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Same basic weather pattern as yesterday - maybe a bit more hazy and a little cooler. Very light NE breeze. Changed lakes to a bit more stained reservoir. Caught about the same - 9 keeper bass - but overall quality went up. Ned and jig for everything today.

Some days just kick your butt. Yesterday I could only grab about 45 minutes of fishing time at the pond before work, but spent half that time picking cottonwood fluff off my line and out of my reel. Managed one largie. Then this morning I spent about 2 hours wading the Chippewa. It was a beautiful morning with the mist rising off the river. Saw a bi-coloured squirrel in the parking lot, a turtle on the bottom of the river, innumerable birds of all sorts, but only one fish. Caught him on a T-rigged EFH wyrm. Had another one hit the whopper plopper, but I totally whiffed on the hook set. That's all the action I saw.

Wife and I camped again on a small 19 acre lake that was beyond clear, 20 ft visibility. Bluebird skies so every fish was caught early on Jackall flickShake GPC.

Great morning of fishing. Out of my 3 seasons so far, this has to be a top 5 day. Caught 4-5 bass. The fifth one I got to the kayak but lost him when I went for the net. Not really counting that fish so 4 fish this morning. As iv mentioned though, this season I'm really dedicating myself to improving. I always had luck. Good days, bad days. But I could catch a few pretty regularly. But it felt accidental if that makes sense. Well today I threw nothing but a t-rigged creature bait. Believe it was a strike king rodent? I'm not sure on that. But I had some minor success Monday with it. So I kept that going. Safe to say I went from not a lot of confidence to fully confident with that technique. Every got a brand new spinning combo last night (like I said, I'm dedicated to improving). Besides throwing a bait I could literally count with my fingers all the times iv thrown it before, and having great success. I also just knew where to find them. The pattern from Monday continued today. Plus iv been paying alot more attention so swirls and what not. Caught 2 by seeing movement and targeting that area. I must say though, I'm terrible casting with spinning gear. Holy cow I need to work on that. Here's the 2 better fish from today... After getting 2 fairly quickly, I really wanted 5. Got to 4 and decided to stay a little longer even though I was feeling pretty done. Got that 5th to the boat and lost it... little bummed about that. But I was also only out for 4 hours. And had a few other fish I lost. Keep improving and today could of easily been a 7-8 fish morning. Just glad to have things come together rather than just catching them randomly. Today was the first day since I started fishing where I truly felt like I had a purpose and knew what I was doing. Very happy with the morning and broke the new combo in the right way.

I took my 4 legged partner out this morning for a few hours. She did not like the family of feathered carp that swam by. Caught 12 largemouth, nothing real big. I got a new clamp for my cell phone that attaches to my windshield and tried a photo with it today. Seems to work pretty decent. I don't do selfies. If I catch a muskie by myself this season, then it'll be put to the ultimate test.

If one thing has remained relatively consistent, it’s that spinnerbaits, jigs and I go together like oil and water. Neither has ever done anything other than one bass here and there, if that. But jigs are starting to change for me. I started off with a squarebill and that bite was dead. I switched to a Texas rig with a green pumpkin Speed Senko and so was that. I later switched to a weightless TR with a Neko Macho and caught three bass and missed one. Two were on a #956 and one on a blue with black flake. As heavy as Neko Machos are, maybe it’s a semi-weightless. That bite petered off. I had a blue/black jig with a green pumpkin Rage Bug trailer and figured I’d give it a shot. 45 minutes later I boated 5 bass and missed two (one was pretty good but it was not hooked well and it threw the hook). This was a Nichols Mango jig, which uses a toothpick through a hole to hold the trailer on. I did not have any toothpicks with me and went through that Bug, a Rage Craw and a Rage Menace as trailers quickly lol. I got bites hopping it, swimming it, dragging it over wood and pulling it off the bank. For 45 minutes, that jig was gold! I caught one more on a weightless Speed Senko TR and called it a day. One bass, the tail was gone and I was left with, well, a Senko. @JayMac89 Nice bass! The more you fish, the better angler you become. Keep at it! And yeah, while I can skip much easier with a spinning rig, overall I’d say it’s easier to be more accurate with a baitcaster. It takes practice!

