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One in the profile pic and here's another. She's one of them "mean unpredictable pit bulls" Not!

I just wanted to post a normal picture of Silver This is him filling out my wife's shirt BTW I love to see all the dogs that people have rescued. We rescued Silver from a shelter. He had been living there for over 2 years and no one would adopt him. We have had him for 2 1/2 years and we fall more in love with him every day.

I had scouted out a section of the Tidal Potomac River for a New Year's Day fishing trip. There was some ice on the water on the 30th and the 31st of December and the water temperature was down to 36 degrees but it was still accessible by kayak. There are crappie and yellow perch in this tributary so my plan was to catch either of the two species for the first fish of 2018 then grind out the rest of the day with a jig trying for the first largemouth bass of the year. So I get to the launch site bright and early on New Year's Day morning only to find Mom Nature had been misbehaving all night and she froze the place over. So I headed a couple of hours down south where a lake has a warm water discharge. I found 46 degree water and a few willing bass. First bass of the year on the left and a few others. It's a start!

I want to thank everyone for researching, purchasing and packaging all this stuff for strangers, then taking the time to post pictures with thanks. I think this gets better every year, and I'm never disappointed. It's always a solid group of members that commit to this and help it to make it what it is. Thank you to everyone that participates.

It’s that time of year to start putting stuff away here where I’m at. Snows on the ground and the lakes are starting to freeze if not already frozen. Firgured I would take a pic of my pitchin setups. Pair of MB Orochi XX Perfect pitch rods with a JDream and a SV103xs. Awesome setups. Highly reccomended.

The #1 key to consistently catching bass is between your ears not between the folds of your wallet! I personally know a dozen elite level anglers & a couple dozen guides, not a single one throws $400+ dollar rods, most are in the $250-300 range. A huge portion of sensitivity has to do with who is holding the rod & how the brain interpretation of what it's sensing.

I know there is already a catch pic thread and probably numerous other ways to brag about the best bass you have caught, but I thought it would be cool to have it all in one place. Feel free to post about how you caught it, or just post a picture. I caught my personal best, 4 lbs 9 oz Spot, using a tri-colored grub on a 1/4 oz ball head. I threw it down a rock wall and bam, PB.

I purchased three Kastking Speed Demons and three Kastking Royale Legend reels in mid-November. As a practice, I always tear down a new baitcast reel to check components, clean and use a synthetic lube for bearings, buff metal drag washers and lube gears. During this process I found the drag tension spring washers on all six reels improperly installed. While I had the reels apart I took some photos. I notified KastKing US and China support of this issue. After they researched, the production manager in China admitted they have been making an assembly mistake(see correspondence screenshot). Since Kastking has not posted anything in regard to this issue that I could find I decided to contribute. It will only take 4-5 minutes to check your reel and correct. Just flip the position of the spring washers to the proper alignment (see misalignment schematic). The correction should add quite a bit more range in drag tension.

Here is our rottie "puppy" biscuit....he was born on July 4th and turns four this year. The beware of the dog sign was already in place when we moved into our house this past April and i saw him on the fence and thought it was kind of funny...

This is Angus. Angus takes care of my wife and son when I'm gone all night or working for 48-72hrs straight. He is extremely protective. He has been my son's best friend since my son was 3 yrs old. Best family dog ever. He's a great dog and I owe him a lot. I hope he's around forever but that gray beard grows more every day.

I know.....pitiful isn't it.

Just picked up a 12 week old abominable snowman... Just got him from the breeder last week. He a Pekingese, our 3rd now in the last 27 years. Our first two lived to be 18+ and 16+. Last one had to be put down about 20 months ago and it finally felt right to begin thinking about another. He's actually just 4.5 pounds right now. This next pic will be a bit better perspective.

7-4 fishing during my lunch break with two co-workers fishing right beside me.

Fenway & Tucker took me for a walk the other day ~ Afterwords, Tucker told me I did good . . A-Jay

Not exactly what I was after but this fat Saugeye must have liked that black back and white Berkley Bad Shad I was throwing. He weighed in at 7.28lbs and put up a nice long fight. Man are they delicious eating.

