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I had a decent day Tuesday on a 150 acre lake. Caught around 25 bass on buzzbaits and worm. Biggest about three lbs. I talked with guy at the ramp who he said he caught two six lbers and a five. I didnt press him for info but when he left he threw his trash out in a dumpster. So I checked it out and there were six seven inch purple Rage Tail worms in his trash bag. They appeared to only catch one bass each, were barely torn up and skin hooked on the side. Well at least I know the bait he was using . I kept them, cut a half inch off the tip. I'll use them next time .

If the worms were torn up they may indicate you found something that is working. Keep in mind your 3 lber was probably 6 lbs in mind of the other angler. Tom

oh god I'm embarrassed. It was a highlight from Lake Fork😅 Im just gonna go ahead and call it a day

I launched shortly after four in near darkness. I considered the weather to be perfect, with no wind, cloudy skies, and fog. I did okay, landing 26 bass and some solid fish. I pity folks who never get to see the world when it's still sleepy. And I hope that all my fellow BR anglers will get to launch onto a lonesome lake/bog/pond at least once in their lives, water without people, docks, and other boats. If you don't have such water, I hope that seeing pics of this morning's pond will motivate you to reach such a place. Here's a peek at the pond through the woods: And here's looking at the pond from the shore where I launch: This was my second bass, an 18.75-incher. I caught some other thick fish: I also caught some short fish that were thick. It's good to see the kids are alright and eating well. Shout out to The Who for borrowing their line! Now let's take a pretty picture break! I caught some healthy, average-sized bass too: I caught one bass on a spinnerbait, three on a green pumpkin ribbon tail worm, and the rest on a Loon-colored (black) Whopper Plopper. That Whopper Plopper has caught so many bass that it's looking like one of my old musky lures, having lost a third of its paint. What was strange was that I couldn't catch a single bass on my underspin with a green pumpkin Crush City Mayor. Didn't even get a single hit on that and that's my best lure most trips. One last pond pic!

How can you not respect a move like this, just shows the lengths Bassheads will go to 🤣 I never throw away my used plastics, save them for a kid for likes to melt them down and pour his own. That ain't working on me, but then again I'm not setting the world on fire 😁

At this point, couldn’t it be argued that all nylon based fishing lines available (not including the “hybrids”) are actually copolymers whether specifically labeled as such or not? Is there any manufacturer that only uses a single nylon polymer in their formulation? I would think about all lines are now a mix of various other nylon components (polymers) depending on properties desired. I’m not certain any companies actually list their “ingredients,” so it might be hard to know for certain. Just a thought after reading the question.

Up until this year, much of my fishing life for the previous 5-6 years was built around short trips. Bring one rod and reel, your favorite bait or two, preferably something versatile, then fish. For me, that’s some variation of Ned or soft plastic to start. Once you’ve been a couple times, then you can adjust presentation to conditions, but still keep tackle limited so you don’t waste a ton of time changing things up, thinking something else will work better. Fish what you have and learn.

2 nice bass caught between 8:45 and 10:10 this morning. 20.5 inches and 21 inches. Fought like the absolute dickens. Weren't getting away though cuz both were hooked solid right through the tough grizzly part of the corner of their mouths.

Heck I'm the guy who bends a hook out in some rock and then bends the hook back into shape with pliers and resharpens the hook and keeps fishing the bait for another 3 months - I applaud your resourcefulness! To some guys the bait I fished and caught with for 3 months was trash the minute I bent the hook out. I recently caught a 5 lber on a speed worm - worm ripped and I bit the head off and re rigged it and made another cast and caught a 7 lber on the same worm with a flat ugly head. Guess bass really don't care!

I think it should be more appropriately titled "dumpster diving for worms."

Ain't no gaints but it scratches the itch!

