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Had a day in the high 70's before the next series of storms and road tripped it to the nearest open lake. Water temps 58-60*, and after the next couple days of storms it should start being prime time around here. Pops caught one right away. Bummer was he had fish repellent lures on the rest of the morning and didn't get another bite. 😬 I picked up this fella and another dozen of his siblings on quite a few different baits and depths ranging from 5' to 40'. Hopefully the big girls will be joining them soon...

I fished my favorite lake Friday, Saturday and Today. I landed 29 - 21- and 16 bass. Biggest bass was 5.9 pounds caught on a bladed jig Friday afternoon. Bass in picture was 4.8 pounds caught on a Junebug Magnum Trick worm. It was caught Sunday morning before the wind picked up so I was able to get a picture. No picture of the 5.9 pound bass caught late in the afternoon. I haven't had a chance to fish this lake three days in a row for a couple years. After catching a 9 pounder there two weeks ago, I was sure I would catch a Grande bass or two. I didn't get the big one, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. I drove three hours Friday morning, first cast was at 6:30 AM last cast was at 7:45 PM. I ate lunch on my kayak with line in the water. Same on Saturday, non stop all day, and 6 hours of constant fishing on Sunday. The wind was relentless gusting to 30 miles per hour starting at noon every day. The wind was so bad I couldn't set my tent up until late at night. I just had to keep telling myself, my new PB could be on the next cast. The bass know it is going to blow every afternoon, and feed accordingly. The wind helps the bite, but hurts the fishing. It was a long weekend, but I'm already looking forward to my next time , wind and all.

2 days of warm, windy weather raised the surface temp from 52 to 59 yesterday. Had 'em chompin'!!!

I'm a sucker for a @king fisher fishing report, I just want so badly to experience that off the grid, un guided Mexico Bass fishing. To me that's injecting Bass fishing into your veins, whereas what I'm doing is simply drinking it 🤣

You achieved the impossible. You make Chuck Norris seem like a sissy.

I clean the house and buy my wife flowers, before I mention going fishing for the weekend.

Only caught one at a small pond. I was using a topwater minnow! There was anywhere from 2-4 bass that kept going up to the bank, but no matter what I put in front of them, they wouldn't take it lol.

I’ve tried several different rod and reel brands since I started bass fishing in 2020 and have come to the realization that I’m a G. Loomis and Shimano guy. I made the mistake of selling a NRX+ 842C MBR and learned my lesson. So, I decided to redeem myself and start a new G. Loomis collection. G. Loomis GLX 842C MBR + Shimano Curado MGL 70 HG G. Loomis GLX 844C MBR + Shimano Curado MGL 150 HG

More spring fever. Lost my bone duo trap on Saturday so of course had to order 2 more plus a few other things.

I do a good soak when I first spool up, then a few spritzes the night before a trip.

Picked up a Falcon Evo Light from Walmart when i was checkingif the evos were on clearance. The Spring bass season is in full swing here. Been catching some decent bass with the evo.

Yes, this is good, but only a small part of learning how to be a responsible angler. I'm sure there's a good number of noobs who lurk this forum but don't join, I lurked for a few years before actually signing up. If this is one of the first stops for somebody looking into fishing we should pin a "Start Here" thread. First steps should not be learning about what techniques are best in what conditions or what gear is best bang for the buck, first steps should be learning that we ought to be good stewards of this earth, and that means treating the fish and nature with respect. I've seen videos of young bloods chuckin bass like a hail Mary back into the drink, trying to angle a 5# bass sideways only holding the jaw, putting bedding bass in live wells etc. Also, not to leave your trash and fishing line and stuff all over the place. It's about doing as little harm to all the creatures that inhabit the area. It's about doing the right thing with the small things in life, because in the long run that can help you learn to make better decisions regardless of the setting and be a better person even when nobody is looking. Obviously the pinned thread should go more into detail and explanation and add more, and then also move on to the next first steps to becoming a responsible and effective angler.

@Bazoo, those are standard bluegill, green sunfish with have blue vermiculation between its eye and mouth. I meant to target stripers today and I did some, but I couldn’t help myself and caught a bunch of other stuff 1 Kentucky spotted bass, 3-4 smallies, lots of white bass, 6 nice crappie, a drum, and a channel catfish. Maybe a couple dozen fish with 6 species, a fun variety pack. I saw some white bass actively spawning, pods of 4-6 climbing all over each other in shallow shoals and splashing water everywhere. Water temp 60-63.

Me and the boy fished with some hand dug worms the other day. He only caught one, but I was able to coax 4. They are pretty good at cleaning a hook. This one was the prettiest of the bunch. I think these are green sunfish. Anyone know for sure? ---------------------- Had about 30 minutes today and was able to get a willing participant. Not the greatest size, but sure beats staying home!

I wanted to give a heads up for my friend Shane, Graywolf Rods, since he's added an onshore stock of Brightliver (Bright River) grips and components. I've been talking with him - he doesn't have time to offer finished rods, but he offers this kit for a baitfinesse rod: https://www.graywolfrods.com/product-page/bright-liver-chucker-reel-seat-5ft-bfs-blank I've been in the "Japan Underground" market for round reels for a few years, and his price is very good compared to buying from Japan. These are a great match for round reels, since they place the spool in a comfortable thumb position.

