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Bass drum……. See what I did there?

First Lake Michigan fish ever, and it’s a smallmouth!

The rains were expected to hit hard Friday night, so I gobbled down my supper and made it up there while it was still light out. I went through my normal weedless bait progressions in this weed choked spot, but nothing was happening. About the only treble bait I could sort of throw here was a floater like a Gantarel Jr, so I tied one on. This meant laboriously picking off weeds after every throw, but I had to change things up. Just like that it got slammed by a hard fighting Pickerel. My 20lb Big Game line looked fine afterward, but thank god I gave it a good pull to check it out, because it snapped like nothing, and because the next fish I caught was a chunk. I retied, waded out as far as my chest waders would allow, then threw the bait down a weedline where I lost a monster last week. I kept the bait from diving by keeping the rod tip high, and felt it ticking grass as it slowly pulsed. I ran it into a clump, then it got slammed. I felt her weight immediately. I jacked it hard to my left to keep her from running into the weed bed, and it worked. She went airborne, my heart stopped, but the stretchy line kept her pinned. I kept pressure on, and got her in. The trebles popped right out of her bottom lip without the use of pliers. Close call. About 5-15 Followed up with 2 more 2 1/2 pounders on the Gantarel, but then we got hammered by rain. Dryed out in the truck until it passed, then went back and got one more on a Livingston Bullnose. I needed a sesh like that.

Went on a late day pond hop today, I worked a shade pocket for about a half an hour and pulled out a bunch of fish. About 7pm I put on the 90 bone plopper... First cast as soon as it hit the water...fish. I milked it for about 1 hr. Chatterbaits in shade pockets accounted for a bunch of fish... Plopper... Runner up.

It's been awhile since this happened but it still makes me scratch my head.

Some more Lake Michigan smallmouth Bass! They are fat!

Let me get on that new PB train! Didn't have my scale with me, cause it ate an entire pack of batteries, so I couldn't get exact measurements. This fish was way bigger than anything I've ever caught. I'm going with 5+. First cast of the day. DOINK DOINK, 10 inch worm in the face! Biggest fish I've caught out of this lake ever too!

Took a mental health day yesterday and went fishing. I left my kayak at home, pull my baits out of kayak box and loaded them up into a canvas bag. Awkward but effective enough. I stepped onto a bass boat. Let’s do this! My friends boat. On the California Delta. we barely got out of the marina when we saw the first weed mat. Frog city. It was on. I don’t own a frog set up, so I was missing bites. Could have been me. But eventually a few bass really committed to killing my white Booyah Pad crasher and ended up held by the lip. I GOT MY FIRST FEW ADDICTIVE frog fish. We hit another flat and threw out choppers. Big long bombing cast got 4 lbs bass pretty consistently. But only by my friend. I was fun to watch. I kept thinking. Man a Wacky would be very effective. By 9am I was invested in the wacky. I was catching smaller fish till….WHAM. a big fish sucked it in. It felt like a snag. Until my line was slicing thru the moss coming towards me. I was searching the moss to catch a glimpse. My buddy yells “it’s a giant”. I was looking at the wrong place. My line was hooked on something and the fish was elsewhere. It got scary. Spinning setup, med light rod, light leader. I could barely move it. My buddy obscures my view when he tried to net the fish. I felt my hook pop off. I lost it!! I hear my friend yell. “We got it!” He turns and hand me the net. What a bass! My hook popped of just as the fish entered the net. Close call. Quick pic/weigh and I let the leviathan go. it was a good day. Frog cherry, new PB, and a big numbers summer day. We boated a lot of fish. 1 oz shy of seven pounds on my friends scale. My new PB.

My wife picked where we were going for vacation. Which really put the bait monkey on me, since she never picks anywhere with bass or saltwater that I’d be prepared for. I couldn’t have the kids learning to fly fish on location, so this is for them to use (except the fly rod). These KastKing rods are the real deal. These are legit fishing rods that also happen to be telescopic. The are more MH than M and faster than the “mod fast” as advertised. If you need an all around MH Fast travel rod, with a little give in the tip. This is it. I bet theres quite a few people out there who’d know where abouts we’re going just from the looks of this baitmonkey project.

I didn't need light tackle today. These guys were going after 7/16 crankbaits.

Me n monkey made a run to Cow Bellows

....about your cheap setup. I'm a fairly cheap fisherman. I use rods and reels that run about $50 each. I'm somewhat skeptical of super expensive tackle and probably wouldn't buy it even if I had a lot more funds than I do. I don't begrudge people spending $$$ on tackle, but I've been watching some old-time fishing videos and it dawned on me that my $100 baitcasting combo is probably light years better than what these pros were using 20 years ago. It's all a matter of perspective.

