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i feel like throwing all my tackle in the wood chipper brb

"Barely Legal" because of all the little bass I catch .

It's been a great year for big fish for me, probably because I spent a lot of time on the lakes where they live ? 4/5 are from the same lake. 33.81 for my biggest 5. 7.43 6.72 6.63 6.58 6.45

We lost a member of the family today, he passed at 8:10 pm. Although at 8:15 he was brought back from the light by way of chip bag crinkle ?.

There was a good conversation last time I posted my crappie trip results and I promised that I would go into more detail on my next trip. Well, that trip was yesterday. Although they were not biting as well as the last time out (if you can consider 40 vs 80 fish a slow day) we were able to bring home some slabs for a friend who had never had crappie. That also meant I got to clean fish which was not what I wanted to do. This is my version of a crappie 101 and I'm sure others have setups they prefer. Gear: I included pictures of my 2 main setups. Obviously, I only use spinning rods for crappie but you could throw the float setup on a baitcaster if you are so inclined. Both of my spinning rods/reels are Quantum Smoke. Rods are 6'8" MH. I have 6lb mono on the casting rig and 8lb mono on my float rig. I have one longer rod that is a JLM Elite that I use for dropping baits between boats and docks. Presentation: There are 3 main ways I catch crappie. 1. Simple cast and retrieve on the rod with 6lb mono. Vary your retrieve depending where in the water column you want the bait to run. 2. Dropping and jigging the bait between boats and docks. Simply freespool the bait to the bottom (many times that's when you will get bit.) reel up about 2 turns of the reel and simply raise and drop your lure vertically. 3. Casting with a float. This is a great way to catch them and can be used from shore or a boat. I use the 8lb mono on this rig. Run your line through the float, tie on your jighead, put a small pinch weight about 3" up the line from the jighead (this helps the line feed through the float after you cast, acts as a stopper from reeling your jighead all the way to the float and gives better castability). Once you determine the depth you want your bait to be, I just tie a piece of fishing line above the float at that depth (you can use bobber stops). The line will reel up through the guides if I am fishing really deep but I like to keep my depth at around 6' if possible (that's why my rods are 6'8"). I cast the float setup out, let it settle, and then slowly lift my rod tip and pull the float, then let it drop. Pause for 30 seconds, then pull it again reeling up the slack and letting it sit. I do this all the way back to the boat. Most of the bites come as soon as the bait settles. Terminal Tackle: Although you might see a small spoon or a roadrunner or a hair jig in my bait box picture, 99.9% of the time I am throwing the Gamakatsu jighead I pictured. I also have small pinch weights and of course floats. I like the line through floats since crappie are light biters and will spit a bait very quickly. The Jigheads I posted are a personal favorite and are super sharp but it's a challenge getting 8lb mono through double for a Palomar knot. Scents: Most of the juices nibbles, etc., are a matter of personal preference. I us the 2 I pictured. I have found that the casting setup without the float normally doesn't need anything due to the moving action of the bait. I will say the Crappie Nibbles get stolen a lot and are sometimes frustrating trying to rig up. I use them to tip the jigs with either the tubes or curlytail jigs. I personally like the Smelly Jelly because it stays on the lure longer. I will admit, there are time either will increase bites. So there you have it. My go to set ups for crappie fishing and we had a great day. Any questions, just ask. Best of all, everything I showed fits in a small tackle bag and is easy to carry and transport. 3 rods and I can fish for crappie most anywhere. Sorry for the sideways pictures. This site flips and turns them and even if I go back in and edit them based on what shows on the site, they are never right.

Jaws, since I need a bigger boat.

”dazed and confused”

Fishing here has been sllllllllooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww for me this fall. A turd ton of rain has literally flooded and turned over almost every lake that’s within 6 hours of here. We went from late summer fishing to almost winter fishing in a week. After being skunked or nearly skunked on the last few trips I did manage to catch 5 over the weekend. My biggest was around 3.5. One dink on a squarebill, the rest on Texas rigged soft plastics dragging bottom super slow. Feelin the crunch now, seems like the rest of this year is flying by, and running out of time to get on some more big girls before true winter hits.

