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Several are jerkbaits, I love jerkbaits. They're mostly pretty popular lures, so that helps too. I didn't always dislike crankbaits, I use to carry 4 boxes of them in my boat, but zebra mussels and fishing pressure has made them mostly useless. I'm still a study of the sport, even the parts I don't really like.

Yes ~ I most certainly did. A-Jay

BreeZo is sizing up the trail for this afternoon's jaunt. We like the Sun btw. A-Jay

You have to positive with your down time. Read, read and read some more about bass fishing. Watch DVDs about bass fishing. Reorganize your tackle at least 30 times. Visit the on-line tackle stores and look at the baits and compare prices. Go to eBay or Amazon and look up the prices of your rods and reels. Put a picture of Louisiana and Florida on the wall and throw darts at it. Well, living in Louisiana does have its advantages. Even putting up with the big bugs and old people in Florida can have its advantages, too.

At least you got close. Closest I've been to fishing is the seafood section at the grocery store.

Why do I allow myself to be tortured winter after winter? I mean, isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Why do I force myself to endure four months of not being able to present a lure to my favorite species of fish? It’s either brain damage, or a genetic disorder.. Maybe that genetic disorder is the cause of said brain damage. I have proof that my brain is damaged: I got excited when I realized that the power plant lakes around here will be opening in four weeks. FOUR FRIGGIN MORE WEEKS BEFORE I CAN EVEN CONSIDER HOOKING UP THE BOAT AND HEADING OUT..........AND I’M EXCITED????? Okay,I’ve admitted I have a problem. That’s the first steep. What’s the second step? Removing the obstacle? What if someone figures out what I’ve done with her.? Insanity defense, right? No, wait.....I’d have to plead guilty and that means doing time. More than the four weeks that started my realization. This could take a while to figure out. Luckily I have another bottle of Patr’on and four weeks to find a solution................If your don’t hear from ne in the next 24hrs. Don’t be concerned,I’ve likely just passed out. I’ve heard that helps.

dude the winnings are rolling in. I got a helicopter lure from Roland Martin, a banjo minnow from Overstock Tackle, a Blockbuckster gift card, a Disney Princess rod and reel from zebco, and I hear Jacob Wheeler is sending me the big L he got this week too edit: @OCdockskipper I forgot; I'll have you know that for 2015 Guntersville I had like 4 in the top 6 and came so close to winning that I actually left my prize groups because I wasn't legally allowed to win them lol

Oh man, thanks, FIFM. I hope an organic non-pesticide avocado tree tupelo falls on you while you are enjoying something gluten free deep fried at your favorite outdoor cafe BBQ shack while waiting for your goat yoga appointment trist...

I made that decision 45 years ago, to move from NE Ohio, to South Florida. I have not regretted that decision for one second over the years!

LSC, Green Bay and Mille Lacs are the obvious choices - but big water. If you aren’t familiar with it, would you consider a guide the first day to get depths, lures, patterns down?

When I was a kid, eating soap was a punishment, not a badge of honor.

Flipped a coin this morning and chanced a drive back to Hedges Pond. It was still half skimmed over, but there was plenty of area to to fish. I launched around 11:30 and stayed until dusk, landing three SMB (all hovering around two pounds) and one yellow perch that tipped the scales at 1-2. The first SMB came on a 1/8 oz Rage Tail Menace I let sit on the bottom a while. The other two SMB and perch liked a perch colored blade bait. Got nada on a bubblegum Ned and a couple hits on a black 4” Zoom U-Tale, but my ML spinning rod didn’t have enough OOMPH to get a hookset. Surface temps started at 38.x and just topped 40.x in the northern part of the pond. Weather permitting I’m going back tomorrow and/or Monday.

I don't often fish with a large variety of other fishermen so it's difficult to know where my weaknesses lay-although I'm sure I have plenty. I tend to get a little sloppy with my casts whereas my one buddy tends to cast right on target-and often catches more fish than me as a result. Or it's one reason why, anyway.

Panoramic shot from the super bowl parade in Philly on this past Thursday.

While everyone likes looking at who's leading...I like looking at the bottom & thinking I can stink that bad!

Same ones I throw the rest of the year just different locations ?

Tak killed it! Unreal he caught a fish that broke him off the day before on a different crank and still had the other one stuck in his mouth.

I have the beer part down but not to good at sorcery .

