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Got out on Saturday to one of my favorite local ponds. It had been cold and raining constantly for the previous couple of days. Took the water temp which showed 46 degrees. Overcast and intermittent rain showers with a slight breeze. Did not think I was going to catch anything. Started with my Vision 110 Jr casting laterally and working it slowly along weed lines that transition to deeper water. Saw nothing and got no bites. Moved down the shore to a flat with depths between 4-6 feet and decided to throw out my swimbait (Biwaa S Trout.) After about 10 casts, I had an 11 inch Largemouth absolutely smash it around 10 feet from the shoreline. Caught 2 more this way and lost another before finally having to leave. Fished a slough down river of this pond and stuck a small hammer handle on the Vision 110 Jr. All in all one of the better November days I've ever had!

I'd been searching for one of my Daiwa Fuegos (the older red ones) for a couple of months and finally reconciled myself to the fact that it was lost for good. Clearing out the boat prior to winterizing, my electronics go on a shelf above my work bench where my muskie tackle box sits. Guess where that gem was hiding? I'd put it in there as a spare for the only muskie trip I took this season. The wife thought we hit the lottery because I whooped so loud. She said it was my own fault because I have so much gear .........................women.

Spent the last 3 days chasing steelhead with the fly rod. Nothing of great size but great numbers, the shoulder and forearm are going to need a day or 2 to recover. A lake run brown was the icing on the cake.

When all else fails, try a Senko.....Seriously........and don't give up!!

On my birthday, 30° overcast, dragging jigs a mile offshore!

hi all, My wife and I were watching TV last night. Around 9:30 the house goes dark, power went out. Called the outage hot line and was told estimated time for the power to come back on was midnight. So we turn a lantern on, play a game of cribbage, then go to bed. Our cat woke me up at 3:45 AM trying to crawl under the covers. House was cold, power still out. Called the outage line again, was told estimated time for repairs and power back on was now around 7 AM. By now I'm awake, so I get dressed and head out to hook up the portable generator. It's pitch black outside, 39 degrees and raining. I pull the generator out. head out to the shed to get the gas can, slip on the wet grass, wrench my back ( again), but finally get some power going. First thing I do is turn the coffee on, gotta have my coffee! I usually don't move in the morning without my cup of coffee. Later this morning we get the power back on and things settled back to normal. However, my routine was thrown off and I've spent the day kinda scatter brained , not being able to get into anything I had planned to do. I know in the big scheme of things this was a miniscule blip on the radar, but I'm finding as I get older, any change in my normal routine throws me for a loop. kinda like one day last year. I had bought a new bait, but forgot to put it in the boat. We were out fishing when I remembered it was still on a shelf at home. Threw me off all day. As I write this I realize two things I am really, really, started in the old fart club. And I like the word Discombobulated, It's a cool word. OK mini rant over thanks for listening Jim

Cold is when you go outside and your nose hairs freeze. Really cold is when your nose hairs freeze just thinking about going outside.

