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Trying to make up for lost time...... I the last 3 days got 4 SM over 4 lbs...all on a MB +1 in perch. Lost one that was over 5 when I OK ocked it off while netting him. I need some #A-Jay cams?

One of my many annual training days today. Never look forward to them but the long lunch breaks are always appreciated when the weather is nice.

Good Morning again

Down in San Angelo for work, I took a detour to Possum Kingdom and Hubbard Creek Reservoirs. Possum is absolutely amazing, beautiful clear blue water and so many rocks and docks to cast around. Spent about 90 minutes, caught two LMB and six Wipers. This was the largest fish I landed, I lost two more that felt much larger. First time I've ever actually wanted to set up tent camp and stay somewhere in 100 degree heat. Hubbard Creek was kind of the opposite...that's where the pictured backlash ended my day on cast #2 LOL Hubbard is murky as heck, max 18" vis, less than a foot in others. Didn't bother with Lake Fort Phantom Hill, it's being reported as even murkier. On the job as I type, I leave here Sunday and will be hitting a few lakes on the way back. Hopeful to find a shore spot at OH Ivie but thinking Brownwood and Proctor will be better access. I'm finding that I much much prefer clearer water over the usually 2-6ft vis I have back home. Whitney and Possum are now favorites.

This might be too long to read, and I will probably be all over the place, but I have an opportunity that will change my life and my kids lives. As many of you know I am a teacher. I have been teaching at the same school I started at and graduated from. During my time there (16 years), I coached for 12 years and coached all sports and ages. I got out of coaching in the school so I could focus on coaching my girls teams instead. Next year all my girls will be in middle school so me coaching them is almost over. I had expressed interest to my superintendent about getting back in to coaching. He called me in his office last month and asked if I wanted to coach JR high softball. At my school every JH head coach is the assistant HS coach. I thought this was perfect. I went back in the next week to talk a bit more about it and he said it would not be asst HS. I explained to him that in just 2 years I would have 2 girls in HS so it wouldn't make sense for me to be stuck in JH and not getting to watch them. He said he would see what he could do and it would be voted on during the May board meeting. Well, they only had 3 board members show up in May so they couldn't vote. During all this time I had a couple people who's kids play for me but don't attend school here in my ear about a job at a school that is 11 miles away. This school has been VERY successful the last few years and it is an excellent school. They were telling me that they were looking to hire an asst JH and asst HS softball coach. I had been telling them there was no way I would leave my job. This past Monday I went back in and talked to my superintendent and he didn't really act like he was certain about anything till the June board meeting. Well, that didn't sit well with me so I sent my resume to this other school on Monday evening. They called on Tuesday and I met with them today. They offered me asst JH and HS softball, a wildlife class, they are going to let me start a track program and they are going to beat my current salary. They actually wanted me to take the job on the spot, but I told them I would have to talk to my wife. They would like to know by Monday. I am the first person they interviewed and they said they knew I was who they wanted. This is by far the biggest decision I have ever had to make. Whatever decision I make, I just hope it turns out to be the right one.

More like: "Everything I taught Butch Brown"

12 today. Heading out again tomorrow

Clickbait, clickbait, clickbait. When will you guys learn? Everything coming from Randy is all very contrived. Just hit the ignore button and move on.

I managed to sneak the kayak out for a few hours this morning. The carp were still everywhere doing their thing and messing up my fishing. I did catch this dink and a panfish, missed another one that threw the worm close to the yak. I had a great time as always and found a healthy water snake enjoying his day as well.

Smallies love white.

Went fishing around detroit lakes minn for crappie. Wife and i during the day caught bass and pike on crappie lures, no crappie bite untill later. Later came at 6 pm, amid dark skies the crappie were biting and then at 6:15 a 45 minute deluge of rain came over us so we left all our gear on the bank and sat in the car. Now it was 7pm after the storm and the crappie were crazy, we caught a load of them, average size was 10 inches with a few 12 inchers. We used small jig heads with 2 1/2" gulp minnows. As wife started to clean the fish it was now dark out and the crappie were still lit up so as she was cleaning i kept walking up to her with another. Wife found in 4 of the fish a large amount of fish eggs. Pitch black out and still biting i decided to stop and give them a break, we arrived home at 11.30 pm, an hour drive to get home. As i took off my clothes to get into the shower i found 4 ticks on me, 2 on my scalp attached, and 2 on my back attached.

Was fumbling around with all my dedicated rods, you know, a Rod for Spinnerbaits, rod for frogs, rod for jerk baits and on and on. How much money could have been saved by taking the baseball bat approach...... simply CHOKE UP. ? Sorry, been one of those days.

