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Forecast for most of next week isn’t looking too promising, and we broke 50 today for our high along with very manageable SW winds from 6-9 mph, so I made a rare weekend run to a local lake. Turned out to be a good decision, as I was able to catch a limit of bass in the 3 hours I was out there, topped by this 7.0 pounder (top two pics). Also answered 3 recent forum posts with today’s catch - MB 110’s are worth the $$; Katsuage hooks will easily hold big fish if your setup is right; and a moderate action rod does a really nice job with jerkbaits 😎 😄

It's officially winter fishing season down here with the first good fish caught on a blade bait. This one came off the Dyna Response, which I plan to fish quite a bit more instead of just the Vault this year. Much more of sneaky bait than the Vault. 6.3

Really messy day of fishing and I made a lot of bad decisions but got lucky with one over 6lbs on a jerkbait. Long fish. About 23”. Windy, cold, rainy. Pardon me if I don’t look more excited, lol. Fun fish to catch

Thanks. I've had quite a bit of practice in some pretty sport conditions. Night time & zero visibility in fog is fun too. A-Jay

One I caught yesterday looked to be hungry. Also looked like she'd been caught recently. There was a big tear at the corner of her mouth.

I'm making this post to remember the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and brought the US into World War II and all those who gave their lives as a result. I watched and listened to my local news for most of the morning and didn't see or hear a whiff about it. It seems that it's mostly forgotten. I won't forget it. 🇺🇸

I grew up in WI reading about all the muskie slayers and their Tuffy Esox Magnums. Always thought they were stellar boats. Strangely they never caught on in the bass world despite a cult like following among hardcore muskie/pike fisherman in the Midwest, and the use cases being nearly identical. I scooped one way out in Eastern WA this past Spring and can't think of a better "bass" boat for small/medium lakes, especially those with remote unimproved launches like so many Northern fisheries have. 31mph with 2 anglers and 2 dogs, 17 feet but fishes bigger than many 20 footers I've been on due to wiiiide open layout. Easily store rods up to 8'6"...and lots of em. Massive front deck, plenty of gear storage, TWO live wells. The sponsoned hull makes it ridiculously stable, basically a floating dock, but still keeps ya dry in chop. Best part is you can scoop a used one fully rigged every day of the week for $8-12k The 300HP 21 foot aircraft carriers are cool but totally overkill for 90% of the water lots of us fish.

The days of Franks Sinatra & Bing Crosby Christmas music have long past. And some might feel like they are gone forever. Heard this one the other day #polaropposite https://youtu.be/D5zBF-zPXpU?feature=shared A-Jay

It’s an obscure song that maybe many of you have never heard but my fav is the classic banger ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey…. 😀😀😀😀

My favorite bass are river smallies, they tend to be mean and lean

A crank with a round or coffin bill will turn on its side when hitting an object. This exposes the hooks to whatever the object is as the crank passes over it. Snags happen if you continue to reel after the bait's bill contacts the potential snag. If you aren't experienced enough to tell when your bait is approaching a possible snag, you need quick reflexes to stop reeling so the crank can right itself and float up before continuing your retrieve. There are few square bills that will dive very deep, so a coffin bill is your next best bill shape, but they, too don't run very deep. A round or egg shaped bill, like most mid to deep diving cranks have is best suited for deeper water and learning how to avoid snags while still initiating contact with them, is something to learn. IMO, carry a good lure retriever while learning and keep it handy because even the best crankers get snagged.

How about long & fat

“Father Christmas” by the Kinks “Snoopy’s Christmas” by the Royal Guardsman Two solid Xmas songs that usually fly under the radar.

I find 6th Sense crankbaits deflect off "cover" better than other crankbaits. My #1 is the Movement 80X.

Absorption: the process or action by which one thing absorbs or is absorbed by another. "shock absorption" Highly overlooked aspect of fishing lines. 20 lb line & below Big Game is the best at absorbing shock.

I don't really care... as long as it's a big bass.

This was probably 30 or so years ago and we were walleye fishing Big Bay de noc in Michigan’s UP. There were three boats in our group and we’d communicate via radio. One of the boats radioed that Herb caught a seagull! We look over to see a seagull flying around and sure enough Herb’s rod was pointed straight into the sky reeling in this seagull. We all had a good laugh at that one. Herb has since passed and it turns out his grandson who he was very close with was on my son’s baseball team this year. I was telling Herb’s son the story while we were at one of their games. He had heard the story but had forgotten it. After the game was over I had a chance to tell his grandson the story which he got a chuckle out of.

It was a very sad day. It changed peoples lives forever. I wonder if they thought about how it would bring a country in total unison, instead of crippling it.

Tillers are very popular here in south east Arkansas too. I love mine although it did take some getting used to. That’s a great looking rig. Never heard of that brand.

Couple from this morning, jerkbait and spook.

Interior: OK but only cuz you twisted my arm. Unique hull shape in the fishing boat world: very stable and dry Looks like an epic ride!

