paul.

More crappy weather here this week. torrential rains tomorrow (up to 2" forecast) which means muddy water. then the temp plummets again after that which means COLD muddy water. UGH. i'm SO over winter. Bring on those blooming dogwoods.

yesterday gave me more confidence in that rig (as if i needed more) than any of the other trips have simply because of the tough conditions. it's a safe bet i will have one tied on all year until i find something better, which i don't see happening anytime soon. i tried a regular jig yesterday too - por nada. and everythingthatswims - i don't know if i'd go as far as to say i've defeated winter with the rig, but it's made a heckuva dent.

yep. you know it's funny. seems like every year i end up catching the majority of my fish on one bait. last year was the grass pig. looks like this yr. is gonna be the slither rig.

so true. but muddy and cold = low expectations. i guess small windows > no windows. lol.

berkley havoc grass pig. swamp gas.

1. thump. 2. "there she is." 3. crank. 4. swing for the fence. 5. "this might be a good one."

"good day"? if that's a "good day" for ya, i'd be real interested to see a great one. wow! that's a heckuva sack.

man y'all put a hurtin' on some BIG fish. that is so cool. and not even a light jacket in sight anywhere. could it get any better?

nice ones? dude those are much better than nice ones. gotta love that rattlebait bite. brrrrrrrrr brrrrrrr brrrrrrrrrr. SMACK!!! awesome.

the weather here has been brutal over the last couple of weeks (by mid-south standards anyway). so when i finally thought i might have a chance to go today, i went. when i arrived at the lake, i didn't know whether to try to launch the boat or try to drill a hole. there was still ice all over much of the lake. the part that wasn't frozen looked like coffee with cream from the deluge of rain we got last week. oh well, i've been skunked plenty of times before i thought. i actually managed a couple of very hard-earned 3 pounders though. these bit on back to back casts and i didn't get a sniff the rest of the trip. the first pic will show you what i was fishing about 50 yards from. funny thing is there might be spawning fish in this cove in about a month or so. oh well, sometimes any fish in tough conditions is better than a nice one in good conditions.

lol. nah, that's the one that came within 10 oz. of my pb (personal biggest). personal best is another story. lots of folks equate personal best with the biggest fish they've ever caught. that's not necessarily true for me. for me the best bass i ever caught was the first one, which i would most certainly dub a dink by the standards i use today. still, it was the one that started this awesome addiction, so it was by far the best. another memorable one for me was a big fish i discovered in a pond way back in 2005 because of all the memorable moments over the next few years trying to catch her. she was by far the "smartest" fish i have ever encountered and she outsmarted me many more times than i outsmarted her. so holding her on the rare occasions that i "won" was always special. another very special one wasn't a bass at all but a big catfish that my youngest daughter caught when she was very small. i still remember her thinking the fish was talking to her. so every time she went to that particular body of water she started making catfish noises trying to get it's attention. many other very special fish come to mind over the past 40 years as well. for some folks their "best" might be a fish that won a tournament for them. for others it might be a fish they caught while fishing with a good friend. for others, it might not be a fish they caught at all, but a fish that was caught by someone special that they were sharing the boat with. though i cherish all the great fishing memories i've been blessed with over the years, i try very hard to measure myself by what i am doing on the current trip, not what i did years ago. sometimes i am a good fisherman. more times, i'm terrible. reminding myself that i am only as good as my current outing helps with humility and a desire to continue learning - both of which i think are very important to enjoy this great sport to the fullest.

closest i have come is within 10 oz. once. after that it's 2 pounds away and then downhill from there. kind of bittersweet fishing every trip knowing you've more than likely already caught the biggest bass you're ever going to catch in your lifetime. but short of anything that involves God, family, close friends, or health, there ain't much in this world i would trade that 30 seconds for.

very nice vids. looks like those mexican bass kept y'all on your toes. y'all wore 'em out.

