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Tomorrow morning it's time to head out on vacation! After nearly four years without taking a vacation and months of deliberation between heading to Florida or Texas, I'm heading to Texas to do some fishing at Lake Fork. I had considered hitting Rayburn and Toledo Bend as well, but since I am fishing the Native Watercraft No Limits tournament on Fork I'm going to put in a lot of pre-fishing. I will probably spend a day at Caddo or Bisteneau on the way back. One cool thing about this trip is that @LrgmouthShad is going to meet me later in the week and he will be fishing his first kayak tournament. It's always great meeting BR members when I head to events. If any more of you will be at Fork from the 10th through the 17th, please let me know. Tournament day is on the 16th. Speaking of this tournament, it's a unique event. Normally, in a kayak tournament it's the total length of your 5 largest fish that count. But in this tournament, ALL of your fish (over 14") count. First place is $1,000 - $3,500 depending upon the number of entries. But wait, there's more! There is an hourly Big Bass Bonus every hour of the tournament. The payoff is between $700 and $1,000 per hour depending upon the number of entries. They also have giveaways every hour. I've got a 14 hour drive ahead of me and I'm thinking of stopping in Mississippi and fishing Barnett or I may stop and fish Caddo or Bisteneau on the way down. My hotel reservation doesn't start until Sunday, but I'm leaving Saturday, taking my time, and giving myself the option to fish somewhere Sunday morning. Monday I'll set out somewhere on Fork on my own, but Tuesday I hired a guide to help me learn the lake and find some places to fish. Normally, with Bassmaster, Bass Nation, and Hobie events fishing off a boat and / or with a guide during tournament week is prohibited. But since this tournament does not have that rule I thought I would take advantage of some local knowledge. I can mark waypoints in my Humminbird or Garmin app for when I hit the lake on my own. The biggest lesson I learned fishing the few Bassmaster and Bass Nation events I did this year is that I can't just show up to a lake I have never fished before and find fish. It doesn't matter how much I studied maps or what articles I read online. They are no substitutes for pre-fishing and covering water. I guess that's why anglers in the Elites and BPT were buying and selling waypoints. My pack out is done on my vehicle, and holy cow I have a lot of stuff including backup props and shear pins, tools, fuses, wiring, soldering equipment, battery charger, power inverter (to charge from my Bronco if needed), tools, spare tire for my trailer, clothes for all weather conditions, and a few bins of tackle so I should not have to buy anything once I get there (good luck with that, right?). I did pick up a few sponsors recently (i.e. I get steep discounts and occasional free stuff, no cash) and they want social media engagement so I'll have my GoPros rigged in hopes of getting some decent video. Hopefully I can put together a decent recap of the trip when I get home in a few weeks. My goal with the social media is not only to promote the sponsor products, but also to show what it's like for an average angler to fish in some of these bigger tournaments highlighting preparation, equipment, costs, etc. Anyway, I'm hoping this turns out to be an epic road trip. I'm going to try and post some updates throughout the week.

Been just over three weeks ~ and a busy / rugged three weeks. Each week has included several eye exams, blood draws, at least two chemo infusions as well as visits to the hematologist, rheumatologist and nephrologist. Like just about all folks waiting for 'test results' the waiting is mind numbing and brutal. Almost don't want to answer the phone. Either way, got some good news and some not so good news. Good news, Lynn's kidney function numbers continue to improve. Enough that she's scheduled next week to have surgery to remove the device in her leg where she was getting her treatment through. We're pretty happy about most all of that. Not so good news. Although the eye surgery successfully removed the blood that was in her eye, Lynn's vision was not improving as hoped/expected. Upon further exam, and not that the surgeon could see what was going on in there, Lynn's retina has been irreparably damaged. Something they couldn't see before. So while she has 'some limited' vision back in her right eye, unfortunately it's not nearly as significant as we were hoping for. Much of this has taken a toll, always does but we're Still taking one day at a time and trying to make making the best out of the cards we're dealt. Our 25 wedding anniversary is on the 13th this month, not sure how that's going to go. I do know I'll be taking a break from adding anything here for a while. At least until after the New Year anyway. Stay Safe & Healthy. Thanks again A-Jay

