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@ol'crickety Beautiful fish, and I had to look up that Googan bait. That's a cool looking bait, and makes sense why you'd be fishing it #whopperplopperqueen 😆 Last few days have been surprisingly great since we've started to transition into Fall. 8.6 on a DT10. She bent out both hooks on STX 38s. That fish would have been lost on stock trebles 1000%. Those hooks are just exceptional. 7.10 and a 7.3 on Free Rigged D Bombs.

No bigs today, but you’ll never hear me complain about catching a limit. I had 6 keepers today along with one missed fish and one broken off - it took my 6 lb. line into a treetop and that was the end of it. On and off rain through the weekend, but surface temps did drop below 80 for the first time this summer.

Not catching a lot, but there's been some quality. Here's a few little bait/big fish. scott

I fished my pond for an hour at the end of the day. The problem with only fishing it for an hour is that the bigger bass are at the far end of the pond, but there's no time to paddle there and back, so I'm left catching 15" to 16.5" bass instead of 17" to 18.5" fish. Still, they're strong and fun. I caught four on a spinnerbait in deep water and one tight to the shoreline on a Googan Revolver.

Visited a buds pond in a light drizzle and 25 mph gust today that I call " The Nursery ". Took my new Aldebaran BFS/Dobyns combos and caught 18 micro - bass and 2 bream.

The fishing has not been kind to me of late. After our heat wave we had a few nights that got down into the 40s. Couple that with sun and clear skies it’s been tough. Last 3 days I’ve returned to wade the tail waters of Dillon lake on to find the water level had dropped there as well. Three days of grinding produced a dink LMB along with a dink channel cat. Today cloudy weather was forecasted but after waiting until 3PM I was getting antsy so I decided to just go conditions be damned. Since I didn’t have a ton of time I went to the crappie hole which is the closest to me. I started out drop shotting around the dock the houses the spillway riser, but no takers there. I moved to the other end to fish the shallow flat where I caught my PB in July. I was working my shaky head along the bottom and got a hit but when I went to set the hook my line broke at the leader knot. I shrugged it off and figured I must has tied it wrong since it was kinda a rush job. I retied it, being a little more thorough this time. I was out of shaky heads but I had a single solitary tube left over from my Canada trip so I tied that on and got back to fishing. I worked the tube across the flat a couple times and caught the nicest LMB since this summer. Unfortunately after releasing it I spotted another even bigger fish floating out in the middle. My stomach dropped thinking this may have been the one that broke me off earlier. It was too far out for me to reach it. In my defense there were a couple guys fish in my that area when I pulled up, and I didn’t see ten feet of leader line dangling from its mouth. Either way my heart wasn’t in it anymore and I decided to pack it in and head home. When I looked out the fish was no longer there so I guess there’s a small chance it’s okay, at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

The A-Rig accounted for this gorgeous Brown bass today. Brief report to follow. A-Jay

0$ for Mr all my goes to the fat lady. Tom

Elite Evo field test and tested my FG knot! Both work flawlessly! also I think i caught my PB in that top photo! Love how they fight

What I actually spent or what my wife thinks I spent? Slow year, probably a couple grand.

The small mountain resort town, even over my lifetime, has become an international tourist destination, with traffic, drive through dunkins, and shopping centers. It was hard to see, hard to feel, the mountains. The whitefish, at least for me, has changed the vibe, the mountains have a presence, and a mystery again.

My opportunities to go bass fishing have been rare and difficult. Water is low, everything is changing, fish are acting different, and I haven't had the time to invest on the water figuring them out. But I did manage a very nice pike last night.

I fish mainly for smallmouth, Always from a boat & never from shore. Either way, 'what I spend' annually is on a need to know basis. Lets just say that it's something less than the National Deficit but more than a pack of gum. A-Jay

I plead the 5th

Feeling nostalgic this morning I visited the flat where I caught my PB Smallie 7 years ago. Well all of that was quickly put to rest by Mr Pike who Clobbered my walking bait. And then tried his best to make me believe he was a big bass - no such luck. Never did get the topwater for bass deal going despite what looked like semi-idea conditions. Limiting factor - no bait shallow. In fact, it took me most all of the morning to even find a couple of schools of yellow perch. But once I did, my efforts were rewarded. I'll get out again, just don't have a clue when that might be, I was thankful for this one however. A-Jay Side bar - been down to only 1 GoPro for a while now. But ordered two new units that should be up and running in a couple of weeks. Hope I can still fish.

Just over 3K so far, if we're talking gas, rods, reels, line, lures, etc. But I'll break even as I didn't join my 2 deer hunting leases at 2K and haven't bought any news guns. So really I've saved money.😁

Well, the time draws near and I got a report from a couple of my buddies who just spent 10 days up there. Relined 5 spinning rods and 1 casting rod. Report was that they threw a lot of baits but dropshot was the big winner. They threw a lot of different plastics on their dropshots so that leaves me with packing a lot of Yamamoto to try. One guy had 8 dropshot rods on his deck and he cycled through all of them. Weights were up but numbers seemed down (if you can call 50-60 a day down) he said if they were catching 3 pounders, they would move because they wanted 4’s and up. They averaged 4 to 5 with a few 6’s thrown in. We are actually thinking of extending to a full week if we get on them that good.

