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Small keepers are better than no keepers 🤣 at least in my book. All on crankbaits again. Cool bonus fish was a blacknose crappie. Water still needs to cool down more to fire the bite up, I think.

How in the heck did these get here and who’s this guy, Gary Loomis??

Mrs. Chunkworth in the fog right after breakfast this morning… a hair under 6, good start to the day..

11.5” rock bass

PB alert!!!! 🚨 (attn: @gimruis) The evening began with a dink smallie Then I got another tap tap tap, assumed it was a dink but felt heavyish. Turns out it was an 11.5” rock bass

The bass haven't been fired up when I'm there, but they're still around and somewhat willing. A few highlights; City bass Country bass 2.75" tube; 1/2oz jig, and 1/2oz finesse scrounger did the work. scott

Another football caught with The Mayor. Need to dump this Boxer Jig. After three fish it the bait slips and won't hold in place. Probably going to give the VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig a shot next.

You can catch em in the middle of the skyscrapers too, the river has cleaned up enough in the last 30 years to catch bass, mostly LM. These are not my pics, saw them on reddit. This spot is near my apt and I have a somewhat secret free parking spot nearby; otherwise it's more of a time, money and/or train thing to other areas that I know have fish. Plus, the smallies get chunky and the deep water and current means they don't ever stray too far away. scott

So I began the process of storing my boat for the winter. First step was emptying all the tackle I keep in it. That tackle takes up 2/3 of my workbench. What isn't pictured, because it's behind all this, is my buzz and spinnerbaits, paddletail swimbaits, and a peg board that runs the full 7ft. length of the workbench filled with tube baits. Next up, putting the trailer up on jack stands, removing the wheels and greasing up the axle bearings.

I just wish I had a pic of a rock bass. We loved catching them as kids. We used to ride our bikes about 15 miles to a little creek which had a deep hole and we were as happy to catch rock bass as all the other fish. They're feisty! Well, Johnny Law is the law, so he's allowed to do that.

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.

The Mepps Muskie Killer put several quality fish in the net for me this year. The best was this chunky 45.5". When they're chasing bigger blades but don't want to commit, downsizing to the Muskie Killer will often seal the deal.

Walleye are starting to bite on the rock. This little cedar crank is doing work. Lost a couple smallies on it as well.

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.

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.

There are 2 plastic shims, p/n 17 and 18 in the palm cap, that shim the spool and the alignment of the pinion gear on the main gear. Not saying you did this, but if you operate the Zero Adjust as a casting brake, the spool spindle will indent these parts and move the pinion away from proper alignment on the main gear. From what you described, restoring proper shim spacing here, combined with proper Zero set, should solve the problem.

ALF's Black Friday sale has begun. 25% off Dobyns 30% off Sunline 40% off Berkley and lots more... https://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/promotions/2024-promotions/black-friday.html

He at least posted the rock bass in the other species thread. You'll notice that I liked it too.

You’d think!

In sport, those who choose to compete owe a debt of gratitude to those who built and impacted that sport. Clark is one of those anglers who I have admired for decades.

Been in hardbait mode this fall. Flatsides are cedar. The two round squarebills are pine. I beleive the jerkbait is aspen because i weighted it for pine and it sank. I tweaked the weight and now it is a very slow rise. Action reminds me of an x-rap. the blue/chart tiger shad is getting eaten up by walleye and smallies.

Imho it's not the noisy vs. subtle aspect as much as it's the reactionary vs. realism aspect. I feel like big fish outside of really deep water situations have far too good of eyesight and experience to be easily fooled on slow moving bottom contact presentations during daylight. On the other hand, I catch the majority of my 7lb+ fish at night using slow moving bottom contact presentations. I think those same fish are way more easily tricked into biting a reactionary moving bait during daylight in my experience. Force them into a position where the bait surprises them, and their predatory instincts take the wheel. I.E. speed cranking a crankbait into the bottom or cover. They might be following that bait from splashdown until the boat/bank and never commit, but once that bait slams into a rock or branch, boom she eats. Fishing big glides will teach you quickly how many big fish will follow a bait, and as you evolve you learn how to trick some of those big girls into committing by forcing her hand through speeding that bait up or spinning it right back around into her face. You learn they'll never commit based on realism alone, it takes a triggering mechanism to get a commitment. Sorry kind of off topic but @king fisher touched on something I think quite often about. 4/5 of my biggest fish the last two years have been off moving baits.

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.

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

Just send it to me and you won’t have to worry about it…… just kidding, those things are awesome.

Just for fun I tested and the TACKLETALK10 code is working on sale items again. I'm being good and not buying anything but jump on this while it still works.

I've had the same experience as y'all. Of my 4 biggest bass (ones that were PBs at the time), 3 came on chatterbaits, and one on a spinnerbait. I think that fish get used to those loud baits more quickly, but the reaction bite is most likely to trick a wise, old bass most of the time for most people. I put that caveat in there because we've seen guys consistently catch monsters on more subtle techniques especially with the advent of FFS. BUT, I still think that 90% of the bass fishing population isn't skilled enough with their electronics and subtle baits to do that consistently. For those people, a reaction bait is more likely to get lucky and trigger a strike. I know someone will point out that greats like Clunn and Brauer consistently caught big fish without advanced electronics and using more subtle baits, but to me that's the exception that proves the rule. If you aren't one of the best in the game, you probably aren't going to catch your biggest fish on a subtle bait. Or maybe I'm completely wrong on all of the above and its just the power-fishing bias coming out in me.

@A-Jay: I'm thinking a good thought for you, Andy. All my best, Katie

The number one ranked school won the natinal championship in baseball, made elite 8 in basketball, is ranked 7 in football, is always close to the top in softball, track and field, and cross country

I've seen him mark his own post to his own thread as the solution!

