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Fun few hours on the water this afternoon. Surface temps 65 degrees, and the cloudy skies broke and gave way to some sunshine pushing high temps up to 65 degrees. Very light and variable east wind, and the fall colors are probably near peak. Ned did most of the work today.

I had a friend I grew up with come visit. We hadn't fished for bass together in 40 years. I found a guide that would take us fishing on my favorite lake. We fished hard for two full days and caught a total of 8 bass. The biggest one was 1.5 pounds. The last report I had for the lake was a couple weeks ago, and the fishing had been epic. It just goes to show even in Mexico, bass fishing is bass fishing. Neither of us got skunked either day, so it could have been worse. The good thing was fishing is not all about catching fish. We told and retold so many old stories that both of us had sore throats and scratchy voices, from non stop talking, and sore sides from laughing. My friends PB is 5 pounds, caught in the spring of 1977. I still remember him walking up to the bank and casting a #3 Mepps spinner across the creek hooking the bass and me reaching down an grabbing it. We both thought it was the biggest bass in the world. I sure wish he could have caught a new PB while he was here, but maybe he will get a chance to come fish again.

I'm so sick of losing my better fish I could scream. I took a few days off from the lake. Went back this morning and evening. Caught about 12 of these little super dinks throughout the day. Right about sunset I get hit with another brick wall of a fish. I get it within about 10 feet of me and she jumps and spits me. Looked like a solid 5-6. What a drag. At the very least I'm catching numbers with the dinks, and it's not like I'm not getting bit by big fish. It is without a doubt my worst year of missed big fish, but the last time I had a streak of luck like that I ended it with a PB. The idea that it may happen again is the salvation of my sanity, and what's left of my hair

The time has come to wrap up the 2024 season. Here are some stats I kept track of, a brief summary, and some photos. I bought a clip for my phone last winter that attaches to the wind shield and started using it for action photos this season. I got better at using it as the season went along. I went fishing 35 times between April 6 and Oct 26, which is a new record for me since I've owned my boat (bought it in 2015). This was mostly due to an early ice out in the spring. By comparison, I went 33 times in 2023 and 31 times in 2022. Most of my outings range in time from 3-5 hours in length. I try to go about 1 or 2 times/week. My son and my dog were also able to go with me a handful of times. In May, I caught a second best PB largemouth. At the time, I didn't think I'd be able to top that this season. On Oct 5, I did, with a new second best PB largemouth. I won two local derbies, one in early August and another in late September. At no point during the entire season would I say that bass fishing was poor; in fact, every outing was at least decent if not much better. Smallmouth fishing was ok this spring but unfortunately mother nature did not cooperate this fall for me to go again. My one failure was muskie fishing. I put in about 40 hours this season and only boated one fish. It was a solid fish, but I generally expect to do better than that. Still, one is better than none. Lastly, its always a bit of a sour time of year when the boat has to be winterized and the season is nearing its end in the north, but finishing the season on a high note makes it less painful. I was able to do that because October was the best month of fishing I've had in years.

A couple from outside of Raritan Bay NJ yesterday. We boated 7 with two in the keeper slot, the rest were overs. We dropped a few others, caught a few dogfish and sea bass while waiting for pods of fish to move. Fun day!

Doug Hannon wrote about the plastic worm years ago. He claimed that the plastic worm was the one lure that bass could not remember or become used to. I think this is true 100 percent. Through most of the season the plastic worm works. It's always fun to mix it up and try new or different things, but the worm still rules much of the time.

White spinnerbait. All day. Everyday. Year after year.

Hate to burst y'all's bubble Established in 1894, Heddon Lures Established in 1926, Fred Arbogast Company Established in 1936, Lauri Rapala Bill Lewis Bomber Lindy/Little Joe Mr. Twister Norman Smithwick All are still major players Y'all have a nice day!

