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I came across this photo on the web recently. It was suppose to have been taken in 1923. It brought back so many memories for me, I thought about posting it here. This is the way I started bass fishing. Back then, bass fishing was a poor man's sport. We weren't fishing for our dinner, but we fished without many things we take for granted today. Most bass boats were small back then. A 25 hp motor was huge. There were no pedestal seats, you sat on planks. Trolling motors did not exist, so we took turns at the paddle. Reels were like fishing with a boat winch with the handles turning on every cast. Lures were heavy chunks of wood or spoons made of metal. Lines were thick and black. Despite all this, some things were similar to today. A few people caught more bass than others. There were more fish back then and they were bigger. Boat ramps were dirt and never crowded like today. Like today, bass fishermen were an enthusiastic bunch. We bragged about our catch and competition among anglers was high. No one painted their name or sponsors on their boat. We knew who the real fishermen were. You will notice that there are no other boats in this photo. That's the way it was. Enjoy!

Got out @ odark 30 this morning and threw a walking bait @ a point and caught a good, 15-16" Alabama. Caught another around a marker pole with a worm. Went to a few points and caught several good ones and a few dinks. Went to some deep brush piles and marked fish; dropped a worm and caught several more also with a fluke on a jighead. Saw some boiling out of casting range so I ran to them too late. Had the best morning in a while. No LM.

Yeah I did 🤔 Drove 1 1/2 hours to the marsh, launched the boat, parked the truck, walked back to the boat. When I got in the boat, I realized I had left my rods at home!

Some of us still fish that way 😂

6 hours??? I prefer 14

Do you have too much money? Are you too healthy? Does your favorite football team win too much? You can’t fish too much!

Eighty years ago today. I am so much in awe of the men and women of the greatest generation and their sacrifices. My dad and uncle both fought in WW2 and rarely talked about it. A look back at D-Day: Why the World War II invasion remains important on its 80th anniversary (msn.com)

No - but I often leave the lake with the fish fully uncaught regardless of what I arrived at the lake rigged with 😂😂😂

My dad, who let me tag along with my brothers @AlabamaSpothunter, for his wisdom and encouragement @PhishLI, for the same @Glenn, for his videos, which have taught me so much about lmbing. As you all know, I fished brown bass for nearly 50 years. Green bass live in green weeds and getting them to bite and then getting them out of the weeds has been such a steep learning curve, but Glenn's videos sure help.

I didn't really have anyone to specifically teach me or help me learn how to bass fish. I pretty much did that on my own. I'll go with a few pros/TV faces that have influenced me though, in no particular order. KVD - the GOAT James Lindner Bill Dance Roland Martin @WRB lived the golden age of largemouth fishing and has offered his wisdom, experience, and knowledge regularly here. @Dwight Hottle and @A-Jay are the smallmouth masters that have helped me up my brown bass game, especially on big water.

I fish live shad a lot It certainly happens occasionally, so that makes it a fact. But it most certainly doesn’t happen every single time. Bass don’t follow human rules walleye and stripers do it somewhat regularly on a night time shad spawn. Old timers will tell you to set the hook when you hear the second splash

Because fluorocarbon sucks and braid to leader also mostly sucks. Monofilament is cheap and catches the snot out of fish and is less likely to snap when I'm fighting a giant. Maybe @TOXIC has other reasons but these are MY reasons! 😁

