the reel ess

A good guide will make you feel at ease. I fished with a really good one in So. Florida. I told him he could fish with me if he wanted because it was just us two. But instead he spent two days running the remote control trolling motor and rigging up the next thing he wanted me to try. He did fuss at me for boat flipping a peacock that I caught on a 3 treble hook jerkbait. I told him sorry, but I was not grabbing that fish even if it got off. He needs a net. He wanted to take a pic of every for his social media. That slowed my catching a bit. He did compliment me on not getting a backlash either day and for fishing really hard. He said I was pretty trouble free. I told him I was trying to get every fish I could for the money. And got a 7 lb. largemouth on a live shiner.

I find that a lot of the time the bass that are shallow in summer are small and they have a hard time taking the whole bait. These dinks hang around the weedy edges and pick off small bream. Big bass I've caught on frogs usually have the bait deep inside the mouth. Big bass are decisive. Small bass are more timid and often won't even bite the bait, just sort of slash at it. I did have one frog I couldn't catch a thing with. I missed bite after bite on it no matter what I tried. I finally threw it away and ordered a replacement. I'm partial to Booyah Pad Crashers. They're usually soft enough out of the pack. Trim the legs to about 1.5-2" long.

Most are lacking in time on the water and fishing where there are big fish.

That's sad. I had a black lab we got at 3 years old that was so trained to go after the decoy I couldn't take her. Every time we'd cast she would jump out of the boat. She was such a good girl. I miss that dog.

To me it depends on whether it's a friend or a stranger. Stranger danger! LOL. I have one buddy I like to fish with in his boat.

Flooded timber, east and the channel in the cove to the north.

Do you have any fishing buddies? Either ones with boats or ones to go bank fishing with. I find that I enjoy company more when bank fishing. Honestly, I'd enjoy company kayaking, but no one around here fishes that way but me.

I find jigs get more bites when you target a particular piece of cover. Almost all bites come on the first drop. When I'm dragging deep I usually use a worm or lizard. But if you can get bites on the jig they should be better quality. There is one exception. I use a 1/2 oz. football swing jig with a craw or a lizard with more success deep, especially in cold water.

I went this afternoon and it was pretty hot. But not intolerable. I fished for more than an hour with one dink. Then I cast a T rigged craw to some deeper structure at the mouth of a small cove. I felt the line go limp and reeled up the slack and set the hook solidly. This fish thought it was twice the size it was. When I finally lipped it I saw its bottom jaw or lip was split or broken right in the middle. It was actually dislocated in the middle. I suspect maybe a snapping turtle. That didn't stop it from eating or fighting hard.

I started keeping a grip attached to my scale so I can get a pic, weigh and get her back in. But if I'm fumbling trying to get it together I hold the fish in the water, something easily done from a kayak.

I haven't found the weight at which you can't hold a bass vertically. How else would you weigh it?

You mean set a trap with wine and chocolate?

People see my social media and ask how to catch bigger bass. I tell them they have to fish where bigger bass live. Location matters more than presentation, though that matters too. You can't catch a big bass that isn't there. That said, I'm about to lose access to that spot and I doubt I'll ever reach a double digit unless I move or go on vacation In Central FL, TX or CA. I fished for 40 plus years in a major lake and never caught a bass over 5 lbs. There simply weren't many there.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/rod-reel-setups.html I used this approach for building an arsenal. I have since added a couple combos and a technique specific frog rod. I usually take 6-7 rods with me on the kayak. It has built-in rod holders and I have a crate with 6 more zip tied in.

I prefer darker ones until the sun gets up. Then I prefer lighter colors like bone, frog, roan and firetiger. They all cast the same shadow though. And I very, very rarely catch anything in broad daylight. Once the sun is up most of my topwater bites come from the shadows and edges. The frog is a different thing altogether. They'll attack that thing when the sun is high.

Agreed. And I don't think bass can even see the back of a topwater lure.

I bought a pair of Orvis polarized sunglasses with 1.5X readers because I could no longer see to tie line and was always forgetting my readers. I've had them for about 6 years and they don't have a single scratch. Of course, I only use them for fishing. They were $60. My other pair are Calcuttas. They look expensive but aren't. $20-30. They get the job done. I'm a thrifty fisherman, spending the money where it matters most.

Tastes like pine tar. And I've had "good gin".

And people who sip Scotch whilst paddling their kayaks and fishing.

I like it for drinking straight (shaken) but for making an old fashioned it gets lost. When I can't taste my liquor I might go overboard. If you want to try an old fashioned, Knob Creek rye is great for it. Another full bodied, smooth bourbon I don't think anyone has mentioned is Bulleitt. One of my go-tos.

My local store has it, but they want $47 for it. Robbery!

A friend of mine called me this morning from Florida and said he found Buffalo Trace for $25. Told him to get me two.

It makes a decent old fashioned if you already have it around. I had that this weekend. It's a bargain. You can get the small batch at a good price as well.

If you're going to drink it straight look for Buffalo Trace or something that costs more than $30. Larceny is a steal (puns all intended) at about $28. But I like an old fashioned. That's a bourbon or rye whiskey (I use bourbon), several dashes of bitters a tiny drizzle of simple syrup (you can get those last two at any decent liquor store) poured over a single large ice cube. If you want to stay cheap, I think Jim Beam is smooth and you won't have to feel guilty for cutting it with soda. I'm partial to ginger ale and a lime wedge. I like Maker's but it's a bit overpriced for the taste. If you want to taste some good straight whiskey, not technically bourbon, all those flavored ones are good. There's a pecan one, and bird dog has them in all fruit flavors.

It's so hot right now that I'd rather work.