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I don't get it - it drops 20 degrees and heavy 15 mph North winds blow across the 50° surface and all I can get them to eat is a topwater! 😂😂😂 Got a couple snags on the lipless and finally nailed my first colder water lipless bass day before yesterday: All the big ones that have hit have been basically silent/zero fan fare/zero blow up and that is TOUGH to detect on a windy day! We gonna get one though. Just a matter of time.

Got out to one of my favorite little cold water lakes this past weekend. There was a bad algae bloom an the water was still just a little too warm, but I caught quite a few healthy fish still and had a good time. The Besotted jerkbait was on a pretty good tear in the morning and I finally caught one on one of the ABS Bull Shads.

Somewhere in there is my bride holding her 13th muskie of the year. She's a trooper. It was low to mid 40's today and blowing 10-15. She bundled up, came along, and whooped me 1-0. It's only 33" but it's a fat fall chunk. She caught it on the rig, fishing an outside weed edge in 12'.

TW phase 3 stuff. Spoons aren't new just the buzbe box for them.

Years ago, I loved Bill Norman's Quarterback. These days I use the Bandit 100 Series or Strike Kings KVD Shallow Runner. I think some have already mentioned Cordell's Big O. Bandit 100

That's a great find, a pre-Rapala Chug Bug. Those are fish catching machines. I still have a couple and still put them to work. I've been slacking on my posting here, but it's the time of year when I really find a lot of baits now and even makes trips just for finding baits. I went fishing/lure hunting 3 times in 3 days a couple weeks ago. The fishing was good and so was the lure finding. I found the first big swimbait I've ever found, even if it was just a BPS glide. This Black Label balsa was just floating next to a laydown. I actually yanked a nice largemouth out of the tree right as I motored over to pick it up. It was a little dinged, but I coated up the cracks so it should be good to go. They're very nice baits, and not cheap, so that was an exciting find. I found one of these one day, and the other the next, 2 Megabass 110's in 2 days isn't bad. The 3rd day was more of a lure hunting day than a fishing day. I didn't find as many as I'd hoped (never do I supposed), but the quality was good. Know what's better than 2 Megabass in 2 days? 3 Megabass in 3 days! The almost brand new 110+1 JR was snagged in some water willows 10' off the shore. Looked like someone must have been shore fishing with it, which I'm sure they now realize was a terrible idea.

Cold, high water; cloudy and windy. For some reason known only to them, the bass wanted the Hybrid Hunter Jr today. Three nice fish! Then hands on coffee...