This is kind of the whole point, why buy an aluminum-frame A2 that's a Zillion with an extra BB and metal clutch bar. The magnesium frame on Steez SVTW makes it One Ounce (30 g) lighter. Most times, I can't notice the difference, but it's noteworthy on rods lighter than 100 g.

I throw jigs and worms and jigworms on all my rods

So it begins. Alex, I found this inscribed on a stone tablet deep in an Alabama swamp: "Lo, and yea, it is written that Alex shall rule the fall and winter. For this is right and good and maketh the Heavens smile. It shall maketh the good people from North to South smile too. So be it."

I get up before sunrise Get outta bed on time I don't worry bout taking a shower Cause showering's a waste of my time Show usually starts around sunrise I take a break around 9 Hit spot lock and strech my legs sippn' coffee and feeling fine. We've been dancin' with Mr. bait monkey He's been knockin, he won't leave me alone No, no , no, oh- oh I used to buy a little but the little wouldn't do it, So the little got more and more-or-or I just keep trying to get fish a little better Said a little better than before-or-or...

I like having numbers ponds and I like having Trophy ponds where it's all about the hunt and the sport. There's a time and a place for both in my life, but I completely appreciate people who value one over the other exclusively. I definitely think that there is value in fishing places where it's easy to catch fish when you're trying to gain confidence and learn new techniques, and I've definitely taken advantage of that in my own fishing. And there's even more value in places like this when you're trying to get somebody new into fishing!

My dr and cardiologist both wanted me To lose weight. No special diet. I stayed away from salt and sugar. Stopped the in between meal snacks. I’m drinking Minute Maid No sugar juice. The dr said I could eat normally, just cut back on portions. I’m eating less than half of what I used to eat. I’ve been doing this for a couple of months and now I’m not as hungry or need to eat as much as I did. I started at 248 and this morning I weighed 215. It was hard at first but I got used to it after about a week. No need to spend money on diets or special food.

This is why bass fishing is so cool. There are so many situations and so many ways to address them. You worked the puzzle with an open mind and figured it out. Very nice post.

@F14A-B Both my Steez and Vanquish have seen salt time, daytime tide passes, though I have that niche covered on other tackle now that I'm happier taking out on kayak. Where these both have annual salt niche is nite-lite winter dock fishing into Arroyo navigation channel.

Sheetrock would be much easier on my reels than what I normally smash them against

I know this is about Daiwa reels but insofar as magnesium is concerned, Shimano say’s their mag reels are saltwater safe. But then they say that about all of their reels 😂. As for me, I’m not using my Metanium reels in the salt, that’s where my Bantams come into play. 😁

It depends on base metal forming and anodizing quality. Die-cast is no-go - I can't fish my ZPI Alcance in brackish or salt, but my Steez is fine, though I don't often take the Steez on kayak. On magnesium, look for white deposit, especially around fasteners - indicator the reel body can't take (any more) salt exposure. On Alcance, I removed the screws and cleaned everything, reinstalled the screws with Mg-specific threadlocker, and moved it into freshwater BFS.

Such a beautiful setup, something about white or pink braid that always looks so good on a setup. Would you get two Zillion SV TWs or one Steez SV TW?

I'll take the 6th, 7th and 8th. FM

If you would have asked for my 2023 fishing budget...it would have included this purchase... This year's budget is considerably less. I did gear up for a Canada pike fishing trip, so I'm thinking that skewed the budget for 2024. If you are asking for specifics.... : )

Just a few casual giants!

Good thing too. This thread has been missing his monster fish. Nice fish @AlabamaSpothunter!

I do not give my rods names! That way if I throw a spinnerbait on my jig rod it doesn't get confused! Texas Rig Powell Inferno 703C 7'0" Medium Heavy X-Fast Kistler Helium HE7045HMH 7'0" Medium Heavy X-Fast Jig-n-Craws Diawa Tatula TTU711MHXB 7'1" Medium Heavy X-Fast

I just want to take a minute to self reflect and brag on myself a little bit. I have been fishing most of my adult life but I always grew up power fishing with mostly little to no finesse fishing. A couple of years ago I decided to take the time and effort to learn as much as I can about wacky rig and drop shot fishing. I’m happy to say that now those are two techniques that I don’t never have tied onto the front of my boat deck. I don’t always catch limits when I go but now I very rarely ever skunk. Thank you Glenn, Tom, AJ and lots of other bass resource posters for helping folks like me become better anglers. For the record, my go to set ups are a VMC size 2 wacky hook with a Berkley General Maxscent 5 inch worm and for the drop shot a size 1/0 VMC neko finesse hook with a 1/4 ounce tungsten teardrop and a 4 1/2 inch straight tail Roboworm. I feel like making this leap has definitely made me a better angler.