And just to put a wrap on this one . . . . . Amidst some pretty high hopes, and something close to 6 more months to fish, I never did improve on the 31 lb bag I ended April this year with. Not making an excuse but I wasn't on the water as much as I expected. But did give it the old college try. In Sept & Oct I bumped into some really nice 5 lb bass. However none carried sufficient weight to bump the smallest smb off the list which was 5.58 lb. So 5 fish for 31.23 lbs stands as the final mark for 2024. Not complaining. I'm hoping I can take another run at getting that elusive 30 + lb bag all in one day. Mean while, I'll just watch this deal over & over as motivation, until I can be out there again. https://youtu.be/l4JGH21R93Q?feature=shared Stay Safe & Warm A-Jay

17 Blues today

From now until Dec 8th we are running our Thanksgiving Sale. 10% off anything in stock use code TG10. In addition to that. For every $50 spent you will get a free gift bait(s) from us. If you spend $100 or more you will get 2 free gifts and free shipping. 150 would be 3 gifts and free shipping and so on. We have also added a Random gift pack that is a random gift pack that exceeds the value of the price. There is $5 gifts up to $25 gift packs. https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products?page=1&sortOption=descend_by_created_at Have a great Thanksgiving!

More after work fun. They have been slamming the shad on this bank all week. The mayor and hybrid swim jig. I need to dig out my scale.

I found my people here. I have to confess the bait monkey has been running wild this year. just to name a few and the deal that made the Bait Monkey perk up. Calcutta conquest BFS - from digitaka when yen was low savings $200 Dobyn’s Sierra BFS -trade in deal at Dobyn’s. Savings $100 p5 tequila baccarac -ship from Japan savings $ 150 Kistler chromium -got that sale savings $200 expride 7’3 XH -Alf crazy pricing savings $100 expride 7’2 ML -bait monkey said, replace the rod that was sacrificed to the lake gods. No savings. Vanford FA -found a price match. Saved $50 bucks. orochi XX jerkbait special. -got that recent deal savings $100 Just thinking about these combos made me smirk. Nothing to see here I guess. Just a guy with more combos than space. Carry on.

Beautiful fish as always, A-Jay! Amazing! Had a few hours to get on the river yesterday. These are all over 4 with one pushing 5. I still have not caught a 5 lb smallie, even on Sturgeon bay. I’ve got quite a few that are close. Most of my fish came on a bitsy flip jig yesterday, but the biggest one came on a blue/chrome rat-l-trap. I’m hoping to get out once or twice yet before deer season starts. I don’t mind. I love the thanksgiving and Christmas seasons coming up. And I have all winter to puttz with the boat and tackle.

Find someone near you (maybe a helpful member here?) that knows how to cast and have them cast it. Or send it off to DVT for a once over and ask him to cast it first before pulling it apart. If it was one reel, bought as a blem, then who’s to say. But three of them and my original opinion (from your previous thread) still stands. There is something you’re doing in your casting stroke that the rod/reel combo doesn’t like. I’ll even make you an offer(genuinely). If you can’t find someone local, send them here. I’ll put all three through their paces to give you a second opinion and fresh set of eyes before you give up on them. I’ll do side by side vs my own zillion and shimanos. For the $10 shipping to get them here you can have an answer once and for all. And if I’m wrong in my above statement, I’ll send them back with a handwritten apology. PM if interested.

Core brothers unite!

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

SV spool Daiwas are different animals than Shimano reels. Casting with them is completely different than Shimanos. All my Zillions I have the adjuster to minimum play in the spool, and typically am at 4-8 on the dial depending on lure weight. I can go down to 0 on my Tatula because of how aggressive the braking is. The Zillion and Steez reels have the boost spool which is slightly less aggressive than the Tatula and Alphas regular SV spools. With Shimanos you can be real hard and put a lot of force into casting, if you try that with a Daiwa SV, you will backlash like crazy. A Daiwa cast should be more snappy, less arm, more wrist. I personally sidearm cast 90% of the time, and prefer using Daiwas in that regard. Overhead bombs, I like Shimanos a bit more. Shimanos and Lews have a higher casting distance ceiling than Daiwa, but you should be able to cast 80-90% the distance with a Daiwa using half the effort

Scruppy McScrupperson has made several appearances here on Bassresource over the years. To my knowledge, he’s the only one who has unlocked the GPS coordinates to Lake Menderchuck. He and @A-Jay go way back.

