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Great late December day out on the water chasing spots.

I have a 22 foot Lowe and dont use it that much . I fish from a 14 foot jon boat the most. Also have a canoe and a plastic Bass baby with built in wheels . I can fish anybody of water my truck can pull up to . One of my best spots is an irrigation ditch that I have never seen another boat fishing . Heres one caught from the ditch .

Went out at dusk last night with my friend Mike to toss some Ultra Vibe Speed Worms from the bank. Caught a few feisty bass, and this was the biggest.

"We're gonna need a bigger basement."

Lonnie Stanley ?

Reminds me of this .

I was fortunate enough to be around Toledo Bend almost every weekend from 1972-1982. Villis P "Bo" Dowden Sr, Harold Allen, Larry Nixon, Tommy Martin, & Zell Roland were just guys we hung out with at the marina, ate at the same café, shopped at the same grocery store. Hemphill's population today is only 1,210; 46 yrs ago it was easy to know everyone.

Just some winter baits

After looking at the very first pic there for only a second or two - My Left eye started to twitch - uncontrollably A-Jay

Rare sight in Mississippi, think this was last year.

Looking at those pictures gives me anxiety

Oh, how I can relate to all of you. I practice casting several times a week. I find it very relaxing, almost therapeutic.. It's nothing new to the neighbors, i've been doing it for years. Catt is spot on about casting what you fish. I have old beat up lures with cut hooks. The wind resistance effects each lure. I want to get used to that. One year we had some heavy rain and the drains backed up. The street flood from sidewalk to sidewalk. It was a great time to stand in the yard and practice with a frog, spook and buzzbait. A photographer from the paper took my photo. Longview resident Doug **** fishing for salmon from his porch. How stupid. Everyone knows salmon don't come up the Taylor Avenue river.

The only thing I steal is the hearts of those around me.

Cleared customs, Gan Craft Killers Baits.

The top and bottom ones look interesting. Below is the Plano boxes I carry in my boat. Allen

First time since mid October that we’ve made it out on the water, no boat this time though ?. Only stayed out for a couple hours but managed one nice trout for dinner tonight though.

The famous Zorro Aggravator!! You can also wake it. Avery so often the blade will break the surface and "plops" a few turns. Bass can't stand it!

I'd say most landlocked fishermen could leave the bank behind if they really wanted to. People who can afford an arsenal of rods and tackle can afford a 500 dollar kayak or a cheap Jon boat. Nobody needs 60,000 dollar plus bass boats to fish, they're a luxury item. I think a lot of people get so caught up on not being able to afford a bass boat that they forget about other legitimate options.

Goofy looking? Absolutely! My father has had several sections of his face/neck scooped and skin gratfed. Not fun and not prettty. If that's not bad enough, skin grafts don't always take the first time. I'm not gonna fool around with it if I can help it. I'm not looking for love while I'm fishing anyway. Plus my wife wouldn't like that!

And ticks. I can handle snakes, lizards, and spiders. When I find a tick, I panic like a little girl. They are little blood sucking demons. Permethrin and Deet is my friend.

I've been a "banker" too, since '63. Koz put it perfectly. In rivers, boaters just go anywhere. Well, almost. Me? I have to beat the brush and weeds, search for rocks in the mud, ask landowners' permission, avoid breaking my rod on the overhanging branches and lose lots of lures that I snag and can't get free. And yes, as Dirtyeggroll said, I gotta watch out for the poison ivy. The only place I'm on a nearly equal footing with boaters is right below the dams. In fact, I can fish some tailwaters much easier than a boatman can, especially around the rocks. That's why I have so many spoons; they survive the rocks much better than crankbaits. As far as lakes go, I can access productive water somewhat easier, but boaters still have an advantage. (I'm learning to like lake fishing; I had been 90% river-oriented until the last year or so.) The one advantage I have in lakes is flooded timber. If the wind is against the boaters, I can throw a weightless Senko or jig under a slip bobber and pull stuff out that the boaters can't reach. That doesn't happen very often, though. The last advantage boaters have is acquiring the fish. A bank fisherman has to deal with rocks and shallow water the last 8-10 feet before he can get a hand or net on the fish. I've lost a good few in that 8-10 feet. Boaters just lean over and scoop'em up. Old habits die hard, though. I'll be a shorecaster 'til I die. jj

Ken Cook throwing Hart Spinnerbaits. Still have some. ?

So hypothetically, if I turned one 180º and yoyoed it up and down on the bottom, or God forbid, I cut off a dropshot weight and attached a small one there and drifted while shaking my rod, you are saying the Technique Police won't bust down my door?...

At 13:20 Hank says when he gets the spinnerbait to the end of the tree to just lets it fade away . Thats a good tip . I do it instinctively anymore . Just lower the rod slowly and slow down the retrieve . You dont have to stop it and let it flutter , though thats a good tactic too . Thats why the most important part of a spinnerbait [ in my opinion ] is the swivel .Cheap swivels just dont cut it .

We are thinking of you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=burGzPFlkxI&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0Afckw-ONLdG6qKmTLlvAMNIhWN0bCFuAm8ygxCy0g2wehUB3QnIDku3w

Maybe this could help.