I buy "frog" rods with the purpose of frog fishing first, but being versatile enough to do other stuff with if the frog bite is not "on", or for really early/late in the year cold water stuff. But from late April-late October there is always AT LEAST one frog tied on and on deck ready to go. Before I give my thoughts on rods, I'll go with reels and line first, as its much simpler. Line: 50lb braid....done. Pick your favorite brand. I am not a fan of using anything less than 50, or more than 50. 50 is the sweet spot. Strong enough to winch big fish out of the heaviest of cover, nimble enough for skipping and walking. Reels: METAL FRAME ONLY....don't go cheap ( I didn't say inexpensive). The frog it self is not a high resistance bait that will strain a cheaply made reel, it's the abuse you will put it through over the course of it's life if your regularly catching quality fish on frogs....which often come with 3x times the weight of the fish in attached salad. You need a reel that will hold up to that. Drag power is of no concern...lock it down and be done with it. Gear ratio....faster is better. You can get by with a 6.something :1, a 7.something: 1 is better, anything 8+ is ideal. IMHO Daiwa Fuego CT's in the 8.1:1 that can be had new for less than $70 are a tremendous bang for the buck right now. I am starting to lose track of how many I have LOL. Rods: There is a lot of personal preference in selecting the right frog rod. Some want broom stick power, other's want light weight for all day comfort, some want a more delayed/moderate action to solve what IMHO is operator error in pulling baits away from fish (I'm good at NOT doing this,but I'm not perfect), and others yet want a blended combo of all three. I'll throw in extreme durability as well, big hooks sets with strong line in nasty cover will expose a rods weakness really quick Here are rods that I have owned that were bought with purpose of being my frog rods that I HATED: St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen 1) 7' H/F "slop and frog". This fit the broom stick power, and durability requirements...but was a heavy, unbalanced pig. It was not fun to fish with all day and was a very poor choice for target casting frogs into tight spots. Kistler Magnisum Jig and Toad 7' H/F....light, nimble, powerful enough. Terrible durability Falcon Bucoo Micro 6'10" H/F.....really really light, nimble, good durability, excellent accuracy, not good in the power dept. Plus micro guides clog up with every little bit of gunk and make for some interesting issues that you don't have with "normal" rod guides....especially during cotton wood season. St Croix Rage 7' MH/F....boy this is a good "what might have been rod". Light, powerful, durable....I actually really liked the handle, and reel seat....but those dang micro guides. If this rod had regular guides, it might still be my frog rod. Any thing from Abu Garcia...and there's been too many to remember. Here are rods that surprised me at how good at frogging they were: Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7' MH....despite it's low price tag, it was my "go-to" frog rod for many years, and that's AFTER using some of the more higher priced rods mentioned above. Light?...not so much. Durable?....extremely. Accurate?....it was decent, the low number of guides kind of hurt it a little in this dept. Powerfull?....just good enough, it always handled big fish in heavy cover for me, but it also always felt like I was on the edge of disaster, yet it never let me down. St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen1) 7' MH/F. This did everything well, and was a much better choice than the actual "frog" rod in the early Mojo line. St Croix Avid 7' MH/F.....same as the above Mojo, slightly lighter. Daiwa Aird X 7' H.....pretty much the same as the Lightning Rod Shock, a tad lighter, and better guides. Now for my current frog rod: Dobyns Fury 735C 7'3" Mag H. It's light, the best balanced rod I have ever owned, and fits all my power/accuracy/comfort requirements. Durability will be hashed out over the course of the next season...I have only had these rods for a few months now, but so far so good. I always liked 7' rods for frogging because MOST longer rods seemed awkward, cumbersome, and inaccurate in tight spots in my hands. Not so with this rod. I don't know what Dobyns did to make this rod fish so well, but it does. And it does more than frog well, I use for a TON of stuff, and it is truly a general purpose workhorse that isn't just "good enough" for stuff. It actually surprised me how many things it seems to be a perfect fit for. I generally DON'T buy multiples of many rods, but I did with this. That's how much I liked it.

Some of these Daiwa reels I see on here really look nice. I may have to cross over to the "Dark Side" someday.

winter fishing can be boom or bust here. it seems the nastier the weather, the better the fishing is on the one power plant lake I fish. the one caveat is, they have to be generating electricity. the cold water lakes often get ice on them. usually not thick enough to safely ice fish. the main problem I have with winter fishing is, as I have aged, my hands can't tolerate the cold for long. my arthritis starts acting up and my hands get sore and stiff. cold weather is a good reminder, that you are not young anymore.