Wait. Aren't you the thread police?

I had to include the SMB so the thread police wouldn’t bust chops about it being in this thread……. but I also included the rock bass in the other species thread for double viewing pleasure

No, I’m still several years away from peaking. I have more to learn and at my age in my mid twenties, I will stay in my physical prime for much longer.

I believe I’m still right around my peak, strength, desire and ability……but what I have lost at 70 is my “give a da**” I just don’t care anymore about long trips, long hours in the boat or battling non-ideal weather. If it’s not an easy trip to get on the water, to the lake or river, in great weather (for fishing) I’d rather do something else. Agree with @Zcoker theres plenty of life opportunities out there. But I still like fishing,,,,,,a lot and go when I can.

You can get USDM curados and tatulas for as steep a discount as the JDM reels by buying them on Aliexpress. Curado 150s for $140, Tatula Elites for $165, Tatula 150 for $100 ect.

Come to think of it, I’m almost always one combo short.

Pretty sure Scuppy McScuppersen had to hang it up as well. He couldn't read his FFS screens and just never could get glasses big enough Such a shame really. A-Jay

1000% my experience @AlabamaSpothunter

Thought I'd throw these in here for reference. Both 1000 size. The CI4+ is today's Vanford, so I guess I can say I have one .

I can tell you that you will ask yourself the same questions with a NRX, Steeze ect.

Just ordered the 873 CRR in the + model. Really looking forward to it. Put in a lot of time researching and appreciate everyone’s input. Will follow up on how it performs on the water once I get some more time with it!

When I had my boat carried duplicates sometimes 3 of the same rod/reel combo’s. Now with only 5 combo’s they all do multiple presentations. Tom

I understand the theory of subtler lures working better for bass conditioned to loud flashy lures. I basically subscribe to this theory. I do have to wonder why most of my biggest bass have been caught on loud moving baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzz baits. The bigger bass are older and should have been conditioned to prefer the soft plastics, that are so popular with the smaller bass. The opposite seems to be true in many of the waters I fish. The bigger bass may be bigger because they are more aggressive, and more competitive. They may feed more often, and might be prone to getting to there food before other less competitive bass can. Making them more likely to chase down a fast moving bait. How many members PBs have been caught on noisy baits, the large bass should have learned to avoid by the time they are trophy size? I doubt a 10 pound bass has never seen a rattle trap, but plenty of them get caught on traps every year. Buzz baits don't always work for me, but when they do, on average they catch far larger bass than plastic worms. The worms will work on more days, but when the buzz bait bite is on, the worm rod gets put away for the day.

Totally depends on the body of water & time of year. What I throw on Toledo Bend is different than what I throw in a marsh or on a bayou/river. Minimum 5 setups regardless of the body water. Once dailed in I quite often have multiple setups with variations of the same baits.

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

This made me laugh because I pictured all the bass boats roaring away and me in my scuffed canoe trying not to tip in their wakes. And the first announcer would say, "Swamp Girl has taken on some water and might sink. Her canoe is that low in the water. Wait! Five five-pounders have actually swum into her canoe!" Second announcer, "She's yelling, 'My entire canoe is a livewell!'" First announcer: "And she's paddling back with a big smile on her face." Second announcer: "That smile is pure confidence. She thinks she's won the tourney without a single cast...and she just might have. Those are some big gals in her livewell canoe. Here's hoping she makes it back to shore. She's looking pretty tippy."

Do you carry multiple rods for the same technique ? Yes ~ for example When the Jerkbait bite is hot I'll have 5-7 on deck. Spinnerbait - at least 3 Vibrating jig - 4 Topwater - at least 4 Swinghead - 3 or 4 I think you get the Idea . . . . A-Jay

Chasing fowl this weekend. Ranger got some work in...

I have a few for sure. Mine are all spinning 2 belonged to my older brother a Daiwa B1000 that bounces in and out of use and a Ryobi MX10 that stays ready to go on a Empire 5’-6” light powered rod I bought when we were at one of the Tinley Park high school fishing/outdoors shows together although I had the Daiwa mounted on it in the photo. I also have an Abu Garcia Cardinal my stepson/wife bought me 20 plus years ago that was mounted to a BPS Bionic Blade ultralight that I purchased with a gift card from my parents for Christmas. My brother and mother are no longer with me but every time I catch a fish on these reels and or rod it brings me a sense of joy and for that I’ll never part with any of these reels or rods.

It very common around here in the fall. For those that have never seen it, the bass school up and surrounded a bunch of shad and then attack from all directions. The shad have no escape so they start erupting out of the water. It last from two to five seconds most of the time and at most tens seconds. Your bait needs to hit the water as the shad are jumping out of the water. That means you have a few seconds to get the bait where it needs to be. When I see this happening I tie a spoon on a spinning rod. The heavy spoon allows me to cast far. The spinning gear allows me to cast fast. I put the rod over my shoulder and wait. When I see or hear the bait busting up on the water I fling the spoon hard and fast into the carnage. If you did this with a casting reel you would have the mother of all backlashes. When the spoon hits the water I reel in the slack and set the hook. There is usually a fish on it. The hard part is getting the lure there before the attack ends. 95% of the time I fail to get the spoon where it needs to be before the carnage ends. It goes something like this. You see a eruption a good distance out in from of you. You try to make the cast but it it doesn’t quite get there. As you’re reeling back in an eruption happens right by the boat but by the time you’re ready to cast it’s way to late. All this time there are eruptions happening all around that are clearly out of range. There seems to be a lot of them over there so you move. Then they seem to be happening more where you were before. You make a perfect cast but while the lure is in flight the carnage ends. It’s exciting but mostly frustrating.