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Often times there's more to it than just catching bass . . . A-Jay

We made it above freezing today , got out in the kayak and caught a few. One LM had a lamprey on the top of its head, thankfully it fell off while boating the fish. You can see the scar on its head in the picture Tried to go back upstream of the dock to catch some crappie and the water was frozen…….. called it quits after that . Beautiful day, fun paddle

There are bodies of water where you might need a boat that big and that fast and that equipped with electronics to catch bass, but on lots of water, you can catch big bass and some days, lots of bass with lots less. See @Pat Brown, @AlabamaSpothunter, @pdxfisher, @N Florida Mike, @thediscochef, @PhishLI, @Aaron_H, @Fried Lemons, @Scott W, @Bluebasser86, and many others. Some of these guys don't even have a boat and when @Fried Lemons floats, he's fishing from a board with his feet dangling. Then there's @TnRiver46, who catches bass from every conceivable craft. If I had a hundred grand bass boat, I'd feel soooooooo much pressure to catch soooooooo many big bass and to put everyone I know on their PBs. Like the Bible says, to whom more is given, more is expected.

I’m off to Kissimmee in the morning for the Bassmaster Kayak Series event next weekend. We’re fishing the Kissimmee Chain and have 12 or 13 lakes to choose from. I’ve never fished there before so I’m bringing the kitchen sink. I haven’t even put my luggage in the truck yet. It should be an interesting week. The weather will be consistent for M-F practice, then a front moves in for the tournament weekend. I’m staying at Toho, so I’ll practice there first. I’m not sure where I’m heading after that.

Good ol’ California, got this guy in a small local lake in about 2-3ft of water in the evening flipping a rage bug near some tules. Weather has been very nice, but we definitely need some rain.

Went to the Mpls Boat Show for a couple hours this morning. Lots of nice boats to look at, sit in, and dream about owning. Most are out of my budget. But I like looking anyways. I consider this event the unofficial "halfway" point of winter here. Onward towards spring now.

TW sale stuff. If I can't catch a fish in January I'm at least going to feed the monkey

I don't understand the Tracker shaming. They're probably responsible for getting more first timers on the water than any other brand. Great price, lots of features for the money, and water ready when you pull it out of the lot. Not everyone's ego requires a Lund or BassCat to be happy.

6-gear is my go-to for still water, improves finesse feel. @AlabamaSpothunter is correct. When the water's moving or I'm moving (wind-drifting kayak), I always fish at least 7- or 8-gear. One way to effectively slow down a fast reel is a longer handle, since you're moving farther to make a turn (using more arm and less wrist). Longer handle also increases torque. The main gear concern in rivers is a charging fish that can out-run your gearing and spit the hook. Stripers are the only fish I know that run down first - most fish turn up river until they panic - then they race down current.

I can tell every last one of you friends this: Florida bass under a sheet of ice do NOT bite in big lakes or small ponds in NC. 👍🏼😂

Buddy of mine down at Grand Isle would disagree!

Milliken be like...

I have exactly 1 payment left on my boat, I couldn’t imagine the payment on one of those.

Coach may be the wrong term needed for learning fishing skills. Using some who is skilled at catching bass could be a mentor or instructor. Relying on self taught can easily develop into poor skill sets like improper casting technique, unable to determine where the bass are located, how effectively use specific lures or presentations and when to use them. Pro golfers constantly have issues with their swing and use a swing coach to watch, study the golfer hit balls to determine what they are doing to cause the problem and correct it. Pro bass anglers may have developed hitches in the casting technique but never heard of a casting coach! Watching others often ends up in duplicating poor skills unless the angler your watching has perfect skills. Tom

Ahhh you can swing that . Just eat only Ramon noodles for the next 30 years.

So this arrived in the mail yesterday, I haven't seen one of these in years. Interesting to leaf through.... Old buddy of mine used to work for cabela's, and talked about how they laid out those catalogs. Interesting to see that Bass Pro puts the Ranger boats on page 215? Lots of emphasis early in the catalog on forward facing sonar and forward facing sonar lures. ....and 20 minutes later....catalog going in the recycle bin. Far easier to search online.

