Leaderboard

2024 is officially going out with a whimper. 12 skunkings in 13 December trips. 🤦‍♂️ Darn Cantankerous muskies anyhow. 😂 It's been an awesome year though. The final count stands at 93 muskie between 30" and 46.5", plus Tammy put another 13 in the net. It was my first full year fishing for them and I've learned a lot. Hopefully those lessons learned will make for an even better 2025. I caught three 46.5" fish this year, but I'm gonna give the best of the year award to this big girl who mauled a double 10 under the August moon. Best bass of the year was this 5.35# caught back in April flipping flooded bushes. Best saugeye of the year. I didn't record the weight, but if memory serves, it was just a hair under 5#. Best crappie of the year was this 15" caught flippin laydowns for bass. All in all, it was an outstanding year and even though the last month was an epic struggle, I feel very blessed. Looking forward to an even better 2025!!! 🤞

Gamakatsu is 40 mins from my house. I've been there. We've fished together. We've been to Japan together. They sent me a bunch of Japanese baits for Christmas. We've met. I've been using and sharpening their hooks since 1992, when they were first introduced in America. That "guide" is smoking crack. All hooks, regardless of how they arrive in the package, can be sharpened at any time. My friends at Gamakatsu get that deer-in-the-headlights look when somebody infers you cannot sharpen a hook for whatever reason. Here's how to get them razor sharp once they start to dull (note the Gamakatsu jighead in the video):

No leak that you can find. Puddle in the middle of the floor mat. This will keep your leak from running down your leg to your floor mat. You’re welcome!

NYE. Last day of 2024. Yesterday was gorgeous with a high of 80°. But it was our 36th wedding anniversary. And truth be told, I was not tempted to go fishing lol. Today is bluebird skies but much cooler and breezier. About 54° when I launched the boat. Not getting a bite on anything. Swim jig, topwater, chatterbait, Texas rigged Zoom Trick. Not even a Senko TR. Then I put a green pumpkin Rage Bug on a 3/0 EWG as a weightless TR and finally, two bass decided they would eat it. Not big, but 7 other anglers were fishing and these were the only two fish caught, so I’ll take that with a smile. Not a bad 2024 and a good way to close it out!

Pair of smalls on the last day of 2024. Caught on the shade line of a bluff. Bite died once the sun got too high in the sky.

Took my last trip of the 2024 season last Saturday. Weather was nice, fishing was pretty decent, but I've been drug down by crud that my kids brought home from school right at the start of winter break. Done a good job avoiding it, but it finally got me and I've been feeling it for about a week now and after 4 hours on the water, I was wiped out and cold despite the unseasonably warm weather. Still managed to boat over 30 of them, including one fairly nice one to wrap up the season. Ned rig caught all but 3 or 4 of them.

As promised, here’s what the baboon did to me this year… 1st pic - Mrs Smirak ordered the gift cards from TW. Got the physical card so I’d have something to actually open. As discussed previously, the gift card equipment went down on like the 22nd. So, in order for me to have something to open, she painted these “gift cards” for me. She said the pelvic fins act like rudders (notice all but one is facing the wrong way 😂😂). Honestly, as much as I love the tackle, this was my favorite gift. 2nd pic - total haul. All either 1/2 oz or above. For some odd reason, I just don’t like throwing under 1/2 oz moving baits…I have them, I use them, but find that most of my new purchases are all 1/2oz+ and are usually the ones that get tied on first. 6th Sense Congo Craw (can’t get them locally anywhere) (5) Damiki Vault (3) Dr Slick split ring pliers. Initial impressions are they will be good. A few Crush 75x flat side squarebill A few Quake 70 lipless Spro crawler MB SV-3 spinner bait (2) Keitech tungsten jig (1) J Braid Grande x 8, 50lb MB Orochi XX Diablo Spec-R Tatula 103H Some A rig wranglers Free TShirt!

