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No. I will not help you.

I've been managing to catch a few but no big ones lately and not big numbers. Most all I've been catching have been on the main lake. Bass should be up the creeks and in coves this time of year. I haven't been able to find them anywhere but on the main lake this year, I committed to fishing up the creeks today. I was "rewarded" with 2 Bass in 6 hours. I caught the first one, (a 17 inch Spot) on my second cast. I cruised up a creek looking at my side scan. I saw 4 fish ~10 feet deep on a secondary point. I turned the boat around and was able to catch one. I didn't get a good picture, my hands were wet, cold and slippery. I was afraid I'd drop my phone. It's the first Bass I've caught this year that appeared to have been spawning. It had a worn/bloody tail. It still appears to have some eggs. As I said earlier it was near the bottom in 10 feet of water. I don't know if it was spawning there, had spawned somewhere else, or just had a bloody tail. Morning water temp, after yesterdays rain was only 57 degrees. So I was hopeful to catch one so quickly, but they disappeared. I stayed in the creeks. I couldn't find them on sonar, and I tried quite a bit of "search casting" too. I caught my second, and last one ~6 hours later. It was suspended under a floating dock. I slipped a wacky in the space between 2 floats and it took it. It was a nice healthy small Largemouth. I didn't measure it, but it was small. Look at my hand in the picture. After than I called it a day, came home and took Mrs B out for Supper. So why aren't Bass in the creeks, and why do they seem to be so scattered? We've had record rainfall the past few months. I wonder if "bad stuff" has washed into the creeks and something just isn't right with the water. I'm sure a bunch of swampy stagnant water got washed into the lake via the creeks but the rain started several months ago. There's some baitfish up the creeks, but not like years past. There's a BUNCH of turtles up the creeks. Do oxygen levels vary from one part of the lake to another? I would think the levels in 57-60 degree water would be pretty stable. I was going to go to another lake one day this week (Monticello Reservoir SC) but it's been really windy. Monticello is way smaller that Wylie but is basically a big round bowl. It turns into the ocean in strong winds. The wind was straight out of the North today, strong enough for big whitecaps. I know where to go, and where to not go on Wylie in my smallish boat and strong winds.

The long hibernation is over, and I'm finally emerging from my winter nap. I've missed you all, but if I can't go fishing, watching other people fish gives me an itch I just can't scratch. So I've been pretty dormant during the winter. Plus, I had a kid in September and that put an early end to my season. But I did go on a recent fishing trip with a buddy, and I figured I'd regale those bored enough to read it, with my doleful, event-less tale. Spoilers: we caught nothing. We spent all day last Saturday (9 hours) wading the rivers looking for steelhead. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'd never been steelhead fishing before, and a buddy from work offered to take me last weekend. We left his place at six in the morning and got to the parking spot near the river at nine. It was bitter cold. About 20°F when we first got there. When I said the parking spot was "near the river" I was speaking subjectively. We crunched through snow and dead leaves for half a mile to get to the water. And then we fished, and waded, and hiked, and peered through the water for fish, hoping every ripple, shadow, and submerged log was a steelhead. (I would have been happy with a smallmouth, myself.) We kept on like this till about noon-thirty. And then we had to walk two miles back to the parked truck. Which was a good thing, because I think my toes might have gotten frost bit if didn't do some marching to get the blood flowing again. My family has a history of poor circulation in the feet and it seems I've inherited the malady. The first half of the trip I was kinda miserable. The one thing I did enjoy: it was absolutely beautiful. The sunrise, the happy gurgle of the river, the birds in the woods around us. I got to watch some small winged insects hatching out of the snow. I'm not a regular fly fisherman, so I have no clue what they were, but it was pretty cool to see. After we got back to the truck we drove over to another river, ate lunch and got right back at it. By now the sun had melted most of the snow and temps had warmed up. It was a lovely time, but no fish. I gave up on steelhead and switched my rig for targeting bass. Didn't get so much as a nibble. We didn't see a single fish that day. All the locals told us the recent warm spell followed by a sudden cold snap had messed up their spawning pattern and no one was sure where the fish were. My buddy is going out again Saturday to try to find them. Me, I love nature hikes, but I think I'm sticking to bass. I fish for fun. Not for exercise. I'm glad it's spring, y'all. I can't wait to feel that tug on my lines again and start posting photos of my dinks in the Latest Catch Pics thread. Until then, I'll be following y'all's fishy exploits with interest and envy. Edit: distances are guesstimates. I have no idea how far we really walked. But it was a lot.

