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In post-frontal conditions just before sunset today, the Megabass Ito Vision 110 did the trick.

Just couldn’t resist the bait monkey!!!! With all the great reviews on Dobyns Rods I just had to Join the club and get my first Dobyns rod! Only problem is I didn’t know which one t start with so I ordered 3!!!forst order was for the fr705cb then I had to order the next day the FR734 an FR735 Lol then I had to get some new reels and decided to go with the new Lew’s BB1 nd ordered some new lews custom speed shop knobs to match the rods turned out pretty slick when I put them on! And being a fan of the Winn handles on. My lews tp1 Rods I knew I’d like the Winn knobs as well. Don’t know why Lews didn’t decide to put them on all there reels! And kinda sucks that they only sell them as singles instead of pairs! But all in all I love the feel of the Winn texture knobs! Still waiting to find another reel I like might end up with another lews bb1 if I can get another good deal!!! Lol

I went out today on my home lake, very little wind. Whew! Glad for calmer water after my last time out. I ended up with 3 fish, one large female, all on beds. I missed bringing 2 in. So, not bad for a few hours, that and I didn't get on the water until mid-morning. I used a wacky rigged worm and they seemed to be interested in it. Brad

4 today, this was the biggest, ~2.5lbs. T rigged junebug Yum Dinger. I was instructed to smile.

If the the bottles are sealed and the pork is covered with liquid it's OK. The liquid shouldn't be oily, if it is the pork fat is breaking down, that is OK but not normal. To make new liquid you need to boil fine sea salt (Hains) in water to make a heavy salt solution; 1 cup salt to 1 to 2 cups water until most of the salt is dissolved, you end up with about 1 cup heavy salt water. Drain and rinse the oily water and replace with heavy salt water. I add a few drops of pure anise oil to each bottle for scent. Note: you can re dye the pork rind after rinsing if desired using 50-50 ratio of liquid Rit dye to warm water and let sit over night, then rinse and add the fresh heavy salt solution. Tom

I used charger twice,works great.Went fishing all day yesterday,at least 8 hours on trolling motor(not steady of course)plugged it in last night,cranking takes about 5 min to charge and trolling is done by morning.That works perfect for me.I think I got a lucky boat, caught at fish every time Ive been.Did not take any poles during break-in,pulled boat out water and had a catfish in spare tire.

Does it matter if it hasn't been a problem for you? That doesn't change the legality of the issue. I once drove around undetected with an expired inspection sticker for 3 months. I had forgotten it had expired, until I noticed I was the only one with a different color sticker. Does that mean we can skip the inspection, or do whenever we feel like? Think about it, *most* of the participants in this thread are going to be first time boat owner/operators. Let's put them on the right path, instead of what's "good enough."

Things could be different elsewhere. But this is how it appears to work here: Males do not corral fry, although it may look like that. Early fry stay together and relate to each other as a swarm -that's pretty much what keeps them together. The male centers his guarding activity around the swarm, making looping turns as he defends them and the immediate vicinity. You can see this behavior in my Spawn Behavior documentary. As fry mature into young fingerlings (and rapidly), they become stronger swimmers and venture further afield. Although these "early fingerlings" relate to the male (will follow his mass here and there, when he happens to be close enough) they relate more to each other and, more and more, to their environment. They have developed the ability to react with alarm to larger, esp rapidly moving, objects and they commonly spook en masse (flash) if the male appears quickly, or turns quickly. Their reactions to the male's presence can be polar -they spooking at a quick turn of his tail, and then a moment later follow him a short ways. He tends to leave them in the dust though as he's so much faster and has a wider scope, being involved in keeping the vicinity clear of threats. What appears to happen is that the young bass (at the "early fingerling" stage) leave the male, not vice-versa. They split up into smaller shoals, and many will aggregate at key locations. Cannibalism is frequent so size grouping begins to appear. My next documentary -in process- is on development from swim-up fry to adulthood. Speaking of that... I've got to get to work. Got ~30 hours of video (2 days, 4 cameras worth) to make into something meaningful and, hopefully, entertaining.

Jerkbait time is about here! Couldn't fight the itch to feed my addition any longer. Jackall Rerange 130, Duo 110, and Duo Rozante 77 in route.

A view just a few feet above the shore of St Mary Lake in Glacier National Park.

Finn's first time in a swing last night.

Sunset on Low's Lake in the Adirondacks, taken on a solo canoe camping trip... Tight lines, Bob

We saw this welcome sight yesterday ~ Hate to see them go but love it when they come back . . . Won't be long now. A-Jay

She likes to fish, but not to the point that I can't go alone or go with "the guys". And that seems to be an ideal balance

The ICRBE inspired me to knock out some lingering projects. Here's a Sage ESN I glued up last night. It's been laying around in pieces for almost a year. Whipped up the fighting butt over the weekend.

Ratman catching a catfish in the spare tire is funny! Finally got around to trying out the cover. It's nice. The boat is finished and now I am running three fish finders. My wife wanted one. I am using a third battery for all of my electronics. I am really thinking about a larger gas tank or a second...

While doing your thing the way you like to do it. Always watch what others are doing. You can learn a lot about what to do and and what to avoid by being observant. Listen and don’t talk so much, people will give up information if you just listen. I always look at an event as a learning experience, and no matter how good you are, you can always learn something. I learn something new almost every trip and I have been doing it for 50 years. If you get a chance to fish with others always do it, especially experienced ones. Good luck

That special moment when the mailman comes !

I am thinking about using that as my profile photo.