I had one of the best fishing sessions of my life this morning, but I want to begin by thanking @Glenn for suggesting green pumpkin EVERYTHING in one of his videos. I'm a match the hatcher, so I use shad-colored Crush City The Mayors, but after hearing Glenn say that green pumpkin works in all soft plastic, I bought some Mayors in green pumpkin and lawdy, lawdy, did they love them. I went through the entire package. I also want to thank @T-Billy for encouraging me to join the Straight Braid Brigade. I was in a couple situations this morning where braid saved the day. And I want to thank @Pat Brown and Tim again for coaching me to keep their heads up in reeds. Lastly, I want to thank @PhishLI for instilling in me a belief that there are bigger bass in my pond that I'd been catching. That kept me hopeful and searching. Well, today, I found them. I caught 56 total, starting at 4:30 a.m. and quitting at 8:15 a.m. I have dozens of bass photos and I'll share them later today and amend this report, but i want to share three of them now as a trailer of sorts. I keep finding new places to cast due to the pond having bog on three borders with many canals and inlets. One canal had reeds at the entrance. Reeds are my mortal enemy. Bass go in and don't come out. The canal was only about 15 yards deep and maybe four yards wide. It was lined with woody bushes. Here's the inlet/canal: The bass below hit my green pumpkin on an Owner underspin and immediately ran past me to the reeds. Again and again, she tried to enter the reed field, but I kept her head up so she couldn't dig into water. There was a lot of thrashing and splashing and I netted her between reeds. She is special to me because she's proof that there are bigger bass in my pond. My pond is a Q & Q pond, both quantity and quality. Here she is and you can see the reeds she wanted to reach: The very next cast yielded this girl, who ran past my canoe in both directions, burning drag, and under the boat too.: The next cast yielded nothing, but the fourth cast produced this girl, who ran into the woody bushes twice, catching both times. She was bigger than she looks in the photo. Yeah, those three bass in four casts. I also caught two other bass in that little inlet and I caught many other fine bass, which I'll share later. I have to get my hair cut and visit a friend. NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY: I began the morning fishing like it was 2023, using a chrome Whopper Plopper. That's what they wanted. I caught 20 bass fishing a marshy shoreline and a rocky reef with enough grassy plants to attract bass. I was quite pleased with their size. Here are some of those fish, including a smallmouth: After I fished the inlet, I worked my way along more marshy shoreline. You know how exciting it is when you see a V as the bass beelines for your lure? Well, for the first time in my life, I had two bass Vs barreling toward my lure. I had that happen one other time with muskies. Here's that shoreline: And here are some of the bass I caught off of it. The third one down was long and plump: While poking around the swamp, I found this swamped boat. I wish I could claim it, but I'll look for its owner. Sorry about the water on the lens: A couple more bass on the way back and then three pics of my boardwalk and dock. The dock was built by the man whose house is at the entrance to my property. See the white rock in the second photo? He took an old stone wall apart and built that. It's quite stable and I love it: One last look at the pond! I am so pleased with the size of the bass in this pond, as well as their numbers. P. S. - I won't be fishing for the next nine days as I'll be traveling. Dang it!

Thought I would do a little rundown on what I used for the week we were on St Clair (05/17-05/25). Any rigging or other questions feel free to ask. Here’s a recap of what “I” used on St Clair to catch “My” fish. There were 5 other anglers in our party who also caught 50-60 fish a day using some of the same, and some different baits/colors. I am primarily a plastics fisherman so my catches reflect that. It was amazing to me how different groups of fish would bite different colors of the same bait in different locations. Every color I threw caught fish but not necessarily in the same locations. If I listed the color name/number once, I did not repeat it for every bait, I just used the number. 5 inch Senkos in 297(Green Pumpkin/Pepper), 305(Baby Bass), 306(Natural Shad), 901(Watermelon/White Laminate), 967(Goby), 968(Perch). Rigging was Texas Rigged weightless and Texas Rigged with a small screw in nose weight. 4.0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, 8lb mono, spinning rod. For pitching and dragging, a 1/4oz Gamakatsu football head jighead hook exposed, no skirt, 30lb braid, wide spool spinning rod. 4 inch Senkos in 297, 305, and 925(Green Pumpkin/Small Red). I rig my Ned rigs with this bait. I like the extra bulk of this Senko. Buckeye Lures Ned, 1/8th oz, 6lb mono, spinning rod. 5 inch Pro Senkos in 297, and 208(Watermelon With Large Black And Small Red). Rigged Texas style on a dropshot. #1 Gamakatsu EWG , 1/4 oz QuickDrop dropshot weight, spinning rod 8lb mono. 4 inch Paddle Tail Zako in 981 (Green Pumpkin/036 Laminate) rigged on a Buckeye Lures, The Shocker light wire jig head. Baitcaster, 10lb mono. 5 inch D-Shad in 297, 9006(Pro Blue) and 364 (Pearl White) rigged weightless on a 4.0 EWG Gamakatsu hook. Spinning rod, 6lb mono. 3 inch Shad Shape Worm in 297, 305, 306, 9004 (Smallmouth Magic), 967 and 968 all rigged on a dropshot, Texas style with a #1 Gamakatsu EWG hook and a 1/4 ounce Quick Drop dropshot weight. 3.5 inch Yamatanuki in 297 and 363(Green Pumpkin/Blue) rigged weightless on a 3.0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Other baits I threw were a combination of Bill Lewis and SPRO crankbaits in various sizes and colors. Those were all thrown on a baitcaster with 12lb mono. Plastics ruled the day most of the time. I did throw 3/8 oz SteelShad blade baits for a limit of walleye. I vertical jigged them in 35 foot of water in the St Clair river with a spinning rod and 10lb mono. I have already posted up pics but wanted to follow up with specific baits.

