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The Mayor came through on election night. I think I am geeking out on Crush City products. I love this swimbait. It's like a mini magdraft. I drove by my neighborhood pond at lunch and saw the wind pushing everything up against the rip rap like it had been for 4 straight days. I suspected the bass were stacked up there so I hit it up after work and they were. Had a limit in 15 minutes and kept going for another 30 minutes. Also the time change is always awful.

Got the 5’ 6” pistol grip St.Croix creek rod in today. Put on a Shimano SLX BFS XG reel, 10# braid with a 8# fluro leader. Set it up for throwing small moving baits; swim/chatter/spinnerblades. Probably going to go straight braid but the leader was already tied on, so…… It cast easily and accurate! Think I’m gonna like it. edit: Funny thing, I had one twenty five + years ago and never imagined it would be so difficult to find another pistol grip rod nowadays.

Baitfish only swim downstream? They’d all be in the ocean by now or stuck with their nose in a dam

I'm getting away from anything over 7. Seems kinda pointless for me most of the time and I find I work the bait better on slower reels a lot of times. I don't hate an 8 speed but for me, a 7 is just as good. For spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits I'm becoming very accustomed to a 6 speed. The one time I absolutely have to have an 8 speed is with a buzzbait. It's just more efficient for that type of thing.

In 1938, a Frenchman, Andre Meulnart invented the Mepps spinner. World war two ended in 1945, and there were still many American G.I.s stationed in France. One of these soldiers was Frank Velek, who brought some Mepps spinners home to Antigo Wisconsin when he returned after the war. He gave some Mepps spinners to Todd Shedon, who owned a tackle shop in Antigo. At first, Todd Shedon dismissed these lures as no good. He had them for two years, before he finally tied one on while having a bad day on the Wolf river in Wisconsin. He caught several fish that day, all on Mepps. He wanted more, and initially the only way he could get them was sending nylon stockings to a French woman, who Mr. Velek had met while stationed in France in exchange for Mepps spinners. He eventually struck a deal to import Mepps from the French manufacturer. In 1956, he sold his tackle shop and formed Sheldon's Inc, focusing on selling Mepps. Sales grew fast, and by the mid 1960s sales were in the millions. Todd Sheldon passed away in 1995, and his son Mike Sheldon took over. They now own Mepps S.A.( France), and Mr. Twister, a great soft plastic manufacturer. They're still located in Antigo Wisconsin. And, if your a squirrel hunter, you can send them some squirrel tails, which they exchange for Mepps spinners. The Sheldon family got the ball rolling with Mepps. They distributed them, and helped to popularize them. But, had it not been for Frank Velek, an avid fisherman, and an unknown American G.I, who saw the potential of these spinners, American anglers may have never known about them. Sales of Mepps spinners are still in the millions.

Took advantage of pretty steep discount Kistler was having on a few of their Chromium rods/reels. The rods and reels 'retail' for $300. I put that in parenthesis because as we all know, they're always having sales. Are these on the same level as other $300 rods/reels? Eh, I wouldn't say that. But getting the reel for $89 and rod $99, that's a steal IMO. The cork on these rods feel so nice to the touch, I almost didn't wanna seal it. Lol.

I'm insecure... I have two of everything.

For the jerkbait deal, different rigs & baits represent the ability to present baits of different sizes, shapes/profiles, colors/patterns, sounds and running depths, where I need to. I rarely ever chose to 'dial it in'. I will almost always try a few different (usually proven ) baits in the same area. IMO, every fish is it's own creature and has likes and dislikes - like people. No pizza shop sells just peperoni pies. A-Jay

I absolutely hate the tangling of setups. It happens to me even when I only have 3 or 4 laid together. A dozen or more is not realistic on the deck of my boat. I like to keep an organized rig and deck, free of clutter. Which means if I'm not using something, it goes in a storage compartment. Its probably a reflection of my personality overall. I'm very type A - nearly everything has a place and I put it back when I'm done with it. Clutter bothers me to no end.

I have caught over 100 smallies six lbs & bigger on mono leaders attached to braid and three over seven lbs so my success dispels the mono versus flourocarbon myth. None of those were on topwater baits.