There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar Great expectations, everybody's watching you People you meet, they all seem to know you Even your old friends treat you like you're something new Johnny come lately, the new kid in town Everybody loves you, so don't let them down https://youtu.be/6Y5sZ1WoQMk?feature=shared A-Jay

Can confirm the 2.5" OSP Mylar Minnow in "Really Shirauo" works wonderfully on a drop shot for Yellow Perch!

2024 was sharply different than 2023, when I happened upon multiple six-pounders. Here are three of them: In 2024, I only caught one six-plus-pounder and I caught her early in the spring, the biggest bass of my life: I never got a weight on the fish above, but she was 22.25". The bass below, caught in 2023, was also 22.25" and I weighed her: 6.75 pounds. Their builds are quite different. The bass above also had a BIG head, but her much bigger body makes her head look small. She was a beast in both belly and back compared to the one below: I figured I'd never catch a bigger bass, unless I cast south of 45 degrees N latitude, so whereas I tried and failed to equal her, I spent a spring, summer, and fall of joy, catching LOTS of bass. I had one 70-bass morning and a 75-bass morning. I had many 40/50/60+ bass mornings and evenings. Along the way, I caught scores of four and five-pounders. Here are five of the scores of fours and fives(I didn't weigh any of the five below. The first three are all about 21 inches. The fourth one was about 20 inches. I also didn't measure or weigh her. The fifth one was only 19 inches, but thick with a big head. So, I'm guessing they're all five-pounders. I really don't know because I didn't measure the lengths or weights of any of them. Big bass make me nervous. They're rare, so I want to return them to the water ASAP.): I also bought 4.5 acres of waterfront and fished that pond heavily. Its bass don't grow as big as other ponds I fish, but I've fished it for three years and I've watched a steady increase in their size. One strange and wonderful thing about this pond is its bass are stronger than other ponds I fish. Plus, it has extensive wetlands where the bass lodge, so I got a LOT of practice playing strong fish in heavy cover. Here is one of them: Some friends built a boardwalk and dock for me to walk over the wetlands to the water. They even extended the boardwalk to open water, but I prefer to dock my boat in the inlet, safe from the wind: Lure-wise, I fished an underspin with a Crush City Mayor heavily in the first third of the year. It let me cast into the thickest cover and that's where they were: Then I fell in love with the versatility of a spinnerbait, which I could fish high or low, fast or slow, in cover or open water. This final third of my fishing season, I leaned on a Yo-Zuri popper. I remember when it was glossy and pretty. That was hundreds of bass ago. I also learned to fish a walking bait and really enjoying making them pop and gurgle. Keep the line slack and make it snap! And I enjoyed catching several 20-lb. bags. I'd rather catch a 20-lb. bag than a six-pounder. Five times the fun and whereas I need some luck to land a six-pounder, as they're rare, a 20 lb. bag is a skill marker. You don't luck into five four-pounders in a morning. A six-year-old with a Barbie outfit can luck into a six-pounder. I also took several people fishing, guiding them to the most and biggest bass of their lives. The 12-year old beat his PB several times: I never took the beauty of Maine for granted: And I also didn't take my waning days for granted. I turned 68 this summer and know that my time in canoes is coming to an end. Some season soon, I'll need a boat less tippy and I'll likely fish my pond mostly from a V-hull or jonboat. No more dragging my canoe across a meadow or carrying it through the woods. As Frank Sinatra sang, I'm in the autumn of my life, but it was a very good year. P. S. - I also caught three doubles, i.e. two fish on one lure on one cast, and three 19-20-inchers in three consecutive casts. I also caught and released what I'm pretty sure would have been a new state record pickerel. I've caught a lot of Esox and am pretty good at estimating their weights.

2 new baits to check out. Picasso's new Titanium spinnerbait. Obviously has the titanium wire, but also a swinging head, which has it's pros and cons. Also got the Toad Thumper Juggernaut Jig. This thing is an absolute beast of a heavy-cover jig. I won't be able to try it out until next year, but I can already tell this is going to be one impressive jig to throw around the gnarly stuff.