Back in August of this year – I purchased a Tranx 300HG. Planned on using it to throw bigger baits here in northern Michigan as well as on trips south of the border. Figured it would come in handy heaving swimbaits there. Prior to this purchase, I have been fishing a Callcutta 300D for a couple of years now. Really like this one – the size, the line capacity and the power of the Callcutta D is formidable. What I didn’t like that much was the 5.7:1 gear ratio. Great for working swimbaits but not the best for trying to catch up with big fish coming at me. The mad million mile per hour reel handle turn thing has cost me a fish here & there. Not something I want to do fishing in Mexico where any cast can be The One. So I picked up the Tranx 300HG. Initial impressions were that it’s not that big, it’s lighter than I thought and very palmable. I could see myself using this for a few more local applications than I’d originally anticipated – A-Rigs & Glide baits for instance. Fished the reel here for about a month before I took it to Mexico. I had the Tranx 300 mounted on a Departure 3pc 8 ft MH swimbait Travel rod spun up by F5 Custom Rods. This is the stick I took down there. It’s pretty beefy and balances out well with the Tranx 300. The rig Cast great. Feels super smooth. Manages the 20-25 lb fluorocarbon nicely as well as the 65-80 lb braid I tried on it. The line capacity seems very close to the Calcutta 300D and is advertised as 150yds of 17lb. I was using Tatsu 20 - 25lb and I’ll say I got at least 150 of the 20 lb and something less in the 25; but still very fishable with plenty left after a long cast. And then there was the real world test. The actual swimbait fishing on Lake Baccarac. I was really hoping the Tranx would not be too fast to work the bait effectively and have plenty of speed & power to be a reasonable option when fighting the bigger fish we would not doubt encounter. Questions answered with a resounding YES ! The Tranx is a beast. Super comfortable to fish all day, launches baits and does everything else I mentioned with authority. The reel comes with a single doorknob looking power handle. I gave it a try but frankly I’m not a fan – doesn’t really suit my style of fishing. So I ordered the standard double paddle handle that comes on the 300 (non-HG) version – like that one quite a bit more – perhaps I’m just used to it. And then, in a very interesting and unexpected turn of events, I was able to obtain a proto-type custom carbon fiber handle for it from Hawg Tech. I have several of their handles on some of my other reels and I love them. So I jumped at the chance. Besides looking pretty sweet the added length (110mm) and the custom knobs make fishing an already very nice reel something very special. I was cutting off baits from other rigs so that I could keep fishing it. So when it’s all said and done, despite having an almost unhealthy affection for round reels, I could actually see myself replacing the Calcutta 300D with the Tranx 300 standard speed reel. The low profile seems that comfortable. There you have it. If you’re in the market for a bulletproof reel with a bit more line capacity to handle your long casts with 20-25 lb mono or fluorocarbon – I’d encourage you to check out the Tranx. I’m certainly glad I did. A-Jay

I have a couple of the 2005 Max rods and really like them. I think I'll be upgrading next year. From their 2019 catalog...

Let's talk about value. The next generation Helios by Okuma expands on the reputation of the original reel that I reviewed for BassResource several years ago. Great right out of the box, but even better after years of hard fishing. My expectations for the Helios SX HSX-273V are very high indeed. https://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/okuma-helios-reel-rod.html With a gear ratio of 7.3:1, line retrieve is 31.5 IPT and line capacity is 130 yards with standard fluorocarbon, monofilament or copolymer. Weighing in at only 6.1 ounces, the Helios offers a maximum drag of 14 pounds which is about 10 pounds more than I would ever use! The engineering has produced a reel that qualifies for a variety of applications. I have mine saddled up to Batson Immortal custom build by ghoti. This particular rig is a dedicated jerkbait set-up, but on another rod the Helios would be ideal for jigs and soft plastics, too. I am heading to Pickwick Lake for three days on the river with my brother. We will be targeting smallmouth exclusively. I hope to follow up this little piece with a picture of a monster that my brother is going to catch! It's PrimeTime in this neck of the woods so I plan to give my new reel a work out.

Just finished up this build. Got the blank back in early summer and took this long to decide what to do with it lol. Rainshadow Eternity 6'10" Medium Extra Fast blank with Minima guide train. I turned the reel seat from a walnut blank. Bought a laser engraver during this project but had to get the good old wood burner to get the small mouth on the grip. Turned out great can't wait to get it on the water.

Just a heads up for anyone planning to fish Wyandotte this weekend. I was out there today for about 4 hours. All I caught was 5 small bass and a crappie on a ned rig. They were all in less than 2 foot of water. water is very dirty with floating debris everywhere. Looks like turnover just happened. surface temp was 54 degrees at 11:00 am. Ned Kahde indicated the same thing yesterday on the finesse news network. From his description of the lake, I assume this is where he was fishing.

Here's a bit better pic of another I caught the following day. Both were at least 12 inchers and pretty hefty.

*and Quantums, lol. Just teasing, man. Nice review, and nice job down south.

Welcome to the forum. The fish in your hands is a zebra tilapia. I have caught many of them in Miami Dade county canals along with many other exotic species of fish. The zebra tilapia you caught is very big one for its species.

I don't exactly love winter fishing. But I get cabin fever after a couple weeks of cold weather. I'll start looking in the forecast for the next day of full sun and temps in the 50's. You can catch your biggest fish of the year in February around here. That might mean you're fishing for one bite in a whole day, but it usually won't be a dink. And you finally get outside for a few hours. Also, you don't need to rise with the chickens to winter fish.

