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Caught a beautiful 7.6 earlier on the A-Rig, along with a few other really fat 3lb class fish, hoping this marks the end of a nasty funk that's been going on for a few weeks caused by crashing water temps and stunned/dying young of the year Threadfin Shad. All you can eat shad buffets make it almost impossible to catch fish I've found. Fat bellies 😍

Finally managed to get out for the first time this year. Nothing crazy but it felt good to connect with some fish. Only fished for a few hours, managed 7, biggest one was a bit over 4lb on a bladed jig up against some reeds. Jerkbait and lipless got me a few, but bladed jig got the most. Also culled a tilapia, and had a nice little surprise with an ~11 inch crappie on the lipless. First fish of 2025 was also my first on the Vision 110. Best fish of the evening

Hi all, I feel so lucky to be able to sit at my computer, look out the sliding glass door and enjoy the wildlife. Every day brings a new sight. Took these pics in the last couple of days. The red marker is to help warn birds from hitting the glass. Thanks for looking.

Well, I did a bunch of research and also found a good unbiased review on YouTube that was very helpful. Also turns out a buddy owns a Lowe Stinger 198 and has been very happy with it. So I made up my mind and bought a boat today - a brand new 2024 Lowe Stinger 195 Bass with a Merc 115 Pro XS at $10k off sticker price on clearance. After shaking on the deal the sales manager told me that with our weak Canadian dollar and threat of tariffs, their purchase costs are going up substantially. He said all prices are going up so I snagged a great deal just in time. The deal was already signed so I don’t think that was a sales pitch. So, we just bought our dream boat. Time to start thinking about add-ons. 😎

My off season haul.. 2020 metanium hg.. 2024 vanford 3000..nrx plus 852s..shimano expride b 7'2 mhg and 6'10m...

@FishTax I would be willing to say what most listed here is where we start but not necessarily where we finish. Like many alluded to I throw various plastics from weightless to punch rigs.

I'm not sure I follow your thinking. To me all of the data is interesting. The final round tells us how much the top angler's in the tournament relied on FFS. The average catch per period per angler for FFS periods and not FFS periods will tell us how much FFS improves the catch rate on average for all the anglers in the tournament. That stat for the entire season will be very telling. FFS can be used in many different ways and its impact on catch rates varies. In this tournament Scoping for suspended fish was the key to success for the top finishers. Others may only use it to find a weed line. Still others may have it turned on but not use it at all. Over the course of the season we can get a good idea what the total impact of FFS is to catch rates of top tier anglers. It's all very interesting to a data geek like me. 😊

It has one of the highest population densities in the state according to surveys, so there’s lots of fish in there and it’s still one of the toughest fisheries to get bit at. A lot of guys throw shad baits, but I rarely do for the exact reason you mentioned, why would they eat a shad bait with millions upon millions of the real thing available? So I catch them on Neds and craws and cranks in crazy colors.

Delayed mortality and harvest are the same result for the fish, dead a certain amount of fish are going to die every year no matter what kills them, look up consumptive mortality Almost all fish will stop growing at some point in their life, just because you release a 2 lb fish doesn’t not mean it will get bigger. Many of them can live for many years at the same size Mother Nature is way smarter than public opinion at this point in our society, you’re just arguing with your friend to make noises. Neither of you will ever know who was right or wrong

Wanted to try out Ark rods, so i got one of the new Wes Logan Leatherman do everything regular Action rods. Then the baitmonkey wanted another SS Air for the 7'6 Cashion BFS

I almost picked senko FishTax. But it would be a sad sad summer if I couldn’t have an ol monster on a heavy t rig

I could probably come up with some calculation, but this might give you a starting point…really just have to test.

Perhaps of interest...

It’s early, but just ran the stats adjusted for most variables, and the answer after the first event is just over 2.5X better. In other words, for every 10 pounds caught without FFS, the Top 10 guys caught 25-1/2 pounds with it in the same amount of time (per period). Interestingly, the average bass weight between FFS caught fish and non FFS caught fish was nearly identical (less than 1/10 of a pound). That one surprised me.