all the lures you mentioned will catch fish just fine. concentrate on learning seasonal movements and patterns and find a good solunar table to determine when you should be out there. there are 3 important W's in fishing - where (location), when (timing), and what (bait selection). people often want to focus on the last variable, but really it's the least important as long as you have a bait tied on that will work effectively in the given fishing situation. i would start my search by looking at the articles on seasonal patterns and movements on this site. you gotta figure out where the fish should be before you can catch them. also, pick lures that are proven fish catchers to help boost your confidence. a senko is a great choice for just flat catching a bunch of fish as is a rooster tail. build on successes. learn from failures. go with someone who is better than you every chance you get and pay attention to what they do. a good rule of thumb that came from one of the best fisherman ever on this site - "you become the sum of the 3 best fishermen you go with". don't overthink things and remember, this is supposed to be fun so don't stress about it. dedicate yourself to it and the knowledge and skill will come. don't try to force it.

numbers? B size? C # of outings? D

Follow procedures! You went rouge and now look at us - having it out in the comments section! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaTCLIFcX5E

complete and utter devastation. awesome job bud.

oh yeah!!! that's one heckuva day! congrats on the new records. may they not stand long.

i think the rest of the country is so friggin' cold right now y'all fla. boys are the only ones gettin' to fish at all. oh well, thats a cool catch and a great lookin' combo. catch another one for all of us who are snowed in next time you go.

glad somebody is gettin' to fish. way to get out there and stick one. we are all gonna have to live vicariously through y'all florida guys for a while. we've had a "cold front" that has lasted about a week here. up north they have one that lasts a few months.

A lot of folks would love to make their own jigs but think it costs too much or requires special tools or techniques. Not true! Making your own stuff is incredibly easy and will SAVE you money. When you do the math, you can buy premium jigs for about $4.00 each, or make your own for about $2.00 each. So if you are a tinkerer and you like the satisfaction of creating your own stuff, here’s all you need. An old ball point pen. Remove the ink tube. Keep the tip and cut the barrel down to about 2 or 3”. A paper clip or a bobby pin. Your favorite jig heads. Skirt material bars and collars (you can find this stuff super cheap at multiple online tackle stores). Step 1 - Start by rolling a collar onto the barrel of the ink pen. You can roll several on there if you want to make several skirts at once. Remove the tip of the ink pen leaving just the collars on the barrel of the pen. Step 2 – hang your skirt material on your paper clip or bobby pin. It takes 2 bars of skirt material to make a full skirt. Use a little more for a thicker skirt. Use a little less for a thinner one. I won’t go into the subtleties of how to mix multiple colors evenly. That’s easy to figure out and part of the joy of discovering all the cool things you can do. Step 3 – use the bobby pin to pull the skirt material about halfway through the ink pen barrel. Roll a collar off the barrel of the ink pen onto the skirt and finish pulling it through. Step 4 – just cut the ends of the skirt material where it is joined together. You’ve just created your own jig skirt. Step 5 – put your skirts on your favorite jig heads, add your favorite trailers, and load the boat with all the big bass you fool using color creations they’ve never seen before. Here’s some pics to illustrate. We’ll make one of my faves – purple/blue and whiskey/green. It’s a great combo on any lake where bluegills or other sunfish are a primary food source. If you have a lot of readears, you can throw in a few red strands thrown in just for kicks. I call it thrilla in bluegilla.

i set the hook so hard on a bass that her fry hatch with sore mouths.

no. maybe a foot of visibility at best. and i don't think the water clarity has anything to do with the spots. i could be wrong though. lots of fish on the TN river chain are spotted up like that. and i have caught 'em other places with spots too. sometimes the spots are on their bodies. other times on their fins. there is actually a name for this condition, but i forget what it is. i like catching one with distinctive spots like that though. gives it some character.

the absolute best fishing decision i have made so far in 2015? spend 20 bucks on a tacklebox that was 1/3 of the size i was using. fill it with a few types of baits that i like using, know, and trust vs. a bunch that i don't. and none of these are anything "new". the results? fewer baits. fewer choices. less confusion. less stress. more fish. bigger fish. and regardless of how many rods or baits i bring to the lake, i always seem to end up with a jig rod in my hand. that is literally one of the oldest types of fishing baits known to man. and still the best imo. i'll take simplification over complication any day of the week. fishing stuff that works for you is not a sign of knowing just a little. it's a sign of knowing a lot. i came to this realization way too late in life. i fish because i love it. when i am fishing baits, techniques, or equipment that for any reason cause me to love it less, that is defeating the whole purpose.