Been slow bass fishing around here so I pan fished some creeks while waiting for the weather to warm up and get the bass moving to shallows for pre-spawn. They have now began to fan beds and been seeing them swim in pairs. Plucked these guys off beds. No giants, but I would have had a decent couple filets if I wanted to keep em. I've historically been terrible at fishing when they've been on bed, but something told me that I could get them to bite the way they were acting-- chasing away pretty much every bluegill, bait fish, and even other bass. Even when nothing was there they seemed to be on edge, looking for anything that may intrude on their bed. Throwing in with a moderate fast retrieve and some slight twitches triggered reaction strikes. Heck of a lot of fun on the ultralight Sienna 500 combo.

3- Magnum Rage Bug Okeechobee Craw. 3- Zoom Ol' Monster Junebug 1- Zoom Magnum Ol' Monster California 420 1- Zoom Magnum Ol' Monster Junebug I stocked up on ribbon tail worms, and now the only worms I can get a bite on have straight tails. Monkey always wins.

Also, when removing the wire bearing clips, do it inside a zip lock bag in case they fly! Hope you have the correct tool to remove spool pin.

High-grade synthetic grease I use MTCW-B and -SW for my two load ranges. Not a specific recommendation, as there is bound to be equivalent grease that's easy to find. All the Japan aftermarket reel suppliers, their bread and butter is motorcycle racing - they understand lube holding up under tough conditions. What synthetic grease doesn't do is turn to wax, so it doesn't need cleaning as often. I was throwing buzzbaits on 4500C a week ago with SiN bearings. The thing is, you can also throw weightless senko with them.

Some people use Cal's for everything - I use it for drag washers - that;s what it's made for, and it works great. https://www.ebay.com/itm/256569214104 I wouldn't use Cal's on gears, but match viscosity to gear load range. I'm sure I buy higher grade synthetic grease than many, but an ounce lasts forever, unless you're working on OP's reels. Daiwa blue will do the job, but you'll also need to clean and relube gears every couple of years - it simply doesn't last as long. While I've gone to silicon nitride bearings for salt, they're certainly the lowest-inertia bearings made, can run dry, reasonably quiet, and higher load range than zirconia.

This method is very simple and IMO, much better than leaving a hook in the throat of a fish where it may keep the throat pinned shut and the fish will slowly starve to death. Even if removing it does kill it, it will be much faster than starvation.

Looks like an effective way. My method: It’s hard to explain , but I reach in through the mouth until I find where the point of the hook is . Then I push whatever is hooked ( usually the outer skin of the stomach), downward with my index finger along the hook until it pops out. I do this better with my hand than with pliers. Most of the time, the fish will swim off with little to no blood or damage. I’m careful, and have never hooked myself either. Talking hundreds of times.

Wow . . . never more better words of wisdom spoken . . . I started out with the Yamamoto and just can't give them up. I have tried every brand of stick bait you can name, and I just don't catch the fish I do with the OG. A friend of mine and I did an uncontrolled experiment a few years ago . . . we went out on his boat, and were both wacky rigging. He was using a Yum Dinger in watermelon/red flake, and me the OG in color 301. About 2 hours later he said, "can I have some of those senkos". I let him use some and he started catching fish.

Alex wrangles big bass AND words too, making him a samurai, a warrior/poet. However, not this samurai:

keep a chartreuse highlighter for soft plastics. I fish flukes ALOT. sometime when they start getting shy rather than changing color i'll take a chartreuse highlighter and put a stripe down each side like a sexy shad. It usually picks the bite back up.

Me too! That's my number one trick. I might bump my canoe once in four or five hours, but otherwise, I'm fishing on cat paws.

Strike detection skills is something that has paid off for me and takes years to learn. Today we see the FFS Scopers fishing outside water using their sonar to find bass and detect strikes. I been doing this for decades by finding suspended bass by watching birds, looking for signs of baitfish activity and feeding bass. Total concentration is the key to strike detection, you are missing strikes by not paying attention to changes in your lure, line movements. Tom

Constant: something that is unchanging, invariable, or continuous. Versatile: able to do many different things or to adjust to new conditions. I learned to quit button-holeing lures & techniques into seasons or conditions. @Swamp Girl mentioned night fishing, which I do a lot of. But I fish the same lures, with the same techniques, in same colors, in the same cover, & on the same structure as I do during the day. I don't have summer lure, fall lures, winter lures, or spring lures, I have bass lures. Every lure in my tackle box is a reaction lure, bass sees lure, bass reacts. It's my job to present that lure properly.