Slacker

I hook my Cue opposite of yours, and I use the same hook. I have the Cue pushed as far back as possible so more hook tip is exposed. Ditto on the Dice. Fortunately there's no Bream here to pick at the threads as in your situation. The 1Way is quite interesting. It's essentially a Dice but with a couple side fins which make it wobble. There's also hook points, so I feel more thought was put into hooking on this one. The Big2Way is really good on a Free Rig. No surprise that it looks great doing it's thing on the weightless drop. The smaller elastomer versions (Little 2way) are an exceptional top water pond lure. Really looks like a struggling bug. Despite my love of Japanese baits, some of them can be fragile. But the mindset in regards to this is different over there. If you really are into bug baits, I strongly suggest a threader. That way you might be able to choose a more durable body and threads. Also, the sky's the limit for the baits you can make. I have the Decoy and it works very well.

Called a buddy who's boat is inop and asked if he wanted to go fishing this afternoon. I got 2 bream bites and he missed 2 bass. Oh well.

Thought 2024 was a wrap but I guess 2 last dinks needed catching

New rod/reel with Diawa JBraid Grande x8, 50lb. Line feels real good and supple. Some braided lines are more “stiff”. This braid is very supple and not stiff. Excited to try it out!

I had a Carbonlite 2.0 in white & gold colors. Although I didn’t care for the color the reel was a pleasure to cast as it had dual brakes, held its spool tension no problem and the drag was smooth while hooked up to albeit not large bass and crappie by any means but smooth nonetheless. The only reason I sold the combo off was the reel just didn’t fit my hand for some reason, I tried handling the new black colored version this past spring (2024) and as much as I wanted to like it there’s just something about the ergonomics that just don’t fit me. With that said I would hope you’re able to find any replacement parts needed even if you have to do a little cross referencing/searching as I previously posted I was able to do the same for my Piscifun Saex Elite which is the same reel as an Ardent Elite with a different color scheme. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy that reel and heck BPS has a really generous warranty and as I also reported on here I was really impressed with their service department which unfortunately is in Missouri but impressed me enough that I would have no regrets recommending them especially for a BPS branded product.

Thanks, Alex. There's a good chance I'll break 100 next year thanks to lessons learned this year, but I'm not gonna concern myself with it. I was hooked up with 120 ish this year, but those toothy buggers are expert escape artists. The goal for next year is to have no goal, other than just fish, learn, and have fun. Muskie will continue to be the main focus, but there will for sure be some bass fishing. I'll spend some time flippin for some pre-spawn piggies, and doing some night bassin in June and July. I LOVE that night bite.

93 Muskies is pretty dang insane brother, congrats! It was fun reading your reports and seeing all those beautiful dinosaurs. Here's to breaking 100 in 2025.........and then you must return from the dark side, and rekindle your love affair with Mr Green Fish 😁

I went into BPS with the intent of picking up a Daiwa Tatula 100 they had on sale. While at the reel counter, I saw a Johnny Morris Carbonlite casting reel. It immediately grabbed my attention because it looked very similar to my Lew's Speed Spool LFS. This model is the all black model and has a few upgrades from my lew's reels. Namely handle, side plates, and drag washers are all carbon fiber. Aluminum frame. Also has a clicking spool tension cap. It has dual braking, centrifical six pin inside and magnetic adjustment on the outside. Came in at 6.3oz and was on sale for $140, Daiwa was on sale for $200, regular price for Lew's is $140 (Canadian Dollars). It felt smoother than the Daiwa surprisingly and I could really feel the difference in smoothness when adding some force to the spool to simulate under load feel. So ended up walking out with the Johnny Morris Carbonlite reel in a 6.8:1 gear ratio. It's a gamble in that getting parts might be an issue down the road, or maybe not,, not sure as it is clearly a Doyo build. But the reel seemed to have a lot of nice upgrades. Only down fall is that it doesn't have a dual supported pinion gear. Paired it up with a new Daiwa Tatula XT MH-R casting rod. Looks and feels great. Can't wait for the spring.

Thank you @Jigfishn10 and I hope your parents age well and you can still reminisce with them through 2025. Happy New Year!

Thank you @Catt. Hoping 2025 has both my parents up on the beach this summer like they have since 1989 ... ... father time and dementia has hit them hard these past couple of years but whatever they need I'll be there. And @Glenn, hoping your dad will be healthy his year Happy New Year all ...

