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Pops starting off the afternoon trip with an eager buck on the edge of the tulles. Up to this point the best fish was an unexpected crappie 😆 Dinkfest for me this time His best fish in years. Long arming so it's not quite as big as it looks, but it was still a solid 4lbs with an incredible amount of girth. Great afternoon!

Well I had an interesting 2.5 hours of fishing after work today. I caught 5 in the time that I fished and I had a big pike more than likely, I doubt that it was a musky give me one heck of a fight. I got it within 5 feet of the bank and saw its size. Probably 35 inches plus and thrashing away in the shallows, the biggest one that I have ever stuck. My poor little dobyns 745c was no match for the fish, I felt like I was not in control of the battle. Tried my best to get the thing in through the narrow gaps along the bank, but the fish was not having any of that. Ended up snapping a point of the #3 treble hook and just swam off. The hook broke near the shank. I was honored to hook a fish like that but I really would have liked to have landed it but oh well. Looks like my tequila baccara might just have a new target species to break it in on. All in all it was a good day.

I didn’t catch crap, lol. There was a tournament on the lake and I was hearing guys complain constantly though so maybe it’s not just me. I did have one bite in 20ft but felt like it was hooked funny. As soon as the fish jumped the bait came back towards me. I was DD hunting though so I ain’t stressing about not catching. I did, however, snap a very pretty shot of the moonlight in the dark. Very pleasant fishing conditions once the sun went down.

This is how I deal with nesting geese. Dirty buggers. We have way too many of them around here. Filthy things crap all over everything. Flood waters are down about 2.5' and the lake is now about 4' high and dropping a few inches per day. Surface temp has held steady at 58 since last week. The receding waters have moved the greenies from back in the woods to the flooded shoreline brush, and there's a killer flippin bite going down. I put a couple dozen in the boat today. Best three pictured below. 5.35# with a cool tattoo on her tail. First 5+ of the year. 3.44# 3.38# I had another 8 in the 2-2.5# range. Best five would go about 17#. Best day of fishing I've had in quite awhile. Off the next three days. Fingers crossed this bush pitching mayhem continues all week.

Been coaxing a few here and there, even got a few pictures.

Well I caught 4 in a hour on 4 different plastics lol.

Mount Saint Helens on a Saturday afternoon

They're obsessed with watching the cats get fed every night 😆😆

Short paddling session last night yielded only one tiny bass but lots and lots of skipjack. I posted their pics and video in the other species thread

You Gotta Believe ~ A-Jay

Money

"Needed" a light action rod for finesse swimbaits and drop shot and I couldn't pass up the Flyssa. Always have to replenish senkos and I'll be testing these square bills now that our bass have moved up.

I got out onto Lake Menderchuck around noon. It was clear blue skies but with a pretty stiff Southwesterly wind. Surface water temps were in the mid to high 40's. I was on this lake a few days ago and the fish seemed to be staging just a bit outside on the steeper drops. Very few had moved into where I like to hunt them. Well the warm sun & wind pushed a bunch right up into my lap. Action started around 1 PM and was a steady pick until I left right after 6 PM. It was jerkbait city. Other baits may have taken fish, but I have a bit of an addiction to the stick baits; so that's what I threw. There were a couple of big schools of 3 & 4 pounders roaming all over this one wind blown flat. I managed to weed through quite a few hoping to mine out some big bronze babes. My best 5 went 28.88 lbs, (5.02, 5.11, 5.35, 6.35, 7.05) including my 2nd ever smallmouth over 7 lbs. Fish was just a beast, I could barely hold her. Fish Hard A-Jay

The Brown Bass Tools were effective today ~ Report with some insane video to follow. I had a day. A-Jay

N + 1 marketing If they didn't tell you, you wouldn't know you needed to replace last year's OK, between the different lines, you pay for different things. Weight reduction in the rod blank - advanced MOC that gets the same strength and bulk modulus (rod taper) in a structure using less total material. The other thing you pay for is finish grade in the components and labor details.