Looks about 2 or 2.5 lbs heavier than the potential record that began this thread. Maybe 3

As I've mentioned before...love the winter. It's getting tougher with the hands protesting but the Nitrite gloves are helping along with large handwarmers. Even back warmers come into play sometimes and they are also amazing. Something about the empty boat ramps...quiet waters...eagles flying over....deer sneaking through the woods and fields....squirrels chewing you out for disturbing there peace and the list goes on. Ahhhhhhhh.....it's amazing...truly a gift from above. Now if I had to hear ice cracking just to walk out on a lake I would be terrified....I'll give you all a moment of silence in respect of what you have to endure. Tight lines all....

All I know is that if I can't find it, my wife had to have moved it.

And don't get discouraged, we all go through lulls where we can't get the skunk off our back! Just be patient and persistent! I went twice couple months ago and fished all day without so much as a bite. It's tough sometimes

You're probably right in the middle of the fall transition time in your area, which is tough fishing. We're still at the tail end of it here with the fish finally starting to hit the banks and feeding up. You're in a bit of a tough spot because of fact that you're in a kayak. Normally, the best way to fight the spread out fall fish is to tie on a moving bait and be mobile, cover water and try to contact as many active fish as possible, but that's not really an option for you in yak. So what you might be best off doing is finding those high percentage areas and really picking them apart. Places like mainlake and secondary points (secondary probably getting the nod at this point with fish moving back into coves with the bait), would be some of the main spots I would target. Try several different baits and try to contact any active fish that may be in the area.

You know the farmers almanac is just made up right? I’d never bet money on anything that was printed there. But, if it’s on YouTube, it must be accurate. ?

I love winter fishing . . . in Mexico. A-Jay

I'd say anything under 50 is cold. Anything under 30 is really cold.

There's one advantage to being old, come spring and summer, we can go fishing any day we want. (As long as the pension checks come in.)

One night huh? They call that January and February here.

I'm guessing your winter is better than my winter, lol. Around here it's called ice fishing, lol.

My week on Lake Baccarac in pictures ~ https://www.facebook.com/life.at.the.45th.parallel/media_set?set=a.1975203355892851&type=3 A-Jay

Cassidee has been going with me almost her whole 6 years. Chloe is only about 6 months and still getting the hang of it, but once she calms herself down and starts relaxing like Cass does the whole time, she'll be good. Cassidee is an expert in boat relaxation though.

Nice job

Have not heard discombobulated for a long time. 2 things i noticed about getting old is, 1:the small hiccups in life, that I would have ignored 20 years ago, now become major issues. 2: things that used to really bother me, are now a mere nuisance.

Depends on the wind. If it’s blowing hard on a cold day I’m not going outside.

This year the top water bite down here was limited at best. Despite what we think...the bass will do what they want

Mike L, look forward to helping you out anyway I can.

The Fury 735 was my first Dobyns Rod, I liked it so much I bought another. It's an excellent frog rod, and the first longer than 7' rod I actually like for frogging.

I think my wife and I are a bit ahead of the curve here. Two 401k maxed out yearly since we started our careers at 22/23, max contributions to Roth IRA each year, an investment fund and three 529 funds getting good chunks each month. I’d had wanted to sit down with a financial planner since I was around 30 but just never did it til 35. I wish I did it sooner, and I would recommend this for younger folks. Don’t be fooled into thinking you need a huge portfolio to do this. Bring the data on your current financial situation, talk about your financial goals and work together to assemble a plan to get there.

Tennessee Boy, I don't even use the term "how much I make" mines more like how little I make. I came from a large family, my biological father was a fulltime professional gambler until he became a fulltime acholic deadbeat. The man I referred to as My dad was really my stepfather who married my mother with six small kids (I was four with two younger bothers and three older) when he was a private in the Marines. The man was always able to come up with some method of having food on the table and at least having us something under the Christmas tree. A man I totally respected and had a great admiration for as I grew up, but money we didn't have. When you are not raised with a descent financial background, sometimes it's hard to understand money. That's stuff you need to have a good time and buy all those things you want, but don't really need. The more you make, the more and better toys you can have. You are not thinking about 30-40 years down the road, there is not a thought in your head that someday, if you don't kill yourself from some stupid stunt, you might get old and tired of working, or unable to work. Then comes along a wife, and some kids to go along with all those expensive toys and things you like. Not enough income left over to even think about saving and all the stock market is, is something you hear them talk about on the television. Next thing you know, you're having your fiftieth birthday and things start to sink in, it's not going to be long before you will be retiring (or wishing you could) and start doing a little financial evaluation. That's when you go into the financial crises mode, but about 20 to 25 years later than you should have. That's also about the same time you start well, I could always pickup some side work or get a part time job, but guess what, not many companies want to hire old farts, or you may not have the physical ability to "work". I have my military retirement, social security and a small savings I managed to put together during that financial crises mode that's enough to keep me out of the soup line but nothing to brag about. One saving grace it my medical insurance, my insure through the military along with medicare pays almost all medical expenses, but not dental, so that still bites.