I can give you an example - a friend on FFR reported on a long Gomexus handle he added to a low-geared Vanford 500. He described losing several fish that charged him. I can think of a day on Kenai when >30" rainbow charged me, and I would have paid for an extra 3 IPT. (fly reel). Yes, you'd probably be happy fishing the 7.4-geared HG - that's a good balance between speed and feel.

Remember when you filled out the paper order form and mailed with a check......showing my age!

Back in the old days, when we first got into Carolina rigging, either pumpkin/chartreuse tail or straight pumpkin with the tail dipped manually was about all anyone threw. Probably the most popular color might have been black with yellow dots - I believe it was a Mister Twister color pattern. To this day, the only color lizard I still carry with me and throw is Moccasin Blue…it’s been that good to me.

When I was fishing the local tournament scene, almost all my winnings came on an electric grape Texas rigged lizard.

The favorite hard water past time of digging up older threads. Totally guilty of it myself. I like it too. As for this one, besides the obvious challenge of having so much more water to cover & eventually eliminate, there's the the matter of 'timing'. Smaller water will often allow a basshead to sort of bump into the fish when they are feeding. Since it take less time to cover the less acreage, the chances improve a bit in that regard. This seem less of a thing when there's some vast-ness to a body of water. Being on the right spot, at the right time and doing the right thing rarely happens by chance. Usually requires at least some map study and then . . . . . whole lot of fishing time. And the fishing time needs to happen during different times of the day, different days of the week (depending on boating traffic) and even during different seasons: at each potential spot. I have great spots that I only visit and find find fish at very specific times, and even during specific times of the year. Could be a bust in the spring and Boom in the Fall. Even vice versa too. So Timing can be serious swing & miss deal anywhere but big water in particular. But when we connect, it's usually pretty good. A-Jay

8 speed is my pick for this scenario. It's also my speed of choice for all bottom contact baits.

@woolleyfooley That's '16 Steez SVTW 1016H wearing Roro X29 - will also fit all Zillion and every 34-mm-floating-spool Daiwa before '24 Steez. Roro X29 is discontinued with a final cache closing out at Japan Tackle. Also recommend you replace palm-cap bearing with Roro 1030 This reel and spool is the reason I bought my first Daiwa in 35 years. I don't know why Jun changed his reported low-end on this spool to 3 g. He first listed it as 2-g capable, and I can vouch for the smaller number (to extreme distance). I even tried Roro X29 on my CV-Z to check the match and magnet effectiveness for a friend on Tackle Tour forum, who wanted a 2-g spool for his TD-Z. Magnets did the job, and it was a pocket rocket on this reel. ________________________________ Izanas used to have a blurb about their manufacturing and polymer chain alignment in their Ultra-high N/dex fiber used as center-strand in their fishing braid. The result increases both strength and toughness. This is right up my professional bailiwick and even polymer processing class project using camera X-ray crystallography to demonstrate polymer chain alignment v. drawing conditions. For those willing to get out of themselves and learn, Gore and Izanas are in all the same markets. Neither sell fibers for another to make braid, but they sell the bulk-spooled finished product from continuous fabrication, exactly as described in the YGK blurb in my previous post. Rapala and Varivas, YGK, Duel, etc. spec their product from Izanas quality and pricing menu (fiber grades, weave, dyes, FEP coating formulation). They buy the line in bulk spools, and they final package pegboard spools. I've fished 832, YGK, Duel, Varivas, Seaguar, Yamatoyo coated braids, various grades and coatings, picked my preferences - and watched my friends wind-knot uncoated Power Pro, which kept me away from braid until the technology caught up with my expectation. The all braid is the same mantra couldn't be further from the facts.

