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Today was my first full day back from vacation up north. Brrrrrr. Back in the balmy 24 degrees I got an 18" smallmouth on my second cast. Actually cast out and set the rod down to gnaw on a frozen cookie for a few minutes. Picked the rod back up and thought I missed a bite but figured I was crazy. Reeled tight and jigged and the fish hit again

-Siebert Dredge dock rocker and brush jig packs -Norman DD22’s and HD DD22’s -Strike King Tour grade buzzbaits, skipping jigs and finesse jigs -Rage Tail Rage Bugs -Seaguar Tatsu -Seaguar Blue Label -Cabela’s Tournament ZX Crankbait Rod -Cabela’s Tournament ZX Topwater/Jerkbait Rod -Dobyn’s Fury 733C (I might return this, I kinda thought this would be heavy enough for a Trig/Jig rod but I don’t think it will be for me) -Shimano Curado K 6.4:1 -Daiwa Tatula SV 7.3:1 -Abu Garcia Orra2 Winch 5.2:1 -KVD Line condiitoner -LC RTO Squarebill -Bass Pro Jersey to match my dad’s when we fish tournaments together

The search resumed as of safe light this morning. But still nothing found. The waves out there are insane right now and have been all week. Going to be really hard to find him until this wind lays down some. Still hoping for a miracle on the Big O.

We went to wolf today since we figured La Cygne would be a zoo after Blue posted those giants The lake is still way down, 2 feet deep from the ramp out to where the old no wake buoy was before it was blown away last summer. Fishing was decent, jerk baits were the best producing lure.

Pewter heads were ladle cast in Do-it's light wire football mold. Owner 5313 hooks used. Bear and bunny fur.

My buddy @basshunter0731 and I try to get out every year for his birthday the first few days of the new year. We both had the 2nd off and with the temps going to soar all the way to the low 20's with light winds, we decided to make it happen. To give an idea of how cold it has been, we had planned to go to a different power plant lake, but as we pulled out of my road and I called the gate house, I was informed the lake was FROZEN almost 100 yards out from the ramp and there was no way to launch. A quick about face in the truck (and our hopes of catching much), we headed to the other nearby power plant lake. A good portion of the ramp cove was frozen, but half the ramp was thawed and we were able to dump the boat into the 36 degree water. Of course, since it was -2 outside the boat wouldn't start, so we started trolling towards the main lake in hopes the warmer water would let the motor fire up. The first main lake bank we got to is a rock/clay/sand bank with pretty good depth. I was surprised when just a short distance down the bank I was met to mushy resistance when I lifted my shakyhead rod. A hook set and a few cranks of the ice maker that used to be a spinning reel, and I had my first bass of 2018! Still no dice on starting the motor after we fished that bank to the end, so we made a long, slow troll across to the hot water outlet, where we found no bass, no real desirable fish of any kind, just large black buffalo everywhere. We did both score bookend flatheads on jigging spoons, which Jon brought home for his parents to enjoy for dinner. 3 hours into our day, we were pretty well frozen, as was our gear. We thought about heading home and working on my jonboat, but decided to try one of our most reliable banks. I got bit right away on a shakyhead off the main lake point, but didn't hook the fish. Not far down the bank, another bite and another miss. Next cast to the same spot, another thump, and this time I stuck the fish, and it barely moved. I knew it was a good one, played it carefully and backreeled each time she surged, but it wasn't until she was in the net that I realized how large she was. The scale said 7.43, my 4th largest ever in Kansas. Jon cast back to the same spot and got his first bass of 2018 on a shakyhead. We caught a bunch like this one. Caught fish all down the bank before we ran out of soft water, turned around and right as we got back to the point we started on, Jon bowed up on a hard pulling fish that would not give up. His first big one of the year went 4.90. We thought about making the long troll back to the ramp since the motor still hadn't started, but we'd both missed a few the second pass down the bank, so we really felt like we'd be leaving them biting if we did that. I made a switch to one of my magnum shakyheads with a Rodent, wasn't long before I stuck a good fish that I had to handline out of a snag because my line broke in the reel on the hookset. A few minutes later after I restrung my rod and retied my bait with numb fingers, I made a cast to a rock slide and my line was moving towards deep water. Another immovable fish met my hookset and made the slow trip towards deeper water as I inched her towards the boat. When Jon got the net under her, I thought I might have my second 7 pounder of the year already, but she came up just a bit short at 6.72. We caught several more before we'd had all the cold we could take and trolled about 3/4 of a mile back to the ramp, and actually caught 2 or 3 more in the process. I dropped Jon on the dock to go get the truck and I decided to try the motor one more time, of course it fired up Going to be a tough trip to beat, but I look forward to trying