Good advice @Brad Reid If I told you how much money I make, I don't think you would be impressed. I don't think anyone would be impressed with the six year old truck that I bought used, my 2300 sq foot home, or my aluminum bass boat with a 90HP outboard. You might however be impressed with how much money I have saved for retirement. My truck gets me where I want to go, our house is bigger than we need, and if I don't catch fish it's not because of my boat. I've lived modestly and made savings a priority since I got out of college. I work, my wife works, and our savings work. Most years, our savings makes more money than we do. Compounded investment returns can make anyone rich. Credit card interest can make anyone poor. It's a lesson everyone learns eventually. It seems like most of the post on this web site are from people asking for advice on what tackle to buy. I assume the goal is to catch more fish. My plan for catching more fish is to retire in my fifties and replace working with fishing. That sometimes means I have to smack the bait monkey upside the head when he starts messing with me.

i miss the guys, not the job. now, me and a friend work part time doing side jobs, hit the gym in the mornings, do alot of fishing. i love it. stress is way down now and the Lord has blessed me with relatively good health.

At 53 retirement is close enough to taste but still sooooo far away. My wife and I have been great at avoiding the pitfalls of most people nowadays. No credit card debt and student loans long ago paid off. We are very good at living frugal. Our son is still young (15 years old) but he is in a program where he will graduate high school and a year later will receive a 2 year degree in IT or advanced manufacturing for free. One of the benefits of living in this state if you know how to take advantage of it. I will miss what I do. I manage a trust for folks with disabilities. It helps keep them in their homes rather than go into institutional care. I worked for a bank for 15 years before this and they laid me off without blinking an eye. Making more money for big corporations was soul sucking work. Now I make a difference in people’s lives.

Good stories....been retired for about four years now (am 68) due to pancreatitis doing it's job. Could and should have been fertilizer but dodged a bullet. Life style and values changed too...especially when we lost daughter to cancer during this time too. Won't go into the money thing....the above made a big dent. But life is good...today is good. Will see what the good Lord brings us tomorrow. Fingers are crossed we can handle it.

Ordred 1 rod. Had free $20 samsclub gift card for joining. Used it towards a $50 Cabelas e-gift card($48.98 - $20). Wound up paying $64 shipped after taxes. I kind of got over on the bait monkey for once.

I retired from a military career in 2007 at 47 years old. Seems young to some but there was quite a bit packed in to that time. I love reading the interesting and insightful perspective of both those about to and those who have "retired". As each person's situation surrounding this life event is different, mine was also somewhat complicated by my wife's health (she was medically separated from the service the same year as me at age 35 and can no longer work.) 11 years later, here's my perspective on the whole deal. First off, I hate the word / term "RETIREMENT" - I'm not retired from anything until I take my last breath. I still have a life to lead. My job, my career, although I poured my heart & soul into it and loved every minute of it (as so many do with whatever their occupation may be) It never was who I am - it's what I did. The Honor, Respect and Devotion to duty I lived in the US Coast Guard was with me when I enlisted in 1979, came with me when I separated in 28 years later and is still with me today. Always will be. It's served me well and I expect it will continue to do so. I always smile when folks who are currently employed by someone else, find out I can work but don't, and ask "what do you do all day ?" - My response reflects on the fact that for almost 30 years I served my Country and the communities (insert total strangers) I lived in well, while at the same time doing my very best to raise & take care of my family. Now - I have the distinct honor & pleasure of offering ALL my attention & Efforts to those who mean the most to me. When was that not enough ? Best part may be that my previous experience has left me with "a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare" for the average day. I like that. That's my story and I'm stick'in to it. A-Jay

200 bucks for 1 bait ? No wonder your angry , John. ?

I've got $15 swimbaits and others that cost 15 times that. They all have their time and place. Otherwise, just buy what you can afford and get after it, most all work

I got a $5 chatterbait stuck in a thorny Rose bush yesterday and my trolling motor could barely keep up with the current to go get it . I was very concerned about this $5 bait, so that tells you if I have ever chucked a $100 lure into the river........