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I fished for an hour this evening at my pond. The north wind has been blowing pretty steady for three days and will blow for another three days, but it abated just long enough today for me to cast for an hour. I used three baits: popper, walking bait, and spinnerbait. I caught four bass total, but had four hits on the walking bait that didn't stick. Two looked big as they came completely out of the water. I did drop my spinnerbait on the head of one hit and miss and I had her hooked for a few seconds, but she charged my canoe and I never got a good hookset. It didn't help that my hands were cold as it was raining. A cold rain. And it's going to reach 34 degrees this week. Here's one of the bass. I like how plump fall bass are: Congrats to @gimruis, @The Baron, and @Fishlegs and all hail @TnRiver46 for showing us, again and again, how to really live.

Start of the cold front hit us today. Pretty tough conditions, then didn’t realize I was about out of gas until I launched, so stayed close and just burned up the trolling motor. Tomorrow is the only cloudy day all week, so hoping to be able to get back out. Surface temps falling fast now, down to 70-71 deg. today. Did score a couple bass along with a handful of crappie.

Went with a buddy on Sunday to a lake I use to fish all the time but haven't much the last several years since it took a huge downturn due to fishing pressure. Use to have a lot of big fish and October was the best month to catch them, wanted to see if we could find any of them that were left in there. The lake doesn't have a huge population, but it has a ton of big shad and the bass in the lake utilize them to the fullest and grow to some pretty crazy proportions because of it. The lake was way down because of our lack of rain, but I still found a few future giants. The catfish were very bitey too, 5 on bladed jigs and 2 on a spinnerbait. My buddy Deric took big bass honors for the day with just a football of a bass that weighed a hair over 6 pounds but was only 19.5" long. She fell for a super, secret big bass bait (Ned rig 🤣)

Lynn's in recovery. Just spoke to the surgeon. Thankfully the procedure was completed without complications. Results / outcome may not be realized for several weeks. Been a long day already and there's still a couple of hours travel to get home. Thanks for the support. A-Jay

These were the biggest catches (apx 4lbs). First two photos are the same bass. these were my smaller bass catches. They fought HARD though! Gotta love em

Got to fish the other day for the first time in a while. We caught 12. All dinks except for this chunky 4 lb 6 oz smallie.

Lynn's Eye surgery is scheduled for later today ~ we're hoping for the best possible out come. Vision is a gift. 😑 A-Jay

It was my best bud’s 40th birthday today so we fished the same ole spot I’ve been going that’s not flooded to chocolate milk. The fish keep dissipating but we didn’t get skunked, even got a catfish double

Fish are still biting up north. 19 largemouth and 10 pike in about 5 hours with a friend and the dog made for a productive day. One of these days my season is going to be over but for now there is still a good bite going.

Well, my fall fishing bonanza has taken a sudden downturn. I fished a week ago and water temp was in the low 67’s… this afternoon it was in the low 58’s. I was really looking forward to the great fishing I had last year as water temps fell through the 60’s, but I seem to have pretty much missed it this year. 😞 Only one 4# fatty on a plopper today, and a couple smaller ones. Had another good fish on a deep crankbait but it got off before I had a chance to see it. Might be time to winterize the boat and start hunting. 😕

Had a buddy in town from AZ for the football game this weekend. We got in some fishing on Sunday. All the jumping white bass had vanished but we found plenty of shad for bait and caught LM to keep us busy

