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I had a great time at Toledo Bend, but boy was it tough! My partner and I couldn't get locked in on anything consistent. We were getting 13-15lbs worth of bites a day, which we figured would be flirting with the cut line, but they were never in the same place or on the same baits. Our main two "patterns" were steep humps and points close to a creek or river channel in 15-25FOW with a c-rig and football jig, and a ratltrap (ONLY 1/2oz chrome 1 knocker, they wouldn't touch red or rattles) on banks that had 7-10FOW where the boat sat, with a creek channel behind you. You also had to be in the outer 1/3 of the creeks for that bite to happen. The issue was, the fish weren't really following a pattern, you would find a good stretch of bank or two, try to duplicate it in 10 similar areas, but would never find them again! Same with out deep, we would fish 3-5 spots for every one we found fish on. We had 4 deep spots that produced multiple fish in practice, two stretches that had been decent with a ratltrap, and one small spot where we found some schooling fish. They were all spread out, so the plan was to just make a big loop throughout the course of the day hitting all of the spots. We had a 2 hour fog delay on day one, which gave us less time on our spots, but we still had plenty of time to be thorough. Stop number one was on our spot with the strange schooling activity. It was a very small spot in 1-5FOW, in the back of a pocket, unlike anything else we found all week. It was the only place we got them to eat a jerkbait, but since they were schoolers it made sense, and that's what I started with there. I quickly put 3 keepers in the boat, all in the 2-2.5lb range, we caught a couple shorts too, but that was all. We figured we would maybe get one fish there so we were way ahead of schedule. Deep spot #1 didn't produce, and neither did 2, 3, or 4, but we still had a couple spots for the ratltrap to pick up a keeper. First shallow spot produced a keeper for me, and 4 shorts (14" limit), which got our confidence back up. At this point we were no longer concerned about a 4lb+ bite that we had gotten every day, we just needed our 5th fish! No more ratltrap fish in those areas, so we headed to our starting spot with about 20 minutes left to fish. We put 5 in the boat there, but none were big enough! We were pretty bummed, because from what we did in practice, even though it was tough, 5 should not have been a problem. We sat in 69th place out of 248 with 8lbs 8oz after day one. Day two we decided to completely abandon the deep bite, and try to expand on the shallow stuff, even though finding areas with fish was really hard to do. We started again on our schooling fish spot, and we didn't get bit when we made our first pass, which was disheartening. But we knew they were there, so we put our heads down and stuck it out. I saw something break out behind the boat, it didn't look like a bass but I threw out there anyway. A few seconds later I popped a 16"er which went in the well. On the very next cast I leaned into what ended up being a 5+lber, our biggest of the day and of our whole trip! 5 minutes later my partner stuck a 4, and then a chunky 2lb+ fish. That spot was super strange, it was very shallow, and you had to just keep casting, but when they turned on, it happened QUICK! We stuck with the jerkbait for several hours, finishing out our limit and then culling our smallest with a 3.5lber. The jerkbait bite died once the sun got up, so we went and ran some dirtier water with ratltraps, where I was able to make one more small cull. That was it for the day, we caught a lot of fish, but none that would help. Our bag went 17-0 on the scales, which jumped us from 69th to 37th place, missing the cut by a mere 13oz! I sure which a little spotted bass would have latched on to one of our baits on day one, or any keeper for that matter! I was very pleased with our work, after a tough practice we were left scratching our heads, but we used what we learned on day one of the event to turn things around and give the guys in the top 30 a scare. We still have another chance or two to qualify for the BASS National Championship, and you can bet we will be giving it our all!

Two warm weekends in a row and a little more rain today opened up one of the little lakes in my area after nearly 5 weeks of being frozen solid. Had to take advantage and at least make a few casts after the cold we've been dealing with this past month. Bonus when I managed 7 bass in about 75 minutes from a lake that was still frozen just yesterday. On the board in 2018, about 2 weeks earlier than last year! Looks like another lake in the area will be clear by tomorrow, so hoping for one more trip before we go cold again.

Got some nice perch, a trout, a walleye, and 4-5 smallmouth. A few fell to a fly rod w/ sinking line

After 3 weeks where I couldn't even buy a bite, pulled in this nice 4.5lber in FT Stewart.

If they made a punch rig that could break thru 10" of ice, I'd be all over it.

Call your local DNR and let them know what you believe is happening.

