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So I got out on the home lake for a few hours. Very slow for awhile up at my end of the lake. I started noticing some commotion in the water a ways off. As I got closer, I starting seeing a fish flapping in and out of the water. I got there and saw a 3 pound bass had swallowed a bass only an inch or so shorter !!. In all my years bass fishing Ive never seen this before. I was able to pull the fish out of the others mouth, took a pic of the two side by side with the head on shots before releasing them apparently no worse for the wear. Do yall think the bigger one was trying to swallow the smaller one ?? Or maybe they were zeroing in on a baitfish at the same time ? I went on to catch some really nice fish too , on this cool , cloudy afternoon.The biggest was the last one, which was 4 lb. 13 oz. All they would bite today was the 5 inch pumpkin chartruese tail yum dinger. Nothing on a spinnerbait, craws, or worms. And it was the same pattern as its been being the last several times. Caught them around eel grass moving it through or dead sticking. Very enjoyable, and interesting afternoon indeed.

This is what happens at 5pm when my almost 2 year old decides he doesn't need a nap today. I tried to pick him up and wake him up because I thought it was a little early to put him to bed, he didn't agree.

My son and I had an interesting day lagoon hopping today. Our first stop was at a large lagoon on an undeveloped tract. It's one of those Google maps finds that we've never fished before. The woody vegetation was ridiculously thick all around and there were no openings. Although the weather is cooler, we still have alligators to contend with so we never wedge ourselves through the thicket to the shoreline. It would be too easy to become trapped especially if you caught a fish and a gator decided they wanted your catch. I finally found one are where I could cast over a lower thicket of woody vegetation and under some other trees. It probably a 2' x 4' opening 4 feet above the surface of the water. But I had to try. I tossed a weedless Senko and on the 3rd cast caught a nice 2 pounder. But the fish hung in the woody vegetation and it was a pain to get him out of there, so after releasing it we headed to a more familiar set of lagoons. It turns out that tract is bank owned and has been for quite some time. I may head back there with a machete. Google Earth shows that lagoon has had dense vegetation around it since at least 2004. This could be THE ideal low pressure fishing spot. Maybe there's something bigger than a 2 pounder in there... Anyway, on to my Personal Worst. We moved on to some familiar lagoons and the one we fished has two decent sized pools connected by a shallow channel about 150 yards long and 40 yards wide. In the spring there are a ton of bass beds in this channel. I fished one of the deeper pools with no luck and then figured the bass probably use the shallower channel as a feeding area. I slow fished a Rapala Shadow Rap Shad, felt a tick, set the hook, and landed a nice 3.5 pounder. A few casts later I feel a bump, set the hook, and - nothing. But the lure feels weird as I'm reeling it in. I figured it was just some weeds. The water is pretty clear and as the lure gets closer I can see it's spiraling like the line snagged on a treble. But it doesn't feel like that. So I pause my retrieve and there's a tiny, tiny splash at the lure. So I reel it all the way in and there's a tiny bass snagged on one of the treble hooks! And yes, the lure is bigger than the fish. I figure that he nipped at the lure and when I set the hook it pulled the treble through him. I managed to get him off the treble without crushing him and when he was back in the water he oriented himself for a few seconds and then took off. Hopefully he survives. Besides being an interesting catch, it appears that in this lagoon there was a second spawn this year. This lagoon also connects via the stormwater system to three other lagoons and those three connect to even more lagoons. The ecosystem is kind of like a decent sized lake connected by channels or stream beds, in this case large stormwater pipes. I've only caught 2-3 pounders in there, but I had one that was at least 6 or 7 that broke off earlier in the year. And as I said, we spotted numerous beds in the spring. With almost 300 lagoons to fish in this community (and we fish a lot of them) I may need to pay more attention to this one. This might be the hub lagoon for bass in this ecosystem of connected lagoons. Anyway, here's a picture of my son holding my Personal Worst:

Her first bass.

What else do I need?

Yes, but even after you develop "the sense" that comes with experience, you still can't get around the physical properties that make braid and fluoro more sensitive in many situations.

As I begin my journey into those "Golden Years," I have found my level of risk taking go way down. However, fishing the big water on a kayak will always be on my bucket list. This video still is by Rob Valderrey.

Interesting stories...I definitely think some people have a greater amount of Gods grace than others.....how or why is beyond me. I can recal one instance when I rigged up a Texas rigged Zoom Dead Ringer and walked down the shoreline to fish a productive 30 ft long flat in the late afternoon. I was fishing for at least an hour with zero fish, so I set the rod down and picked up another setup with a different lure. My 14 year old cousin rides his bike down the hill towards the shoreline on his way home from a friends house; he parks his bike at the edge of the road and asks if he can fish with me. I said sure and he picked up the same Texas rigged setup I was using earlier and made one cast and caught a 5lb Largemouth.....he releases the fish and then makes a second cast to the same area and catches a 4lb Largemouth. He made a few more casts and after about five minutes he gets back on his bicycle and rides home : ) He wasn't bragging and he wasn't full of himself, he just had to get home for lunch or to use the bathroom. True honest to God story, and we talk about it to this day and that was 8 or 9 years ago. Timing, chance, luck or Gods grace...I really don't know how to explain it, but this is one of my best and more profound fishing memories over the last 20 years.

