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Jake was off one last day today and we had a day alright. 6.3/5.2/4.1 on the bank at the pond this morning on jigs. A few more to round out the pond visit..... And a 5 lber on a gizzard shad @Siebert Outdoors grasss jig and an incredibly fat 2 lber on a Missile Baits D Bomb and a dink on the bizz baits spinnerbait on an afternoon boat ride! Missed a good few too! What a day!

Got 14 this afternoon. Most were 1 to 1.5 pounds, with one decent fish. Caught it on a houdini super fluke. Caught most of the fish on the june bug uv speed worm again. Nearly every fish was caught on a slow retrieve.

I spent the morning chasing those uncooperative muskie, once again without success. I found lots of shad up in the creeks, but no slimers with 'em, so I called it quits with them about noon, and picked up the flippin stick. Ended up with 11 LM before I called it quits at four. 10 bucks in the 1-2# range and this 3.48#. First one over 3# this year. Hoping to get out in tomorrows monsoon, but it's looking like lightning may scrap that trip.

No bigs this afternoon but had an unexpected treat with a good top water bite. Caught eight fun size in under forty minutes. I usually don't get out the little Pop-R until mid month but conditions seemed right. We're supposed to get storms and heavy rain tomorrow. Usually translates to a hot storm drain bite. Problem is that I have to work later this week and we're going to barely get out of the 30's after this system passes. That's spring in Indiana.

Was in the market for a new scale, and saw that Academy is running a promo on their H2OX lures, buy 4 or more and get 25% off. Picked up an extra chrome jerkbait, a walking bait that was posted in the Found Lures thread had my interest piqued so I snagged one, then a few squarebills. Also time to respool so I picked up some Seaguar Basix to try out; never been a fluoro guy aside from leader material so we'll see. Also saw Academy has a bladed Alabama Rig under their H2OX line now, but I can't find it on the website so it must be pretty new. Only 10 bucks, I was tempted but A-rigs from the bank sound like a recipe for snags. I threw some upgraded hooks/split rings on that topwater and rigged it up, going to throw it tomorrow and see how it does. Edit - Walked out back just to see how the bait walks, it definitely works lol

Well I'm way behind on my reports, but I guess better late than never. Day 1 Launched at Sizemore Landing with about 12 other kayaks. I was the only one without a motor so at 0630, I watched everyone else blast off, then hopped in my kayak and started kind of kicking around and scanning since I hadn't fished this area at all in practice. As soon as the sun started to lighten the sky after lines in, the schooling started. I hadn't had much luck getting the schooling fish to bite, but I had a different bait ready for them this morning and it flipped the switch for them. The Rapala Crush City Freeloader on a 1/16oz Hover Head just slowly swam through the schoolers did all the heavy lifting in the morning on day 1. I started with a 16" fish. Then went back to back with 16.75" inchers. A 17" fish and a 13 incher rounded out my limit. It all happened so fast, I had no idea what I had, what time it was, what had even happened really. I culled the 13" with another 17" fish. And then culled the 16" fish with another 16.75" fish. It was about 0830 at this point, only 1.5 hours into the day and I was already into the mid 80's on my limit, which was my goal for the day. My buddy Jon and his son pulled up in the boat to watch me and then another boat pulled up. I thought I was going to have someone park on top of me and fish because it had happened so many times, but it turned out to be Mark Cisneros from Bassmaster. He introduced himself and told me he was going to take some pictures. My heart was already going, but I knew what it meant having the camera boat pull up on me, even if it was early in the morning on the first day. Trying to fish when I knew they were there watching me, I haven't been that nervous since I drove my first born home from the hospital. Jon took a picture of the camera boat, taking pictures of me. Some action shots, unfortunately the bite had died by the time they got there and I only caught 1 tiny smallmouth while they were there. Now when I tell you that my bite died, it was stone dead. If I only knew how close I was to the motherlode though. I fished until 1330, with 1 more dink largemouth to show for it, before I decided to move to another ramp where I had 1 short stretch of bank across from the ramp where I'd done well in practice. I caught several more there in the last hour and hooked 2 that felt good, but both just came off my jig for some reason. I ended the day in 20th, but it was a tight race and it wasn't out of reach. I never looked at the scoreboard, couldn't make myself do it, but my wife took a couple screenshots. Sorry about the audio on this video, but there may not be a day 2 video so this is all I've got for now. I did go out for a few hours yesterday on Easter and caught myself an overinflated football. 17.5" and 3.75lbs on the Strike King Rodent with a Gamakatsu Nano Alpha 4/0 EWG Superline hook.