I love my Curado 150MGL 8 speed for cranking......everything from squarebills to DT10s. You can always slow down, but you can't speed up 5, 6 and 7 speed reels. Some days speed is the deal when cranking too. Some days you can't burn that thing fast enough. I remember 25 years ago everybody wanted 5 speed reels for cranking, now look at all the top level pros and they're using 8 speed reels for cranking. Then again they use 8 speed reels for most everything these days.

A 100k bass boat is mind boggling. If I had Elon Musk money I'd still likely look at much cheaper options. They are cool to look at though.

Definitely not advice on hair styling.

That boat is made in Tennessee. It’s worth twice that much. 😁

Just saw a vid with Scott Martin who said the big bass wave should be starting on Okeechobee with this warming trend coming up. I would assume the other lakes will follow. I hope so, we’re heading to headwaters next Friday for a week and it would be fantastic if the big girls turned on.

Old thread alert ! Back in May 2018, I managed a 29-7 lb bag. It was a calm and quiet morning that began with a bang. My first brown bass of the day was a tank ! On the scale she was half a goby shy of 7 lbs. Just a gorgeous northern Michigan specimen. I was pumped. Only got 4 more fish on this trip, but they were all over 5 pounds. A jerkbait & a vibrating jig each accounted for a pair of fatties. With the wind coming on pretty good, I called it a day; but what a day. One I will definitely remember for a long time. My largest to date, still targeting the very elusive but most magic 30 lb bag. A-Jay

I know you are but what am I.

One of my favorite scenes in "A River Runs Through It" is when the Brad Pitt character leaves his father's fine coaching behind and forges his own style of fishing. We all have to discover what works for us. I am acutely aware that I fish wrong by the books and what's popular. I fish from a canoe rather than the far more popular kayaks. I power fish with spinning gear. I use the same rods with every lure. And so on. But it works for me...on my local water. And I know what works for other successful BR anglers wouldn't begin to work where I fish. I imagine a bass boat below and I see a weed-fouled prop. And then I imagine someone trying to drag their bass boat through these woods. So, it's Father Time more than YouTube videos that tell us how to catch our local bass. Plop me on the shore of one of @Pat Brown's city ponds and I couldn't begin to replicate what he does...without Father Time. Drop me on O.H. Ivie and I'd be oh-so lost, until Father Time started teaching me. When I used to outfish dozens of other boats on the Mississippi River, I wasn't fishing like they were. Same on Lake Michigan. I was fishing differently, taught by Father Time, the greatest coach, with the greatest teaching method: Try and fail and try, try, try again. Yeah, you heard me Coaches Saban, Belichick, Jackson, and Auerbach! You guys are number two and always will be.

Watching Glenn's vedio reminded me about being observant. I have been bass fishing since a young child and learned bass behavior by mostly being observant by watching bass. You can actually see bass before catching them if you open your eyes and look into the water. When fishing with a partner I am always amazed that the majority of anglers never look for fish. Everyone usually see's the swirl or splash a bass makes but don't see a bass following a bass hooked or the lure or just sitting under cover. Seeing bass takes practice to learn what to look for. It's easy to see bass in clear water following a lure , not so easy to see a bass in the same clear water that isn't swimming. Off color water requires close attention for water movement, pressure wake or cover movement and flashes underwater indicating a bass just turned away from a lure. Look closely and you see a dark lateral line on lighter background movements or tail or mouth flashes revealing the bass. I can't tell you how many times I have pointed out a bass to a fishing partner or found giant bass by looking for them visually. Tom

My pond is hosting a kids' bass tournament this week. Of course, they'll do a little drilling first.

I don’t think there is any issue with buying it if you can afford it. When you feel like you need it but, can’t afford it that’s the problem.

Peace, serenity, solitude, reducing stress, and the feeling of the wind in my face when I throttle down are all selling points for me to be a boat owner. I like fishing and catching too though.

