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One last trip before the 90-100 degree heat returns this coming week. That will keep me off the water for a while. A mixed bag of fish that included a pair of keeper bass, including one good one. This fish was strong - couldn’t turn it or stop it. Figured it might be a big cat. Ran right out into a large fallen tree and wrapped me up. I get over to it, a little see-saw action, then nothing…then something…then nothing again. After about 60 seconds of stalemate, she somehow comes back out and free, and she’s big and green 😎

I'd like Clayton to buy me a lottery ticket. He's on a streak. I went to my pond for 90 minutes this evening, just grabbed a couple rods for a quick session. I caught fourteen, but forgot my camera, so I took a couple photos with my cell phone. The evening light was gorgeous and the bass, like so many Maine bass, refused to pose for their photos. They just never stop fighting.

I often remember the In-Fisherman Master Angler chart, which is really a latitude equivalency chart, when it comes to LMBs. On that chart, a 6.5-pound Northern Strain LMB is equivalent to a 10-pound Southern LMB. For an Ontarian like you, I'd stretch the difference a little more and suggest that a 6-pounder in Kingston would be equivalent to a 10-pounder in Orlando, a 10.5-pounder in the Everglades, and perhaps an 11-pounder in Lake Baccarac, as you have serious winters. I'm actually a little bit north of you, so I'd apply the same equivalencies to my bass, as I've a moderating ocean. You, of course, have Lake Ontario, which would also moderate your lows, but our bass still go through low metabolism stretches that last for months where they're barely feeding and growing. Of course, genetics also prevent northern bass from peaking much beyond ten pounds. What's interesting about the chart is that there is no difference between southern and northern smallmouth. A six-pounder caught in the north equals a six-pounder caught in the south. They're equally rare. In the last three years, I've caught multiple 6+-pounders and especially in 2023 when I focused on the bogs. Here are some of them, all weighed or measured. Note that they're bass with bellies, except for the first one, and all have hunchbacks. For comparison, the first bass, which is the skinny one, weighed 6.54-pounds. The third and fourth fish are silly fat. I caught another two that were six and three-quarters in 2023 and a bass in 2024 that was longer and fatter than any of these, but 2024 has been more about quantity than quality simply because the quantity ponds are easier to reach, which matters because I turn 68 this month*: The quantity ponds are also great fun and full of four and five-pounders, like this gal caught this week:

If I want a fight 😉

Catt & Pat are sitting on a little ridge just south of Indian Mounds; full moon is barely on the horizon, slight southerly breeze. I make a long cast towards deep water and start the count down to the bottom. The Texas rigged worm settles down when there's that classic "Thump", drops the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook. Nothing gives, then in a microsecond on my knees, rod half under water. Catt: Yells get the net! Pat: For what! Catt: I think he's heading for the Louisiana side Pat: You gonna land em or what Catt: Aint you suppose to play em first? Finally back to my feet, line singing again, drag slipping, rod all bowed up. Catt: He's headed for Six Mile, if you start the big motor we can head em off. Pat now standing behind me: Want me to pour some water on your reel? Catt: No! just get the gun! Look a swirl just under the surface, a sudden dive for freedom, your mine sucker. Pat with quick move and it's in the net: Took you long enough. Catt falls back into the seat drops his rods on the deck: Dude let's see it. Pat turn on the interior lights: Shoot it's only a stripper! Catt sits up, lips it and grabs the tail, gotta be at least 36" Pat digs around in the console for the scales 16 LB 5 OZ. Catt: Slipping it back in, that's a hawg right there. Pat: Don't count it's a stripper! Catt: Still a hawg Pat: You're still down 7 to 4, shut up & fish.