I finally caught a few bass: Three to be exact. And I caught a pretty pickle (pickerel) too. Our snow melted three days ago and we're getting more tomorrow, so I caught 'em sandwiched between snow. I tried a spinner bait, wacky, lipless, jointed Rapala, and a Mepps, but they wanted a gray and white Keitech on an Owner underspin, retrieved slowly and going tick-tick-tick over the 2023 weeds, all between 50'-100' off shore. I didn't get a single bite on the shoreline or in the shallow stream mouths and bays. The hits were soft. Not even hits. The rod just loaded. I also hooked and lost another three and I had something bite the tail off my Keitech, likely a pickerel. However, they fought as hard as warm water bass and two were over 17".

Drifting the Tennessee yesterday......well actually I wasn't. Nickajack was not letting any water out so the river was very low and the fish were nowhere near the banks. But, I finally did get on the board with my first two 15" plus fish. Got a Smallie on a swimbait and a Spot on a Ned. Caught a variety of littl'uns on a Tiny Rap including a Crappie to make Team9 jealous......not really! That Crappie proves hunger is a powerful motivator! PS if someone can explain to me how to prevent pictures from loading sideways, I will be grateful.

Up here I would estimate that more people use spinning reels than bait casters. That's primarily because of the walleye crowd. They often use a lighter presentation and a more vertical approach with live bait. Most walleye anglers don't even use a bait caster unless they are trolling. I probably use 75% bait casters and 25% spinning. Lighter, more finesse presentations like a ned rig, wacky, tube, etc get the spinning nod. Whereas the bait caster is for power tactics when I am using a faster moving lure, and when I'm muskie fishing. Each one has their purpose and to avoid one or the other is foolish because all you're doing is limiting the number of tools available. Certainly you could use a flathead screw driver for a philips screw, but a philips screwdriver is a whole lot more efficient.

Most weekend bass anglers mimic what they see and read pro bass anglers do. When bass are on beds the pro’s target those 100% of the time so why all the hysteria an about sight fishing? Could it be the natural feeling that fishing in a nursery is repulsive? Maybe but the need for a pro to cash a check out weighs ethics and I agree. Back in the 60’s and early 70’s I was a bed fisherman and developed skills to catch big female bass. Caught so many it became as simple as taking advantage of there instinct protect the nest site stopped targeting those big females by sight fishing. Keep in mind our lake are clear water with average depth of light about 15’ and beds in 10’ to 12’ were common where the big girls spawned. I swore targeting bed bass off around 1975. However knowing where big bass like to spawn help tremendously catching them during pre spawn using jigs that replicated crawdads that are egg eating and high protein prey for the giant bass. To each his or her preferences but remember these big girls are very fragile fish so handle them with the care they deserve when procreating the species. Tom

Spent the day yesterday getting my main corner and gate posts, and all the metal T posts in for our deer fence at the flower farm. Sure was nice to be out in the field in March with the machines, and it was actually dry enough to not be an issue for them. Usually a job like this would still be a few weeks away at the earliest, but with hardly any snow this winter it’s drying up nicely. Gonna get the fence hung in a week or two, then I’m ready to till up some beds.

From a post I made 8 years ago on the subject, but yeah, I've played with it My guess would be IPT as stated by the manufacturer is based on what they consider a full spool, and simply a single actual measurement one time. "I read Tom's comment with interest and had some time to kill last night, so I grabbed a reel and started measuring. I had a Shimano Castaic CA200 sitting around that I won't be using any more before things freeze up over here. Capacity is listed at 125 yds of 14# test. I had a nearly full spool of16# fluorocarbon on it. It has a 6.2:1 gear ratio, and the tested IPT was around 24.5" The initial starting diameter of the line filled spool was 1.233" (radius = 0.616"). After stripping off about 40 yds of line, the effective gear ratio only dropped to just above 5:1. That would be about as long a cast as I'd normally ever make with that outfit. I kept stripping line off, passing the 82 yd mark that is factory placed on the line and continuing until I had nearly 100 yds stripped off. At this point the filled diameter was just 3/4 of an inch, with a spool radius of 0.385". I was well into my backing and likely only had another 20 or so yds of line left as I could see my arbor knot starting to appear. The calculated "effective gear ratio" at that point was 3.9:1 which was an IPT of 15", a 37% decrease from initial starting capacity. Your mileage will certainly vary, as every reel is different, and a lot of variables affect the overall outcome. In general though, I'd say a typical long cast will likely decrease your overall effective gear ratio by at least 1+ spool revolutions per handle turn (a 7.x:1 becomes a 6:1, etc.). This would only happen during the initial part of your retrieve. As the line gets built back on the spool, the effective gear ratio continues to climb back to "normal." Wider spool reels would probably show less of an effect because they hold more of the line on the "outside" of the spool, while heavier lines, because they are thicker diameter, would likely exaggerate this effect. I also carried out the "shoe test" at all stages (as suggested in one of my other posts). At full spool and attached to a 6' musky rod, it was a big struggle to lift and wind a 10.4 oz. shoe off the ground using only the reel handle and the drag clamped down. After stripping off the 100 yds of line and retesting, even though the gear ratio is still technically 6.2:1, since your IPT has decreased so much, the effective gear ratio of 3.9:1 made the task a pretty simple affair. A very noticeable difference and considerably easier to accomplish with much less effort in winding."

