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My buddy was just up at Candlewood.

Yeah it’s a place called Wethersfield cove, awesome place for numbers but not normally size. From the cove you can take folly brook out to the CT river. The mouth of the cove/brook is killer during the tide change, and generally that’s when the bigger fish come out. These were caught on 7” Ramsey Core shot Curl tail worms. These photos are not from recently, but you can see the bridge and the brook from the previous photos in the background. Pretty sure Wethersfield cove used to be a pirate hangout at some point in history.

The water is still soft in Connecticut…

We only have green ones and brown ones lol. This one came out of lillinona a few weeks ago. does your buddy have a black kind? He looks familiar, we are in candlewood a lot. I think for New England winter has shifted a month late. Last year was warm also, and looking back at snow records it’s mostly late January and February now. April has been pretty darn cold the last few years also. we ride the Pittsburg ridge runners trails up in New Hampshire, they have been opening later and later every year. Candlewood is a small mouth factory now that the grass is gone. And theirs some big ones in there. I got a 5.1 earlier this year in about 50’ of water. We are taking the boat down to Florida for the next couple of weeks to fish the kissimee chain and headwaters, hopefully we can find some monsters. I’ve never fished outside of CT before so we are amped.

Another TD-Z repainted. The is the 36mm spool 100ML "US Trail" version.

Staying home with 45 degree muddy water is a good idea.....but I can't do it. I caught a big ol Skunk today. I don't make excuses. I suspect a hammer was catching Bass while I was Skunking. The water was actually 49 according to my transducer, but my temp readings are usually a little warmer than others around here. I saw what I believe to be Bass hugging the bottom ~40 feet deep in the channels but couldn't get them to respond. I tried a little around shallow cover, but the 20 mph winds with 35 mph gusts made accurate casting......difficult. IF they were there I'm sure they were buried deep in the cover. Water looked like orange Gatorade. Added: I went all the way down to the dam. They're moving a BUNCH of water. All 4 generators were running and they had 4 flood gates open. With all this it was still within a couple inches of spilling. This picture is at Buster Boyd bridge. The water color was the same all the way down.

He has money, he’s 72 years old, and he’s a historic figure in college football. Mission accomplished. I don’t blame him.

The no-brainer is '23 Shimano Stradic from digitaka.

Long as a rake handle. Looks like .

Sounds like someone brought a technique over from his Crappie fishing.

I have the laserlyte cartridge for several calibers. All of them, even the cheapest will save you a handful of shells and for the price of ammo, they virtually pay for themselves from the git go.

@Puggz I was gifted a spinning reel this past season by our very own @bulldog1935 with a double handle, first time I’ve ever used one and I will say it has made me a believer in the balance on the retrieve if that makes sense. It may be in my head but dang if it didn’t have a certain feel that has me wanting to look into a double handle for an older Daiwa I have (Laguna), the reel he sent me is a Tica btw.

2.9 double digits* in three different lakes on the 75x, so it's hard to complain about. Their finesse f4 is louder and smaller, it fishes well too. I have some frittsides but no real time with them yet. I got them in 7 and 9 since I can't get the 75x there. Will learn more this late winter/prespawn whether they are big fish getters. *The .9 is I had it on the line and when I got it to the boat I kept trying to get it into the net and it was too big. Not kidding. She shook me off. Fishing alone. When I called my friend to cry about it, he asked me why I didn't just reach down and grab the fish. I was so tunnel visioned I didn't even think about it.

Kudos for what he did in college. I'll remember him the most for another reason, though. I grew up in Miami and watched him turn his back on his Dolphin's HC job after the team imploded because of him. His famous statement of "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach" and then becoming the Alabama coach about TWO WEEKS later still ticks me off. That and signing Duante Culpepper with a serious injury instead of Drew Brees hurt the franchise for many many years.

Personally if I was to drop $200 on a reel? Shimano Stradic or Pflueger Patriarch another option Daiwa Procyon AL

If I could only fish ONE flat-sided crank, it would be the 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X Crankbait in Baby Bluegill. A-Jay 10 years of reliable service for me. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/134908-favorite-square-bill/?do=findComment&comment=1500595

Okay so I did a google search and found a lot of people over the years saying 'jig trailer needs more action/swimming fluke sure...but normal fluke on a jig? Naaaaah' Fast forward to 2024 Nobody predicted shaking a fluke on a jig head around suspended fish was actually like the deal..... So...I first saw this technique and IMMEDIATELY thought of fishing a swim jig with a no action trailer like a chunk and doing the Alabama Shake to impart the action....it seems to be exactly the same technique targeting different parts of the water column/slightly different profiles. Josh Jones does really well hovering swim jigs with NO trailer for DD bass. So is *shaking* a jig and fluke through the water column going to be something we see developing into a big fish pattern up shallow? 🙈🙈🙈🙈

Dick Trask** won 7 boats and and dozens of tournaments camped over suspended bass using a dart head jig with Flutter Craft* 4” Screamer ribbon tails and and 4 curl tail worms “strolling” through the depth the bass were suspended. Takes dedicated patients to fish 1/8 oz dart heads and good boat control, skills Trask fine tuned. Tom * available from US Bait co. ** Sticks From The Past, Dick Trask by Terry Battisti

I throw a Ned version of this. A little Rage Swimmer on the back of a mushroom or ball head jig, no skirt. It’s for when the fishing gets really tough.

