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My new #1 of 5 switchblade from illude baits. This is a pre release and not up for sale yet. Super stoked on this one.

How many times have you been fishing and lifted a dink over the side and just kind of looking up and said thank you. Been going through that a lot the last few weeks and realized even when things have been kind of "crummy" I am ever ever so thankful for friends and acquaintances on this website. Have helped to get the ol mind off other &%$! at times. Family and friends are amazing and so are little fish....

Add to the fact that the 'high' from marijuana is from THC - which CBD oil contains almost none of. So the 'getting CBD oil to get high off of' claim falls by the wayside.

Dude we get it. You don't like cbd but by your own admission don't need it, have never tried it and have no desire to try it. You're throwing your opinion out there with nothing to back it up other than "marijuana is bad mmmkay." A dozen people in this thread who have used it say it helps them. Your Reefer Madness claims based on your inexperienced, biased opinion and nothing more aren't helping anyone.

Nice gusty day on Tuesday. I caught one right of the bat on a spinnerbait and thought it was gonna be game on! Negative. Had to work really hard to catch two more that wouldn’t have gone 12.

Murphy’s law. Friday at 4, it’s cold, and rainy. What else could go wrong? The bore rod twists like a pretzel! There goes $400! At least they didn’t hit my gas main.

Today I had to install a wood stove and chimney in a cottage on an island on Georgian Bay, just out from where I live. I was done a bit early, so I decided to try out a hump that I‘ve had my eye on for a while and not had the chance to hit yet. Boy am I ever glad I did! It tops off at 25’ and drops to over 80’ on all sides, and I figured it’d be a good spot for smallmouth to load up on and gorge on gobies, especially this time of year. I only had about a half hour to fish before I had to go pick up the kid from school, so out came the drop shot rod and a pack of Berkley Maxscent Flatworms. In 30 minutes I got over 30 bass, over half of them were better than 3lbs, several over 4 and one right at 5lbs on the rapala digital scale. It was a fish on pretty much every drop, and man did they ever put up a good fight. I guess I’ll have to find some more “work” to do out there this fall ?.

As some of you may know from my previous posts, fishing for me has been terrible since I moved to the SC Upstate region. But because of a terrible series of personal events I am back in the SC Lowcountry this week. On a personal level, today was one of the worst days of my life (and I prefer to keep that private as it is a sensitive family matter). I’m staying with my parents while back in town and on the way back to their place I needed some alone time to gather myself and so I stopped at one of my favorite lagoons. I was straight retrieving a green pumpkin chatterbait with a split tail trailer and landed a decent 3 pounder. It was nice to finally catch something again. About half an hour later I was throwing a blue and black chatterbait with a dark blue craw trailer that had lighter blue claws. This time I was fishing it using the lift and drop and on the drop I felt something grab it. As soon as Iset the hook she began moving hard. She tried to roll and breach but from my high bank elevation I could position the rod tip below my feet and keep her down. But I caught a glimpse and felt her fight and knew she was a good size. But would it be my PB? It wasn’t, but she still tipped the scales at 6.1 pounds and for a few brief moments I could put my most awful day aside. It was what I needed at that moment. I thank God for giving me that brief respite. It’s times like this when I realize what fishing means to me. I tried to take a picture but short arms and big fish mean bad selfies.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/10/police-respond-to-fatal-crash-on-hall-street-over-us-131.html This happened this morning in my work area. As a fellow utility worker this hits too close to home and is a big wake up call for me and my crew. It’s a daily occurrence we get honked at, flipped off, and cars buzz right by us almost hitting us. Injuring or killing a utility worker in Michigan carries the same penalty as if we were a police officer on the side of the road. I hope they throw the book at her. Next time you see our amber or green lights on please slow down and move over, remember we’re working for you.

Try a small swimbait on a ball head jig, like a 2-3 inch white or smoke colored swimbait. Lipless crankbaits of different colors. Suspending jerkbaits One of those 3 will get you bit.