…..why I quit cutting, splitting and stacking my own wood. In my younger years, I harvested from my land and split and stacked. I have a fireplace in my great room that will take large cuts and has built in fans to push out heat. At one time before we figured out the problems with our hvac in that addition, it was unusable due to insufficient heat. We also have a finished lower level with a wood stove insert in a fireplace that started out wood, switched to gas and after a couple of gas bills, bought the Vermont Castings insert. It is great and can pump out an unbelievable amount of heat. The wife requested we resurrect the fireplace so I called a local wood seller and got a cord and 1/2 dumped in the driveway. Pulled out my 2 upright wood racks, our circle rack we keep on the porch and filled the wood box that is accessible from the deck to load and opens into the great room. Just so happens that amount of wood fills them all. Just so happens after stacking and moving that amount of wood, it feels like I’ve been doing 500lb squats all day. Good reminder.

The dogs are big fans!

I've been keeping an 85 lb. Old Town two-person canoe at my pond and paddling it backwards from the bow seat. It's a goofy design as it mimics the vintage birch bark canoes with their raised bows and sterns. Being high up front and in the back means it catches more wind and paddling it from the bow seat and backwards means I'm not centered in the canoe, although the bow seat does move me a little closer to the middle. So, tomorrow I'm buying an Old Town NEXT canoe. It's 29 pounds lighter than the current canoe at my pond and a solo boat, which means it'll be more efficient and faster. Of course, it's shorter, which means it'll be more crowded. It has a kayak-style seat, which is padded and will be more comfortable. I'm buying it used for $550. I'll leave it at my pond and I expect to catch a few bass from it. I'll keep the tandem boat at my boat for when I have a guest and for friends to use. Here's the new canoe:

@bulldog1935 is the tail plate where it fits into the reel seat

I really just want a double digit bass. But I really like catching all the other ones too.

I've had a lot of success during the colder months on the frittside! It almost suspends so you can pause it a lot without it instantly floating up and that plus it's ability to deflect pretty darn well and it's silent nature make it pretty great!

I found that if I overspool my spinning reels with braid I will get wind knots. Once I removed maybe a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch of line it pretty much solved the problem. I still occasionally get a wind knot but it's rare and most of the time when I do I just make sure the knot is wet and pull on it and it...un-knots itself. JMHO

Coffee black. Whiskey neat.

I went through a coffee craze, got a press, percolator, k-cup, even an expresso machine. Now I just brew a pot and I like it black and strong.

@woolleyfooley Bama Craw. It's a favorite!

Fishing Erie we had just got back to the ramp with a couple nice smallies we were keeping. Pulled the boat in and tied up. I pulled the truck down and gave my brother-in-law a five gallon bucket so we could fill a cooler. Instead of filling it at the bottom of the ramp he was on the dock and as I walked back with the cooler I watched as he bent over, dipped in the bucket, filled it to the top and go face first into the water! Said he didn’t want to let go and lose the bucket 😂😂😂 To top it off as he stood naked by the truck putting on dry clothes a Coast Guard boat cruises slowly by on the channel with full crew on the railing shaking their heads. 😝😝 We still laugh at that one!

They fly under the radar for sure. Still haven't met anyone in MT that has known anything about Tuffys either. I'm a big tiller fan, the fishing space is just unbeatable.

Unforgotten. Forever.

I'd throw and black and blue grass jig and hit the water. If the water isn't clear the bass see more contrast then detail and I think color is overrated. Profile matters more in that setup. If you shop like me.. get the grass jig and shot caller in several sizes and colors and then hit the water. Don't over think it. If I get a favorite, a tree fish eats it very fast.

Tillers are very popular here in MN. Mostly because people like to troll or back-troll for walleyes. Boat control is much easier. I grew up fishing out of a 17.5 foot Crestliner Fishhawk tiller. I prefer the console bass boat I have now because I like to cast from the front deck, but I would definitely consider a tiller if I had to downgrade to a smaller boat solely for saving space on the interior.

Those are fantastic boats with an incredibly well-designed layout. Tiller boats overall are a little underated IMO. Removing the console opens up so much room. I completely understand how a 17' tiller feels bigger than a 20'er.

Folgers black silk. dark roast and very tasty

The nectar of the gods. Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte, Cadillac or black that a spoon would stand up in it, I definitely like to enjoy a good cup of coffee. As I type this I’m enjoying a cup of Peet’s Holiday blend, that’s similar to their Peaberry blend which is really good when it’s available. But I gotta admit it’s always nice to visit the state where it’s grown and have cup at the source…

Never forget. It changed the world forever.

Square bill helps deflect. Try a Frittside 5

@BigSkyBassin That is really sharp looking and thank you for sharing the interior picture 👍🏻 If I may ask where is the sunrise/sunset photo taken from?

Nice Rig ~ Over kill is simply a decent way of being Prepared. 😎 A-Jay

I remember watching Midwest Outdoors on the tv and seeing Spence Petros fishing out of them in Minnesota and thinking one day. Also I agree with @Swamp Girl that’s a good looking boat but you really need to share some interior shots as well.

Maxwell house Breakfest Blend. But it all tastes better with Bass on the cup

Edge rods 45% off on their website with code “USA45”

A few of the die-hards still at it.👍🏻 Update from Canada: The boat is still sealed up and most lakes are freezing over now. Only about 4 months left until we fish again.😩 One good thing about getting old is the 5 months of suck will go by as fast as our 5 months of fun did.

Filler spool is too close to the reel. Run the line through all the rod guides this will resolve the problem. Now that the line is on unevenly walk off the line and respool by running the line between a folded wet towel for tension with the line through all the rod guides. Tom