1 Casting Rod, 7', MH 1 Spinning Rod7', M 40 packs of snaps. Well, it didn't happen that way for me.

I’ve never owned a vehicle that didn’t have the engine light on…that’s a real thing?

I spent a bunch of hours punching mats last summer with pretty limited success. Doesn't seem to be the best way to go in the waters I fish. Throwing that punch rig into the nastiest, most weed choked wood tangles I could find was a different story. It's all I wanna do during the daylight hours in summer now. If the weed mats aren't producing for ya, go find some choked out laydowns and put that rig right into the heart of em. They'll produce clear into the fall, even after the weeds are dead and brown.

Probably 90% of engine light codes are non threatening to engine, I've found. I personally don't like looking at the engine light while driving as I'm a Guage watcher. I bought a cheap code reader years ago at AutoZone that will erase and it stays in the vehicle. Glad you found the culprit.

The jerkbait Pickerel bite was on fire today. They put a hurting on my Berkley Juke

Good morning Lake Erie

Today I finally broke my personal best by 1.25 pounds. I have been fishing in northern Ohio my whole life and have only caught one other bass over 5 pounds. I know for the southern guys this isn’t really a big deal, but this doesn’t happen often up here. I have only heard stories of fish like this. Today I caught and released, in healthy condition, a trophy fish in my eyes. She hit a top water frog that I think I casted right on top of her bed. She was a FAT 6.77 pounds.

Got this bass this morning. Was killing it 20+ bass and this was biggest. Other biggest was 20.50 inch and many many 18-20 inch. So I did not bring a scale only a measure. This fish is 22.50 inch long. I did not even think they got this big here. It was unreal to me to catch this fish!! So 22.50 inch can you figure how much he weights?

I don't hear a lot of talk here on BR or in general about Mepps or other inline spinners for bass. They offer a different profile than other bass spinnerbaits, and can be great spinners to use at certain times. If I had to choose one, I'd pick the Mepps Black Fury, size 3 or 4, in chartreuse or yellow dot pattern. I can cast either one of this size with a bait casting outfit. Smaller ones work well with spinning gear. A great scenario for these spinners is where shallow water meets deeper water, with weeds that grow to within one or two ft of the surface. Make a long cast and bring the Mepps over this area, keeping it as close to the weed tops as you can. Keep a tight grip on your rod. Are there any others here who still throw a Mepps? What are your favourite sizes and colors?

There's not a lot on the boards about these newer Fenwick Techna PX rods so I figured I'd provide an anecdote, even though its not a bass, it's bass gear. I went fishing on a Northern Illinois lake yesterday and landed a 13lb carp on a 7' medium-heavy power, fast action Fenwick Techna PX with a Daiwa Tatula SV TW strung with 6lb Invizx flourocarbon and a bluegill colored 3/8 oz. swim jig with a green pumpkin Strike King rage craw trailer (didn't know a carp would ever eat that, but it choked on it). The rod bent waayyyyyy down, but the strength the maker touts about this rod is true, it handled the golden lake whale very well, I was never worried about the rod breaking the entire 15 minute or so fight, felt real solid. Just my experience with the strength of this rod.

Not exactly sure how your school runs, but as a former school board member...the only employee that I had to make a decision on was my superintendent. That isn't to say that we didn't rubber stamp approvals for such things as teachers, support staff or even coaches. If a superintendent is truly doing his or her job, they do all the hiring of the district employees. Part of the process to hire is interviewing and selection of the best candidate. The board merely signs off on the hire as a formality if they trust their employee to do their job. Good teachers and good coaches are in high demand for many districts. It is definitely an employee's market when it comes to good jobs. I would do some research on the administration at the new school and make sure you are a fit with them. It shouldn't be too hard to find out. If it is, then make the move and enjoy the future with your girls!

I'd say 5 1/2, or a shade more. I can't say for sure, but I like how your slippers match the yak?

Well, I don't "NEED" more than 2 or 3, but what's the fun in that?? ? I've got my main set of rods and tackle bins in our boat for my wife and I, plus some in the garage aling with a carry bag for when we go hit a pond or go with a friend in their boat.

We’re finally in the new house, so it’s time for a new beer! One of those two statements is correct. ?

Needed just one more finesse rod and reel so today grabbed a Lew's custom Pro TLC 2000 and paired it with Cashion Core.

If you choose to crank the lure faster than it’s designed to run and the lure twists your line, that’s your fault, not the lures. Crank baits will do the same thing if you crank them too fast.