Greetings All, Wishing each of you well and Happy Thanksgiving. This past weekend brought some gusty winds to the region so I decided to find a place to fish from the shore easily. Because we are in the cooler months they have begun trout stocking. So I've shifted focus and have simply been determined to taunt trout as they are also great fun on-line and for a meal too. OK, so many of the nearby angling destinations are pretty steep and not suited to shore fish. So I decided to travel to the Gila River Valley and have my angling adventure there. I had a simple objective and that was simply to do a bunch of catch and release. While doing so I would investigate the handling characteristics of several fishing rigs under real use conditions. Hey, these are stocker sized trout so just how much stress can come from an 8 - 12 inch trout, right? Yeah, none of the rigs were intended for larger fish. One of the reels I was going to put to good use was my recently refurbished now smoother Zebco Omega Pro Z02. It got cleaned and lubricated so things are pretty nice. As an alternative to my BFS reel I did not struggle with any backlash in the gusty conditions. The premium Zebco reel was mounted on a basic Zebco fiberglass rod, both ends of the Zebco product line. It was a great time casting, catching and releasing trout like an exuberant angler. As I was doing so I decided to probe the deeper water areas. I made a long bomb cast, as far as I could with the 1/48 oz jig head with a small soft plastic worm segment. Nothing happened as the bait settled to the bottom. OK, the water is a bit cool so I'll give it a few seconds before beginning the slow crawl back. A few slow winds and I feel a slight tap, then another tap, then nothing. Much like trout as they either try to kill it or sample it without committing. Ok, no real action resulting so we are moving again. A few more cranks and this time there is a TAP! Wow, that didn't feel like a trout. Let me see what is going to happen, I simply hold still to monitor for anything. Nothing...OK, that was fun while it lasted. So I cautiously began to reel in. This time there was a heavy but mushy resistance felt. Much like when you hang a plant versus a rock. There was some give to it. Odd, then it responded. Much like a train locomotive it starts slow but strong and gains speed gradually. There was not much slack to begin with, so the new cleaned drag responded quickly and loudly. I raced to lower the drag setting. The thing about spin cast reels is the line pickup pin is usually a very small diameter so the line has to bend about this pin and that bend puts a focused amount of stress there. 4 pound mono can only handle so much stress. The fish makes a direct line towards deeper water and is not deterred much by the line resistance. Golly! Not knowing what I just connected with, I was thinking I hooked into some catfish as those are stocked frequently too. Regardless I've got to do what I need to and stay connected so lower the drag tension setting should buy me some forgiveness. I'm simply holding on and letting the line peel out for some time. Eventually the fish showed signs of getting tired. I managed to work in a bit of line before the next surge. Over time I did manage to work the fish in slowly and I simply kept things at a modest tension level. I didn't feel any head shakes so I was still of the opinion it was a catfish. Eventually it got in close and eventually came up towards the surface where it made a roll over and I finally got to the bass profile. Not huge, but also not what I expected to tie into either. Great fun and it made the day just that bit more special. Rather fun on the hybrid Zebco rig. Also good to know that I can target nicer sized fish in that location. Whaaahoo, Whoopee! Please enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday. Be well and Cheers!

I had an awesome day on the water today. Ended up going 5 for 6. 3 for 3 on the crappie rig, and 2 for 3 on the A rig. The drag backed itself off on the Tranx AGAIN, and cost me that fish. 🤬 I wouldn't call 'em junk, but they have some issues.The Tranx offer 400 capacity in a 300 size reel. Aside from that, the Daiwa Lexa HD is better in every way. Anyway, 33, a pair of 36's, a 41, and a 43. I didn't take a pic with the 33" or the first 36". The second 36" got it's pic taken for being #90 this year. 36" 41" 43" She's a fatty. Should be interesting tomorrow. I'm taking a buddy with no baitcaster experience, and it's gonna be mid 40's and blowing 15-35. 😲😂 Ain't no way I'm trying to teach him to cast in that. We'll be trolling all day. I'm with ya brother. I took vacation next week as it's traditionally the best week of the year for the A rig bite. Now the forecast is calling for teens and twenties. Yikes!!! I think there's gonna be a hot bite going on, but it's gonna be painful out there. I'm guessing my guide buddy and I should pretty much have the lake to ourselves.

The Bomber next gen 4A is currently one of my faves. I also have a bunch of KVD 1.0 cranks I have been using for years. Bandit 100 has already been talked about. If I only could use 1 brand of shallow cranks Strike King KVD 1.0 would get my vote.

You hit a homerun Tim when you married that woman......she's a real one no doubt, fishing for a bite or two in freezing conditions is the hallmark of real angler.

“It’s only 33”…” Still means that I’m jealous AF! Congrats to the Mrs!