Buy whatever you like don’t settle for anything less you will regret it. I’ve done that I bought a Lund impact for family reasons when I really wanted a bass boat . Guess what my family went out in the boat about 5 times in 7 years. I finally sold the Lund in 2020 and in 2023 I bought a brand new Phoenix bass boat I couldn’t be happier with it and I fish with my son he’s 14 years old so not super little but the kids will grow up and you’ll still have that boat. So bottom line I say buy exactly what you want the first go around and be happy.

I've got various size Vanfords and Stradics. It might just be me, but I honestly don't see a WHOLE lot of difference in performance between the Stradics and Vanfords, other than the Vanfords are lighter. Both are smooth, awesome reels. From my perspective, the new Vanfords aren't enough of a change to warrant "Upgrading" from the previous Vanfords,... or a good Stradic. Not saying I wouldn't buy one if I needed another reel,... but not just to upgrade!

@LrgmouthShad here's one for ya. Not the biggest fish at 3-11 and it wasn't a true 'big' spinnerbait -1/2oz. But with a single sz. 7 colorado it goes as a big thumper in my book.

I’m the same as JHoss I am really adamant on a 5 speed reel for spinnerbaits. Nothing else feels right

Got to a spot near the house after work last night at 5:20, with about 50 minutes of daylight left (thanks, DST…..) My buddy got a nice 19” SMB and another short fat one , I avoided skunk with a small LM. Had to fish a bit into the dark just to make it worth hooking the boat up 😂 Thankfully the TN river was back to normal color the fish seem to have weathered the flood, took a little over a month to rebound

Enjoy! https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/wheelers-fall-baits.html

But you can get it in 2/0, which can be key. I like the matt allen head for larger baits and their mini underspin is just about perfect for me except the price and no 1/2oz option. scott

Having bass fished with early reels 3:1 gear ratio, “high speed” 60’s Ambassadors 4.3:1 ratio and 90’s 6.3:1 ratio the speed wasn’t a factor because the spool dia and width were larger. In 2000’s the bait casting reel became smaller frame, lighter weight and smaller diameter and narrower spool. To off set the lower IPT gear ratio’s increased to 8:1 to be close to 6.3:1 anglers were use to. I have no problem fishing 100 size reels with 8:1 ratio slowly with jigs and worms. Always use reels equal to today’s 300 size reels for crankbaits and faster moving lures with 5.8:1 to 6.3:1, the IPT doesn’t drop off radically like 100 size reels. Tom

I was sure you have three different spinnerbaits tied on at all times.

California is 80 % rural and 20% high population cities. The reason people are leaving or don’t want to be in business is 100% insane taxes, regulations and expensive cost of living. Retired with fixed income that you afford to live in California it’s hard to find better climate and both fresh and salt water fishing. Yes I am a native raised at Big Bear lake when it was very rural, well water and fuel oil heating, no fencing low density population. I went to a school house it was that rural! Not suggesting anyone move to California unless you have the income to live here. Central and northern CA is still mostly rural farm land away from cities. Good luck with your search and enjoy retirement👍 Tom

Do you start with 5-7 jerkbaits on the deck if you expect it to be a jerkbait bite based on season and conditions? Or start with fewer and bring more out once you know there's a jerkbait bite and want to dial it in? I am with you on this. Especially if I think I may be fishing one in dense grass and one in more open cover. I'm glad I'm not a big worm guy then! My boat is already full enough without needing 4 rods just for that. And our differences continue! We moved into our new house in December and the spare bedroom is still full of unpacked boxes and mounts that haven't found a new wall yet. So the real secret is that golden horseshoe you carry with you, huh? Wellllll guess I make a lot of bad decisions. At least the consequences to these bad choices are less severe than the bad choices I made in my youth.