B.A.S.S. relied on the community to come to their events and spend money at sponsor booths, selling memberships and their magazine revenue. TV audience time has always been a major drawback with the B.A.S.S. format, hoping the weighins could draw sponsors TV time. The west never supported B.A.S.S. events with high community turnouts and they lost money, the western pro's had to move east to compete. MLF changed that, sponsors make good TV money, the competitors can live wherever they want and the format offers lots of action to edit for the audience with some drama. The dink fest label doesn't apply, every event has several 4 to 5 lb bass to keep it interesting and the instant catch & release appeals to today's bass anglers. I am a charter life B.A.S.S. member since 1968 and the organization hasn't kept up with the changes in tournament fishing and ignored western bass angers. Tom

If there is a severe drop in temp bass will often stop hitting surface lures. Once they adjust to the new average temp they will go back to actively feeding and start hitting your topwater lures again. So, don't think it's over just because a cool snap has blown thru. Give it a day or two to level out and you can probably catch some on your favorite topwater presentation again. At least until the water temp cools to the point that they quit hitting topwater altogether. Being from the south I can't give you any predictions on that, LOL!

Went opening week during their catch-and-release season. Olive wooly buggers were money!

Pretty cool @slonezp. I've acually got one similar to your w.m. thats been laying around in my basement for a dozen years or so since it was given to me by a former co- worker.

I have no problems with the MLF format and I guess I understand why everyone went. However...after this buyout I will be hoping the elite series can continue to grow and succeed. Seems that as big as bass fishing has become there's room for all of it. I never see it as a win for one entity to own everything. As already stated, the classic will always be the super bowl of bass fishing in my eyes and it wont look the same without the guys I've always watched being there. I get it...times change...I'm just old school and absolutely hate change lol.

almost been a year (November 13) since I took a F150 at 50mph on the highway here in WNY as a tow truck operator. Put me in coma and all busted up but for the most part fully recovered I just limp everywhere now. Being back to work towing for the same company my heads on a swivel even more now but yeah people done care they are to busy on their phones while driving not paying attention.

@OCdockskipper You need to cool your jets big guy. You're stirring the pot intentionally and then trying to play the victim card. That won't pass with me. Warnings are next.

The buzzbait has a much , much higher hook up percentage , at least for me .

I've been staring at my kitchen clock now for 5 straight minutes. Completely fixated on the minute hand - almost hypnotized. And when I blinked, I could have sworn the darn thing actually went Backwards a couple of times !!! Gonna be a long night . . . A-Jay

@snake95 I use the Booty Shakers, 7-inch, and they definitely get bit. They're more durable than the size Keitech you're using, they are a dense piece of plastic. Also, the Booty Shaker's got a ton of body roll to it, more than the Keitech. I love them, been sticking a bunch on them lately. I rig the 7-inch on a 10/0, 1/2oz weighted Owner Beast Hook, pic below. I'll fish them high in the column all the way down to the bottom, bumping it off rocks. Like any other bait, let the fish tell you how they want it. Definitely give em a shot, they're cheap and worth it.

Found it. It's called Living Image Copper Craw. Thx

I know fishingskirts.com has that exact color because I have some of it.

I haven't paddled a tandem kayak much. What little I have is a Big Tuna, and with 2 people it can get a little squirrelly if one of the people is not used to keeping a boat upright. A canoe is the more versatile of the 2, if it's a symmetric hull just turn around backward in the bow seat and you can manage it most of the time solo. I would say if you're switching back and forth between tandem and solo, probably the canoe is easier (although the hybrid Native Ultimates are pretty easily switched and you can make good progress with 1 or 2 paddlers). If you're by yourself, a kayak can be set up so much more easily for efficient fishing, and so I wouldn't bother with a canoe. Safety-wise, I guess it would depend on the application. Obviously canoes can get swamped more easily, but if you can let us know what your concern is, maybe we could address that better.