Catching a 4lb smallmouth was a thing I will never forget, I hope you both get that experience this year This is that fish:

I’ve been buying those SVs used from Japan on eBay for about the same $$ for awhile.. that is a deal I would jump on if I needed more. Actually I could use another 7 speed.. here we go, the monkey is on my case.

There’s only one for me my grandfather. He didn’t even fish he would sit there for hours and hours while I fished. I miss that Man so much everyday.

Clunn, Nixon, KVD, and Doug Hannon. Honorable mention to Ned Kedhe. I wouldn't include Scott because I'm thinking in terms of the fishermen and not the industry. Its also a who influenced my fishing, so while I think think Ned Kedhe should be in everyone's top ten, he doesn't hit my top 4 because I don't fish that style (enough). As a scientist, I can relate to Doug hannon. Bass fishing was all mystique and luck. And then he put biology behind it which totally hits my science heart. I was also pre-teen to teen when we were watching him on TV so right in that formative era. KVD might be the GOAT, but if he is, Clunn was the GOAT before him. Patterning, seasonality, etc. And Nixon's run in the late 80's and early 90's was unstopable. Megabucks was one of my favorite tournaments of the year and he was dominant there.

My Dad Buck Perry Bill Murphy Jerry Mckinnis Al Linder Mr Kevin Van Dam Mark Zona and Honorable mention goes to Big Fish Jeff. A-Jay (I may need a bigger mountain)

KVD Ray Scott Bill Dance- the show I watched the most when I was younger. Mark Zona- He's probably had the most influence on me the last 10 years with all his videos many of which specializing on northern water tactics. Roland Martin and Linder came to mind for me as well.

Yes, I have seen the theory of relativity in Bass fishing. My catching is relative to the accuracy of my casting. Also E=MC² The energy (E) of my lure hitting the dock, tree or side of the boat equals the Mess (M) of the birds nest compounded (C) twice as bad (²). Fishingmickey

Keith Eastridge (my grandfather) Albert LaFoy (my buddies grandfather) Phillip LaFoy (my buddies dad) VY LaFoy (my buddies great uncle)

Bass also hit a lure to determine if it is food and learn very very fast to recognize items that are not food and don't need to be hooked and caught to do this. Bass hit a lure out of curiosity a lot and many bass learn to temper their aggressive nature with some hard earned caution. Welcome to fishing pressure (that sometimes WE put on our own fish!) Try a senko when they swat the frog! For what it's worth I HAVE definitely had bass swat it and I keep the bait moving and then they fully commit or engulf it (OR what may be happening is a school is engaged and one fish was more cautious and the next taker was less sheepish)

I saw this last season on shore while fishing a lake about 45 mins from my house. Not extinct.

I had a brother, may he RIP, that was born developmentally disabled with a severe behavior disorder. He almost killed me more than once. He was "that guy" with super re-tard strength. Love you Steve. I'm glad you didn't kill me. Here is my brother fishing with the legend himself Bill Dance. My brother has been gone 20 years, so the pic is from 25-30 years ago

I’d fish every second I wasn’t asleep if it was possible

I used to live on the Wisconsin River. Clear. Sandy. Good current. Its smallies were also lean...and strong. The bass I caught in Ontario, Lakes Superior and Michigan, and the Mississippi were footbally. They were strong, but not as strong as fish that fight the current all day. Nice catches, @bp_fowler! Good bellies on those bass.

Just got these in over the last little bit from the auction sites. Not like I needed more reels. LoL Really enjoying the SLX DC XT as much as my zillion SV’s that I needed another. Others are jdm slx mgl, ‘15 met dc and ‘17 scorpion dc.

I usually go unrigged because I quit the last time when I broke off

The entire "new" concept of Strolling came a lot from the "Moping" that James and his brother used to do to win the Rainy Lake tournaments decades ago. Their technique influenced many from that area including Gussy winning the Classic in 2023. FFS brought strolling to the forefront and it has many variations now, but James and Gang used to do this blindly without sonar. And with a lot of success..