We all need a hug at some point ~ A-Jay

I fish lippless baits quite a bit; especially early & late season. I 'voted' Medium Heavy/Moderate for both categories. However there's 2 factors that I have to add. 1. I fish glass/ graphite composite stick almost exclusively for lippless baits. 2. I'll use fluorocarbon in less cover and braid mainline in grass. A-Jay

Little bit of history on the hidden lake. Will add pics to post of my fish and some others. I have seen 45lb sacks outta this place so incredible. I started fishing these two lakes about 3.5 years ago now. Heard from a buddy that I met out here in Arizona about this lake that nobody catches fish smaller than 5lbs so of course I had to go. Back then mighta saw 2 other boats over a weekend if that. But I was told forget everything you know about bass when u come here. Everything looks so fishy but only 5-6 areas hold fish. Roughly 200 maybe a little more acres between the two lakes. What I showed up to was 2 old rock quarry that were abandoned and a small river flowing into them. We launch the boat and of course I'm like let's fish here let's fish there. Typical bass areas. Buddy told me no. We need to hit such and such areas. Boy was he right! First 5 minutes I had a 5.15lbr. I was hooked to this lake after that. Of course I tried other techniques like flipping the millionsof reeds and mats. Not a bite. Topwater same thing. Unheard of someone catching a topwater fish here. Literally the only baits that catch fish consistently is a deep crank, spinnerbait, lipless or a squarebill. Other than that I can think if prob 10 guys that refuse to use thise baits and fish the ONLY areas these fish hang out in and they have never caught a bass here. The bad is that when I started fishing here it was a high traffic area for drug dealings, shootings, robberies etc. I personally have been shot at out there and I could tell ya a hundred stories about others. Place was scary not gonna lie. Never seen anything like it for fishing or crimes. Buuuuuut a guy named Richard recently in the last year bought the property and has in turn turned the lake into an amazing "private" fishery. Cleaned up the trash, crack houses gated off the roads and now no gun shots, no criminals, no illegal netting by the hundreds of bass and cats or whatever , the bass fishing was starting to decline. But now the west lake is coming back already in the last year. Richard stocked 3k bass and they already have reached 15" and we are moving bass over from east lake to west lake. Because they will be mining and closing down east lake. Already 10+lbrs have been caught in west lake now and plenty of 5-8s. So there it is a very short if u can believe it history of the pit. The main bass forage are tilapia and shad. Its insane the water erupting with bait fish in the mornings once spring hits. Its no wonder these bass are so big. I added a few pics lol but I coulda added a ton more from the few guys that fished there with me. Ive heard stories from the old timers that have fished there 20 years ago and the stories are insane. But I'm happy that richard bought the place and turning into something nice! More boat traffic now since he went online with it and its promoted but its all good lol.

I'm not sweating it so much this year as years past although it would be nice for the warming to get started. We got another 5" of snow overnight, so I think that's 17" over the last 7 days. It's all been light snow, and not heart attack snow which is a good thing.

Yeah, its a mess, Yamaha has manufactured a bunch of Mercs too.

My zodias is the most sensitive reliable rod I own. No hook keeper but most jdm rods don’t have hook keepers and although the zodias is not jdm it’s based as a jdm style build. Ordering a hook keeper is not a big deal unless you forget to order it when you get it home then yeah it can be annoying.

The "XTM" baits are the H2O Express store brand from Academy. Their whole lineup is solid. It's hard to tell without a closer look at a couple of them, but here's my best guesses. Strike King Series 1 ??? Strike King Series 5 or 4 Strike King KVD jerkbait 300 size Strike King KVD HC Flat Side 1.5 Bomber Fat Free Shad Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 or 14 Strike King Lucky Shad Could be a variety of baits, it's a 1.5 size though 110+1 jerkbait, maybe Megabass Strike King KVD jerkbait 300 size Could be another H2O bait? H2O deep jerbait

I actually did improve with a drop shot quite a bit. The biggest game changer for me was putting a wacky rig on a drop shot. I have a ton of confidence in a wacky rig, so that helped me stick with the DS longer. I still hate crankbaits, but I have no real desire to change that.

While fishing Saturday’s semifinal round of the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin presented by Econo Lodge, Takahiro Omori caught a bass that had two crankbaits in its mouth. So much for the theory they want hit again ?

Ordered mine last Sunday at the BPS in Raleigh NC. Salesman told me they were only making 2500 of these boats and they were expected to sale out by the end of February, also told me it will take at least 12 weeks to get mine. Thats a long wait.

What's the matter ya don't like Tide Pods! ?

I remember a thread about what we were good at and some guy got upset and left the forum . I guess he didnt see that thread that showed our weaknesses . LOL

I don't blame them lol. The one I'm seeing on eBay 6 of us is bidding on so I can see it either taking a while to get one or get expensive getting it. Stripping and repainting one may be my best bet

I listed myself as weak on the Carolina rig, I never used it and now I am trying to learn it. Still not catching on it but trying at least. This is part of my trying to learn deep which I am also still trying to figure out. I did pick up the blade bait and caught some on that so my third area of focus has seen improvement. So I think I will continue to to work on these areas.

I think the top prize is a $500 BPS gift card or $1000 if you're a member of Bassmaster. I'd take it. I'll be rooting for Luke Clausen and CeCole (whoever that is) tomorrow. On a side note I have Justin Lucas left.

We'll know in the first hour - if Tak-O can't make it happen, he might be hosed as he's not been able to put much of anything else together after he leaves "The Magic Mudhole". Going to be interestesting . . . A-Jay

Looks like a Renegade sold at Wal Mart .

In that thread I mentioned spending some time on Ned rigs, drop shot, blade baits, and drop-shotting a craw. I feel pretty good about the Ned rig, the drop shot, and drop-shotting a craw. I still haven't had the opportunity to use blade baits much. Every year is an opportunity to improve a few items. I just have to pick a few from the myriad number of deficiencies I have.