Here's a very old joke that will help answer your question. There was an owner of an old-fashioned country store in a small town who was fond of quoting a passage of Scripture after each sale. He had three old friends that would sit around a pot-bellied stove, playing checkers on a faded board. His ability to produce a Scripture for all occasions never ceased to amuse the old timers, and they would listen to see what verse he would come up with that was relevant to the sale made. A lady purchased some material and he said, “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” A man bought a bag of flour and he said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” A little boy bought some lollies and as he rung it up he quoted, “Suffer the little children to come unto me.” It was nearly closing time when the chimes over the door jangled loudly. A well dressed young man who was driving a fine truck that was pulling a $100,000 horse trailer walked in. “Can I help you?” offered the proprietor. “I need a blanket for my horse,” said the man. “He’s out in his trailer and it’s too cold for just one. Bring me the nicest one you’ve got!” The store owner went in the back store room and came back with a brown blanket. “That’ll be five dollars.” “Five dollars? You’ve got to be kidding!”, said the man. “This horse is a thoroughbred. He gets only the best! He wouldn’t stand still for an old five-dollar blanket.” Without comment, the store owner took back the blanket, then merely selected a different color and brought it out. “This one’s $25 dollars.” “Now, look,” said the young man, “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. This isn’t just any old horse! He’s worth thousands! Now I want the best, most expensive blanket you’ve got! Understand?” The owner once more went into the store room, pulled out another color from the same pile of blankets and brought it back. “This one's $100 dollars.” “Now that’s more like it!” enthused the young man as he paid. Then, throwing the five dollar blanket over his shoulder, he left. The old timers stared silently at the shopkeeper as they waited to see what possible Scripture he could come up with for that sale! Going behind the register, he rung up the hundred dollars and said, “He was a stranger, and I took him in.” Now take the story and substitute tackle store for country store, bass boat for horse trailer, and fishing rod for horse blanket and I think you'll understand.

Launched the ole canoe around 6:30, slow going for the first 30-45 minutes with only a tiny SMB, then the skipjack and white bass went crazy. The tails were all crooked on my tiny crappie minnow baits so I just ripped them off and the fish approved

I got skunked and broken off in shallow rock last night during my first sorta night fishing session of the year @LrgmouthShad. Happens to everyone. I'm gonna redouble my efforts this Friday and see if I can figure out what's breaking me off 😎👍🏼 Great fish everyone and congratulations to your dad @NorcalBassin! That's a tank! I know that lit his spirits up!

I find most of the time, when I move, I should have stayed, and when I stay I should have moved.

The thing about "10% of the water holding 90% of the fish" is just a nugget of received wisdom from typical angler experience that they don't catch fish in most of the lake. It is probably just another version of the Pareto Principle that "80% of consequences come from 20% of causes", which shows up in a lot of different contexts related to distribution of resources or productivity. Or possibly Sturgeon's Law, which simply states that "90% of everything is crap"

I spent the better part of a season fishing solely for big fish. I camped on spots and picked them apart. It can get tiring, and your mind starts to wander off when your trying to cover every inch with a jig. I like to move and cast. If I catch a decent fish, I'll camp awhile.

Taking advantage of the Omnia buy 2 get 1 soft bait promo $0.92 over the free shipping threshold, perfect.

I still use the small one on an ultralight. Catches everything.

Lol. Thanks. I lose to the monkey every time do to my handicap. I was born without a willpower. 😂

Look Bud, I was hoping you'd help me out. Be sort of a role model for me; Lord knows I need one. And I'm working really hard up here trying not to feed that greedy primate, BUT YOU'RE NOT HELPING ! Congrats on the new sticks though A-Jay

If you want the easy answer it the fact that every technique has a “better” action in a rod/reel. While you can use one for multiple techniques, it doesn’t make sense to throw a weightless Senko on a flipping stick. How far into matching the rod characteristics with the technique is personal preference and many times changes with experience. I do use the same rod for multiple techniques in many cases. Back in the day Rick Clunn advocated one action rod/reel but that didn’t last long.

Went out for a couple hours tonight and got a 4.2 at the very end. Felt like a snag at first but then started moving to the side. Real nice healthy fish. Caught it on a worm that I dropped down near some new lily pads in about 5ft of water close to the shore.

Stank eye

Guys I bought a BIG TRUCK today from Utah, Going to drive there tonight, 11 hours ill be in Salt Lake City, Let me know if I should do any fast fishing there. I am just going to grab and back fast. Here is the truck ready to pick up.

Go back in two weeks when there's NO (New) MOON. Run the same Program and I bet you do much better. A-Jay

When I get past say 8 foot all the way down to 22 foot , Chartreuse or Fire Tiger have been my best colors. More natural colors shallower. I like the gold foil and perch that Rapala uses.

Several years ago a member tipped me on using a green laser pointer to deter geese. I find it essential this time of year. Doesn't work as well in bright sun but if you point it at the ground and guide it to just in front of them it works like a charm. Avoid the super cheap ones but something a notch up (mine was around 20 bucks on Amazon) works fine.

The Yum Dinger 100 pack is 15% off on Amazon. $23 for 100. Green Pumpkin w Black Flake color only.

