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Latest Just talked to the surgeon who did the biopsy, said he did two & neither appeared to be cancer.

Returned to the mud today and expanded on the bite from Tues. Ended with a double limit caught on a mix of cranks and jigs in 51-53 deg. water.

I've been working on this one for awhile. Its my latest Blade. Alot of the feature of the original Fogy but now with an Owner spinnerbait hook, eyes, and a wire keeper. Its already won a tournament in NC. Megalodon Blade is a Football blade bait! The head is a Football design with epoxied on eyes. The Megalodon Blade comes in 2 different blade styles. The AP is an all purpose blade. The Pro blade is for a slower retreive and it has a unique hunt to it. CUSTOM BUILT TO ORDER EPOXIED ON EYES Owner Spinnerbait HOOK OWNER HYPER WIRE SPLIT RING DOUBLE DIPPED POWDER COATED FOR EXTRA DURABLE FINISH SILICONE SKIRT 55 +/- STRANDS COLLAR OPTIONS WIRE TIED, BANDED https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/tremor-blade

Shout out to @Siebert Outdoors. Until today I had ZERO confidence in red Chatterbaits. Ordered a couple recently and whattayouknow - 24 inch 7.35 pound LMB. “Hot Sauce” is my new favorite color

If the Rapala digital reads 5.95, can we just call it a 6 pounder and assume it reads a few hundredths of a pound light 😆

It definitely took a little while to finally get on the water, however my first trip of 2025 was a personal success with this 4.4lber coming aboard. With 58 degree water and 71 degree air temps it sure seemed like better fishing is just around the corner.

I've struggled fishing from the bank so far this year so I was excited about my first trip of 2025 in a boat. The air temp started out in the upper 30s, but warmed up to a perfect 70 degrees. Bluebird skies, 50 degree water temp. It started immediately. I hooked up on the first cast! I was pumped...until it turned out to be a drum. Sorry, no picture @TnRiver46.🤣 That was the last bite for over an hour, and the next bite was just a dink smallmouth. After the dink we got nothing for about two hours. The wind was blowing hard against the current which made it tough to manage the boat. We were getting frustrated, but things finally started improving. After only catching two fish for the first three hours, we got 8 in the next two hours. The best two are pictured below. It slowed down again after that burst of activity. We only managed 2 more over the final two hours, but these two fish are enough to make it a good day. 4 lb 9 oz smallmouth 4 lb 13 oz largemouth

It's official! Heck yeah! NEO unlocked today - I literally watched the ice dissolve with the wind and water. Thank gawd, on the 2025 board. Chocolate milk water, 1-2" visibility dragging a t-rig dark chocolate senko with sapphire flakes. Didn't think I'd have water, so went for a haircut and thought WTH take a rod. So one rod, one weight, one hook, one worm -> one good fish!

Went out Sunday hoping to find some big prespawners with the warming trend. If I'd put every bass I caught together, I could have made a good 5 fish limit, problem was, I caught 52 of them. 52 bass, and the biggest was 13", smallest was 9.25". I don't know how I caught that many fish and not a single one was any bigger, but I sure did. I did manage to Ned rig a limit of trout, including a nice 20.5" fish, and this really fat 18" rainbow. This was my last trip locally. I'll be headed to Texas Friday.

I went out yesterday for about six hours. Started off at a pond fishing with jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Never got a bite. After about three hours I headed over to pond #2. I got my first bass of 2025 on my third cast with a creature bait on a free rig.

well at least it looks cool. Spotted bass on Hartwell have some of the most vivid coloring of all spots.

Second biggest bass of my life 9 lb 14 oz (a shad shy of 10) and another giant off a school in 14 feet of water today. On the 1 oz @Siebert Outdoors grass jig in 'Pats Gizzard' slow rolling deep with swimbait trailers. 😎😎😎🥵🥵🥵 Flying solo mid day during a warm front. Both fish released and swam away with vigor! Happy spring FINALLY!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🎣🎣🎣 Fish that are basically 10 lbs make me smile really really big yes indeed. 🙂🙂🙂🙂

Want to say thanks to Glen, staff, moderators, and the great people of this community! I ask lots of questions and get great, helpful answers. I post pictures and people "like." Feel like I am able to contribute at times, and help out my fellow anglers. This is a great place! I am thankful! I have had an account on Twitter|X for a while...but never really followed much. In the past few months I have logged in more...and it's pretty eye opening. Rough crowd at times. Savage and hurtful sometimes. Downright nasty in some instances. Two weeks ago I opened an account at bluesky. And I thought Twitter|X was rough. Zero out of five stars...do not recommend! Bass Resource = FIVE out of FIVE Stars!

