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Welp, Dee is back home, after her 3 day stay at the hospital. She looks, and sounds Much better. She wound up with a small shopping bag full of things she needs to take. One thing I told her was, Do Not exert yourself, I'll do whatever needs to be done, she looked at me and just kinda smiled. It's great having her home, she has a long hard road ahead, together we can beat this thing. God Bless all of you..

Dropshot from the bank isn't a fluke. Another good afternoon on the water, but going to tweak my setup just a bit as I had another good fish that I really couldn't do anything with before he got a chance to wrap me on something and finally pull off. Kinda' comes with the territory when bank fishing though, especially with 6 lb. test - lol.

Fishing at the spillway today. This guy put up quite the fight. Also got a small catfish and two monster carps(gross)

Never want to see smoke in the sky around here this time of year... Dink of dinks but it always amazes me how aggressive small SM and spots can be. First cover scat fish on a free rig. I was pleasantly surprised how many bites this drew.

It rained! Sweet Mother of God, it actually rained yesterday! Heavy downpours (rained again this afternoon, too!). Which meant I had to check out the pond this morning. It is still lower than normal, but yesterday’s gullywasher filled up 3/4 of what it was down (filled up now lol), and that’s a good thing. Caught 6. I dropped one as I was grabbing the phone and he fell in and swam off. First one on a black/silver floating Rapala, three on a Zoom Trick and two on a black Senko. All caught as baits were worked through or near submerged vegetation. None were big but they were scrappers!

I wonder who the bass think the invasive species are?

I have owned boats most of my life. Bass boats are not generally run as much as a salt water boats. Salt water runs are longer and trolling is often used as the primary fishing method. My diesel sportfish had 2,500 hours on it when I sold it and I bought it new. Even when I was fishing tournaments I rarely put over 100 hours a year on my bass boats. Whoever buys my current Ranger when I'm gone will get an almost new boat. The boat ramp is three blocks from my home and my favorite fishing spot is 200 yards from the ramp. This summer it's been hot and I haven't been fishing more than a couple of times this month. If you buy a used boat, you want to buy one from an old man like me. Boat maintenance is a lot more important than hours used. The worst boats to buy are those that sat for years. Electrical connections corrode, fuel turns to jelly and motors seize. If you are going to own a boat, you need to exercise it regularly and maintain it properly. I can't imagine living without a boat. Even if I don't use it, I know I can. ☺️

Good Looking Pack ~ My pack never sees the inside of my rig. But keeping these guys in the topper was no walk in the park. A-Jay

Was able to get out today. Been pretty absent. Haven't had a lot of time for fishing. Caught a 13 inch and a 14 inch smallie. (I'm guessing on size. Didn't bother to measure them.) Plus a handful of dinks. Unless you count the pike and carp, they're aren't a lot of giant fish near me. But smallies fight like fish twice their size. Plus a couple weeks ago I caught this largie in a little pond. For the size pond, this guy is a beast. He was only 15 inches but weight a full 2lbs :

I love spots, I hope they invade anywhere I go. Our DNR thinks they are going to ruin everything, but they always take that stance no matter the invader. They magically get millions of dollars donated to the “cause” when there’s a “threat” Meanwhile they’ve never eliminated a threat, just cashed checks i will gladly fry any amount of spotted bass for anyone that wants them gone!

In Texas, Smallmouth are the invasive species, because they interbreed with our endemic spotted bass. Our native bass retreat into the aquifer to survive drought, and spelunkers have fished for them. TPWD has a hatchery and stocking program trying to overwhelm feral smallmouth genes with endemic Guadalupe bass fingerlings. Pretty sure this girl is all Guadalupe by her blue sheen (she got this size eating baby bats in a bat nursery cave) Cibolo Creek A-strain endemic Guadalupe bass isolated from smallmouth by aquifer recharge (the creek disappears into the ground to re-emerge in the coastal plain) There are only two remaining A-strains, they're extinct in the Blanco River except for state stocking. this copper-sheen kid is a smallie hybrid When KT Diaries did an episode on our endemic bass, I took him fishing. @soflabasser spotted bass will interbreed with smallmouth and, of course, other spotted bass species, but do not interbreed with largemouth. @TnRiver46 I ate a 4-lb feral smallie one day, caught on a 3-wt. They were stocked by a game ranch on a private creek when the state allowed such, and this was right at the river confluence.

