Bankbeater

1/16 ounce Rooster Tail will catch anything that is active.

Nice!

This thread reminds me of the age old question: Is fishing a sport or a hobby?

I'm just happy when I don't get skunked.

Nope. Instead of fishing gear we bought a new battery for the car.

Never.

I'll add a small split shot a couple of inches above the hook. I let the rod load up on the back swing before I cast out.

Clean reels, replace hooks, reorganize baits. Scout out new water I find on Google Earth if the roads and weather allow it.

In 2025 I want to do more fishing for white bass, stripers, and hybrids.

Glad you and the Mrs. are feeling better. Go easy with the back and knees.

I fish a 1/8 ounce jig in submerged grass that is around 1 to 2 feet below the surface. That small of a jig won't sink down into the grass too far and is fairly easy to rip loose. If you have vegetation that is matted on the surface try dropping a jig between the mats, or try a swim jig.

About 20 years ago we had a string of dog and cat mutilations around my sub division. A cop friend of mine said they think it was coyotes moving through the area. They kept it quiet because they didn't want to freak out the city dwellers that were moving into the area.

I haven't fished with one in years.

When the water clarity is good and there is limited cloud cover I will be fishing with either purple, green pumpkin, watermelon seed, or chartreuse. Black/blue, black/red, purple, and green pumpkin for darker days or when the water is more on the dirtier side.

Been there, done that. I'll start pitching at targets or cast out different crankbaits to see how they run.

Rooster Tails.

I don't. It's not comfortable for me and I get a better grip holding onto the rod.

On flats with vegetation I'll use a steady retrieve. Fishing in deep water I'll pump the bait or use a stop and go retrieve.

Man, good job! I hope you have all of these numbers on a spreadsheet somewhere because that is a lot of numbers to add up.

Welcome to the forums.

This year started off slow and stayed that way. Once again, my most productive technique was fishing plastic worms in the vegetation. The worms were followed by jigs and small jerkbaits, also fished in, and around the vegetation. Pitching a Texas rig in the really thick stuff in place of a jig worked too. This fall about the only moving bait that seems to trigger a consistent bite has been a 1/4 oz. Rooster Tail. There were a lot of baits this year that the bass were very picky about. The spinnerbait bite died in the middle of April and really never picked back up. Crankbaits, topwaters, lipless, and regular sized jerkbaits landed me a few, but the bite was way off this year compared to past years. I haven't caught any giant bass yet this year, but I did manage a new PB crappie that was caught out of a 4 to 4-1/2 acre pond. Probably the best news I've heard this year is that one of my daughters wants to get back into fishing again.

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap and the Cordell Spot are the ones I fish with the most.

There have been a few hunting accidents around here over the years. Fishing is just safer.

I've been attaching the snap to the split ring for years with no issues. A snap won't last forever, and if it seems like it opens too easy I will cut it off and put on a new snap.

The bass around here are starting to move around much more. In many of the small lakes I fish, crankbaits and spinnerbaits are starting to outproduce weightless worms and Texas rigs. It may be time to tie on the swim jig again.