Decided I needed a change of scenery today. Went to Lake St Joe which is near one of my neighboring towns. 51 degrees and partly cloudy. Winds west north west 11 mph gusting to 24. Only managed one, but it is the largest bass I’ve caught yet on this particular body of water. Attempted to work my way completely around the lake but found that someone had posted no trespassing signs on the other side of the dam. I don’t remember them being there last year but I decided to call it an early day.

I've never seen them "go back" but I think maybe for some reason they have this year. I've caught 3 LM's over 5, and several Spots over 3 earlier this month 7 feet or less deep. Maybe it's a different group of fish but I caught 9 today (all spots) and they were all at least 15 feet deep. After struggling yesterday I decided to use my electronics. The shallowest Bass I caught today was 15 feet deep at the end of a dock. It was the biggest, but only 16". (pictured). The others were toward and off the ends of points 15 to 25 feet deep. 6 of the others were between 14" and 15" with a couple "micro bass". Not what I was wanting, but it was nice to catch a "limit" that was legal length. (even though there's no limit on Spots here) I stopped by and talked to a friend of mine (who's a retired pro Bass fisherman) today. He said this weather has the Bass scattered. It's not been cold but the water temperature is 3 to 4 degrees cooler than it was 2 weeks ago. I suppose, in addition to the crazy weather there's a diverse bunch of spawners. A couple years ago I caught a Bass with a bloody tail (near the Nuclear plant discharge) in January. Last year I caught one that was fat and full of eggs in late June. Katie, I had some "Hot Hands" hand warmers. They just hadn't warmed up for the first picture. My hands weren't cold and wet for long.

Went to the Science Museum of MN with my family. Saw a documentary at the Omnitheatre, checked out some dinosaur bones, and overloaded my brain with plenty of information.

Lol. No, you’ll the dexterity of a surgeon, imagination of an engineer and patience of a saint.

@WaskaCrank12 here is their color chart references. Some specific color patterns have multiple variances. I think "perch" has 4 of them. Megabass Vision 110 Color Chart Megabass Color Code Meaning Description II Version 2 Secondary versions of previously existing Megabass colors. GG Guanium Ghost Finish Guanine is an actual substance in fish scales that gives them their natural flashy appearance. Combined with the fine etched scale lines molded into the plastic, it gives a convincing realistic baitfish flash to Megabass lures. GLX Glitter Finish Constructed with glitter during the building process for a unique flash pattern not replicated by the traditional Megabass GG or GP finishes. GLXS Glitter Finish Sheen Similar to GLX, but applied to more transparent baits to make them nice and bright/shiny when reflecting light. GP Guanium Phantom Finish The same guanine coating as GG, but meant for translucent baits without coloring the lure itself. Creates a realistic scale pattern, while still allowing light to pass through the lure. HT Half Tone/Half Transparent Baits that are constructed to be partly transparent with half or parts of the lure containing metal foil or opaque colors that do not allow light to transmit through the lure. One of the most popular all-around color codes from Megabass. IL Illusion Finish Clear holographic effect Ito Ito Finish Colors named after Megabass founder and lure designer, Yuki Ito. M Metallic Finish A metallic paint process to give maximum shine. The flashiest of the Megabass color code lineup. Mat Matte Finish A non-glossy coat that creates a subdued matte finish all the way around the bait. Mat codes will emit strong flashes of the painted-on matte colors with very minimal shine. MB Megabass Finish A classic Megabass color code that often features the same guanine coating on a more transparent color. MG Metallic Ghost Finish A metallic coating that still allows light to pass through the lure. Creates a unique two-in-one look underwater with the visuality of both a metallic and transparent finish. OB Orange Belly Lures with painted orange bellies. Also can be found as CB (Chartreuse Belly) and RB (Red Belly). PM Pearl Mica Finish A pearl-based coating that is still transparent. Depending on the color, it may be more or less transparent. A pearlescent coating with the benefits of semi-transparency. React/Reaction Reaction based colors designed by Megabass A series of colors designed by Megabass for triggering lethargic bass into biting. Wagin Wagin (Silver) Japanese word for "silver". Silver-based colors. Wakin Wakin (Gold) Japanese word for "gold". Gold-based colors.