11-11 Green Bass ~ ^^^^^ a 7-5 Brown Bass ~ ^^^^^^^^ and a 35lb Striped Bass ~ ^^^^^^ (not a PB but real sweet fish) A-Jay

Trip to the Rose Bowl fell through at the last minute, so I decided to take my dad out for a quick trip before the big game. Pretty awesome morning... Lots of chubby 2-3 pound spots and a beautiful 5 pound hookjawed rainbow...

Spots were loving good ol' Ned yesterday...

Hayley the dog and Beans the cat. Rescued Hayley when she was about 4..she’s 10 ish now and we’ve had Beans since she was a kitten. She’s pushing 14-15.

IMHO Its's conditions, location, presentation, size then color. Glitter on plastic is like if a ribbon tail is thin or fat, elongated or short and stubby. Or if a creature bait has 4 or 8 appendages. Too much for my simple mind to add to the list of considerations to decide what to throw where, when and how. Do I have some? sure. Were they successful? Yeah I guess. But I can't remember if I thought the glitter made all the difference. Maybe it did but I know for sure I didn't use it only because it had it. Just another opinion Mike

Me either. I have 2 old LE's that are broke. No clue how, just that they were broke when I pulled them out of the rod sock. They weren't broke in a fishing situation and I doubt due to manufacturer's defect as they were both 4+ years old when they broke. I won't send them back. Not their fault they broke. I would never pay $400 for a rod, but I have no problem spending $250-$300+ on components to build myself a $500+ rod.

A-Jay

I tune a lot of reels but don't over sell or make crazy claims regarding casting distance etc. in order of cost effectiveness my recommendation is: deep cleaning drag upgrade super tune(on appropriate models) model specific adjustments spool bearings misc i do all sanding by hand and polish with a soft buffing wheel. I'm a one man shop and do all the work personally. Feel free to call or email to put your mind at ease.

A relatively wealthy fishing buddy of mine uses cheap rods and reels, and does very well with them. He enjoys fishing and catching fish, as I do. He enjoys, like me, being outdoors. We both love going out and thinking about fishing and nothing else. The problems of work, home, politics, bills and money disappear as we concern ourselves with what bait to throw next and where to throw it. But I have an additional pleasure in fishing that he doesn't have. I'm talking about machine pleasure, the appreciation of refined mechanical function, the beauty of fine fit and finish, the smoothness of a reel, the liveliness of the rod working the bait, its lightness and sensitivity, the sublime way a fine rod bends to a big fish while maintaining confident power and control. My friend doesn't get that at all, just like many people cannot appreciate a superb automobile. To them it's just transportation. Sure, an important aspect of having great equipment has to do with what you can afford. But in most cases it's a matter of priorities. If you can appreciate the beauty and feel of a fine machine, if using a finely crafted $300-400 rod or reel sends shivers of pleasure down your spine, go for it. But if it doesn't matter to you, use cheap but functional stuff. It works nearly as well and you won't even know what you're missing.

Respectfully disagree with you and long island. The one word I'd use to describe the people who are unhappy in this life is "insecurity." To use Catt's post as an example, of his friend who won't be caught dead using less than the best, is a cycle that marketers and advertisers aim for and suck these people in with. Similar strategy as those women's magazines at the checkout that prey upon their insecurities of not being beautiful enough. The unhappy ones are those who feel that what they own, wear, drive, fish with, etc. defines them. I would guess that Catt could outfish (for bass) his friend with the Basscat any day of the week. I also would bet there are more guys than not who are up to their eyeballs in loan payments driving boats and tow rigs they actually cannot afford. Why is that? Do they actually think they won't be taken seriously as a bass angler unless they fish out of a 521? Do you think these same guys look down on anyone fishing out of an old jonboat/kayak/deep V? I make plenty of money at a job I love and own some high end rods, including the aforementioned St Croix Legend Elite/Extreme. Is it better than a $120 rod? Sure. Does it catch more fish than a $120 rod? Only if the St Croix was in Aaron Martens' hands vs mine, lol. We are all free to spend our hard-earned cash they way we please. But...If it ever comes down to me not wanting to be seen fishing with less than a Conquest/Aldebaran combo or fishing out of a Basscat, I'll quit fishing. In my opinion, what sucks is to be the person who "needs" to be seen wearing a Rolex, using an NRX, driving a BMW, etc. and is always looking to buy their way to happiness with the latest and greatest. Note to Catt: I hope you know I mean no disrespect to you or your friend. I was just using that as an example : )

A solid 4lber caught, in a small pond near the house I used to live in Pineville, La, on a red bug Ol' Monster.