I always wanted to fish the Buffalo waters of Lake Erie so we planned to do it this fall. Flew up on Sunday & fished for 5 days during the week. We were greeted with small craft advisories & mostly 4 foot waves on day one. We could not get out to the Meyers reef area we wanted to access so we fished 2 or 3 spots closer to the ramp in the main lake. Tried blade baits but could not get bit. We ended fishing drop shots & dragging tubes. Most bites were on the drop shot but the bigger fish came on the tubes. We needed 1/2 & 3/4 oz weights to stay in contact with the bottom while drifting. Same with the tube weights. We caught numbers but only up to 4+lbs. Target depths were 30 to 40 fow. Same for day 2. Day three was so bad we could only fish the upper Niagara river because the wind was howling. We used jerkbaits & drop shot rigs & fought wind blown weeds all day. We did manage to catch some smallies with the big fish at 4.5 lbs. Thursday we still had wind & waves but not as bad so we could go where we wanted and the wind/waves played down as the day progressed. We got much better numbers & size. Capt Joe Fonzi caught a 6-15 & Rob & I each got a 5.5lber. Very good day with lots of marks all on bottom in 35-40 fow. The last day was forecasted to get very windy by noon. We slowly ran back out which took almost an hour. We caught fish up to 5.5lbs then had to quit early because it was building. By the time we were approaching the harbor it was solid 6 footers with some rogue 8s mixed in. We fished out of a 22 foot ranger 622FS Pro with a 400 verado & 15hp kicker. Very good boat for the great lakes in that class except for the swells that come over the stern corners.

Fish were fairly active today. Caught everything on spinnerbaits and flat side crank baits, sexy shad. Overcast, water temp 63*

As an aerospace engineer I started in testing a wide variety of materials in the 60’s to the mid 2000’s mostly metals followed by engineering thermoplastics now called composites. Being a fisherman tested lines in my spare time. I say this to quality my knowledge is extensive regarding materials. Monofilament line doesn’t stretch under 30% of its strength. That equates to 1/3 of the advertised line strength. That value is higher then most rods using mono line can withstand before bending to it’s load strength. Now after 20 years trying to explain mono doesn’t stretch what you feel as stretching is over coming the line bow created by coefficient if drag going through water feels like stretch then in your mind it is stretch. So be it mono feels like it stretching then it is stretching. Tom

The only crankbaits I "burn" is a Rat-L-Trap & yes they are extremely deadly in cold water.

Got to the lake and they were already five boats at the boat ramp.. this was 40 minutes before sunrise. Managed 14 bass, this was the largest at 20 in long. 4 lb 11 oz. Water temps between 63 and 65. Light North Wind at 8 Miles an hour. It was a good day.

Stuck a nice one this morning before I had to pack it up and go get stuff done. Interesting progression of fish. The bigger one ticked in right at 4lbs, absolutely crushed a walking bait while I was on the phone scheming with @LrgmouthShad. Off to the panhandle, maybe I'll post a smallmouth later

Flat Calm, Blue Bird Skies, super clear water and just about zero wind. But I still poked a few. A-Jay

Note: I took most of the stream and river pics on the way back, not when it was low light. Well, this morning's trip wasn't for sissies. You see, the dang dam broke and one of my beloved swamps is now just a clear, shallow river. I reached it dragging my canoe down a trickle. I had to exit the canoe and drag about a dozen times, going and returning. I felt like I was back in northwestern Ontario, struggling through the bush. Being wet and cold was the hardest part. The air was 48 degrees and the water was 54 degrees, so I had wet feet and pants legs all morning. The river slowly grew in size. And grew. Unfortunately, my beloved swamp was now just a mud field. Going down the little river, I could see the former banks. Even though I was fishing in a very unlargemouthy place, I still caught bass. 52 in all. They were chasing shad, so I used my Yo-Zuri popper to imitate a wounded shad. They were well fed. I caught some bigger ones too. Here are some lipped and gripped. And I put some on the bump board. Once again, my bag was over 16.5 pounds. I am proud of my consistency in very different environments. I was fishing shallow current today, but I do well in swamps and on ponds too. One more to say, "Thanks for paddling down the stream with me! Sorry your feet and rest of you got so cold on the way."

Boo........ I don't need advanced and seamlessly connected. I just need a good reliable cable steer TM, which Motorguide has provided me for many years.

