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Thank you Ray Roberts, very cool! Picked this bass up after a hike. Red eye shad got bit multiple times but this was the only one that converted. I was out there for maybe 30 minutes

I fished three hours this afternoon. It was windy and gray and I had my best luck working a Keitech with an Owner underspin about 80' from the wind-pounded shore. It was tough when I hooked a bass because the wind would push me into the shoreline and I'd have to boat it before striking rock. So, I couldn't measure or weigh anything because I just didn't have the time before grinding into rocks and trees. I fished the pond where I bought property. It's a pond I've fished for two years and I'm pretty sure the bass are growing bigger. I had a wisdom tooth yanked this morning, so between that and the wind and bringing my canoe out of the woods, for I'm going to fish a different pond this Thursday, I'm wiped. Still, prior to today, my best catch was three bass and today, I caught 11 with three fatter, longer ones. I also caught my first bass strolling. Sadly, I caught nothing my last 1.5 hours.

A few today, decided to fish instead of sleeping for work. I lost one equally big as the one trying to lift it up to me on the boardwalk. Was my fault I saw that the line was frayed and didn’t retie and the line snapped on the lift. 12lb braid that’s thinner than 6lb doesn’t like being frayed and strained. But I broke in one bfs setup, lure was a 3” hazedong shad on a 1/16 finesse shad head. All the fish came on it today, moral of the story retie when frayed lol, live and learn and don’t keep making rookie mistakes.

Some of you are aware that 2024 has been delivering blow after blow after blow to me. My wife had a miscarriage at 20 weeks and then just as we were coming out of our funk, my best friends 6 year old daughter, and my sons best friend, was killed after a driver crossed over the median and struck them head on. I haven't felt much like fishing or even paying much attention to fishing. She was buried on Friday and on Sunday I figured I should get out and try to at least enjoy the outdoors. I went to the local farm pond I can fish for an hour and a half. Wind was blowing more than expected and I figured if I was going to drag myself out to fish I was going to do it with my favorite type of lure. Tied on the new Megabass Jamaica Boa Buzzbait and got to fancasting. Got to watch a bald eagle fly around which I've never seen at this pond. About 5 minutes in, I got bumped, but so subtly I wondered if I hit a stick in the water or something similar. Cast back to the spot and missed my location. Cast back again, started reeling, and got that wonderful big topwater blowup. First bass of the year weighed in at 4.49 and for a few minutes I forgot about everything crappy going on and knew the rest of my outing wouldn't matter. Worked my way around the pond without a bite or even a sight of a fish along the way. Got to the other side where I know there's a blow down and figured there had to be a good one in it. Retrieved to the right side of it and nothing. Retrieved to the left side of it and nothing. Moved on and was casting underneath some trees with still no luck and was about to call it quits and work my way back to the other side of the pond. Something told me to take one more cast along that blow down but run it parallel to the tree. Did that and got to watch a flash of bass emerge from underneath it and destroy the buzzbait. 2nd bass of the year weighed in at 4.27. I'd never caught two 4+ pound fish from this pond in the same outing before. They didn't make all my problems go away but for 90 minutes they certainly helped me feel better. I hope any of you facing challenges in your lives can enjoy some time outside, breathe in some fresh air, and feel a little bit better, if only for a little while. We don't know how long we've got. P.s. the hits keep coming and now my kids gave me the stomach bug 😩

Another 5.5 lber on the 'Pats Gizzard' Grass Jig from @Siebert Outdoors sans trailer (just some plastic for a little bit of weight on the cast. Very happy to catch this gorgeous healthy pre-spawner today after work on a sunny hard bottom area where I could see wolf packs of big females corralling bluegill fry. It was epic! I got a crowd for the release too!

Got out for the first time this year today. Caught about 30 but none worthy of a photo. Water temps were in the mid 60's .Most bass were caught on a worm and top water. Yum Dinger and Bomber Prop A .

Caught 7 Trout, Give away three of them around 10lb. Kept this 4 and weigh them at home, Lightning was smallest by 6lb and two 8lb each and one 9lb. Total of 31lb for them.