The world record Smallmouth was caught in 1955 trolling a Bomber crankbait behind a houseboat. If your reel doesn’t cast well you don’t do a lot of casting. If you don’t do a lot of casting you don’t worry much about how well your reel cast.

Caught about 300 yards from one two years ago (today's I'm wearing orange pants) This is a 35 acre lake. And this time of year, I see hogs laid up against the bank (on beds?). Also, wanna take a guess at the weight? View from the other side. Link to thread of fish from 3 years ago

I was watching an old fishing video featuring "Gadabout Gaddis," the flying fisherman, and he was fishing in Georgia for bass. What I found especially interesting was his opinion of bait casting reels, which he called old-fashioned, but, he opined, they still could be used to good effect. I don't know if that was simply Gadabout's opinion or a common opinion back in the 60s, I.e. that spinning reels were superior. I do know that the bait casting reels we used in the 60s, which were old even then, were nearly impossible for us to use.

Picked up a couple of spools from Ali-x for my Tatula 80's. A 6.2g Gomexus spool (black) and a 7.2g KKR spool (red). Gomexus- $20 KKR- $28.

The Langley Target #340 was my 1st bait caster #330 Lure Cast followed, could cast light weight lures with ease, The Target weighed 4 oz, Lure Cast with level wind was 4 .25 oz. To disengage the 340 handle from the spool you pull out the handle about 3/16” for free spool, push in the engage the handle. No anti reverse they were knuckle busters. The Langley reels date back into the mid 1940’s. Casting rods were heavy and short. Jason Lucas recommended the reels and Connolin Feather Lite rods to me in the 50’s. Pflueger Supreme was high casting reel back in the day, a heavy knuckle buster. Very few bass anglers used spinning reels a few used French made spinning reels with half bails (don’t recall the brand) and Mitchell 300 full bail. The Abu 500 casting red reel was a game changer as it had free spool and anti reverse with the spool engaged. The Ambassador Abu reels would dominate bass reels for 30 years until the low profile Lee’s reel design. Spinning reels out west became popular around 1970 with Abu-Zebco Cardinal reels with rear drag. Tom

As in just about every aspect of my post retirement life, my fishing dogma is to have fun and enjoy myself. If I'm not having fun or enjoying something, I'll drop it like a hot rock. Life is to short.

Except for Ambassadeur, 60s baitcasters didn't have freespool - there were still some mainstream reels, Langley Target, without level wind - these were the only baitcasters intended to fish less than 3/8 oz.

Saying is better than the other across the board is like saying a wrench is better than a screwdriver. Each tool has its time and place.

Always pee to the lee.

Alex posts his fat bass. Then Pat and Jake hitch go Biblical and say, "A bass for a bass." I can't believe the parade of beshemoths this spring. I'm guessing @gimruis and @A-Jay are frisky as Secretariat in the stall at Belmont. I know I am. At least I'm going fishing tomorrow, but I think it's still too cold to catch a bunch, but we'll soon see.