Moved from Abu Gracia to Shimano.

Just note: the full grip is a First Strike MBR694-1C. The split grip is an EFX Pro MBR 696-1C Hybrid. Both were in stock and I was able to jump the gun on an upcoming promo not yet posted. Gary and Susie Loomis own NFC Edge and have so from the outset. Trust me, there is zero affiliation with Shimano or G Loomis. Finally, on many models they are a bit over three months out. When the upcoming promotion hits that wait might not be unbearable. Just saying.

Fun BFS fishing morning. Found a little school chasing a bait ball they had trapped in a grass pocket. The bass would only bite when they decided to flash through the school but it was consistent for almost 4 hours.

I am from the Northwest and have many family members living on the coast. My family is not part of, and I have not noticed or believe there is any rapid societal decay, and would appreciate you keeping your opinions on the matter to yourself. By the way the owner of this site lives on the WA Coast, and as far as I no has no plans of fleeing the societal decay. You could have said you moved to Montana to expand your hunting and fishing opportunities, and socialize with people of like interests without insinuating some how Montana has better people or as you put it no societal decay. I appreciate the fact that this site does not tolerate any political content. I realize I am being hypocritical by replying to the this post in this way, that I have in fact broken the policy, and I apologize for my infraction.

Thanks Nice smallies right there and especially love those pictures. Congrats A plus size brown bass is in your future. I can feel it ! A-Jay

I’m in my prime. Like a prime steak. Left on the fire about 8 minutes too long!

Do ya have access at night? I’ve had results hitting golf course ponds at night. Top water or a shallow running crankbaits, always worked good too.

I have no idea about Tatulas because i don't use entry level reels anymore. As for the Zillion, i don't know what to tell you, this is best bang for buck reel that was ever made by shimano or daiwa. If you find it too small, don't bother, and sell it. Comfort is important, so don't force yourself to use it if you find it too small, but i do wonder how it could feel too small unless you have hulk hands. Reels like the aldebaran, slx, etc are smaller, and i don't see anybody complaining about those reels being too small.

Whoa, I should fish this tournament. Seriously, good luck and enjoy your trip! Looking forward to pics and video and reports.

well I bought another reel like I said.....turns out same issue. drag is not good at all, it pulls out fairly easy with it tightened down max. the review of the reel online says it has strong drag and I dont know how they could possibly say that. $160 in the garbage but I guess that's what you get for an $80 price point reel. lesson learned, stick with higher end reels

I have both sv and non sv diawa. Alphas, tats, zillions. You might be overwhelming the sv brake at the beginning of the cast by using you wrist and trying to get distance. Try some sidearm casts. Probably have to do brake adjustments. I easily get 100' casts but I like moderate rods that load a lot and I use braid on all my baitcasters.....

3/4oz Chatterbait/Bladed jig, this will let you get out a bit farther and fish a deeper part of the water column. You can do a straight retrieve, yo yo, or even let it fall to the bottom and hop it back like a football jig. 1/2oz-3/4oz Lipless crankbait, Strike King Red Eye Shad, Berkley Warpig, Bill Lewis Rattle trap are all good ones. Again same retrieves as the above heavier Chatterbait, but let it fall deep before starting. 1/2oz, 3/4oz, and 1oz football jig, for how deep and clear that is try some elaztech trailers, the trailers will float off the bottom and give it a more life like action. Deep diving crankbaits and jerkbaits. Paddle tail swimbaits on a jighead, depending on where you think the bass will be you can either do 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, or 1/2, 3/4. Nail weighted flukes, you can experiment with brands but the Yamamoto D shad and Strike King Caffeine Shad will fall faster so you can fish deeper. And since you are already catching them on ned rigs try going bigger and heavier, like 1/8-1/4 heads and the Big TRD. As well as a big single blade spinnerbait. Night time spinnerbaits would be great if you could fish there after dark. I would start by fishing a heavy football jig and dragging bottom, youll learn quickly where theres cover and get a better idea where to throw this or that.

The mass of the loaded spool may be the most important factor. I'm not really a Shimano guy, and I have specific targets/niches for my Daiwas, but a shallower/ lighter spool per @F14A-B on a Shimano may be the solution you're looking for.

