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Thank You Lord the wait is over! I've been waiting a long time for this and finally I start my new job at Academy Sports as an Outdoor Specialist. My first day is tomorrow at 9am to get all my new hire paperwork done and whatever else they need me to do. I'm so happy. Thank you to all that believed in me and kept me in their prayers for this job. It has paid off. God Bless you all! ?

I'm with @Bluebasser86 on this one. Mostly anyway. Exception being I'll use a leader with braid more often than not and it's almost always mono. A clear or green Big Game leader has accounted for at least one or two. A-Jay

Good for you - solid plan. I can't recommend a life jacket for kayak use as I don't fish out of one. However, there's plenty of very experience BR Members who do, so I'm sure you'll get a few viable options. btw - interesting that you value your life at "around 50 bucks". So essentially your worth the same as 2 bags of beef jerky & a tank of gas ? A-Jay

Keep an eye on your PM tomorrow. Got you all spooled up with fresh 15lb big game. Enjoy it man.

I don't know if any of you watched the recent Facts of Fishing where Mercer was fishing a Neko rig, but the part that really stood out to me was how ridiculously visible his fluorocarbon leader was in the underwater shots. Definitely gives pause for thought about why we use fluorocarbon. Be interested to see the same shots with a mono leader, can't believe it would have been much more visible!

Fluorocarbon line has the same refraction of light as water therefore it's less visible to the human eye. Fluorocarbon line is heavier then Nylon, polyester or polyuerathane polymers therefore it sinks faster. Flurocarbon has less coeffient of drag in water then braid or other monofilament lines, therefore less bow in the line, better feedback on the lure. Those were the reasons I started using Fluorocarbon line 20 years ago. The reason I stopped using fluorocarbon line is random knot failure resulting in loosing big bass. The fact I caught hundreds of big bass using mono line proves it works, reliable knot strength, better abrasion resistance, better impact strength, better cast ability and bass don't shy away from mono line. If you believe FC line gives you an advantage use it. Tom

I don't worry about it anymore. The only reason I fish Fluorocarbon now is if I need a line that sinks. I only use a leader with braid if I need the abrasion resistance, otherwise it's straight braid, even in clear water.

That's easy....the manufacturers say it's virtually invisible, so it's gotta be right? ?

Use a snap for what ever you want, who cares!! You're fishin again, thats what matters the most!!

The tule fog lifted, the sun came out and a friend and I were able to get out on the water with favorable conditions. The weather forecast is showing no rain for the foreseeable future this February, which means a lot of good fishing days. My first decent fish of 2018 was this 4.2lb largemouth.

I recently discovered that many of you don't know we have an Instagram page. So here it is: https://www.instagram.com/bassresource/ For a chance to be featured on our Instagram page, tag your photos #bassresource We're constantly posting new pictures, so follow us to see the latest!

Hey @A-Jay my wife sent this to me, can you translate for me buddy?

This is going to sound insane bug I had some success last year punching a senko

It’s a below freezing Saturday in NJ and my new set-up just got delivered. I can’t even test cast it at my local pond because it’s likely frozen over. Steez SV TW on a GLX MBR842c (Thanks @Cyacnba for the beautiful reel!) I can’t stop playing with it, and I’m stuck in the house watching Netflix...

Chili here today. Venison to be exact. Just cooking it down right now

Oh well, if we're telling everyone, I leave the old ties on the popper, which keeps me from having to slide the knot down every few casts... %$##$ InterWeb®

x2. I was traditionally a Yamamoto loyalist for senko-type baits, but after seeing a guy catch some giants on Ochos in a color Yamamoto doesn't offer I picked up a few packs and it's become my go to in certain situations. Great bait.

I like the Dredgers so much that I ordered three of the new 8.5 foot model . To get free shipping I got some silent Red Eye Shads and a 1/4 ounce Cavitron buzzbait . That 8.5 should be a killer in a 6 foot honey hole that I have manged to keep secret .

I would be looking hard at the boat @slonezp is talking about. It's one heck of a deal and an awesome boat.