I 86's two girlfriends because they didn't like me fishing. One of them tried very hard to get me to quit Bassresource. I showed her the door. After that, I had a canned speech I gave girls I dated that went something like this: I weeded out several women before I met my wife, who said, "So when are you taking me fishing?" and she meant it! She also encouraged me to grow Bassresource and follow my vision. As many of you know, she went on to fish at the professional level in several women's tournament circuits. And if you watch any of our videos, you know she has a wicked hookset! The moral? You can find the right partner IF you're true to yourself, and then honest with them upfront. You're not being mean. You're making a life decision that requires that level of rigor. The problem? Combine a woman's love of shopping with her passion for fishing, and ironically it's ME telling her to ease up on the spending! LOL

One is more than enough for me

Thanks. In the gym maybe, but not on the water fishing that format. I get to fish when and where I want. Changes things. I'd like to Marshall a contender on the last day though. First dude who boat flips a 6 lber, is going swimming. A-Jay

You're a scrapper! I'm guessing you can build a bass boat out of kite string, a six-pack of Yoo-Hoo's, and a barrel of acorns.

Ignominy.

Maybe the weights will go up, but I was afraid that all the pressure would make the weights go down from the last couple of years. SLR is like a typical lake in Alabama when it's open water, there is a derby fishing it every week, usually multiple derbies. At some point BASS has to showcase all the other awesome fisheries up north. I'd be good with not seeing Champlain, St. Clair, or the SLR for a few years.

When the urge for jacking something up hits, 35 steps out my front door is a bayou.

Hello Ron and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Decent chance most any rattle (I like Glass) will do the job as long as it fits INTO the bait. After inserting a rattle, I'll slide in a custom cut to fit section of a foam ear plug to hold the rattle in place. Soaking the foam in your favorite 'scent' might help too. I use Megastrike. Good Luck A-Jay

Musky often bite down on a lure and you can’t move the lure because of their teeth gripping it. The musky decides to jump and release the lure nothing you can do. Smallmouth bass rocket out of the making aerobatic flips a gymnasts envy, you can do but keep a tight line. Largemouth are not jumpers in the class if Smallmouth but they often make an initial jump when hooked and if the bass is over 60’ away you can’t horse a big bass on top of the water, just hope it’s hooked well and keep the line and rod loaded. Big fish that jump acrobatically like Tarpon and Marlin try to keep up with them and enjoy fight, Tom

Went out for four hours tkday. Caught about 20 bass. Biggest attached. All caught on a wacky worm.

Well done everyone! Lots of hawgs in here lately and I'm sure it's only gonna get better as we roll into the fall! Jake caught his second biggest ever last week at the local pond: Gorgeous tank and another one I caught a couple months back on a frog at 7 lbs 8 oz and he recaught later on in the summer a little less than a half pound lighter - typical of bass this time of year. Got one of the fish I saw sharking on little gizzard shad in the grass after Debby passed through and waters receded from the local river system. I caught a few gizzards by hand scooping em up out of the grass where bass were corralling them. Jake found a pretty NC lobster Had a really fun day on the boat with Jake this past weekend with a fat frog fish and Jake filling out the limit with lots of fish in this size range on a weightless trick worm! Got a pile of smaller but nice fish on jigs yesterday afternoon - the first jig bite I've been on for months! Very excited to toss the big more in the muddy water around those dying grass edges. And as you can see I'm doing my best to be diligent and document things on the GoPro. Hoping for a decent little bit of footage soon! 🤫🤫🤫😉😉😉