I haven't thought about that litter in a loooooong time! I do have a couple of housecats available at this time (don't tell my wife that I said that).

Goats' beard. I call it the fireworks bush.

I have mono/copolymer on some of my jig/Trig rods ? The horror I know! I also use it for shakyheads. I use straight braid for topwater walking baits and braid with no leader even in clear water. Just because you're "suppose" to, doesn't mean you have to.

It’s a challenge to translate what you see on the screen into your position on the water as it relates to what you are trying to fish. A couple of buoys make it easier. One great tool that we have not mentioned here is a heading sensor. Having the map orient itseft to the direction the boat is pointing when it’s not moving is very helpful. I don’t think I could have given up using buoys without a heading sensor.

Caught my first walleye today! One 17” and one 18”. They’re good fighters; I’m excited to get back down to the Delaware and catch some more.

I wish I could put it in this reservoir. Not really. Those fish were caught in the Quabbin Reservoir. If it were open to them, every bass boat in the state would be fishing it. As a senior, I can rent one of these 15 foot aluminum boats with a nine hp Honda for 23 dollars per day. That includes the fuel, life preservers if you don't bring your own. Can fish 'em from sunrise to a half hour before sunset. It also includes parking. It's a two hour drive for me, but I'll fish it once a week. Oh, that special is only good for weekdays, not weekends.

Is something hiding in this picture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It’s been awful slow here, but I finally, FINALLY figured out these cold water bass. On Wednesday I caught the fella pictured here and I was absolutely over the moon. I’ve only been bass fishing for a few months, so to me any fish above two pounds is something to write home about. I couldn’t wait to catch a few more. On Thursday, family obligations and a cold snap both meant I couldn’t hit the water. But Friday I went back out to the lake, VERY excited...aaaaand the lake was frozen over. Heck and darn.

Hey people I have been using a small safety pin spinner for smallmouth for years with either a worm piece or small soft jerk bait on a 1/16 or 1/8oz jighead for years with great luck. My own Beetle Spin spinnerbait style. I like stickbait pieces and the smallest fluke with a size one blade. I caught lots of 2-4lb SMB and a bunch of LMB, Pike and panfish too. Anyone else like this style for Smallmouth?

Ebay for reels, always. American Legacy Fishing gets most of my business. Top notch.

So the dogs are 7 years old now...

Depends if I'm gonna fish that bank again. If I am, I'll KVD powerfish the outside edges with a crank or something fast moving, then I'll follow back by with a jig/senko something slow and hit prime(hard to reach) spots If I'm only going to hit that bank once, I'll slow down and hit prime spots from all angles. So I guess for me it depends on how much time I have to cover shoreline.

I am usually throwing a toad type bait and follow with a senko(reverse rig). I'll cruise down a section of shoreline hitting all of the outside spots and the little cuts I can get my toad into. After going down the section of shoreline this way, I'll turn around and work my way back concentrating on pitching the senko to the thicker and hard to reach spots. My theory is that any fish I get on the toad is going to be an aggressive active fish, mainly holding near the edges of the structure/cover I encounter. When I come back down the shoreline I am picking apart the structure/cover for the fish that are not as aggressive or for what ever reason are holding tighter to these spots. This has become the most efficient way for me to fish topwater first without feeling like I just passed over so many "prime" spots. It also gives these spots a chance to rest after seeing a topwater buzz by.

Depends on the cover. One thing I have changed is that I no longer fish "around" what I consider the prime spot in cover. I throw to the best spot first and work my way out.

USAF '60-'64.

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. But there is this thing called "natural talent". My Grandfather had it. I remember in my youth going with him to Canada and watching him pull fish after fish as we trolled the same lures. I commented that it must be his pole. We switched. He kept right on catching fish with my pole.

Paul and @reason have it dialed in correctly. There is no statistical requirement that two people flipping a "fair" coin 10 times will each have 5 heads. And, if you fill an auditorium with 1024 people, one "lucky" person will statistically flip 10 heads in 10 attempts and it fits within the assumptions of a bell curve perfectly. It is the same fishing, side-by-side with close to identical gear, tackle, presentations. The results won't likely be the same. Still plenty of room for a higher power to interject a bit of favoritism but it can be explained statistically. And, the more you fish with someone else, that is more statistical trials, and if that angler out-fishes you rather consistently, the angler IS more likely more skilled than you, doing something different though not always hard to narrow down to "this or that." Brad

I fish the outside first . Often that is where the biggest fish are at .

