Leaderboard

Found the smallies this weekend beating the bank. Landed 9 fish, with 4 fish over 3lbs, biggest at 3.57. Another was very long but skinny, wish I had gotten a measurement (over 20" if I had to guess). Got a couple on a keitech + jig head and then switched to a jerkbait and it was on. Next day, same spot, very similar conditions, same tactics and not a bite....go figure. Oh well, was nice to be out in this great weather.

Pickwick treated me really well this week, I caught lots of big fish and had a blast! My fishing partner and I competed in the BASS College Series Southern Tour event on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There was a field of 266 boats from schools all across the country, many traveling even farther than we did from WVU. Fluctuating water levels were a big factor this week. On Sunday, the lake rose 3 to 4 feet from heavy rains, and the current was RIPPING! We didn't start practice 'til Monday, so we never saw the lake before it rose. This definitely helped us out in my opinion. Many teams found fish over the weekend and then the water levels changed everything. There were two main approaches taken by anglers at this tournament, largemouth fishing in the lower portions of the lake, or smallmouth fishing at the base of Wilson Dam in an area named "The Horseshoe". The horseshoe is notorious for producing incredible numbers of giant smallmouth, many teams who fished there would only end up with 4 fish, but still have 14-16lbs! I decided to not go near that area of the lake, I don't like fishing community holes and it was the craziest one I have ever seen. 50+ boats there fishing each day. The even crazier part is how 20lb+ bags were caught there each day despite all of the fishing pressure and boat traffic. All of the locals seemed to agree that 99% of the smallmouth in Pickwick are at the dam this time of year, but I found that hard to believe. My partner and I spent a good bit of time fishing rocky current breaks on the main river, and while there weren't many, we found some BIG ones! My friends who live down there didn't believe us when we told them our smallmouth weren't coming from the dam. I think we found 4 smallmouth spots on the main river during practice. Three of them produced fish during the event! The go-to bait for smallmouth this week was 'ol uncle ned. It's incredible how effective that darn thing is. We used a ZMAN 1/6oz weedless shroom head and a TRD. We spent most of our time this week flipping for largemouth. There was an abundance of flooded bushes, and with it being this time of year with 60 degree water temps, there is absolutely no reason for the fish not to be in them, so we worked hard until we found some and figured it out. As the water dropped, the flipping bite got better. Fish would pull out to the deepest piece of cover, and you could almost call your shots. The main way I caught fish was to find a laydown or bush with current pushing on it. This would pile up sticks and debris, creating what we call "trash mats". I was flipping (okay TECHNICALLY I was pitching @Catt) a d-bomb with a 1/2oz tungsten weight on 20lb fluorocarbon, and it was deadly. The key was to drop the bait in the middle of whatever your target was, there were tons of boats around but they were throwing moving baits around the edges and making pitches to the edges of the cover. I'm sure that worked too, but I wanted to target fish that no one else was bothering. Our main dilemma on tournament day was to figure out how much time to devote to smallmouth, and how much time to devote to largemouth. We decided to hit our smallmouth stuff early, then go flip once the sun got up. Day one produced a 4lb smallmouth in the first 10 minutes, it was actually the same fish I had caught in practice, it was on the same current break in about 15FOW. We spent a good bit of time looking for another one but it just didn't happen, so we put down the spinning rods and picked up the big sticks. I caught about 30 fish flipping the bushes on day one, more than I wanted to, but I never got a kicker bite, and had to make up for it via culling by ounces all day. 17lbs 10oz on day one put us in 22nd place, I knew I made the right call by catching so many of them, you just have to bring your a-game on the Tennessee River. I also knew that with our area being so close to the main river, and it being time of year for the bass to do their thing, the area would probably reload overnight. Day two did not start with a big smallmouth, there was a boat sitting where we planned to go, so we started early on largemouth. I put a limit together quickly but it wasn't very heavy. Luckily I caught about a 6lb largemouth at 10am, the kicker bite we had hoped for on day 1. I made a few more upgrades while largemouth fishing, then we headed to our smallmouth spot. My partner caught a big smallmouth as soon as we pulled up on our spot, it was the only bite we got there, but it was the right one! We then went back to largemouth fishing for the remainder of the day, and ended up with all quality fish besides one that was around 2&3/4 that we wanted to get rid of. With 15 minutes of fishing left, we headed to a spot that never produced a big smallmouth, but had the potential, and I cracked a very nice one to trade for that largemouth. Day 2 was definitely our best day decision-wise, we made the right calls at the right times and the bites happened when we needed them to, it was a perfect day! Our 5 fish limit weighed in at 21lbs, 2oz, jumping us from 22nd place all the way to third! Going into the final day, we knew we needed to catch 20lbs in order to win, nothing less. Once again we started on our smallmouth spot. We always caught some spotted bass while smallmouth fishing, but they are Kentucky strain fish, so most of them aren't very big, and they aren't worth targeting in a tournament where 20lbs is a strong possibility. To our surprise, we popped 3 very nice spotted bass in the first 30 minutes, all of them very close to the 3lb mark! Within the next 10 minutes, I caught a 3lb meanmouth, and my partner got a largemouth that was barely over the 15" size limit. At 6:51am we had 5 fish with plenty of time to go upgrade... Well the day didn't go as planned, at all! The water had been dropping every day, and had finally gotten so low that there was no longer any brush in the water to flip to, the fish were swimming around in the sloughs in 2FOW that used to be 5-6FOW, and they were extremely skittish (probably because I had already caught most of them!). There was also a large high school event, and a BFL taking place on the lake. Couple that with it being Pickwick on a Saturday in April, and you have a LOT of boats on the lake. You really couldn't try to go fish a new pattern because there were boats sitting on everything. We hit our smallmouth spots HARD, hoping for one or two big bites, but it just never happened. I did a good bit of flipping too, but everything I caught was tiny. I finally got rid of our small largemouth in the last 15 minutes with a largemouth that was a little bit bigger. We had 14lbs, 9oz on the final day. I figured we would get bumped down several places, but the conditions were tough on everyone. The guys higher up the leaderboard had a tough time, but the guys lower in the standings almost all had a great day, one of them bringing in 21-11! I would bet money that the guys in the top had fish leaving them, and the other guys had fish come to them, no idea what the circumstances were but it was easy to see that the fishing had drastically changed compared to the first two days. We finished in 2nd place, brought home some hardware, new rods, some money, and some good publicity for the team and our sponsors. I am extremely blessed to get to do this, and it really is the coolest thing in the world to me. Thanks to everyone on BR for the support and just paying attention, there aren't a lot of people who understand what any of this stuff is, so I gotta talk to you guys about it!