Thursday was Mrs. 12poundbass’s birthday. Our son had a baseball game Thursday so last night was her night to do what she wanted. She wanted to go fishing, but skunked. I only caught three fish and all three were pike. Thankfully, the @Siebert Outdoors Fogy survived all three attacks.

A couple more toothy slimers bellied up to the bar for T-Billy's all you can eat crappie breakfast this morning. First was a nice thick 40.5", second was an anorexic 46.5" old timer. The poor thing was so skinny I felt kinda bad for catching it. A bit later I moved to a big flat and pulled this 37" off the weed edge with a crappie colored double 8 spinner. It was an awesome bite. It came in hot and chased around the 8 three full laps then finally smashed it on an outside turn right at the surface. A fired up muskie on a foot of line sure is a hoot!!! The smallest fish was the highlight today. Felt good to get one on an artificial. It's been awhile.

I spent my final evening on a pal's pond. Next week, it's back to lugging my canoe over fields and through woods, but not having to do this let me fish four times this week instead of two. This pond saved the best for last, as I caught nine bass in the three and a third pounds to more than three and a half pounds. The pencil reeds have grown higher and thicker and it's verrrry difficult to bring a bass out of them. To take a break from failure, I dragged a Rapala Crush City The Mayor on the bottom in deeper water and landed some thick fish. It's amazing what a little weed-free water will do for my success rate. Below, the first two bass are well-shaped, but smaller. Look at the fins of the first bass. That's a nest maker, the first one I've seen. Then there's a pretty shoreline pic. Then two well-shaped smallmouth. Then another pretty pic. And then the parade of slabs. Some of them are so round, thick, and beautiful, but a few are simply long. Then a reflection photo for @IcatchDinks. And finally, a pic of a pickerel. The pickerel grow as thick as nice pike in this pond and I wanted to share their girth with the BR gang. Note how calm the water is. After a week of fighting wind, a calm day meant more fishing and less paddling in my three hour session. I caught 37 total.

I managed 8 this morning. No big ones, but on really small ones either. First and last are pictured. Many of the fish are really skinny post spawn. I was going to fish longer but my "gut" said no. After my 4th trip to find a restroom I decided to call it a day. I've pretty much been "sitting" since I got home. Hopefully I'll be able to fish tomorrow without all the pit stops. The last few nights have been fairly cool for this time of the year. The water is 3 degrees cooler than it was Monday. (78 degrees)

A Creme Scoundrel that had been sitting in my small plastic tackle box for at least a few years. . . . waiting. . . . patiently for that fateful day. It was a 6" grape, pre-rigged with the propellers front and rear. How it came to pass. . . . I regularly fished a local suburban golf course pond, mostly for bluegill and occasionally a catfish. There was a small pocket in the reeds on the shoreline about 6 feet wide, and maybe three feet deep. I (and occasionally someone else would be there too) would fish with worms I dug up, or biscuit dough and catch bluegill. One day, a kid a few years younger than me was sitting on the bank next to me and a solid three pound bass exploded on his worm. His tiny rod was doubled over to the reel seat and the water was splashing all over the place. He finally hollered (screamed?) quite loudly and hoisted it onto the bank and then pounced on top of it like a pit bull on a poodle. I had never seen a bass in person before, but had checked out several books from the library to read tales about anglers that caught them in faraway places. They had intrigued me unlike catching any other type of fish. I saved up my allowance and splurged to purchase the pre-rigged Scoundrel from the local store and kept it in my tackle box, waiting for a day when I felt like I had a chance to catch a fish like that kid had caught that one foggy morning. A few years later, I was at the same golf course pond, and there was another opening in the reeds that was about ten feet wide and was open all the way out to the main part of the pond. As I walked by that opening, I saw a bass that dwarfed the three pounder that the kid had caught years earlier. I'm gonna say 6-8 lbs. I ran back to where my tackle box was sitting (by that same pocket the kid caught the original bass from) and nervously eyed the pre-rigged Creme Scoundrel, in the packaging that was old enough to have started to deteriorate. My hands were shaking as I tied it on, and then headed back to the cut only to find the fish was not there. My heart sank, and I had tied on the worm I had been saving for so long, and it was now out of the package. Finally I thought, "what the heck" and tossed the worm into the water about ten feet from the bank and just let it sit there for several seconds. The monster bass suddenly appeared and swam over directly behind the pre-rigged grape Scoundrel and just stared at it for several seconds. I was paralyzed and didn't know what to do, so I just stayed motionless. Next thing I knew, I noticed the gills of the big bass were moving back and forth, her mouth slightly open. Then, the worm began to vibrate for what seemed like an eternity, and finally, even the little propeller began to spin. In the blink of an eye, the worm disappeared. I reared back and set the hook and the fight was on. The water was splashing like mad since it was only a foot or so deep. After no more than half a minute, the line gave way and it was over as suddenly as it had started. I was gutted that I hadn't landed the behemoth golf course pond bass, but the adrenaline rush from watching what had just taken place (I can honestly say) changed my life.

