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Thanks for the tips Tim! I've found that is definitely the case when the bait is deep and I use a Damiki Rig and 2D sonar. There are times when I just don't think these fish will eat an artificial bait without putting the bait on their nose. Earlier I was around a ton of bait, typical frenetic schooling activity for hours with an untold amount of Bass, but these fish are dang near impossible to catch. When you do catch one though, they are freak shows and usually spit up half dozen shad. The fish are always really fat during the winter on this lake, but this year is just different. Did catch a nice 6.10 fish on the 1/8th Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jighead and the new elastomer Drift Fry 4.0 in flashing bait. If you're in rolling action, you will not find a better combo than that. This 3lb class fish was a perfect football, and you can see some shad it discarded in the water.

Finally got back out again after nearly 2 weeks of down time. Sadly, two lakes nearby are currently closed, limiting my options. Bluebird day, but a high of 80 and light and variable winds. Only bites I could buy were on A-rig today. Cloudy and nearly 20 degrees cooler tomorrow if I get one more chance to go this week.

I've experienced 7 decades and my strength, balance, dexterity, and vision are failing accordingly. I've made several accommodations to continue my favorite pastime: 1. I tie my boat to the dock cleat from a boat cleat positioned mid-point of either side of the boat (not from bow or stern). Less stumbling around in the boat and is more stable. 2. I've rigged a wooden shovel handle to fit in a rod holder bracket to assist my balance when boarding and un-boarding when a sturdy dock post isn't available. 3. I wear a pfd ALWAYS when in the boat. 4. I wear a lanyard that carries fishing license, my personal identification AND a very loud plastic referee's whistle. 5. My phone is NOT in my pocket but near my driving seat. (It wont work after being dunked should I fall in) 6. I've given up any free standing when fishing (am always sitting or using a seat post) 7. I use a long handle net for boating most fish. 8. I anchor more often when in a stiff breeze. 9. I've begun using clips to attach crankbaits, top water lures and jerkbaits. If you've made other accommodations in your fishing I'd like to read them. oe

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.

I have started taking little blue, oh I'm sorry, wrong forum. All jokes aside, my mind has is not as sharp as it once was. In order to compensate for my ever increasing senior moments, I have started not only writing down the number and size of the bass I catch, but I also make a written note of the lie I plan on telling when asked about the number and size of bass I catch. This way I don't let the truth get in the way of a good story, and I don't make the unforgivable mistake of not letting the bass properly grow and mature as the story is told. One notebook for facts, another one for alternate facts, and a third book to remind me which facts are required in which situations.

IDK...some of the residents there are kinda sketch.

Coming back to Knoxville!!!!!! I’m slightly jovial

We caved years ago ~ A-Jay

I'm calling dips on the couch. If there's not already a dog on it . . . A-Jay

This is exciting for sure! Also BIG shoutout to @TnRiver46 for offering his home for all of us to stay during the tournament.

All the approaches have advantages and disadvantages. For example, @Team9nine's photo approach show both him and the bass, which is good, but looking at his second photo above, that bass goes from the top of his head to the top of his thigh. At first glance, it appears to be three feet long or thereabouts. When I used to have a fishing partner who could take a photo of me with a bass, I put my elbow behind my head so that the bass would be right beside me to provide scale. I understand that I'm in the minority here and that a bass displayed this way looks small compared to a bass with extended arms. You can see that the bass below goes from near the top of my head to mid-torso. At first glance, it's a considerably shorter fish. I love having photos, but as Alex noted, I love my mind's memories even more. Even though I caught the bass above a decade or two ago, I could take you to the exact spot where she hit, as long as you were willing to launch just above a waterfall, paddle across one lake, bulldoze through the current of a narrows, wind through a reed field, and then cross another lake. There's an even better lake beyond the one above, but it takes crossing a couple swamps and four sets of rapids. Oh, I wish I were young enough to reach such places still.

Picked up this Daiwa Exceler LT for $62.89

Well....you're not wrong. However, you lift the rod back up and quickly drop it again. Then the weight will separate again. The higher you lift your rod, the greater the separation when you lower it.

