the reel ess

Friday I caught a new PB at 7.1 lbs. This morning, I braved the cold for a 6 pounder. There was frost on the windshield when I took my daughter to school. I dropped her off and headed on over to the lake. This was a trial run for winter fishing. I put on my thermals and layers. I used muck boots to keep from getting the feet wet. I made a beeline for the area I caught the PB in. I caught a 2 pounder on the same spinnerbait. That cove didn't seem to hold anymore bass so I paddled down the adjacent bank, skipping a @cadman custom black/blue grass jig with a Chigger Craw trailer under the overhanging brush. There's a beaver adding lots of bass habitat. Just a few casts in and BOOM! A 6 pounder. I went on to catch one more 2 pounder on the spinnerbait and a dink on the jig. I was off the water after 2 hours and 45 min because my daughter got out of school early today. Funny, this fish looks half the size of the 7 pounder. It's actually longer with a bigger mouth. But it hadn't had breakfast yet.

Nice fish!

OUCH! That sucks.

My first two or three lipless cranks. They're still made, BTW. https://www.heddonlures.com/product/bayou-boogie-3/

A Pop R has worked for me in choppy water, but the bass were really chasing bait. You'll need to make more commotion. If you fish on the side where the wind is blowing it can be good. Spinnerbaits and lipless cranks can be good there too.

Look here under Santee Cooper system http://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/freshwater.html

If you get a spinnerbait with at least one BIG willow You can probably use it 3/4 of the year in AL. I do in SC. Then I use Colorado blades for colder water. That's partly because colder water here tends to be really off-color. My favorite line for spinnerbaits is 15 lb Big Game mono, but that 10 lb will do in a pinch. If using around cover or you catch one, check to see if it needs retying.

Usually the last one I got some action on. So right now it would be Booyah Pad Crasher. But I've had a great year with Chug Bug and Pop R. I don't think I've caught anything on any other topwater. But that could be because these have worked so often. I've had great days on the Spook and some good buzzbait action-just not this year. Haven't caught a thing on the Whopper Plopper or Sprinker Frog.

I don't use deep divers much anymore. Where I fish is mostly too grassy and shallow over most of the lake. Some of it is too shallow and grassy for the lipless crank. On a long cast if I don't catch one right away, I reel in a pound of grass. I do have a floating Rat L Trap but I've had no luck with it. But the Spot is deadly anywhere 3' or deeper all over this place. I still use lots of other baits though.

That's the second PB I've caught that looked like that at this place since the spring. They were within 50 yards of each other. In fact, in the last 3 years, I've caught 3 PBs in that 50 yd. radius. Naturally, when I launch I might fish a little near the launch, but then I make a beeline for that area. Apparently, it holds plentiful bait.

The T rig is the bomb for beginners. If you're fishing public waters from the bank, that can get tough. The fish can be pressured and get shy of artificials. You could also not be reaching any bass from limited access. My advice to noobs is to find yourself a place that isn't getting pressured. For me that meant finding private ponds and asking permission. Most people, myself included, don't like to approach strangers asking for something. But you'll be surprised how many will say yes. And most private waters are underfished. A private pond with a lot of hungry, "uneducated" bass is just the ticket to learning techniques and gaining confidence. I have one such place that belongs to my friend. He wants me to fish it and remove as many small bass as possible. And that's almost all he has. You can always try to use big bass baits to cull the dinks.

Sweet! Love it.

But it took off like a runaway dump truck when it realized it was hooked. It was strong. One of the best things about the kayak is that fish have a harder time getting under the boat. If they try it, the boat just moves out of the way.

For a while I thought it would have to be because I didn't catch anything else for an hour. But I ended up catching 6 more and missing or losing 3. But I would go any day if I knew I'd only catch one 7 pounder. ?

Yeah, you can see why they grow big there.

I almost decided not to go this morning because I wasn't feeling great. We just got our first cold snap and turned the heat on. I decided you never know if you don't go. It paid off. I got his big mama in a couple feet of water on a stump flat. She killed it soon as it hit the water. I caught her on a War Eagle Gold Shiner spinnerbait. This is my first in the 7 lb range (7.1). Odd considering how long I've been fishing. It bumps me up to 7-8 lb PB. This is the 2nd time I've caught a PB at this place on a spinnerbait in the fall. I'm starting to see a pattern. Check out the gut. It looks like she has a pound in the stomach. The last PB I caught looked exactly like this except .2 lbs less. It could be the same bass, but not likely since this is about a 30 acre private lake. I know there are 8 pounders in here and I'll keep on trying for more PB's.

Welcome. I'm from the peidmont. What town are you near?

I was lucky enough to already have a paid-for Silverado. There are certainly features where the Jeep lags behind other vehicles. No side air bags (removable doors), old school windshield wipers, horrible fuel economy for a small V6, bigger tires make it less "driveable", etc. Mine is a Sport model so it doesn't even have auto windows or locks. Unless you have the Unlimited (4 door) it's not really a sport ute. We had a couple tropical storms this fall and mine leaked a little. It's a long list. But if you've ever owned one, all that doesn't matter. There's nothing like wheeling with the top off. I would caution anybody to put the top back up (or on) to get in the mud. Not an easy cleanup if you forget.

I was that way about mine for a short time. Then I discovered how hard it is to keep really clean when you remove the top a lot. Now I just keep it a little dirty so I''m not discouraged from doing some mild offroading.

Our K Mart went under years ago. Apparently, the purchaser had no idea where we were. They had all kinds of trout and walleye baits and tackle. Subsequently, they always had stuff on clearance. I would always troll through there and see what they were giving away. I was so broke back then (first marriage) I had to shop the clearance at K and Walmart. I still have some of those FLW and Renegade soft plastics.

Walmart doesn't even have what I want. The closest Dick's has less than Walmart. There's an Academy near the Dick's that has most of my needs. So it's there or online ordering for me. I get what I can from Amazon. I don't feel I'm hurting Mom & Pop because I'm not going to the lake anymore. If I did I would go buy their bait and beer and cheeseburger.

Show some pics. Here's mine. It was my dad's when he died and I decided to keep it.

There are still a few thriving around my home lake, though I don't fish there much anymore. The same ones that were there most of my life. I'm sure they don't make a killing at it. They're a gas station, restaurant, bait & tackle and hardware store with a decent selection of cheap beer. I used to love going there and buying minnows before the day started. They would also know if crappie were biting on minnows or jigs and what color to use, which, of course, they always had in stock. They would sell you an egg sandwich before you left and a cheeseburger at lunch. Good memories.

Big bream populations are out of hand. The population of bass maybe didn't explode as much as they ran short of food. If that's not the case then it's another variable.

They do eat them. Baby bass are just minnows, same as all other minnows. Ever notice that there are minnows or shad year round? Bream, catfish and whatever other species of gamefish you have eat baby bass and all other species as well.