I would put up fliers. Pray he didn't get hit by a car. Have you checked the animal shelter?

Nothing special besides the four hours I devoted to this fish in the morning slinging the Booyah Bankroll Jig in Money once again. I got her to look at the YUM Craw Chunk in Craw quite a few times, but she never committed. Returned that afternoon and slapped on a Christie Craw in Watermelon Red Flake and she hammered it on the first cast. Picky girl.

Just to be clear....Don't confuse "Knock-Offs" with "Store Brand" baits. Big box stores like Bass Pro and Cabela's do not make their own lures. They get well known makers to produce and package them as their own. Many times they may make a different color but the bait is basically the same as the original manufacturer. I know this first hand from repping baits in these stores from the main manufacturers.

Marie wakes during the night to find that Boudreaux was not in their bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front him. He appears deep in thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of coffee. "What's da matter, cher?" she whispers as she steps into the room. "Why you down here dis time of da night?" Boudreaux looks up, "Do you remember 20 years ago when we was dating, and you was jus' 17?" he asks solemnly. Marie is touched thinking her husband is so caring and sensitive. "Mais yes, I do," she replies. Boudreaux pauses. The words are not coming easily. "Do you remember when you father caught us in da back seat of my car?" "Yes, I remember," says Marie, lowering herself into a chair beside him. Boudreaux continues, "Do you remember when he shoved a shotgun in ma face and said, 'Either you marry ma daughter, or I will send you to da jail for 20 year' " "I remember dat too" she replies softly. Boudreaux wipes another tear from his cheek and says "I would have gotten out today!"

I do it with the point in the top of the worm after it's rigged. Mostly because I use the letters on the bottom to gauge where I should stick the hook thru. That way, I get the perfect spot every time. Here's a little money saver. After you catch a few (or miss a few) and the nose of the worm gets chewed up, you can bite or cut just a bit off the nose of the worm and thread it back on and catch a couple more. They really don't care if it's 1/2" shorter. In fact, it probably gets more bites by being shorter.

Bass prefer newer baits. It's a scientific fact. At least that's what I tell myself to justify all my spending.