I was busy as a one armed paper hanger yesterday but I managed an hour on the lake. I spent as much time driving as fishing. I went to a spawning pocket near the landing. I haven't seen any bedding Bass on Active Target so I messed with my settings until I could see them. On my 3rd cast I dropped a Red Eyed Shad on top of a bed. Both Bass hit it. They came unhooked while I was fumbling with my net. They weren't BIG but the combination of them was too big to boat flip. I'm sure they aren't all that easy to catch, but I decided I wasn't going to target bedding Bass with Active Target. I'm not changing sides in the FFS debate, and I'm not saying anyone who uses it to target bedding Bass is wrong. It's been 40 years, but I've targeted bedding Bass sight fishing clear water, but I figure they can see me too. I will still target bedding Bass but I'll do it like I have in the past. I'll find the areas they're in with side imaging, then fish that area with my FFS off. I will still use Active Target FFS in every way I know how to target Bass. I'm just not going to use it when they're bedding. I'm not looking to start a FFS, or bed fishing debate. It's just a decision I made. So, I turned my FFS off and went old school. (kinda) I caught 3 spots, including one on my last cast when it was time for me to leave.

I didnt know it but evidently I wear the wrong underwear, eat the wrong pizza and drink the wrong beer.

Boat captained for the high school boys Saturday. Wind was bad and lake conditions were bad, but they put a couple keepers in the boat and managed a top 5 finish. Sunday, I took the boys out for a few hours. I should have taken them somewhere else to avoid the crowd but I didn't against my better judgement. The lake was crazy busy, not my cup of tea. We caught a few fish and enjoyed the nice weather. Finn and I teamed up on the big fish of the day, 4.11 pounds on a Ned rig.

There are three things I suspect I'm doing wrong: Laydowns/Wood: Because the shorelines of the water I fish are less developed, they have a lot of laydowns and because I read again and again and again at BR how laydowns are Bass City, I cast and cast at them with various lures. I've caught a few, including a 6+-pounder and a few four-pounders in 2023 from wood, but they are nowhere near as productive as weeds for me. I cast into the thick of the fallen tree, bouncing my lure off the wood, and cast from multiple angles with various lures, but still largely fail. Spinner baits: Again, I catch bass on them, but not enough for them to be my first, second, or even third choice. I've caught hundreds of pike and about a dozen muskies with spinner baits, so I know they work, but not on bass with me. Jigs: I've used jigs a lot for walleyes and white bass and have caught thousands of these species on jigs, so it's not like I'm not versed in using them, but with bass, jigs are like spinnerbaits: I just don't get enough of a return with them to keep using them regularly. So, if any of you are confident in fishing wood, spinnerbaits, and jigs ever fish with me, that's all we're going to fish and I'm going to watch you more than the water.

Saturday on our way to checking out the Jamestown ND resevoir and dam we stopped by the largest buffalo in the world. I last stood next to him in 1968, this was the wifes first time seeing the buffalo.

@hokiehunter373 Really sorry to hear your family has had to endure such a painful time, your family will be in my prayers. Life can be so incredibly cruel and painful, but you guys will get through this tough period and be better humans because of it. Awesome fish, nothing better than catching toads on a buzzbait!

I kid you not. I wear the same clothes for months. They're Permethrin-treated, so even though the applicator says I can wash them, I'm sure it decreases their potency. I'd rather be dirty than have Lyme's. This is probably why I don't have to share water with others. Well done, @thediscochef. Plus, your beard looks even more spectacular.

Well, after you see this clip, you'll know why...

Bite them. If you loose a tooth it is tungsten, if you develop lead poisoning they are lead.

I fish lipless cranks and chatterbaits more than any other type of bait or lure, and when i feel something, anything, i rip the rod to the side. If its a bass then game on, and if not i was probably just stuck on some grass and just ripped the lure out of it. And if so then there might be a bass biting the lure a few seconds later (most of my big bass came after ripping it out of vegetation). But for bottom baits and lures without vibrations get some tungsten weights, around 1/4-3/8 and dont even fish, just cast them and slowly drag the bottom. Do this over and over again in many different areas of the lake/pond you are fishing. After a few days you will be able to tell the difference between the feel of a rock, grass, mud, or wood. Then take what you learned and start fishing, now knowing what the stuff on the bottom feels like you can tell if someone feels different and SET THE HOOK always if unsure. Just recently i got a few 6" Bass Mafia swimbaits, and i learned quite a bit with them, i havent fished much since i stopped last September and started back in late March so i was a bit rusty. I forgot what the bite felt like so ive been fishing these things near the bottom hitting rocks and grass alot, so in my head im remembering what each rock, piece of wood, and grass i ran it into felt like. A few minutes later i felt a very familiar feeling, like something was pulling it backwards almost like it was being sucked into a vacuum. Set the hook and had a nice 3.25lb bass.

