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Snuck in a 3 day trip to the big pond, weather was horrible but did manage 8.25 Hawg!

Several dink bass and couple jumbo 14"-14.5" crappies today.

Fished a local club tourney Saturday and was able to finish 3rd. If only i could have got rid of a 12 incher that cost me 1st place. Only a pound separated us. Here's my best 2 from the day caught on a jig

Stayed on the bank today due to a lack of time. Found that magic water temperature we've been discussing along with a good stain (still clearing from muddy) and managed 38 in just a couple hours doing just what I mentioned in the bank fishing thread. Nothing big, but I would have lit up ScoreTracker Live in an MLF competition with "scorable" bass

Had an unforgettable weekend with my dad at Dale Hollow Lake! Just the 2 of us, no kids, no cell phones, no emails, just the 2 of us on a boat for about 30 hours in 3 days. We didn't catch a bunch as the weather turned cold the day we got there, and had trouble figuring out where to get them, but did catch a few decent fish. The one with the spinner in its mouth was the biggest bass in the boat, it was almost 4 pounds, and only 18.5 inches. Chunky little girl. Also, caught a 9 pound cat that sure was fun wrestling on a medium/light spinning setup. But I do have a great, the one that got off story, or a terrible one depending on your point of view. I hooked a huge smallie fishing with shiners one night. I won't venture to guess the size but it was the biggest bass I have ever hooked. It rolled down and then jumped and spit my hook out as if to say, "better luck next time, sucker!!" But what a rush for those 10-15 seconds!

A few from the mud Thursday. Most of the lake has about 1-2" of visibility, but found some areas with 3-6 inches and that's where these came from. Every decent sized body of water within about 100 miles of me is flooded and muddy right now from the 12" of snow and 3+ inches of rain we've had over the past two weeks. A couple lakes even closed due to the conditions.

Always love looking at this thread. Figured I'd contribute. Got my shipment from TW and a few things I got from BPS and Cabela's. BTW, that S-Waver 168 is a beast. Didn't expect it to be so big.

Headed over to the ski resort in Maryland to see what was up... 39 degree water but surprisingly they were chewin'! Don't bash my jerkbait, lots of toothies around so I had to be economical.

We've had a nice warming trend the past couple weeks and have a big storm coming in, so we figured it was a can't miss opportunity to head out for a three generations trip. We pretty much had the lake to ourselves and it was literally like fishing in a barrel. Non-stop action for 7 hours and we kept catching fish well after we stopped counting at #150. Endless supply of 1.5-3.5 pound fish with the only dinks being a few crappie. Jokingly told my youngest she might as well retire from fishing now because she'll probably never see a day like this again. Definitely my best day ever considering the company... Fighting her PB like a boss Came in a 3.2 lbs on the scale One of the dozens of double-triple hookups And another Crappie even like 110's Dark Sleeper kept getting smashed but was remarkably durable

We're on the count down to picking up our new boat, and we had the conversation, should we name it. My wife suggested we could name it for her. I said I didn't think honey or sweetie was much of a name for a boat. She said think about it. So I did, and suggested " Farty Mc boat boat. She was not amused. I can't wait to get the new boat, it will give me some place to sleep.

As the title says, it looks like I'm retired, just not quite the way I had planned. I've been a tool & die maker/ machinist for the last 40 + years, and standing on cement floors all that time has taken a toll on me. 7 years ago I screwed up my back and ended up having surgery. It's better, but never came back 100%. 5 years ago my right foot started hurting. I was found to have tassel tunnel syndrome, and had surgery to correct it. A year ago it started hurting again and 7 months ago my doctor told me to get off my feet. I was sent home from work, and since then I've been home ( thank heavens I had disability insurance). I've had tests, shots, PT, you name it, and have seen three different doctors. As of today I have been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis, Tendinitis, bone spurs, sciatica in my leg, and to make it more fun, it looks like the scar tissue from my old surgery has some how interfered with my Tibia nerve, causing nerve damage in my foot. Last week I found out my right hip/leg is shifting out of alignment. With all of this going on I'll never work my chosen profession again, and as I'll be 64 soon, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that for all intents, I am retired. Looking everything over I think we'll be OK $$$ wise, and to continue fishing we'd need a more comfortable boat. Towards this end we made the decision to sell our old boat, and some time ago we ordered a new one. We pick it up tomorrow. So from now on I'll mostly be a sitting down fisherman, but with everything considered, I'll be happy with that. All in all it could be a lot worse, and my wife and I feel blessed it's only as bad as it is. Jim

