Team9nine

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.

He wasn’t trying to catch any. He didn’t need to. All looking around for those last 2 periods checking previously marked spots and looking at new water. Probably shook some off though with hooks bent down or cut off. Just about guarantee it 😉

OP - fluoro, fluoro, fluoro, mono… Looks like there are actually 3 of us 😎 Braid doesn’t belong on a baitcaster except for when it does 😉

I believe they made a lot of 4.7:1 reels along with 5:1’s, plus some slower 3.x ones. Just find an imperfection somewhere on the spool, or put a sliver of tape, knotted line, etc. on the spool, grab the handle and make one full revolution counting the number of times the imperfection passes by. You’ll get a real close estimation of gear ratio that way.

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.

Though started in the 1930s in Europe, its move to the US began around 1952; It was 1959 when Ron Weber first got introduced to “the minnow” which would largely start the chain of events. But it wasn’t until 1962 that the lure literally took off due to the fortunate timing of having a small article about it appear in Life Magazine that just happened to feature Marilyn Monroe on the cover and the story of her recent passing - one of the most popular issues ever. Full story here for those interested: Rapala - Marilyn history

I try and avoid 3 in the boat even when fun fishing. Like others mentioned, I’d withdraw from the event if paired that way, especially if this first event will be dealing with life threatening cold water (or bad weather). They should just cancel or reschedule the event for later in the season.

Same for me ^^

If you're still interested in the "cheapest" route, I have a Echomap Plus 73sv that I upgraded from I'd be willing to sell, just the unit/screen and cover only, in original box, if that is what you're after. Feel free to msg me if you'd like pics or video of the unit. I'd do $375 shipped. Just been hanging on to it as an emergency backup.

Bassmaster is a joke - Actually, most all of professional bass angling has become one. Pretty sad state of affairs (IMHO).

Wishing you the best of outcomes in all stages of the process 🙏

Been a slow week, but we’re not starving. Think the bass are back in transition with this warming trend this week. Mostly smaller keepers, but getting a few a little bit better. Then there are those crappies - got a couple from 2.6-2.75 lbs, plus a few smaller ones.

Just me, but I rarely drop shot “inside” a brush pile. Not that you won’t get bit, but it’s not the most efficient presentation IMO. So I’ll drop shot around, next to, or swim it over cover instead. If I’m going into the brush pile, I’m usually throwing a jig or a TR plastic on heavier line. Before FFS, you either used lineups or shoreline references combined with feel, or graphed the pile, tossed a marker buoy nearby, then backed off and cast it. Years and years of doing this for both bass and crappie back when all we had were flashers and paper graphs, you got pretty good with the technique. Modern tech just makes it a breeze these days.

Initially, the home lake wasn’t quite home yet, so 90% looking. Pure searching slowly tapers off after that as do those percentages. But the graph is never not on, and since I run and fish from the back of the boat (tiller) 95% of the time, I’m never not looking at my graph. With FFS now, I’m 80% scanning everyday while fishing, so I’m always finding new little intricacies on my waters. It’s part of the program I’ve adopted for targeting a better quality fish this past year (and repeating again this year).