What else do you fish on your crankbait rod? Nothing. A-Jay

SPRO's site has some really nice sales if you look around. I just copy/pasted what I have in my cart just to give you an idea. Never fished the new Outsider cranks, but they're regular $22 baits. Quantity1 ARUKU SHAD 65 ARUKU SHAD 65 WILD SHINER 1 $4.50 Quantity1 ARUKU SHAD 65 ARUKU SHAD 65 PERCH 1 $4.50 Quantity1 RkCRAWLER MD 55 MEDIUM DIVER RkCRAWLER MD 55 SPRING CRAW 1 $3.90 Quantity1 RkCRAWLER MD 55 MEDIUM DIVER RkCRAWLER MD 55 GOBY 1 $3.90 Quantity1 RkCRAWLER 50 RkCRAWLER 50 RED BUG 1 $3.90 Quantity1 RkCRAWLER 50 RKCRAWLER 50 GOBY 1 $3.90 Quantity1 OUTSIDER CRANK SR 55 DIRTY GIZZARD 1 $6.60 Quantity1 OUTSIDER CRANK MR 60 PHANTOM BLUE GILL 1 $6.60 Quantity1 OUTSIDER CRANK MR 60 DIRTY GIZZARD 1 $6.60 Quantity1 OUTSIDER CRANK SR 55 SUPER SPRING CRAW 1 $6.60 Quantity1 OUTSIDER CRANK SR 55 BONE ABALONE (ABALONE SPECIAL) 1 $8.10

Bass bite was off today, but the crappie bite picked up at dark, and the sunset made for a great ending to the day.

Being sick is often described as being under the weather. Well I've been under a category 5 hurricane since Veterans Day. That night I jacked up my back & both knees...again. Then Saturday before last my wife & I contracted a stomach virus that's spreading here locally. Spent most of the week taking meds & sleeping. But I will be back...soon! Later Y'all 😉

@casts_by_fly that’s the best kayak upgrade you can do

I’m not much of a wine drinker but my wife is and she’s become a fan of SnoopDog watching him as a judge on The Voice. I saw this in the store the other day and picked her up a bottle for a stocking stuffer this Christmas.

For the sake of discussion let’s assume there is a “sensitivity” meter to measure casting rods on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most sensitive. To make this meter we must first define what sensitivity is. Transmitting line movement going through the rod tip and rod tip movement traveling down the rod blank to the reel seat. We need to include a meter setting for line type, mono having the highest setting and braid a lower setting to compensate line stretch since most of you believe mono stretches. We also need to factor in rod weight and balance with the reel mounted. Lighter weight and perfect balance is entered into meter. Perfect balance to weight scored 0, tip heavy is 1 over 4 oz is rate 1 for each 1/2 oz. The total subtracted from the total score. Casting performance is another factor to enter into the meter. Subtracting 0 to 3 points O being excellent, 3 being satisfactory. Bottom lure contact rods we want the meter to read 9 to 10. Using your sensitivity meter located between your ears how does bottom contact rate? Tom

Ahhh...now I remember....make sense now Boy, that's embarrassing ... 😆

Wait until the CA sheriff's office learns that fish pee in the water 🤣

Hannibal lecter admits in an interview that he ate a guy with some fava beans and washed it down with a nice bottle of Chianti. Thats why @12poundbass posted the GIF of Hannibal

Yes, it's a habit I've had for a long time. It feels natural to do so.

Yes I do. On all bottom contact baits with a baitcaster

It does for spin, so why not for BFS? Thinking neds and small cranks, but basically just wanting to experience the technique and have an excuse to build another rod.

Being a recreational and somewhat of a budget fisherman I fish everything but wacky's and ned's,..stuff of that nature on the same rods. Usually I'll have a couple M/H casting rods and at least one medium spinning rod in the boat. I have one 7:1 casting reel that I do use for topwater. Just me.

I grabbed a pile of 4As when someone online had them for 3 bucks a piece. On 17 lb copoly it runs right around 3 feet deep, and losing them to toothy creatures doesn't hurt so bad. I also love my Bandit 100s, as many of you do.

Bill Lewis ATV, Norman’s Fat Boy, 6th Sense Munch or Crush 50 and Lil John.

I was recently thinking this myself. Been revamping some of my setups and was wondering what setups could pull double duty. Specifically crankbaits and bladed jigs. I don't fish either of those very often, so I didn't want to spend the money for a high end setup. I ended up getting 2 Abu Garcia Winch Crankbait rods on sale. MH-MF & M-MF. These 2 rods will cover most of my treble hook baits other than jerkbaits.