23 Aug 24 Update ~ We're hanging in there. Lynn's in a holding pattern right now. Treatment is still the same as my last update. Kidney function is SLOWLY / Incrementally improving. This is buying her some much needed time. Looks like this will play out and may go one of three ways. Kidney regains normal function, Dialysis forever or a kidney transplant. She's going on the need a kidney donor list in a week or two just in case. Chemo is once every two weeks and her Lupus is hiding in the weeds. I'm trying to take every opportunity I can to decompress. Thank you all Very Much for the continued support. A-Jay

Tuesday I met up with my good buddy Jon for an evening boat buddy tournament. Fishing is historically very difficult there, not unusual for a single 2lb fish to win, and he’d told me it was holding up to its reputation recently. Not expecting much, the lake held its own for the first hour, producing only 4 small fish that were well short of the 15” minimum. I was starting to feel like we’d be lucky to get a keeper as we ran to a new spot when we noticed that our favorite area had opened up, so we headed back to it. The usual stretch didn’t produce, but as we fished up the other side, Jon slowly leaned back into his bladed jig rod and what he thought was grass, started pulling back. I was ready with the net and we quickly had a very solid keeper in the box. I hopped into the back and went to make a cast when on his very next cast, Jon leaned into another one. Almost an exact replica of the first, things we’re looking up quickly. We decided this was our home for the remaining couple hours and started picking it apart. I caught a just barely short on a frog before we went across the cove and started worked back to where we had originally pulled into the cove at. As we did, we both noticed a sizeable wake pushing bait along the shallow grass line. I switched my bladed jig from green pumpkin to my favorite all blue as the sunlight faded and we neared the hunting fish. We were really working that area when a fish stopped my bait as hard as one has in a while. It wanted to jump bad but I buried the rod long enough for Jon to get the net and we put a third in the box. In the last 10 minutes, we were fishing through where Jon caught his keepers when my bladed jig got smacked again. I saw a flash and it looked small so I called Jon off with the net. When I swung it in, it was obvious I shouldn’t have and the board made it more clear when it stretched over the line. We had a good laugh about it as we headed for the ramp. Of the 13 boats, only 5 other fish were weighed and only one boat had 2 fish for 4.5 pounds. Our 4 were good for almost 9 pounds and the win!

When bass fishing, I usually only appreciate the fight after I’ve landed the fish. I don’t fish bass because of the fight, but it can be a nice bonus to a safely landed bass. If I lose the fish, I would rather it didn’t fight at all if it means landing it. If it’s not bass, I’m all for a fight. Some years ago, I caught a 20lb chinook salmon from Lake Ontario. It took about 20 minutes to land that thing, and that fight was a blast. Having a fish pull drag as if the bail is open, having zero control, numb forearms, cramped hands…so much fun.

Our Florida bass have a very long growing season compared to O Canada, like @ol'crickety said a 6lber in your waters will be a much rarer, much older fish than the same weight this far south. But yes, there are some true giants in this pond. It's not the same one I caught my DDs in, but my longest bass ever (pushing 28" or so) came from here. Sadly I caught her in the middle of June with no belly so she went 8lb 9oz, I dream of catching her in prespawn. Her head was so big I was able to comfortably fit both fists in her mouth, and her shoulders were so thick I couldn't get my hand around her. I had to hold her back away from me just to get her all the way in the photo. For reference, I am 6'3" and my forearm from where my wrist is bent to the point of my elbow is 11.5". She was a big, healthy girl.

Just another opinion, but the difference is the expectation. Pre FFS, nobody, including the angler, really knew if there was a fish where he was casting, or whether or where it might hit if there was one. It was the unknown that kept the viewer glued to each cast…the anticipation that each cast, or any cast, could be ‘the one’ that got bit, and you had no idea what size that fish might be if it did hit. Now, FFS guys stand up front and don’t even bother to make a cast unless they spot a fish. Could be minutes or longer of nothing but zig zagging, and there’s no suspense when he finally does make a cast because he only made it because he saw a fish. Often, he’ll even tell you, “it’s not a big one - not the one I’m looking for” - before even hooking it. Then they narrate the cast; “he’s looking at it,” “here he comes,” and “oh, he turned away.” There’s very little suspense; no unknowns. I think it takes a lot of the excitement out of fishing for a lot of guys.