Greetings All, Well after several days and several attempts we were able to view the SpaceX 7-18 Starlink mission launch out at Vandenburg CA. Here in SE AZ the skies were mostly over cast all day today with a storm front moving through the area. As the launch time approached there was some clearing out in the western skies. Since there was no delay and the clock was continuing towards a launch we drove out to view the launch hoping for a glimpse. Here are a few photos. We were able to monitor the launch live stream and began to look. There is a bit of delay as the vehicle needed enough altitude before we were able to see it. Later you can see the booster section falling. It is the bright spot just below the plume. The photos are but a snap shot in time. It was really fun to see it in real time and know how fast that thing was moving across the horizon. Wow! Spectacular experience. It is also so neat to know that camera technology has come such a long way. Here I'm taking low light images handheld using just my phone! Amazing! Wishing each of you well and Happy April! Cheers!

@bgaviator We just went through this exercise a couple of weeks ago. Amazon $205 shipped, 7.1 gear. https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Gileon-1000HL-Handle-Model/dp/B08NP3DZQJ/ref=sr_1_2 I hope this thing is on.

check Japan Lure Shop. Pay for a little bit of shipping and get a free premium lure as well. This reel will cast light and heavy. Very versatile

I don’t care what the rankings say…….

On the Great Lakes system & other bodies of water holding gobies removing a male from the nest while he is guarding eggs allows the gobies to quickly raid the nest. So fishing for bedding bass may or may not hurt the population depending on the body of water.

Dang...you're probably right. Sorry, TF. And I consider myself something of a sarcasm semi-pro.

Being able to find fish is the first step No white rods - old family superstition No Crocs on the boat or at the boat ramp - I saw it again on Friday. A guy was on his own, trying to put his boat on the trailer. He climbed out on to the tongue of the trailer to attach the winch hook to the boat and slipped. He went head first, hitting the side of his head on the trolling motor mount but then he fell split legged onto the frame, busting his you know whats. So no Crocs. Fish the conditions you are given not what you plan on fishing. Learn to adapt. Fish live in the whole lake not just at the bank Do what you can to make fishing fun

I got out for a couple of hours after work today. Just like @DogBone_384 I got my April bass. 4 in total, biggest was right around 2.5lbs. The only thing they wanted was a Keitech 3.8” smallmouth magic on a 1/4oz jig head dragged down drop offs from 6’-15’. Water temps were 48 degrees.

When you throw it over the side - it suspends perfect level. A-Jay

You sure about that? Nice fish though, congrats. I checked off April with a 2# smallmouth and 1.5# yellow perch at my favorite Plymouth kettle. I threw enough of EVERYTHING but all these two wanted was a Houdini 3.8" Keitech. Mr. Smallie was shallow, about 5', and came out of the water 4 times. They're waking up. Oh yeah, suckers were on beds.... Water temps were 49.x ... almost there.

A lure that shouldn't be overlooked for shore casting salt is a basic gold spoon, Kastmaster, Johnson's Sprite. They cast like a bullet, flash, and act like baitfish. The flash will often double for a bait ball, and fish may take a larger lure when they're eating smaller bait. Johnson Silver Minnow spoon (esp black nickel) imitates a crab as they flutter to the bottom. My dad's bread-and-butter saltwater lure was Spec Rig, a pre-tied hair-jig tandem, and he's caught every possible inshore mixed double on them. A couple of soft-plastic recommendations, Z-man Texas-Eye jighead for 3" shad bodies, and TSL Grasswalker on weighted swimbait hook. You can also tie your own killer tandems on (2"or) 3" swim shad, such as Tsunami SS3 and WildEye shad - use 20-lb fluoro leader and tie a double-surgeon's loop for the unequal legs. Best night combo is glow in front and blue in back. 15-lb fluoro is plenty. Since you probably want to fish a spoon on a swivel, best choice is fish this with a stainless or titanium wire leader - toothy fish like blues and mackerel can't bite through them. If you consider yourself backlash-proof, you can get more distance casting braid, and add a short fluoro shock leader. But you should be thinking 20-lb braid (832). To load this on a deep spool, fill it halfway with 20-25 yds 20-25-lb mono backing, and load your working braid on top. A good low-profile leader knot for braid to backing (improved Allbright) will pass through your LW guide. Fluoro is always a better mainline and leader choice than mono in salt, because it's denser and sinks, while mono floats. Of course, I'm not suggesting you run out and buy all of this, but you know how you like to fish, and giving you ideas of what works routinely. Think about rock jetties for fishing in the day, and lighted piers for fishing at night. The idea here is get farther away from the beach, and access deeper water. Jetty structure provides bait focus, and pier nite-lites draw bait.

Send me the GPS coordinates, I'll get to the bottom of this for you in no time 🤣

Went to Walmart to get candy for kids basket and I made a pit stop at fishing section, To get some cranks and garlic(they are hard to deliver).