Been a crazy winter in a not so good way with very little precip and unseasonably warm temps, but on a positive note it seems to have jumped the prespawn action up a month or so. Caught 30+ yesterday in 74* t-shirt/shorts weather and 58* water temps.

Here's my question. How do we know that to fish, fluorocarbon doesn't glow like a lightning bug? Or that black actually looks orange? Etc.

Now a life jacket is a piece of life saving gear and I buy the best. When I raced motorcycles I bought 800 dollar helmets 2000 dollar leathers and 300 dollar boots. All a waste of money until you lay the bike down over a hundred miles an hour get up and walk away, with no skin missing. I fish 3-5 days a week and am a stong swimmer. I put on my Mustang inflatable with hit every time. My biggest worry is being hit by someone else. If you don't believe there is a thread on here about a boat hitting another boat you should watch a few times....

The Easter . . . Bunny ? A-Jay

At least on the original Pop-Rs, you always tied direct and shifted the knot down toward the bottom of the eye because you wanted to get the cupped face up in the air so it spit more than it "popped/blooped." Then guys started sanding their baits when the lure was "brought back" to remove the cupped bottom lip. Then the fancy versions came out like the Splash-It, Rico, etc. that were designed and built to give you the same action right out of the box.

BB cricket for me

Buy the rod power based on the weight and hook size you are primarily going to use. I use a lot of stupid tube jig heads from ACT lures in the 1/8 and 3/16 light/med wire hook and use a DX742CHP. Spinning rod powers in Dobyns rods are hard to nail down. They are pretty model specific when it comes to knowing exactly how it will work. Any 3 power dobyns spinning rod will be more than adequate for almost all tube fishing unless you're primarily throwing 1/2oz tube heads in grass. Then I could see a 4 power.

I went to Mardi Gras two years ago . Got drunk , puked , got drunk some more , wife got mad , had a good time .

Got my first few cold water fish yesterday (5 to be exact). It was cold, mid 20's when I went in the afternoon. Ponds just thawed for a few days but will probably be frozen again tomorrow. Took 1 rod and 1 65 pointer because I only had about 30 minutes. This was the biggest one, the other 4 looked like bass colored swimbaits, only smaller.

This is a photo from back before I left for Toledo Bend, but I think it's worth sharing. Living the dream!

Hey @A-Jay and @NHBull (and everyone else); so I tried out the Type R+1, and the Type R+2 today. Nothing much happening, although I did catch a scrawny 17" on the first cast with the Type R+2. Went up and down a few breaklines in the main lake where I figured there might be a few shallow fish; with not much (zero) luck other than that one fish, I might add. Too cold I guess. What I can confirm is that both baits seem to dive to their advertised depths (or maybe even deeper, 10# Seaguar Tatsu), and cast exceedingly well. However, I think I'll stick with my confidence jerkbaits until there are a few more fish in the shallows. Pretty much on a whim, I fished around a (regular) 110+1 along the same breaklines. Hooked and lost a dink, then hooked and landed another dink, and then caught a 4#. Maybe they moved up for a while. Who knows. My fingers were too frozen to retie either Type R's (I only had two rods with me); and anyway, I had enough of the cold wind and the overcast afternoon. So I made it back to the ramp to try the Type-R's again another day. Did catch another dink on a plastic near the ramp on one of the last casts of the day.

Great day on the water today. Caught about a dozen LMB including 2 over 3lbs and over a dozen Crappie including this 2.5 lb slab. All on Yo-Zuri jerk baits.

If you happen to use a lefty reel, I have a spare Daiwa excellor in 7 ratio I never use. Has box and papers. It's yours free that way you can spend more on the rod and have a better combo. I also have bunches of line if you need it spooled too.

Young man if you would message me your name,address,etc. i will send you a perfectly good reel with no issues with it,along with some 12pd line, new in the box.

I was supposed to go into Scheel’s only to try on sunglasses and I couldn’t resist these on clearance. I bought all that was left... I did however, achieve my original goal and am now in the market for some Costa Jose or Blackfin 580G Green mirrors.

Caught a lot of <3lb fish Monday and had the lake all to myself, it was really nice other than being pretty cold. Got my first fish on one of my new swimbaits too. Just a little guy, but he smacked it.