An aggressive 3-1 retrieve is day in and day out what works best for me. The 2-2 is probably my next best. But you should always mix it up and let the fish tell you.

Watch MLF series, KVD is an artist using jerk baits, none better. I thought my jerk bait retreive was too fast and now after watching the MLF pro's work a jerk bait my retreive was suttle by comparison. Tom

Florida was a fun trip. Fishing was a lot tougher then what people said it would be! Had a lot of confidence but I was humbled real quick! It took us 25 hours to get there! Got lost picking up my buddies Girlfriend in Ny. We went freshwater the first 2 days in Miami! I caught a pleco ( the sucker fish that clean fish Tanks) a spotted tilapia, a blue tilapia and a gar. Had a few hits more hits. Didn’t have any luck with peacocks or snake heads! My buddy and his girl wanted some alone time so i went fishing for a few hours. I came back at 1230 ish, they locked the door so my key wouldnt work. Both of them are deaf so knocking isnt an option. Hotel security, who could let me in, was no where to be found. So I went fishing! Caught my first snook! I was so happy’ if I didn’t get locked out I wouldn’t have caught the fish! Fished till 330 am, my buddy woke up and saw my text. so i did manage to get in and sleep for a few hours. The next 2 days we wen on a charter for sailfish, mahi and sharks! The first day was slllllooooowwwwww! Had one hit from what we think was a king fish. We only caught one false albacore. That’s bait for them down here. We didnt even see a shark, NO SHARKS IN FLORIDA? I don't understand!!!!! something was off. we had a big dead albie out there soaking for HOURS, not even a hit. The captain felt bad for us so he said we could come the next day and try again just tip the mate! The next day was a lot better! We caught a grouper. I caught my first snapper, we also caught a remora (the fish that live with sharks), and 6 birds. We saw a few sailfish and had one come up on the bait. That night we fished until 330 am! I caught an ocean catfish with a huge spine at the first spot. The next spot we saw a ton of snook up under the docks! We caught a look down. Such a weird fish. We didn’t hook an snook! The last 2 Days were for inshore fishin! My friends wanted to sleeping I said hell no, I’m in Florida I’m fishin! So I went out exploring! I had a few hits wind was blowing hard!!! No fish. Went back to hotel then headed to an inlet. Saw some big fish being caught’ huge 20lbs red! I missed bunch of lady fish cuz we were up on a pier with no bridge net! My buddy did get one lady fish! The next day we went back inshore fishin! First spot we saw a lot of bait, needlefish, Sheepshead, and a ton of mullet! The last spot we were greeted with fish feeding on bait. I caught a small snook and caught my first sea trout. Had a lot of hits and spooked some nice fish! Later that night we went back to inlet, saw lady fish busting but couldn’t get one! My buddy and his girl hooked a few small snook but couldn’t get one, they landed one lady fish. The wildlife was incredible. It’s like Jurassic Park! We saw sea turtles! Giant iguanas, snakes, huge birds, dolphins and manatees! On the charter I stuck a remora to my leg! Met some awesome people! The guys on the charter were awesome. Met a cool English dude on the charter. I even hand fed some tarpon! Fishing may have been slow but at least I know what to use and where to go! Next time I’m going to fish the salt a lot more then i did! Especially the inshore fish. I’m glad we went freshwater but I wish we didn’t fish that 2nd day. I went I down there for inshore fishing Thank you for all who gave me info about fishing this area! This place is a whole different world! I can’t wait to go back

I'd suggest checking around for an exercise class. In our town, The Council on Aging has exercise classes for women and men. It's not body building or competitive. It centers around increasing flexibility, strengthening the muscles that support joints, and a bit of cardio. Not much cardio since it is easy enough to get out and walk, or swim, or whatever that gets the heart and lungs more efficient. There will also be exercises to avoid. We have a pretty good group and have one hour classes three times a week. I do play hooky once in a while to go fishing.