Reel monkey got me, one new bantam mgl 150hg A reel. I can’t wait to use it ?

14 today total weight 5lbs less than the 12 we caught yesterday

Its the hardbaits that keep hitting me in the wallet. I can't stop.

Caught a skunk in a trap meant for groundhog, it made itself a pine straw cacoon in the trap. Then sprayed me. Caught a sneaky raccoon that avoided capture for 2 weeks. And of course Alvin, Simon, or Theodore the singing chipmunk

Fishing is totally different today than yesterday. 6 in the box. Jigs today rather than crawlers harnesses yesterday. Much slower today. Heading towards deeper water right now.

Scents for lures? Pfft ? But if it helps boost your confidence, or you believe they make a positive difference, then go ahead and use ‘em.

Inline spinners Blue Fox, Shyster, Panther Martin, Mepps etc, run ok until you catch a fish that bends the inline wire. If you take the time to retune the spinner it will run without twisting line, the original design was based on that. But most anglers don’t bother to straighten and retune a inline spinner it’s easier to use the swivel clip to resolve the problem. Tom

Yeah, i have the code to reset which i keep in the owners manual. Now i am listening to all new radio stations because i dont remember the previous stations call signs. I listen to many stations AM and FM, as soon as there is a news break or a commercial i switch to another station. same with my honda, a "maintenance" light comes on separate from engine light. In the owners manual it tells you how to disable that maintenance light which i have to do every so many thousand miles. she has only 136,000 on her and gets 39mpg on the hwy. I will never break up with her, shes my baby.

I hate to be negative, but the current state of electrical know how is shocking, I'm positive that we should conduct some sort of training, but I'm sure that idea will meet with resistance...

When the odometer hits certain a milage the engine light comes on in my Toyota to let me know its time for maintenance. I'm old school so I still do my maintenance every 3000 miles.

https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/wcm/connect/gov/371feeee-ce73-4bb9-b6f9-40dc90bc5ea7/Req+Eqpt.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_M1HGGIK0N0JO00QO9DDDDM3000-371feeee-ce73-4bb9-b6f9-40dc90bc5ea7-nINWAkd The link above lists the Required Equipment for Boats in Ohio This chart is intended for quick reference only and is not a substitute for knowledge of the specifics of Ohio boating laws. If a vessel is exempted from carrying specific equipment, that does not mean that a wise skipper would not carry it anyway. Following the lighting requirements is not only a solid plan regulation wise, it might just keep you from being run over by a larger and or faster vessel. Believe me, they're out there. Also, as a man who was tasked with enforcing these standards on a federal level, In 20 years or so, I will tell you that I NEVER issued a single warning, not one. Did site operators Citations when indicated though. The warning is the regulations themselves; Read them, know them & follow them. Attempting to interpret / circumvent them, makes you a hazard to navigation. I don't recommend it. Stay Safe A-Jay

Beautiful fish. Spectacular tie.?

Got out today about 7-12, boated 7, 1 on a spinnerbait and 6 on a frog with the best of the day a 4-6 on the frog.

With some help from others figuring out why I had lazy lead blades, I made up 7 different 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits. All of the blade combinations were tested in the local trout creek. I particularly like the yellow bladed bait I made tonight.

And it's not all about boats or kayaks, either. Fishing off the banks in the Everglades along any levee road can be utterly amazing. There's miles and miles and miles of these levee roads with plenty of elbow room, no boats to speak of, no one around for miles...except maybe for the wildlife lol Just a few examples here caught a few feet off the bank.

I upsize my baits, line, rod power, and go at night during the Summer. I don't mind the cold, wind, rain, or cold windy rain but I'm allergic to being slowly broiled. My catch rates drop but quality improves. I do all my annual reel servicing in the Summer cause I'm only using a few of my rigs.

“STOP rigging your Huddleston like butch brown” is now his next video title

Once the bigger lakes become loaded up with the 'summer rental' crowds, usually soon after Memorial Day weekend, I simply fish a whole lot less, at least during the day. Just no longer have any desire to participate in the circus. But I'm going tomorrow ! A-Jay

The Comet Minnow is a great schooling bass lure. I once won a tournament on Rodman using one. When people asked me what I was fishing with and I told them, they always laughed. Laugh away, I got the check. ?

Try this carp/ drum receipt for grilling: Gut the fish, fill the cavity with butter, lemon, salt, pepper and parsley. Place the filet on a cedar plank, 6"- 8" above the coals. Cover and cook for five minutes. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Remove the fish and serve the plank.