Canada

Thanks. We're really blessed with an excellent stocking program here in OH. We have no meaningful natural reproduction and are completely reliant on stocking by the ODNR. Hopefully they're able to continue the current stocking rate going forward to maintain our current population density. They stock at a rate of roughly one fish per acre in our 9 muskie lakes. Of course some of those are lost to predation, but we have very good population densities. I know they had a significant shortfall last year covering the cost of feeder minnows. The Ohio Huskie Muskie Club has a minnow fund that most of us members donate to, and the club also makes donations. I believe Muskies Inc. does the same. ODNR also has a tagging program, and the Muskie Angler Log, where anglers can log their catches to help them monitor size structure and catch rates at each body of water. A couple things I feel pretty good about are my average size, 37", and my 19 huskies in 2024. ODNR calls muskie 42" or greater Huskie Muskie, so roughly 20% of my fish qualify as Huskies. I feel like that's a pretty solid rate.

I used bassboatseats.com when I revised my carpet and seats and it turned out great.quality materials at great prices. Great customer service

That doesn't look anything like me.

I sort my sock drawer in January and February.

Ive been doing this for years. I recommend not using white or red strands. Panfish will nibble on them. I posted a photo here of some years ago. I like half a stick worm on a jig head. I called them a bug.

That's called an E L E C T R I C A L E X T E N T I O N C O R D . In this case it's how I am able to use the electrical current in the garage to transfer electricity to the battery charger to recharge my starter and trolling motor batteries in my boat. It's very helpful. Hope that helps you. A-Jay

Take an exclusive deep dive into fuzzy baits, a new bait style you won’t want to miss!

Do what the marketing team told me not to.

I'm always amazed at the various methods that people use to chase the same fish. TX rig will always be my #1 since it's my #1 confidence bait. I had good success with brush hogs, & the Rage Menace this year. I wanted to try colors other than GP, watermelon, & Junebug this year. The two that stood out were both golden hues. Honey Candy for the menace, and rootbeer pepper green for the brush hog. I plan to continue using those. Lipless crankbaits are #2 for me. A new color that I had success with was, wait for it...gold. Specifically, a gold shad SK RES tungsten 2 tap. Another lure I plan to use more often. The "best of the rest" for me are spinnerbaits, underspins, swim jigs, drop shot, and ned rigs.

93 muskies over 30”, dang. By my math, it should take 930,000 casts to catch that many, but we all know it took you no where near that many. Well done.

Jaw spreaders are cheap: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-fish-mouth-spreader https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/tyrant-tackle-jaw-spreader You can spend more, but those will get you going. Hooks with crushed barbs make it even easier - I can usually unhook pike, and most muskies, without taking them out of the water. ...for leaders, I just tie tieable wire into my main line.

Oh! And I have some Tiemco Buzz Bugs coming in the mail..

No - That's Me ! I poop my pants all the time. Don't You ? #lumpynickers 😎 A-Jay

Yea, I saw it was an extension cord but just couldn't resist pulling your chain.

Impressive!

Caught a 6.4 on the Cue Bomb, and a 7.10 on the full sized Imo Kemushi last summer, these Geecrack fuzzy baits are pretty incredible. That said, they have some serious drawbacks, and are quite frustrating to fish with to some degree. As noted by @scaleface, if the hairs are orange, chartreuse, or other brighter colors, the Bream will constantly be ripping them out. Rigging these baits, especially the Cue Bomb requires creativity outside of using them on the Drop Shot like many do. Not a DS fan, so I neko rig them and use an Owner CPS spring tightened down around the hook along with a nail weight in the bottom. I tried them on a Core Tackle Whacky Shot but the hookup ratio isn't great and I think it's because of the gap the weight creates b/t the hook and the bait. If you rig those big Imo Kemushis Texas Rigged, they last a fish or two at most. I thread them on a big 5/0 flipping hook and try to stay away from the really heavy stuff. I'm also still learning how to actually hook the fish on the bait, it's very different than any other bait I've used in that way. You need to really set the hook like it's a jig or heavy T Rig, but at the same time you also need that wacky rig hookset where you reel into them and then apply a modest hookset. The little Imo Kemushi I rig like a combo of a neko and ned rig. Once I got the elastomer version, I started to really like the little Imo Kemushis. With the regular SAF material the things lasted for a fish or two. I use a CPS spring tightened down around the hook and then a nail weight. I need lots more practice and time with these baits, but their potential is only matched by their headaches.