Last night the Tuesday night tournament finally swung by the lake by my house. I never fish the lake, but 5 minutes from me, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to fish if it worked out and I just happened to get off work early enough to make it. I asked my oldest son if he wanted to go with me and he said he did, but it was going to rushed because he had to go to a night before school started event. So I unloaded the kayaks and mom ran him out to me 5 minutes before the tournament started. I forgot my extra measuring board so we had to stay close so he could use my board for his fish. The weather was perfect, cloudy and cool with a decent breeze, so of course the bite was brutally tough. I missed a couple on a frog and it was 45 minutes into the tournament when I finally hooked up with a fish on a homemade micro jig off a dock ladder. I was a mess all night, skipped my frog under a dock and got it stuck so bad I had to get out and crawl across the dock to cut my line and get my frog back. Then cast my bladed jig so high in a tree I couldn’t reach it. I was so worried about Lake getting fish, I was having a hard time concentrating. Right where I got my bladed jig stuck, I caught another fish on a wacky rig. I was letting Lake lead, telling him where to cast, but the frustration was pretty obvious and he was having a hard time focusing and listening. I caught another behind him on a wacky rig right off the spot I’d just told him to cast his wacky rig to fill out my limit. I told him he just needed a few good cast and he was right back in it and there was still 1.5 hours left. We ran around a point to some deeper water and I crossed paths with another competitor who fished the lake a ton and he said it was really tough and he only had 3 dinks. Lake was behind me and right then I heard he had a fish on! It wasn’t a big fish in size, but it was his first ever tournament fish so it was a huge accomplishment and a big confidence boost for him. I had one dock on the south end that if you told me I had 5 minutes to catch a fish for a million dollars on that lake, that’s the dock I’d go to. So we fished all the way down to it, passing another competitor who said he had nothing but a bluegill. I made several pitches before I finally got bit but it was another decent fish. We turned and went back towards the ramp, fishing the opposite side of the lake. I caught 3 more, including a disappointing dink that hit a 6” Bull Shad Wake. With 11 minutes left, we ran to a main lake point that had 2 docks I wanted to fish. I was fishing one while Lake worked the point and he hooked up. He got it in and was holding it in the air over the water while I was about pleading with him to get it over his kayak, when it fell back in the water. I know he felt bad but I probably felt worse than he did. He kept casting though and just a few cast later he hooked up again and this time got it in the kayak and put it in the net. With 2 minutes left, he scored his second keeper. He got bit again while I was hurriedly taking his picture but missed it. It was an exciting final few minutes and he was so close to getting a limit in his first tournament, I was really proud of him. I thought for sure someone would have caught them, but turns out it was tough for everyone and my limit was good enough for the win. Lake finished ahead of a few guys and would have been right in the middle if he’d had that 3rd fish that was probably 12 inches.

No doubt, like the FG, an incredibly strong knot. But I’ve found when you tie off with hitch knots, that area of the knot is just as thick as an Alberto which is easier to tie and I’ve never had a knot strength issue.

I hear there's 11lb largemouths in that lake too

I have some dignity but free fishing gear is free fishing gear.

This kinda reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer goes dumpster diving for items discarded by the Merv Griffin Show and then sets that crap up in his apartment.

Or like me, the prop life at 23 mph 😂 granted my trucks clutch crapped the bed so it’s canoe life for now

Hamner with an absolute unit LM over 11lbs!!

Finally, an answer to why my fish never jump! 😂

Getting an SLX DC or a Curdo would be an extreme waste of money over the 21 Zillion. If you don't get the zillion, your budget needs to be in the $100 range, then it makes sense. But if your budget is $300, the zillion is such a nobrainer that anyone without one should just forget everything else exists, and get it before the yen spikes up.

No he just gave me his super secret fishing sunglasses I, uh, plead the fifth? 😂😂

It happens sometimes regardless of what we do.

Scored three progressively bigger largemouth yesterday ending with a new personal best (far right). First came on a gold and red spinnerbait during the morning during calm wind and while the sun was still low and the shade lines pronounced. Next two came on a classic silver and white under the bright afternoon sun and with a bit of wind on the surface. On all three catches the spinnerbait was ambushed while I was running it as intimately as possibly along the edges of lilypads. Winter is coming, I can smell it in the morning air and so can the fish!!