I have been working on my video gaming skills on a small electric only lake near school. Crappies are out roaming by themselves or in groups of 2/3, you have to be able to position the boat straight over top of them when you spot one, and then read the mood of the fish once you get your bait down in front of it! Super cool stuff, and I'm positive that this will help me out in the future with bass fishing.

Just wanted to give a huge shoutout to Glenn and all the others here on BR. I have learned so much in the last couple of years. The wealth of knowledge that you guys bring is like attending a MASTERS level program. And Glenn, when you started posting videos you brought this to a PHD LEVEL! Bravo!!

Two good papers that I drew on "Correlation of Habit and Structure in the Fish Brain," H. N. Schitzlein. Am. Zoologist 4: 21-32 (1964) "Fish brains: Evolution and Environmental Relations," K. Kotrschal and M.J. Van Staaden. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 8 (4) 373-408 (1998)

#12 Yo-Zuri Hybrid

I have stalked these forums for a while. I have learned a lot. The following seem to be consistent themes 1. Rage tail yamamoto, keitech and zoom soft baits 2. Gamakatsu, owner, trokar hooks 3. People have very strong opinions about hook shape. 4. Natural or tranlucent colors in clear water (up north, out west), dark or bright colors down south in stained or muddy. 5. Jig fishing approaches a cult like status 6. Most people prefer to either fish fast or slow. Not both. Fast with spinners, hard baits, toads, and slow with worms or jigs. It is the rare and great fisherman who is good with both. 7. Braid requires heavy hoooks, 8. Seibert or Northstar jigs 9. Senkos might be all I need to buy, but that seems boring 10. Snell, palomar, improved clinch, San Diego, Albright, Alberto knots 11. Braid in dirty water, fluro in clear. Mono? Do I need mono? 12. GP, watermellom red flake, june bug, black plastics 13. Sexy shad, chrome black back, gold black/blue back, fire tiger, citrus shad, crawfish in hard baits 14 . Pay attention when Catt, Tom, Mike S, Big O talk. I also enjoy Sir Snook alot and Big Bill for different perspectives. Many others also, but these stand out. 15. Nearly everyone has too much stuff and has trouble organizing 16. Jerkbaits and cranks seemed straight forward, but now I realize they are technical to understand and use to their full potential! 17. Whopper plopper 18. Structure, cover 19. Big baits equal big bass except when they don't 20. Don't let Elastec touch any other baits. What am I missing?

Rogue Wrist! ? Do that all day long & my wrist is toast but worth it!

Best. Wife. Ever!

I know a couple guys down here that put largemouth bass on the tallest of pedestals and won't harvest a single bass for food, even for a friend or family member. These same fishermen fish bass only for "sport" and rarely leave their comfort zone to fish other species. To them a crappie and basically any other freshwater fish is less than a bass, which to me makes no sense, but then again I enjoy multi species fishing and have a open mind. As for me, I will consider harvesting a bass if a family or friend ask me and see nothing wrong with harvesting a legal catch.

All finished up.

What I've found is most flyfisherman will gladly give lessons on flycasting. If you don't know anything about flyfishing just find a chapter of Trout Unlimited or a neighbor who knows how to flyfish and most times they are more than happy to teach people new to the style. I learned at a outdoor show how to do basic casts. After that I ran into a flyfisherman stream side who instructed me in what I was doing wrong.