Sets Hammers apart: Being able to locate bass on a big body of water through each seasonal pattern, as well as selecting a presentation suitable for the conditions, depth and water clarity, And then nailing the proper boat position, making an accurate cast with the proper tackle to mange your catch, are IMO, some of the characteristics we find in bassheads who display repeatable success. Bite detection is pretty far down that list. Familiarization with matched / balanced gear being used helps, as does paying attention to what your doing. We'll never feel every bite but keep doing it enough, it's a skill that can be improved. However the only way I know, is to fish. A-Jay

Night. Fish.

I think I'm guilty of not knowing when to put a bait down/pick a bait up even when the day is screaming an obvious lure at me. I'm guilty of leaving fish to find fish instead of fishing until I figure a tougher group of fish out. I think a lot of days I don't rotate my presentations nearly enough (kinda ties into point 1) ESPECIALLY in areas I know there's a lot of fish. It's hard to be disciplined when you know they've bit X really good before. History can be more of a hindrance than a help *sometimes* Basically the more fluid and open minded and systematic you can be on the water, the more opportunities to catch fish you're gonna get in a day!

Tell that to the hundreds of lures and hooks I've left impaled deep into sunken logs. 😆

People either love em or hate em but I've ran Interstates for years and years and have had great luck with them. As mentioned above, most batteries are just a label. Personally, I think a large % of a battery's "success" is how it's cared for. Mine are all on the onboard charger, a specific deep cycle conditioner/charger, and always plugged in immediately after usage. I used to use a generic charger and had battery life issues way back then; until I read and learned more about actual deep cycle chargers. Now my batteries last years before needing replacement.

This. I had a story similar to @Jar11591 while bank fishing my favorite pond. Hooked something on a crank bait and it TOOK OFF. I know there are catfish in the pond, and also good size carp. I'm guessing it was a carp, although the story is cooler if it was a massive cat. I've landed carp on that little 8lb mono I was using, but not this time. Sucker snapped me off about a second after hooking him. It was fun for that second though. I think probably my craziest fishing story was my first year of fishing since I picked it up again. (This would have been 2021.) It was a short fishing trip after work. I still had my work clothes on. I had walked maybe a half mile of river bank and was on my way back to the car. I fished both ways, and had caught nothing but a handful of rock bass. I was tired and sat down on the bank, my feet hanging just above the water. I had tied on a T-rigged senko and was just fishing the bend in the river very casually, not really paying attention. I was listening to the Tampa Bay Rays beat my Detroit Tigers. The part of the bank I was sitting on was deeply undercut by the river, and as I reeled my bait in and was about to lift it out of the water, a long, dark shape darted out from underneath my dangling feet. I'd never seen a pike in person before, but of course I knew what it was. I was enamored by this long, carnivorous fish. It seemed to levitate there in the water, nearly motionless, his nose not four inches from my worm. I was locked on him, he was locked on my bait... I gave it a twitch and he struck. I went to set the hook, but all I managed was to rip the worm in half and Mr. Pike was gone. Did I really expect to hook this guy on a T-Rig? Not really, but it's what I had tied on. As fast as I could, I cut off the bass bait and tied on a big jointed crank bait. I didn't know much about pike at the time, but I figure he'd be more likely to hit a big moving bait like that than a rubber worm. Plus, the lure was big enough it might protect me from getting bit off. Five casts later, I hooked him. It was a rush of a fight. I'm afraid I was too scared of losing him that I don't remember much of it. But I managed to lead him to the bank, and now I was in a pickle. The water was two feet or more below the bank I was standing on, and I had no clue how to lift him out. I didn't have a net, and I was still squeamish of getting bit. (What a coward I was.) I think I eventually just lifted him out by the line, praying the bait wouldn't come out of his mouth. Once I landed him, turns out he wasn't nearly as big as he'd looked in my adrenaline fueled state: only 25 inches. But it's still one of my most memorable catches. My heart belongs to the smallies, but boy if the pike and musky don't turn my head.