The soft plastic worm catches more bass then all other lures combined and continues to do this for decades. There is a wide variety of soft plastic worms that also continues to grow year after year. If you bass fish the “worm” should be your 1st choice. 2nd choices that catch bass everywhere year after year is the jig that combines a soft plastic trailer and a spinner bait that combines a soft plastic trailer. Hard lures like top water, sub surface jerk baits and diving lures come and go year to year popular today and forgotten tomorrow. Tom

We anglers often seek answers to unanswerable questions. Things change from day to day and year to year. Did the bass learn to avoid my lures? Was it the weather? Was it the result of FFS? Am I losing my touch? Was it just bad luck? Without a lot of data gathered in a controlled manner, it is impossible to know with any certainty. Bass fishing is full of myths that started when people convinced themselves that something was true without the facts to prove it. I try very hard not to speculate and to keep an open mind to the possibilities.

And the opposite is true too. When they're biting, I beat that into a pulp until its over. Some people switch up lures when they're biting. I can't wrap my head around that one.

Same with me. If I'm not catching bass with a particular lure, I'm quick to change.

Rayburn Red Rat-L-Trap ripped outta grass has been killing em for years and will again the spring. Did the bass stop biting it or did we stop throwing it?

Had another musky on (little guy) and lost it...another guy I the boat had one more one and lost it, plus two follows. There was another little pike too...not worth photos. All on the same fly: pink and white musky deciever.

In my experience, an east wind is better than no wind at all.

Just finished up my 4th year of tournament bassin and noticed that some of my most confident baits/styles from the last few years didn't play as much this year. I'm curious if this is something others have observed as well and your thoughts on why? There's a few explanations that come to mind: 1) I'm learning/gaining confidence in other techniques and using those in places I would normally use an old confidence bait thus reducing the time that bait spends in the water and the number of fish it comes in front of. 2) Fish are constantly adapting to different baits/sounds and that causes a cycle of productive and unproductive years for certain baits. Maybe they've heard too many chatterbaits by now and are getting turned off by them. 3) I've tweaked something in my gear or retrieve that's caused an inadvertent change. Maybe a line change or hook change is affecting the fall rate or shimmy of a bait.

Thank the Lord for crappie!!! Cuz I can't catch a muskie on artificials lately to save my butt!!! 😂 I had one follow on the rig Sunday, and that's the only fish I moved on artificials in four trips. 🤦‍♂️ I had a big girl show up to T-Billy's all you can eat crappie buffet today though!!! 46.25" Man it feels good to FINALLY put a big'n in the net. She's my first 40+ since the last week of August. Followed up shortly after by a 38". Back to the grind for the next four days. Unfortunately it looks like warm fairly stable coming, so I suspect the bite will be tough next week too. I'm REALLY looking forward to the rig bite at this point, but it's looking like we may still be a few weeks out.

I’ll do my part to keep this thread up because now that I’m retired, I enjoy cooking more. While I’m better known for my BBQ ribs and margaritas, my wife and daughter like a break from it and really enjoy a smoked citrus chicken that I make. Really easy and it’s actually very good. Key is to not over smoke the chicken. I find yard birds have a tendency to absorb a lot more smoke than beef or pork. I smoke the chicken for 1 hour per pound at 225 or whenever the internal gets near 160. I hate dry chicken so I stay on the lower end. I prepare the bird by washing, rubbing with butter or olive oil (IMHO olive oil gives a little bitter taste and butter helps brown) then I rub with a good citrus rub like Rufus Teague and then squeeze (depending on bird size) 2 lemons, 2 limes and 1 orange. After squeezing into the carcass, put the citrus skins in the bird like stuffing. Better to go lighter on the amount of citrus than over because it will make it bitter. I like apple wood for smoking chicken because it is milder than hickory, cherry or mesquite which are my most used woods.

I think some folks get hung up on certain baits. If the fish don't hit them, they think they don't work anymore. The bait may not work that particular day. Next week you could be making a killing with it.