Fishman -- Let me start with this... 2017 Lake Okeechobee Rick Clunn Day 1, total keepers. 2 2! Rick Clunn! Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Won 4 of the 32 Classics hes fished in, Clunn. 2 fish. 3lb, 14 oz total! Remember that next time you get down on yourself. I have not been fishing as much over the last few years as I used to, and I can tell a difference. I'm not nearly as tuned in, and the instincts of what to throw when doesn't have the confidence it used to have. So I fell ya and that "lost" feeling at times. I almost feel like I've started lake fishing all over again, and the first couple years it was a big learning experience. I think if we stick with some basics to get on track we will be fine though. KISS -- Cat nailed that! Keep your colors simple. Don't fret over bone vs white vs this other color of white with a fleck of what ever. Think light / dark / natural / bright to start. When in doubt, fail to natural colors. Think strike zone, not lure first. What I mean by that is, don't think --- oh it's a cloudy day - I should throw a (insert whatever lure)... think about how the time of year, and weather should position the fish. Then think about all of the types of lures you have that would be productive in that scenario. You can throw the perfect lure, to the most perfect structure on the lake, with exactly the color the fish want --- but if they aint there, you aint catchin' em'. If you think out where they SHOULD be, then you can pick a more appropriate lure to match that instead of trying to fit them to the lure. That's his top three picks for this time of year, based on where the fish "should" be and how they "should" be acting. ie, if its late winter, water team is 43 degrees - chances are you are not going to pick up a lot of top water bites no mater how bad you want to throw TW. Same lake, water temps in the mid 70's, late spring / early summer, late evening after a short brisk rain --- well, now you may be onto something! The point being, think about where they most likely will be, then fit your selection to that to start. And it sounds like you are doing just that, the problem is when they are doing what they should be. Now when things go sideways I do a few things. Requalify, downsize, simplify. Requalify -- I rethink where I am and why. Am I in the right type of spot? Should they really be here, or am I just fishing here because I've caught fish here before. I love the back of this cove, it's where I caught that monster two years ago, I know they where here that fall! But, it's mid-summer. Water temps are in the 80's, and its a blue bird sky. I've done that. EXACTLY that... and felt like an idiot for spending time there wondering why I'm not getting bit. If you are in the "right" kind of spot, downsize and simplify. You are having trouble picking up a bite, you can't fine tune a pattern until you find it first. Match your color to the conditions, and a lure to the depth you want to target. Just go smaller. Find "a" bite -- then start working up from there. Some smaller fish will be more willing to bite than the big guys, sure --- but, if you haven't been bit at all, you need "something" to go on. It may feel like its a spinner bait day to you, but maybe they really want something off the bottom. If you start going from nothing on a white spinnerbait, then pick up a few guys on a black 4" worm... you have an idea to work from. As for "finesse", here's how I look at it. If the bite is on, then what's the point? If you can burn cranks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc. and get good bites - I'd stick with it. If you are getting hawgs off big jigs and 8" worms, keep getting hawgs! But, if you are not ... then, I start to think more finesse. I'll be 100% candid, when things get really wonky I drop to a 3" grub, usually white or pumpkinseed. I can fish shallow, mid, deep or bounce/drag the bottom as slowly as I want. I can target brush, rocks, flats, dropoffs, laydowns, etc. All with one lure. And I know fish will eat a grub. And you can start a pattern from there and work you way back up. If I "finesse" my way into a bite, I can figure out basic color, depth and what they are relating to. From there, I can build my way into a better bait for a bigger bite. So yeah, nothing wrong with going finesse to find the fish. IMO. Some days, that's ALL they want anyway lol. One thing I really like doing is working with your partner, especially to pattern the bite. We almost always do the same thing... start with whatever we "think" will work. Size, color, etc. But, if we aren't on fish asap, we split things up. one deeper, one more shallow. one dark, one light. etc. If we are on a point, and he's getting bit on a spinnerbait coming across and I'm not dragging a worm or vise versa --- that tells us a lot. Next point it may be a black crank vs a white spinnerbait, etc. then it may be a bluegill crank vs a blue and black spinnerbait. The key being we don't fish the same thing unless we're confident that IS the right choice... and heck, even then we still tend to mix things up looking for a better bite lol.

It's nearly impossible to replicate the original lures action. Tom

You don't know...Nobody does. If we did there'd be no need to invest time on the water which is the only way you'll find out. Theres no magic to it. If in open water I'll throw jerks, cranks, traps etc. In shallow it's plastics of every kind, shape and size until I get bit. Use what you know and how to use it. If they are where you're at, you'll find out soon enough. Mike

A-Jay

First day on one of the smallmouth lakes of the year for me on Monday. It was a grind like I expected, but still managed to catch some. My biggest of the day had a sizable crappie it was working on digesting.