Just went and picked this one up, 05 bass tracker with a mercury 50hp. The boat is in perfect condition, everything works, and 130 psi on all cylinders for 5k. Excited to get it on the water, thank you all for your honest advice

Given the current state of affairs regarding Lynn's decline in health and the outlook that accompanies that, last week I applied for the Veteran Administrations Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). It was a tough decision for me. Admittedly the reality of it is hard to put into words. Very thankful that the VA does recognize the important role of family caregivers in supporting the health and wellness of Veterans. So far the folks we've been in contact with have made the process fairly painless, and that is most definitely a relative term. There are several steps along the way to where 'eligibility' is determined. So far we are about half way through. I am looking forward to the support and the training they offer as well as knowing that I can be the best version of me for Lynn in these trying times. Stay Healthy & Safe. A-Jay

This BR family is a circle of strength and passion. With every new member the circle grows larger. Every bit of sharing and even crisis faced together, makes the circle stronger. "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." — George Burns Or in our case, just about every city. A-Jay

Guys- he’s talking about 8-10’. I don’t care if you are using 80lb power pro on a 500 size reel or a double quad uni knot connection- you’re going to get more than that. You can pull out 10’ of line from the reel (past the tip) and get more than that. There is a fundamental rigging issue here that requires a picture to diagnose.

Finally got to change lakes to a much shallower, almost muddy water lake today with water temps in the low 50s (51-53). As I thought, I found active fish fairly shallow despite the lake being down 2-3 ft below normal. Was a nice change of pace from the past 2 months of fishing.

Caught these 2 the first 15 minutes and nothing the next 4 hours...... spinnerbait. Surface water temp was 48*

Long time I didn't post, We were busy working and fishing and we had fire here that we needed to deal with. We were fishing every Friday to Sunday, This weekend we didn't go to deal with Tanks house(our Tortoise). Bass fishing was so tough so far but I do bass fish no matter what. Ill report that and condition under another post.

I'll sling a wacky worm or fluke if there's a hit and miss. Something quieter and slower.

Ha! I'm as far from a pro as an angler can be. First off, I'm scruffy. I tend to wear the same pants for months because they're treated with Permethrin. And my shirts are 40 years old. No lie. Plus, my canoes are scuffed and old too. And I'm old! Contrast me with a young buck who's adorned with 52 logos atop a glitter boat with more electronics than NASA circa 1969. Lastly, another way I'm different is that I catch more bass than many pros!* *I can't believe I'm talking trash, but I did. Today, at least, I'm saltier than the sea!

Appears to be fluid build up around where the surgery was done & maybe cleared up with antibiotics.

Went and checked them out today… Weather was good. Had a fun time.

Isn't that the PWC proximity deterrent device ? 😎 A-Jay

Having moderated FB groups and Use-Net groups in the ancient past, I know how far down some people can go. That I've actually made friends here - even if only Virtual - speaks highly of the class of people we have here. The wealth of knowledge freely shared is also an eye opener. BR Members Rock That is all.

It's been a really long winter in Maine. 😀

It sure ain't much of one, but it's one!!! 😂 Too small to even count toward the season total, but I was just happy to get bit on my first outing after a long cold winter. Surface temp was 38 when I started, and 41 when I left. Calm and sunny with a high around 60 today. Not much in the way of activity, but it won't be long before the action picks up. Highs in the 60's and 70's for the next six days.

Got out on the home waters after work. Quite swift but managed a couple, one was 2.20 lbs which is pretty large for a white bass. Got one with the new st croix spinning combo and one with the not so new st croix mojo bass and seviin reel. The baitcaster is spooled with seaguar JDM braid 33 lb and 12 lb seaguar pounce leader. It was bombing a 1/4 oz jighead and original fluke. The leader is still on there from the weekend and holding strong. Didn’t really need it for this application but didn’t bother cutting it off. Only one more sleep until daylight savings!!!

A few more 110 SRs. Really need ice out to get here so I can stop looking at baits on the internet and start actually using them. I feel like this is the time where us northern guys are busier in this thread as we patiently wait lol -

After my diagnosis the range of emotions has been unbelievable. Then I realized yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn't promised, we have today. Just like before! This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

No Sir, not that. This is a program that helps me support her. As an eligible primary caregiver, I may receive: Access to health care insurance through Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mental health counseling. (and we all know I need all of this I can get) Certain beneficiary travel benefits when traveling with the Veteran to appointments. At least 30 days of respite care per year, for the Veteran. Respite is short term relief for someone else to care for the Veteran while I take a break. A monthly stipend (paid directly to the caregiver.) A-Jay

Rarely do people attack each other here. And when that sort of thing happens, it’s not tolerated very long. Politics seems to be consuming a lot of lives right now too and this is a safe haven from that nonsense. Keep up the fine work here.