Got out extra early yesterday to beat the crowd on what was supposed to be a super nice day. Parked my kayak on the bank in the dark and put some cat rods out and wasn't there 5 minutes when one took off and I had a nice blue on the bank. Nothing else after that so I started chasing bass. Same spot as last week, about a 100 yard wide point that I just worked back and forth across. They must not be generating much because the water temps had dropped from 53 last weekend to 47 this weekend, not good for power plant fish. I was still picking one off every now and then and avoiding the circus of boats I could see across the lake on the bluff walls. I even managed to pick off another nice one on my Ned, just a touch over 5 pounds. Unfortunately, one of the clowns from the circus decided I was having too much fun and put an end to that. They rolled up and started driving back and forth across my shallow point, scanning and pointing around. They had spider rod holders on the back so I assumed they were catfishermen that were going to hopefully anchor out a little bit and give me a little space. Nope, they drove right over the top of my point and beached it, then started throwing what looked like handfulls of brown gravel all over into the water?? I was fuming, but just kept fishing because unfortunately, they had done nothing actually wrong. Then the lines started flying, to each side of me, way out into the water, on fairly light and long spinning rods? I thought maybe channel cat fishing until they got their first bite and landed the fish. They were carp fishing. There's a carp every square foot in this lake, and they decided to do it right on top of where I was trying to fish. I thought about dragging a big jig through their lines. I thought about grinding a deep crank through their lines, thought about tossing my throw net all around the point, but instead, I fished a little bit longer and left. The saying "2 wrongs don't make a right", kept going through my head and I decided not to let them win by making me get down on their level. Instead, I loaded up and drove to a different lake to check on the ice, only to find out it was completely thawed. I spent the last 2.5 hours of my day catching 30 more bass, all small, but it felt like a reward for keeping my composure. The hole jumpers sitting on top of my footprints from the morning. I got bit on the back of their transom while they were rigging their rods.

Many years ago, YUM produced the Zellamander named after Zell Roland. It has been my all time favorite Carolina rig plastic. Smallmouth ate them like no other. It has a twin tail and was soft. I ran out and never could find them. So I stumbled, something I do a lot now, and checked Bitter’s Baits and lo and behold, they produce the exact same lure. Maybe from the same mold??? And they are soft. I can die a happy man.

@LrgmouthShad It’s funny that I never truly thought about my difference in technique until this thread. But yeah, it’s more of a pinpoint cast to a specific location bait for me. But it’s very effective if there’s a lot of cover to fish. And very easy to skip.

Another suggestion before you drop a lot of money on a new set. This stuff works. It takes hours to use both and you will probably need both but it's worth a shot. I have used it all kinds stuff that has lost its DWR and waterproofing. Most of the time it brings it back to new.

I love to throw a stick worm on TR but that's for my light version and I went with the heavier one here

@FishTax I often toss a Senko as a weightless Texas rig, but as a true Texas rig (to many anglers) includes a bullet weight, I did not choose that. But I do catch a lot of bass on it. But if I analyze my technique, I’d say that I work a true Texas rig all the way back to the boat/shore, whereas I use a weightless Senko TR to cast at specific spots I believe a bass is located, and if no strikes, I reel it in and recast it.

something with a darker than white belly and a mid toned back, usually with a little local color thrown into the back. Here's one example in a dshad (green gizzard) but pick your favorite shape.

Yup ~ Lynn got a few better shots this morning, confirms it. A-Jay

This was from black Friday sale from a local tackle shop.. 50% off Keitech... I normally do a bulk buy each memorial day sale at tackle warehouse for my 4.8 swing fat impacts but with the current state of the Canadian dollar, won't be saving as much as previous years after shipping and customs charges..

Haven't used them, but they do feel much better than i thought Legit Design rods would. Not tip heavy either.

Winter Storm is finally gone in Florida, only caught this aggressive dude. He’s still ice cold so I’ll keep hanging up my rod.

I've only seen stats from day 1, but FFS usage accounted for about 80% of fish caught. My takeaway after the first event is that if you allow even 10 minutes of FFS usage, it will be the dominate and deciding factor for who does well, and who doesn't. I now feel like NPFL is the only real product that will be different. Allowing folks to use FFS for a few hours each day is more than enough for it to still be the main factor in those events. The NPFL roster is also pretty dang incredible. Now if only they could get their coverage up to speed, and comparable to the MLF which is really fantastic.

It's not as good as a bullet weight pulling through the weeds. My water gets almost as weedy as florida water, and I like to pop the free rig up when the weeds are thick. You get their attention with quick movement, then the weight separates and the bait glides down. That's usually when I get bit. Sometimes a floating worm can be worked in place too, like a bottom feeding baitfish. But I also find a standard t-rig is best when snaking horizontally through the thickest of jungle. scott

IMO, weigh in tournaments should be a thing of the past. The delayed mortality loses a lot of weight when you’re not bringing them in, but guys have to be able to show them to you when they catch one so they aren’t going away I suppose. We aren’t keeping enough bass as a whole. I wish I liked to eat them, I’d keep them all the time, but they taste awful. Keeping a limit of small fish is never going to hurt the population of the lake.

Got out extra early to beat everyone to my spot on what was supposed to be an extra nice day (didn't end up mattering, still got ran off). Brought the cat rods and caught a healthy blue before the sun even got up.