Seaguar Smackdown

Fishing season over, time to break out the pocket knife. Hootie

Just some cast to catches some zoomed in/slow motion topwater strikes and a couple zoomed in on smallies jumping 2 foot outta the water. One throws the hook too pretty cool to see. Tubes/swimbait a d sexy dawg were baits used. Thanks for watching.

I have switched from fluro to Yo Zuri hybrid.

Wise choice, NO tournament or fish is worth loosing your life and or boat. If you have to ask is it safe, than you've answered your own question.

So here you go fella's beautiful day yesterday so I went played for a few hours midday. 13 bites landed 10, biggest was 15inch smallest was 11 inch. Water depth was 8-14 feet. Baits trap 1/2 chrome and black back Flashy swimmer with a kvd watermelon red coffee scent swimbait 4 inch Bass were holding on lay downs and standing stumps right on the edge of a drop off from 8-14. Won't be much longer fella's it will be time.

Mike, to be truthful, there are so many ways to rig each setup that it is impossible to give you all of them. Or even one. Of course, you will receive a lot of suggestions and I will give you some, but you need to figure out the line, baits and techniques you have the most confidence and then use them on each setup. That is the fun part of bass fishing. Sometimes the setups are fantastic and other times they aren't. It is a matter of trial and error. And it changes by the hour and the day. Now, for spinning rigs the pros are going to braid, more and more. Some with a leader and others tie direct to the bait. They are using 8 pound braid for plastics. Braid has excellent transmission properties and less line twist. You can use some mono as a backing on your spinning reels to keep the braid from slipping. As for techniques, you can try shaky head, drop shot, Texas rigs, MOJO, Ned Rig, Jika Rig, the Biffle Bug and any other technique you wish to try. Search these techniques on the Forum and on YouTube. As for baits, trick worms, finesse worms, brush hogs, lizards, flukes, Senkos, YUM Dingers, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits (Shad Raps are great for spinning rigs) frogs, toads, Z-Bombs in any color of your choice. Just understand that there are three basic colors depending on water clarity: watermelon for clear; green pumpkin for stained; and Junebug for stained and dirty water. Then there are the offshoots of these basic colors like watermelon candy, green pumpkin with black flake, grape, etc. You can drive yourself nuts with all of the available colors. As for hooks, you may want to go with a jig head (1/8 ounce to 1/4 ounce) to use for your shaky head; a light weight hook for the drop shot; and any hook of your choice for the rest of the plastics' presentations. For Texas Rigs, use a tungsten bullet weight. The lightest weight necessary to get the bait to the bottom. For Senkos and YUM Dingers, learn how to rig them "wacky style" so you can catch multiple fish on them. Now hang on. You will be getting some excellent suggestions for each rig from the guys and gals on the Forum. Just remember to experiment until you find what you have the most confidence in using. Good luck and the Bait Monkey loves you!

The only thing I've got lately is a pack of yum dingers.

I got my 8 year old a daisy red Ryder this Christmas, I had one at his age and that was my entire life in the summer back then, well that and fishing ?

Similarly, I picked up a new old stock TFO GTS dropshot casting rod and am waiting for my Revo LTX to arrive...a bit more on the budget side than an Aldebaran/Inshore, but should do the trick for the light stuff.