Closest I've been to a bass in 3 months!

The Figure Eight I remember was designed by Jack Crawford of jig tying and old Fishing Facts magazine fame. But it was a line to terminal tackle knot and I'm showing my age....

I don't own a baitcaster slower than 7.1:1 anymore. Well, I own one, but I just retired it. I just see no reason to crank more than necessary. Especially if they cost the same as slower reels.

And probably picks up line just as fast as most 7.1:1 reels. As long as you have a full spool And probably picks up line just as fast as most 7.1:1 reels. As long as you have a full spool

Serious! Saltwater aint gonna hurt aluminum as long as it primed & painted! Everything I fish except Toledo Bend is brackish & I chase Specks-n-Reds in saltwater. Been doing it for years ?

You can always add sinkers above the jig

Ditto I had one fail one time (opened up) and swore then I wouldn't use them again. Granted that was years ago, but I just don't trust them. Mike

I haven't used the 5" Ocho, but I fell in love with the 4" for river smallies last summer...I felt like they outfished a 4" GYCB....which is something I did not think was possible. I think it was the thinner body and more aggressive wobble, as mentioned above.

Only thing I use them for are deep cranks where I need to experiment with colors, size, noise etc. And usually once I dial it in I'll remove the snap and tie straight to the bait. Just can't bring myself to trust them completely.

I have went through this transformation and then went back again! I had accumulated tons of different various plastics and Lures and decided to simplify things. Once I did I was still able to catch fish but not as many. I was seriously limited by my not being able to adapt Where I had pigeon holed myself to only fishing a few different things. I love to worm fish but there are days that a creature bait will out do a worm 10 to one and it was those days that led me to restock my boat with everything I had gotten rid of. I always start out with my tried and true, basic, go to Lures but I have found that if the fish aren’t really biting those Lures I need to change until I find what they will bite and that is impossible if I don’t have it in the boat. Sometimes I end up spending a fortune buying a few Lures that don’t produce for me (Cough! Jackall Pompadour! Cough!) but more often than not I can find something different that will put more fish in the boat.

If I were to do one for a customer, it would be something like this, or even longer. I don't remember the length. I'm sure @Lucky Craft Man can interject that bit of info.

Got the trailer all painted up and some of the old parts that were salvageable back on, and put some new pieces on. Probably swap the jack to the other side because the handle from it and the winch touch, and I know I'll end up bleeding from the knuckles at some point if I leave it where it is. Took the hub apart on one side yesterday and cleaned the grease out (there was so much that it was falling out of the hub in big globs), and removed the bearings and seals. Bearings looked okay, seals were shot. I'm still going to replace the bearings as cheap insurance. Figure I have the hubs apart and have to repack bearings either way, might as well be new ones so there's no question on their condition. Undecided on the winch. It's ugly, but functions fine and the cable on it seems to be in pretty good condition also. Need to get a safety chain for the front of the boat, and chains for the coupler. Going to be ordering the tires and installing the light kit soon and then I'll be on to the boat!

Charleston Lake, Ontario Good fishing, great scenery and friendly people Close enough to Brockville, Ontario for shopping and dining

Sturgeon Bay or KY Lake. Sturgeon Bay because of the trophy potential, not only with bass but walleye, perch, musky, pike, salmon, and brown trout. The scenery is beautiful. There is something very humbling about fishing a body of water that you cannot see the opposite shoreline, and has the potential swallow you up in an instant. The downside is the winters and, having to pick and choose your windows of opportunity to fish based on the wind. KY Lake because of consistency. I have fished a myriad of lakes in the south/southeast, some multiple times, and KY Lake has never disappointed me.

As with any of the hundreds of Senko knock-offs out there you will find the majority of them are poured by a very few manufacturers and just packaged in the retailers bags. Yamamoto pours its own baits, some custom plastic makers pour Senko type baits but for the most part they are mass produced and packaged. My point being that many of the commercial knock-offs will all have the same action since they are all poured by the same manufacturers. For that reason, I wouldn't be concerned all that much about action. Lot's of fish caught on the Ocho's. Lots of fish caught on the Stick-O, etc. If I were buying a knock-off, I would just look at price.