8.25, 8.11, 7.93, 7.7, 7.5 = 39.49 Slow year ?

Shallow Hal

The Jerk

This is just an experiment , an attempt to resize a photo to fit this forum without using a third party . Bomber Model A and a cold water bass caught a long time ago . Super Bowl XXIII hat . LOL and that is a Shacket underneath that Hoodie . Man I was skinny .

Got this shot from where I was working last week. Its looking south down the St Johns river app. 14 miles south of jax.

Went out on Saturday again since I already filled my deer tag, and taking a week off before going after my elk. It was 29 degrees outside and snowing. Water temp was in the low 40s around the entire pond. So you can imagine how suprised I was when I found big females feeding up in 1 foot of water and aggressively taking my jerkbait. Also ended up with this bonus rainbow Quite possibly one of the best Novembers I've ever had fishing.

My grandfather.

I'm gonna get you sucka

Skunk (2014) - IMDB

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

So let's say call what you are looking for is a cookie cutter tin. Most 17-19ft mod v aluminum boats will give you the same ride no matter what the brand. Xpress and Sea Ark will rise above. They will also cost more money. The Lund will be the only riveted option. It will be the only hull that won't warp or crack. The rest of the hulls are similar and only the interior layouts will differ. If you're not beating the crap out of it, any brand will do. If you are beating the crap out of it, go with the Xpress, Sea ark or Lund.

Owning a boat is about freedom. I had motorcycles prior to owning boats. Freedom on the open road is nothing compared to freedom on the open water. Freedom to fish wherever and whenever you want (weather permitting) Freedom to chase the big ones in a tournament. Freedom to chase the big ones to show off your trophys. Freedom to chase the panfish for dinner. Freedom to take a kid fishing. Freedom to take your dad(or grand dad) fishing, if, for nothing more than to spend quality time with them. Freedom to drag the wife along so she can tan while you're training to be the ultimate angler. Freedom to take the kids and grandkids out for a day on the water, be it fishing, tubing, or just riding around. Freedom to be one with nature. Freedom to say no to your neighbor who asks you to take him fishing yet offers nothing in return. Freedom just to get the F away from the crap that life throws at you. Freedom to wave at the bank maggots knowing you've got a boat and they don't. No regrets. I spent more money than I needed on more boat than I needed. Were it not for that, the time I spend with my son and my father would be minimal at best. People buy boats for different reasons. My purchase was based more on the needs of my dad than the needs for myself and my son. Dad is pushing 80 and has caught more big fish in the last 5 years than he had 75 years prior. No regrets.

Here's a set of S-Crank bluegills I did for someone. Mike

One of my favorite articles here on BR is "Normark's Risto Rap," by the late Larry Gonczy. https://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/Risto.html Although being discontinued, this bait will always be one of my favorites. I've heard it called the Shad Rap on steroids and it has always performed for me. It had a short run as Rapala soon introduced the DT cranks and the Risto Raps were discontinued. I made a run on these lures when BP put them out for $1 and I made sure I would always have access to this crank. There's nothing better than pulling a 20 year-old bait out of the box and having someone ask you where you can get the lure as you are pulling in a nice bass. I still see them on Ebay and if you are a fan of the Shad Rap, you'll like this lure.

"Runner Up" I hold the worlds' record for 2nd place finishes in local tournaments the last 10+ years. 162 tournaments under my belt. 14 wins. 49 2nd place finishes !!!! Another 15 money finishes, be it 3rd, 4th, lunker or something. I rarely get beat by the same person twice, and more times than not, it has taken the person (or team) that's beaten me the day of their lives. Rarely do I get blown out either, it's usually a squeaker. Oddly...most of my wins have been either in grinds when no one else caught much, or in total blowout fashion where 2nd wasn't even close.