If you already have 6 combos there is no sense in buying junk just to get another one. Seriously though, If money is that tight around your house, I'm sure it can be spent on better things. I wouldn't buy, just to be buying. I would save it and wait till I could afford quality gear. The Black Max and Pro Max are junk. I bought them a few years back to use for hybrid bass and they both fell apart (plastic parts don't last). Others have talked about the Fuego and that would be a great reel and you could get an Aird X and be a little bit over $100 which would be worth it in the long run.

nice dude, the good old days!!!

thanks for your input.

Found some old pics from the one time I fished LMV over 20 years ago. One pictured is the largest I got, but did get to drop a few times on a "big shadow" in about 18'-19' of water that we thought might be a late spawner that kept hanging in one spot.

Having done both, I prefer the kayak route; HOWEVER, that's single, not tandem. I have done canoe with 3 people fishing. I think money speaking, a canoe will be much cheaper allowing for multiple people and trolling motor. Either way, I'd make sure everyone wears a PFD for life . Good luck with your choice.

They work, nice 18" fish earlier this week!

I had a bad bout last Christmas, lasted 2 weeks. Literally a living nightmare. Hopefully yours clears up sooner than later.

Does MLF still have the 12" size limit? I always thought just going to 15" fish would make it less a dinkfest. That's actually why I usually do not watch MLF. I can go out to a lake nearby and catch 20-30 12"s in a day, but finding 15"+ bass is tough, so I am not impressed by pros catching dinks. Actually I think it is too bad BASS & FLW were not the ones to merge.

Day 1 - drifted the Colorado River. Hoppers all day in late September. Voracious topwater action all day! Landed about 30 brownies! Day 2 - drifted the Roaring Fork into Glenwood Springs. Streamers toward the bank. Landed about 25 bows and brownies! One had a sculpin in its mouth still! Surreal

1. Make sure there is no debris in the tail. 2. Add a swivel. 3. Keep your rod tip down in or near the water. 4. For the Toadrunner, make sure both of the ‘legs’ are lateral to the hooks. You may not need to do all of these things but one or a combination of some of them should fix your problem. If not you probably somehow have dysfunctional lures, which is doubtful.

You have excellent taste. I'll probably pickup a mini crooked river someday. I'm currently rocking a bugout.

Like I posted about a few posts up, I went out last night and got a cast net. Practiced throwing it a few times in the yard. Got up this morning, caught some Threadfin shad and nose hooked one on a drop shot. Fished a shelf on the lake I frequent, that goes from 10fow to 20fow in about 10 ft. Caught my PB, 7.4lb........... Do I feel like I "cheated", or there was an *.....ehh, maybe. The next largest fish I have caught at that lake might have been 3 pounds, I don't know because I don't have a scale. I had to borrow one today from a guy in the next boat cause this fish I caught today was a monster. I won't use live bait exclusively, but it was nice to know that there are fish on that shelf and in that lake, and that I'm not wasting my time when I fish.

The Northern Snakehead amphibian has been here over a decade now. If their was going to be a negative impact, we would very likely know by now. In fact the bass population exploded in the years after they were introduced, now things have leveled off somewhat. This is what I have read in local stories and fish and game articles over and over. Yes, we essentially dodged a bullet and got lucky, but I would consider it a win at this point. The reasons for this are fairly simple to understand from what I have read. 1) They spawn 3 times per year, and have 10k to 40k fry per spawn. Our game fish eat the hell out of these fry, giving a food boost to our native game fish. Where our native fish spawn once per year. This increases the available food supply tremendously for our native fish. 2) The adult ones do not seem keen to eat our game fish as our fish are fast and tough, where as the snakeheads have fairly tender skin and are easily torn up by our game fish. They also seem to prefer other amphibians instead of other fish for food. 3) They are not as aggressive or dangerous as we have been lead to believe.....unless you are a frog that is lol. Yes they have scary teeth, but like pike and musky are just not that bloodthirsty. If they were, we would have a problem. 4) They are not able to migrate on land, this is a myth. Yes, they can sorta of wiggle around, but there is no documented case of them walking to a new area. They breath air, and can survive out of water for about 48 hours if they can stay moist, that's it. This is probably an adaptation to survive dry seasons, and low oxygen environments in SE Asia where they came from. 5) Asian immigrants brought them here to eat, and they probably stocked them in some local waters thinking they would die in the winter, but somehow they can survive by going into a sort of hibernation. Then people also had them as pets, and some one released them into other waters for various reasons, and they are unstoppable breeders. Florida is full of invasive fish from all over the world, so far, the native fishery world has not ended there either. 6) They prefer warm, dirty, dark, muddy, low oxygen, and shallow water. I don't see them getting much further up the Potomac, or surviving in any of our more pristine waters inland. This means our Smallmouth are safe, and definitely our trout. I have not heard of much if any as far north as point of rocks MD, let alone any further norther or inland other then a few muddy lakes and ponds where some one stocked them. At the end of the day, they are an illegal immigrant fish, but they are here to stay now, no way to stop them all due to their rapid breeding, and luckily they have not caused any negative effects to our native fisheries, and have instead provided extra fun, and food for our citizens to enjoy. They should never have gotten loose here, but it seems now we just have to make the best of it. Considering in 40 years fishing this area I have never even seen a pike or musky let alone caught one, I welcome the chance at a toothy fresh water fish lol.