Many an angler has started out with one of these three soft plastic baits progressing on to any (or all) of the vast offerings available. Most of the latter fill a specific need for something different, but many are just variations of worms, grubs, or tubes and that just proves how versatile those three are. My only fishing resolution for this upcoming season is to abandon all the new comers, the stick baits, swim baits, craw worms, etc. and limit myself to those three. I’m confident that my catch numbers won’t decline and hopeful that the lack of tackle choices will not only simplify my decision making, but rekindle some of the pleasure derived from angling with artificial baits. The only question that remains is: What do I do with the multitude of other soft plastics I’ve accumulated?.

I'm much more concerned about the Asian carp than the snakeheads.

I asked a similar question a while ago and the most profound thing someone said in the thread was something along the lines of if you’re able to cast to the targets you’re aiming at, then you’re casting far enough. Growing up, my baseball coach’s mantra was accuracy before power. Guess the same goes for casting. How far you cast a bait isn’t nearly as important as being able to put the bait where you want it.

Hello Peggy and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Interesting first post. A-Jay

Fish, you can find out how the super bowl turned out later but you'll never know if you missed a new PB.

Fish, why ask silly questions

I sold a lot of my stuff that was worth selling, donated a bunch to high school fishing teams that was still in good shape, but not anything worth selling. Pared my gear down a lot to stick with a few of my favorite colors and just a few companies where possible. Just came to the realization that I have so much in the boat, yet I fish the same handful of baits a vast majority of the time. Just made no sense to keep carrying all that extra for the "what if" situations in my head that may never happen.

In my experience, the main advantage of improving free spool is in accuracy with any added distance as ancillary.

are you sure? i think we all need more big baits

Fresh out of the packages. Tatula SV TWS 8.1:1 and Powell Max 3d 795. Already sealed the cork with U40 and spooled up with suffix 832 50lb. Got this whole setup for what the reel retails.

If you could only fish and/or live on one water body you've already fished , where would it be and why ? Doesn't count if you've never fished it. I Know it's hard to pinpoint just one , so let's do one or two. An example would be the water body you would choose to retire on if you could.

A few more pics for you: Bucktail, flash material, and a grizzly saddle spread out on a table. I'll look this over inspired by a cup of strong coffee and mix and match what appeals to me. I'm an advocate of TLAR ("That looks about right . . .") design principles. Of course, I've been looking at other tiers' work for years. In time, you develop a sense of proportion for the various parts of a jig and you just know what looks right. The Hard As Nails topcoat over the eyes has dried overnight and these heads are ready for the vise. This final finish adheres beautifully to the powder paint. Those eyeballs can't be budged by a fingernail. You may have seen this photo before but in case you haven't, here are the tools and head cement, Loctite super glue brush-on, which first came to my attention from one of smalljaw67's videos. (Thank you, smalljaw.) I like it and use it carefully throughout the wrapping procedure and then as a finish coat. If you're wondering about the X-acto knife . . . My inner perfectionist would be in an uproar if I didn't trim the hair that had crept up the back of the head while tying. This last step is done after the super glue has cured.

I have an Assassin, and have tried to abuse it since there's a minority of nay-sayers out there who think it won't. I beat the heck out of it, flipping and pitching into heavy cover and wrenching big fish out it. I used it on every outing last year. It took it and kept coming back for more; even with the drag locked all the way down. With over 16lbs of drag, you really don't need to do that, but I wanted to see if the washers would warp. They didn't.

While the claim on the logo might be a little over the top, St Criox's been making a quality product for going on 70 Years now. A-Jay

Where are you from? I can't think of a single place where smallies and peacocks overlap.

From what I have read it seems most kayakers prefer short rods. I am a big fan of the original Tatula rods. However, I don't own any spinning models. Your friend might be interested in the 6'8" MF model. Can be found for as low as $105 (check ebay)...a $150 rod. It should fulfill #3 if the power is okay for his needs. Love my casting models. Someone like fishnkamp would have to comment on the Dobyns Fury line. A Fury or Mojo (new model) should work great for #2. I have no idea for #1. It seems actions for those techniques can be all over the map depending on the user's preferences. To be honest, I have stayed with baitcast gear since getting back into fishing in '09 (and learning there were such things as technique specific rods). So take my answers with a big helping of salt. I am basing my opinions on what I would choose for a casting rod. This year I plan on fishing spinning gear a lot more often. TT gave the Villain 2.0 6'10" MLF an Editor's Choice Award. Rated for 1/8-1/2 oz., they were able to cast a drop shot setup with a 1/16 oz. weight. Sensitivity was said to really shine. It is a $200 rod. I ordered one last night from OpticsPlanet for $138.49 with free shipping. EDIT: Does your friend need any new spinning reels to go with these new rods? I also ordered a Daiwa BG 1500 from ABCD for a bit over $75. It is a $100 reel, and gets excellent reviews.