@casts_by_fly a year or two before you 'buy' ~ Perhaps rent a place near where you think you might like to settle down. Learn the area. Probably won't be long before you know if it's the right place or not. Don't forget to think about what the two of you might need 10-20 years from now. The relative distance from family needs always seems to increase as we age. Also if you folks think a place in "Nice" you'll probably have plenty of company. Could be Good, might not be so good. Good Luck. BTW - Northern Michigan is a Horrible place to live and I think it's actually closed now. j/k A-Jay

Sometimes more isn't better. Simplicity can be an advantage. We all have our tendencies and habits. Organization is one of mine. All the time. Call me a square or a fine print nerd about it, whatever. Its not gonna change. When I bought my current house, I spent 3 months straight organizing the crap out of it. Shelves, hooks, storage compartments, etc. Its the only way I know how to operate.

You mean to tell me you guys don't all carry 4 jig rods with you? 1 Green Pumpkin 1 Black Blue 1 PB&J 1 Watermelon

Tom, you're right.. you live in a beautiful state with great fishing. But like my dad said when I was growing up - "Too bad 5 billion people figured that out before I did.." You're one of the lucky ones that probably grew up with the housing environment there and built the equity over time, but its pretty much impossible to move there from most other places now.. As a headhunter who moves people all over the country, I haven't been able to get anyone to move to California in over 15 years because of the housing costs... and these people make some pretty serious money. I just moved from there and could go back, liked it well enough. But a fair amount of people are either moving away, or more likely not going there when they relocate, because of the rising HOA/Insurance costs. Sink holes, condos collapsing, hurricane's, crazy uninsured motorists, etc.

I believe you. I've seen photos of your yard. It's...

That’s a lot of rods for a 14’ Jon boat.

16-18 rods in a 14’ jon? That has to be some kind of record. i usually have 2-3 in canoe/kayak/jon and 5-6 in the 18.5’ larger jon boat. Most of them have worms tied on 😂

Casts_by_fly, I smiled when I read your post… my wife and I have been on the same journey, but started 3 years ago. I’m not ready to retire but can work remote and so we started our search of several SE locations. Your wife sounds similar to mine, likes the beautiful outdoors but needs to be by a decent size enough metro area. We spent 3 years, many visits, and more money than I care to think about - lots of research, fly-ins, hotels, VRBO’s, due diligence trips, etc. Some places we went back to 4-5 times. The final verdict is no place is perfect and they all have their pluses and warts. We spent a lot of time in: Naples, St. Augustine, Nashville, Charleston, Nexton, Hilton Head, Knoxville, Greenville, Clemson, Charlotte. Plus a few other places ~ Some of our findings: •Charleston/Santee was our first destination and one we looked forward to the most. Regrettably, it ended up last on our list at the end of 3 years of research. Santee is a well known lake with big fish but few and far between as it gets hammered by constant tournaments. Charleston is cool “to visit” but we decided we wouldn’t want to live there. Great history, landmarks, restaurants, etc. But by the second/third time we visited, realized it was a land-locked industrial port city at its core. It is at/below sea level and floods every year… stinky, musty, and a bit liberal for our liking. A hurricane would be devastating there. •Hilton Head/Bluffton, etc. Really little to no bass fishing, would have to switch to Redfish. They are great, but I’d have to get a saltwater boat and at the end of the day would miss the green fish. •Nashville, fun town, growing pains, seemed a bit far from really good fishing in the eastern part of the state. •Charlotte, we both liked it but it is getting big and bad traffic. We heard repeatedly that it’s the next Atlanta which is enough to say no. Norman/Wylie are ok lakes but more crowded, pressured than I’d care for. •St. Augustine older/smaller than we liked… but the combination of nearby bass lakes, and great saltwater fishing - might be the best spot we visited in terms of pure fishing opportunities. •Greenville, SC is where we ended up, but we’re renting so who knows. Our daughter moved here to be near her new man so that was the final decision maker for us. Best urban downtown in America we’ve ever seen. All walks of life, different ages, races, etc. river walk, restaurants, low crime, awesome fun town. The way it should be. Smaller and more quaint than Minneapolis (of course, even before it became an undesirable metro area and semi-war zone). The suburbs in Greenville are hit/miss though, they haven’t figured out how to develop this high growth town - there are new suburbs, but they're right next to old industrial areas, trailer parks, bad roads, etc. There's good proximity to many lakes - Hartwell, Jocassee, Murray. Jury is still out on the quality of fishing here. So far it seems “average to slightly below average” compared to north Florida, Minnesota, East Tennessee, etc. But the area has an incredible year round 3 season climate (no real winter) and it “blows us away” every day how little to no wind there is here. I used to have a Pro-V Bass… you wouldn’t need something that substantial here honestly.. but it would be a great boat on the few days it gets a little windy. •Knoxville… we wrote it off initially because it’s a college town. But each time we were there it really impressed us. I think I’d like the fishing in East Tennessee even better than upstate South Carolina. But in the end, my wife liked the size/city of Greenville better… and our daughter is here 👍 Good luck with your decision. Life is too short to freeze your arse off up North for half the year!