You all know I like to have a busy boat. One thing that helps me achieve this is to have a lure in the water as much as possible. Whether I was launching a canoe in the wilderness of northwestern Ontario or launching a canoe at four in the morning on a Maine bog, I always cast before I launch. Ten yards out, I cast again. And I always rig my rods and reels the night before as I don't want to waste time in my canoe changing lures. I watch too many YouTubers rigging AFTER they arrive at water. When I'm paddling, I troll one rod and sometimes two. I catch hundreds of bass every year trolling. A canoe isn't like a motor, which keeps the speed steady. My trolled lures are forever speeding up and slowing down and going this way and that. In short, they look unpredictable, alive, and tasty. And when I'm retrieving a lure, I'm not watching the lure unless it's a wacky worm. Otherwise, I can feel what's happening. Instead, I'm looking for feeding bass while I retrieve. I multi-task to keep my boat busy and I keep fishing at all times to that same end. What is/are your trick(s) to catch more bass?

Samurai delicatessen!!!

I also love the color chartreuse. Ve have vays of making you talk, Mr. Bond.

Nahh... I am not gonna tell ya... 🤣

FWIW, they're releasing an even denser version this spring. https://www.jackall.co.jp/bass/products/lure/soft-bait/flickshake500/?wovn=en

For weightless whacky rigging, exclusively Yamasenkos. It's the king of weightless stick worm action, nobody has ever replicated its subtle shimmy action....some good YT videos comparing them all underwater. For weighted applications including weighted whacky rigs, it doesn't matter what brand you go with in my book. The weight is going to kill the stick worm action for the most part. Maybe on a Free Rig, I'd go with the Yamasenko, again because of its natural shimmy action. That said, the biggest piece of advice I wish somebody gave me when I first bought a pack of stick worms to whacky rig was to buy the cheapest brand you can find to start off with, Yum, Academy brand name, or the BPS ones are good to start out with. The reason for this is because confidence in baits is everything, the single most important aspect imho. If you start out with GYB Yamasenkos at $7-8 a pack like I did and have fantastic success, there's no going back to Yum Dingers at $3-4 a pack. I've tried, and in the back of your mind you always feel you'd be getting more bites, catching bigger fish with the more expensive ones. The last week alone I've gone through $35-40 in senkos/VMC crossover rings. I'd be broke if I used them outside the months of March and April lol.

Recently got my Bass Master April 2025 magazine and a very interesting article about the Blueback Herring with the pros and cons of the fish and how one must adjust his fishing to the Blueback Herring and how the bass reacts to it. Lake Murray was referenced several times by the author. Good Fishing

Maybe it's common for him to catch bass like that ❓ But definitely big fish regardless. 😳

One reason not to hate snow. Old School Refrigerators ~ A-Jay

I like this approach, Catt. I get dizzy thinking about what lure I'm supposed to cast and when. I think I do better when I simply cast my confidence lures and focus on working them well. In short, I do better when I fish like you, Catt. Me too, Tom. I'm like a radar array, always turning and searching for bass blips. So, between casting my confidence lures and not missing strikes, I need to fish like a TomCatt. I set the hook so many times and don't even know why I set the hook. There was something ever so slightly different in my retrieve.

I am a pre-rigger for sure. Line conditioner on mono and tie on new baits/hooks for the next day’s fishing.

Another tip. Fish at night: And fish the fog: I catch more when they can't see me. FWIW, these two bass were caught on the same trip, a perfect trip: dark and foggy!

Went to the flea market this weekend. Kid(Literally he couldn't have been more than 18-19 with his mom there) had a table full of Super expensive premium and JDM baits. I paid 95 bucks and walked away with: Megabass popmax in pearl Berkley 7 inch Cull shad in natural shad 2 Vision 110+1 juniors in Pro blue 1 Vision 110+1 Junior in mat shad 1 Vision 110 in pro blue 1 Rapala Jowler in Wht(Been wanting to try out the jowler but wasn't gonna pay 20 bucks just to try it.) 3/8 blade baits 2 in Blk/blu, 1 in Chart/ wht 3 bags of minnow baits he had alot more cool stuff and he said he's gonna start setting up a table every week and I asked him if he wanted me to just set up a direct deposit or just take cash each week.😂

Jake is a kid and I don't always make him endure the struggles I endure. I'm all in on tricking big bass with my skills but I don't expect everyone else to always be as devoted as I am. He does really well with live crawdads, shiners, shad and baby sunfish and of course good old fashioned night crawlers when the bite is extremely tough and I don't want him to get discouraged!

When I can't get bit I tie on a roostertail. It has never let me down

When I was a kid, I had two lures that were my favorites. One was the Rocky Jr., and the other was the Fred Arbogast Hiwaiian Wiggler. I know the Hiwaiian Wiggler is no longer made. Not sure if the Rocky Jr. is still in production. I caught a ton of fish with these lures, and I am sure they would still work great.

I still have a yellow jointed jitterbug I fished sixty years ago . I still have a picture of me and a bass I caught on it sixty years ago, and sixty years later I still fish the same lake.

#1 Ya have to be around fish. #2 THIS. ☝️Gotta keep your bait wet.

Went to The Palmetto Sportsman’s Classic today. Every year they have some good deals. I met Joel with Fin-X rods. I bought a casting and a spinning rod. Came home and put reels on them. They balance nicely. I can’t wait to get them to the water.

My new project, going to make a small mock up on boat trailer 🤣

I discovered today that I own 12 John Denver albums on vinyl. I honestly didn't know I was that big a fan.