Caught my PB rainbow weighing in at 5lb7oz

If skipping a Carolina is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Laydowns: All are not created equal. The structure they're laying on is a big deal. Some will produce consistently, some will produce seasonally, some will never produce, even though they may look good to our eye. Remember which ones produce, and when. Spinnerbaits: Seasonal baits for me. Pre-spawn mostly, and only if I have some wind. Jigs: I mostly just use them to fish rock structure anymore. I've caught lot's of quality fish on 'em, including my PB LM, but I just get more bites with a flippin rig, and it comes through wood and weeds cleaner than any jig. I'm pretty much to this point with the flippin rig and chatterbait, at least with the green fish. Add a tube, a ned, and a grub, and I'm pretty well set for brown bass too.

I'd eat the catfish an every bass 12 inches and under to free up room and food for bass growth. You can fillet and have boneless bream.

I've had some boat work done and I'm finally getting out. There was a high school derby and one other club tournament. The wind blew 15-25 all day and trying to find a place somewhat calm to fish was tough. Me and my wife went out for 4 hours before we called it a day. We boated 3 Brown fish. All came on crankbaits. We're going early in the morning and they say the wond will be 5-10. I hope that's true. It was nice to catch a few!

Hooksets are free. When in doubt, light 'em up. A good rod blank is a must. Braid is very friendly on the senses. If it stops chattering or vibrating or pulsating, light 'em up. If it feels like a big mushy purse on the other end of you line after punching a mat, light 'em up. A bass mouth is big and the bigger they are, the bigger their mouth's are. It's very easy for a bait to get lost in there. When all else fails, trust your instincts.

Nice. I always go to Japan Lure Shop first if I'm in the market for something JDM 👍.

Top water you visually see the strike, hook setting is a timing issue usually about 1 second delay. Crank baits you can feel the lures wiggling bouncing the rod tip, strikes vary from the wiggle stops to the bass loads up the rod, hook set is reel fast and sweep the rod back, Soft plastics with sliding sinker (Texas rig) strike are difficult to detect because the engulfs the soft plastic and either spits out or eat it with or without moving. The classic strike is a tick indicating the engulfed plastic. The pressure bite is the bass has the soft plastic and isn’t moving, The engulf and bass moving can be slack in the line after the tick if the bass is moving towards you or you feel and see the line moving. Hook sets is reel the rod tip down and swing back firmly. Swing jig is similar to a crank bait without feeling the lure wiggle, feel pressure set the hook. Bottom jigs are the most difficult to detect, similar to Texas rig soft plastic but jig rejection is more common so set the hook faster. Good fishing, Tom

I suspect I'm not fishing as good as A-Jay, Catt, WRB, or Bluebasser86.

Exactly. One way in yet no way out. Magically shifting.

Keep walking it til you feel them. Ignore the visual. Set the hook when you feel the tug. Just lift and pull don't go bananas. Loosen up your drag just enough for them to pull some if they're enormous. Most bass spit it when you stop the bait while they are eating it. My biggest bass on a frog I was having a conversation with somebody and didn't even see the bite and sort of set the hook by accident and it was definitely a lightbulb moment for frogs....and my biggest frog fish.

Set the hook into everything that feels weird like it owes you money. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose.

I was in Canada with my father. I'd hired a float plane to drop us on a musky lake I'd first reached by paddle and portage. Our canoe was loaded with all our gear as it was our pickup time and we were fishing at the pickup point. I'd just hooked and lost a musky and was wondering where to cast next when I noticed the musky, nearly vertical in the water, locked on my lure, and pining for round two. So, I pressed the button on my reel, the lure dropped to it, and it was on like Kong. Anyone who's hooked a musky with only a couple feet of line between you and it knows the fury of the next few seconds, but I landed it and it was my 19th of the week. My dad had caught 21, which he never lets me forget.

Yep, that's the 'non-feeling' of a hit. With a vibrating bait sometimes the vibration just stops, but there's no weight. Almost like you got a piece of grass on it. With gentle baits like what you were throwing you have to be really tuned in to notice it a lot of the time. But hooksets are free so when it doubt... My usual when its something like that is to rip the bait out of the 'grass' which is kinda a half hearted hookset. Then if it really was grass, you're clear and still fishing. if its a fish, sharp hooks will keep you in the game. Well done on a great early season day out. When the water is below 50 which I'm sure yours still is, any fish is a bonus fish, especially in that wind.