Retired 19K US ARMY

Check out the thread in the Tournament section under Toledo Bound for pics and a link to the Bassmaster page for other pics. Sorry to report that the third day of the tournament was cancelled due to poor weather conditons and Nolan and Casey ended up in 39th place, missing the cut. Had the tournament completed the three days I am sure Nolan and Casey would have made the National Championship tournament. The team from Wisconsin that won the event lucked out and caught a 10-pounder to give them a four ounce victory over Louisiana Monroe. I know everyone on the Forum are proud of our Nolan and how well he and Casey did on a foreign body of water with all those Cajuns watching him.

Ontario standards arent that high

weightless soft plastics

Do I have to pick since I already live there?

Irod Genesis II. The 704 is a very versatile rod that can handle what you are looking for.

By far the Everglades Conservation areas, once the water drops. You could easily catch over 100 bass in a four hour trip, with a bunch of 4's and 5's in the mix. It can get crazy once the dry season returns, its not there yet but it is coming. They need to stop pumping water south from Okeechobee, and go back to a normal water cycle.

I retired from the Army last year.

No matter what brand you go with you're not going to get a bad unit. Every brand has it's faults and every brand has something their competitors don't have. The best thing to do is research, watch videos, and check them out in person.

Easiest Question Ever~ A-Jay

The debris you filed a complaint about usually holds the fish you're trying to catch.

Nolan and his partner are in 69th place with four bass for 8-8 on the first day. Leader is a team from Louisiana Monroe with five fish for 20-13. There must be over 250 fishing the tournament so 69th place is pretty darn good. You can follow the tournament at this web site: https://www.bassmaster.com/leaderboard/tournaments/2018-college-central

Glide Bait bug has been biting hard i will post pics when i get them in but i have ordered a gan craft jointed claw 178, savage gear shine glide 7" which is being custom painted in a yellow perch pattern, a duel hardcore ninja glider and 4 glide bait blanks that i intend to try my hand at painting. EDIT: So my birthday is Saturday and we decided to celebrate tonight, my gf and parents went a little overboard. My amazing girlfriend got me a Rapala Canada Concept Ti basically the highest end rod rapala canada makes, it's a 6'4" M/XF which will be used for poppers and jerkbaits. i have paired it with my t3 ballistic and some 40lb j-braid. Then there are my parents, they know that i have been saving for a garmin striker plus 5cv so the decided to surprise me and pick one up, i cannot explain how stoked i am to be able to install this and map my whole lake.

Today's haul.

Topwater and jerks with the right line and drag settings. Weightless plastics like senkos and flukes, light trigs, lighter jigs like 3/16 oz.

I have more than enough big baits, I dont need new ones

What he said minus the squarebills. Though the brand and blank design could add more techniques if we had that info

Poppers, 1.5 squarebills, jerkbaits

Mass production rods, you are the quality control with no customer service. If you are considering Dobyns, the Colt and Fury series are competitive priced with excellent customer service. 703 or 704 would be a good starting rods depending on how you bass fish.

stopped on the way up north last night at my favourite local shop, passed up on an i-slide 185 in ugui. but i did pick up a lucky craft real ayu 178 i think the chartreuse tail looks pretty awesome with the ayu pattern.

This just happened! OMG these combos are light!

Snags are part of fishing. I get snagged often on Limestone rock walls that are ragged and rough. I would not let it bother me, just re-rig and go at it again. If you throw where they live, your going to snagged once in a while. Proper Texas Rigged will help reduce the snags. I don't throw high priced baits in high risk snag areas.

is this dude for real?

Am guess you are either young, or inexperienced (or both). Not to put too fine a point on it but it'll happen more and more. One of the hazards of the trade.

Oh boy, if I gave up after losing one little jig head and a plastic bait, I'd never be on the water long. You gotta get a longer fuse!

I don't think I have ever heard someone complain to a ranger because there is to much debris in the water. LOL.

I hope not to come off as a @#$%, but if you can't bear to lose a hook and a piece of plastic, you might want to try another hobby. You start fishing 'gun-shy' and you will miss fish; you worry a lot about losing gear and your head won't be in the game and you'll lose fish...and more gear. I guarantee I'm not the only guy on here who has more than one day a year that I lose $30 or more in 'stuff'.

Star Wars the last Jedi and Jumanji welcome to the Jungle. Saw them both last weekend. Liked them both.