Doesn't get that cold down here in south Florida. Still gets frigid. Down to the bone. Those kinda nights I steer clear of, favoring the peak heat of the day, those nice chilly Florida winter days where the sunlight dances like a chime. I've caught some of my bigger fish at the peak of those kinda days. The feeding windows are indeed narrower. Bass tend to hit in very small slots, day or night. So being there ready to go is a good first start. First light is a good light. Rocky areas retain heat. Punching the mats equals big fish. Any movement like wind or current is a good omen. Cold weather doesn't mean the fish stop eating, just means that adjustments need to be made.

Dear Fellow Anglers, We are thrilled to announce an exciting new chapter in our journey. Building on the strong legacy of quality and innovation from our Lowrance® and Simrad® brands, we are transitioning all future trolling motor production under these trusted names. As a result, manufacturing under the MotorGuide brand has ceased. This strategic move supports our mission to provide anglers with the most advanced and seamlessly connected fishing systems. We are channeling our efforts into the Lowrance and Simrad® brands, which are uniquely positioned to offer industry-leading trolling motors and cutting-edge innovations for the entire boat. Our development teams are working diligently to enhance our Ultimate Fishing System, ensuring you have access to the most innovative, connected, reliable, and high-performance products on the market. We are especially excited about the upcoming release of our much-anticipated Recon™ Trolling Motors. Although production under the MotorGuide brand has ended, our commitment to supporting MotorGuide owners remains a priority. We understand you may have questions about where to go for services, warranty coverage, and more. Our dedicated service and warranty teams will continue to provide support to all MotorGuide product owners. Please visit MotorGuide.com for FAQs and more information. Thank you for being a part of our community and for your continued support.

Hard to tell, but these are the tip of a leopard frog's feet sticking out of a bass' throat that I caught in low 40* water a few years ago. 42* is the coldest I've caught them on a frog and I had a really good day in March one year on a frog in 45* water. They'll bite them in much colder water than most people think.

I went out for a long fishing expedition today. The bite was pretty good. I can’t complain. The trouble is I just didn’t land many. I caught 5 but missed as many. A crankbait and a swimbait allowed me to get some bites. I want to share an experience I had with the swimbait. Now, I do not use a net in the kayak, but I certainly will after this experience. I was burning the swimbait as fast as I could on an island. I wanted it to wake on the surface and then stop before it breaks. I am not a swimbait aficionado but I remember some people recommending to not mess around with swimbait fish. They say you should just grind them into the boat. Well, a giant fish explodes on my swimbait so I start going through those motions. Things are going pretty good until the fish gets close. I try to rush the good ol arm scoop underneath the belly and the fish dives under the boat. I lose control of the fish momentarily and when it comes back out from under, the fish thrashes and throws the swimbait next to the boat. If I had a net, probably would’ve been a different ending. This was a massive fish. I would say 7lbs is conservative. While I did not land it, I confess the fish gave a thrill I’ve not experienced before. It was like a buzzbait bite on steroids. Absolutely the most massive topwater explosion Ive had the pleasure of enjoying. So I can’t even be mad. Swim on, fish

I always knew Derrick Henry was a great RB with the Titans, but oh my, he’s really banging it with the Ravens. Trying to determine if Henry is taking the handoff or Lamar is keeping it is a crapshoot. And even if you guess right, you still may pay a price. In the 4th quarter, he’s a hammer.

I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that it (mostly) doesn't matter (for me). I fish baits and colors that absolutely do not exist in the fisheries here and they flat out get choked. And I haven't seen colors or patterns or shapes more commonly found here outperform them in a measurable way. I think fish will eat "whatever" they're feeling that day regardless of colors and shapes. And I'm only speaking for myself here. YMMV.

I was doodling around with brass beads earlier today and created this: A type of imitation Mepps inline spinner with a #3 brass French spinner blade. Recipe: 5/32 brass bead (i.e. smaller head?) #3 Clevis & #3 brass French blade 1/4 brass bead 5/16 brass bead 5/16 brass bead 1/4 brass bead #6 treble hook w/ red rubber tubing. Hmmm.... I wonder what would tear this up?