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. 😎

I'll turn 69 this summer. My main change is I no longer fish the lakes that require multiple portages and sleeping on rock. I fish close to home and limit my fishing to less than six hours. So true! I love the king! P. S. - I also bought some waterfront property and have a deck and two canoes there. I love fishing without having to carry my canoe, but I still carry my canoe more than half my trips to fish water other than my pond.

https://boatefx.com/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/255015-just-ordered-a-set-of-boat-trailer-steps-~/ A-Jay

An OG uses all my reels so I guess they all count.

I'm in the middle of my 6th decade and very happy to have made it this far. My strength, balance, flexibility, dexterity, mental acuity, endurance, vision and hearing have all experienced some decline. It effects my fishing as well as most all of my everyday life. I manage my fishing trips so I don't use up so much energy I put myself (and others) at risk. Fatigue is a huge factor in many 'accidents'. I added a set of trailer steps at the bow. Significantly smoother getting on & off my rig now. At the ramp & in the garage. Finally, I am no longer able to resist the Bait Monkey. He's just too powerful. So I don't try. A-Jay

Agree with the advantages/disadvantages. I never ‘long arm’ fish. In my case, being alone in a 16 ft boat, camera propped on a seat or against the side of the boat, I can only get about 5 ft away from the camera, so all ratios of me-to-camera and bass-to-camera get exaggerated, and sometimes even more so depending on exact angle. If you look close at my arms, you’ll see they are nearly next to my body, with forearm slightly extended away from me, and the bass sitting right over my left thigh. It even dripped on my new ‘hole less’ jeans (which everyone failed to appreciate😆), but which I thought I might get a scolding from the wife over - lol. I’ll ‘uncrop’ them later when I get a chance as that probably plays into perspective, too. The bump board ‘kayak’ shots are the best from a true length perspective, and as a former R&D guy, I can appreciate; but from a photographic eye and interest perspective, just one step above a bass-to-foot or bass-to-rod ground shot, IMO…same with holding a fish out into infinity from your wide-angle GoPro. But again, as you mentioned, we are all forced and dictated by our individual limitations in this regard to showing off our catches.

I disagree. ~ I think @Team9nine does a very nice job displaying his many bass catches here. A-Jay

R.O.F.: Rate Of Fall ROF is just as important as the lures action. Most anglers think, use the lightest weight possible or they base weight off of water depth. Both can be completely wrong. I will throw 3/16-1/4 oz in 20' or 1/2-3/4 oz in 5'.

I'll throw Zoom's Magnum Finesse Worm or Magnum Trick Worm & fish em like a Senko.

@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.

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..

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 😍

I bought a 1937 South Bend fishing catalog. Oh, how times have changed. The catalog is a hybrid of a book about fishing, as it shares info about different species, a fishing magazine, as it has articles about fishing, and a catalog. Here is the cover and four pages. I like how they put the species beneath their lures that the lures might attract. There are pages showing rods and reels too and photos of big, recent catches. If you'd like me to share anything I just mentioned, let me know and I'll photograph and post those pages.

You won't be disappointed. I've fished hard for several years with a Stinger 175 and have thoroughly enjoyed it...... very stable, well constructed.

ive looked at that rod ,my question is can you rip through grass with it? most of my bladed jig fishing is around coontail and milfoil.

Good thread. I chose a Roboworm, but there are so many great plastic baits to use on a t rig. Over the years I've used a bunch of them, and they've all worked.

Catt, I'm.a big believer in adjusting rate of fall. Its very quick to retie with more or less weight, and it can make a difference. We might have our favourite weights to throw, but being versatile is where it's at.

I carry an HK VP9SK as my daily. Sometimes in the woods I will carry my full size Beretta. The HK is obviously easier to hide, and does have more holster/accessory options, but I definitely shoot the Beretta better. Full size steel frame; go figure. I am not as young as I used to be and have a bad back, so a force multiplier makes sense, especially where my family is concerned. 100% in favor of optics and WMLs on weapons, too. At this point the benefits and quality are too high to try to justify not using them, for me.

So do I 😥 Between the wife & I we drank a gallon every 3 days. I might drink 1 or 2 soft drinks a month & maybe a 1/2 gallon of sweet tea a month.

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.

As Mr. Bricker said 'original'. The TD Fuego mentioned in the post above yours was the original Fuego and listed for $229.95. The later Fuego CT listed for $99.99. I haven't touched a CT, but had 3 of the TD ones before giving one to a brother. Purchased 2 new ones on closeout in March, 2009. Lovely reels. Won't be selling or giving away the two I have left.