Last Saturday was another stop for the Kansas Kayak Anglers tournament circuit, this time it was a roadrunner format. I thought it was the same as last year's format, but found out a month ago that it wasn't. Instead, this year we were allowed to fish any state lake in Kansas. This threw a major wrench in my plan because our state lakes are mostly terrible and especially the ones close to my area. I had time to prefish a couple of them leading up to the event and settled on Montgomery State Lake near Independence, KS as my destination despite having only ever fished the lake once just 2 weeks before. I camped near one of the ramps the night before and the "30% chance of storms", turned into wild thunderstorms with torrential downpours, high winds, excessive lightning, even hail, for about 6 hours straight. Everything in my tent was soaked and I got very little sleep. At least the storms had mostly passed by launch and there was only distant flashes by the time first cast came at 6AM. 2 other guys had chosen to fish the lake also but launched from a different ramp so I didn't know who they were. I started fishing right at the ramp and just a few cast into the morning with my bladed jig, I caught a 15.75". I fished around the cove a little and ended up catching a small limit, which was a surprise for me as my first trip I was averaging about a bite a hour and it wasn't even 7 when I caught my 5th fish. The lake is shallow and dirty with weeds all around it. I had heard lots of fish in the very shallow weeds, so I ran a toad between some cattails and water willows and got one to suck it down. A little better fish at 16.75" The lake had probably dropped a foot since I fished it the first time 2 weeks ago and a lot of the weeds I'd caught them in then were barely in the water, so I was really struggling. It had become clear that I didn't know the other 2 fishermen on the lake, but they knew each other. I was right across the small lake from them when I swear I heard one of them exclaim to the other "I just caught another 20!" Not what I was wanting to hear. I needed to make a change because the size had gone way down on the fish. So I took off the now useless frog that I had put on, I tied on a spinnerbait. Not ideal to fish a spinnerbait on a 7' 3" H/F with 65lb braid, but I didn't have high hopes for it in the 90* water anyways. So my second cast, it got slammed and she jumped as high as I've ever seen a fish that size get. Really glad I had a trailer hook because it wasn't hooked great, but I still got the 20.50" fish in the net and on the board. I caught several more small fish, including a small cull, but nothing like I needed. There is a pretty sizeable creek that I'd caught some fish out of in practice, but the bites I got were in the back. So I cranked the motor on high and ran to the back of the creek. Once I got there, I skipped my Texas rig into a big laid down tree. I hadn't caught anything out of it before, but this time, there was a little pressure when I picked up, and a big head came wallowing out when I set the hook. I kept her up and moving so she couldn't get back in the tree and slid the net under her. That was one of the only bites I got back there, but at 19", it was worth the effort. I fished around for the next couple hours and didn't catch much. My wife did her normal lunchtime check in that has a history of bringing me luck, and this time was no different. I flipped my T-rig into the grass and got thumped. Had to get off the phone so I could take the pictures of the 17 incher. I felt like I was close, but I still had a 15.75" I wanted to get rid of. I had some really good bites on the T-rig one lay downs, but they would just whack it and drop it for some reason. In the last 30 minutes, I ran to the same spot I caught my big one and ran a bladed jig across the grass line. I had a big fish load on. I set and she was immediately on the top, shook her head, and came off. That would be the last bite I'd get and proved to be the difference between me and the other guy on the lake that was doing a little better. Turns out they both lived right by the lake and fish it all the time. His buddy that also fishes it all the time, managed a single 10.25" fish, holding up to it's reputation as a lake with big fish that are difficult to catch.

As much as I love Fishing and collecting fishing gear, it takes up too much of my time and I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics such as cleaning and maintaining my home, so something has to give. I will be getting rid of my collection. Below is a list of what's available. Serious inquiries only, please and don't insult me with your offers. Thanks for reading and understanding... 1. Dustpan and brush 2. Sponges 3. Febreeze spray 4. Mop and bucket 5. Window cleaner 6. Vacuum 7. Dishwashing liquid 8. Laundry detergent 9. Fabric softener 10. Laundry baskets 11. Toilet brush 12. Cleaning sprays 13. Scrubbing brushes

One senko fish from the bank today, only had about 15 minute of moving water before the slack tide. Also managed to land my PB seagull this morning while striper fishing, didn't get a hook in it thankfully but had to crush a jighead barb to get it out of his feathers.