That is pretty neat and would have been nice for one to come with the promariner 20+ I have. I just have my charging cable mounted and routed using 3m cable hooks to the top of the hatch door. When I charge. I can get the cable without opening hatch. When done, the cable stays put and has yet to get wet or damaged. Maybe I will look for a "plug" for it, lol. ---------------------------------------------------------- New Tracker Heritage Videos

Is that a rare smile i see on your face? I can count on one hand how many I've seen in your pics lol. Btw, I think I may be fishing that lake to much when I recognize where you are just by the reflection on the water in that 2nd pic

What makes a bass's life more important than, say, a crappie's? If you own a pond, you better take a lot of fish or you'll have a bunch of 5 year old, 1 lb fish. My buddy has an overstocked pond full of 1/2 pounders and we take as many as we can catch. I have no issue whatsoever with people eating bass. I do always release all the ones I catch over 3 pounds and if I'm fishing from the kayak, I don't usually keep any. But I might give them to someone else fishing at the same time. It's a hassle to drag them around on a stringer.

If anyone who doesn't currently own fly fishing gear is thinking about trying it, you don't need expensive gear! Believe it or not, Eagle Claw's Featherlight fiberglass fly rods, at less than thirty bucks, have a sort of small, cult following among fly fishermen. Add a cheap single-action fly reel for less than twenty bucks, a decent fly line for thirty, a leader and some tippet material for five more, and the cheapest flies you can find, and you're good to go for about $80. There are loads of good instructional videos on line to get you up to speed on rigging and casting. Trying to learn to fly fish on a trout stream can be tough. Learning on still waters, targeting panfish, is a blast. Tight lines, Bob

I had a very similar situation. After working for 36 years as a service technician, my back gave out on the first day of my vacation in July 2016. I was 61 at the time and I never went back to work. I had short term disability insurance but the company policy wouldn't approve my long term disability benefit but I was approved for Social Security disability. Retirement is great. Aside from the back issues, my only other problem is my face hurts from smiling so much! I've had issues where standing for long periods was painful so a seat in the front of the boat has been needed for a while. You've worked for a long time, it's time to enjoy yourself. Congratulations on being retired!

Very Sorry to hear about your health challenges. My wife & I both retired from the military a while back. She was medically separated for some serious heath issues which sorted made my choice to retire a little easier. All of that happened fast and although we were OK financially, mentally we had some adjusting to do. It was a challenging time. It's been a learning experience for sure. So I can relate to where you & you're wife are at and have an idea of where you're headed. Your posts here lead me to believe that you guys will be OK. Hope the best for you both. Finally the best thing about being retired is from that point on . . . . "Jim's on Jim Time". - And that's REALLY Nice. A-Jay

Production dates are listed on Trilene spool labels if you want to know the shelf life of the line

Ollie's Bargain Outlet just received a good number of Lucky Craft lures all priced at $6.99 in my area. I picked up a bunch of pointers, Sammy, SKT MR and a few gun fish. I've never seen the Sammy and pointers priced that low. I liked the color selection with it mostly being shad. They also had a bunch of lucky craft lures I've never seen before with only Japanese writing on the back. Makes you wonder where they came from. They also had a good selection Rick Clunn crank baits and jerk baits priced around $4.

Here's a simple fix. Electrical tape. A few turns of tape on your hitch will help fill the gap between the receiver and the hitch. It doesn't need to be a snug fit. Just enough to make sure the assembly isn't metal on metal. Apply it at the end of the hitch and around the area of the hitch that is just inside the receiver. But, and this is one of my pet peeves, when you are not towing, remove the hitch from the receiver. A hitch is a great shin whacker and very painful. Think of others, and remove the hitch.

