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47 degrees, foggy, and raining when I launched in the late afternoon and raining for much of my fishing, as you can see in the photos. Yet again, I found bass in a different place, this time in a 2' to 5' deep bay. The only constant this spring is catching them with my Keitech and Owner underspin. They were hitting when I left, shortly after sunset, but at that point, being cold and having to move the canoe through the woods and across a field, I quit. I had scores of swallows swirling around me and blackbirds following me, moving from dead tree to dead tree to watch me fish. The peepers were so loud they hurt my ears. The bigger bass are below, as well as a pic of the pond.

Wife and I went to the dam in Lisbon ND on wed with 2 scoops of minnows and some plastic grubs and mimic minnow paddletails, I cought walleye on the mimic minnows and the grub by casting and very slowly reeling the mimic or grub which was on a 1/8 oz ballhead jig and feeling it hit over the rocks and gravel, also floated the grub on a float which also worked but i always had a minnow piggybacking both presentations hooked through the snout. No smallies liked the plastics even with piggybacked minnow, all were caught on minnows only, floating the minnow on an 1/8 oz ballhead jig infront of and over a wide path of submerged big rocks 3 feet deep in the middle of the river with a smooth nice non whitewater flow of water over them. Then around 4pm something unreel took place, i put on a 1/8 oz ballhead jig with a orange plastic grub along with a piggy backed minnow using a bobber, #20 832 braid and #20 abrazix leader, cherrywood rod 7ft with plueger presXT reel and tossed it out into 3 feet of water. Sittin in my chair next to our stringer of walleye and i see this big swirl of a fish next to the stringer but didnt see exactly what it was and a few moments later wham, I have a fish and its not small. It takes off into the current, I loosen the drag knowing whatever it is can easilly break me off, a few moments later my wife sees its a muskie and i am trying to turn its head from pointing downstream but everytime it get her to turn She peels off again. I seen where i had her hooked in the very back left side corner of the mouth and seeing that the line can easilly get sawed off if it gets into her mouth I give her all the freedom to run hoping to tire her out so i can pick up some line. I want this fish bad, I am hopeing the leader and small jig holds or I will be bummed, this to me is the fish of my lifetime and the battle playing her I just dont want to lose. Finally after many minutes with me now standing back 15 feet from the shoreline fighting the fish she tires out and wife grabs our littlle net trying to assist her onto shore and she actually gets the tail in the net and helps drag it in. I yell out in victory and get thumbs up from people watching, I felt like I won a marathon, i was so excited catching my biggest fish ever on such light tackle. I had to revive her by moving her gills back and forth untill she perked up, she hung out in front of us for a while in 2 feet of water and she then swam off to hopefully fight another day.

Got my first fish on a walking topwater yesterday evening. Then I went out for a little stroll this morning and caught my first solid frog fish at the pond of the spring! So topwater is officially the game plan until further notice. Thank you for your cooperation. Tight lines this weekend people. 😎👍🏼🎣 Pad perch gone down the throat. Loving that bone color.

They are quite wild but there are more humans than Canada and the humans you find in a wilderness area are typically quite the characters in one way or another 😂 Me and my buddy Geoff paddled around in my canoe while my wife was in her kayak. Got some SMB, white bass, yellow bass, and skipjack. Geoff caught the nicest fish of the day that fought like it was much larger

spent all morning building a trampoline for my daughter and than hit the saginaw river looking for some bass. I was able to land 2 bass on a war eagle copper and chartreuse spinner bait. I caught 2 really nice northern pike on the rapala mayor black and blue paddle tail swim baits. Caught what i believe will be a MI Department of natural resources MASTER ANGLER 16.25 white bass. i actually caught 5 over 16 inches. Finally the last pike of the day toasted my war eagle spinner bait. Not bad for 3 hrs of fishing. Hopefully i will finally get a master angler patch after all these years. I just submitted the picture and paper work on line. all 3 pike were nice keeper size. I don’t mind catching them if there over 24 inches. I wonder what that first one ate.