The last time I watched a BPT event live, all I saw was one pound 'score-able' bass after another. Most of the excitement was at the cut line.

I have an older Promise 73 and it’s ok. The build quality is good but the blank is not spectacular. The action is on point but sensitivity is lacking. And it doesn’t feel very light in the hands. I use it for braid power fishing ie frogs, buzzbaits, ploppers, large spinner baits, etc. It does a fine job for that. I’ve never fished a Sierra

I really don't understand why people have to get all emotional over it and argue with each other. It's fishing folks. It's supposed to be fun. If instead your blood starts to boil over a conversation about fishing, then perhaps fishing may not be your thing.

Palomar knot works fine for me

Found out I'm going to be a grandfather again.

We had 3 boats, in my boat (my brother and I) our biggest largie was 4.3 and caught in 4' or less of water. All the smallies were off boulder reefs, most of the bigger ones were in 10+ feet hanging off bigger isolated rocks. Our boat we mainly focused on ned rigs (not very confident in jigs), bombing them out, and slooooowly dragging them back, and popping them off the rocks. Pulled in several 4+ lbers doing this. Saturday our best 5 went for 19.48lbs, also pulled in several 20"+ eyes. Photos

Ask @clayton86 about it! Sad story indeed.

Not everything that a bites a Ned rig is a bass!!

Why are some people blonde and some people redheads? Only the shadow knows

I think the truth has not supported the silly media hype. I’ve never heard anyone explain how snakeheads are more destructive than bowfin or gar. This is not Hawaii, where there are (were) no native predators. After all these years, I think one would be hard pressed to find scientific evidence that the snakeheads have been a disaster in the Potomac.

Finally got around to pulling out the “Ned rig” outfit again a month or two ago and have been throwing it in our ponds pretty much exclusively. Have caught a few hundred bass since doing so. Been a fun diversion from my boat trips which have all been after crappie. Still nothing but good to say on the YGK SS112 braid which I’ve also been throwing exclusively this whole time. Will definitely be picking up more for the bass rods (spinning) this fall.

Haha......Nice job!

I have been using Loomis rods for about the last 20 years. I just got my first E6X earlier this year. I got the 822S SYR for Shaky Heads, and I have been impressed with it. It reminds me of an IMX rod from 10 or so years ago, but actaully better because it has a softer tip, while maintaining a good strong backbone. I also have several St Croix Avid rods, and I like the E6X as much as I do my Avids. I think you would be satisfied with either. Go hold them in your hand and buy the one that feels best to you.

When Loomis offered the E6X rods under $200 it was banner news on this site. I remember going to the Fred Hull show in Long Beach and Loomis/Shimano had a big display promoting these rods and wrote my opinion back then. The early E6X rods had marginal workmanship you would expect from a Loomis brand. The E6X series was intended for average recreational bass anglers and meets that goal. Today you have a lot of choices in the $150-$200 price range that are lighter weight and better balanced IMO. Tom