First Fat Bass of February! Well, not actually. I caught three before this one and one after, but she was the fattest! Water temp started at 42 deg. but rose to 48 deg. by late afternoon. Unfortunately, so did the wind. By very early afternoon it was whitecapping and my day was done. Managed four fat ones at Nickajack and really pumped about what the future holds! Wanted to bring her back to my pond for some new genetics but she went belly up in the livewell, and with a couple hours to fish, and over an hour drive home, I reluctantly let her go. I'm not risking killing one just for my hobby. She didn't belly up when I put her back. She found a new gear and was GONE!

I wonder where @ABU is overpriced stands on this one ? A-Jay

You really do need some new friends. 😎 A-Jay

New addition to my team of modest bait casting rods/reels. Added to the jerkbait lineup. Initial feel of Shimano Expride B 6'10" Medium is pretty amazing. I can see why it's highly suggested. Paired with Shimano Curado DC. Long time before able to use, but pretty pumped. Expect the rod to be a performer. Hopefully the reel will be too. Kudos to Tackle Warehouse for super quick delivery. Ordered rod Tuesday and got Thursday.

I loved going there when I was stationed in MO for an Army school. Picked up brand new reels 50% off because the box was damaged. They had stuff there that I never saw in the store like 10" knock off senkos and plastics sold by weight. Allen

My core 101 was the 1st high end baitcaster I ever bought... The newer Shimanos cast much better and have better braking systems now... Outside dial brakes was such a game changer to allow you to adjust brakes on the fly if wind picks up... It's still in my rotation due to sentimental values though and will probably be the one reel I'll never sell off..

I have these two aluminum racks that slip under the rear hatches that hold four rods perpendicular to the boat centerline. They propbably aren't available anymore, but you could fab something up.

Need? No. Depends on what rod you have now and how heavy of a swimbait. A 6” Magdraft goes 1.25oz. A 6” freestyle with a 3/8oz belly hook isn’t much more. I fished both last year on my heavy setups (rated 1/2-1.5) to good effect. If you are going bigger and heavier then you’re going to push the limits of most heavy rods. Then you might need one.

Riots minima jig Dirty Jigs Scott Canterbury compact flipping jig

The rod locker idea would give you good storage and a much larger fishing deck.

3/16 oz bullet (unpegged) or free rig weight 2/0 G finesse heavy cover straight shank Limited to one bait, it would be a biffle bug 15lb FC

I was a diehard user of Gamakatsu standard EWGs, and then the nano coated models due to their price and sharpness. They're cheap enough that you can afford to just replace the hook vs. sharpening them. I also think the lighter gauge wire translated to better bait movement. I found those Haymakers a couple years ago and still haven't found a hook that is anywhere close to them. The gauge size, the sharpness, coating, and perhaps most importantly the hook point angle and bend is unbeatable I've found. Only problem is that the rest of the fishing world has found them as well, and they can be hard to get at times.

I still enjoy using my SS Tournaments, now and then.

I'm also advertising for Cabelas like @A-Jay I actually got heckled at a football game this year (from a friend a few rows back)... "Nice jacket. Where can I get one?!" 🤣 I did get my wife the women's version which is a couple years newer and it's more discreet. I go up a size and layer underneath when necessary. Nikwax Tech Wash/TX.Direct Wash-In Fabric Care Hardshell DUO-Pack seems to do the trick for me to wash and restore the waterproofing.

I believe that! Those bass could use Ozempic! 😁 But seriously, It amazes me that in a lake with such a huge shad population, it is even possible to catch any. Why would they go for anything that is not a shad? The shad are there for the easy taking. I mean "easy", because I have observed the bass in my pond pursue shad, and there is no question that once a bass decides, game over! The bass run down the shad in a blink of an eye, and none ever escape. This goes for creek minnows, and any other fish dropped in the pond.

Well done, Officer Clayton. I wish I could say that I always follow your fine lead, but sometimes I hold my tongue and sometimes I don't.

Me and an eagle went fishin, caught 3 bluegill and a perch the size of a rapala

@Glenn Bingo!

They are fat. One after another after another are footballs. Just not long, topping out at about 18.5", but I did have one hit that moved so much water that I'm thinking the pond might hold a kraken or two. My problem is that I'm not a fan of eating bass. I'm spoiled by walleye and yellow perch. I invite others to keep bass, but I don't think that's happening...much. I suppose I could keep some to fertilize my garden. I think Native Americans did that.

Hello Darkness, my old friend. Steez Real Control 6'11'' MH Fast and a 24 Steez SV TW HL. The Bait Monkey is done for the year.