Fistful of Dollars. Because its what I spend on tackle every payday, but also what I walk away with after a tourney win haha

Thanks - Sometimes it's all about ability & results. The 'new breed' of sled dog has changed many times over the years. Somethings do however stay the same. A-Jay

I got 6 of them from @Bluebasser86, so far this is the only one I have thrown. It works.

I, also, don't weigh my fish unless one is over 24in. or I think it may top my PB. My top five for this past season; 22in. 21in. 21in. 20.5in. and 20.0in. That 20.5in. likely weighed more than the 22 as she had been feeding heavily prior to succumbing to my offering. I'd guess total weight around 29lb. BTW, all these fish were caught in July or Aug and the two 21in. was actually the same fish caught three days apart.

Top 5 for me : 8.6 8.1 7.3 6.11 6.3 Also had several between 5-6 All largemouth of course. Would love to get me a trophy smallmouth someday.

Tournament fishing bags: (all largemouth) #1: 22.89 (Conesus lake, team event) #2: 21.50 (Silver lake, team event) #3: 20.86 (Silver lake , solo event) #4: 18.89 (Silver lake, solo event) #5: 18.44 (Conesus lake, solo event) Individual fish: 6-8 (smallmouth ,May 2018 Silver), 6-6 (largemouth, Oct. 2018 Silver), 6-4 (largemouth, Aug 2018 in a tournament Conesus), 6-2 (largemouth, May, 2018 Silver), and another 6-2 (largemouth, June 2018 Silver)

Tucker & Fenway on their trail run today in preparation of Sled Season. A-Jay

Last fool, um...I mean boat off the water yesterday ?

Brasstown Bald, Ga In honor of Vetrans day

Unless that 'ship wreck' is 20 feet long - it's probably a bit deeper there than 12 ft. And while the lakes up north here can, do and are often super clear - I've not personally see anything close to what's being stated there. May not mean it doesn't happen, I've just not seen or heard of 300 foot viability anywhere. Now 35 ft plus yes but not hundreds of feet. A-Jay

After several setbacks over the course of a couple years I finally got to pull the trigger and upgrade boats! Originally the plan was a brand new boat this spring, but kind of counted my chickens before they hatched and didn't get the job that would have allowed me the extra income to get one. I've been searching for a couple months now and didn't find anything I liked or wanted in my price range. I found a Tracker in Kalamazoo at KVD's brother's store. The price was towards the top of my budget, it didn't have any graphs, and no cover, so there would only be money left over for a cover. So I debated for a week and as a Hail Mary I got on CL one last time and expanded my search radius a little further and said "if I don't find anything it's meant to be I get the Tracker". So I hit search scroll through and find the one! A nice G3 Eagle 175, 50 hp Yamaha, Helix 5 DI at the bow, and a Helix 7 SI G2N. The boat is in excellent condition with only a minor 3" tear in the seat. The price was below budget which is always nice, but it was in Indiana. I was able to talk him down $500 and he agreed to drive to the state line. I talked to my brother and he agreed to pick it up since he isn't too far away from the state line. He met the guy, checked the boat and outboard out (thankfully he works at a marina part time so I trust him) all was good. After waiting forever today I hear from him and he's able to meet up with me. It was getting dark so I left it covered for the night, I'll post more pics Sunday. Now begins the long 5 month wait before I can even get it in the water. Oh well, time will go by fast.

Hi All, I've seen a couple of members reporting snow before all their fall leaf cleaning was done. No snow here yet ( knock on wood) but a weird fall pattern of 3-4 days of rain, followed by only 1-2 days of cold but nice weather has my fall cleaning going " catch as catch can". Of course living out in the woods means tons of leaves anyway. I'd thought I'd share a few pics of my leaves and my leaf removal tool. Here's a few of my yard as of today. I've already cleaned it twice this year, but the oaks will keep dropping until we get snow. Here's my main leaf removal tool. Between that and my leaf blower, my raking is kept to a minimum. Luckily I own enough land I can dump them way out back in the woods Thanks for looking Jim

A zoom magnum finesse worm on a 1/16 or 1/8oz shakyhead is one of my main fish catchers during the winter months.

