Jake Coucoules

I’m technically south Jersey but I’m in the North, Central, and South clubs so I fish all over the state Lol you can cover the gill you just can’t have your hand under it

Hi my name is Jake Coucoules and I’m from New Jersey. My whole life’s goal is the become a professional bass fisherman. Right now I do kayak tournaments every weekend but I’m saving up for a bass boat to do boat tournaments, hopefully soon.

Obviously that’s why I said don’t do it on a lake where it’s necessary such as the Great Lakes(Sturgeon Bay) but maybe do it on like the Kissimmee Chain or a river system where electronics wouldn’t be as necessary.

That’s so funny because I’ve been looking into getting one a lot recently but they’re just so expensive for the good ones ?. Do you mind saying which fishfinder you got?

I know this might be a little controversial but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently watching the MLF event on Sturgeon Bay. It seems like almost every fish that is caught is seen by the angler on either his traditional sonar or livescope. These technologies are obviously unbelievable and have changed bass fishing as a whole dramatically. But as a poor individual I can barely even afford the cheapest fish finder lol. Am I the only one who thinks it would be interesting to see them do a tournament without or atleast limited electronics? Maybe just a GPS? Obviously it wouldn’t be on the Great Lakes or on a Ledge lake during the summer where electronics are absolutely necessary but maybe do it on a river system or a shallower lake? Idk it’s just something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently and wanted to see what you guys think.

People say the same thing about dogs. But I guarantee if you say the word “walk” or “treat” around most dogs they know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s like us too how I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast this morning but I can remember the exact spot and exact lure I caught a fish on 15 years ago. It’s all subjective but to think a bass can’t remember more than 48 hours is simply wrong.

Look man, I understand where you’re coming from but from my perspective your life sounds like a fairy tale to me lol. My family hates fishing because of me. My mom n dad were separated before I was born and are both drug addicts/alcoholics. I haven’t seen my dad in almost a year and the last time I did he tricked me into stealing my car to go get herion. See I get shitted on for loving fishing the way I do. If I order a reel or something I have to try n get to it first before my mom sees it because she will scream in my face about how I waste all my time on money on fishing and how I need to find a real “goal” in life because I’ll never be able to fish for a living. If I go to a family function everyone is afraid to talk to me about my life and if I try to talk about fishing I’m quickly shunned and told to “go to college because fishing isn’t a job.” One time I went out with my friends after school and forgot to take the garbage to the curb and my stepdad went into my room and literally snapped every fishing rod I owned and threw them out of the curb next to the trash with the reels still on them. I was like 15 and I had spent every penny I ever earned on those rods. And the only way I got that money was by working summer jobs, shoveling, raking leaves etc. because my parents didn’t believe in an allowance. Luckily I got all the reels back but that was like $500 in rods that took years to replace. You see I’ve basically had to choose fishing over everyone in my family because it’s the only thing that’s ever brought me even the tiniest bit of joy in my life. Maybe try to be a little bit more grateful next time your mom doesn’t fish a ned rig like a pro because there are people out there who would love for their mom to even look at a picture of a fish they caught.

Don’t forget about the Canadian Geese!

All people die. Or is that against forum rules to say ?

This is the same attitude people who litter and don’t recycle have. “I’m just one person so if I throw all my trash in the street it’s not gonna effect anything.” And once everyone adopted that mindset our entire environment became full of trash. What difference does it make if I throw my McDonald’s cup in the trash or on the ground?

You’re right offend was probably the wrong choice of words. You’re also right I didn’t expect it to turn into an argument about what is the worst thing for a fishery. I’m not a biologist.. I barely graduated high school. I just love bass and fish in general and I’m so tired of seeing them die for something as pointless as a “trophy” on a wall. Especially when there are so many better options of making a memory of the fish without killing it.