The fight is kind of like this neutral ground - a necessary and important part of fishing, but a part that doesn’t really elicit any particular feelings one way or the other for me. To me, the bite - knowing that for that one moment, I put all the variables and nuances of the puzzle together to get that fish to commit - did everything “right,” or at least good enough, is “the deal.” But if that were the sole purpose, I shouldn't ever really care if I actually land the fish because I got what I wanted - But I really want to land and hold the fish, too, so the fight is the important connection between the two that I have to go through to get both satisfactions. It completes the puzzle. I don’t love a hard fighting fish more, or look down on a wet sock fighter. Each fish is different, unique and special in their own way. I appreciate them all. Then I release them, forget about ‘em, and just want to catch the next one 😛

Okay. The Orochi X10 touts itself as being built on a new blank design that features natural plant fiber material which is sustainable. So much for the green deal hype. I’m sure this series is made exclusively for the US market. I’m convinced there is an element of a plant based material but that material can be applied as skrim in the production of the blank. The blank itself is what I consider to be a larger diameter thinner wall design. The Bandersnatch does have that feeling, similar to high end glass blanks but not that large of a diameter. Regardless, the rod is less than five ounces. The action is “regular” At 7’ with a lure rating of 3/8 to 1 ounce you would think is to be true heavy. I would put it as a med/hvy plus or between a 4-5 power Dobyns rod. Most of my rods are fast to xtra fast and the Orochi regular was on the slower side of fast. This is actually a plus however because the regular action makes for a very controlled cast ability. Roll casts and target casts benefit from this action. Sensitivity is pretty darn good. II reminds me of my Xtremes. The blank is really responsive for that regular action. Nice tip and a delayed lick up but not lacking in power. I put the sweet spot at 1/2 to 5/8 ounce and the ounce top end of the rating is pushing it. Components are all top tier. The fit finish and color scheme are really nice but not gaudy. The upper 70 percent of the blank is lightly sanded. The split grip is nice and quality of cork is as good as I’ve ever seen. The grip itself is however, short. My big hands roll off the end in casting but it’s comfortable when palming the reel. The balance point is good with a Scorpion 70 series reel. I do like the way this rod loads and for an action that is slower than the rods I usually fish, it locks up into power fast enough. I’ve had limited time on the water and have run 3/8 to 1/2 swim jigs and buzz baits with it. These baits are a great match for this blank. I like it. It’s different but in a good way. The components are especially nice and everything compliments itself. Is it a $400 rod? Sorry Megabass. No. Did I pay retail? No. I was able to capitalize on a sale plus discount and for what I paid for this stick I can’t complain. It comes with a super nice soft case. What impressed me the most is the casting control, really good feel and sensitivity in a superb build and finish.

I've shared several times how my PB, caught this past spring, felt like a great gob of weeds or a water-soaked log. I've also shared the story of how I also caught my PB-fighter this year. She was barely 18 inches and skinny. I hooked her in a narrow stream and she immediately came at my canoe and kept going downstream, my drag whining. Then she came back at me, ricocheting from the brush on each side of the screen. Then she went deep and I could feel her plowing through the weeds on the bottom. I could feel her cutting them off, a scythe through grass. Of course, she pulled and turned my canoe and dragged me into weeds when it came to netting her and in the net, she was still berserk. She. was. magnificent. And yet, she was the most ordinary bass by looks and size. Skinny even. I caught half a dozen that evening heavier than her, but none greater. I think about her a lot, wondering why she was so loaded with grit, starch, and fury. You can see the stream to the right of her. I hooked her at the top of it and she came roaring past me. Clearly I like the fight. Do you too, valuing it almost as much as size, and if so, do you have a story of a mighty fight to tell?

I picked the wrong landing this morning. I got there around 5:45. A club tournament with ~25 boats was blasting off at 6 so I just waited until they were gone. I didn't want to get ran over. I have a pretty good day after getting started. I caught 11 Bass, 7 Spots and 4 Largemouth. The biggest Largemouth was 17 inches (pictured). 1 Spot was 18" and another was 19" . (biggest, caught on my last cast at 9:58 is pictured) I also shook off a couple Cats beside the boat.

