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Yesterday evening was breezy and heavily overcast. Went to my private lake in Virginia and got an 8 pound 3 oz. bass and then 15 minutes later, an 8 pound 13 oz bass on the frog!!! Also landed a 3 pounder on frog.

Earlier this week, I headed out with my buddy to chase after some schooling fish he discovered. (Some of you may recognize him from my high school fishing days!). We didn't find any activity til about 10am, and it took a while to figure out what was going on. The area we found was maybe a square half mile of water with fish eating bait everywhere, but it was very spread out. After observing for an hour or so, we learned that there were maybe 3 areas where fish would surface in the same locations repeatedly. This meant you could put a bait in the middle of the feeding frenzy, and also know that your bait is in front of them while they aren't "up", which is good for trying different baits, as schooling fish are often finicky. I spent a good chunk of the morning throwing a gunfish and spook at the breaking fish. I was able to boat one about 2.75lbs, but only had a couple other fish swat at my bait. I tried a flutter spoon around the depth of the thermocline (around 15') in areas with the breaking fish, but that didn't produce either. We also tried a jerkbait, and several types of swimbaits to no avail. Finally, as the action slowed, I tried the ol' super fluke. I have caught schooling fish on them in the past, but jerkbaits and walking baits have always produced way more fish for me. For whatever reason, these fish were big fans of a fluke. While a topwater couldn't even draw a bite during a frenzy, the fluke would actually "call" the fish up after they quit chasing, which I had never seen before with a fluke. I didn't think it made enough disturbance for them to notice from whatever depth they suspend at in between frenzies. I ended up catching 3 or 4 fish in the 2-3lb range before the surface activity came to a screeching half around 12:30. From then until about 3:00, the action was very slow. We couldn't get anything else going, so we just hung out and waited for it to start up again. I was frustrated that I didn't try a fluke earlier, because we were around some big fish, and the fluke was shockingly effective, even when the fish were not showing themselves much. At roughly 3:30, things picked up again. We had the flukes ready to go this time, and things got off to a hot start. By now, we had honed in on "the spot on the spot", where lots of shad and herring death was occurring. We could get the school of fish fired up just by throwing a fluke over top of them, it was incredible. Once one fish was hooked, others would surface and start eating baitfish, which is probably one of the coolest things to witness in bass fishing. Alongside many 2-3lb fish, I landed one close to 4, and my buddy got one close to 5. I did a little on-the-spot rigging, because I always have trouble hooking fish with a fluke on an EWG hook. I took a 2/0 VMC Neko hook, and trimmed down the weedguard. The short pieces of mono would act as a keeper (despite facing the wrong direction) when you pulled them down into the nose of the fluke, rigging it like you would on a jighead. This was a very effective rigging method, we only missed 2 or 3 fish between the two of us. The fish seemed to wise-up to the fluke within an hour or so, and we started to change things up. I was able to get one decent fish on a flutter spoon, but besides that we were having a tough time. I had a 1/2oz hairjig/underspin in my box that I had never used, and figured now would be a good time to try. I had several strong bites the first few times I brought it through the school, and bowed up on a big fish, but it came off. Since I didn't have any more hairjigs, my buddy rigged up a 4.8" keitech on a half oz underspin. He fished it just like I did the hairjig, with 3-4 fast turns of the handle and then freespooling it for a couple feet, for a fast drop. The fish were all over that swimbait! He was hooking a fish every 2-3 casts, it didn't even matter where he threw it. I tried a 3/8 underspin with a swimbait because I didn't have any more 1/2oz, but I assume the rate of fall just wasn't fast enough to make them react. He finally hung up and broke off the magic underspin, and couldn't get them to go on anything else after that. I rigged my hairjig up again, hoping I could get one of the bigger fish to stay pinned if I did hook one. I finally was able to lay into a big fish on the hairjig, which was our biggest of the day @5.9lbs! It was super neat to catch a big fish on a relatively unconventional method, particularly here in Virginia. It was almost 6:00 at this point and the fish began to slow down again, I was able to get a couple more hits on the hair jig but nothing got the hook. I'm not sure if they swipe at it, or just eat and reject the bait really fast. All in all it was an awesome day of fishing. I already have a good bit of experience with schooling fish, but I think my schooling fish knowledge may have doubled from that experience, I learned a lot! Oh yeah, we broke the 20lb mark too

Megabass really has a knack for getting the day started with big topwater fish. Today it was the Pop X. First cast yeilded this 21 incher. Really wish she could have munched on a few more perch before I caught her...21” and barely tipped the scale at 4lbs. Topwater was the really the only thing they wanted today. Couple small ones around docks with the senkos, and spinnerbaits couldn’t buy a sniff unless from Esox. Fine by me, I have no problem feeding them the topwater all morning!