Just a few hours this morning. Caught three (more like 2-1/2) and lost two. The first was on a squarebill. A true 6” dink. Wasn’t even sure I had a fish on lol. Didn’t get bites/catches on anything other than that A-Jay Special. Caught two. One I had hooked but lightly and it threw the hook. The other I think was pretty good. Most of my catches have been tight to the bank or in wood. I made a bomb cast in open water to get line out to reel it in tight, and as soon as it went under the line took off like a rocket. I was unprepared and by the time I reeled in the slack, it was gone.

Hit up a reservoir yesterday, left my camera in my life jacket so posting today, was a little tired. 38 degrees in the morning so in no hurry to get out. On the water at 10, clear blue skies with a NW “breeze” so I wasn’t too confident. 14’ visibility so I figured they would be in deeper water, searched around a bit and found some in 20’ to 28’. Got the first one after a hr, a small Largemouth, then a couple more small ones. Then got a nice Rainbow but with no net when I got it unhooked it slipped out of my hand before I could get a picture. Then got 2 decent Largemouth, then more small ones so I left them to look for Smallmouths, well that didn’t work out. Wind picked up more and it’s a real pain to fish from the kayak with just a paddle, fishing with the rod in one hand and trying to position with the paddle in my other hand/shoulder. Wound up with 12 fish landed, 10 Largemouths, one Rainbow and a Rock bass. All fish on a drop shot and green pumpkin Max Scent flat worm

Went out for a few hours on the kayak while the kids were at school and caught 5 in about 4 hours. Water temp was 64-66 depending on location. All my bites came off the first area of cover in coves off the main lake. 3 on a Senko wacky rigged and 2 on a crankbait. The little bass that you catch on cranks always make me laugh! Biggest was 2.1 lbs which is largest I’ve caught at this lake in a few months. I did find a few off shore schools but no fish on a jerkbait or dropshot. I got a few bites on the drop shot but came back without my minnow tail a few times so not sure what was going on there.

Different lake, same outcome - water still in the mid 70s and even the thermocline looked to be intact. A good shot of cool air over the next week should help the bite get fired up a bit, I hope.

Another tough morning yesterday of missed strikes, I blew it on all of the nicer fish. I still caught 8 and provided a mild show for the other anglers around, but I had barbs in a few really solid feeling fish. Thankfully I never saw them. Sooner or later I will get them stuck stuck. The common denominator with the lost fish is the vmc trebles I'm using, I got some of those finesse trebles with the slick coating. While they are very sticky, they slip out way too easily. I want to like them but for distance hooking they're just too slick. Back to the gamakatsu short shank ewg trebles I love so much. Off to the panhandle tomorrow to play a show and fish lake Meredith for smallmouths

I'd say that each type of line has it's own characteristics. Like so much in bass fishing, each basshead might prefer the way a certain type line performs in a given situation. When it comes to line stretch in my own fishing, there are some deals that demand a type of performance where one line might out shine another. One example is when I'm throwing soft plastics for plus size bass with single hook baits. Could be brown or green bass, just Big. Baits include but might not be limited to Big Swimbaits for LMB, and just about anything plastic for SMB. Out on the end of a long cast (or deep) when the bass can completely engulf the bait and get it far enough back into it's crushers, it can be a futile tug of war trying to get that bait to move in it's mouth enough to get a good hookset. So in this deal, I often feel like FC & Mono do 'stretch' at least a little. Still never makes me switch to braid (hate braid on a casting reel anyway) but I also dislike having my bait thrown back in my face. Happens though. My solution has been LONG LASTING SWEEPING HOOKSETS where I keep max pressure on the fish for as long as I can. The theory (insert hope) is that the bass eventually releases the bait just enough for that hook to find a good home. Finally, those of us who used mono on glass rods for a couple of decades in advance of the invent of braid and graphite - might feel differently than a newer bass angler who has only fished braid on graphite sticks and then switches to mono or FC. Different world. Finally , and this is something not talked about much, but I believe in some scenarios when fishing mono/fc, it's possible to out cast my hook setting abilities. So I'm at least aware of the possibility of some line stretch. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. YMMV A-Jay

