shimmy

iiiiiii dont think so.There are a lot of pros that live right on lakes and fish them a lot because they're their home lakes and a lot of times they dont make it very far in the tourny. ...i would put my money on a great local angler over any pro any day if there was no preparation for the lake. Finding the hotspots on a lake is a daunting task, i have my money on Raul any day. It's just logical. After a few days of prep, well, the tides start to change.

Hey big o, how much did she weigh? Great fish, bummer that you were caught on a hot spot!

wow. Within a few pounds of the state record, that is truly amazing. Great fish

absolute beauty. Great job

give the man a moment of silence

nice bass! That anaconda is a nasty nasty worm.

wow, my goodness that just doesn't look right

now there's a fisherman.

Great bass! They look thick and healthy. What a day out there. Absolute beauties.

you definitely know how to take a bass picture. Great fish

looks like you're cradling a toddler in your arms. Goodness man, nice fish.

Hang tight for a few more weeks and get ready come July. Fish will remember that they need to eat by then. I have only fished Burke a few times but have always done well up till 9 oclock in the morning. After that, my expertise is useless on this lake. Like Dan says, deep will work but i think it will be a few more weeks until we start seeing bass aggressive again. Get there early early early. That's your best bet in the mean time. Go get em.

Me and Senko_77 usually don't see eye to eye on this site but i must say, i handle scents very carefully like he does. When trout fishing, this can make a world of a difference. I always put scent on my line and anything else that could deter the smell. I think the very nature of being meticulous while you are fishing increases your chances of catching bigger bass. Sound is even more of a deterrent in my opinion for bass and it's this OCD approach in my mind that saves face with bigger fish. Lets be honest, regardless of how much of an advantage it may give, it can't possibly make the fishing worse.

I am looking for a jon boat either 10 or 12 footer. Is there a particular brand that is more stable and is there a particular kind that is more roomy? Any advice helps. I am gettin tired of fishing out of my raft and i might have storage for a bigger boat. Thanks guys, i know it's basic info but just give me what you can. Thanks

once again Big-o, you have made my day. That last picture on the right looks unreal. Just amazing. We are not worthy

great report. Love those adventure trips.

Very true Rolo. It really is a phenomena where we can get outfished by our wife and still have an incredible time. If you want a logical explanation, i just don't have one. Josh, i don't think there are any negative aspects to your wife fishing. I have yet to find a con since having a wife that loves to fish only means more fishing trips. Our family has fishing tournaments all of the time and have the BFOD (big fish of day) and BFOT (Big fish of trip). When i got my wife on fishing, i started her on stream fishing to get her cast down solid. Sure enough, come bass fishing time, i had the biggest bass until late in the summer where my wife pulled out a giant with the ten inch worm and beat everyone in my family. Then came winter time for trout fishing through the ice. I was winning with my 24 incher until the last trip and she beat it with a 24.5 incher. She does this to me. It blows my mind yet i get sooooooo excited when she does. There is no cons when it comes to your wife enjoying fishing.

That spot is a beauty

wow! Those are great bass. Are those all form New York??? Truly amazing. Always the sign of a good fisherman, not just one big bass, but several in a season.

nothing extreme. But it seems every trip we take, i (or someone else) will purposely hit anothers line while they are not looking and hear them freak out about this monster bite as they continue to set the hook like there was no tomorrow. They then quickly cast back out more intently and i just wait for the moment when they are not looking and quickly hit their line with my rod again. This is usually good for a few laughs every time. The worst thing about it is since everyone in our boat does it, it's never safe and everyone knows that it's not worth the consequences of not pulling and everyone falls victim to it. I just don't think this trick will ever die in our boat.

never used glasses in my life. But again, i never sight so that aspect of it doesn't concern me. I seem to fair pretty well without them. But, does make you tired after a long day of sun reflection from the water. I think the most important thing is intuition. That feeling you get when you know you need to fish a previous spot or maybe slowing it down. I have much to learn in fishing but this intuition has helped me catch relatively big fish for the waters i fish

I'm sure this topic has been brought up before, but i figured i'd ask and see what the current members feel. When my wife asks me, "what are you thinking about?" she has learned that there are only a few responses I can give nowadays, and of course she has learned that fishing is the best bet. When i daydream of fishing, the image that pops up in my mind is the bite. This is what keeps me coming back. I think of those incredible lakes i grew up on and the image that pops into my mind with fishing is seeing the line move in 8-10 feet of water while finesse fishing using bigger bait, reeling up the slack and lifting ever so slightly to see if it has the weight of a bluegill or not, and then i swing for the fence. Or i think of the tap. The tap to me is what it is all about. When i get a big bass, i remember more of the bite than the battle. I dream of the bite. In some big bass spots, you know if you get a bite, there are no bluegill around, the bait your throwing only summons the beasts and that tap only means it's potentially a big bass. It's like you can freeze time for that one moment when you get that bite, the adrenaline runs through your body, you can't think too rationally because your too excited, you beckon all of your fishing expertise into that one moment just to patiently and timely reel down to tight line without pulling the trigger to early with slack line and yank back. These moments are what i remember while catching bigger bass. Your thoughts?

yep, that sounds about right and more importantly looks about right. Great fish. Just beautiful

to be honest, i have had more success with my 12" medium sized sock albino colored rigged wacky style. Go big or go home.

Look at you go with that crankbait! Man, that seems to be your icing on the cake. Great fish, just beautiful and congratulations on the PB, no better feeling.