Smokinal

Hunt that girl down!

That's a great day!

What a big, fat chunk right there! Nice job. More importantly, thank you for keeping us all safe and free. Be safe, smart and check in when you return home.

Looks like a tumor. Wizard! Was going to post this^^^^. Now all I can say is it looks like he's been dippin too much Skoal.

I've been waiting for a report! So good to hear from you. Glad you are home and sound positive. Keep us posted; and I bet those smallies are happy you're giving them a break! Take care Dwight

I don't know that I would look into changing anything just from 1 instance of losing a fish. I know it sucks but it happens to all of us. Now, if you lose your next 5 on that same bait/same setup...then we need to look at some more details. Sounds like an early season, cold, lethargic fish with a tentative bite that didn't get stuck well. Keep at it man.

^^^Are there any gators or gar in those ponds? And just a guess, but I would think as a fish gets to that unhealthy of a state from starvation, I'm sure it's immune system and healing properties are lowered, making any nick or cut seem much worse than it may be in a healthy fish.

I'll start by admitting that I don't know much about the topic, therefore I will not judge. But, one concern I have thought about is the female losing eggs during the fight, on the way to the boat. I have had, and I'm sure you have too, fish just spewing eggs all over my boat as I get the hook out. Do you think that she didn't lose thousands of eggs while struggling on the end of the line on her way in? These eggs are not in a nest and will not be fertilized. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

Attaway to start!

And this is how stories of "This dude caught a 10 lber outta the pond today" get started. Not bashin ya; that's a nice 6-7 lber! Congrats!

I bet he's got a plastic worm in his stomach.

I keep a log of where I went, weather, water temp and clarity, baits used, structure type and yes, fish count. I do this, not to impress anyone with numbers but to learn from. If I used X bait on Y structure in M water temp and didn't catch anything, I better not do that again. On the other hand, if X bait worked on Y cover and I caught the bejeesus outta them, guess what I learned?

Mr Ned gets me the most bites, hands down, no contest

Getting giddy? Are you kidding? I'm driving my wife and everyone else around me nuts with talk of fishing, air hooksets, baits all over the house etc... We are still frozen over here but the ice is pretty black. With the forecast of 50's and 60's and rain this week, we'll be open by the weekend. I'll let it get some sun on it for a week, let me heal up from surgery for another week and we should be jerkin some baits on the 20th!! Man am I pumped!!

Thinking about you bud.

^^^Thank you for the link and some info on your experience; much appreciated. I'm confident everything will be fine. We'll see how it goes. Take care and good luck with your lifting. I'd love to hear some updates!

Get out! I'd love to hear more if ok with you. Open or lapro? How long before you felt like you could set a hook? How long before you could do a light gym workout? And at this stage, weight restriction comes off at only 4-5 weeks?, so you could do hard weight workout? I'm most concerned about when I can squat and deadlift again (after setting a hook of course). Hope you are doing well!

Many different things can help. The massive, massive info and archived info on this site for starters. The vast knowledge and willingness to share this knowledge by the members here for another. Joining a local bass club as a non-boater would be a huge help. Go, fish tourneys with a partner with no intent on winning but just watching and learning. Watch the vids that interest you from the tab at the top of the screen; pic one type of bait/presentation you want to learn, read up on it, and go apply what you have learned; tweek as you learn. Don't think about learning everything at once; 1 topic at a time. Most of all, have fun doing it.

lol...couldn't be more true! He puts a hurtin on em for sure! Prayers to you Dwight.

I remember you mentioning that. What did you have done and how are you doing? Thank you Dwight. I'll be thinking about you.

2014=shoulder surgery to shorten clavicle 2015=tricep re-attachment 2016=bilateral inguinal hernias to be repaired Scheduled on March 7th, and probably going to be the earliest ice-out on record. If things keep going, my home lake should open around the 12th or so. The bigger bummer is I have a spot on that lake where, right after ice out for about 2 weeks, is some of the best bite of the year; absolutely stupid bite. I'll be out in a girdle if I have to.... I'll send pics...of fish...not me in a girdle

3 people literally drowning and one holding a camera....Merica

I will never do this again! I have 2.....things......I do. Not sure if I would call them superstitious; but I just like to do them. First off, I keep a baggie of baking soda in the boat and wash my hands with it before I touch a bait. 2nd thing is, last year I made sure I was in good position/spot for my first cast of the year; and I caught one on my first cast of the season; then had a heck of a numbers year last year. You can bet I'm doing the same thing this year, same spot.

Dangit Glenn!! Now you got me all pumped up to try this thing again. I bought all the stuff for it last spring, tried it twice, didn't catch anything on it and put it all away. Just wrong timing, I'm sure. Seems like a good "hard day" technique. Thanks for posting.

I don't understand how people put their fingers in the gills?! I tried that once; once. My fingers came out like shredded carrots. I almost went to the ER for it; blood everywhere. What did I do wrong?