Great info y’all. Thanks! @Koz it’ll take me awhile to mull through your detailed response. @Swamp Girl, I have a canoe. I keep it but rarely use it. I got blown all over the place the few times I used it. I have an old ford ranger shortbed to haul my various watercraft in, but the canoe is the longest and Id rather slide something into the bed than have to tie it off on top. @MediumMouthBass , another great response. I want to keep it as simple and easy as possible, so probably going with a paddle ‘yak. I usually only fish for a few hours at a time, so gonna be traveling light. I just want something I can quickly load and unload, with as few breakable parts as possible!

My crank rod is a Dobyns Champion 764 CB. I also use it for blade baits and tailspins because of the way it keeps fish pinned.

I've got zillions, alphas, ss air tw, just sold off my bfs slx/curado. Knowing what I know now if I was starting from scratch I would stay away from out of the box bfs reels unless you are planning on trout or panfishing or going really light, like under 1/8oz which that rainshadow blank won’t handle anyhow. I have one of my alphas svtw’s setup with a kkr spool (I have a rays studio sv spool enroute too) and roro bearings that I like as much and performs just as well on a medium light/fast rod as the one trick pony, albeit a very good trick, ss air tw which will cost you at least a hundo more. I’ll dabble with converting a zillion to bfs at some point too which bulldog has proven is a formidable bfs platform. My point is that the alphas and zillion is much more versatile and fun overall with the plethora of parts, spools, and high performance bearings available, and can be returned to stock should the need arise. Of these the alphas svtw 800 (my favorite) is the most compact even over the the ss air despite what daiwa implies. I was surprised when I received it to find that it feels a smidge taller and fuller in hand (steez based frame) than the alphas, but in terms of weight the ss air is the featherweight champ with the zillion even bigger and heavier than both. I’ll be perfectly content with the alphas and zillion one-two punch for the foreseeable future, which between them can be setup to handle everything from bfs to punching.

Yup, had more than a few of those, my gracious time flies! Had a Guido spinning rod, he used a 4000 sized daiwa reel and a 7’ MH rod, but that rod was a fast/heavy all day long. Powermesh construction 🤣it was a real thing I think 😆

😱 Yeah, that one’s OK. Not as big as all the ones I lose though. 🤣

@Koz gave you a great answer. I would only add that a simple Google search of best fishing kayaks will give you other options. I know canoes are no longer fashionable, but I sure enjoy the light weight of mine compared to kayaks. There are even solo canoes today that weigh about 25 pounds. They aren't cheap, but you could reach water that other boats couldn't reach.

I know many of you are getting snow, so I’m not going to complain about 43° this morning. It did warm up later (74° now). But it was slow. Started promising with a 3 lb’er on a Zoom Trick Magnum, but nothing for almost two hours after that until I caught a 1.5 lb. bass on a Rage Bug on a 3/0 EWG TR. That poor bass! Its jaw had been ripped bad previously. Still looked healthy overall but that had to hurt! Caught a dink after that one and that was it.

Two incredible fish, congrats @Dwight Hottle and @AlabamaSpothunter For me, today was a dinkfest. Biggest went 2.47lb and choked the H2OX lipless deep, got her in the gill so no glamour shot, just got her unhooked, got her in the water to make sure the bleeding was stopping, quick weight then release. Got a couple of small ones on the 1/2 oz MiniMax. Have some 3.5" Spunk Shads and 3" Zakos in transit to pair with these, but made due with cutting down a Zoom Fluke, seemed to work just fine. Missed quite a few bites on it, but I think the smaller profile was just attracting more tilapia strikes than usual. I'm starting to see more shad balled up on the surface, which is a good sign of things to come hopefully.

Magnificent and scary looking fish Dwight! Fish like that remind me why every day I don't wake up as a Bluegill is a good day 😆 Finally got an Elephant to eat my favorite little peanut bait, the Flashback Mini.

It was an 8.5 hour grind today without much action, but I managed to add two more to the count. A 42" on a crappie, and a 37" on the rig. I only had a few other lazy follows the rest of the day.