I tie a San Diego Jam with fluoro. It's easy and been the strongest knot I've found for it. Type of knot isn't nearly as important as tying it properly though.

Still using Big Game ,No complaints.

"Luck" is when humans misinterpret chance.

Yup ~ Especially at night. A-Jay

If I am using straight flourocarbon, I use Zonas shark knot. It has been the most reliable for me. If I am using a flourocarbon coated copoly, I use a standard trilene Knot or palomar knot.

Hungriest bass ever?!? Have seen pics of that with other species (bluegill, crappie, etc) stuck in the bass’ mouth, but not another bass! Great job on the save!

That is crazy. I have seen it before, not personally, but never with bass so similar in size. Sounds like a good day for sure.

But if someone DOES have all the trimmings, marker buoys are just redundant....And the OP has got the trimmings . If you've got decent electronics and mapping and are competent using them while fishing and running the trolling motor you just don't need to bother with buoys anymore. The visual reference you need is on the screen instead of the in the water. I say this as someone that was a die-hard buoy user back in the day. Before GPS and accurate mapping was universally available/affordable for bass boats, marker buoys were the only option to put a visual reference on something. We also used the triangulation method to accomplish the same thing. I stopped doing both when I realized I was more accurate with my electronics than I was with the visual references...The bonus is that you save a ton of time - Can go directly to your waypoint/spot and start fishing immediately. Doesn't mean buoys are useless, but modern electronics make them unnecessary for many.

Yes, I prefer straight line of all types. Braid does help to resolve line twist from spinning reels. My routine at the end of the day when using spinning reels is cut off the rig or lure and drag about 100' of line behind my boat a few minutes at slow (walking) speed to untwist the line. Tom

As @reason said above, I too see luck as "between our ears". And I would add that luck doesn’t actually exist at all. I see “luck” as random events that may be given too much significance in our minds. Events we are forced to come up with an explanation for. But, sometimes a shrug of the shoulders must suffice.

I use mono for most presentations. My motto is: Mono, if your grandpappy didn’t use it you would have never learned how to fish.

Buoy markers & anchors still work today! Not everyone has a grand to throw down on a trolling motor.

The problem with this is this is that a marker buoy cannot keep your boat near it, but spot lock can. Even if you're setting up a new rig, digging out a backlash, answering nature's call, having a sandwich, applying sunscreen, adding or removing layers of clothing, etc etc etc. It allows one to hang the boat from the wind and fish a spot without constantly working with the motor, and a marker buoy cannot do that either. They really are not equivalent.

It's been my experience that when I do well it's because of my knowledge and ability to apply it. I've also noticed that when my buddies outfish me it's pure luck. LOL

Nicely Done, oh Great Hunter ~ PB is my bait of choice as well. And for a relatively tiny little stinker, they can do damage. Hope there's no more. A-Jay

This is one of those things that happens between our ears. Of course there are some folks to which statistically more good things happen to than bad and vise versa. Think how astronomically unlikely it would be for everyone to have the same proportion of both, assuming one could even define or measure such a thing.

Done. Peanut butter gets em every time.

My 1960 Reynolds Pop-Pom tree, complete with color wheel....

Past few seasons I've been using a small piece of white cloth tape and a decent ball point pen. I write the line size & type - F & M to indicate fluorocarbon or mono. (A letter is not needed for braid) On casting reels I place it on the bottom of the reel foot (seat). On spinning reels I put it on the inside of the spool cup. The locations on both reels remain dry for the most part. If there is ever a question as to what's on what reel, it's only a matter of taking the reel off and looking: or in the case of the spinner - check inside the spool. Taking the reel off or looking under the spinning reel spool takes a few seconds but the answer is always there. And there's plenty to keep track of . . . A-Jay

Temps moderated a little here in central IN since Thanksgiving. Just for fun I went back to my warm weather tactics by throwing a weightless Senko. Just fished it deeper and slower. Had real good results with three over 2 lb. and this big one. Sorry about the bad lighting.

Caught a mixed bag , including a humpback smallmouth and a crappie with a lamprey on it. We caught largemouth smallmouth spotted bass bluegill white bass and black crappie , all in the middle of the day

Recently updated my arsenal... Sold all 10 of my Aldebaran 50's and got 10 Metanium MGL XG's. Also sold my 4 Exsence 3000's and got 4 Stella FJ 3000's. Arsenal as of now: (10) Shimano Metanium MGL XG's (4) Shimano Stella FJ 3000's (4) Shimano Calcutta 400D's (14) Shimano/G. Loomis Conquests (4) G. Loomis IMX Pro's - 3 swimbait, 1 crankbait