If visibility was 300', how long would your fluro leader have to be??!?!?!?!?!!?

Straight tail worm on an 1/8 round ball jig head. I fish this all year but definitely down deep in coldest part of winter

3.71, 3.70, 3.55, 3.46, and 3.3. All largemouth, don’t judge me I live in Indiana.

It’s kind of sad most big tournaments around here take 20 lb sometimes more to win and I can’t hardly break that mark in a calendar year....... thanks @N Florida Mike........... ha!

Thank you and thanks everyone for chiming in, money can always be made but memories of loved ones will be cherished forever

8-5, 6-13, 6-10, 6-3 and 6-00. All northern strain large mouth. I had one decent smallie right at four pounds. Tough year. Three of my buddies each caught their personal best large mouths while fishing with me and that was the best.

Get a shad, a green pumpkin/bluegill, and a black and blue, you'll be set.

I can't compete with the southern guys, but it was a good year for me. my largest 5 were all largemouth. 7 lb. 11 oz. 6 lb. 10 oz. (can't find a pic for proof) 6 lb. 6 oz. 6 lb. 4 oz. 5 lb 12 oz. 5 lb. 4 oz. 7lb 11oz 6lb 6oz 6lb 4oz 5lb 12oz could not find a picture of the 6lb 10oz. so here is a 5lb 4oz. I caught this summer. Was not a good year for smallmouth. did not catch any smallies over 3lb. this year. I decided to add some pictures

@BigSkyBasserYes and yes. I’ve fished two so far, I won my first ever tournament as a boater first try in the Renegade. 3 day event on Lake Winnipesaukee (45,000 acres) - I fished the “broads” for deep smallmouth in 15-25mph winds with some truly nasty white caps. I’d take an occasional wave right over the bow, and the 45” trolling motor was coming out of the water frequently. Ultrex held me right on the spot for hours though, not another bass boat in sight (people thought I was out of my mind to be honest). It is still a mod-v aluminum hull, if you’re running through good chop on plane you will feel it, no denying that. You’ll also get wet.. both my partner and I being in our late 20’s and decked out in good rain gear was pretty key on that particular day.. I run the only aluminum rig in my club, and was a bit intimidated at first... not anymore. Sure their pretty 21’ Fiberglass boats will go faster, stay dryer, and be more comfortable, but that doesn’t at all mean that they’ll catch more fish. I’ll fish and run on plane shallower than any of them, and apparently with the Ultrex and good electronics I can beat them all fishing deep too. At WOT I can get 46-52mph depending on my load and prop. Lots of lakes we fish have 45mph speed limits or are too small to matter. The only places around here where I think I’m going to have a real disadvantage are Lake Champlain, or Oneida which is unfortunate but far from a deal breaker. I think the amount of days that you’re “safe” in a 19-21’ Fiberglass bass boat and “not safe” in a 19’ aluminum bass boat are few and far between. Here’s a quick video I made during the run back to weigh in on day 3 of that Winnipesaukee tournament. I’ve got a review video long overdue.

You really only need two colors. Get a dark color for stained water and a lighter, shad-like color for clearer water. I think Black/Blue is a must and then I'd get one in white or maybe like a sexy shad color.

Not re-visiting 2017 but . . 2018 Season Domestic Brown Bass ~ 6-4, 6-3, 6-0, 5-14, & 5-14 = 30 lbs - 3 oz 2018 International Green Bass ~ 11.30, 10.22, 10.14, 9.83, & 9.28 = 50 lbs 12.3 ounces (All caught in a 5 day span) That was fun. A-Jay

At this points the decisions been made for me. Our 'lake effect' snow showers on & off all weekend pretty much did it. Bet we're up to at least 6 inch on the grassy areas now - and it's going to just keep coming, and coming, and coming and coming,and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming. Sorry, guess I lost it there for a bit . . . I'm better now. A-Jay

I never tried any of the Diana reels either ?

Cold shouldn’t hurt anything. Heat will though