One thing nice about having a gang of reels from the same series - e.g., all '18 Stella series, or all '22 Stella series) - within the series and same frame size, the spools interchange, and you can keep one spare spool for every reel in that size. All of mine are '18, and spools are still available. This is my mid-frame Twin Power, with stock spool and PE#1.2 (0.18 mm, 24-lb), and with a finesse-braid shallow Vanquish spool (PE#0.6 - 0.13 mm, 12-lb) I bought just for this match. As far as differences between Stradic and Vanford - internally, they are identical - externally, Vanford has composite body and lighter, cut-out composite rotor. The body also has a shorter stem, moving the reel closer to the rod - a few folks have complained about their hand fit.

I went fishing for smallmouth today and broke all these rules. I still managed to catch a good quantity of fish and some nice ones. Rules are made to be broken.

There is a dam, but it has no flood gates, or hydro electric generators. When the reservoir gets full the water flows over the top. The area gets zero rain from around the first of Nov. to the first of July. Then it rains almost every day, with thunder storms in the evenings, that can dump over an inch of rain in less than an hour. The lakes in this region, fluctuate 50 to 80 feet from low water in June to full pool in October. Water level, and clarity determine the location of the bass far more than water temperature. The surface temp. never gets below 60 degrees, or above 80 degrees, and is between 65 and 75 most of the year. The bass do like the many flooded fence lines. My guess is they use the fence line to travel from deep to shallow water, or maybe they simply enjoy cutting anglers line off on the wire. Whatever the reason, I am forced to spend a lot of my fishing time casting to these lure eating fences. The Bait Monkey wants me to try casting glide baits for the bass in this lake. The Monkey and I are good friends, but I don't ever see myself casting an expensive bait anywhere near this area. Just to make sure I never do, I wont even purchase a glide bait.

I like an 8 speed reel when fishing vegetation in the summer, allows me to keep the lure on top of the weeds a bit easier. Also like it for jigs and plastics. But day in, day out I like a 6 or 7 speed reel.

If you dont mine me asking, how do you fish lipless cranks with the 6 speed? Is it more a yo yo, cast and reel back? Shallow water, deeper water? I fish lipless cranks more than anything but always in shallow grass filled water, so a fast yo yo technique is all i do. I use the higher speed reels only to take the slack out of the line before the hooks foul up. Ive been on the fence about starting to use lipless cranks in deeper water, that way of fishing them is new to me and anytime ive tried i feel like i cant get them deep enough because i reel to fast. I think maybe the 6 speed would benefit me with those deeper runs.

I could see the caffeine shad working well as a chatter bait trailer. It would probably look similar to a spunk shad. I’m planning on comparing the caffeine shad to the Yamamoto D shad. I guess I’ll also be comparing the caffeine shad and the spunk shad as chatterbait trailers. Thank you for the idea!

Had the chance to fish a little in a customer’s canal off Doctors Lake. I clinched a tournament win in the 80s just behind the trees in the second pic. I was hoping for a fish or two yesterday to bring me a deja vu moment, but it wasn’t happening!

Alright Star Wars fans and/or Lego fans here you go. My Director is a Star Wars nerd and just finished this up. He said it took 22.5 hrs to complete. For some crazy reason he brought it into work to display. We helped him carefully put it onto a stand they make for it. He was sweating bullets the whole time we were attaching it to the stand. 😁

I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was! Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.