Sitting in that rig and doing advanced fuel cost consumption calculations is weak salad. I say if you buy ~ run it. A-Jay

White bass and two eagles up in a tree. I got two skipjack and a drum

Stopped at Farm and Fleet and picked up this reel for my number 3 Musky/Bass Swimbait rod. Nothing special but it should get the job done.

And it never ends. Have you been into one of the new shimano spinning AR assemblies yet? I was stringing together curse words in some very creative ways.

If they aren't up on the bank be it main lake or the back of creeks, then I'd expect for them to be staged up at the closest secondary and even main lake points leading to the locations you know they'll spawn at. If you found them good in the winter, and you know where they'll be spawning.....it's just a matter of drawing a line between the two points and concentrating on the fishy looking spots b/t the two. I think we as anglers get way too locked into water temps, or another of the main spawn trigger events like moon cycle, instead of just using our eyeballs, and fish catches (the color of the fish, condition of the tail, and often times pinkish looking areas that indicate stress) to put the puzzle together. I wasted the first 6 weeks of the spawn last year, and a big reason for that was I wasn't up on the banks looking for bucks, beds, and eventually pairs. Once they make their push up shallow, I don't think they back that far out until they go true post spawn mode.

Sorry I'm late, guys, been a nutso busy month - Russ, I caught one that size on a fly rod once, fishing from a dock on Lake Livingston. We made our annual Arroyo trip at the new moon earlier in the month. Our days included a 21-mi bike ride through Laguna Atascosa NWR (98.000 acres belongs to bikes and ocelots)... to get to a fabled fishy spot that's even harder to get to by shallow skiff or kayak - the dam on the Cayo, a tide basin limit far up the twisty shallow channel from the barge navigation canal. And it's ok, for the 1500 calories we burned, imbibed 700 along the way - the front bag fits an Ice Mule. In our 3 nights, the schoolies never arrived at our dock nite-lite on the navigation channel, but we made a fine fish fry, finesse fishing the nursery trout that live here, 15" to 18" - - first night stringer. Consider we each caught 6 under 15" for every stringer fish. Jerry at our bait shop got a charge of live shrimp, but (except for the drum below) these fish wouldn't touch it - everything was caught on 2" swim shad tandems, a few on 3-g metal microjigs, imitating the balls of glass minnows under our sodium lamp. The next night, we rounded this out with two more stringer specs, but the excitement was a 20" black drum, which made huge fillets. Susie cut them small to add to our last-night fish fry, along with oven fries, perfect cole slaw, and peach-blackberry cobbler. We ate like kings. Of all things, the drum was caught on Zebco, which likely improved the excitement. The big fish took drag from go, and made several runs against 3-lb drag set. The only way to recover line was to pump the rod. Must have been 10 minutes until we got a tail slap on the surface (they like the deep channel). Knew right away it was a drum and not a snook - UPS truck instead of drag racer...

Justified to who? I’m not looking for justification. It can be both a learning tool and a fishing tool. Many veteran anglers are buying it as a fishing tool and learning that everything they thought they knew about bass is wrong.