Just another susky beauty

Past few years I've been keeping track of my top 5 Brown Bass. Info in the last couple of threads can be found here https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/258133-top-5-brown-bass-of-2023/ This season has been most decent so far and has enabled me to already surpass at least the last two entire season's totals. I'll need to go back into the archives to see just where 2024 sits when it's over. Currently we're sitting at 31.23 lbs for 5 fish. 7.05, 6.48, 6.26, 5.86, & 5.58 and most all of that happened on Lake Menderchuck over a 2 week period in April. Trip details are posted in the Reports Thread. There's Plenty of fishing left to be done so we'll see how it all shakes out. Very exciting. Fish Hard A-Jay

This might be an unpopular opinion, but posts like this one and countless others really make me want to debarb all my hooks and lures. Its bad enough to get hooked, but then dealing with the barb, trying to get it out, causing even more damage and pain. That scares me. I really dont understand why more companies (if any) dont offer barbless hooks as an option, it takes so long to do it yourself, and then again and again with each new order of tackle.... I know ill get some negativity from the "but youll lose bass" crowd, but think of all the injuries that wouldve been minimal and less stressful just from not having barbs, plus all the bass that wouldnt have died from being gut hooked. Sorry for this joke, but i guess the tilapia can now say it caught a new PB.

Speaking for all our members... Please don' t "throttle back". I look forward to reading about your journeys every day.

A little time on the lake yesterday… caught a few.

The Full Grown Pike have been abundant this season ~ This one was really thick and just plain mean. A-Jay

Finally got back to fishing Wednesday and Thursday this week and did fairly well for not fishing Lake Lanier since January. 14 Alabamas and 1 LM with the largest Alabama on a walking bait @ 2.87lbs. Fished 4-5 hours per day and back home for my infusion before noon.

Only crappie caught on today's trip, but at 15" and 1-3/4 lb it's my new PB crappie

Utter & Complete non-sense. That's what this site is all about. Bass, Bass & More Bass - I say post all day, every day. Whatever makes you happy. Views, reactions & replies - whatever. In the words of the late great Ricky Nelson, "See you can't please everyone. So you got to please yourself. " A-Jay

I always have lip grippers with me just in case lipping the fish looks dubious. One of the best purchases I’ve made. Just makes the catch and release process much smoother.

Had to rescue my brother one day. We were bank fishing a local river and I discovered him holding a smallie to his cheek. And after he healed I was remorseless.

Fashion police is on summer vacation but I am detecting the formation of a hole in the right knee of those jeans.