I don't use them but I took a look at this spinnerbait and it seems well built. It' a little bit heavy on the wire ( 0.040 ) but that makes it last longer. I make my own ( for the last 30 years) and I like 0.035. You can help with longivity if you wrap the R bend with fly tying thread ( braided line) or put a small split ring over it.

@ol'crickety I mainly use 3/4oz spinnerbaits which really helps getting it down and keeping it down, and I will actually fish my spinnerbaits right in the thick weeds. I’ll cast it out, let it fall until I know it’s on bottom. Then I give it a hard rip so it gets the blades spinning, and then every time I feel it hitting weeds, I rip it again. Ripping it through the weeds not only makes it come through cleaner, but can trigger strikes. So I cast, let it sink, rip it, then reel as slowly as I can until I hit more weeds, then I rip it again.

I went from over 330lbs to 205-210 depending on the day. I am still trying to get to 200 which I have but, I cannot keep up that cut in calories and exercise I need to stay there. I didn’t go on a special diet I still eat whatever I want. I just eat less. I walk anywhere from 4-10 miles a day between work and my dog. Keep track of my activity and watching my intake have been key.

Stevia is 300x sweeter then natural sugar however your digestive system can’t dissolve it and it ends damaging your liver unless purged with Omega 3 Fish oils. If you use Stevia or any artificial sweetener double up on fish oil. you want to loose weight cut the carbs down and increase vegetables and exercising. Tom

I on the other hand am fully vaccinated and I did get COVID. The misconception with the vaccine was it would fully prevent one from contracting the virus. In some cases it may be true, but for the majority it was to help mitigate the symptoms of the virus. Everyone’s immune system is different for various reasons. I also get a flu and pneumonia shot every year at my doctor’s recommendation and I can’t remember the last time I had a cold or flu. I’d like to add as we get older a shingles vaccination is not a bad idea.

One summer I was recovering from a surgery and had about a month to fish every day on a small river in mid summer with very low water. The river had big smallmouth bass along with many suckers, northern pike minnow, and carp. I don't know when bass got in to the river, but when I was a kid the river only had the trash fish species. Even the game department had no idea there were bass in this river. The water was low this time of year, and many places in the river could be crossed by jumping from one rock to the next without even getting my feet wet. The bass were concentrated in deeper holes, and each hole would have 3-5 large bass between 3 and 5 pounds, along with a few smaller bass. The water was muddy, and I couldn't see any bass, so numbers are just estimates based on catch rates. Nobody fished this river. I fished a dozen or so, mile long stretches with each stretch having 3 to 4 fishable holes with big bass. The first time I would fish a new hole I would catch a large bass on the first cast with an inline spinner. I would fish each hole in a stretch with the spinner, then go back and fish the holes with some other bait helping me catch a couple more decent size bass. The next day I would fish a different stretch and was able to rotate through stretches of river never fishing the same stretch twice in the same week. One day I invited a friend to go along with me and decided to take him to my very best stretch of river where I new there was at least two bass over 5 pounds and maybe more. The problem was I had fished this stretch of river hard only a couple days prior, and I was worried I hadn't rested it long enough. My worries were confirmed when we got skunked. We had enough time to try another section, of river that I hadn't fished for over a week and did well. This same scenario repeated itself throughout the whole month I was able to fish. The minimum time to rest a particular hole and still catch one of the big bass living there was 5 days. Anything less and the fishing was slow to zero. After 5 days, first cast in to a whole I would hook one of the larger bass and if I was lucky might be able to catch one or two more before having to move on. There was a very small population of bass in this river, and the holes were small and shallow. The northern pike minnows would hit almost every lure every cast if the bass were not biting. If there was a willing bass in a hole they would hit first cast. I'm not saying that all bass fishing waters need to be rested for a week before fishing them. Obviously this river was a rare situation, but I will say it doesn't take much angling pressure to turn bass off, or at least make them more difficult to catch. That was 16 years ago, and as far as I know the bass are still there, and no one fishes most of the river. A few locals fish a couple easy to access spots, but besides that there are around 30 miles of river with an average of 3-4 holes per mile with one to three smallmouth bass over 3.5 pounds per hole waiting to bite the only spinner they might ever see in their whole life. Because I do hope to get a chance to walk the banks of that river catching big smallmouth again before I go on to greener pastures, I am not going to give any more details on the location of this small piece of paradise. A good angler may be able to catch bass out of highly pressured waters, on a consistent basis, but a body of water that gets no pressure can be spectacular for even an average angler such as myself. If you are able to find and fish a lake pond or river that has quality bass and does not get any pressure, there is only one thing you can do. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

Only one rule in bass-fishing, my friend....'Have Fun'. How you dress, what your hair is like - none of that matters.

I ate the things. I call the dish fried mountain whitefish. Flaky white meat but with plenty of bones.

I've gotten into some fallfish in the mountain trout stream

I've had these conversations with the product managers at Wiley-X, Costa, and Hobie Glasses. They all said mirror color is only cosmetic - nothing more. It's unanimous. Let's move on.

I've heard some members claim that September can be slow fishing. It was today, only caught 3 in 4 hours of fishing. My partner caught this blue cat on a spinnerbait.

That's about it for me ~ A-Jay