Making me give up all my secrets huh? Gourd Green Moccasin Blue Watermelon

Other than for a Carolina Rig I never use a lizard as a stand alone bait. When I do it’s always dark green with a chartreuse dipped tail. Mike

Gary Yamamoto's 10" Ichi Worm

Heck, yeah! And this is why I include pretty pics in my fishing reports, as well as critter counts. Yep, it's not just catching bass. I'm guessing you outfish the majority of the guys who buy $100,000 boats.

The difference between those two ratios isn’t significant imo. At least in this scenario. The mechanical advantage of a 5:1 is nice for deep diving, high resistance lures.

He bought his license 3 minutes before submitting the fish on the Share Lunker app. I had no idea that Cerebral Tackle existed. It's like a TMZ Bass Fishing YouTube channel.

Winter. Is. Inevitable.

I met Shane Hoelzle down at Lake Baccarac. At the time he was living in Washington State. He and his tournament partner Jestin Brown hold the Canadian record for a two day tournament at 64-06. That's 33-02 the first day & 31-04 the second. They had two over 8lbs & one over 7lbs. They were fishing in British Columbia waters. The lake is located in both Washington State & BC Canada. That's 10 smallmouth weighing 64lbs-6ounces.

Been using Quntum reels for some time. Little to no problems, ever. Helps to maintain and not abuse them. Will be selling 'several' of these at a fisherman friently price next month. IMO a step above the S3. If you're interested, keep an eye on the Flea Market forum. A-Jay

Next time you are making an order on tackle warehouse, this is a fantastic lipless crankbait worth picking up. I have a bunch I grabbed about 10 years ago from Reaction Strike at a liquidator and after using them on a few trips I purchased about 30 of them in all sizes. I tend to throw these more than the old Xcaliburs (now booyah) which are considered gold. They are mainly silent, have a slight rattle which is almost the sound of sand but a bit of a deeper sound. They sink faster, cast a mile, and stand perfectly on bottom so you can fish em like a jig or chuck and wind and rip out of weeds. I love the 2 line ties as well. They come with cheap hooks so I change mine out to better ones, mostly Triple grips or owners. I believe Castaic/Reaction Strike is an OEM and makes baits and lures for other companies, so much of their stuff is slept on. Granted, some of the other baits they make are poor quality imo, but this is a worthy investment of $7.99. Both sizes are good, they are different weights than the standard sizes which I think helps with the action. Sometimes less noise is the ticket. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Castaic_Baits_CXV_Lipless_Crankbait/descpage-CCL.html?from=gshop&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7se8BhCAARIsAKnF3rwv3yjyYqiOLHYZf44U5U9ms3W17YeZs3D6Naltr-3wKc0SqUDKcsUaAgEfEALw_wcB

Been quite a while since we've been out on the water! Able to take Pops out for his 80th right before my daughter had to head back to school. Only right he caught the first of the day. Fishing was pretty slow but we still managed a few. The three gen trips are always a good time...

Caught one on the june bug magnum speed worm. 43 degrees when I caught him. Hit it on the fall.

First things first. The first thing is determine what the seasonal period is at the lake you are fishing. Second is determine what depth the bass and prey fish are active feeding in. You can do both these in the marina before you head out, if you head out! Third thing is study the lake map before you leave to do the first thing. Determine the lake classification and primary prey fish. Kentucy lake is a highland power generation lake with palegic Shad with LMB for example Knowing the seasonal period eliminates lots of water. Knowing the depth to start fishing in eliminates more water. Studing the map tells you where to start fishing based on 1 & 2. Now selecting lures that are effective at the depth and location you are fishing eliminates most of you lure choices. The most difficult season period is summer, bass can be anywhere. I like to start at the longest main lake point close to the marina.Major points are obvious and give you all the depth ranges to check out and usually has a population bass. Tom

The process of elimination takes a lot longer on big reservoirs. The adage that 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish is true and that leaves a whole lot of empty water to eliminate. Ideally, you can cross it off without having to fish it, but it doesn't always work that way.