Smokinal

Some factors would be where you find yourself throwing a frog the most. If you like to beat the banks, throw to laydowns, skip under branches, shoreline cover etc... a shorter rod will give you better accuracy and be easier to walk a bait. If you find yourself always in fields of grass and pads, I'd go with a longer rod to take up slack faster on a long cast. In fields like that, accuracy usually isn't required as you are typically fan casting anyway.

@James Engle Have you tried a drop shot? You could keep that in front of them indefinitely. Try some finesse worms on the drop, as most do, but also try a craw type bait too.

That's what Maine is all about brother!

Accidentally?? I use it on purpose....

A. Do you know for sure there are better fish in that place? B. Lipless trap C. Continue with jerkbait but try different brands or colors

Good to hear and nice job getting a few of those to bite. More will bite as water warms. Don't forget a Ned rig thrown at those left overs that are slow to bite.

I should get stoned in the streeets for saying this here but, my second passion is bass fishing. Just had the first show of the year 4 weeks ago; me on the far right: And another tomorrow! As far as the OP, losing bodyfat is all about calories in vs calories out. You have to eat less calories than you use in a day. Figure your TDEE (use one of the free TDEE calculators online) and eat about 300 cals below that to start. Monitor your weight and adjust from there. About lifting weights; everyone should. Literally, everyone should. Having some muscle mass is proven to be very beneficial as we get older. And you don't have to have the Hulk in mind, competing in mind or even being very muscular in mind. Many people gave the false idea that they will become "too muscular"; believe me, that won't happen! You cannot become "too muscular" on accident overnight. It takes years of very hard, dedicated work to get to the point where you would consider yourself too muscular. A little more muscle mass on our frames helps burn bodyfat, keeps bones stronger as we get older and also helps with cognitive decline. For the bands, there are many, many different movements you can do to get a semi-effective session in with bands but it's certainly much more efficient and effective with free-weights. Great job on your progress so far! And good luck moving forward.

Very true Papa! I've had some incredible days when it was "supposed" to be horrible

I'm so sorry to hear that man. I'll have him, you and your family in my thoughts.

Glad to hear it! I'm in the MidCoast area and plan on Easter being my first day out. I'd throw a silver buddy at those arches on the bottom! Maybe a suspending jerkbait in 4-10' Would love to see some vid and hear how you do! EDIT: And welcome to BassResource!!

One of those is the best $10 you'll ever spend on fishing

Lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits will be your 2 main baits. Try different colors and different retrieves to see how they want it.

100% release crew

Darnit! Changed to 9-5

Dwight! How are ya brother?

9-5

Thanks for sharing; nice story. And congrats on putting together a pattern; that's what it's all about! An Albright (or improved Alberto) will work, if tied right, 100% of the time. Here's a nice site that's easy to follow. Click on Albright; I've used a blood knot with good success as well but the Albright is a slimmer knot. https://www.animatedknots.com/knotlist.php

Aaahhh; gotcha I'm going to have to do some more homework on these! Thank you

Very cool to hear!!

Thank you for the info so far. I guess I need some schooling on these things. I want a motor that has spot lock, but I want a foot pedal too; and be able to mount my Garmin ducer to the bottom as usual===is there such an animal?

So I found a pretty good deal on a Power Drive V2 55lb motor with iPilot. I had some questions to anyone who has one. First, how do you like not having a pedal? I'm trying to imagine this setup and not sure I like it. Second, can I mount a Garmin transducer on the bottom of the motor as I would any other motor? Anything else I should know about?

I posted this in an electronics thread; thought I'd put it here too: BPS has the Garmin Striker 5cv, in store only, discounted to $179.88 I just picked one up. You can call BPS home office/customer support, give them the model/sku #, and they can tell you what stores show stock. I then had the store that showed it, transfer it up to a store near me. They will not ship to your home; in store only but a great price on a new unit. EDIT: Link to said Striker: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/garmin-striker-5-cv-fishfinder-and-gps-chartplotter