Bankbeater

The water temperature around here is still fairly warm so mornings are still working for me. When it gets to be jacket weather then I will fish later in the day.

I don't think I have ever used a spinning reel over the 2500 size for bass. My dad used to have some larger spinning reels but they were for catfishing.

I've had better luck fishing a straight worm either weightless or on a split shot rig. I get a lot more bites than when the bait is t-rigged. I think it may have something to do with the fishing pressure in my area. I don't see a lot of weightless plastics being used.

I gotta say no. These were actually dropped into the lake.

Dead sticking a bait on the bottom, or just letting the wind push a topwater bait around on the surface.

Strike King 3/8 painted spinnerbait.

Never have I ever lost a rod by dropping it into the lake. That is something my dad and wife can't say.

I catch more on the 3/8 vibrating jig. I can't get a bite on the minimax. Maybe when the temps get cooler.....

Around here Colorado and Indiana blades seem to work better than willow leaf blades. I've also noticed what @LrgmouthShad said above about the time of year. When it starts to warm up here in the spring the spinnerbait bite dies off until it starts to cool down again.

My biggest limitation of fishing is time. There are a half dozen or so small lakes and ponds that I would love to fish, but they are a 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive away. Getting off work is tough, and I usually have a job or two to do around the house on the weekends.

I'd tie the end to something outside like a fencepost and then start walking the line off to see what it looks like toward the end of the spool. If it looks bad after you have walked 30 yards or so I would respool.

I've never fished with anything over 50#. The only time I use that is when I am punching through mats.

Welcome to the forum.

My top 5 for this year is around 19.5 lbs. My average fish catch per trip so far this year has been 5.29 fish. Hopefully, those numbers will go up.

A black jig with a natural color trailer is a fish catcher around here when the water is stained.

On Saturday I went out for a couple of hours and discovered that the spinnerbait bite had turned back on. The second spinnerbait bass was a feisty 2 pounder that really wanted to shake that hook loose. After I got the hook out I realised that my blades were missing. Looks like the wire broke just above the knot.

I have four friends and we all share fishing lake info back and forth. Other than that I'm tight lipped unless I see someone really struggling.

Hey Big-O It's good to hear from you!

Some of the lures I find I put new hooks on and fish with. Some of them work and some of them don't. The baits that are too far gone go into a basket. My best catching found bait is a Red Eye Shad that I found about 5 or 6 years ago.

Rebel Pop-R.

After it has been dark for a while I fish on top with a Jitterbug, and on the bottom with a jig and Texas rig. Jitterbug is always black, and I start off the bottom baits with black and go from there.

At least you managed to keep the skunk away.

I've done it both ways and hardly slept at all either way. Now that I have gotten older I look for a ramp near a hotel.

I've torn up trolling motors hitting logs in ponds. I can't imagine hitting a heavy object running at top speed.

I use a small sharpener I got from Amazon for about $4.