Yeah i think I'm just saying (like all these guys) that some kinda EWG based design will be exponentially more weedless than a skirt less swim jig with a weed guard and will look more natural. Whether with a keeper/screw lock weight under or out front, I find that these are much better when dragging swimbaits through very dense cover. I still think it's harmless to try a shirtless swim jig! I just LIKE the skirt part. I think it's part of the appeal of a swim jig and why I would throw one. I really do like the weight/punch skirt/hook idea a lot though. Maybe this is the year I try that. The flashy swimmer is a bad dude tho, they work so good in vegetation that's healthy! Really nice just bumping it around pad stems and feeling a *THUNK* and seeing your line start to swim into the grass.

Heading out for the 'milk & bread' right after my workout this morning. Then we'll be hunkering down for a while. Probably fill the wood stove just in case too. A-Jay

This is basically ice fishing. You use a flasher (now live scope) to keep your bait at a certain level and see if fish are engaging. The key is keeping your presentation as horizontal as you can. Now it’s just applied to Open water and FFS. I actually had this conversation with a coworker. I would never ice fish without a flasher. His response was you hate FFS but you won’t fish without a flasher? Then it hit me. I am basically doing the same thing without the detail. Just vertically.

This is what I use for flat side cranks frittside 5 og slim 6, 4 strike king chick magnet crush 75 flat I have caught fish on most of them, all depends on what you want to use. I need to get some spro little John’s to go with the ones I got.

Never really used one. Bolt an AR style I bore sight. The rest I'll start at 25 yards to get sighted. But I don't mind shooting.

Spro Little John

Started doing this back in the early 2000’s… still remember the first time it worked - fishing a mark in 50’ of water on Diamond Valley reservoir, and was able to track my drop shot down and wiggled it in front of its face. I still remember the ecstasy of seeing the mark move aggressively towards the bait and feeling the resulting tick when it sucked it in. Done it a whole lot ever since… ice jigs at Casitas and Perris come to mind, but it is a beautiful thing when it sets up right and works out.

Saban and bear bryant both lost their last game in neyland stadium…… just saying

Someone say floating glides??? I LOVE FLOATING GLIDES!!!! Years ago I kept thinking about them. Finally got one. Had the best season I’ve ever had with them. I caught an 8-2, 7-5, 7-1 and many fish under 7 on this bait in the first month of fishing it. For me it’s one of those baits that will work all year. They are so versatile. Add heavier hooks to make it sink. I love them when the suspend or extra extra slow sink. You can fish these where other baits get hung up. I fish these in shallow water especially in the spring and winter. Super slow! Slow reel bumps The floating glide I love is a DS customs glide. He makes 6.5 8 and 10 inch baits. I really love the 8 inch bait. He can make you any color combo you want. I now have 6 glides. Plus his other baits

I like four models. Each has a unique vibration and silhouette. Luhr Jensen Speed Trap 6 th Sense Flat 75 Spro Little John Flat 50 Rapala OG Slim

Hands down my best producing flat crank has been the Frittside 5

It's been my understanding that the placement of the weight is key to the technique and allows the bait to be kept at a constant depth with minimal effort and excellent action. As pointed out, many pros have had outstanding results using the technique, so there's perhaps something else there for the success. No doubt the placement of the weight farther back than a traditional jig allows for a different sink and look too I'd imagine. I also think the technique may be a "work smarter, not harder" type of thing as well.

I hearby vote that we pre-emptively name this technique 'Bama-strolling' You heard about it here first. I'm gonna take the lack of engagement to mean I've spilled the juice by accident 🥷🏼🥷🏼🥷🏼😉😉😉🤣

My New Year’s resolution was to not buy any tackle this year. “Hello, my name is Kevin Smira and I’ve been clean and sober for 10 days now.” But members on here don’t count, right? And since it wasn’t actually tackle (it was a reel) it doesn’t count either, right? And I had to get line, but that doesn’t count either, right? Oh, and during rearranging my tackle over the last couple of days, let’s say the bait monkey sees me coming with apparent looks of belly weighted swimbait hooks of all sizes and shapes running through my head. Pretty sure if you took one swimbait of every one made, I’d have a hook for it…I have absolutely no idea why either…

@txchaser That's all the testament to the power of that 75x one needs, awesome stuff! They actually come with hooks needed to catch a DD sized fish. So stout, and sticky.

I cannot imagine a Bass Pro in a former Wal-Mart. Seems the ceilings would be a tad low.