@Mobasser don't underestimate the kid ? If he's truly interested he'll pick it easily! Each kid is different, I have two grandsons close to the same age. Y'all have seen Aiden's exploits, he ate up with it like we are. His cousin Evan not so much, he still struggles with a Zebco. Notice in the picture below Evan is wearing gloves not because it's cold but because he aint touching no fish!

Just a crazy Cajun's point of view but it just might be Tracker is widely available.

I pour my own, about the only way I can fish a tube through the rocks with zebra mussels all over them.

If you learn by throwing a casting plug & then hit the water throwing spinnerbait, you will have to learn all over again! Wind will catch that spinnerbait in mid flight & slow it down dramatically. If you practice throwing at different distances why would you not want to practice with various weights & shapes? When my students hit the water they are ready for most any scenario!

The Daiwas are cleaned with new drags installed. And it aint even January yet...

Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

Growing up we ate any fish we caught that was big enough. Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, Perch, Bullhead, Carp, Suckers (from cold water only), etc. It didn't matter. Nothing fancy. Dipped in egg and ground up Saltines and fried in a cast iron pan. We were a one bread winner family with 3 growing boys that could eat a 2 bread winner family out of house and home.....as the saying use to go. Now the only time I keep fish is when fishing with a brother-in-law in Florida. We always have a fish fry with friends and family before heading home. Again nothing fancy. Dip in egg, flour, egg again and ground up Saltines. Deep fry 3 minutes. Don't remember what kind of oil my sister-in-law uses. Homemade tartar sauce for those that like tartar sauce. Some pretty good eating.

I'm lucky, I've already spent a day on the water with my #1 choice in the fishing world . In the real world, I'd love to take my dad out fishing even though he's not a 'serious' fisherman like I am...He taught me how to fish, but being a Navy Pilot on many deployments, he was unfortunately not able to continue fishing with me a whole lot growing up. We both fall victim to "things are soooo busy" these days so we never get out on the water when we see each other. Going to be a new year's resolution for me I think.

My wife asks me if I caught anything when I come in from the driveway. Being on a main road I tell her I didn't hook up but had a few looks.

The answer to most "is it worthwhile " questions begins with your expectations. Any potential gains must be compared to a properly cleaned, flushed, lubricated and setup reel. Adding high performance parts is largely an enthusiast endeavor. Actual gains are modest at best. The cost of bearings is driven more by ABEC rating than material. A fishing reel does not experience sustained high speeds to gain from anything more than ABEC5 bearings. 7's might make sense in a true BFS application. The main advantage of ceramic hybrids is that they can be run dry. Oiling them slows them down enough to negate the gain. If longevity and silence are priority stick with SS. The exception would be in salt water reels to fight corrosion. Lastly on bearings, like many things, they're made in a couple places and rebranded by many sellers. Just stick to trusted sources to avoid counterfeiting of ABEC ratings. In my opinion here are upgrades in order of bang for the buck: deep cleaning Carbontex drag SuperTuning (on appropriate models) spool bearings after market BFS spools bushing to bearing swap for crankshafts & levelwinds handle bearings other personalized parts. One more thought: improving free spool whether by cleaning, Tuning, bearings or spools aids accuracy more than raw distance which is arguably over rated anyway.

1st day on ice for the young ladd went far better than expected!

Merry Christmas everyone. I received a holiday greetings e-mail from Kast King, with this picture. Thought the Whitetails were an interesting take on the St. Nick theme.

John. I fished with my friend John for 30 years. We fished a lot together. His wife died from ALS several years ago just when she was suppose to retire. John kind of drifted away I guess. I tried to stay in touch. I haven't seen him in a year and have not shared a boat with him in over four years. I would like to fish with John.

Our UPS driver, Lonnie. I'm tempted to order things just to talk hunting and fishing with him. He's "done the work". We may actually get out one of these days.

Day Seven at the Oncology & Infusion Center. Napping. A-Jay

Little pond by the house, missed quite a few

Awesome getting out on a near empty lake today. Bite wasn't on by any means, but we still had a great time with hit/miss action. I was expecting something a bit bigger with the big SB! (9.5" Explorer) (8" S-Waver) Nice spot on a Ned Pops getting in on the action

I love the smell of Japanese newspaper in the morning...

Overstockbait.com Black Friday finally appeared War Eagle $2.99 Norman NXS $2.31 Bomber $2.66

Had a cool package show up in the mail today. Was looking to get my first Trick Darter, and while exploring I found a seller on ebay with good prices and some other interesting lures. Ended up combining shipping and getting this MB Vision 95 as well. I have no idea the vintage of the bait, definitely doesn't seem "new". Maybe 10 years old? (Update, its labeled 2004 on the bait). I look forward to fishing both. X-80 I think is in PM Fine Wakasagi Vision 95 is in Al Hakone

Trailer I am going to start pouring for chatterbaits. This is a smaller version of the SK blade bait and it is about 25% smaller than the original which makes it perfect for me. Allen

Thank you @bigjean663. Terminator jigs are some serious quality jigs, plus as it happens the lures I still have on my to buy list happen to be a dark colored chatterbait (as I lost mine in rocks late last year) and I didn't even do an inventory let alone resupply of my soft plastics yet, so these are going to get some serious use next year!

One of my favorite memories is when my Grandfather setup a trash can lid in backyard and taught me how to first cast with a Zebco 33, still have that reel on my shelf from 40yrs ago. Since then I've always tried to do same with my kids and grands❤️