I kept my sons 1st rod made for him at age 5 and his 2nd rod he used from 8 until he passed from cancel. I don’t have anyone to pass down these rods to, no grand children. Collecting dust so might as well gift them to BR member who has young kids interested in fishing. The 1st rod is Tennessee handle spinning ultra light 47” long. I had a Zebco Omega Trigger spin reel on this rod. The 2nd is a 80’s vintage Phenix Split Shot rod 6’ spinning with Tennessee handle and had a Stradic 1000 spinning on. Interested in both PM email for photos, cost the price of shipping. Tom

I almost forgot….Back in the days I was sponsored by SPRO, for a very short time they manufactured some rods. One of my best friends whom I have fished with on St Clair for 22 years is Bill McElroy the creator of the Scales and Tales cartoon series. He now does some frame toons and miniature paddles with his copyrighted characters. He was a pro staffer with Bass Pro when I was, and he traveled the country drawing his characters and personalizing cork rod handles if you bought a rod. I had him personalize a rod for my daughter (she fishes it) and I took one of the rare SPRO rods with me to Michigan one year and had him put some characters on it. Let’s just say those rods were ahead of their time and were prone to breaking due to their lightweight construction, so they were discontinued rather quickly. I have mine displayed in my man cave. It will never have a reel mounted to it.

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.

IIRC the 2500 has felt drag washers and the 3000 has carbon. For JDM models they often include lower gear rations. On Digitaka or Japan Lure Shop just check out the image that shows inches per turn and compare it to the USDM models at alf or tw.

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.

After many years of not fishing, I am returning. I enjoyed just being outside with a line in the water. I am currently in Maryland, near D.C. but will be relocating to Maine in the near future.

When I was a kid in the Lehigh Valley we used whatever thrift shop rod/reel we could get, whatever hooks were available,and a can of corn/bread Ma was about to throw away. Gotten back into it as an adult, got a one man pontoon rig,and finally figuring out what bait works. Still real green,but loving the learning.

When sports authority was going out of business, I found 2 usa falcon 7' medium rods, 1 casting, 1 spinning for $27 each. Took to the checkout and she said they were priced wrong. Got them for $15 each!!!! And I'm a falcon guy....

Fixed it for you. Now you can log in with your new credentials, but have your old profile. Glad to have you back! Quick reminder:

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.

Oh yeah, we use mono for 99% of all SMB fishing and they bite

Going down that list: Disagree; wrong; “never” is a hard word but I do agree; disagree; maybe; wrong. I’m typically against this placing hard rules in animal behavior. I’m all for general guidelines, but “never” and “always” don’t exist for wild animals, at least when it comes to behavior.

There’s one steadfast rule that has always proving to be 100% right for me. No matter what type of line, what color lure, sunny or cloudy, water temp matter at all, If I don’t get my butt off the couch and hit the water I get skunked.

Mine's big enough, but how it's placed means I have to manually put the boat in with a trailer dolly. I think this winter I'm going to cobble together a powered dolly....I'm getting too old to push even my little 14' around.

They never make garages big enough, do they.

And maintain - that's sometimes the biggest problem.

Buy the best boat you can easily afford, tow and store.

one of these plus one of these. Our alewives have a blue tinge to them with the occasional chartreuse fin.

I say get the best boat you can afford. The best way to know you can afford it is to pay cash.

Get the biggest boat your vehicle can safely tow, you can afford, and what will fit in your garage. Then max out the outboard on it too. Don’t get something that puts you upside down financially. Bigger, heavier boats handle waves better but they cost more to use too. Finding that happy medium is the key.

Get the boat you really want if you can afford it! Just my opinion.

IDK 😉 I've hundreds over the years on a Smithwick Rattling Rogue. Doing excellent with a Bill Lewis Scope-Stik.

I found this Rapala Deep Diver 90-7 in the mud yesterday. The hooks are rusted off, but the paint looks to be in good shape.

I’m on a roll lately. I haven’t found anything decent in months, and then in the past couple of days I found these in addition to the Yumbrella. OG Tiny 4, H20X popper, XPS Staredown suspending jerk and Googan Clickbait. Jury’s still out on the clickbait. It’s different, I’ll give it that. Two front hooks on the XPS are new to me. I guess that’s designed to keep from scratching the paint?