Actual adult and mature married men and women know how to and are confident enough to communicate honestly & effectively. Boils down to truly having real respect for yourself and your significant other. Life is way too short for anything else. A-Jay

I'm pretty sure the reel is an Abu Garcia maybe. Split cork handle but no clue the brand. It was floating on top of some vegetation inches away from my grip. When I tried to grab it with my paddle it went to the bottom. UGH! Oh I'm gonna get it. I'm going to leash a waterproof gopro synced up to my phone with a pole and try if I can visually see it. If I can I can hopefully snag it. Not sure how clear it will be in 7 foot of water. If I can't see it, I'm going to throw out a metal stringer with all of the clips undone. If that doesn't work, I told my boys whoever swims down to get it keeps it. LOL I'd give it back to the owner but I have ZERO clue who that would be.

Hey.. DVT will flat hook you up on a reel tear down clean/lube. In fact I still do my own Baitcast reels but on spinning? No way. I’m sending them out. Shimano has got way more difficult these days for me.

With a good cleaning it will probably be fine. Get the mud, silt , sand out of it and relube. FM

I don’t overthink it. Sometimes the bass need to win. I appreciate an opponent that fights back. Makes the hunt more enjoyable.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/br3mbPrYvzi6bsQC/?mibextid=D5vuiz

Randy B will surely let's us all know if it is. 😎 A-Jay

Double up on the split rings, which allows twice the rotation and practically eliminates the fish getting any leverage. I find this mod especially helpful on the bigger topwater baits like 130 whopper plopper, chug bugs and the likes.

I have absolutely no problem telling my wife just how things are going to be….. when she let’s me.

Best big bass lakes I fish, they jump right after hook set and try to spit the hook. They got big because they’re smart, they’ve been hooked before, and know how to get unbuttoned. The key is to not give them ANY slack. Braided line is a number reason for allowing momentary lapses in tension that result in slack and lost fish. Second, is to sense when the fish is ready to make its upward move to jump and then dig the rod tip down into the water - and - pull towards you at the same time. As they near the boat, keep turning their head and figure 8 if needed so they stay down and allow you to determine what direction they’ll swim - and eventually into a net. And yet, you still lose some. The bigger, the smarter - -

People saying green pumpkin have deeply wounded me. It's my "if I could only have one" color. 😅

Jump offs happen, it's just part of the game. I fish a barbless lake with feisty Northerns and I get jumped off all the time. Sometimes dropping the rod tip straight down into the water can help keep them in the water, but there are no guarantees.

If a rod isn't in my hand, then the reel has a cover on it. Learned that the hard way with a pristine Chronarch 101A. When I go to pick up another rod, the one in my hand has a reel cover put on before I set it down. The few seconds it takes is well worth it to me. I try to keep my gear in as good shape as when I bought it whether purchased new or used with some marks.

While requiring competitors to pass a safety course can't hurt on the water safety, I'm not sure it would help. Experience on the water operating a boat they are accustomed to, at speeds they are accustom too, on familiar waters with an emphasis on safety is what makes a boater more safe. I have a Coast Guard 100 ton masters license for inland, as well as near coastal waters, and have passed many classes and tests. I consider myself a competent safe captain on vessels I have experience operating, with navigational equipment, and at speeds I am accustomed too. I have never driven a bass boat with a 250 horse engine, or any other boat at speeds over 35 miles an hour, nor have I operated a boat on any of the lakes that elite series anglers are competing on. Although I have a license that qualifies me to operate a vessel for hire on any of these lakes, I do not feel I am qualified to drive a bass boat at any where near full speed on any of these waters. I would need time on the water with a competent operator before I would feel I could operate a boat safely. My point is, a class, or license does not make a person a safe and qualified boater. Only experience and common sense will do that, and I have to assume all the anglers that qualify for the elite series already have enough of both to safely operate a boat at elite tournaments. I would even go as far as to say most of the elite anglers would have enough experience to teach any boater safety class that BASS would require them to take.

I went out in the afternoon yesterday and got a nice smallmouth out of the Gunpowder. I was going for snakeheads, but I’ll take a brown fish.