The big o and a day on Erie with @Dwight Hottle to get a tremendous lesson on fishing a jerkbait; a real weakness for me. And a night with @Catt at Toledo Bend. Oh, and the Fall with @A-Jay to fish on those clear lakes in MI. Four outstanding fisheries with genuinely great folks!

Started this raining morning with Mr Pikeage ~ A-Jay

Last night was one of those memorable nights. I hit a pond with my kayak that I normally don't get a chance to fish in the evening. Probably over 20 topwater blowups on frogs, buzz toads, and buzz baits. The fish in open water shot out of the water like rockets to hit the buzz toad, especially. Missed quite a few in really thick slop. I ended up boating around 10, including several in the chunky 3 lb range. No monsters, but constant topwater action. I don't ask for any more than that!

- - - - - Just completed my Whopper Plopper Box in a Plano 3771 "Thin" CDS Box. Sizes 75, 110, 130 - It took some work to get it just right, but all those baits and sizes in this thin box is awesome. WolfyBrandon

Caught her on a jerkbait in 3ft of 80* water. Measures 27". Going to look good on my trophy wall.

Yes, I won!!!!

1979 WRB still sports theses bell bottoms ?

.......just a side note. I like seeing all types of fishing.....from bank to kayak. That said, experienced kayakers on my lake have started putting bike flags on their sterns and are fully lit at night. I wish all did. I also wished they followed the rules when fishing in the chanels. Casting in front of moving boats is never a good idea, especially when that boat could swamp you in a second. If everyone followed the Golden Rule, we wouldn't have this problem. If you can't follow the GR, follow the law. ........I really get nervous for guys in yaks

I worked for a utility company installing and maintaining underground lines. We were putting in a new subdivision and I had a nature call, #2. No houses and anything else around, I hit the woods. Drop my pants and whites, made the squat and felt something stinging. Of all the places in the wood to choose from, I choose to squat on a yellow jacket nest in the ground. Of course I started running with my pants down and whites down (hard to run with pants and whites down). Finally made it back to the paved road. The road was of course higher than ground which made me fall down (pants and whites still down) tripped and skinned both knees. Glad nobody was around to see me, ended up with 2 skinned knees and 3 bites on the rear end. Not my best of days.

I went to Belcher Branch for the first time last weekend. Bite was extremely slow but I did manage to catch my first bass on a frog ? on a spinning rod. That was fun. I think I need to to get myself a Frog Rod.

most wake boaters and skiers, in general, could care less. the best thing to do is avoid them altogether. go out early, during the week (not weekends), or waters where they’re not allowed, if that is at all possible. i live 5 minutes from the largest lake in my state and it’s a mad house after Memorial Day. i know alot of people who live on the lake and wish they’d outlaw the wake boats altogether due to bank erosion and dock/boat damage concerns. it’s a bad deal for all of us.

You guys are making me appreciate living in the north. I've envied southerners for a long time because of your giant LMB. But then you talk about having never caught a SMB. Makes being able to catch 4-7lb LMB and 2-5lb SMB feel a bit better as you get both worlds.

Surprised no one has mentioned Baccarac. Once you go, you'll never be the same.

New PB. I don't own a scale but I'm buying one tomorrow... That picture angle didn't do him justice at all.

From last Saturday...Picture doesn't do it justice but this wiper was a little under 9 lbs. They are a blast to catch, especially in a kayak.

If you ever do I'll buy 3 of them.

Got my PB walleye on the Fox Chain today

Wow ~ Tough Crowd . . A-Jay

I'll say this as someone who works with metal for a living, not as a fisherman...aluminum can do weird things when subjected to something like that. As long as its low pressure I wouldnt worry too much about it but if theres some good PSI coming out of that thing then I'd avoid it.

It's my life goal to make a water balloon catapult that I can aim at jet skiers. Or maybe a remote control "water balloon bomber" helicopter.

I guess I'm fortunate to have access to several lakes that don't allow motor boats.

Wasn't sure we were going to get a winner, but we did... 1979 It was a little tricky because as a couple people mentioned, the Black Max and the Bait Walker both came out in 1976. The key though is the Burke ad featuring the Sqirm Skirt and the Buz-z-z-z Dudly, both of which weren't filed for name trademark until October 1978. The ads appeared the following year in the Jun/July issue of In-Fisherman.

As long as public water is open to the public, then there will be days that make you mutter not so nice things at times. I look at it as waves, wakes, noise, etc. as a fact of life. Even with common courtesy from everyone there are inconveniences you have to put up with. What annoys me is when a few ( insert swear words here ) feel their right to use the water supersedes everyone else's. If you are fishing a cove and there are , say, jet skiers running circles on the main lake you will get noise, waves, that's just the way it is. But if those same jet skiers race into the cove and decide to use you as a pylon for their race, well, that's just wrong. At that point I'll just move ,and take down their numbers to call the marine patrol. Really, what else are you going to do. Same with everyone else. As in all of life's situations, most people will try to do the right thing, but the few that don't, there's only so much that you can do. Yes, it ticks you off, but if you let their actions ruin your day, then you've let them win, in more ways than one.