Good Luck ~ Hope you have everything you need to take home the Big Bass prize. Sorry, I had to do it. A-Jay

Would these 5 rods cover almost everything except big swimbaits which I don’t even own and super tinny finesse? If not what am I missing? 7’4 heavy fast with 50lb braid: for frogs big jigs, punching 7’3 medium heavy fast with 40lb braid to a leader: for fishing jigs, t-rigs and other stuff around grass. 7’0 medium heavy with 15 or 17lb fluoro: for jigs and t-rigs in open water and spinnerbaits and chatterbaits 7’0 medium regular with 12lb fluoro: crankbaits, jerkbaits 7’0 medium fast spinning rod with 10lb braid to a leader: finesse stuff and light treble hook top water, just take the leader off Let me know if I’m way off on anything or my line choices are bad

@gimruis My Border Collie loves the boat but can only take him when the wife and I are just cruising the lake. Fishing with him is a nightmare especially top water......he dives in after it. 😔

Congrats on breaking 30lbs. Well you are putting a whooping on me so far. I had a 6-11, 5-5, 5-5, 5-4 & 5-1 for my spring trip totaling 27.62 lbs for five fish. But I do have a fall trip in October planned for Erie so I should be able to improve if my timing is better.

I don't remember many specific fish, but when I got back into fishing last year, I remember one day I was fishing a Texas rigged lizard and caught several in short succession at a local pond. It was the first time I was successful with soft plastics. I had caught 1 fish on a plastic worm previously, but I rarely used them and never could get them to work right. I always used crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwater. After that day, I always have 1 rod rigged with a Texas rig of some variety, and usually a Lizard. I've tried all sorts of soft plastics, hooks, weights, and retrieves. The Texas rig is now probably my confidence bait, and I have often fished with nothing else on days I want to just go light and simple. 1 rod, a bag of plastics, a small bag of extra hooks and weights. One of the specific fish I remember though is this guy. I had been fishing at the local heavily pressured city lake, and it started to rain and I decided to leave. My wife and my friend that was with me and I all left and went up the road to a gas station. While getting some fuel I decided to go back - I wasn't done. We got back in and went back and I started fishing in the rain with a buzzbait. A strike and a miss prompted me to add a trailer hook. I fished around the edge a bit, and wham, right in the spot that everyone always hits as they enter and leave the lake... this nice one hit my buzzbait. It started stripping line off and I played her. I got her to shore, and set down on the ledge and reached down to get her. My scale wasn't working and I estimated her to weigh 5 pounds, which was the same as my tackle box at the time. I often doubt and think it was 4 pounds... but nevertheless, myself and my friends call that spot 5 Pound Corner. What it taught me is... don't quit fishing when your gut says to keep at it. And that even though the lake is heavily pressured, there is ways to coax old Iron Jaws into biting. It started a passion for me to figure out how to get bit under the worst of pressured conditions. That particular fish, I think bit because it had been raining, and the fish probably have learned that most of the pressure stops during the rain. Also, it likely wouldn't have hit a whopper plopper as that's a popular lure that everyone uses here. Not many use a buzzbait anymore. So a lure that likely is more obscure, coupled with conditions that the fish might consider to be less likely for anglers to be out produced my PB. Next, was this guy. 3lb 14oz (with my scale being .75 of ounce off, so more close to 3lb 15oz). I think this one was physically bigger than the above fish, though they were very close. But what set this fish apart was not just it's size... but also the conditions in which it was caught. My buddies and I met at the local reservoir, and we all fished in line for a while and didn't get anything. One of them started to leave, and they were all flapping their jaws... I continued to fish, and after the lures stopped flying, this monster decided it was safe to bite my 4" Fat Albert Grub. One of the things that may contribute is that my buddies (and everyone else) all fish ned rigs... I rarely do (I do want to learn ned rigs), instead, I fish Zoom Fat Albert Grubs, rigged with a 1/0 hook (in this case it was an Ozark Trails brand), and a 1/16 ounce Eagle Claw bullet weight. The result is, I often get bit with what is slightly less common of a lure, and my confidence with this rig is as high as it gets, you can see why. One of the things that it taught me is after things settle down and folks stop fishing... don't stop, keep fishing.

If it's got treble hooks it gets the fish grippers and pliers, always, no exceptions. Too many posts and youtube videos on how to get out of it than it's worth to save a few seconds.