I got your Black. OK, sorry, How about Back in Black? New SLP Works Zillion bought as 7.1-geared body only, finished out with my favorite (I know, not yours) Studio Composite handle, Ray's Studio SV spool, to fish PE#1 braid. A few details - I do my own gunsmithing, have gagets and concoctions around. I black oxide powder-coated the handle knob caps, also the stainless steel G-Nius hook keeper, and stainless handle-nut retainer screw. The handle nut retainer itself is black rhodium plated Isuzu part that I swapped out of my Headhunters reel. I love the trademarks on this reel, but they're tough to see, and even tougher to photograph. yep, it's black

Did anyone catch the line by Hank in that video that FFS is reducing the number of lures purchased? He needs to go visit the latest tackle purchase thread here. Bass Resource has a serious bait monkey problem. @TnRiver46 I believe this is the GIF you are looking for 4 pages ago...

I am so accurate at estimating the weight of my bass, that I don't even use a scale anymore. When I did use a scale it was amazing to me how often a scale will be off. The strange thing is I have owned a dozen scales over the years, and they all weighed my fish lighter than the true weight. I have never owned a scale that weighs heavy, but if I ever find one, I may start using a scale again. All the You Tube videos I have seen the scales are way off on the high side. I wonder where they buy their scales.

Here’s a good comparison - different lake yesterday, but same result. Top is a 2 lb black crappie (TH); bottom a 2 pound white crappie I posted the other day (WE). You can also see the weather difference, as yesterday was a north wind post frontal day compared to the cloudy day before. Yesterday’s fish was my 45th crappie over 2 pounds for the year. It’s been a fun few months 😎

Thanks - Me too. And I'll be using both V8 motors later today. (pic's from last years, doesn't look like here that now) A-Jay

Thats the biggest trap that most fishermen fall into. Thats why they have bags of plastics that haven’t been touched because some guy did well somewhere so it’s gotta work everywhere for everyone. It don’t work that way. I’ve said before… To me it’s the first and only rule… Learn your waters first, only then give em what they want, when, where and how they want it. Mike

I'd avoid the corn fuel myself but non ethanol is readily available here.

I have 1 very simple suggestion. Fish where & what you're comfortable with, just do it when no one else is there. When ever that may be. Good Luck A-Jay

I was only one when the Dodgers moved to LA. I understand my uncle got in a heap of trouble from my aunt over this picture of him and a movie star that appeared in in Life Magazine. https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.wsZHUu2N-YIJAVCOPIX84QAAAA?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain

I can tell y'all one the for certain, I'm on Toledo Bend right now & FFS ain't making a difference! We're seeing em but the ain't biting nuthin. Just cause you see em doesn't mean you can catch em! The 5 I've caught was without out it!

Not necessarily. This is more of a rule of thumb that I follow. I can still catch some citations on swimbaits and other moving baits, but in general, I have found that I catch more big fish when I slow down and really break down a spot. In my experience, big fish are less active than most people are led to believe. There certainly are exceptions to this, but this is what I have found to be true on the waters I fish during this time of year.

Yes, but I modified all mine for tournament fishing. Took the largest size body (3” or 3-1/2”, I forget now) and replaced the stock jig-head with a good modern needlepoint version, then added a Sampo ball bearing swivel and would alter blades as necessary on the standard L-arm, often using a small gold Hildebrandt - basically a “pro” model version, which surprisingly, they never came out with. Worked really well.

I went back to where I was snagging shad yesterday equipped with a brand new 5’ dip net for shad from academy. Of course different generators were on and I could barely see any shad. I had also brought my cast net…… and tossed it enough times to get it stuck and lose it. So I went back 45 minutes closer to home at crackhead creek and netted some shad on my first scoop and caught two bass. I also saw a snake that I thought was dead, I poked its tail and it slithered away. Then went to banff film festival with my wife, fun day other than losing my 25-30th cast net in the same spot 😂

Went to a “numbers” lake for crappie just to have some fun and swing on a bunch of fish. I finally caught a white crappie down here - first one I’ve run across, and it turned out to be a two pounder 😎

Proven? Who interviewed these bass? And why do bass like purple? Ask this guy.

