Jar11591

Because my boat is under 16’ I pay $22.50 in New York State.

I’ve ordered rods from Amazon, and had some arrive broken, but that isn’t any different than TackleWarehouse. TackleWarehouse has a 60% broken rod rate when shipping to me, and twice they’ve sent me the wrong one. I think Amazon’s record with shipping rods to me is better than TW’s. Won’t stop me from ordering from either place. Any reels I’ve ordered from Amazon have come perfect, and cheaper than where I could find them elsewhere.

Big ones that get away haunt me. I always think “what if that was a new PB”.

Bass Pro Shop being built in my town. Set to be done by summer!

When these came out they instantly became my number one T-rigging bait. Favorite soft plastic by a long shot.

Loved fishing, hated being stuck on the bank. Somebody local was selling a little boat and motor and I already had a truck so it was an easy decision.

So whatcha whatcha whatcha want?? Love the Beastie Boys. Gonna jam out to them today for sure now. Thanks for the inspo 👍

I don’t always have time to get the boat out, so I still walk the bank sometimes if I want to fish but don’t have much time.

I might throw a line with a crankbait over the side while I’m changing spots, but that’s about all the trolling I do for bass.

Another vote for Dad. Having my dad as a tournament partner sounds like a dream come true, even if he never touched a fishing rod in his life. I know you say your number one priority is winning, but years down the road which memories would be better? For me it’s an easy choice.

I got my first and current boat about 12 years ago. Was in my early twenties, obsessed with fishing, but so tired of being stuck on the bank. Somebody local was selling a little boat and trolling motor for like $400 bucks, and I had the truck to haul it, so I jumped on that immediately. One of my best decisions I’ve made.

I lean more towards the patient side. If it’s a spot I’m confident in, I’ll spend a lot of time there. If I’m on a new lake or trying to locate new spots, that’s when I will keep it moving. But if I’m on a familiar lake, in a spot im confident in, I’ll spend probably more time than I should until it produces.

This is actually the 10th largest pyramid in the world. True story.

Ice fisherman fell through the ice on his ATV yesterday and passed away about 40 minutes north of me. Very surprised the ice wasn’t thick enough given this winter has been absolutely frigid and this lake is higher in latitude and altitude than where I am. It is a very large lake though. I’ve been seeing a lot of shanties and guys on the ice.

Hard to choose between largemouth and smallmouth. I got my start fishing for smallmouth on crystal clear mountain lakes, and then as a kid and young teen most of my fishing was at the park pond for largemouth. These days I fish for largemouth more often, and that’s mainly because the lakes that provide the best opportunity for my small electrically powered craft are primarily largemouth lakes.

I hate hate hate the cold. Luckily NYS is great 8 months out of the year otherwise I’d wonder what the heck I’m doing in such a cold place. When I was a kid it never bothered me. As an adult I struggle to stay warm all winter. You can usually find me next to the space heater.

@A-Jay I’m already looking forward to the reports. Has the website been working for you? I can’t seem to access it whether on mobile or desktop.

Bladed jigs/chatterbaits. I’ve yet to unlock the magic with these. The success I’ve seen people have on them makes me want to get in on that action, but I just don’t have the confidence to throw often. Gonna spend a lot of time throwing it this year.

Cherish each moment on the water.

Spinnerbait Popper Jig Texas Rig Weedless Frog These account for about 80% of my catches. If I added walking baits and wacky rigged senkos I’m guessing it would be around 90%. The other 10% would be made up of probably 6-8 different baits/presentations.

@TnRiver46 I think that’s Blanche. And I have no clue how I even know that.

@Buzzbaiter I agree about the Pop-R. There is nothing that a Pop-R does that isn’t done better by another popper on the market. Several poppers around the same price that are much better baits than the Pop-R. Also agree with those that say the Whopper Plopper. If you want to shut down a top water bite that is going strong, toss one of those noisemakers. It caught me hook, line, and sinker several years ago and now I laugh when I look at the ugly things. Idk how they’ve maintained their spot in my tackle box because I think I’d catch more fish with a Louisville slugger tied to my line.

Observers or casual enjoyers of something will usually mock people who are avid about something enough to care about the nuances such as gear quality and the like. I find it ridiculous. It’s the same with any sport. Someone who doesn’t golf will question why a golfer needs a dozen clubs for 1 round of golf. And the casual golfer will wonder why an avid golfer needs a $1000 driver. So a casual fisherman or somebody who doesn’t fish at all looks at fishing as if it’s just sticking a worm on a hook tied to a stick, and can’t fathom anything beyond that, and then mock the people who are more into it than them.

Any technique where the rod is what’s used to move the bait rather than the reel, I prefer the fastest gear ratio I can get. Only time I don’t wanna a fast reel is for techniques where it’s the reel moving the bait, such as spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

2 week forecast barely cracks 25 degrees. Even the river is locked up.