A very similar thing happened to me this week although I fared a lot better. I had a pickerel next to the yak and it leaped almost into the yak. My hand blocked it and it superficially sunk the hook (skin hooked). Still not fun. Later a pickerel through the lure and it came back at me. Got me in the PFD.... Return To Sender...

Was able to crop them out of 3 of the pics, but if you’ll look closer, you’ll see the fringes from another hole in the left knee, also. I’m a big fan of symmetry 😉

Hard to beat a boat side muskie. It’s very difficult to maintain composure in those situations. Most people lift the lure out of the water and stare at the fish in amazement. I know I did a few times when I started muskie fishing. If you make the figure 8 every time it just becomes routine and then you’ll be better prepared for the moment of truth. Our season legally opens here tomorrow.

Nice trip ”I’ve posted too many bass” oh go cry me a river! 😂 nice problem to have

One night I could not catch a bass on a buzzbait, although I was getting hits regularly . I took some needle nose pliers and bent the wire frame in a stair step fashion "Cavitron style" and started hooking up . The bait was riding slightly deeper. I now do that to all my buzzbaits since I pour my own . I believe I get a higher percentage of hookups. I made a jig to bend the wires to keep them straight. Its just two nails in a 2x4.

Yamamoto loves this one simple trick!

I have a 1648 Grizzly (tiller steer) and it is night and day beefier than the 14' Valco it replaced. The hull weighs around 650 lbs, and seems plenty sturdy for me. I definitely appreciate it when it comes time to put it in hilly and get back where others dare not to go. I carry two. . . a short one and a longer one.

In the past two years, I've been hooked three times, twice in the thigh and once in the fingertip. The fingertip was the worst because you're down to one hand and it's loaded with nerve endings. I didn't want to punch it through, but I was alone in a bog and had no choice.

What brand hooks? Kidding. That’s really rough. Glad you are ok . I do not wish that on anyone.

10 lb FC on a spinning reel will most likely be problematic. 10 lb braid will not. 😎 A-Jay

If you plan on fishing after tomorrow why not just get one instead of rolling the dice?

I'm in VA, your good until midnight then you'll get locked up, tarred and feathered.

Excellent thread @ol'crickety! Reminds me of this quote / story: "Vonnegut turned to Heller and asked, “How does it make you feel that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel, Catch-22, earned in its entire history?” Heller replied, “Yeah, but I have something he doesn't have. I have enough.”

Got new TranX 401, Put the power handle on. Going to get a 9' kaos tackle assault stick telescopic to pair with. anyone have that rod? It is famous musky rod and I want to have it because it will be 7'5" and can put it in RV with other rods and I am going to use it for mega size glides, Any taught?

I'm tempted to mark this as the solution to the entire thread.

Got out today after work with the bfs setup, nothing big but the pike was interesting on 4Lb test mono. Sorry for the bad photo of the pike but I wanted my lure back and he snapped the line once he got to the bank. All on the 1/8 square bill.

My attempts with fc on a spinning reel never turned out too good. Braid to mono leader has never given me any grief at all. I hope you have much better luck with it than me.

Are you a masochist? If not, then stick with braid to leader. 10lb Seaguar Blue label works well.

Took my buddy and our kids out on a panfish mission and boy did we crush them. The stringer pic doesn't do the size justice. Several were 12 ounces or bigger and bigger than our hands. Caught 30ish sunnies and 10ish small bass. Most fun I've had fishing in quite some time. The kids ate it up and the fish tacos we turned them into were one of the best things I've ever made even without proper shells.

RIP my rod

Current is one of the most misunderstood factors in bass fishing. Our small deep structured lakes can have current without water flowing in or out! Wind pushes water and moving water is current, it’s not as visible as river current, it’s still current. Current is a negative to bass seeking spawning areas, it disturbs the egg hatching. Current is a positive to for feeding as it positions and activates prey and the bass hunting it. Tidal current is the most complex to master as it constantly changing directions. Ideally you want your lure coming to the forward facing bass not creeping up from behind. If you don’t recognize current it’s a crap shoot where to position your boat and where to cast your lures. Tom