Tough conditions today with light winds and bluebird skies. Rode the skunk for almost 6hrs, then had this purty 40" follow my rig in. It made one lazy turn through the 8, then turned off and SMOKED my crappie rig. That's the first fish to eat a crappie since last Friday. I was starting to wonder if they'd turned off of them in favor of shad. I had lots of lookers but no takers on crappie over the weekend, but went 2 for 4 on the A-rig. Today's fish is #84. Chipping away at 'em. Big cold front coming through in a couple days. Hopefully the rig bite will be on in earnest by next week.

I got out for about 4.5 hours this afternoon. This cold front has 'em eat'n. I ended up going 2 for 4. Caught two on crappie, and lost two on the A-rig. I'm 1 for four on the rig lately, so I switched back to a 9' HF rod. I have been throwing it on a 9'5" XH Prorex, and while I really like the way it fishes on that rod, I think it's moderate action leaves it a little lacking in power for good hooksets with the heavy wire 5/0 hooks I'm making my jigs with. Anyhoo... The first fish today was a nice thick 42" and it was #80 over 30" for the year. The second fish today was this beautifully colored 37". I didn't get to see the first A-rig fish I lost, but it didn't feel that big. 30 something I'd guess. The second was a pretty nice fish about 40"-42". I got a good look at it when it shot 4' out of the water and did a backflip about 10' from the boat. That's not something you see a lot in 53 degree water. That fish was fired up! It knocked a few feet of slack in my line when it hit. So... I'm sit'n at 81 muskie with six weeks left in the year and the rig bite is getting underway. I'm off the next four days and still have a week of vacation I'm taking the first week of Dec. + 15 more regular off days. There's no guarantee that I'll get to fish all of December though. Even so, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of getting to the century mark. 🤞

This is tiger trout. It's really not a bad fish even though it is so thin. These things are starving when they hold over. They need a plentiful population of bait to eat good and fill out, and I am afraid the pond where they are stocked doesn't really offer that. There was a bite window where I could have caught at least two more but they shook off. Small jerk bait.

I’ve loaded up my AP120 with all the electronic toys (Captain's bridge, 2 units, Livescope, 360 Imaging) Plus a loaded Blackpak Pro with 8 rods. Has dropped me from 4.1 mph to 3.7 but I wouldn’t fish without any of the stuff above. My alternative is a bigger kayak/motor system, but not something I think about … at least very often

Thanks! Speaking of seeing her again; I need to go back through my pics and see how many times I've caught the same fish. Last night I was watching the latest Working Class Zero vid on YouTube, Mike Gilbert was talking about how he's caught the same fish years apart. He figured it out because he went back through his pics and saw identical markings on fish catches. At this point, I've caught enough big fish outta this one-acre pond that I HAVE to be catching the same few over and over again--there just can't be that many 4+ pound fish in this tiny body of water! I'm actually looking forward to finding some re-catches, I'll definitely post here if I do!

I have 3 BPS crankin sticks a medium light, medium and a heavy. I’ve used an inline spinner on the medium light and really loved it for that, I’ve used the medium for throwing spinner baits and really enjoyed it for that and the whole reason I bought the heavy was to throw 1/2 ounce chatterbaits which it handles extremely well but I don’t fish a lot of big fish waters so that one never even got put to use this season.

Swim baits, shaky head and 3/16 oz jigs

Theres been a few people who have fished jerkbaits on cranking rods, while it isnt the best for their action they didnt loose as many fish. Which is why they switched. Some people also like using Chatterbaits on them as well, and smaller line thru treble hook swimbaits. But probably the most lures used that arent cranks are going to be treble hooked topwaters.

2009? Is that a typo? Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point. Perhaps you mean as a company, their entire lineup of all rods offered are technique specific? Dobyn’s started in 2009, but technique specific rods had been around long before then. Anybody remember this 1990 lineup of application specific rod lines?

Thehookuptackle dropping the last of their Orochi XX rods at 8 am tomorrow morning (Arizona time). Priced at $199 for the whipsnake, shakeyhead, and ronin rods