I recently began an all baitcasting quest and quickly ended it when I saw light-lure baitcasting becoming expensive and obsessive. For some, it works. For me, I want it to work. It just hasn't yet.

Haven't tried it in years but I bet I could. But I still wear a PFD every outing. As a kid grew I up on the water, swimming all the time. First step to learning it was realizing that if you lay on your back and relax, and gently work the arms and legs, you won't sink. Now I wear PFD without question, every time, yak or powered boat. I'm not a kid anymore, and regardless, when things go wrong they can go wrong fast. Like seat belts, helmets, fire extinguishers, etc. a PFD is cheap insurance. The older I get the more respect (or fear) I have for the power of the water. That is NOT a personal flotation device.

Holy smokes, that's funny! Colin Ross!!

U.S. Coast Guard 2015- present. Tight lines

Like most things...there really isn't a best because it's going to depend a lot on what you're trying to do and what you like. All the top end braids are very good...but despite that, I keep coming back to Suffix 832 for a lot of my rigs because it sinks and because it comes in the bright green I like to use for line watching. I'm not wild about spider wire...which is more of a tactile thing for me...I don't like the way it feels. I didn't care for the way Gliss looked after a season...it looked fraid and fuzzy...never had a break off, but the look didn't inspire confidence. I tend to use mostly Suffix 832, with some PowerPro (thought that is mostly getting replaced with PowerPro Slick 8) and I have a couple reels spooled with Smackdown and I have no complaints with that either. I have a spool of Max Cuatro ready to go for when I either buy a new reel or some of the older braid needs replacing...but since I use leaders almost 100%, replacing braid because it's worn just doesn't happen for me very often. I have reels going on 5 seasons with the original braid. Couple other useful thoughts: As noted above, I use leaders almost exclusively for two reasons: Toothy fish shred braid. Abrasive structure (mostly rocks around here) nicks braid. I look at braid a little differently than most fishermen as break strength is not my key criteria, rather I use line diameter. If a reel is in its sweet spot with 125 yards of 12 lb. mono, I'm typically going to spool it with braid that has the same diameter as 12 lb. mono, or close. I'm not going to go down to something close to 12 lb. braid as I don't want 300+ yards of braid on my reel because: No freshwater fish I'm going to chase is going to take out that much line, and There's no reason to incur the expense for at least 2x the line...probably more...and there's zero reason to me to waste time spooling the reel 1/2 way up with mono either...really...why bother? Another reason I don't like this braid is that it cuts my fingers...on the other hand, it makes decent floss for when a little piece of that chicken drumstick I ate for lunch gets stuck in my teeth... Hope that helps a little.

Try swimming with your cloths on including shoes, you don't fall overboard in a swim suit. Tom

I don´t always use braid... But when i do... It´s always Sufix Eight thirty two... It rimes because it´s true...

I've never like tournaments. I always preferred fishing shows (Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston etc) to tournament fishing from a young age. There will always be those who would rather compete in a given sport or hobby however. I think a similar effect has been had on the lifting industry. I love powerlifting and youtube has exposed a lot of new young people to the sport, but it hasn't really increased the amount of people showing up at meets to compete. Kids do "Mock meets" alone at the gym and then post them on youtube. Personally, with powerlifting I prefer the competitions, with fishing I do not. I don't think tournament fishing has anything to worry about. The competitors are out there.

Hypothermia is always a possibility. It just takes longer in warmer water. A PFD won't prevent hypothermia, it can prevent drowning and will make it easier for someone to find you. You can drown in 3" of water if you get thrown out of the boat and land face down unconscious.

I have plans for a BC to throw Slender Pointers, Shad Raps and Bitsy tubes. I've settled on building a St Croix Inshore ML and probably getting an Aldebaran.

I have 2 G. Loomis Escape travel rods and love them. yes, a 1 piece G. loomis rod would fish better. but these rods are pretty d**n good. worth the investment IMO.