Now for my next total flop team at the St Johns river. I'm posting these so you guys will know who not to take. Chris Johnston Milliken Livesay Cobb Martin

Took my kid fishing last weekend not thinking I was gonna catch anything but we ended up catching two bass on maxscent general's the color's were black and blue fleck and junebug so we were happy! The best part was a hawk tried to swoop down and steal my magdraft but he missed and I got lucky!

For the past several seasons, I have used the same fish weighing procedure. It included a digital scale and a fish gripper which was clamped down, pretty firmly, onto the bass’s lower jaw. Worked OK, the fish often flopped a bit but never came off the fish gripper. However looking back at some of my more memorable (insert Bigger) catches this winter, hanging a 5 or 6 lb plus smallie by its face might have not been the best plan. Could possibly jack up the fishes jaw. And while I never really saw any evidence personally that it did, I was thinking I could do better for the fish. In every other case, I always fully support the fish’s frames for photos and wanted to simulate that while weighing them. This is what I came up with. I’m still ironing out the finer details but right off the bat this Arsenal Fishing Pro-Performance Rubber Mesh Bag already seems better for this bass in the long run. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Arsenal_Fishing_Pro-Performance_Rubber_Mesh_Bag/descpage-AFPPRMB.html Btw - In the attached video I said the fish was 4.42 lbs in the bag, but it was actually 4.44 lbs so I jacked that up a little. My scale is in Tenths not ounces. A-Jay

When I get home from the pond I like to take my clothes off and put on different clothes. That way I don't have to do laundry constantly and I have clothes that are designated dirty clothes. But thanks Mom. 😃😃😃

Hey, Landed a nice peacock after work. Hope everyone had a nice start of the week

Finally I got my hands on it. First impression?

Another angry everglades bass puttin on a show!

Found a few on a pattern I've never seen before. They were hunting trout in open water, not relating to any particular structure or cover. Every now and then I'd see a trout frantically trying to escape being pinned against a steep island bluff bank but for the most part I was seeing these massive explosions out in open water and occasionally against the bank. There wasn't really a way to target these fish other than being in the right place at the right time. Ended up with 3 at 4-5, 4-11, 6-0 on a deps 250. Only thing I figured out for certain was that they wanted an uphill presentation. Cast out into deep water and retrieve toward the bank and they'd pin it against the bank like they'd been doing to the trout. There were definitely bigger fish in the mix, I missed out on a large part of the bite window before I realized what was happening.

Catt & Pat are sitting on a little ridge just south of Indian Mounds; full moon is barely on the horizon, slight southerly breeze. I make a long cast towards deep water and start the count down to the bottom. The Texas rigged worm settles down when there's that classic "Thump", drops the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook. Nothing gives, then in a microsecond on my knees, rod half under water. Catt: Yells get the net! Pat: For what! Catt: I think he's heading for the Louisiana side Pat: You gonna land em or what Catt: Aint you suppose to play em first? Finally back to my feet, line singing again, drag slipping, rod all bowed up. Catt: He's headed for Six Mile, if you start the big motor we can head em off. Pat now standing behind me: Want me to pour some water on your reel? Catt: No! just get the gun! Look a swirl just under the surface, a sudden dive for freedom, your mine sucker. Pat with quick move and it's in the net: Took you long enough. Catt falls back into the seat drops his rods on the deck: Dude let's see it. Pat turn on the interior lights: Shoot it's only a stripper! Catt sits up, lips it and grabs the tail, gotta be at least 36" Pat digs around in the console for the scales 16 LB 5 OZ. Catt: Slipping it back in, that's a hawg right there. Pat: Don't count it's a stripper! Catt: Still a hawg Pat: You're still down 7 to 4, shut up & fish!

You're correct 😉 Take a knife & gently scrape it, if it's tungsten nothing will happen.

Help! LoL

@Fried Lemons: Wow! Big bass and what a way to catch them. Say, cyber-buddy, please consider wearing a life jacket. I was in the paddling world for decades and again and again, paddlers died without life jackets. Some were old like me and some were young, just like you.