what I want.

Went fishing with a friend (who really wasn't much of an angler but enjoyed it all the same) in a 12 foot john on a small sluice lake. We weren't catching anything for about 4-5 hours, tried a bunch of different stuff, no luck. So we are sitting about 8 feet off a bank casting parallel to it when he decides the heck with it and rears back and lets fly with his mightiest casting effort all day trying to break the distance record and his lure ends up about twenty feet up the bank in some briars and bushes. So I look at him and say "yeah, that's where they'll be Art, up in the bushes up there......."

Did he also offer to take the rods off your hands at a much discounted price? You are at the right place to find out the truth. This guy obviously doesn't know what he is talking about. Wait! Maybe he meant the rods were too much for the small bass in MD. If you agree, ship them to me. I will pay shipping costs. Lure ratings on a rod aren't always accurate. I've got at least one rod that won't handle the low lure rating worth a darn. Some rods handle weights quite a bit over their rating. The only way to know for sure about yours is to experiment. You have purchased a couple fine rods. Enjoy them.

I love seeing this thread every year. Can't wait to see more of what folks have gotten.

Are you a fisheries biologist? I'd also venture a guess that the Fisheries biologist who is responsible for managing the lake knows a lot more than you do about the health of the lake. Everything you posted is anecdotal "evidence" at best and using tournament results isn't always the most scientific approach to answering a problem. I also noticed that the article you quoted mentioned aquatic vegetation, not specifically hydrilla.

Here is a couple: My husband and I were fishing our Weekend Warriors Bass tournament, which is a monthly draw type tournament and we never know which lake we get until that morning. This time we drew Lake Gentry. A fairly tough lake and at that time we had to go by State Rules which was 1 each over 22" and the others had to be under 22' for a 5 bass limit. For one of the first times, we actually got our limit by noon. So Kevin said we could eat a little snack before fishing more. So I plop down in my seat and eat a bacon cheddar cracker. While I'm eating, I throw a senko out by some Kissimmee Grass and said I'll just let the senko do it's stuff and just sit there. I just then grab a second cracker and the line I have my finger under does a little "tic". Then I do what he calls my "ejection seat" move and test the line. Fish. I rear back with a hook set and you see that deep water swirl and I'm "Oh My Goodness"! I end up with a 6 pound 2 ounce bass. A gentry giant. After I put it in the live well I feel a heaviness below my throat and I'm looking around for my cracker. Turns out I swallowed that cracker and felt like it was stuck there the rest of the day. I lost big bass by 2 ounces by another team that broke off the braid while pitching in lily pads and ended up hand lining their bass in. The other I call the Ballad of Little Red. I was in the Paralyzed Veterans Bass tournament Citrus Slam this year. I recommend it if you haven't done this. I went as a co-angler for a paralyzed boater. I paired up with Jason Swanson of Texas with his service dog Buddy Swanson. We were in his Lund boat and it has really a big live well. The first day, they do all the fishing but you can net, suggest locations and baits, and help them cull their fish. He caught one on a frog and then after I gave him a fluke with some bait scent, he had another 12" . I put a red culling tag on it and the first bass was a lot bigger so I joking told it not to eat the little one. After putting a couple more in, the little red one was still the smallest and it was getting chased from one end of the well to the other. I told Jason that little red one sure needs to get culled soon. We managed to get a nice 2 pounder and I took the small bass out and turned it loose in an open spot of hydrilla, telling it to go, grow up, see ya next year, it swam down a bit. So Jason continues fishing that grass line and about 10 minutes later we hear a big splash. About 40 yards behind us an Osprey was in the water and started flapping to fly off. We both watched and saw it had a fish. We watched it flying off with the struggling fish and both said, its a bass he got.. about a 1 pounder... then we both looked at each other and said "Little Red!" Poor little Red. Through out the rest of the day we would now and then shake our head and say "Poor little Red". (Jason won 5th place in the open and we both won 5th in the team competition on day two).

I was going for perch/bluegill colors hoping that was the main forage you have there. That buzzbait is my favorite of theirs, caught some really big ones on it. The swimbait heads are actually ones I made too. Just got the mold in time to send you a couple

Don’t ya just hate it when that happens? Personally I’d never ‘fess up; just grin and show the pic! Great fish by the way!

Way to scrape those big bass off the bottom . I bet it felt good to set the hook on those chunks .

Went out with a buddy Friday morning for about 4 hours. I caught three nice spots, Only two pictured as I out-caught my buddy 10-1 and he was no longer interested in taking my picture, haha. 1st picture - 2.5 lbs spot caught drop shotting a tree. 2nd picture - 2 lbs spot dead sticking a roboworm

Hahahahahaha. Accurate description. Word of mouth travles faster than the speed of light in TN. If your neighbors cousin has a flat tire you will hear about it before he makes it home

3 guys were trolling for musky on lk. st. clair all morning without a bite. They tried different sizes and styles of baits to no avail. Over by the shoreline they heard a lady yelling and looking like she was panicked. They motor over to see what was wrong and if they could help. She said her little dog was out swimming and she heard a big splash, she turned around, and the little dog was gone. One of the anglers asked the lady what color her dog was.