Got another Expride B. 7'2 MH/F. I had read that the B's are stiffer than the A', but comparing it to my A of the same model, it almost seems a tad softer. I absolutely love these rods. I'm glad they finally added a hook keeper, but I HATE where they put it. I also have the 6'10 M model that I'll use for jerkbaits. Reaching down to drab it off the deck and getting 110 hooks in your hand isn't much fun. Got a few of the Ark Cobb series rods. I really like the Ark Tharp series. Great rods at their price point. So when I saw Ark had a BOGO deal on the Cobb's, I figured what the heck. I didn't need them, but for $50 a pop, I decided to check them out. These are the cheapest rods I own (retail $100), so to be honest I wasn't expecting a whole lot. But I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised at how light they are and how well they fish. I decided on the 7'1 Buzz Burner and 7'4 Walking Stick. I thought they were black from looking at websites, but when the sun hits them just right, you can see they're actually green.

Had a busy weekend but an even busier week so just now getting around to posting the weekend report. Saturday I took the boys out to crappie fish to try and catch a few for a guy from work. "We", were successful in going through 2 dozen minnows, of which I used none of. Tons of shorts, but we did get him a dozen to eat. We also got a few donus bass. And I had Finn pose with my drum because I'd hate for @roadwarrior not to see it. Sunday I got out for a few hours on a local lake in some weird weather that changed rapidly in the few hours I was there. We've had a ton of rain the last couple weeks and it's still coming so the water was up and dirty. I figured that would mean aggressive fish eating moving baits. So of course they'd only eat a Ned rig. I caught a bunch like this. Then ended the day on the ramp with big fish of the day. Say it with me now "Ned rigs only catch little fish" 😂 I took Monday off for my birthday and tried to go to one of my favorite lakes 1.5 hours west to fish some docks. What is normally a clear lake full of docks was a chocolate milk lake full of docks and floating trash. I opted not to pay the $30 to fish for the day and drove 45 more minutes north to a lake I hadn't fished in several years but I fished a ton as a kid. It's not a great bass lake but I caught a couple dozen smallmouth like this one. A couple decent largemouth. and the main reason I went, a whole bunch of these guys. Just gobs of 1-3 pound wipers up shallow. Lots of fun and a change of pace. Wednesday I jumped in with my buddy Jon for a local weeknight boat tournament. I was a terrific back seater, netting all of his fish for him and not catching any of my own. I did get the big disappointment of the night in the very back of a muddy, weedy cove. Thankfully it was a team tournament and Jon's 3 keepers were enough for 1st. FWIW, they were all caught on baits I made for him 🤷

Odds and ends plus a dozen Siebert brush jigs.

Fished a deep clear lake in central VA today. Fish were on beds. Caught several and snapped a really nice rod with a lifetime warranty.

To sell more baits...

Guys, it's gotten so out of control you have no idea. It's flat-out embarrassing at this point. The wall is full so now I have tubs/totes full of new tackle. I don't even know what I have anymore. It honestly causes me anxiety. 🤦‍♂️ I have been giving some stuff away to random kids I see fishing at the ramps or along the river in my town.

Lots of hopeless addicts in this thread including myself, but I always think hey you're not that bad off.......just look at @NorthernBasser 🤣 I have no doubt he has a better selection than some brick-and-mortar tackle stores.

Got some rod organizer from TW, It look small and light at first, But after having the rods in, It became sturdy and good looking for my G-loomise DC combos.

Where's the drum?

@AlabamaSpothunter: I don't know if any other BR anglers have fished the wilderness for smallmouth, Alex, but that's been the great thrill of my life. My criteria for wilderness is a little tighter than most: no cabins, no fly-ins, no other people, etc. Just you, the lakes, and the bass, walleye, pike, and muskies. It would be a long drive for you to reach the wilderness of northwestern Ontario from Alabama and likely a steep learning curve. My first few trips doled out considerable miseries, like swarms of black flies and mosquitoes. You can't set up camp at the pretty places, like under a canopy of cathedral pines. You pitch on exposed points aimed at the prevailing winds. Even then, with a canoe over your head, you'll be sucking bugs on portages, but when you enjoy 100-bass-per-angler days, you'll have earned them. Maine is a cozy facsimile of the wilderness. It's all this old woman can manage. I could still sleep on rock, no problem, and fall asleep to wolf song with a smile on my face, but the physical demands of reaching the wilderness surpass me now. But not you, Alex. Not you.