I started fishing 40 years ago on off as kid,teenager and adult throwing worms,spinner baits hoping to get lucky and throw it in front of a bass.Last year around this time I bought my first bass rig and joined this site and I just want to thank Glenn for starting this site and the forum members for sharing all of your knowledge of fishing it's made me a better fishermen I'm not throwing lures anymore I'm finding bass and it's changed my life.To be able to do this is a gift most people wont experience in a lifetime the connection we have made with mother nature.So Thank you!

Knock on wood, winter in Chicago is over. Got out to do a little bass fishing today. Water is 48* The annual pelican "gorging on fish sessions" are still going on. Saw nesting geese and actually one set of hatchlings. Grass is still brown and trees are still bare.

burke lake can be cruel but she gave me a nice treat yesterday in about 4 ft of water. 5lb 15oz.

I've had a few setbacks this week fishing . I lost a huge bass the other night ( don't want to share what happened yet ). So Today I cast my new favorite spinnerbait, had it literally inches from pulling it out of the water and a big fish came up and swallowd it , and it surprised me so much I didn't respond properly and ended up breaking the line. NOOO ! SO I quickly caught a little bream, and hooked it on in an attempt to catch the bass and recover the spinnerbait, and ended up with this 5 pound 11 oz fish but no spinnerbait.The fish was another 23 incher.

Started a new job so been too busy to fish lately. And when I have it’s been for crappie. But, Went tonight and got this ~3.5# to swipe a white grub on an under spin.

New PB for Iowa 6.19 lbs (6 lbs 3 oz) and first Iowa Master Angler Bass. Got this jetty giant on a flat-sided squarebill on a wind blown jetty in 47 degree water.

Today the winds died down somewhat and I was able to get out to do some fishing with my brother in law. There was still a stiff northerly breeze when we dropped in at the Tract, water temps in the low 60’s, tide had been going out for a couple hours to start the morning. We got to our first spot, and I pitch my Senko up into a shallow pocket in the grass. I start to pick up some slack in the line and all of a sudden my rod starts to load up. I set the hook and the battle begins. She shows me her flank and I now known it’s a good fish as she plowed into the grass. I was able to turn her towards deep water and after a few runs was able down to welcome a beautiful 8.7lb hawg aboard. We had a pretty good day on the water, unfortunately there was no encore to besting the first fish of the day... Good Fishing all, JB

Nowhere really special or out of the way - hit up Stroud's Run State Park which houses Dow Lake. We got there around 2:00pm or a little after. Sun was out and a few clouds were available. As you can see, the water was extremely stained from all the rain we've had recently. You can also see my brother in the yellow hoodie - it was breezy but not unbearably cold. I was in shorts and a t-shirt though I brought a jacket just in case. We stayed for a little over an hour (Penguins were playing the Flyers at 3:30 and we wanted to see part of the game - lake is about an hour from home) and I managed to land a "Sampson Bass". I didn't even know it was on until I started reeling in and I saw the line moving horizontally. As you can see, it's a tiny little bass. Hence it's a "Sampson Bass". That's about the only size we ever catch, if we catch anything. My brother didn't get a nibble. Caught it using a 1/10oz Ned Rig jig head and a 3" TRD in green/black as you can see. Also, as PROOF to you strangers in the south as to why I revile it there, it was 65 degrees and gorgeous out, we were out for barely over an hour and this happened. The tops of my forearms are ALREADY GETTING SUNBURNED. I freaking haaaaaaaaaaaate the sun. But, just before we left, I had to snap a pic of the Jeep.

My son and I went bank fishing for a few hours today and we both had a good day on the water as we each landed 5 bass between 2 and 4 pounds. But the interesting thing was that every single bass we pulled in today breached the water and got big air. I mean they all launched themselves a foot or more out of the water as we reeled them in. I'm no stranger to having a fish breach, but it was unusual that it happened with every single one. The biggest one that I hooked today didn't count as a catch. He breached for the third time right on shore and thudded on the bank and popped the hook out. As I went to grab him he flopped back in the water. It was probably 4-6 pounds, but it's hard to tell if you don't pick it up or weight it. Anyone else ever have a day where every single fish acted like Michael Jordan? The other interesting thing about today is we son and I caught everything on the same bait. They were crushing a white/gray KVD spinnerbait with a Keitech Swing Impact FAT soft bait. The only downside is the bass ripped up the Keitech every time they hit it. It was a one fish, one bait kind of day. After an hour or so the bite stopped and no matter what or where we threw on that small lagoon nothing would bite. It was really, really, really windy out their today so I couldn't throw anything light like a Ned rig. I also had a gator chase me off "his" lagoon today. He was on the opposite bank and when he saw me he came right at me full speed. He didn't even slow up when he got in my vicinity. He just kept coming right up the bank. Needless to say we fished another lagoon after that.

