the reel ess

Most of the same baits. Jig, lipless, spinnerbait, Trick Worm, fluke, etc. Add topwaters in warmer weather. I don't really like most finesse techniques unless they are necessary. You just never know what a crazy ol' bass will bite.

Most jig bites don't feel like anything. You just either feel resistance or the lure gets lighter. I jig fish a good bit. Most of the bites I get are detected by seeing the line move in a direction I'm not retrieving. The bass has it and is swimming somewhere else to eat it. If you're lucky they swim away from cover to deeper water to eat it. But the biggest bass (plural) I've caught on the jig yanked the jig and didn't give it up even if they felt my resistance. The ones that give the familiar "tap-tap" bite on the jig are usually small bass in my experience.

I have a rule that I won't fish in wind much greater than 10 MPH. But I've broken it many times. When they're on the bed I'll go anyway because I can get back in some skinny water and still catch 'em up. The last 3 times I went it was windy, but I persevered. It's more like real exercise. I also have another place that's down in a depression that's not effected as much by wind.

A bunch

What Up!

Heddon Sonar blade bait in gold. It's what I'm catching most bass (and crappie bycatch) on right now. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000309RUQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 If you're buying one, buy 3 or more. You'll lose some. I finally decided to fish them on straight 30 lb. braid so I could yank them out of snags. The fish don't seem to care one bit about the somewhat visible braid. But I still broke off two yesterday on 2 different rods. It happened during the cast! I respooled with new braid when I got home. Runner up has to be a T-rig for pitching, but it's a distant 2nd place. I've caught one on a slow rolled spinnerbait and one on a 1/2 oz. football swinghead craw.

Today I could have taken one rod. Still caught 1 bass and 5 crappie on the blade bait though.

I like to say most trips I could have left all but 2 rods at home. But I never know which 2, though I might strongly suspect. Right now I would expect the blade bait and jig to be my best bets.

Cool. Can the bass be wearing a 1980s trucker hat? Nailed it! Ever notice nobody draws skinny bass like we catch 90% of the time? Even if you catch a big, skinny bass and have it mounted, it will come back with a healthy gut.

I imagine their parents bought those boats or they're hand-me-downs from dad or relatives-the old family discount. When I was 22 I could barely make a car payment to get to and from my low paying job. LOL. I often had to make some decisions between spending or eating. Bologna and hot dogs became delicacies. There are lots of older boats out there pretty cheap. Throw the modern electronics on them as you save up and fish. I actually sold a 17' 1986 Procraft F&S for $1000 a while back and was glad to be rid of it. I only gave $3K for it about 10 years before. The guy fixed a head gasket himself cheap and has a running bass boat with graph and trolling motor, 135 HP Merc. If you just want to get out there and fish, find an older jon boat and get busy rigging it for bass. Try putting $20-30 per paycheck into a fund. It will grow pretty quickly. After you're used to not having that money in the checking account you'll adjust. I don't even try to afford a boat anymore. I only kayak fish or I go with my buddy. Bota ownership is not all rainbows and unicorns.

Me gusta la moosica!

If the reel comes with centrifugal brakes under the side plate, it's usually 6 of them. Engage 3 of the 6 in a staggered pattern. Adjust the cast control on the right (right handed reels) so that the lure drops slowly when you push the thumb bar. If your reel has magnetic cast control (left side) set it a bit higher than halfway, then adjust it down as you experiment. You can adjust any of these settings as you gain experience. The first one I would adjust would be the mag brake. I always leave half the centrifugal ones engaged on any reel that has them. One universal truth is heavier lures work better with baitcasters. Also, using the right length, action and power rod for the technique will cut down on some backlashes and allow longer casts. And it's not a sin to stop the spool with your thumb. Also, go to YouTube and watch videos about fixing a backlash. It works.

The wife and I decided not to spend a lot on each other because we basically buy whatever we want throughout the year. So we did stocking stuffers. I got 3 Heddon Sonars, 2 packs of Rage Bugs and 2 packs of Rage Craws. And she gave me a $50 gift certificate to Cabelas/BPS.

I ordered a "Whopper Plopper" 75 off Amazon without reading the small print. They sent me 2 knockoffs, 1 in the color bone that I ordered and one loon (black). So buyer beware! I complained about them using a trademarked name to pass off fakes and they refunded me the entire amount and said not to ship them back. Apparently, shipping them cost them more than giving them away. I have yet to use them, but they appear to be pretty good quality. I'll give them a try soon. I really do love the 110 size though.

There aren't.

Crappie, bluegill and shellcrackers (redear sunfish) are the common ones. There are no stripers, white bass, perch or toothy critters where I usually fish. I have only seen one small catfish caught there in about 8 years fishing it. One of the landowners told me he put 200 blue cats in this 30 or 35 acre lake. I don't know why he would do such a thing and sincerely hope they die out. Maybe the bass will eat all of them before they get too big.

Whopper Plopper 110, bone color. 7.93 lbs. I also caught a 5.75 that day in the same spot. I caught the bigger one and came back after a couple hours and caught the other. My runner up was a 7.25 on a Johnson Silver Minnow/chunk trailer dragged over lilies.

I haven't bought a rod or reel based on who endorses the company since I was 13. And that was actually a Christmas gift. I asked for a Daiwa Procaster Magforce PMF100 because I saw Bill using one on his show. Turns out it was a very good model. I permanently retired it about 5 years ago. I'm 51. But imagine my dismay when I saw him endorsing a different brand a few years later. I do consider the opinions of people on this here forum though.

I have proceeded with one claw or no claws with no success. But that sample size is small. I'm sure bass would bite a crawfish whose claws were gone. I'll bet I could catch a bass on a shrimp imitation.

In that case, it's the jig for me and the frog as soon as it warms enough.

Yeah, people in my region catch some big bass while trolling for crappie in winter. But we're talking winter time.

One thing I will do this year is fish through winter, barring miserable conditions. If you aren't fishing by February here you're missing a chance at some good fish.

I know I'll get arguments. But to me downsizing and finesse fishing is just targeting smaller fish. I'm old enough that I don't need to catch a lot of 1 pounders. @A-JayGlide baits also have not worked for me.

Which Spook do you prefer? Super, regular, junior? I caught a 5 pounder this year on the Super Spook Jr. But they've completely ignored my full-size regular Spook (no rattles).

I dislike fluoro and don't really need it. It's braid to mono or straight braid for me.