Standing and punching. My bait got hit hard and I retaliated (with a hook set) next thing I realized I’m standing on one leg , and headed overboard. I let my standing leg go limp and I dropped on the deck of my kayak. Phew! Bass was gone - probably spit the hook when it was laughing at me. The deal was; I have only punch-fished from a bassboat. I forgot to recalibrate my hook set for my kayak. well I didn’t give up. Five minutes later and I got another on the punch. smaller tho. But I’ll take it. ! Today was tough! But fun and educational. 102 degrees out. Very little wind. What little wind we had was also 102 deg. I think we fished the wrong tide. Low-incoming. I’m not great in those conditions. August 20 2022 - dinkfest.

2021 Vexus AVX1980 Will have a ‘23 hull in a month. Same blue with black bottom.

I went fishing last night and this morning. Caught 19 bass last night and 8 bass this morning, plus a bullhead on a Whopper Plopper. Thanks to all the guys who coached me on fishing frogs. I fished some serious salad. I also caught some nice fish. I like the third one best. Right before it hit my frog, I'm pretty sure it said, Puny frog. Bass smash!" I also caught a bullhead on a Whopper Plopper! P.S. - I catch short fish too, but even they're fat. Here's one:

Just tell her she's got this and you are going to fight with her side by side through it all. Be her rock and encourage her. We are all sending you our best. Not a day goes by that I don't see this thread and think about y'all, and I am sure there are others who feel the same.

I fished the Kankakee River by the hunting areas Friday in my canoe. The river was in great shape. I caught 16 smallies in just over 2 hours. Most were dinks, but still fun.

As an update, again. Dee went Thursday for her consultation. But the Doc's decided with the pain, ect, that they wanted to keep her, to help reduce the pain. Anyway, last night she got her first dose of Chemo, and as of right now when I talked to her on the phone, she sounds Much better. She is due to be discharged today, and will get a script for chemo pills. Just waiting for the Doc's to release her. Once again, Thank you all for the prayers, and good wishes, it really helps a bunch.

I bought a Dobyns baitcaster. My first one was defective. Sent it back and got the new one. I have only been using a baitcaster for about 2 years. So I'm no expert. At first I hated it. It has so many bearings and is so smooth it backlashed all the time. I quickly realized I needed to add a lot more brakes then I do on my other reels. Which are a Daiwa Tatula CT. And 2 Runcl reels. Now that I have used the Maverick for a couple of weeks I no longer hate it. Even with a lot more brakes on it, it out casts my other reels. I will say this about my Runcl reels. They are a lot better than their $40 pricetag would make you think. I really think they are close to the quality of the Maverick at a fraction of the cost. I'm forcing myself to continue to use the Maverick. It is not close to the build quality of my Daiwa. If I knew what I know now, I would have bought another Tatula CT. I thought of selling the Maverick. But I'm hoping with more use I will grow to love it. Not sure I will. It's a decent reel. But I don't think it's worth the $100 price tag. Not comparing it to my Tatula and Runcls. To be able to get the Tatula for just $30 more, to me that's a no brainer. I doubt this post will be helpful. But I tried to get my thoughts and experience into understandable sentences. I hope I didn't waste your time reading this.

6poundbass took a helicopter ride Friday at a festival in town. Made the front page news Saturday morning too.

Anecdotal evidence without sufficient context. For one more anecdotal data point, I have four Shimano PA and one Poison Glorious and they are all exceptional rods with no issues. Plus they are very light. If you are looking at St. Croix, look at the Legend Xtreme with the carbon fiber guides. All of the above are awesome rods - but I might be suffering from confirmation bias. ?

I don't get skunked often thankfully but it does happen. To right the ship after I usually just consume 3 glasses of whiskey...after the 2nd one I don't remember getting skunked...after the 3rd one I dont remember going fishing.

The wolf pack got to ride in the grandparents truck, they like the back seat

Couple river smallies today. Larger one photo’d came on a spinnerbait. Somebody tell TnRiver that spinnerbaits work for smallmouth, I’m not sure if he knows ?.