Temperature is one part, albeit a large part, weather conditions are another major factor. If you are lucky enough to get 2 or 3 nice, warmer, stable days in a row, bass will put on the feed bags even in water that is in the lower 40's. Some of my best outings have come in February, after ice out, following a couple of warmer than average days. The trick is knowing where to find them. Look for shallow mud or rock flats close to deeper water and or channel cut banks on the north side of the lake at the end of a warmer day. The angle of the sun will warm these areas faster. Fish the flat right next to the drop off, bass don't like to stray too far from deeper water. Often times you will find bass stacked up in a very small area just because it is a degree or two warmer than the rest of the lake. Start out with search bats like a square bill, chatter bait or super spot. SLOW roll/bounce them off of the bottom, pausing when you hit structure. If you get a steady south wind pushing warmer water on top of them, hold onto your rod:) If they are not actively chasing, try using a tx rigged craw, tube, or a jig. Try shaking and dragging, the key is slow. My last resort is a weigtless 6" slug go (twitch 2-4 times, let sink/die and pause for several seconds, repeat). If I can't catch one on that then I go home. I guess the point I'm trying to make in all of this is that the magic number can be as low as 42 degrees if the conditions are right. Bass feed throughout the year, even under the ice, they just don't need to feed as often in colder water and will become more selective on what times they do choose to feed. Therefore we need to be more selective on what days we fish early in the year in order to maximize our success.

Laydown: both Stumps: both Weeds: both Mats: both Lily Pads: both Regarding hook style; straight shank round bend up to the thickness of a Senko then an EWG

For some reason it's freezing in Arkansas in April after 3 inches of rain. So what to do when you don't feel like fishing???? You got it.... monster jam with the boy.

The magic number for me is 33 degrees, because when the water reaches that point, my casts are no longer landing on the ice

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

Caught my PB jerkbait fish today. 2nd largest bass of my lifetime, definitely biggest on a jerkbait. 30 minutes before calling it a day. 9.0 23 1/4" Virginia Stud.

I just ran into this. For some reason the new hitches and draw bars do not fit like they used to. I have had at least 5 trucks over the years I have towed with and my latest truck (a Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport) has the exact same issue. Apparently the hitch manufacturers are making them with more clearance. Mine was so bad the trailer could move around as I took off or slowed down. I thought I forgot to hitch it properly the first time I pulled a trailer. My solution was to order this. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IO2N44E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have not used it yet but it was well made and not too expensive at only $14.99. I will suggest you use some anti corrosion material like Never Seize on the threads so they do not mess up

Its made me a more diverse angler alot of great information and knowledge thank you!

If you are throwing a presentation where it ends up on bottom, let's say a T-Rigged worm, a wacky-rigged worm, a drop shot rig, and if you catch your first fish immediately either in the process of it dropping through the water column (before it even hits bottom) or within seconds after it hits bottom, then fish fast, reel it in and cast/pitch or flip to different places to increase the number of presentations the way they like it that day at that time. If the fish are not biting it on the fall or immediately on touch-down, then slow way down, wiggle it, move it back slowly, really soak your bait. It is usually one or the other: you either want your presentation to "drop" really often and repeatedly . . . or soak really long. Brad

Bare feet and hooks aren't a good combo. Looks cool! Tom

The OP identified his reel as a Plfueger and his rod being a light 4 to 8 lb, your basic trout rod. He also stated he fished a long time without any line issues before changing to 10 lb test XL. All The OP needs to do is go back to 6 lb mono and spool it onto to the reel correctly and avoid using bass lures over 1/4 oz. flipping the bail by hand eliminates loops, not line twist. Reeling agianst fighting fish creates line twist and using any lure that spins or too heavy will also create line twist. 10 lb braid would also be a good option, leader is optional. Tom

Do whatever gives you confidence since that's far more important than if you use leader or not, what brand line you use,etc. A confident fisherman with the "wrong lure" will outfish a non confident fisherman with the "right lure" most of the time.

I agree about confidence. And using leaders increases my confidence, so it works for me. Whether or not it scientfically matters, I have no idea.

Heck Man... I'm retired! If I wanted to work that hard I'd make sure I got paid. Good For You Mike

My abs look remarkably similar, but strangely they wanted some winter insulation about 15 years ago and I haven't seen them since.

I've been trying to think of something smart-alecky to say, but it'd end in embarrassment if you saw a picture of me attempting the same thing. I have work to do