Owner Range Roller 3/32 oz w/ size 1 Hyper Weld snap with 3-3 1/2” soft plastic of choice. Tom

This makes sense, Pat. It also makes sense to not be too certain about what other animals experience. When you think about how many billions of hours have been dedicated to understanding human bodies and how much remains a mystery in our bodies, well, a minute fraction of the time dedicated to cracking our bodies has been spent on bass and there are likely factors within factors within factors that determine how bass see and react. I just know that on the water I fish, chartreuse and white are fire and I whereas it might be nice to know why, I don't need to know. I just want to have a basic sense of what the fish that I target prefer. It gives me a starting point and whereas I'm absolutely uncertain about why bass do what they do, I'm 100% that because chartreuse and white worked for me a few times doesn't mean that they'll work for me every time...and I'm okay with the mystery.

I believe it is *yellow* and white that appear the same to a bass - chartreuse is actually yellow mixed with a little bit of green which is something that bass see very well. They have green and red color receptors. Any chartreuse that has green in it is going to stand out to a bass. Even beyond this - I would think that contrast still exists even if bass don't necessarily have the receptors for differentiating between white and yellow.

WOW! What a year. Congrats. Hoping you make that century mark in ‘25. I really need to keep a better log and take more pics of my trips with my son. Sounds like a resolution huh? Nice job bud John

I feel like the 3/16th BR Fish jigheads are like the goldilocks of the options they offer. I also feel like the 3.3" size BR Fish is a perfect place to start as I generally like to start out with the smaller options of a particular bait, and if they produce, I like to then upsize the bait to target bigger fish. In the beginning though I like the smaller option just to generate bites in order to evaluate if the bait is good or not. So, if it were me, I'd get the 3/16ths heads and a couple packs of the 3.3" BR Fish in colors that you think relate well to your primary forage you're fishing around. These work perfectly on your typical senko rod which to me is a 7' M Fast. I throw them on 7' M Fast rods, and fast 6 speed 3000 sized spinning reels.

I can’t think of a single public figure for whom I have more respect. He was truly an honorable and humble man. Five years ago, my wife and I went to his church in Plains, Georgia, to hear him teach Sunday School. It’s a very small, rural Baptist church where members used to take turns mowing the church yard. Jimmy and Rosalynn took their turn like everyone else. He would be mowing, she would be trimming the hedges, and the Secret Service agents would be keeping watch.

It might still leak but it will look pretty dang good while it does it. Good Luck A-Jay

You still have that? All time best lipless crankbait I own Years ago I got this from Janns Netcraft....Almost positive I have a #2 treble on the belly and #4 at the rear

I just found this in an old thread: @WRB is one of the all-time greats.

The 2 I posted are in this picture on the same day in December. I was fishing solo so couldn’t hold them all up so I found a guy at the ramp to take a picture of the two 10’s.i had to quickly lay these hawgs on the deck and released them back into the lake. Water temperature was 49 that day and the big largemouth were ganging up gorging on Shad in the pockets.i think everyone else was deer hunting that day. I caught over 25 keepers and the smallest was 4 pounds.doubt I ever have that kind of day again but thankful for that one fine day

I’d say “it depends” - primarily on what size fish suffered the most (if any) due to the drawdown. Big fish need more of everything to survive, whereas little fish can live happily in a puddle. If the big fish had enough refuge to survive, and got to feast on the consolidated smaller fish, it could be a big fish haven for a couple years. If the big fish survival requirements were compromised and they suffered greater mortality, it could be a dink-fest for several years to come. Will be interesting to read your reports from there next year to see which way the scales of life tipped.

Here's some of the ones i snapped photos of. And I even made some of my own with a threader from Decoy. The last picture is the Cue..but you can't really tell.

Welcome to the club Gumpy . . . I'm not as nimble as I once was, but I'm not exactly feeble either. I like my steps and am glad I have them. I'm betting you will too. Don't forget, measure twice, cut/mount once. Good Luck A-Jay

It doesn’t matter how old you are. Why not make things a littler easier for yourself?