I did improve on depth finder comprehension . Caught some 20 foot plus deep bass on crankbaits . Thats the deepest I ever caught bass on diving plugs . I doubt if I get much better . I turned 60 this year and dont get to spend as much time fishing that I need to .

Getting the boat out the driveway ? Still Crank Baits! i don't know why I just don't throw em!

I was practicing my panning technique and he was at a fast trot on a scent - probably a rabbit, he's death on cottontails. I was using a 1/20 second shutter speed and tracking by hand. I wanted to get his face in focus, and I did that, but everything else was moving in different directions and speeds. I liked the way it came out.

I am a huge proponent of learning the minimum amount of good knots to deal with the situations you need, and not a single one extra. For my self, a san diego jam covers direct tie with any line type, Alberto for leader connections, and a uni-snell (but I am getting away from snelling). I agree with others for the most part by saying, whenever possible, tie direct with one of those types of knots. There are a few cases where I don't mind a small barrel swivel. Fluke setups, and drop shotting. Yes, I said drop shotting. And I am sure there are a few other justified situations that reasonably call for a barrel swivel that I didn't mention above, but I digress. I am on Erie every weekend, so naturally I drop shot a ton, so let's address the issues: Line Twist: Despite regurgitated non-facts, line twist is a verrrry real thing with braid, especially with certain techniques (like drop shot). Yes, I like a good connection knot, and yes, I try to hook my bait as straight as possible, and yes, I reel in slowly. But, if you drop shot frequently, line twist can be unavoidable, this is where I like a barrel swivel for drop shotting. Adding Weight: Just like in a fluke setup, a barrel swivel can be the answer of solving the above problem, while adding a little up-the-line weight to get a certain desired action out of the fluke or weightless plastic. Yes, you can use a pegged bullet weight or split-shot, but a small barrel swivel is very stream-lined and gets the job done well. Knot Fear: While I would never encourage someone to tie unnecessary additional knots, this is the most common negative that people will bring up with this or similar topics where you add an element to your presentation via more knots. So I'd like to say this: whether you have one knot or 5 knots tied between you and your bait, if you are breaking your line/knot, the number of knots is not the issue. Choice of knot: Learn a high strength, yet simple knot to tie. Many people get attached to certain knots "because that's what they've always tied". Do your research, do your own testing at home. If you are using a poorly designed knot, you are failing before you get started. People like to also learn unnecessarily complicated knots just for a debatably negligible strength gain. Knot Quality: Of course, no matter then knot, if tied improperly, can fail. This is why I am a big believer in as simple as possible. If the knot I tie is easy, simple, hard to tie incorrectly, and it has a a good average break strength, I will absolutely not use a significantly more complicated knot just to achieve 95% or even 100% breaking strength when I already had 90%. Equipment Settings: If you setup your equipment improperly relative to your line/hook, you will fail. Rod power (even action) and drag are the keys here. You can tie the best knot in the world that has 200% strength (kidding) with 4lb line, but if you are frog fishing in lilly pads, using your xxxheavy rod, with a locked-down drag, you will fail, and it's not the knot's fault. In summary, of course every additional knot gives you an additional chance to mess up tying a knot, but if you do your due diligence and ensure each knot is a good designed knot, properly tied, and have your equipment set correctly, you should be fine if you want use an extra knot. Maybe i'll make a video this year with a bunch of daisy chained leaders/barrel swivels and catch some fat smallies with the same reel/rod settings as if I was only using one direct tied knot!

Ok...going to try and post pic's another way...son said it's better.....will see. Here's a couple pictures from yesterday. Was a beautiful day....started in the high 30's and got into the mid 40's. Still wearing the gloves...and loving them. I'm showing a picture of a beautiful boat ramp (almost like my private lake in winter but not) The rain we had the other day has them chasing the jerk a LOT better....Tight Lines

Tale of 2 days for me this week. Monday I worked hard for 1 bite, and it did not end well. Tuesday I was catching so many fish I started trying to see what wouldn't work. When I was catching them on a 190 Plopper in 14 degree air temps in a foot of water, I knew the answer. They were tearing up my Donut Shad swimbait until the zebra mussels claimed it

I am fortunate enough to get to fish one of the coolest places in the entire world as far as I'm concerned. Snow on the ground, ice in my guides, and I'm watching them chase bluegill up on the bank, while sight casting to cruisers. I even got one to eat a frog but I missed him!

A little something you might enjoy ~ A-Jay

I grew up in a small town a mile from the Mississippi river . Spent a lot of time in the woods , camping , hunting and fishing . My best friend lived a mile out in the country and that was my second home .

I have a avid x 6'6 Mh-f casting rod, but I haven't actually fished with it yet. I have been practicing pitching inside for the winter and I can feel the rubber practice plug dragging on the smooth floor, so that should be a good indication of its sensitivity. The craftsmanship is outstanding, not a single flaw. It wouldn't be good for weightless plastics being a mh-f, but I bet the medium powered rod would be perfect for you.