Hey ya'll, Not really sure if something like this will take off or if a thread like this has been posted in past but figured I'd start a thread for people to share their cooking/baking creations for ya'll that like to do either of these. Maybe share photos of some fish you cook up. Anyways, I made some homemade biscuits again. My fourth time making them I think. This batch turned out really nice. I like one of these with breakfast. Let's see what ya'll making!

I thought it may be cool to show you guys a project I have been slowly working on, that has been ramping up as of late. This is my 1972 Chevelle that I purchased back in 2016 from Columbia, SC for about $4,000. It was parked for a while, and the previous owner was having twins, so it worked out for me. I lived in Savannah at the time, so a few hours drive and a trailer and I picked her up site unseen except for this one photo. Specs: 1969 350 motor- Stock build TH350 trans The first thing on the list once I got her home was to check out the engine. I knew it was not running at all. The motor turned over, but had no fluids. I spent three days trying to get it to run decent, but ran in to a ton of issues: I decided to pull the motor and do some work: I added new parts: fuel pump water pump timing cover carb thermostat and housing intake booster and master cylinder I also decided to paint the block and change out all the gaskets while I was at it. This is a dirty photo but you get the point.

Getting to hear someone's hands-on experience is never a waste of time. Thank you for sharing.

We were walking around Dicks house of sport with the family, trying to keep my 6 year old niece entertained. They ended up buying me some birthday swag, I’m counting the hat as “fishing tackle”

Thanks, Mr. Warrior and Mr. Spothunter! One small correction:

I caught my first bass on a frog last night and this morning. I also lost a lot. I was stunned by the number of bass in the pads. I'd coast quietly into the pads and stop dropping the frog into the openings. Then I'm clumsily bump something and I'd see five or six bass swirl and scoot all around my canoe, mere feet from me. Here's the best bass I caught on a frog. I love when they get that hump. I ordered some braid for my casting reel and am waiting for it to arrive.

That’s what makes this site what it is. We all come at it through our own waters, our experience and confidence in certain things. From the guy on the bank who fishes creeks and ponds, to the guys who fish the Great Lakes. Would I use a frog in So Florida in 15 fow on a barren sand flat in open water in 40deg weather after a January cold front passes? Certainly not, there are better choices. My probably not well written response was to point out that to some folks, where you throw can be more important than what you throw or even when. Opinions like all of us vary. Mike

Hmm... I think a lot of lures and techniques are seasonal. A few examples are lipless cranks, square bills, most topwater, jerkbaits and the Alabama Rig. The Rig stands out perhaps the most. I have no idea why it doesn't produce in the summer, but it doesn't for me or anyone I know. Lipless, best in spring and fall. Square bills in late spring/ early summer. Topwater in warmer months. In the summer "moving lures" are a distant second to soft plastics and jigs. Frogs? Almost exclusively summer and heavy cover.

102 degrees! I may of accidentally fell in the water a few times.

After further research - it appears the Owner Stinger ST-35/36 series and the Mustad KVD Elite Triple Grip treble hooks are very popular with hard bait bass fishermen.

I bet that smile was worth a million dollars… thoughts and prayers every day..

The Steez power pitch is a fantastic rod. Might be my favorite overall, definitely my fave 1/2oz and up jig rod. Though I'm enjoying it most with a heavier reel, currently a bantam though a jdm zillion hd keeps calling me. scott

First dog I had was a Pug named Dino (After the Flintstones “dog”) super friendly and non-aggressive unless you took away his bone or hurt one of his family. He jumped up and bit my cousin when we had a fight. Update on Iggy. She is doing great. She is now house trained. I taught her how to sit, we are working on stay. She fetches and brings back anything I throw. She had her last shot so we can go on walks. She is curious about her new area as we ventured around the neighborhood. I plan on loose leash training her next. The vet said she is more Lab than anything else. Her only flaw would be puppy bites. Two or three times a day she will want our attention so much she will mouth us. It’s not hard but if it catches you the wrong way it hurts. At 5 months old she has her permanent teeth. We have been working on telling her no and redirecting her to chew toys. We also turn away from her when she does this. Both of these things work to a degree. Lately when we turn away she will nip at loose clothing or the back of pants legs. We are hoping she grows out of this phase soon.