😮

Future footage of @NorthernBasser putting away some tackle he recently purchased only to never use and forget about a few years from now:

Katie, I think I sent you a Heddon Super Spook Jr. and a PopMax. The Junior is a GUARANTEED producer, but the fish tend to be smaller. The PopMax is my #1 topwater producer of larger fish. Focus on those two lures and you will catch some bass.

c. 70s Vince Cummings Water Witch glass and c. 30s Pflueger Medalist. the fly?....doh......cat's whisker

That muskie was probably hanging around for the walleye spawn fattening herself on the abuntant small male walleye hangin in the shallows. For the 2 years I have been fishin at this dam nobody i have met there fishes for or has caught a muskie, some small pike thats it. It would be so kool in seeing what is actually lurking in the lisbon dam.

@NorthernBasser, I believe we need a close up of that wall behind your boat

Just a quick one on the buzzbait before work but it was on a buzzbait before work 😍😍😍🎣🎣🎣

3 packs of flukes in various white colors 1 pack 3.5 dolive beaver 1 pack 1/16 brass bullet weight 1 pack 1/32 bullet weight 1 pack 1/64 bullet weight seems like finesse and power fishing all in one package, lately I have been a sucker for white baits. Although I did resist buying a couple different vision 110 in a color that I don’t have including a matte white stain reaction, gill colors. It was very hard but I have way too many jerkbaits as it is.

Went down to the new reservoir to squeeze in a hour or so of fishing today. Cloudy conditions, high of 79 and winds from the west at 6 mph. Caught a half dozen dinks on the floating worm. Most were the same size as the fish in the photo below. Made my way over to the dam and switched to a zoom fluke on an underspin. Got two bites but only hooked up with one but it was the best fish of the day.

** My family is safe, no property damage ** A week ago weather started building here in Eastern Nebraska...by 3 PM we were sending people home. My boss asked if I was headed out...I stayed at work, did not want to race the storm...so I watched video feeds from my computer...Wow! Watched on TV as the twister move through town and right towards my little village north of Metro Omaha. When the brunt of the storm was over my house, I thought, "well, it is time to head home and see what is left..." I fully expected damage. Thankfully the tornado that was headed right for our village took a turn...missed us by about a mile, then turned back north. Others were no so fortunate. Daughter's former club basketball coach left his dog on the couch and went to pick up his wife...when they returned, the house was almost completely gone...they did find the 14 year old dog in a window well, safe, although a little scared. My niece's home sustained some roof damage, and lost fence and patio furniture. The hay bales were on the other side of the street prior to the storm(!) Just a block away from her house...carnage! She was very lucky. It was great to see families, churches, businesses, etc., bringing water, food and supplies to those impacted by the tornado. And helping with cleanup. Godspeed to all those impacted by this weather event. Good reminder...when the tornado sirens sound...head for shelter. Thankfully no lives were lost during this storm.

This morning when taking the grand dog out to do his business I caught this little guy having a grand ole time in the pool spillover. This little hummingbird was just chirping away as he splashed around in the water, rise up for a second and then head back down to flowing water to splash around some more.

@T-Billy Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass! When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

@NorthernBasser you want to get rid of some stuff, my brother runs a non-profit http://www.letsfishomaha.com/, takes donations.

That’s the tackle shed.

Beautiful day! A few pickerel, a perch, a gorgeous little pumpkinseed and this guy coming in a bit over two and a half pounds. Spinnerbait still the move!

Doing my best to make @Team9nine proud this morning. 15" on the nose. Caught it on my flippin rig pitching laydowns. My best crappie in several years.

We have a local hardware store that sells lots of really cool tackle in Greensboro NC called McKnight Hardware and I love when the wife wants to get gardening supplies in the spring. Poorly photographed but I got some: Zoom 6" Lizards in Rootbeer Green flake Zoom Salty Tubes 3.5" in GP Candy Zoom Double Ringer in Watermelon Red Zoom Centipede in Chartreuse Pepper Zoom Mag 2 in Scuppernong Zoom Horny Toad in GP/White Belly Strike King Rage Craw in Moon Juice Gene Larew Salt Craw in Black n Blue Norman Speed N Crankbait in Holy Shad Rapala Maverick in Green Shad The monkey is happy with me. Got a special order from Mike Siebert on the way too and I'm pumped for that to arrive this week 😎👍🏼

Had a few empty rods that needed some reels.