In my specific case, at least "some" of the bass stopped biting certain lures as time wore on, which led to me to stop throwing it. So the latter was a result of the former. No reason to beat on a dead horse when its already dead.

A plastic worm has been a consistent bass catcher for 50 years. It still works, and will continue to work in the future.

Let's kick it off with a meal - wife wanted her own thing the other night, so I made up this for myself. Roasted Cornish Game Hen with my own spice mixture Nathan's onion rings, air fried Steamed broccoli florets with a couple slices of Velveeta over them.

Replace the top glide Tom

Put the reel on anther rod. Tom

I can’t say I ever look what direction the wind is coming from. I just fish it as it is.

Greetings All, I am definitely on the low end of the hookset intensity scale. This is by preference, experience, and on purpose. @Swamp Girl to address your inquiry, at or below your level identified. I'm gauging the amount of tension based on the amount of bend in the rod at all times. I try to maintain a 1/3 to 2/3 loading on the fishing rod. I'm a recreational angler that mainly uses ultra lite gear for multiple species year around. So the 4 pound mono and UL fishing rods are my successful solution to angling fun. This involves bass, bluegills, shell crackers, crappie, catfish, and in the cooler months trout. On those special occasions when up in northern AZ, pike, walleye, and perch. I have tried the send it to the moon approach with plenty of disappointment and inconsistent results which is why I've migrated to UL gear and simple keep them pinned approach. Yes, they swim about a bit but they also don't have the explosive startle response when slammed by an aggressive, rude, hookset evoking a panic event. I'm sure some folks deliberately seek that response based on marketing to bass anglers. I'm happy simply catching fish so I'm good just sharing my $0.02 worth of experience. Not trying to change anyone's approach with this information. While my response is not sensational or "intense", it is timely. It is pretty rare I have a deep hook situation as I'm responding as soon as activity is appropriately detected. I simply reel in with a tension enhancement with graceful rod sweep. Because it is a UL rod there is only so much leverage imparted via the rod action and 4 pound mono. The sharp hook (frequently with a smashed barb), good knot, and cooperative fish are the rest of the factors. It is fortunate that most of the bass bites start with them swimming towards the deeper water and generally away from structure so I'll tension up things gradually with enough holding and allow them to continue working in that general direction. As they tire, I'll input more to guide them about to where I can get to yak or in my hands for a hook removal. Also to minimize the loss of support from being in the water, I do what I can to keep them in the water as much as possible. I find the inversion technique also helps keep them from thrashing as I remove the hook. This is a great discussion on a wonderful forum. Good to read and hear of each approach. Be well, and Cheers!

You can take a Q tip and run it over each guide. Cracked or broken guides will pull on the cotton so you can see which ones are bad.

New spinning setup..... Stradic 3000XG on a Levante Shakeyhead and I managed to score some D Braid in 15lb to wrap up the combo. As always, Digitaka is amazing. Hopefully I don't like the D Braid too much since it's no longer made. I've read bad reviews about the stuff that replaced it.

Right. Exactly, quite frankly some things just don’t change. Picture from my latest Bassmaster magazine. Chrome w blue back rattletrap has been killing it on the St. John’s river system for decades and apparently, it still does.