I didn’t make this post to offend anyone or with the intentions of ever changing any laws because as we all know they don’t get followed anyway. I made this post hoping I could at least convince one person to release their PB instead of killing it to put on their wall. I don’t think you guys truly understand the size of most of the ponds I’m referring to where it really hurts me. These are .5-5 acre ponds where there obviously aren’t many big fish in them it’s physically impossible. I don’t think you could fill a dumpster with ALL the fish in any one of these given ponds. And I know that they probably don’t matter to any of you but as a kid growing up without a car or a boat or access the any large bodies of water this is all I had. I spend countless days doing anything I could to just SEE one of these truly amazing beasts that are usually the kings of the ponds they reside in. I know I’m considered weird but I get more joy watching the fish swim away then I could have ever gotten from a picture or “bragging rights.” I always follow the rule of holding my breath for as long as the fish is out of the water because if it’s hard for me to breathe then imagine how hard it is for the fish. I know I care too much I just wanna see these awesome fish get a little more respect. This is a great point I’m glad you brought it up. A lot of people living near bodies of water have no idea how much damage they do to the lakes with all the pesticides they spray in their lawn, or even better the township when they do construction and don’t set up silt fences and let all the loose dirt run right into the lake! Look at Newton Lake it’s only a couple years from turning into a total swamp from all the erosion and run off... but that’s a whole different story lol

I don’t know why you took my post so personally I don’t even know who you are. I also have never even heard of Crisco bay I said in my post that I’m talking about NJ where regulations state that all bass caught between April 15 and June 15 be immediately released which is the prime time most of these skin mounted fish are caught. I also was referring more specifically to someone who I seen catch a bass over 6lbs in a 2 acre heavily fished pond to put it on his wall during the catch and release season. This person also claimed to have 4 other mounts of large fish from the area which seems like a problem to me. I agree in the grand scheme of things it is a small drop in the bucket, but it my area there’s not many lakes and most of them are extremely small and extremely pressured compared to most places in the world. Taking the biggest bass out of the pond just for “bragging rights” seems ridiculous when everyone has a camera in their pocket now a days. It just bothers me to see such a beautiful majestic and rare creature die for literally no reason. And btw I completely agree that bucket fisherman are a much bigger problem to the fisheries as a whole but our F&G has a hard time managing that, even if you report it to them... but I only made this post because most of those people aren’t using $500 combos and claiming to be “expert bass fisherman.” The people Im talking about who are mounting big bass act like they could be professionals...

Hey guys I’ve been using this website forever but never felt the need to post until now. I can’t believe this disturbing trend of keeping a large bass to make a skin mount of it is still a thing. In this day in age cameras and fiberglass mounts are so good that there is literally no need to kill a fish to make a memory of it. So many lakes near me have been absolutely destroyed because of people keeping all the 5lb+ bass and I don’t understand the point of it. Some of these lakes are under 5 acres and can’t hold many bass over 5lbs. Why wouldn’t you wanna release it to catch it again another day? Especially if it’s not even a state/world record... don’t get me wrong a 5lb bass is a greasy catch and not very easy to come by in NJ but don’t these people understand they’re making it so much harder by taking them out and putting them on their wall? It just seems like we need to do something about this because it’s so ridiculously stupid and harmful to the fisheries and the only thing I can think of is making skin mounts illegal. Does anyone else agree or do I just care too much about these fish?

I dont understand how people say there are times where nothing else will work. The BASS tour has always had it banned and their anglers always seem to do just fine...

Go with the Powell Endurance. You wont regret it.

I like red hooks because they imitate the gill flash that stressed baitfish do when they gills become full of blood.

1/2 ounce black and blue jig. Simply cant go wrong with it.

3/16

How deep was the fish caught? 6 feet Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? no Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? shad If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? day after full moon

Always make sure you wet the knot when tying with fluoro. That could be your problem.

They are smaller and more dense so you have a much better feel of the bottom. I feel that they are only necessary for flipping and c-rigs,

I have the same problem and it really shows strike kings quality control. Sometimes you get a good one that lasts for a while then sometimes you get a bait that breaks the first day

The first bass over 5 pounds i ever caught was blind in both eyes. Back then I was oblivious to how much a fish can do with its lateral line so i was extremly surprised.

The Jackall Iobee in bluegill is what i use. Its best in cloudy, low pressure conditions. Remember, if you bait leaves a bubble trail, your supposed to be fishing topwater.