Let's not forget the Battle of Midway also in June on the 4th to the 7th of 1942. I worked with a guy a long time age who was on one of the carriers as a radioman. They were all scared he said. Who could blame them. It's a heroic undertaking now that it's over, but then the outcome was up in the air.

I think lots of people use too heavy of gear with Ned rigs, what are you using? Too hard of hook set can also cause those small hooks to not get set well. Just a pull up and start reeling gets the best hook set. I use both Neds and tubes and rarely loose fish with either.

I bank fish probably about 350 days a year. I rarely fish less than two hours or more than three, but when the weather is really nice or the fish are biting good, I'll go five hours or so. Due to some injuries my back is saying, "Let's go home" after standing for a couple hours. If I can sit and rest my back somewhere for a while, then I can go a lot longer. I've fished with a lot of other regulars at the lake, and then one day they don't show up, and you never see them again. Get it while you can.

This is what the late Ron Lindner posted several years back. I’d change a couple of those faces. So many you could make an argument for, but I’d lean toward’s Ron’s original list of influential persons: Buck Perry Carl Lowrance Bill Binkelman - though he might have to be taken off if this is strictly a “bass” mountain - lol Al Lindner …and I’d have to debate with myself long and hard about not substituting Rick Clunn in there for one of those other names - perhaps Bill’s? I can also see the argument for Ray Scott, though my personal thoughts are that he caused as much long term damage to the sport that offsets the fact that he largely created/defined an entire industry (professional/competitive bass angling) and organization (B.A.S.S.) we still belong to, follow and uphold largely unchanged to this day.

Eagle claw makes a surprisingly good ned rig jighead imo, my hookup and land ratio is extremely high which I attribute (at least partially) to it's unique "V bend", a modified J hook bend. It has a great keeper as well as a great price, I'm surprised I've never seen it mentioned or recommended before.

That would be my strategy too. When they miss, follow up with something else. The chances of getting the same fish to bite is higher on a new presentation. Its very easy to just toss the same lure back there right away but it takes more mental will power to put that lure down, pick up another one, and cast that instead. I always do this when I get a muskie to follow but they don't strike. They are far more likely to strike a new presentation than the one they just followed in on.

Jeeze probably some of you all more than anyone. I learn bits and pieces of wisdom that lead to more fish in the boat nearly every week and it's hard to say who did what anymore. My dad put a rod and reel in my hands when I was able to walk and showed me how to clean and cook a fish when I was old enough to hold a knife and use the stove. He showed me a lot of things that are still part of the angler I basically am on a philosophical level at least. Since there's tons of guys out there educating the masses on bass fishing nuance - perhaps I'll pull my other two (okay 4! 2 wasn't enough 😂) from the side of bass fishing I find more important - fish behavior. I've learned a ton of very sneaky juice - mostly about fish behavior and seasonal movements etc from: The Nature of Fishing - Paul Roberts (thanks I can only remember so many names correctly! 😂) Bass after Dark Podcast - Ken Duke/BTC and many other anglers. Big Bass Dreams Podcast - Oliver Ngy and crew are always going way deep into the stuff that bait people don't discuss and it's very good. Tyler Berger - his new channel that is more about bass behavior and less about baits and such (although BassFishingHQ is/has been helpful also) These folks seem to really want to get at the meat of how we catch fish and why we catch fish and are more generous with the truth of it all than the usual 'why you should throw a frog in the spring time 😎' videos - which basically teach people nothing about anything for the most part - except that it's cool to have 5-6 frogs instead of one frog (which is what they're expected to teach by their sponsors)

@lastmanstanding, what you have from limited photo appears to be an excellent condition example of the 75th Anniversary Commemorative Ambasssadeur Pro Max. It you compare to Sold ebay listings, mint boxed examples of Pro Max stand out and bring about $175. The mean for used reels is about $50 - the Tournament embossed fishing scene adds $10 to $20 to overall value. A note about myself, there was a time when I set the market on antique fly reels, and people still trust me to clean and restore their valuable antiques. I'm also breaking a personal rule by posting a $ value. Your reel is different from Ambassadeur CDL versions with gold-plated trim and sold in a wooden box w/ gold-plated tools. These reels were made for collectors, and mint reels bring collector prices. Note there was an EX-condition T5600C like yours sold in '05 on Stripers On Line for $100 shipped. There's a dearth of internet buzz from Ambassadeur collectors about the reel. You do find people talking about Silver Max, Black Max, and Pro Max, but Morrum rises above as the reel people want to fish. Of course, the biggest Ambassadeur audience for selling your reel is ebay. Old Reel Collector's Association bulletin board is a more focused audience, with at least a few there who might be intereted - you'll find them a pragmatic and possibly frugal lot, but a good source for elusive history. Compare prices to Sold listings. @lastmanstanding Why do people list inflated asking prices? - (1) Lack of Knowledge combined with Avarice. (2) Fishing for a sucker. (3) Mint boxed reels may bring somewhat higher prices in Japan collector's market, but anything less won't. Your questions have been generously fielded by the people who know these reels and market.

