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At last I get some decent weather on my day off! I wound up taking the yak out today to test out some new gear and rod holder setup. Was in the low 40's when I got to the lake this AM. The water temp was hovering around 54 or so and I figured I wasn't going to have much luck again. After trying out a lipless crankbait, ned rig, and a Berkley PB bearded shad I figured the bass weren't biting. Whenever I don't think I'll catch anything I'll go into casting and accuracy practice mode and putt around the lake. I'm looking for what'll be good areas once the water temps climbs. If I feel the need to beat the skunk then I'll break out the plastics! Flash forward to 9:25 AM and hundreds of casts later..... 1st bite of the day....She slammed my lipless with a vengeance! When she 1st broke water I was somewhat shocked to say the least! Tipping the scales at 7.02 lbs. In the what's your goals for the year thread one of mine was to beat my PB. My PB of 6 lbs and 2 or 3 ounces (didn't remember exactly) I caught way back in the late 80's or possibly very earls 90's. The other was to put down the lipless and try other offerings for the Bass. I wound up with 3 bites and 3 fish today! 7.02 lb 1.78 lb 2.85 lb After catching my PB I got corralled into the shallower water by a bassboater. I patiently waited and then followed him and caught the 2nd and 3rd fish. I think he was one of those finesse fisherman I hear about? Not exactly sure what he was throwing but he didn't catch anything. I didn't think I'd catch my PB this early in the year. It's looking like I'll have a shot at multiple PB's this year!

Glacus, congratulations on the taming of your situation. Kudos to you on what you have achieved. I have a friend whose son has the same condition and he can't hold a job; he gets into arguments with everyone about anything; he can become physically combative; and all he wants to do is sit in his mother's home's basement and play games on the computer. He does not want to work or go outside. He has had strong therapy and treatments at a specialist clinic but to no avail. Now, let me tell you about polygraph tests in bass fishing tournaments. Only the larger tournaments with thousands on the line usually have polygraph tests. And many do not. Club tournaments; local tournaments; regional tournaments among clubs or individuals usually do not have any polygraph tests. Some of the larger BASS and FLW tournaments have the option of polygraph testing. Some of the large private tournaments can also perform polygraph tests. But it has been my experience that these tests are few and far between. If you are concerned about the tests just ask the tournament director before you enter the tournament if they are going to test the top three to ten winners. You will then know what to expect. If you want to fish the tournament and there is a possibility of a polygraph test, you can consider your options. One option is in lieu of you taking the test have the tournament director agree to having your fishing partner take the test and be asked questions about you and your catches. This will a test about you but taken by the other guy in the boat. I have seen your situation destroy a family. Not a nice situation as the father bailed leaving the son with the mother who is having a terrible time coping with the situation. Once again, congratulations for beating the syndrome. You deserve an award and so does your family. You are a special guy. Keep up the good work no matter the challenges. And fish a tournament and knock it out of the park! Be sure to let us know how you do.

Latest purchase FMJ & Steez A

Happy days are here again. My favorite spring sale is on. Wacky Worm in Gilbert, PA is holding its annual spring sale. Didn't buy much but got a good deal from a Mom & Pop shop. If you are in the Tri-state area stop in and pick up some good deals.

I had to sign in just to reply to this. I am a certified scuba diver. I can tell you that thermoclines exist and they can separate muddy/stained water from clear. The first time I ever experienced this was in a quarry and I will never forget it. The water was so muddy, I couldn’t see my hand in my face. As I kept descending, I could feel an extreme temperature change in the water. It went from warm to 60 degrees and out of nowhere you could see straight to the bottom, 100 feet down. It was unbelievable. That being said, I am sure they are numerous factors in play that will affect this.

1st Bass I've caught this year! It's also my new PB! 7.02 lb's

Here are some cedar cranks that I'm currently working on. A gold sucker and a dozen new squarebills in progress. Keep the pics rolling guys. I love looking at everyone's work!

Now I have to say this is the biggest catch of my life ! It took 4 years but I knew in time it would pay off. Now I know some of you might get upset haha or be like “awweee man you got us “ but this truly is the best catch of them all.. or almost as close to catching a teener haha, but this was the most memorable day. This community on here has become friends so I figured I would share with everyone ! We finallly got married woohoo!

Why can't a monofilament line be made from a copolymer? The first means single filament, the second refers to the formulation of the single filament. Not everything is marketing. Sometimes companies actually tell you what their products are and do. Believe it or not, some genuinely want to create a better product. That's how profitable companies are run. Not by making things up. By the way, most nylon monofilaments these days are copolymers.