Sorry, I can't make it. Maybe next time. Thanks anyway and good luck with that 1 lure thing. A-Jay

Caught my first Flathead today(not ever), while actually targeting catfish, dragging chicken.

At the inlaws this weekend and catching everything but bass. Did some night fishing and caught this nice sunset. Then this morning had a really good hook up and suddenly went light. Thought I broke off but I had 40# braid. Turns out I broke the hook on a dirty jigs swim jig. No rust... no idea what happened and although it had a lot of weight I can't see any bass breaking a hook.

I prefer the fight of a sizable smallmouth myself, especially in a river. I posted this in another thread recently, but this “slob” jack as my guide referred to it as was the hardest fighting fish I’ve ever caught. Tarpon were up there too but their fight was more aerial-driven.

I dislike any line bigger than 6# Tatsu on a spinning reel. My PB smallmouth was caught using this line on a ML rod, just a couple inches longer than 6'. Before anyone cries foul over catching in open water, it was from rocky, zebra mussel encrusted water in 38' is water and bulldog'd me the whole way up. No jumps, no dancing at the surface. Just held the bottom and eventually came up slowly. If I had lost it, I would have thought it was a huge drum. Not a great fight, but a great catch.

For me it’s putting the pieces together…The spot and bait choice, after that comes the stalking and the hunt. When it comes together and the hook up happens getting her in is just the reward. Mike

Bass fishing is more about the puzzle. Fishing for a fight is satisfied with northerns, salmonids, and in the past carp even. If carp jumped, I'd only target them. The last decade or so, it's northerns for me. They are miserable and I love them.

I enjoy 'the fight' of any plus sized fish, including bass, as long as they end up in the net. Otherwise, it's not nearly as fun. Capturing the event on video allows me to relive the fun over and over. https://youtu.be/sITpRNLz_04?feature=shared&t=196 https://youtu.be/k3Z48BqFWuw?feature=shared&t=106 A-Jay

Zoom's Ultravibe Speed Worm, 3/16 oz bullet weight, 3/0 straight shank round bend hook Two colors huh? Watermelon Neon & White Pearl Spike-It Dip-N-Glo Chartreuse Garlic

It was a good week. I took the family for a few hours Sunday and caught a bunch of smallmouth too.

The live tournament is different from the past where the tournaments were videotaped, edited then a 50 minute show aired on the Outdoor channel etc.. that was a better presentation in my opinion.

Easy. Strike king bitsy bug jig with a craw trailer. I don't care which. Green pumpkin and black and blue. Why? Versatility. I can swim it. I can fish it slow. Shallow or deeper. Grass rock yada yada.

Only been able to get out twice in the last two weeks between work and the thunderstorms, did okay both trips. First cast I hooked into this one on the chatterbait that went 3.55lb Not a bad fish and I was hoping first cast curse wouldn't get me. I caught a handful more, but I did lose a much nicer fish also on the chatterbait right at the bank. Spit it on the jump right at my feet, got a good look at her and she looked ~6lb. Not one of the behemoths that lurks that pond but a sore loss for me when big girls have been slim pickings lately. It was kind of the breaking point for me with my chatterbait setup. I've caught quite a few large fish with a couple over 7lb on it, but I have lost far too many big ones. At first I thought braid to leader was letting them get slack too often on the jump, so I switched to mono. This helped a lot and I landed more big ones than I did with braid, but I was still losing too many. Throwing it on a MH/F graphite rod, but it bends deep into the blank, very moderate for a "fast" rod IMO. Ended up seeing a deal on the Intenza glass on American Legacy for 100 bucks so I figured I'd give glass a shot and see since so many chatterbait anglers swear by it. Today was the first trip since it showed up, and so far I'm not disappointed. I didn't hook into any big ones, biggest only went 2.29lb but I didn't lose any fish, including one that was just baaarely skin hooked. Time will tell if this is the solution for me. Losing fish is part of the game, but hopefully this switch minimizes it. They were busting hard on schooling shad later in the evening, I should've been throwing a small jerkbait into those bait balls and I would've cleaned house, but I left it at home wanting to put time into testing this combo. Alas, still ended the evening with 10, including this chunky little guy on a Rage Bug:

👆👍 I've never found them very controllable either, with the exception of flippin gear. The only thing predictable about 'em is, just when you think you have a big brownie whipped, it sees the boat and goes ape all over again. I've lost several really nice ones when they got that second wind and went ballistic on a short line.