I do a lot of night fishing this time of year to beat the heat. (getting ready to launch by 3 am this morning) When fishing during hours of darkness I secure an automatic strobe to my PFD.

Lake Casitas California. No water skiing allowed, no body contact with the lake. OMG paradise

Any of those reels will work just fine. Whichever one feels best in your hand is the right one.

As others have said, you can use a bunch of different trailers for it. Personally I like these. Keeps a slimmer profile (to get thru pads/weeds), yet the motion of the Minnow gives it a lot of action.

A day on Lake Erie with Dwight Hottie, catching those bronze bruisers would be sweet, but meeting Dwight would be enough. Dwight its Big G from FBN.

@MichaelCopeland My dad loves using those spoons. They really are pretty weedless. He like using a 6" curly tail worm as a trailer and fishing it almost like a frog over thick vegetation.

As a stonemason and stainless steel chimney/wood stove installer, I’m often up on roofs or in attics working on older chimneys. Wasps and hornets absolutely love to get up under the chimney flashing and create nests, which are always right where I need to tear it down. I’m sure there’s been a few times where customers neighbors have wondered why there’s a crazy person on the roof with a full zipped up rain suit on when it’s sunny and 90 degrees outside ?

Kayakers I know tell me that as long as the boat is 150' away, they prefer them to stay on plane as the rollers being thrown forward are harder to navigate. They also say, that if a boat doesn't drop to head-to-toe speed, it is worse

Can of black spray paint or a large black sharpie. Tom

Went to Hillsdale the other weekend and fished the first part of the day. Bites were weak, caught some baby bass, a crappie, and maybe a panfish I think. Biggest bass was caught in about 5 feet of water using a 10 inch Rage Tail worm in green/red pumpkin. About 2.5lb and about 18inches. I suck at eoem fishing, so I was doing only work to better my skill. Was really happy to catch my PB in a worm.

d**n near any lake just IN A BOAT #BankLife

Who knows . Here it was July 31st , sunny skies , moderate north wind blowing ,mild temps after a heat wave , the water clearer than it has been for a long time, a twenty foot thermocline and I managed to catch one the best limits I have had for several years . The biggest bass , a 4.5 lb was caught with a Berkely Dredger 17.5 and the rest including three more four lbers came out of shallow water on a buzzbait . I was expecting a deep bite and the fish were found shallow at the mouths of cuts like it was April instead of July. Bass will keep one guessing thats for sure .Why there were a decent number of fish at the mouths of cuts ,? I do not know , just glad to have lucked into them . You just have to keep trying and sometimes one makes the right choices and sometimes one doesnt .

Got out Tues. And today for about 5 hrs each day. Tues. Just pitched all day with a double wide beaver got 10 best at 3-8. Today tried to force a toad and buzz bait bite only managed a couple so back to pitching.only 2 bites but 1 came in at 5-2.

After reading an article in the latest edition of the weekly Bass Resource newsletter, I had to get me one. A 1/2oz Johnson Siver Minnow weedless spoon. Hoping to get out today to try it out along with a Ned rig. Never tried either before so just maybe I'll have some better luck on my next outing. ?

What a crazy night, guys. South East Wisconsin lake, absolute pigs. Both completely blew my old PB of 5.5lb out of the fricking water! Sadly I didn't have a scale on the boat. First one was 22" and the second was almost 24". Extremely old fish for Wisconsin. Still can't believe this happened. I apologize in advanced for jacking the fish's jaws. I was on autopilot and in shock and wasn't as gentle with the holding as I'd normally be. Both were out of the water for less than one minute. (Straight to the live well, then taken out for picture, then released) They swam away strong and unharmed.

Any reel with a solid metal frame and strong drag will work. For a rod, I like a light weight, heavy/fast rod, around 7-7-3.

The weed line closest to the shoreline. Tom

The flatheads wanted to be bass Friday. 6XD, Z-Craw, and YoMomma. Just babies but they were fun.

Make sure you sharpen that hook. I recall they’re pretty crappy out of he package

Meme of the year right there!

Storm Chug Bug! There´s at least one black color available and they are inexpensive and super effective...

I ran into a ground nest once at work while locating in some tall weeds so I saw nothing. By the time it was all said and done I had been stung 10 times on my neck, arms, and head. Called the contractor told them the situation and said you're on your own, dig careful. Some of those stings hurts for almost a week.

Going to the Outer Banks and fresh water fishing? That's like going to IHOB and ordering a burger....