I had a 7’ MHF Abu Garcia rod but it was too heavy and long for my use case. Sure it’s great for heavier lures but I often throw finesse presentations more than big baits. Once I get around to it, i’ll get the Tatula XT 7’ MHF for power fishing. I didn’t get that one first because I heard it was stiff even though it was a MF rod, so chances are i couldn’t throw my 1/16 - 1/4oz on it. Slow and steady wins the race, I knew I would love the Aird-x because I felt it in store and it’s finesse feel was exactly what I was looking for.

I’d like to add another observation to my previous comment. When fishing moving bait, ie, spinnerbaits, buzz baits, vibrating jigs, swim baits and other similar baits, the fish in essence sets the hook itself by the manner the fish strikes the bait. As an angler, I’m relegated to keep a taught line through the use of my rod and reeling. Fish strike and turn away in the strike process and that for ce of movement is ample force the obtain hook penetration.

I think you will love the reel. When I decided to dedicate a rod for frogs, my 200E7 was the reel I chose. I feel in your situation that a MHF is enough rod. As for a rod, the Lew's TP-1 Black Speed Stick is on sale at TW ($140 rod for $100). No experience with them, but have read a few reviews and they seem to be excellent for their price. The 7' MHF lure weight is for lead only. I've encountered this type rating with other brands as well.

I've lost multiple giants on big swimbaits. I just check the hooks and keep casting.

Yes I have speed cranked and yes it works. I have not tried it in water in the 30s though like you say.

Never tried the SLX A, wasn’t impressed with the original SLX. I did love my SLX XT though. The Tatula CT is okay as well. Getting up to that price range though, I’ll grab an Alphas SV from Japan over a Tatula.

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is a comet from the Oort clouddiscovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China on 9 January 2023 and independently found by ATLAS South Africa on 22 February 2023. So have any of y’all saw it, photographed it? Found it and shot it tonight.

You sound like bright folks, if you don’t know much about investing I’d suggest you learn how and do it yourself. FWIW, a family member just started with a financial planner, $300 an hr., they’ll also manage it for .75% if wanted. A Fee only advisor is generally the suggested route. A couple good basic books. The Four Pillars of Investing The Bogleheads Guide to Investing “Investing is simple, but not easy” Warren Buffett

Some of you folks on this forum live an incredibly blessed fishing life.....5 straight days of SM fishing on Erie, that's a bucket list trip for sure. Beautiful fish! I've never fished up north for Bass, sounds like fishing in the Gulf which I have done a ton of. You get back on shore and for hours you feel like you're still on the water.

The OP is spot on describing Largemouth bass being more active in low light conditions. My Snallmouth bass fishing is limited primarily to Canada where Musky are like Largemouth low light hunters and Smallmouth blue bird bright sky they are more active in my limited experience. Tom

Actually not much thicker, the Ned’s I use are really small, they have trout hooks but the bait has a triangular shape body which I was not expecting. Yes they are, always a favorite color of mine in the Shad Shape Worm. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I have never finesse fished a Texas Rig. For me, that is a bigger bait technique. I also have had good luck with the small Yamatanuki on a Ned as well. Both these baits are offered in multiple sizes to fit your personal tastes. I like the real finesse offerings myself. Rest assured, if it didn’t produce, I would still review it honestly.

Yall are crazy. Just come to TX. Just remember TX is not responsible for any feelings of overheating or constant need for a cold beverage

Over 16 years ago, I joined the Bass Resources Fishing Forums. The benefits have been countless and priceless. Thank You. A-Jay

With the current hooks and rod actions, stretch is a non issue.

In every "study" done showing how much each line stretches. One end of the line is attached to an immovable object while the other end is attached to a mechanical device that applies more pressure than my rod-n-reel ever will. To this dumb Coonass its just interesting information.