Despite getting onto Lake Menderchuck early this morning, it took me a while to find active fish. Air temps in the low 40's and water temps in the high 40's are usually pretty prime conditions for early season action. But some very heavy rain yesterday & overnight had muddied up a couple of my favorite go to areas. So much so that after several hours of trying to make it happen there I only had one bass to show for it. Nice fish at just under 5 lbs, but I was looking for something next level. So I relocated and shifted gears. Decided to fish more main lake stuff and leave the dirty water coves & shallow bays to clear up a bit. Ended the day with a 21.5 lb bag with only 4 bass. Tried just about everything I could think of to come up with one more fatty. But it was not meant to be. Still had a awesome day on the water, all be it a bit on the nippy side. Looking forward to the next one. Fish Hard A-Jay

I’m sure there are many who will disagree with me here, but I am going to go out on a limb and say they are not close. In the zoom line, at least. Beyond the flake color, the shade of red is different. Plum is more of a red-purple while red bug is closer to actual red. Red bug is a little brighter, too

What a nice man. Btw, I have never caught a bass on a brand new corvette. Just saying. A-Jay

I've caught a lot of bass with that PopMax, Kent. Just not in 2024...yet. In 2023, I spent some evenings and mornings fishing nothing but the PopMax. Great lure. And the Spook Jr. is in my lineup for 2024. I enjoyed your video, Mr. 46. The number of your fishing pals says a lot about you.

Man that’s good info

Alex, there's a couple miles of swamp beyond that bass. There's a river that winds through the swamp and that river leads to another pond. I've yet to paddle that river, but someday. Like you, I feel the pull of the unknown. For Canoe & Kayak magazine and a couple other mags, I interviewed a guy who'd paddled a canoe from Washington to Alaska. He then portaged over the Chilkoot Pass, down the Yukon, portaged across tundra, and paddled down the Bering Sea. He nearly died many times, but he still said that he'd be driving over a bridge, look down a river, and want to launch, to see what was around the bend. You feel that same pull, my friend. Currents of the unknown tug at you too.

Thanks fishlegs, after i caught her I had to stop fishing for a bit and take a stroll down the river to collect my thoughts and thanked the man upstairs and the fishing gods for watching over me.

Happy Birthday @Bluebasser86! That's a ton of action for the birthday, can't ask for more than that 🙂 @throttleplate if you weren't on land I'd hit you with the famous "you're gonna need a bigger boat" line 😎 It's my belief that dams hold many of the biggest fish in any said body of water. I was diving once below xyz dam.......🤣

^This^ I'll add, you want to fish fairly vertical. No bomb casts, you want to keep your line angle between 45 degrees and vertical. Your bait will come through much cleaner than if you make longer casts.

The type of ‘weed’ matters a lot And there are a lot of great grass lures. I mean a bunch. This is like asking people what their favorite color is. You’re going to hear 10 different colors.

From Gary’s Facebook post “It's been a heck of a day for me and I'd like to make a few comments here on things. First of all it was a tough decision to sell the company. It's bittersweet to say the least. I know the GSM Outdoors guys very well and I trust them. One of my main concerns was my team here in Sulphur Springs. I wanted this group taken care of as they are all friends of mine. I never refer to them as employees because it doesn't sound right and they're far more than this to me. All of our team stays in place, money stays, retirement stays, and medical gets better as GSM has a larger group to draw from. The second concern was my pro-staff. We wouldn't be anywhere without our staff. They promote like crazy, open dealers, and are truly a TEAM, and always are looking to help!! My staff stays the same and in-fact will be asked to help promote other GSM Outdoor brands if they choose to. Since day one of the company, we've supported our military with discounts both active and past, and this continues as well. So, in short, all of my Sulphur Springs TX team remain, all my pro-staff remain, we continue to support our military, our #1 goal remains customer service and quality of product. We still answer our phones when you call. I'm not going anyplace either, I'm still here in Sulphur Springs. I'm making new rods for our line ups, even today I started on two new ones to fill a gap. When I asked my friend and CEO of GSM, what are my parameters and what can I do? The answer was pretty simple, he said "you do what you always do". Guys, give us a chance to prove ourselves once again. THX!!!!I “

Getting ready to slow my troll.

The way he's going, he's gonna have to put an addition on it.

Learn a new technique, and work on bite detection and hook setting with various lures.

Lots of willing biters is a good time to work on a technique you aren’t confident in. Build some confidence on easy fish and it will translate.

Rip spinnerbaits through them Wacky rig - let the worm flutter down into them Jig worm brushed across the top of the weeds. Just a few ideas.

Four new MadKatz 7'6" Poison Ivy med/hvy bait dragging rods.