You don't use that much leader material, so its cost isn't much of an issue. With your experience and priority for abrasion resistance, I think leader material is the right choice. One thing that stiffer leader material provides is tangle resistance, especially with lures like blades. Since it is stiff it tends to stay straight instead of bending into the hooks.

Caught this fish and was wondering what you guys thought it would weight, be honest please. It was 20in and I'm around 5'10"-5'11" if that helps.

Sorry, but that woman howling was pretty irritating. 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr9ie2J2690

What @NHBull said! I suspect my rationale is considerably different from his though. I started with Power Pro, then tried Spiderwire, but settled on Sufix 832. “Why?” You ask. (Even if you don’t ask, I’m going to tell you.) I am not the world’s most coordinated caster and occasionally heave one out there, get a magnificent amateur overrun, duck as my lure comes whistling back past my ear, and start picking the kinks out of the gnarly wad of line that envelopes my reel. As I pick through the mess, I may find several kinks in the line. Sometimes they are many feet into the tangle and I don’t always remove all of them. (If I did, I’d end up fishing with a glorified cane pole.) The point is that those kinks are serious weak points in the line and may cause even 50-pound line to snap at the most inopportune moment ... like when fighting a fish. In my experience, the 832 seems to hold up much better to such abuse. This is a subjective evaluation based on my personal experience only. Probably a good caster would not agree, but I can only relate what I have observed. Other than that, the lines all performed similarly. Subjectively, I feel the Sufix 832 seems to be a little “limper” with less memory; I couldn’t offer any hard proof. I’m just guessing, but I’d bet that most name-brand braids will do the job.

Shimano makes great products. They are highly recommend in the fishing world as well as the cycling world. I had a curado 200 and it was a workhorse. Smooth drag great castability, 0 problems. But it's like dogbone said, it didn't have that feel that I wanted for the rod I wanted to mount it on. If I had to only use Shimano I'd be ok with it and catch just as many fish. But I fish for fun and wanna use what is going to be fun and most satisfying for me because I want to catch them how I want to and with what I want to. Any reputable company that has been named here has a reel that will fit your style and budget. You just have to use trial and error to find that perfect fit. Mine is the daiwa tatula line of reels.

nice! Someone did their research it looks like.

Went out with a buddy of mine Friday morning. We got on the water at 9 and headed back in at 1. Launched out of Jones Valley. To my surprise there were about 10 rigs already parked along the ramp. We headed way up the Pit arm of the lake and settled on an inlet filled with trees. I starting fishing using a drop shot roboworm, while my buddy was fishing grubs. I instantly hooked up on a small bass, jigging my rig right at the base of a tree. By the end of the day, I had caught 10 bass, while my buddy ( who refuses to drop shot) only landed 1. We missed about as many strikes as we landed and saw trout chasing our baits several times. I found most of my success was deep, in the 35-50 foot range and the water had a cooled quite a bit since my last trip (54.5 degrees). I landed 5 keepers, with three nice spots, 1 at 2.5 lbs and the other two right at 2 lbs. I have two pictures, but my buddy was not in the mood to take a third picture of me, haha.

I use Shimano almost exclusively. I have a few Shimano 200ks and I think they are great, they operate smoothly and are durable. Being a long time Shimano guy, I'd say the quality of reel is without a doubt worth the price. I use my Shimanos in both Salt and freshwater and I've never had any issues with corrosion. Troy

"Think about this, the record bass caught on the MLF circuit is 8lbs 5 oz. These are the top pros fishing the best lakes year round. " Okay, I've thought about it. They don't fish year round like a recreational angler can. Speaking of their chances of catching an MLF record fish, they only fish on scheduled tournament days and they are told where they are allowed to fish and what hours to fish. I'm not restricted - I can pick my days, my hours, my body of water and who I fish with. If I want to fish the full moon in July I might just catch a 10 pounder at 3 a.m. when it's nice and cool. I don't even have to try to fill a limit - I can throw nothing but big baits for big fish and if I don't catch anything it's no big deal. There's always tomorrow - I don't have to wait until the next tournament. Heck, it's amazing they've managed an 8.5. John

Only 6 hours away. The wife and i will definitely try to make this one!

True That. A-Jay https://www.facebook.com/HammerDownBoating/videos/1538761672840057/

I think staying with SX1 and FX2 is your best bet. I know I read somewhere that Siglon means practicality so I would think that the assumption of possibly being a budget line is correct.

I don't what kind of weather you guys are having in NY but I can't imagine it's better ice producing weather than Michigan so it's kinda crazy somebody would try it out! We were having good weather for it and probably could've been out before Christmas if things would've stayed the same, but we got 8 inches of snow which acts as insulation and slows ice production way down. Most of our lakes are covered with ice and snow, so maybe to the untrained person they see snow covered lake with just below freezing temps and think it's safe.

Just to put things in perspective In 2014 bought Tohatsu 40 HP 4 stroke brand new for slightly under $6,000!

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...

I have used my bibs on the snow and they are far better than what is out there for ski/snowboard. For rain boots I use Muck low cuts

waterproof hiking boots

Nice Bass ~ Congrats on the New Personal Best. Welcome to the '8' lb club. btw - although not a requirement - I'm pretty sure you're allowed to smile. A-Jay

I need more hooks