Call me paranoid if you want but what if a high speed boat hits you? Just wear the PFD all the time as you never know what life is going to throw at you. My son and I canoe on a river that sees a lot of jet ski and water ski activity. Best be sure we have our PFD’s on as these boaters are often looking backwards at their skiers and not at what they could run into. Even if you are in a small lake with no speedy traffic you could pass out from low blood sugar, sunstroke, etc and fall into the water. The PFD saves you from being a tragic accident. Just wear the d**n thing!

I once took a guy out with me that only brought casting gear. We were dropshotting in 55'. I'd open the bail and drop my bait. He'd drop it at the same time and peel, peel, peel, peel line off. I'd be on the bottom and hooked up before his would be half way to the bottom. After an hour of this, he borrowed a spinning outfit off of me.

^^^This is too funny. He's got the hair for it.

I’m sure glad the 9ers have a picture of the quarterback who will lead them into the future

I swim a mile (+ -) three times a week to keep in shape.

I've heard/read many discussions on adding some kind of seatbelt restraint/harness system to your boat. Since supposedly most of the damage is done while being ejected and hitting things on the way out. Then the actual being in the water possibly stranded part. First thing that comes to mind is capsizing and being buckled into the cockpit. But, then again, I've never seen a bass boat really capsize. Thoughts on this?

I crank with either a 7', 7'4" or 7'10" Med Hvy Quantum Tour KVD Cranking rod, depending on the presentation & application. (Seen here in my hand & on deck) The composite blanks blend of E-Glass and carbon delivers the parabolic glass actions I prefer without sacrificing sensitivity and backbone that carbon provides. And something that is often not mentioned is that these rods will launch a bait quite a ways with minimal effort. I really enjoy that. A-Jay

Niiiiice

This summer was a big wake up call for me when launching my boat and the rope snapped. There went the boat. I was a great swimmer as a kid and hadn't swam since I was 20 or so. Fast forward almost 15 years and my 7 year old and I are the only one's on this secluded lake with no houses and I had no choice but to go after my boat. I stripped down to my underwear so clothes were no issue. But factor in added weight over the years, totally out of shape, like @slonezp a destroyed shoulder from hockey, and the fact I hadn't swam in almost 15 years I'll be the first to admit I wouldn't make it too long with clothes and no PFD. Quite honestly if it weren't for my ability to float on my back (which I wasn't sure I could still do) and rest I might not had made it to my boat and probably would've drowned right there in front of my son. My point is just because you could and did as a kid doesn't mean you still can. Like @A-Jay said try it out in a controlled environment with somebody else. Swimming isn't like riding a bike!

100% Cajun & a bit of a survivalist ? Been in boats that sunk, capsized, flipped, run into a Ferry Boat, been 135 miles offshore in the Gulf with no steering, & rode out server thunderstorms. Swim? Why certainly! Wear PFD? Always!

Going over the side is always a life threatening event; especially when the air & or water temps start to drop. During the warmer months, most of us sort of laugh when we or a someone else goes in, but in the cold, it's no joke. Having the ability to get back to your boat and then board it unassisted is crucial. If you strike an underwater object while on plane and your boat sudden slows or worse - stops, without any type of restraint, you are first going to strike whatever is in front of you (at the speed the boat was initially traveling) Then you may or may not go overboard. There's a decent chance you'll have some type of injury as a result of that impact either way. If you do go in, your life jacket may be the only thing keeping you from slipping below the surface - hopefully help can come to recover you. Your ability to 'swim' in these scenarios isn't as important as having that life jacket on. Going in the drink while fishing (not on plane) can be bad if you can't swim a lick; especially without a life jacket on. Having a boarding ladder (or knowing how to use your motor's trim) to get back on board is very beneficial too. If you've never tried to do any of this, though I hope you never really do for real) I'd encourage you to try it in a warm 'controlled' environment with at least one capable adult present. You may find that pulling your soaking wet full clothed body up out of the water and onto the deck of a bass boat is challenging; even when not hypothermic and or physically injured. Bottom line, IMO learning to swim is a solid plan, at least a little. Simulating the event and ensuring you're able to save yourself in the event the unthinkable happens, can't hurt either. Sometimes there's nothing we can to - Bad stuff happens to good people all the time. However, many a 'strong swimmer' has tragically met their demise by not being prepare otherwise for an accident. Stay Safe A-Jay

Drop shot is a terminal rig with lots of variations. Let cover, weight, line etc determine the best tackle for the circumstances just as you would a t rig etc.