Thanks Katie! It was a happy accident when the GoPro was pointed to far down to capture my normal angles😁 It's so hard to judge a fish's size and quality from a 2D picture I've found, I struggle with my own sometimes. Funny enough my brain has even more problems when I see them on bump boards. I think the biggest thing is most people can't get the depth or distance away from the camera to give proper perspective. You really only get a few magical minutes with these special creatures, a picture, video, or memory can never capture how exquisite a healthy Bass looks like in the flesh imho.

Hahahahahahahahahaah. “My river is built slanted down” im dying there would be trouble if your river slanted up

Chad shad You can never go wrong with it, Imagine every single time it gets tough, I deploy it and BAM. Do yourself a favor and get one same color of your lake forage. I have five and each time I have money I am buying more and add. I have Original ones also but I am not using them 🤣

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine.

I got a catalog last week. I figure it is because I ordered twice from the site last year, as well as made a several hundred dollar purchase at one of the stores and may have given them my name and address at that time. I’ve noticed during years I don’t order from them that I don’t automatically get a catalog. Usually have to call and ask for one. I miss the old catalog layout from years ago that had product information charts showing all the specs of each rod, reel, and lure model. All the color and size options. Now it’s just a generic reminder that they still have these items with a single photo of just one of the available options, the retail price of it, and then you are directed to the website to see other colors and sizes available. So you have to use the site regardless. Can’t simply shop from the catalog only.

I vote chains all day, every day and twice on Sunday. I also go Master Pad lock on the hitch to ball. I do not trust a simple cotter pin. Not as a theft deterient as it's pretty easy to cut off. But unless it is, it's not coming off there while traveling down the road. 😃 A-Jay

I currently am preparing to clean up one of my TD Zillions, put some oil on the bearings and install a fresh set of Carbontex drag washers. It was instilled in me at a young age “if you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you“ and for me it continues to ring true. I still can’t seem to stop using my OG Curados.

Thank you. I miss him. If you ever visit his FB page again, tell him he's missed.

The In store Academy clearance will on get better, not sure if its each week or every 2 weeks they will continue to mark stuff down. The one store I went to locally had bins full of stuff. The clearance is UP to 65% then additional 30%. I also had a gift card and have been wanting to try some spro baits, lil johns and lil john md 50 baits and they had some. Marked down to 10.97 with an additional 30% making them $7.67. Not all the colors but picked up cell mate, craw and citrus. They also had Berkley Stunna's and KVD elite 300's in the bins also.KVD's were marked down to 12.97 extra 30% made them 9.07. I already have some stunna's and not sure what the price was for them. Also picked up one of the h2o express ulitmate jerkbaits the ones they had on clearance were $3.50. They had lots of spinnerbaits and plastics also, lots of stuff and again will get cheaper as the weeks go by...

I ❤️ milk

100% the Bass Resource gang gets a say - and I’ll just show my wife the posts to prove I’m only following the great advice. 😊 But yes, my top priority is a trolling motor with Spotlock - I put one on our little 165 and we’ve loved it. For a 24v 80#-ish I’m not sure if that means Terrova or Ultrex or ?? but there’s a local dealer I can work with. Probably at the same time will be a 9”-10” nav/fish finder in the console and a 10”-12” at the bow. Just down/side imaging for now. We’ll see how the bank account is doing after that but I’d like to add a couple of shallow water anchors (likely 10-12ft Talons based on what little research I’ve done so far). For how we like to fish, those upgrades would really make this our dream setup.

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

Major tournament circuits have undergone a major transition in the last couple of years. Controversies have followed. This is not new to the sport. Outboard motor horsepower went from 150 to 250 and boats got bigger and more controversy followed. Rod lengths changed and more controversy followed. Electronics have seen the greatest technological advancements followed by more controversy. Frankly, I don’t care. The only thing that I do care about is the change in the culture. One positive about that is I’m willing to let technology pass me by. I prefer to stay in the era where I cut my basing fishing teeth. It’s like wanting to own a 72 Chevelle SS. That’s my era. I never want to know if our kids were boy or girl. That’s my era. I didn’t pass any torch. Others just learned to light their own.

Ok I’ll play

First bass of 2025: Best fish on first trip of 2025 (20" 3lb 15oz):