7+ lber in Texas. This fish went berserk. Jumped three times with a jig in its mouth and started to dig once it got close to the boat. My PB was also a great fighter. Ran and bulldogged in deeper water. It never surfaced until it was right next to me and of course the first thing I saw was its gaping mouth.

Me Too ! A-Jay

My wife just sent me this one. Not sure if she’s trying to say something or just thought it was funny. I just won’t think about it.

My Florida Largemouth bass at 11.2 came in like a pair of old boots lol. Not much actual battle at all, the fish on the surface made a powerful surge if you will but just nothing much in the way of actual fight. Idk, around here we get into 2 pound redear on light action rods with 4 pound and even 2 pound line and it’s a blast. I guess people have different ideals on the subject based on experience.

Some one once told me, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Same goes for bass.

Hmm, are you sure you didn’t write for Field & Stream magazine? 🤣😂🤣

Yeah for me it's more about the bite but if I land it and I get a good fight out of it also I'll take it. 😎🤙🏼 The fight is often what kills fish more so than catching them around beds or on forward facing sonar or anything like that. They aren't meant to fight a line and rod and reel and hook for long periods of time. And they will kill themselves trying to get off. My goal is to get them in and off and back in the water quickly and safely and I consider outsmarting the smartest and biggest the reward. I will say I've had some epic fights with some big largemouth bass but nearly had heart attacks every time because it's usually inside of a tree or around a bunch of rocks and I've lost more than I care to count!

Popper. Light bottom and dark bottom. Dont really care what the actual patterns are as long as a I have a light and a dark.

For sure @Bluebasser86 writes a good update.👍🏻 but I’ve got the same thought on tournaments. That said, my son wants to fish a tournament so maybe I will someday just to say I have. Maybe if I do that with no plans to win and just enjoy the experience, it will be fun. But it could end up like my sporting clays career - tried one tournament just to see what it was like, zero expectations and I shot very well. So then thought I’m good at this and as soon as I thought I’d get serious, that’s about when both engines caught fire and my tail fin fell off… ✈️ 🔥 😆 @Aaron_H My chatterbait setup uses copoly line and a MH/mod crankbait rod. I’ve had great success landing with with that setup. 👍🏻 Crazy to say you lost maybe a 6# but it wasn’t one of the really big ones - a 6# up here would be the fish of the season, if not my life. 🤪

I would be using the Zoom z-craw worm Texas rigged. My colors would be green pumpkin magic and plum. But to only take one bait is like fishing with one hand behind my back IMHO.

Another upland species.

I've been on it a few times. BIG lake and lots of different sections. You can do just about any type of fishing you like. It seems like the smallmouth win most of the tournaments there. There is a lot of slop and weeds if you like frogging and heavy-cover largemouth fishing. I believe smallmouth are mainly in the South section so my guess is there were a lot of boats in the same area.

Right? Today was my first day of my stretch. Only 2 of my target species (bass). For roughly 6 hours work. What a grind! But I also caught the most beautifully colored Sheephead (Freshwater Drum) I've ever seen.

Probably cause it's not a beer - you can't directly compare beer/lager to a stout....its' just not done. Saying that - Guiness, Murphy's and some stuff @Deephaven introduced me to called 'Nitro Milk Stout' are my brews of choice....can't stand 'American P**s Water' anymore.

Yes sir, bone jarring.🤣

I will bring a helicopter lure, because I plan on borrowing what ever is working from you.

Right? Lol Nothing wrong with his feelings of course, but a 19" bass thrills me too. That's a nice quality fish in every definition of the book. And anything 20+ for me is the cherry on top. I've caught more 19 and 20 inch bass this year than I ever have before, and it never ceases to amaze me just how big these things are and how much surface area they take up at that size.

I painted this glide bait this week. It’s 12” long and weighs 20 ounces. Yes,it’s not for everyone but the big fish hunters I know will want one.