I’m a pretty good swimmer, have been since I was a kid. I was a typical bass guy, life jacket on while running in tournaments, off while casting, almost never on when not in a tournament. Never had any close calls or anything but then I had a kid. Once he was a couple years old, he was in the boat with us all the time and obviously he always has worn a life jacket. When he was about 4, I got the “ why do I wear a life jacket but not you dad”? It really made me think, if something ever happened, he’d be in a bad situation if he was floating around and his dad was at the bottom of the lake ( thinking the worse possibility here). I went right out and bought my first inflatable pfd, and I wear it constantly, with or without him in the boat now. Once you’ve worn them a time or two, you don’t even notice it on. I don’t know how anyone with kids onboard, good swimmer or not would go out without wearing one. And if you can’t swim, you need to seriously think about why your not using one.

Some in/out play is normal. You probably just never noticed it before. If you're really concerned I'll be happy to have a look for you.

A wise man ( @NHBull ) steered me to Sufix 832 braid and for me it provides everything I require for my fishing. In my opinion, it seems to be stronger (or at least more resistant to failure due to kinks from my backlashes) than two other lines (Power-Pro and Spiderwire) that I tried. It also seems supple and more fade-resistant than the other two. I would say the Spiderwire would be a close second for me. You’ll get a lot of opinions on this and ... guess what? At some point you have to decide for yourself how far you want to go in the line selection process to decide which line you prefer. I tried three affordable alternatives and settled on one. And as long as I have no problems, I’ve vowed not to try any more braids. So there, Bait Monkey!!! Good luck!

Have you ever watched a Senko fall? They have a ton of action, not unlike a wiggling worm or leech falling through the water or a quivering, dying fish as it sinks to the bottom. What does a chartreuse spinnerbait look like in nature? Or a buzzbait? What does a Brush Hog look like? I don't honestly care as long as the fish eat it. A lot of guys call the Zman TRD "The Turd", not only because it's easy to mistake the TRD for the word, but also because it's a lot of what they look like.

International: 9-13 Domestic: 6-3

You get touch screen (but not multi-touch, IE no pinch-zoom) and backtrack with the Elite, but no ethernet capability. You get ethernet, but no backtrack or touchscreen on the Helix. Other than those features, they are pretty similar...Retail price wise, the HB is cheaper. Biggest deciding factor would be ethernet, if you want to connect to another unit via ethernet. If that is something you want, only the Helix has that option. User friendly is a little subjective, I've never used a graph that was 'hard' to use or navigate. I will say as a recent convert from HB to HDS...The touch screen is nice and makes things a little easier.

Like I said, we did good there Tuesday.

I use to watch fishing shows on TV such as Jimmy Houston, Spanish Fly, etc when I was a kid and did not like watching tournament fishing and still do not like watching tournament fishing. I do watch many fishing Youtube videos and find them very entertaining. As for powerlifting,I have noticed what you mentioned about the lifting industry and theres a lot of shady stuff in the fitness industry that I am sure you are aware of. I have been powerlifting for almost 2 decades, still have big lifts, and I do not plan on completing in a powerlfiting meet since too many guys in those meets take anabolic steroids. I refuse to complete with person who takes steroids and I am sure there are many drug free athletes who do not complete in powerlifting competitions since they know they will complete against those who got their gains by abusing steroids. Many of these lifters juice a couple months of the year and stop for several months so it doesn't show up on drug test, so even the ''drug free powerlifting meets'' are tainted with these steroid abusing individuals. I am sure there are those in the lifting community that look down on drug free lifters for not taking steroids , but at least we are not cheating and taking drugs that are illegal in the USA for bodybuilding and athletic purposes.

When they're a little older, these are fun, too....