Bottom contact finesse fishing is arguably the situation in which I would want the most sensitivity in a rod in my arsenal. I believe that braided line helps accomplish this, as it has no stretch and helps detect bites more easily.

I caught this bucket mouth on a spinnerbait Oct 5. It wasn’t a 1 ounce version though. It was a 1/2 ounce terminator. My biggest bass of 2024. I own some super sized muskie versions. Never considered using them for bass here though.

But the largest I've caught in several years. Been fishing several times a week with varying results. Today I fished this afternoon and went to a place I don't usually go, threw an Okachobee Craw trick worm at a dock and caught this Alabama Bass. 3.79 lbs.

I love the Mayor. Nice haul!

I think it just really helps keep the bait down near the bottom banging into stuff and helps me slow my retrieve down so it's in a strike zone for longer. And yes, it definitely helps when I'm trying to fish it deeper! Also think when you're working a bait with the reel to get the action, you can get a lot more nuance with a slower reel. I especially like to fish the Bill Lewis rattle trap, specifically with the reel more so than the rod.

yes yes I will report this weekend once I try it out 😎

I never used a 33 as a kid, I went from a 202 to an old Shakespeare 1920 level wind caster. Now that there's grandkids (and great grandkids) in the picture, I've been picking up the old 33s (USA made with a metal foot) at yard sales, overhauling them, and putting them back in service. Never paid more than $3 for any of them. I currently have a plastic tub with maybe a dozen working 33s in it plus 6 rigged up on rods for the kids. They're simple. easy to overhaul and seem to be pretty sturdy. Can't ask more than that from a kids reel. Tom

I was holding a zillion 10.0 the other day and couldn’t fathom what it would feel like having a 10:1 gear ratio. I’ve never used anything over mid 7s.

Something like a Daiwa Revros or Diawa Legalis reel in the $50-60 range paired with a 2 piece Diawa Aird-X spinning rod in the $50 range should handle pretty much anything he's likely to catch on the TN River. Those can be easily found on Amazon, or local retailers. If he likes it, and wants something bigger/better down the road you can get it. If he doesn't, then you haven't wasted much money, and still have a decent setup you can use yourself. Good luck! I hope y'all catch some nice fish.

I’ll speak to the places I’m familiar with. Nashville - I grew up in Nashville and now live east of the city. The city is booming. It has a lot to offer culturally. It is experiencing a lot of growing pains. Expect to pay a half million more for a house on the lake compared to one across the street. The area lakes offer decent fishing. They are impossible to fish on the weekends during the summer but if you’re retired it’s not a problem. If you’re willing to drive a couple of hours you’ll have access to very diverse and world class fisheries. Chattanooga - I love the city. You should visit there to check it out. The fishing is good. Chickamauga seems to be in decline back to where it was before it boomed a few years ago with the introduction of Florida bass genetics. Any lake on the Tennessee River offers good fishing. There are some good lakes within a couple of hours. North Alabama - I lived in Huntsville for 12 years in the late 80s and 90s. It’s a good sized affluent city full of engineers that work for NASA and the military. The fishing is fantastic on all of the North Alabama lakes on the Tennessee River. The cost of living is reasonable. I always recommend that people take a look at Wilson lake if you’re looking for a home on the lake. It’s a beautiful lake with very nice homes that are reasonably priced. The nearby towns in northwest Alabama are small but full of charm. Take a vacation to Mussel Shoals and you might fall in love with it. I love fishing on Wilson Lake. It’s a unique lake on the Tennessee River and has great smallmouth fishing. Pickwick, Guntersville, Wilson and Wheeler are world class lakes that are within a 90 minute drive from anywhere in North Alabama. You can also head south to Smith lake or one of the Coosa river lakes. It’s all good and offers a lot of fishing diversity.

Staying as healthy and fit as you can NOW as well as later, can pay off down the road. We need the the whole package to be balanced so when we do "have the time" we can benefit and actually use what we've learned. And then share it with younger folks, who for some reason, often seem unable or unwilling to listen. Hence the saying, youth is wasted on the young. Get off my lawn. A-Jay

It occurred to me while reading this thread that it's been a couple years since I've watched a bass tournament. Just like the NFL, I haven't missed it a bit.