Might have an empty seat ~ Any interest ? No solid dates yet, (Nov) but I'm hoping to have them very soon. A-Jay

You folks in the New England area that catch green fish amaze me! It's cultural down here, but up there you really have to march to your own beat to target them.

Be careful on Murray in a Yak. When the wind gets up Murray is scary in my boat.

I won't watch videos but I'd love to see FFS "movie" of Josh Jones catching them hawgs. He's watching the Bass, I wonder exactly what he's doing to get them to strike. I always struggled to catch Bass that I could see. I thought it was just clear water/spooky fish. When I got Active Target I would find a way to scare off every single Bass that I saw looking at my lures. I know they couldn't see me. When I'd see the Bass I'd stop the lure right in front of them. They'd look at it and leave. For a while I'd not look at the screen after I cast into the area a Bass was. I decided that my "here come get me" action was incorrect. I finally figured out how to trigger strikes (sometimes) by trying to get my lure away from the Bass...... like fleeing prey. I suspect that as soon as a Bass shows any interest in JJ's offerings he takes it away from the Bass fairly quickly. My first ever A-rig Bass came after I gave up enticing a strike. I was right over a 35 foot deep brushpile. I dropped the rig on it and was jigging it up and down. The Bass were paying it no attention. I gave up and started reeling it in and 2 attacked it. I only caught 1, but saw 2 go after it on sonar.

Frittside and the Crush Flat 75 are the only ones I have! You can't go wrong with many of the rapala cranks for colder water/tighter action also. Not *quite* flat sided but perhaps more versatile!!! My favorite flat sided crank by far this time of year is a lipless crankbait though 😎😎😎

Just happen to click a pic of the spinning reels today prior to giving them some TLC. Some are a little older than others but I like them all and fish them pretty hard. Not a fan of double handles on spinners however. A-Jay

Your lucky then. I bought a Daiwa Luvias this spring. 13%HST, duty, and brokerage. I know people that do this but the border is 2hrs + from my home. Unless I'm spending 1,000s, its not worth it. I'll be shipping my spring order to my boy in Illinois.

Floating glide baits are the most versatile baits imo. You can make it float, suspend, slow sink, medium sink, or fast sink In cold or warm water to fish any depth of the water column just by adding some lead wire or strips to the bait. If you know you're never gonna fish it super shallow than you could start with a slow sink but I like the options.

26v 410ws 92% argon 8% C02 ER70s6 .045

7'3 XH Expride. I know many consider this one of the best frog rods on the market. I think I'll be using it for jigs/t-rigs in heavier cover and some punching when I don't feel like digging the the bigger rod out. This will be my 5th Expride (3 A's and 2 B's). I can't say enough good things about these rods. I don't know, it may end up as a frog rog. We'll see. Will pair it with MGL 70 or 150. 8 speed MGL 70 has a longer handle than the 6 and 7 speed. Anyone know if the 8 speed MGL 150 has a longer handle? If I put 50# braid on the 70, I wonder if I'll be able to bomb a frog without spooling it. And a mixture of other odds and ends.

Had this sitting wrapped up since the start of December. Can’t use it for another few months but decided to finally unwrap it to check it out.

@Eric 26 Sure, posted this of him about a week ago. Here is one of Easy from earlier this year, coming right up to me.

I went for a couple hours this morning before the wind got bad. I didn't get big numbers, but I got big bass, at least by my standards. I left the landing and went to a deep rounded point. I saw shad, with some action on sonar so I deployed my trolling motor and caught a 3.2 pound Largemouth on my 3rd cast. This was 20 feet deep. I caught a couple small spots there then moved on. I was idling down a channel swing where the main channel is really close to the bank and right at the end of some docks. There was some shad at the end of the dock, and a dot on side scan under the dock. I deployed the trolling motor turned around and skipped a jig under the dock. A 5.04 pound Largemouth. My first 5 pounder of the year. It had eggs, but no real belly. 21 3/4" long but only 5.04 pounds. No more action around those docks so I went across a small cove to a rocky point. I picked up a 3.88 pound FAT spot right up against the bank. The wind was getting up, making it hard to cast, and I had stuff at home I needed to do so I called it a day. I'm off tomorrow but the forecast is for downpours and 30 mph winds. I'm considering a bait monkey BPS trip tomorrow.

Got a couple hours in before dark. Cloudy , windy, cool conditions. It was sprinkling rain off and on, so I stayed close to home. Worked hard for 3 bites on the speed worm. Caught 2 of them…Got this one up in a laydown.

Sometimes it helps to be a little crazy…….. got the boat ramp and it started sleeting heavily. No big deal I’ll wait a bit, then it just starts pouring rain. 45 minutes later I finally launch in some decent weather but cold and windy. Had a good day for trophy fish, but they were unexpected participants. Caught some crappie largemouth and drum then something grabs a jigging spoon and just takes all my line. I thought I had some massive carp in the tail but after 20 minute fight it turned out to be a 24 lb 39” striped bass. What a battle, I got some of it on video. honorable mention was a monster shellcracker