Depends on hook selection. I have gone back to worm or offset worm and glad it did

I bought one of these after reading your posts about it over the years, it is an outstanding popper/walking rod, great for jerks, for flukes, or really anything that wants a sharp, short twitch. If it were just a tiny bit lighter it would be my ideal tube rod too. If I had a boat I would buy three of them, might even buy a second for my kayak if I do well enough with topwaters this year.

MH/F may be the most versatile rod on the planet

Who cares. Try it, and you'll see what the buzz is about. It's as required as hooks are for my fishing. Every spool of line gets pretreated, and any rods used get treated after every trip. There is zero down side to the product.

I am not a big bass master. I don't have a single DD bass to my name. I'm not sure if you are asking the how to do, or the how to handle the approach. Having said that, I won't try to offer opinions on what to do to catch them beyond the basic of the mantra, "The night time is the right time." A few of you will probably remember that from Mr Sandler. But the mindset is different. I have fished for locally "big" fish vs just any bass...we just don't have many of those big dual numbers that pop up. I look at it much like musky fishing with the old adage of them being a "Fish of 10,000 casts." If you are willing to do the legwork (as Tom was referring to the location etc), then have the patience to work the right spot with the right lures -- your time will come. Your battle will likely be more often with yourself, and your own patience, vs mama B wearing that DD moniker. If you have the patience, and do the pre-fishing work, your time will come. But hey, just look at my profile pic vs Tom's... one of us knows big fish - I know who I'd be asking for technique...

I have good memories of going to the barber in White Bear Lake, MN when I was young, before my mother remarried. From about age 10-14, after school on haircut day I would walk from school to the barber shop, get my hair cut, then I'd get to sit and read comic books until Mom picked me up on her way home from work in St. Paul. The barber always had all of the latest Superman, Batman, Flash, etc., as well as Archie, Richie Rich, and the rest. It was a treasure trove for a kid who could never afford to buy them at a dime each. Sitting and reading about my superhero's latest adventures, and listening to "man talk" in the shop was an enriching experience for a kid in the late 50's.

There's a reason the design has been around for 25+ years. It's that tough a reel.

I use a SC Avid 6'2" MXF. It's roughly an inch or two shorter from the reel seat to the tip than a 6'6" rod, but has a shorter rear grip. Makes easy to walk the dog.

Could hit 70° today. Got out yesterday, froze my butt off for two brown trout.

I think you hit the key right there. Temps cold, zero on beds yet. Following a cold front. Since you generally have early, "normal", and late spawners and NONE are on the beds yet - work your way back to winter hangouts. If even the early gals are not laid up, then the normal and late groups will be even further back in trenches. Add in the lock down power of a cold front, and I'd be happy with 7 in 3h. I would have either fished the warmest water I could find for those active shallow fish that seem to stay there predominately (which it sounds like you were catching), or tried cutting back to winter patterns in the deep. My guess, honestly, is that even if you were on target with locations (like staging on the drop offs) the cold front whammied things and getting a good bite out of the main population was going to be tough.

Really? I love going to the barber. That warm lather, straight razor clean up. So relaxing, and it doesn’t hurt that the barbershop walls are covered in fishing stuff!

Looks like little Squam could be ice free later this week, definitely by the weekend. The big lake will should be right behind.

This 1 x 10^1000000000000000000. If I were drinking something as I read this, I would have spit it all out onto my monitor. The only thing that would have made this better is if it were animated and the words revoked faded in and panned forward, increasing in size, after a loud sound of an old school stamp (think those old date stamps), lol.

Well if you fish Cumberland a lot, I can tell you that lake is actually pretty straightforward to fish, especially this time of year. You're probably overthinking your lure choice way too much. Spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and jerkbaits are always good there. That's a killer buzzbait lake once it gets a little warmer too. One thing I've learned from experience fishing those types of lakes a lot is that you need stay pretty simple in your lure choices, if they're not biting... change areas, not lures. Also, the fish have feeding windows, they may bite for a couple hours in the morning, then they go into lulls that last hours where you just can't catch them no matter what you do. Then they fire up again for an hour two. (The FLW guys talked about that some too at Cumberland) As you mentioned, a lot of the top 10 guys threw one bait all four days there, that should tell you something, don't overthink your lure choice!