That’s awesome information and exactly the insight I need. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Yeah DogBone tonight I'm sure about it, yesterday maybe not so much. Got this 5.12 tonight! It was awesome, as soon as I set the hook there was no doubt it was a good one. Was skunked and battered by the wind yesterday. Went back to same pond tonight grinding away, it paid off. Caught it on a weightless plastic worm. Looking forward to it warming up a bit.

@FishTax Unless you are absolutely opposed to purchasing from Bass Pro Shop all of these rods are available from 4’-10” to 6’-6” ultralight to medium.

Latest Sunfish spinnerbait. Allen

I rarely fish anywhere clear enough to sight fish beds. I've been told that the biggest threats to Bass eggs are Bluegill and lizards so it's my belief that a lure that emulates one of those is best. 41 years ago I was fishing Lake James (clear water) during the Smallmouth spawn. A friend of mine had told me to catch the buck, put it in the livewell, then catch the big female. I had a 12 year old kid with me. We were fishing Texas rigged lizards. He caught a buck, then I caught my PB Smallie (6lbs). Both were then released. A few minutes later I caught a buck. He made a perfect cast to the female. She picked his lizard up by the tail and moved it away from the bed. I had to grab and hold him in a bear hug to keep him from setting the hook. He made a 2nd perfect cast, same thing, except I didn't need to hold him. His 3rd perfect cast netted him an 8 pound 3 ounce Smallmouth. If not my favorite fishing memory that has to be in the top few. A 12 year old nervous kid makes 3 perfect casts in a row and is rewarded by a lifetime Smallmouth. He also did a great job landing it, by controlling it, but not getting impatient and breaking his line. I've still got the Ambassador 5500C reel and Ugly Stick rod he caught it on. He's a heckuva fisherman now with a super nice Vexus boat. I need to call him and give him that rod and reel.

I think I saw your lake front property yesterday, and it wasn't in Maine. There was a house under construction....5000+ square feet with a huge newly constructed dock and boat lift. There was a single canoe on the boat lift. I should have taken a picture. If I get back in that area this weekend I'll snap a pic if the canoe is still there.

I'll probably get on the water next week....but maybe some shore fishing Friday...been a bit hectic here and Bass Trek still needs a couple things before I put her on the water.

Well the weather finally looks like it may cooperate later this week for the first outing of the season. I had gotten everything ready for the boat/gear almost a month ago...and then winter made a late appearance. The snow is rapidly melting and temps look to rebound into the 50's by Friday. The annual quest for a massive slab crappie is about to begin.

https://touringanglersassociation.com/leaderboard/ Lake Lanier, GA April 1-4 2024 TOTALS 1 Allen Armour 2 Allen Brooks 3 Anderson Caswell 4 Andy Morgan 5 Austin Young 6 Brandon Palaniuk 7 Brooks Anderson 8 Christopher Johnston 9 Cole Wood 10 Cory Johnston 11 Danny Hall 12 Danny Kirk 13 Darryl Strayhorn 14 David Williams 15 Drew Cook 16 Emil Wagner 17 Hank Cherry 18 JamesWatson 19 Jared Lintner 20 Jason Johnson 21 Jason Meninger 22 Jason Williamson 23 Jeff Gustafson 24 Jesse Millsaps 25 Jimmy Millsaps 26 Joe Eubanks 27 Joey Cifuentes 28 John Cox 29 Jtodd Tucker 30 Keith Carson 31 Maddux Walters 32 Mark Hardin 33 Mike Morris 34 Paul Driskell 35 Paul Marks Jr 36 Paul Marks Sr 37 Randy Dover 38 Ricky Robinson 39 Rob Jordan 40 Robert Chancey 41 Ron Farrow 42 Sam Benson 43 Sam George 44 Shane Peck 45 Travin Moore 46 Trent Palmer 47 Tyler Brooks 48 William Fletcher Some Hammers in there. A-Jay

Another picture. I hope she lives happy and healthy. I held her in the water for about 25 minutes waiting for my dad and my wife to come and take pictures. She went side up for a second on the first attempt at release. but second attempt she jetted off like the fastest dink you've ever seen.

Since she was 12 and 1/2 the first time and it's been a few years I'm going to say she's 13 😎 That's an absolutely gorgeous bass!!!! Catching fish like that is what it's all about. The damage on the tails looks the same also for what it's worth.

Thanks Mike, the spinnerbait is beautiful!