Disgusting isn't it. Don't let the pictures fool you. The dog is pure evil.

I'll be happy to help if you'd like. If you send reels provide your screen name and I'll apply a members discount. As for Super Tuning, damage can occur if you're heavy handed but my process is very gentle. Contact me if you have any questions. Mike

I know a lot of fishermen who would never pay $400.00 for a rod, but they own 15 to 20 $200.00 rods. which is worse? I would say I am closer to the 15-20 $200.00 rods. I would have no problem paying $400.00 for a rod if I felt it was worth it. If I consider what I pay in Gas and tackle every year to fish,$400.00 is not that much.

Bass Mafia box is great for this...I keep my jigs, chatterbaits, and punch rigs in here. There are 5 to 7 jigs in each compartment. I really only use a couple different color variations, but there are probably 80-ish jigs in this box.

My 8 year old rescue girl. Hard to believe its already been 7 years since I brought her home. Best choice I have ever made.

The direction the industry is headed is just a result of an overflow of retail outlets looking to get their piece of the pie, only to discover the piece getting smaller and smaller. Also, the outlets you mention are department stores and their target consumer wasn’t the fisherman. The other factor to consider is on-line purchasers. If you look at the Christmas season, there has been a steady decline in retail sales. As far as that video channel, I don’t feel it hurts bass fishing. As Glenn mentioned, the introduction of children to the sport is dwindling. IMO a major reason is the demise of family, the traditional mom, dad and kids. When dad only has visitation every other week-end, a time consuming sport like fishing is far down on his list of things to do. Children hunger for information, entertainment and a connection to others. Sadly, family is no longer supplying those.

PB smallie at 7lb-6oz & PB largemouth at 11lb-2oz.

from face book: To all BASS'N GALS and BASS BELLES:To all the ladies that fished with either group, we are saddened to report that one of the pioneers of the world of competitive Womens Bass Fishing, FREDA ADAMS, passed away a few days ago. Freda was a friend to everyone, but for me she was one of the best friends I ever had. We traveled many miles together - she would talk - I would drive. She was instrumental in the formation of The Tulsa Bass Belles, the nation's first women's bass club. A natural born teacher, she and her husband, Roy were always trying to teach someone something about fishing. She had been in failing health for a while. Roy is confined to a Memory Facility and isn't in good health either. I will post more as arrangements are finalized and maybe post some memories of some of our crazy adventures. (Chris Houston)

My personal favorites to cast and catch with are a Texas rigged Ol' Monster(red bug and black red glitter) and a chatterbait(white, black and blue, breaking bream) with a Strike King Rage Swimmer(green pumpkin) trailer. Those are my confidence baits as well. Will be doing my best to add more baits to the favorites and confidence list this year. ?

PLASTICS !?

texas rigged worm

So I'm the only one that likes Thai hotties in Daisy Dukes catching snakeheads?

I'm not saying glitter doesnt make a difference at times . I dont think I used any glitter this past year . I used blue and some sort of purple shad color the most . I cant keep up with all the names they give plastics .

Trick worm T rigged, Candy bug

Should I be out and break a leader off and not have replacement material, or the rare occasion I'm on foot and want to help ensure snagged lures arent lost. Alot easier to straighten and replace a hook with 40lb braid than lose a discontinued or expensive bait.

Caught on a crappie minnow at Kentucky Lake during flood stage. Taxidermist weighed it just under 7lbs

No weights but 3 largemouth around 8 lb and a smallmouth probably close to 6. Top fish picture is from a mountain lake in East Tennessee 2 days after Christmas on a gold silver buddy. Middle fish was in east Texas on a Texas rig. Bottom fish was not very far from my house. Last two pictures are both in my late grandfathers 1957 Cherokee aluminum boat

Solid 5 lber here in central FL! ? And a measly 11 lber too. Flippin a punch rig into grass mats.

7lb 2oz. Southern Indiana.

what a beauty combo! '15 Metanium DC with avail 90mm handle that i already had and Orochi XX spinnerbait special my wife bought me for Christmas! I'll be slinging spinnerbaits into the wind like it's my job come spring time!

Got one of these beauties from Santa, perfect for one of my pitchin sticks. Looked so nice I ordered another one today!