It looks like someone forgot to put the top back on the cookie jar when they were done...

Cranking rods excel at tight line, steady retrieves with (almost) any lure that benefits from that style of fishing. Don't get pigeonholed; the moderate action rods are actually pretty versatile. jj

If you have a range of gear like most folks will, you should be able to recognize the difference in the feel and performance of the higher end gear. If you can't, then more power to you - buy something less expensive. Professionals are going to fish with gear provided by their sponsors, and they don't care how long it lasts, there's more where that came from. If you do the math, spending for 3 versaltile rods to take on your kayak may cost less than loading your bass boat with a dozen combos for different focused niches. Adding to @desmobob - if he's searching for a word, it's gestalt. The trip, the friends, the meals, the time on the water, even the function of the gear - when you lose track of catching fish, they're just the gravy. Yes, catching fish is the goal, but don't miss the rest because of too high a priority on the fish.

Well that's a first.

First decent fish in a month.

Were you like:

I was doing my security job the other night , and this guy jumped on my hat when I was checking a door…

True ........ and many more to come! ? jj

Wishing all here on BR a safe and happy 4rth of July.

I grabbed this guy from an estate sale for a measly $40 earlier this year, finally got around to cleaning it up yesterday and tweaking a few things. It's a 2500 CI with a foot stamping of 0400, probably early to mid 90s production. Instant anti reverse and 5.3:1 gears.

You never know what long term effect you may have on a kid's life. The first fish I caught by myself was a 4" blue gill. This lead me to a lifetime of great experiences. Before I retired, I was involved in volunteer charity work back in Miami. I wanted to work with kids by introducing them to fishing. I found a local government program where troubled teens were housed. They earned points for good behavior and could use their points for outside activities. Accompanied by a counselor, I was able to take some of these kids offshore fishing in my boat. These kids had never been in a boat before. One of them was the daughter of a notorious drug dealer. Another lived in a house with no windows. I often wonder if I made a difference in their life? One of those kids you are teaching to fish could be President of the United States some day. We need more programs like that.

Well, I am stuck in a rut. 11 bass yesterday and 11 bass today. Biggest yesterday was over 2 lb. Biggest two today 2.06 & 2.12. My 11th fish yesterday was a 6” dink; my 11th fish today? Also a 6”….Blue gill who ate my TR worm.

X Zone and Rabid Baits stuff came in, love the "Shaker Worms" The X Zone MB Fat Finesse Worms in the "Southern Sip" color are looking good!

I have a couple of these. You also can't tell the cost of something until the accounting period is over. I figure I will use them as long as I am able. They will go to my son and grandsons. Could easily be used for 50 years and provide nice memories along the way. Factoring how long they could be used, I believe the final cost to be a bargain. Just one FOG's thoughts

Especially right before I’m going to fish. If I could healthily eat buckets of scrambled eggs I think I would

I realized something today that helped me out a lot so I’ll share it, though I’m sure most of you already know this. But, for the less experienced readers in the group, here goes… Historically, I’ve gone through a lot of worms when TR’ing, especially when panfish (or bass) grab the tail and never get the hook. I’d rip the lips and come back with an empty hook. But, even on a good bass bite, my worm was pretty well destroyed meaning one fish, one worm. Sometimes I could nip the head off and reuse the shortened worm but not always. Today, I realized my mistake. I simply wasn’t running the point of the hook far enough into the head of the worm before turning it out. I was only going about half the depth of the barb side before bringing it out of the worm which left only a small part of the worm at the eye. This morning, I started keeping the point of the hook in the worm until I reached the bend of the hook. The difference was amazing. I think I might have gone through 3 worms in 11 bass. I’ve watched videos on TR’ing and never picked up on this subtle difference but it was a difference maker for me. YMMV.

We remember the words, but actions speak louder than words. Some of our Founders gave, literally, everything .... including their lives. How many of us, today, are so inclined? jj

With undying gratitude for all the wise and brave souls who laid the foundation for our freedoms.