To be clear, you cannot control Type 1 with diet, at all. Period. People with T1D cannot make insulin, the islets in the pancreas have ceased to produce insulin. At this point in the game, an endocrinologist will probably prescribe shots of a slow acting insulin like Lantus for a basal (background) dosing, and a fast acting insulin like Novolog or Humalog for bolus (meal time) injections. You will have to learn how to count carbohydrates properly. To this day, it's a struggle for me. I like to go out to eat, and don't like processed, packaged foods. Often you are guessing how many carbs are in your meal, and correcting later. Low blood glucose (caused by too much insulin) is far worse than high blood glucose. Push your doctors and insurance to cover an insulin pump. It's easier to do one injection kit every 2-3 days than 4-6 injections per day. That pump, linked to a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) will really help you automate dosing, and get a picture of how his body processes carbs. Speaking of treatments, there is a woman, that had islets made from stem cells placed on her organ sack/membrane that has been making her own insulin. She has not received any insulin injections for at least five years. A cure seems likely within our lifetimes. The procedure requires surgery, but I'd do it in a heartbeat. There's hope. Yep. I'm in better shape now at 47 than when I was 30. I hike, kayak, skateboard, play drums, and even played in a wood bat/fast pitch league up until a few years ago. Despite being called out in the Americans with Disabilities Act, diabetes isn't always disabling. In fact, T1D seems more manageable than T2D, despite being what everyone calls the "worse version."

Here are set of Chicago team spinnerbaits I've made in the past for a friend

Catch the winning bag first. Worry about the polygraph later. The only time I have ever seen it used was to settle a protest. The "random" statement is meant to keep options open and an honest man honest.

Jerkbait, a small one. A 65 pointer is my go to right after ice out for our little lakes. 6 or 8lb mono on a medium or ML spinning rod and very soft little twitches. It catches a lot of little ones, but it catches a fair share of those 3+lb fish that are good quality in most public lakes in the area. This was one of those bonus fish from a little 8 acre public lake down by me in February a couple years ago. The bait is similar to the Aurora Brown color but not exactly, not sure what color it is, I bought it on clearance. Not much paint left on it anymore though.

Flame suit on. I will never ask for a discount from a local business if they are at or very near what a major label is asking for an item. If I can get a Curado DC at BPS for $249 and the local shop wants $249, then I will pay the $249 at the local shop. Many times (maybe 99.9%) these guys aren't making nearly as much per item. My parents own a small business so I know what it is like for people to drive 30-40 miles to save a few bucks as opposed to shop local. I understand wanting to save a few bucks, but I just can't find it in my heart to try to get a "deal" from a small time shop. That being said, my opinion is probably skewed due to the fact that my parents are small business owners and have dealt with theft, vandalism, fraud, and of course big business moving in.

Wal-Mart kitchen shears for $.88. They cut braid, mono, fluoro, clam packs, fish spines, thin wire, thin limbs or bushes to retrieve errant cast, whatever you need. When you lose them or break them, buy a new pair for a dollar and go about your life. Kids craft scissors are great for cutting braid too.

I use straight fluoro for dropshotting, either Seaguar Tatsu or Seaguar Fluoro Finesse. I never use leaders. I've had no reason to use them. Leaders are too much hassle, too many problems.

This. Find the owner or manager and start by saying you saw the rod on sale for $160 in the past and ask if they'd still let it go for that price. If you buy from them often then I would think they would

Always try to negotiate. Just politely ask if they are willing to negotiate on the price. If they say something like, "what did you have in mind?" it's a good thing. If they flat out say "No," no harm done. Also, you wanna do this with the owner, or someone in charge to some degree. Maybe mention that it was on sale once, and that you really regret missing it. I try to negotiate everything. I've been surprised many times by what I've talked myself into.

Interesting. While you are certainly entitled to you opinion, I do not share it. The quality of the Quantum equipment I have & use is quite good. But I'm basing my opinion purely on the result. Perhaps that's where I'm going wrong . . . . . A-Jay

My first jig was a 3/8 oz Doll fly with red and black hair and black 6" pork rind eel trailer back in '57. I learned to jig fish before T-rigged worms and fish them the same. With a jig I learned do not hesitate hook setting, with soft plastics we let the bass move off with the worm before hook setting because that was "how it was done" back in the late 60's to early 70's with the Texas rig worms. Tom

I started fishing jigs shortly after i learned to texas rig . There was no learning to it . Just tied them on instead of a Texas rig .I really dont understand why some people can catch fish on a worm but not a jig . A Texas rigged worm is the same thing except the weight is not molded onto the hook .