I am a Rapala junkie up and down and inside out. I love fishing DT’s and Shad Raps. And others with that same amount of confidence. But if my fishing conditions are putting fish 20-25 feet down (conditions have been this way for many many week) with baitfish like bluegill and crappies at that depth also and I believe larger bass are deeper than 20 feet of water, for me to throw DT 06 and SR 07 and 09 is not gonna get deep enough and get the job done. I don’t have extra extra deep Rapala DT’s to get down there. I don’t believe my crankbait setups will let me get that deep. So I can’t say crankbaits are in an off year. I could have went out and bought a bunch of new stuff to reach these depths. May or may not have been the answer to my problem. I just went with fishing soft plastics at those depths. Yesterday morning I had only a handful of perceived bass hits and one bite that got me a 16” greenie. Open hook split shot rig on a PowerWorm in 18 feet of water. Thursday morning I’ll be back in that same area. But I’ve had seasons where a Rebel Craw would not get hit or a SubWart was the real killer on fire. Times where a roadkill color tube is all I needed or a christmas tree color grub. Zoom was better than Berkley. Strike King out fished a RoboWorm. Lake fishing this season the bass were forced to deeper water. Why I don’t know. Temps? Drought conditions? The baitfish have retracted to these depths. I’d like to know why but I have no idea. I had a very serious case of pneumonia back during one of the heat waves. They (Dr. and my family) did not want me to be out in that. I honored their wishes. BUT I think loosing this fish time I got knocked back a few steps when these fish started that transition. It is what it is and all I can do is keep at it, never give up.

Gimme them birds!!!

I know someone who goes with a green one instead, aka "greenie." He will toss that thing for hours with nothing to show for it while the rest of us are killing it on another presenation, and he still refuses to switch. At one point we had 35 bass in the boat and asked him if he wanted the plastic we were using. He looked at us and said "you and your rubbers" and then went back to chucking greenie. Dig your own grave, and then die in it.

If you have a IROD contact owner Matt Neuman he will send you a replacement guide that fits your rod. Tom

definitely the problem. There is no ceramic insert left and you’re on the bare metal. It looks like the tip was crushed at some point also, either before or after losing the ceramic ring. You need a replacement tip top and thats a 5 minute job. The new tip top will cost $3 or so. I’d suggest an Alconite. Take it to a shop if you have one nearby. Or do it yourself with some YouTube help.

I'm lucky, I'm retired. If I plan to go fishing and the wind is out of the east, I simply change plans. Cut the grass, load up some ammo, read a book, etc. I put in enough week-end time on the water with the wind out of the east when I worked to swear off doing it once I retired. Did I catch fish back then? Yes, but very few and I worked hard for every one of them. I'm easy like Monday morning.

Maybe he wasn't looking for your pity. Rather....encouragement or even tips to help "make it happen" beyond "read up on it and stop whining". Hard stances are something my father thought was good parenting, and is the reason we're not close anymore.

Ask @Glenn for a dedicated food thread. I've done it before and it fell on deaf ears. I posted a recipe in this thread and it was removed and I got a time out. Well deserved time out as I broke the rules. Most normal folks don't post recipes for Haitian cats, I did. Sorry. Let's move on. That being said, I think a recipe/cooking/bbq thread should have a dedicated thread. We have a thread for the Super Bowl every year and not everyone follows football or the SB but, they get their say so.

I think it depends on what's associated with that east wind. Is it accompanied by a nasty storm or is it just a mild system/wind change. i don't do well with the first one. I've done well enough with the second one.

A bent rod under a double rainbow on a beautiful river? What a picture! I hate that you weren't able to land the big one, but thanks for sharing.

Wind from the East , fish the least. I’ve been pleasantly surprised a few times but for the most part the saying has held true for me.

Does the the lake you fished last time have Zebra Mussels? Their shells are like razor blades. FM

I would start on the West Bank when there's an East wind. Then I'd go try the East bank. Probably bounce back and forth while trying different types of cover and structure. Bass like flats/points/coves/creeks/vegetation/wood/rock. Sometimes it's all about being in the wind. Sometimes they want to be wind protected. Beyond that - when it's windy - I usually speed up my presentations and fish more reaction type lures.

New Article Just Posted! https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fall-lure-baits.html

Recipe: drive to Taco Bell and get whatever they have under $5 ……. 🤣 drink pairing : water or cheap beer from gas station

hey just FYI the drag does seem better than before, not tight tight but pretty good. I may just order carbon ones for good measure anyway. thanks again for your help

Bait Monkey saw me on the couch bored last night and decided to put a bug in my ear.