I started like this ~ (circa 1965) Graduated to this ~ (circa 1975) More recently it's been mostly this. (Circa present day) Can't say the fishing was better or worse at any one time along the way. Certainly was different. #timeschange Presently, I still avoid crowds best I can and the fish catches seem to feel the same as they did way back when. Almost like magic. Fish Hard A-Jay

My Grandfather (deceased in 2006) also fought in WW2. He was not a part of Normandy itself but later he liberated Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. Rarely talked about it. He did show me some items he took from a German soldier though: a sword, a watch, and a compass. They all had swastikas on them.

I use both too. I rarely have fish become unhooked when using either one.

I think that picture was from the Withlacoochee River. I actually catch more fish from my small water craft than when I had a bass boat. We ate what we caught back then. My dad was a big influence in that! I remember when Zebco 33s were popular for bass fishing. The retrieve was slowwww ! Don’t know how we got many fish to the boat !Then, everyone had to have an ambassador bait caster…I now take around 5-6 rods each trip. I have never cared one bit how I catch bass, as long as it’s legal. I loved it when you could fish anywhere in Florida and not have crowds ( or sometimes anyone) fishing the same water you were on.

Hate to admit this 😁 I lost 3 good fish in a row yesterday morning on a Bass assassin and as soon as I got home, ordered another rod...... make that 16 now on the boat. Oh no, it definitely wasn't my fault.....the rods 😁. Great photo thanks for sharing.

I think if one is losing a lot of fish with Neds they may be using the wrong jig. Some Ned jigs have IMO hooks that are too small. Might be the reason. I use both Neds and tubes a lot and don't recognize a problem like this.

You mean you only fish in the daytime? What are the fish supposed to do for entertainment at night?

Around 100 days a year. 8 hours minimum. Usually 10-12. I feel like I don't get to fish enough.

@12poundbass is an underachiever. Remedial at best.

Been busy with family stuff the past few weeks. Finally managed to get out to the lake for 2 hours today. It was 71-74 degrees today and muggy from the showers that had just ended. Skies overcast. Wind was from the south at 9 mph with gusts up to 21. I didn’t have time for a complete circuit of the lake today so I just hit the crescent shaped weed bed that had been so good to me last month. Started at the western end of the weed bed since there were active bluegill beds nearby and a deep hole just past the outside edge of the milfoil. Managed two there on the UV Speed Worm and another on the Booyah Blade. The spinner bait fish was smaller but had some gnarly battle scars. Moved on to the opposite end of the weed bed and caught another with the swimming worm. This one had already munched a hapless bluegill. I could hear the tail flapping in the bass’s mouth as I landed it.

On January 25th 2022, I made a post about my nephew Kyle. The post was called How To Motivate A Young Man. Kyle had come to stay at our house, in the hope that I could help him. His problem was that he would not keep a job. He had three good jobs, and quit them all within a month. At the time, I thought he was lazy, and, I came down pretty hard on him. My wife took him to a specialist, and he was prescribed medicine for an anxiety disorder. Now, he's a different person. He's worked for the county road crew for two years, and has moved up to a supervisor position, with a good pay raise. He has perfect attendance on his job, and, is attending night classes at a local junior college, studying computer programming. He's engaged to a really sharp girl now also. I'm proud of him, and am very happy for him. My nephew taught me a lesson in all of this. Anxiety is a very real thing. It can affect people in different ways. What I thought was laziness was not the case at all. If you know a person who suffers from anxiety, try to get them some help if you can. They may be able to turn things around in a good way. Kyle and I will be fishing together this Saturday morning. He's doing fine now.

$215 to-my-door for two mint condition old magnesium JDM reels - one first gen Steez (with a SV spool), one first gen Aldebaran - I'd say it's a pretty good deal.