Tactical Bassin often promotes using braid with a leader to increase line capacity and casting distance. The fact you cast around 50 yards using a reel with 110 yards of line capacity reduces the spooled line 40%. The impact of reducing spooled line 40% reduces the IPT from 28” for example 18”. The higher gear ratio 7.2:1 doesn’t change, the IPT does. What happens is the crank bait dives down with little resistance on the reel because it’s only moving 18” with each turn of the reel handle. However as the lure gets half way or 25 yards the IPT is increasing as the spool fills with line so is the water resistance as the lure is running faster. The last 15 yards using a high speed reel becomes more difficult. To reduce the IPT % drop use a reel with larger wider spool. 300 size reel after the 50 yard cast the IPT may change 10%, the 5.8:1 gear ratio reel with 24” IPT may drop to 22”, hardly noticeable and the lure speed stays constant with less water resistance. Tom

Thanks Andy. Matter of fact, I'm the one who almost preaches to Dee, that staying strong has a lot of benefits to getting well. I must admit, these are trying times for me as well, but with all the support from you folks as well as friends and family, my stress level has come way down. Thanks again all.

Good thing I don’t. I’ve been getting skunked so often lately I’d be huge.

Usually a beer and a little whiskey for me.

7 largemouth and 5 spots today. I think I caught this one twice. I didn't take a picture the first time. Both were 16 1/2 inches and colored exactly like this one. 1st one on a crankbait. Released it, took a leak, then caught this one on a Devils Horse. That's 2 weeks that I think I've caught the same fish back to back. (the one last week was a dink)

Fresh water bass are not line shy fish, line diameter is a key factor that affects lure action. Save your money and use premium Mono or Copoly line that have higher abrasion resistance and more reliable knot strength. To answer you ? FC leader has more memory and doesn’t lay well on reel spools. What type and size of reel are you using? Tom

Tried my best to make myself not go back out night fishing, but the inner fishing demon won out, and likely for the best. Fished from 10:20pm-1:45am. Perfect pressure @ 30.00, started very dark and cloudy, then ended with stars and a qtr moon. Apparently, it wasn't the wind during the day that was turning them off as it was present until almost the end of the session. Caught 8 fish all b/t 1-3lbs, so no 5lb+ fish which was kinda rare for a good biting night session. Not sure where the big fish went. Did catch one Spot over 2lbs so that got the heart racing. 4 fish came on my all time favorite night bait.....1/8th tungsten T Rigged 8" zoom Magnum lizard in Black Grape on 5/0 Gama red EWG. Fish these off points, and structure located in the 5-10ft range. Then once the wind and clouds started to fade, I caught the other 4 on a ZMAN 3/8th weedless chatterbait in Bream color. I was really slow rolling it, just barely enough to get it to chatter. Must have gotten 10-12 bites, but only hooked the 4. The smaller fish were out last night so it could be that, but I might switch to a non weedless in the future. They were just ripping off zoom twin tail trailers.

Fish weeds all the time without that issue.

The really clear pond I last fished a couple days ago is still fresh in my mind. So when I stumbled upon a package of my old favorite dropshot/split shot worms sitting in the garage, the light bulb went off - I had never tried dropshotting any of these ponds. So I rerigged my only dedicated DS rod with some 6 lb. test, found all my old DS terminal tackle, and made a quick (1 hr) trip this evening just to test this idea out while the water is still really clear (rain in forecast all weekend). First cast produced a bass Second cast produced a bass Long story short...Twelve bass fishing a 125 ft. stretch of bank in 60 minutes from what has been a very stingy pond. Now I've got my fingers crossed that one of the two really clear ponds stays that way through the weekend rain. What a blast!

My pappy always told me ain't nothin' free!

Wish I still had that one ?

Lol, same here, but I got the baby duck being inhaled by a giant bass on my card. Watched a momma and her ducklings come around an Island bend, and then one of the most violent and loudest explosions occurred......a tank of a Bass ate the last duckling in the chain. Sad and awesome to witness. You see things out fishing that are wild. I watched Bass run themselves up on the rocks yesterday chasing shad like the Orcas do with Seals. Fisherman are some of the most blessed nature observers

The reason nobody has replied to your thread is nobody fishes prop baits anymore. Good for us as they surely catch fish. Covering water with a whopper plopper or a buzzbait has become much more popular— at least until somebody wins a big tournament on a prop bait. I prefer longer baits like a Devils Horse in prespawn then once summer gets here, smaller baits like a Crazy Shad.