Turtle135

congrats! great looking fish

Little Seneca Lake. Another jig fish from Friday after work.

I fish with both the 7" and the 9" Culprit Fat Max worms. Really like them both but when I am throwing the 9" it definitely feels like I am swinging for the fence. I don't think I have ever caught one less than 3.5 pounds on the bigger version, there is a whole lot of plastic in that bait. The 7" will get popped by a 12" bass.

"LEDs burn 100 hours on 3 AA batteries (included)"

I'm trying to keep it quiet on the Ned Rig until after next Saturday's tournament.

I am currently running my puck through one of the front scupper holes but when I used a transducer arm I had it set up like this: Depending on the water you fish the arms can collect weeds and get hung up on laydowns (which is why I am going through a scupper).

Finally a fish worth pulling the camera out for. On my local Maryland reservoir yesterday after work. Of late I've been doing alright with the 15" to 17" largemouth but the better fish have been eluding me. This one went five pounds on the nose. 3/8th ounce football jig with a baby paca craw, I tie the skirt with round rubber. I was working along the 18 foot deep contour line. Made a long cast, let the jig hit the bottom, then just let it sit still for 30 seconds. Did not feel the tap, just saw the line start to move. The water is extremely clear in this reservoir and the place gets a lot of fishing pressure. Frequently the best retrieve is no retrieve at all. A bass hunting along the contour will see the jig and craw just fine. Excessive movement seems to deter the older fish.

Culprit Fat Max and Culprit Original 10" on a Confidence Baits Draggin' Head. I like that direct contact to the presentation and rigged this way I do not accumulate line twist over the course of a day.

looks good! post up after you have had a chance to test out the side imaging, curious to see how that performs

A tough decision but a good decision! 1. find a PFD that you feel comfortable wearing all the time 2. be careful in current (some of my early "near disasters" involved a kayak, current and an anchor) 3. remember "The Rule of 120" (if the combined water and air temperatures are under 120, you need to be wearing a wet suit or dry suit when kayaking) Have fun, welcome to the club!

I have the 6' Yakattack ParkNPole. It is great on the Tidal Potomac River as there is a lot of fishing in water 4 feet or less. The ParkNPole floats in case I drop it. They also sell two clips which I have screwed in the top rail of my Ride 115 for storage. I frequently go right through a scupper. Other times it is outside the kayak and I tether to it with a "Fish Grip" on a 4 foot length of paracord. Never have had a tipping problem due to a stake out pole. On the anchor I use a 5-pound plate from a weight lifting set. I have it on a floating retriever dummy so I can quick release from my anchor and the float keeps my anchor line at the surface. I have been involved in several dangerous events using an anchor on a kayak in current. Being able to quick disconnect from that line without having to worry about losing the anchor is key. Some guys carry a knife to cut their anchor line but I am willing to bet they fight losing that anchor (and that is when you can get into trouble). My fish grip frequently turns into a "brush grip" for a quick anchor off of shoreline brush or branches.

Assuming you are using jigs that are 3/8th ounce or heavier I would recommend you go heavier with your leader material. Look at 15 or 17 pound test. Bass are not line shy and the heavier line will not alter your presentation with those sized jigs. I use the Uni to Uni knot and go with 6 wraps on both ends. More wraps may be better but for me I get a more uniform knot with the 6 wraps. Lastly (and this is just me), I have no use for fluorocarbon and I use 14 or 17 pound test Trilene XT Mono (both of which test out at 20 pounds or more). My issue with fluoro is that if you stretch it (like on a snag), you weaken it. On a strong hookset the braid has no give, it is all transmitted to your leader.

I pitch all the time from the seat of my kayak. It is great way to make a quiet and accurate presentation. I get some momentum by first allowing the lure to pendulum under the rod to build up some speed. From a lower position we lose the full length of the swing you can achieve by standing. However, with our lower profile we can also get much closer to the bass. I only flip from the kayak in dense cover as I am almost on top of the fish. Sometimes I just lower the lure straight down with just 3 to 4 feet of line out (always exciting when a good fish pops the lure that close!).

congrats! that is a great looking largemouth

with a chunk impale it like this, right through the middle of the "chunk" part

Swim jigs on the Tidal Potomac River and 10" ribbontail worms on the reservoirs.

If you have a leader in the mix I have seen that happen with the constant banging of that knot (leader to braid knot) through your rod guides. If you are tying direct to the jerk bait check your line guides to make sure they do not have any nicks that are abrading your line. Some of us never left mono!

The largest bass I caught this past Saturday was blind in one eye. The injury had happened some time ago as it was completely healed over. The bass was in great shape physically so that one seemed to be making do just fine. I would release a bass with that type of injury and not give it a second thought. I do tend to avoid treble hooked lures. One thing I like about being largely a jig fisherman is the one hook point and that for whatever reason largemouth usually do not get hooked deeply on a jig. Plastic worms often get vacuumed straight to the gullet so I go barbless with that presentation.

I would go with 1/4 ounce swim jig with a baby paca craw trailer. You can fish it like a spinnerbait or a bottom contact lure and use it year round.

I am going to defer to this young lady, just because

It took a fellow fisherman catching an 18" and a 19" smallmouth right in front of me to get me to tie on one of the TRD's he had handed me first thing in the morning. Then I caught a 19" smallie. I have tried it out in a couple of other situations. Pressured water, largemouth in extremely clear water and it has produced fish. I do not always carry them with me but they can help you figure out where the bass are on a given day.

Check the line roller on the bail of that particular spinning reel. If it is not spinning as freely as it should that could be the cause of your line twist. p.s. - Google "line roller on spinning reel" and you should see some articles on diagnosis and remedy.

The Wisconsin study incorporated some tests to use as "control numbers" to determine if the bass where actually dying just due to the "catch and immediate release" aspect of fishing. Their numbers suggest that the prolonged stress associated with being held, transported and the additional handling contributed to the higher mortality rates. Personally, I am not at all against tournament fishing. I'm beginning to get the notion that certain fisheries would benefit if more small and average size bass where removed from the system. Perhaps at warmer water events (where the mortality rate can be unusually high) the catch (except for the lunkers) could be donated to a local food bank instead of being released.

_______________________________________ fresh water (non tidal): 1. catch and release only from March 1 - June 15 2. 12 inches is the minimum size 3. 5 bass per day 4. there are several bodies of water that are managed under "Trophy Regulations" and "Catch and Release only" http://www.eregulations.com/maryland/fishing/bass-fishing/ _______________________________________ tidal water 1. March 1 - June 15, 15 inches is the minimum size 2. June 16 - last day in February, 12 inches is the minimum size 3. 5 bass per day _______________________________________ Good luck!

beautiful work! thank you for sharing all the photos