@senile1...no offense intended, but if I don't ever see that pic again, it'd be OK

Spring is basically here along the gulf coast, TX. How I know: 1.) if the skeeters are biting, the fish are too! 2.) my baobab trees are sprouting 3.) the wild "field onions" are putting up flower stalks 4.) The black berry vines have grown their first green buds of the year 5.) the squirrels have returned with a vengeance 6.) it is regularly hitting 75-80* during the days Yes sir... getting very close indeed! Hang in there all you frozen, icicle ridden fellows! Spring WILL return, and soon! If not, I give you permission to plunge me in an icy lake!

Frogs croaking are always my first sign that spring is actually getting close. Never understood the robin thing. They must never leave here because I see more of them during the winter hopping around on the snow than I do during the summer.

I don’t know what they are but they are the some of the sharpest hooks out of the package I’ve ever used. Lose very few fish with this lure. The second or third treble always seems to foul hook fish when they strike too, probably bc they are so sharp.

Yes

Generally speaking they have the best "house" baits of all (including Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas etc.).

When I was a kid I loved to listen to the frogs croaking after a big rain. I would wake up in the middle of the night when there was a big storm. When it was over I would listen to them through the open window until I fell asleep.

3.7lbs on a lipless crank. He whiffed on the first strike, came back and smashed it on the next cast. I love it when you seen them wake on a lure.

Ok here's the unrated version. ? 2 Shimano Curado I 2 Shimano Chronarch MGL 2 Daiwa Tatula ct 2 Lews Tournament Pro G 1 Shimano Curado K Shimano Stradic CI4+ Shimano Nasci Not pictured: 1 Lews Custom....She is sick right now lol

My brother caught this monster in Lake Fork fishing with me and our dad!

Conditions were far from ideal today, but I'm home for spring break so I went for it anyway! Air temps started in the 30s and there was snow on the ground, but it did warm to low 50s by the end of the day. The main factor was the 15mph wind with 20+ gusts, and the fact that I was on an electric only lake. Things started off pretty slow, the water was 44-45 degrees all day, I was hoping for closer to 50. I decided to crank rip rap alllll day since that would be (in my opinion) the highest percentage way to get bit in cold stained water. I started off with a 7-9' Spro Little John, I caught one after about an hour of cranking and I didn't even feel the bite, it was a chunky largemouth about 3lbs. Since that fish bit so soft, I decided to throw a wiggle wart instead because from what I can gather, it is further down on the temperature scale for cold water cranks. That was a good decision! I ended up only landing 6 bass today, hooked 8. One largemouth on the little john, one spot on a football jig out deep, and 4 on the wiggle wart (3 lmb 1 spot). I had two fish come off on the wart, but in cold water when they are barely nipping at the bait, losing fish is just part of the game. They didn't feel big and I never saw them so that's my story and I'm sticking to it! My best 5 went 18.8lbs with a 6.08lb kicker! Makes perfect sense for early prespawn in cold water, not many bites but the few that do it are good ones. I hate to think about what I could have put together if the whole lake wasn't white capping today This fish is number 12 over 5lbs for me this year! The train has come off the rails and shows no sign of slowing down.

I cant tell the difference either sometimes. I have even swatted at the floaters a couple times. Hopefully you werent seeing termite swarmers.?

Braid cast the furthest without question. IMO, mono is the "best" casting overall as far as handling and casting distance in combination (in bass fishing sizes anyways).

I’m getting more popcorn....

I have bought some of the new River2sea Lane Changers (think a modern day Devil's Horse). They look sweet and I can't wait to try them out this season!!!

I just popped the hub caps to grease the bearings. They use Lucas Red and Tacky (which I read in their brochure). There was quite a bit in there but it took some more before it started to push out. I'm using marine grease now which will replace that. One cap was a little lose on the wheel. There are three nubs on the rim that hold the cap on. I took a rubber mallet and lightly tapped a couple edges of the cap and popped it back on. It seems pretty secure now. I also checked the lug nuts while I was there and they were all fine .

Heddon Torpedo

Always had better success with rear prop lures like Smithwick Buck n Brawl and Pa Scooter because they tend to have better action, so take a look rear prop lures. Tom PS, Yo-Zuri 3DB bone should be good.

That bait will always do the trick

It's not even close really. If catfish hit topwater and jumped they'd probably get a lot more attention from bass guys.

Thanks for heads up. I just purchased one myself this morning

I went to hi vis yellow this yr. fishing at dawn and dust really screws me up then I can’t see the line

I did forgo the $50K bassboat. I guess so.

I think this is where I'm leaving it: Martens J Lee Faircloth Pace Hartman But man - group B is a tough one. Really debating swing Lee over to Wheeler, Swindle or Reese.

I saw bugs flying yesterday .At first I thought they were those dang floaters .

I saw this elk on the slope below us as we traveled the Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Same amount of time it's takes to breakdown all that science!

Brutal winds on Purtis Creek Lake here in East Texas today, 3/11/18. It was so bad, I was going to leave but then some other kayakers showed up and it gave me the courage to at least take off from the ramp and head to the adjacent cove, fish and hide out from the wind. I worked back and forth along the banks fishing shallow. I ended up using a drop shot and several different small plastics. 7 or . . . was it 8 LMBs, none large, males between 1.5 and 2 lbs. Lots of fun fishing, cussing the wind! Brad

My 2018 setups. What is yours?

RIP Mr Hibdon. Condolences to his family and friends. One of my favorite "early" guys. I'm going to dig out some of my bugs and catch a few in his honor.

I'll be honest. I like roboworms. I like how they look, how they feel, how they look in the water. But I just don't catch a lot of fish with them. That they make a Ned worm is cool, and I might buy a pack to try 'em out, but the TRD works for me fabulously, so I'll likely stick with them.