Dallas...LAKE FORK...MONSTERS...GET A GUIDE TO START.... Lucky man... https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/fork/

This ^^ Anyone who tells you otherwise, well, we won't go there lol. Some are much better at interpreting situations and lakes better than others, but nobody gets it exactly right all the time.

I think we all have more stuff than we will ever actually use. I am pretty sure we all say I am done buying anything until I have used up or learned that plastic, lure, or technique. Then we end up in a tackle store and see something that catches our eye and before you know it you have a bag full of stuff and at least a $100 missing from your wallet. The struggle continues... I have never caught a bass on a top water hollow body frog, but I bought 6 of them this year. I have never used a chatterbait, so I bought 4. The list goes on. Find what works for you and your style. Learn one or two new techniques each year and focus on really learning the in's and out's of that technique. But balance that with the conditions you face. If the water is dirty, they may not want finnese plastics. If everyone else around you is throwing a senko, try something different. You can always use your confidence technique, but it's hard to learn new things if you don't commit the time. It's funny how this hobby started with a cheap Walmart rod and reel, a bag of plastic worms, and some hooks. A few years and rods/reels later and it feels like an addiction, but in a good way

Old school to "NEW" Old School

I tried reel magic in the past with no real results too. But thanks to this thread I stopped at Sportsman's Warehouse on the way home and bought a bottle of KVD L&L. And a spool of Sufix 832. With all due respect, I really hate you guys

Had a day that will go down in history for me. Found my new favorite lake inSouth Central Iowa. Caught 52 bass. Best five were 26 lbs 2 ounces. Started the day off with a 3lb and a 4lb on consecutive 1st and 2nd casts, respectively. I was wearing a GoPro so I wasn’t taking pictures. Then I realized at some point that the GoPro was in camera mode and not video mode. I also got hooked past the barb over the top of my thumbnail and after a small amount of wiggling it just came right out!!! I’m still not sure if I was dreaming. Here’s one of the many 5+ I caught. They were all munching on crappie in brush piles next to jetties as you can see by the crappie tail down the throat of this 5.31. They kept moving up on to the rocks on the jetty and I was whacking them with a 6th Sense Flat 75X in wild Lava Craw color. Water temp was 47. 47!!!!!! They were jumping on the retrieve like it was summer! Edit: When I downsized the image so I could upload it, it lost the resolution to distinguish the tail in the back of the throat. That dark spot down in there is the tail.

I've been down that same road with green pumpkin and L&L. Now I'm waiting for these $18 whopper ploppers to start catching fish. Lol

10 pounds, 5 ounces on the scale beating my personal best by a lot. Booyah Bankroll Jig in Money YUM Craw Chunk in Craw

Needed a little rain to pump some fresh water into the ponds and put a stain in them. Didn't get as much as I wanted, but got enough to get them biting better. Managed 31 in a couple hours walking banks in 57-59 degree water. Surface temps had jumped about 7-8 degrees, helped by both a warm rain and a few days late in the week that topped the 70 degree mark. Last pic is my standard tackle when banking it: One rod/reel, a small box with a couple extra baits tossed in my pocket and a pair of pliers.

I don't what the bass wanted yesterday. Big gizzard Shad dead and floating all over the lake. 67° chocolate milk water. Tried everything I had that made noise, couldn't buy a bite. I was working on being skunked. My buddy had a few on traps, and one on a jig out of a brush pile, but nothing big. Finally I decided noisy and flashy wasn't working, I said screw it go big or go home. Started throwing 8" megabass swimbait and very quickly had a 3lb bass follow it right to the boat, but it wasn't going to commit. An hour or so later have a solid 4-5lb do the exact same. Inches behind the bait just following it. Changed up to an s waver and in 5 casts got my only fish of the day. 5lbs on the dot.

PB at 5.1lbs! I don’t know how she stayed hooked/snagged. Hardest I’ve ever fought a bass. Time to go update my PB in my profile.

I bought a 1959 fatboy and a selection of blades. Using it as my regular razor. Closest shave I've had in my life, I'm getting used to it and really liking it

Like a pig! (Dueling banjos playing in tbe background). Allen