I don’t have a universal follow up, as it depends what I was throwing. If I swing and miss a bottom contact bait I’ll just stay with that and maybe change the follow up angle, bounce it, slow it down or even speed it up. It’s more of change up presentation type deal. If a moving bait, since I already got a reaction out of her and she was moving to get it unlike a bottom bait, I bank on her awareness, reaction and aggressiveness to come back. I may throw something different or not. A lot depends on how she hit it I got her attention with what I threw, I may not with something completely different. But that’s me Mike

Upper 40's + Big LMB + Early Spring = Jigs

If the wife has a job making $100K a year and the husband is a professional fisherman and he’s good at it, that $75K-$80K of family income. Most families can live on that. 😂

Fishing blind by hoping bass will be where think looks good is a crap shoot. Take some and check out a good map with 1’ elevation if possible. Determine what the seasonal period is the bass are on not what month it is! Survey the marina you launch the boat at and look at water color and temperature, depth any bait fish or bass are at. Now look at the map again after factoring in the information in front of you and go to the high percentage areas based on seasonal period. The easiest seasonal period is the spawn bass are always located is wind protected areas in water between 2’ to 6’ back of coves etc. When water temps are warming from 60 degrees to around 65 degrees. If the water is still colder from the winter period less than 50 degrees the will not be in spawn cycle. Above 55 to 58 degrees warming the bass are pre spawn and located in staging areas deeper water adjacent to moving into spawning areas. You can determine all this in the marina and the maps before deciding where to start fishing. Water during the summer warm water period or post spawn the bass can be everywhere with a wide variety of prey to eat. You start near the pre spawn major points and work into creek arms looking for ambush zones and cove. Fall go further back into creek arms looking for schooled bait fish. That is how I fish all highland and boil land bass lakes. Sonar is you friend use it! Tom

I don’t get near the exercise I should but, I do get a decent amount of steps in a day at my job. I also have a 14 year old son who’s taller than me, works out every day, and feels a little froggy multiple times a week. So I get some wrestling in multiple times a week reminding him he still can’t whoop the old man. 😂

I’m 76 will be 77 at the end of this month. I have been blessed with good balance & a lack of everyday aches & pains. I walk briskly for 4 days a week & weight training with dumbbells two days a week. That seems to be the right mix for me to maintain strength & flexibility without burning to many calories. Adding weight is problematic for me so I don’t want burn to many calories.

Terminator walking frogs at my local tackle shop on clearance for $3.74. If I remember right @gim is a fan of these, and I think $3.74 is almost 1/3 of their msrp. I’ll see how I like them this summer!

New Rod & Reel… Bought a Lews Custom reel last week on clearance. Bought a FishStyx 7ft Med/Heavy Fast rod today and paired them up. I’m excited to get to the water with it.

I fish really clear water. Cloudy and overcast days are my favourite. On cloudy days, the bass tend to move away from cover and roam around more.

I usually follow up a lure that gets bit with one that doesn't. If I am already fishing a lure that doesn't get bit, I follow that lure up with a more expensive one that doesn't get bit.

I agree on the no-info rules starting to cause more issues than their worth. Something needs to change, IMO. However, just based on what I've read...so take it with a grain of salt as it might just be Internet chatter - lol - but "Buck" was his traveling roomate. If "Buck" had driven past him during the event and he asked him how he was doing, there would be no problem. However, since he asked a camera guy who is not in the tourney to share how he was doing, he is basically soliciting info to gain an advantage. Being roomies, you know he knows pretty much where, what and/or how his buddy is fishing. If the camera guy says, "Yeah, he's killing them," then that tips "Skeeter" off about the bite and where and how the weather or water is affecting it, allowing him to adjust his strategy. Likewise, if the guy says, "No, he's struggling, too," then he knows not to waste time trying to duplicate what or where his buddy is fishing. Just my thoughts on this one instance, as I don't follow NPFL.

Latest update: antibiotics are working slowly. Draining not worth the risks involved. Staying over night for observation.

Every lure is capable of producing your personal best Location + timing Not location + lure

Fished a few hours with my wife, only got one drum but it was a fun battle. Good test for the drag on my new st croix GXR combo

Caught on a chicken McNugget