I have T1D. There's light at the end of the tunnel. I wasn't diagnosed until my early 30s. I was sick for about a year before that. I was devastated to get the news. Once I got my first shot of insulin, by the next day I felt almost completely better. It was pretty amazing. I wear a pump and use CGM. I'm always here if you have any questions. I also work with a woman whose daughter has been T1D since she was an infant, so I can always tap her for the dealing with kids, if needed. Lastly, check out CGM in the Cloud group on Facebook.

The state of Tennessee encourages economic development, high paying jobs and family values. We have no state income tax and offer unlimited opportunities to sportsmen and women. The cost of living is low and the quality of life is high. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/amazons-virginia-hq2-faces-some-new-york-style-pushback

In another part of the forum a thread touched on this, but it was closed before I ever saw it and had a chance to reply. Guys, keep this thread civil PLEASE, so that moderators don't have to close it. This is a very important topic for me personally and you will see why. I have Aspergers Syndrome. I'm very high functioning to the point where almost nobody would notice. I was even able to be a really good football player back in high school. I work full time and I have a wife and kids. I do well. My battle is internal. But one of my issues is that I suffer from anxiety on top of PTSD from something unrelated to my "developmental disorder" (I hate that it's called that). Last year I fished my first tournaments as a co-angler... Not ONCE did I hear or see anything about a polygraph test being taken by winners. Mind you, it's a small club with very little money on the line. And that's what I want to talk about. Polygraph testing in tournaments. My dream is to make big tournaments at some point in my life. Bass fishing is my passion and my obsession. With Aspergers, I don't think that anyone could ever accurately polygraph me. I would be having an anxiety attack during the process for absolutely no reason other than being in that situation. Those things aren't accurate. You can't use them in the court of law. It seems that this rule would effectively eliminate people like me with special needs, as minor as mine really are, from any serious tournament fishing. That's a terrible shame and completely unfair.

A-Jay

Welcome aboard! I bought my first boat a 14’ flat bottom when I was 19, I loved fishing out of that boat! You’ll have fun, congrats and enjoy.

I eat like a king. The Hobie fish bag keeps everything cold and fresh.

I have been wanting to try out the Iovino plastics for a while but the price put me off. Found a seller on ebay with these to bags for $20 shipped so I went for it. They are the softest soft plastics I have ever felt and the SM Killer color is really great. I am going to fish them on little Slider heads and may give spilt-shotting them a go.

He played around in the coves by our place yesterday and didn't get a bite before his batteries died.

My dad is heading into hurricane as we speak. I will let y'all know if it pays off.

Don't take this the wrong way, but there is a rule in basketball that allows opponents to block your shot. That rule effectively eliminates very short people from any serious basketball competition. Would that be considered a terrible shame & completely unfair? I would suggest looking at solutions on how you can work within the existing rules as opposed to looking to change them. As an example, any tournament that you know has polygraph testing as a possibility, go to the tournament directors prior to the tournament and explain your condition. When you tell them why a polygraph wouldn't be effective with you, at the same time give them an alternate solution to test you. Get creative with solutions, like a full time GoPro set up filming your every move. Something that makes it obvious you aren't trying to skirt the spirit of the rule, just altering the process to get to the same result (proof of not guilty). Just the fact that you approach them beforehand will go miles and you may find out they have run into this issue before and have a solution themselves. Good Luck!

The easiest way to get over the grief of losing a pet is to bring a new bundle of joy into your life.

Usually they're just left in my experience. A big part of the reason why the little group I fish with went with the MLF format. I remember once at Grand Lake, OK seeing over a dozen bass dead or dying after a club tournament got done weighing in. I looked at those fish and just thought how terrible of a picture that paints for non-fishermen. Even people who would otherwise have no opinion on tournament fishing could easily be put off by a scene like that. I think that's why more and more we're going to see the weigh and immediate release type tournaments to try to increase fish survival.

Interesting and fun reading all your different reasoning's....mine....as I get older the ol brain doesn't seem to be getting any younger other than forgetting stuff. As the days get longer I just flat wear my self out. I'm up early usually and so when I go fishing it's dawn to usually close to dark. I've had friends (kinda) want to go fishing and after four or five hours they casually mention...what time ya going in...I say...close to dinner probably....Oh...they say....wife wants me home earlier ….she has stuff for me to do. Oh....I'm thinking....!@%&....this guy will never see this boat again!!

My wife says she sees our long-gone cats our of the corner of her eye every now and then. Once I swore I caught a glimpse of one of them on our bed, looking at me like she always did. Strange games the mind plays. Maybe it's real, maybe not. Hard to say.