I'm casting 1/16 oz to 100' on SV (BFS spool), and the same set-up will fish over an ounce without adjustment. There's no question SV is the least futzing for someone wanting to learn baitcasting - our OP. And you use zero end tension. As far as my thumb goes, I was out-casting guides with weighless rigs 40 years ago using Daiwa Millionaire 6H. I'd PO them - they'd tell me what was wrong with my spiral cast, and I would double their cast distance - it's ok, I always made them look good back at the dock. I'm not a Daiwa fanboy, in fact I quit Daiwa altogether in 1984 when they wouldn't support parts on my Millionaire - I fished nothing but Lew's until this first Steez. Exceeded my expectations so that I also bought a Zillion. But SV is a no-brainer for results with ease of use. Not counting offshore and surf, my only baitcasters currently are Steez, Zillion, and 2 Super Duty. I gave away my dual-brake Lew's to a buddy - good reel for him to learn baitcasting with big weights, but way too much spool mass for distance (wind control) in ML niche. @jimmyjoe the main brake in our old Ambassadeur and Millionaire was the level wind mechanism itself, constantly driven off the spool during casting. Abu's patented centrifugal brake was essentially a start-up brake add-on - then add in end-tension for constant-force braking. Those reels can never achieve the kind of spin velocity we get on new low profile baitcasters (or old Lew's), which disengage the LW mechanism during the cast. You would be floored by the spool speed on one of my NLW CT's.

May your day be blessed. Let freedom ring.

Not all the way. It’s better though. I only fished for around 30 minutes. Im probably going to try again tomorrow and see how it goes.

If you want a micro-sized UL reel in the tradition of Alcedo and Cargem, the only one made today is Tica Cetus - I have one that fished my salt XUL niche ten years and is still going. This reel is not going to have the smooth of a Vanford 500, but makes up for it in balls - the little reel above has landed too many big seatrout to count, and a couple of snook. This is the only good photo I have of a newer one, and this one has been pimped with a fancy Daiwa handle. Capacity is just right for 2- to 4-lb mono/fluoro, and it has a great ball-bearing line roller.

Good night Irene.

Don’t be sad and don’t be so insecure. Be proud of what you have go catch fish and show off your catches with cheap setup. There are different type of fishermen here, one that just plain love catching fish and doesn’t care about equipment. Ones that love anything fishing related, catching fish, buying new gears and lure. And one that I call gear junkies, buying 4-500 dollars rod/reel plus another 4-500 dress up part just to put it in the shelf. I will gladly look at picture of your big fish with cheap gear than those expensive setup on counter top. I’m not ashamed to show off my hard earn setup, as long as I have fun using it to catch fish. There are many cheap vs expensive post going around lately, why? Just because you use Ugly stick doesn’t mean you love fishing more than me. Just because I have CQ50 and Yellow pixy doesn’t mean I’m better fisherman than you. It is about what I love to have and it is in my power to buy without pawning all my wife purses. Confident in yourself and your ability to catch fish ppl and please stop comparing.

The monkey took me for everything I had. Being delivered 7/7 I’ve got the following: 2021 Zillion Tatula 150 6 Jack hammers Few packs of 6th sense plastics 2 spools of sufix 832 1 spool 16lb sniper all that is on top of the Daiwa BLX that just got delivered… you win this time monkey.

I got out this morning after a front passed through during the night. It was almost cold and there was a N-NE breeze, not generally a good sign. I managed only three bites and two fish. But the better one was this 5 lb. 9 oz. gal. I decided to try a shaky head worm a couple trips ago but hadn't caught anything on it yet. I decided to fish a little structure with a Zoom Ultravibe Speedworm. On the first cast with it I was rewarded. I had the drag loose and it's a medium combo so it was a good long fight. She nearly swallowed the hook so she wasn't coming off. It only takes one fish to make a trip worthwhile.

Here's your one chance fancy don't let me down... Tied with heads from @BoatSquirrel

This is timely as I have a camp chef in a basket wait g for me to check out. Choosing is driving me freekin nuts! Long way to go to make it to 100 degrees, but it's a start

Finally got my first 6 in a good while. I've been doing real well with a Z-Man chatterbait mini lately. Got a chance to try out my new luggage scale that I bought on the recommendation of @Bluebasser86 from another thread.

Went out for a couple hrs. Between downpours, picked up a couple on chatterbaits.

I don't. (Feel bad about my cheap setup.) Berkley Lightning 6' MH and Daiwa Procaster 100HN. Whopping $48.02 total (with tax) both purchased new. My dedicated short range spinnerbait rod. However, I'm not going to apologize because my more expensive gear gives me more pleasure to use even though it may not catch more fish.

Shimano recommends leaving all four brakes on and adjusting with the dial. Mine gets squirrely at the lower numbers depending on wind and lure profile which is just what I want.

Got out for a few hours. Caught 11. Most were in the 1 lb range. Best of the day was caught on a TR worm and was around 2 lbs. The saddest of the day was caught on a jerk bait and was about 1” longer that the bait. ?

The Petronzi brothers with some Jamaica Bay fluke to5.5lbs.