Same 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

Stopped on my way to pick up groceries yesterday, basically just to cast my new Tatula Elite. Didn't expect to catch anything. Much to my surprise I pulled in a bass on my home made spinnerbait... I banged up the swivel and it got wonky. Switched to a chatterbait then bagged a pickerel... then a big pickerel... then a big bass. I think there was a bug hatch or something, lots of activity. To leave, I swung my rod like a baseball bat to get the farthest cast I could. And in did, bombed my chatterbait the farthest cast of the night. It did nest a bit and snap off midcast, but I accomplished my goal as a buffoon. Lost my only red craw Picasso Shock Blade.

It's no secret that I'm not much of a youtube watcher. There's no requirement for a video to contain factual information. I've seen youtube videos about things I'm pretty familiar with (auto repair, wood working/guitars, music) that are downright dangerous. It's kinda like sifting through fly droppings to try and find some pepper. The bottom like it, there's probably a BUNCH of good information out there, but there's some bad mixed in with it. Every lake, pond, river, stream ect is different. Every day is different also. I believe, at least in the waters I fish there's "fish" in 90% of the water, however, there's active Bass in 10%, or even less of it.

Thanks for the kind words @Woody B. You're a darn good stick yourself. I thought of you on the water today. A big flathead came cruising past in shallow water. I tried to get it to pick up my flippin rig, but it didn't wanna play. It was far enough outside the brush line, I'd have had a good shot at landing it. I'm 0 for 2 against them in laydowns. It's like trying to pull a Mack truck out of a pile of wood.

Y'all are both hammers, as well as many others around here. I'm just thrilled to be on the same planet will all of y'all.

There is no doubt that the winters in the north woods are harsh & long. And the summers never seem long enough. But for just a few brief weeks in the April / May, and again in Aug / Sept, I am surrounded by what can only be described as World Class Smallmouth fishing. And I don't even need a passport . . . Getcha Some ! A-Jay

Day 1 of turkey season B starts for me in the morning. Blind placement will be occurring later in the day today. Weather looks pretty good on Wed and Thurs, not so much beyond that.

I forgot that I had placed an order for some Zorro spinnerbaits as well. I would just like to give Zorro a quick shout-out on here. It’s definitely not uncommon for me to order direct from the company rather than off tacklewarehouse because I get more selection, especially with Zorro. So this was a direct from Zorro deal. I don’t know if the company has deliberately improved their quality control, but the spinnerbaits I received were in absolutely perfect condition. Still stock with sampo swivels, super sharp hooks, good blades, no blemishes to speak of.

I think the biggest mistake most people make on the bank and in boats when bass fishing is they park their butts in a 'good looking area' and then do target practice next to bushes and trees in a vacant cove. You basically have to keep moving. Even when you are on them, it's usually only one or two fish max before they are on to you and then you gotta let an area cool a little which means...yeah...moving. I just keep a mental note of places. I've been getting bit and make a point of hitting them more than one time throughout the day if I really think they'll produce again. It's pretty rare that a population of Bass that I hammer on and catch a few out of bites more than once in a day. They're smarter than that around here.

You're going to love my new sticker on the kayak then 😆

I always love a good photo of @Bluebasser86's tie-dye Crocs. I went to the pond this evening. It was low sixties all day and quite windy. I was afraid I wasn't gonna get a bite. Tried using a drop shot rig for a while but wasn't getting any action, so I switched over to the trusty Rebel wee-craw. I caught a lot of slimy weeds. Then a big gust of wind came up just as I went to cast and carried my lure way farther than I had intended, landing it in about a foot of water on the other side of the small pond. The water boiled as a fish struck and missed. I reeled the bait in just a little bit, and she chased it down. Fish on! Lovely, fat old girl, 16 inches long (which is a very respectable size for my small pond) and 1.84 lbs. Then I caught a dink from the same spot just to live up to my username, About a hundred fruitless casts later and I was done. A pair of Canada geese have nested in the same spot at this pond for three years running. This was the first time I've seen the nest without one of them on it. Usually they chase me away with loud hissing and spread wings.

Caught 5 Spots this morning before a Kidney shut me down.

I went out yesterday and only caught one dink in 7 hours of fishing. The wind was so bad I clocked the boat drifting at 5mph at some point during the day. The wind seemed to be blowing around 20mph all day in two different directions. The boat at one of my spots just turned in circles without me using the trolling motor. The water was really muddy as well with no visibility. About half way through the day I got snagged next the bank and fell in to about 10 feet water. Luckily I was able get a selfie. When will the water clear up? 😁

With a weight and relying on bottom contact.... sounds to me more like a neko craw rig thing. Whacky Rigging is weightless to me. Sounds cool, hope you catch a monster on it.

Same dog. I think she's Bi Polar. She's not biting my ankle, she's dangling from my shorts. Here she is in a good mood.

Got it, on my way back stopping in Vegas at friends house to rest, I am awake for last two days. later I’ll tell you about this spaceship I got 😂