You make a good point, I don't frequent the store too often, but when I do, I talk to all the staff and buy some stuff. I just had them repair a rod, so when I go back ill ask, worst they can say is no, like you said.

After reading everyone's struggles on learning I figured I would post my experience to hopefully help other members. To start I have been bass fishing since 1986 and until 2004 I caught less than 10 fish on a jig. My revelation came in 2004 when I was in Missouri for MP training for the Army with nothing else to do. I got back into bass fishing seriously in 2003 and when I was sent to MO for 18 weeks there is nothing to do at Ft. Leonard Wood except fish and drink. Since I did not bring anything with me I hit BPS in Springfield on a shopping spree. While buying I ran into an old timer and we got to talking, he wasd walking with me and when we came to the jig isle I was going to skip it. He ask why I wasn't buying any jigs and he said follow him which I did. When ask why I wasn't buying any jigs I replied that they did not work? He said I must be reading Bassmaster so he ask what colors worked for me in soft plastics. I told him GP but the jigs I have used in the past were Black/Blue. His answer was to try some Eakins jigs in the same color as the soft plastics I use and let him know how it worked. The next day I tried the Eakins jigs in GP with a Zoom super chunk jr trailer and I caught 14 fishing them just like a T-Rigged lure. Overall the fish were bigger than average and I gained confidence in using a jig. Now 15 years later a jig is a confidence bait for me and I hope this helps others on this forum.

I'm not speaking for @Team9nine but for me what's being "over sold" is that I'm somehow at a disadvantage because I switch hands.

I'm with @Mobasser. The Lew's Graphite Tennessee Handle was a great rod. Still have five of them and managed to get one on ebay a couple of year ago for $280. I've worn out, lost, or broken the three heavy action rods I used to have. They were classic rods. I may have to move on soon.

Stren easily for me. More supple and manageable with less memory. Big Game is stiff IMO. I think that Trilene XL and Stren are worth the price increase for me. I'm good friends with a PF employee and he says that Stren is across the board the best mono line across the board in terms of cast ability, knot strength, suppleness, and abrasion resistance among all Pure Fishing branded monofilaments as they have tested them in some simulation.

40% off fishing & sporting goods with code SPORTS40 https://lifestyle.focuscamera.com/deals/sports/fishing.html Lots of pfluger and Abu reels. Free shipping too.

It sure was. He kept us company while we fished. The three Bluegill I fed him helped keep him around. I asked the resort staff if it was alright to feed him and they said yes. They don't want guest feeding him people food, but freshly caught fish is Ok.

Megabsss vision 110+2 fish today on lake Okeechobie.

If you can't beat the Floridians, join them. Usually can't post the first fish of the year until sometime in late April around these parts. Had to plan a winter trip to Florida to make sure that didn't happen this year. First Bass of 2019 for me. Orlando Florida vacation. My son and I were able to steal away a few hours during the week to do some fishing. Caught this Bass on a Berkley Warpig lipless crankbait. The resort we stayed at had a resident Otter. We had fun catching Bluegill and feeding it to him.

Cabin Fever....

Kids will surprise you every day. Yes, even the little ones. It's the parents who do the freaking out and worrying. Thats our job. Trust his doctors and your ability as as Dad. Prayer sent Mike

Same way we set the hook back before zero stretch line was invented.

I actually did some bass fishing in 2019! With the gamefish season now closed I went and hit the Mississippi river a few days in a row last week to get some action in. I hit one of my usual spots and the fish were really biting. In 3 sessions I probably caught 30+ smallies and 3 nice walleye. All pretty shallow and off sand bars. Swimbaits is really all you need there. I bring other stuff (ned rig) but in the end the keitchs get the most action. It's best to keep it simple. River smallies + wader fishing is really a hoot. Only downside is combating the ice in your guides & your braid. I was using my 7' st croixs (LTB and a legend xtreme) with 10lb braid to a floro leader. My standard smallie setups. Sunday morning I hooked into this 4lb tanker.

Was pre-fishing with a buddy for a local tourney yesterday and I believe we developed a pattern in the muddy water. Just for kicks was throwing a Silver Buddy and caught not one...but two turtles....yup. Both were in the back left foot in 15 ft of water. I know one was a fluke...but two....that's a pattern!!!

Both are pretty good lines. But I give the edge to Stren. Handles better (less memory) and matches BG in abrasion resistance (if not a little better). Plus comes in my favorite clear blue fluorescent. Think of Stren as being somewhere between XT and XL, if you are familiar with those lines.