I was skunked today. There were three limiting factors: I fished from a narrow shore. I only cast about 20 times. I walked through snow to reach the water. I remember biking through snow to fish with my brothers about 60 years ago and catching nothing. Clearly, I've learned nothing in 60 years.

Apparently if you pitch T - Rigged TRD in Goby Bryant to a Striper they'll eat it.

I'm okay at guessing mine. Atleast the ones I dont weigh

When I'm with my kids it's what I throw, and they throw if not on a bobber. Catches everything

I love it. Flat blacks and grays are my favorite. I've always preferred subtle over flashy.

The regs came out for Mille Lacs and they are not permitting harvest of walleye this season. The OP originally was asking to keep a walleye or two with his initial request. If that is a priority, Mille Lacs is not your lake this season.

Friends don't let friends fish without FFS! 🤣

A learning tool is a tool that helps you learn something. One of the most common ways we learn is through observation. Microscopes, telescopes, regular sonar, underwater cameras, and FFS are all examples of tools that help you learn by observation. One of the things FFS has opened my eyes to is how bait fish move throughout the day and during different seasons. The learning possibilities are endless when you can see how fish move. You don’t even have to be an angler to learn from it. @Catt posted a video a while back showing how Texas Wildlife officials were using it to study bass behavior.

Do ya see that Andy? Do ya? What we have here is a complete and total disrespect for the law. You can't allow that. No siree. You gotta nip it. Nip it in the bud. He's got to learn to respect the law. Otherwise he's gonna grow up to be one of those long hair dirty hippies. Next thing you know, he'll be walking around in jeans with holes in the knees too.

You're not my real dad, you can't tell me what to do!

Caught 6 Spots and 4 LM today on the T - Rigged TRD

Dunno how I skipped over this thick beauty that was part of our banner day yesterday in my post but here she is! Another tank on that bizzbait spinnerbait!

Myself and Mrs B are back from camping. I'm off work through Monday so I'll fish some more. I didn't catch them like I wanted to while camping. I averaged a Bass an hour, but the biggest was a 17 inch spot(pictured). Mrs B went out one time, but didn't fish long due to the cold and wind. Dolly (our Yorkie) went out with me several times. She get's really excited when I catch a fish. She love to lick them. She thinks she's a BIG dog, so I tell her the fish are all big, even if they aren't. She thinks the one she's licking in the picture is a 5 pounder. Alex, hats off for mastering spinning gear. I can't do it. I simply can't cast accurately. I have arthritis in my right trigger finger, perhaps that's part of the problem......or just my excuse. It doesn't bother me shooting. I use wackys with a bait caster all the time. I'd estimate that 1/3 of what I caught, including my biggest was on a wacky. Weightless Bizz Baits sassy stick. Most of the others were on a spinner bait. (don't tell Tnriver) To the haircut police. I don't want to cause any more stress. I'll try to keep my hat on.

I've caught a lot of big bass on spinning rods and a lot of big bass on baitcasters. Where I'm casting these days, gonna have to be a baitcaster - Alex, the bait monkey fully and completely applauds your choices regarding rod, reel and line, knowing full well that breaking off means more money in his pocket, but he and I had a talk and as long as I keep throwing my baits into trees and heavy vegetation, we're good. Got my first frog bass of 2024 and Jake got his biggest frog bass yet yesterday on a nasty muggy drizzly cold day where we caught the snot out of them. Best 5 would probably tick 20 lb for the day which is pretty insane for my lakes. I also caught my PB crappie on the spinnerbait which also caught the big bass for the day! Bizzbaits 3/8 oz tandem Tn Shad color with no trailer.

Running errands took me by a dam so I stopped and fished in a deluge and got soaked , forgot my pants weren’t waterproof…….. snagged threadfin and pitched them out on bobber rig, of course I got 7-8 drum but they were all big

Mixed it up a bit for St Patty's this year. Smoked the corned beef and made a Reuben pizza for dinner. Gotta say it was pretty darn good.