the reel ess

Well, the idea was to reel them slowly enough to just tic the top of the grass but not so slowly as to be de-grassing the bait all day long. I was able to do so with the Trap and it's not very deep over most of the lake. It could be the retrieve speed was just right.

I've had days where my buddy outfished me using a gold Spot. I was using a gold Rat-L-Trap. The Spot is much deeper gold. This happened more than once before I bought a couple Spots and the disparity disappeared. Anecdotal, maybe, but I feel confidence in the Spot. It could be something else like the number or size of BBs in the Spot. They almost look identical in size and shape. I also tried other color patterns of Trap with very little success while my buddy was killing them.

It's not strictly horror as much as a simply dark story. But I'm digging deep for you. I'm also into gangster and gritty crime/police dramas. I just watched Arkansas on Prime. I recommend it.

The Void VVitch In The Mouth Of Madness Nosferatu-with Willem Dafoe Super Dark Times The Invitation The Endless The Strangers The Ritual Cabin Fever-this is what I was thinking of when I said Cabin In The Woods Paranormal Activity-actually scared me It Comes At Night As Above So Below Open House

I've seen all but Poughkeepsie Tapes. I'll have to check it out.

I get a lot more bites on black/blue craws than any other color unless the water is very clear, which it rarely is here. But I can't seem to buy a bite on black/red, even when I put one on a black/blue jig. As for your own experience, you showed the bass something they liked and would bite, then from their perspective, you changed it on them. It could also be that you wore the school out, they decided feeding time was over or some other unknown factor.

Here are a few can't-miss lures in my bag. I don't always use them. I don't even use all of these because I'm usually trying to target bigger bass. But they flat out catch numbers of bass. Trick Worm, weightless Zoom Finesse Worm or French fry or some other type do-nothing worm. Some people like them on a split shot rig. I usually just do a light weight Carolina rig. Small lizard, same rig. GYCB Hula Grub. The biggest bass I ever hooked (and lost) was on this bait, T-rigged. Senko Spinner, like Rooster Tail, Panther Martin Small Tubes Ned

Probably injured when the tree fell on it. ? JK. If the oxbow flooded recently, that could explain them holding very tight to some cover. I've always wondered how fish hold on in very strong currents. My friends have a small pond that routinely overflows the entire dam, yet they maintain a healthy population of good size bass. The overflowing probably helps with that. The water temp is pretty warm. Could be there's some parasite or bacteria affecting them. All kinds of nasty things thrive in warm water. A buddy of mine told me he caught some crappie that had eggs last week. It's very warm here and so is the water temp. We're in the stable dog days pattern. On this body of water, we have never observed the typical crappie spawn, where they come shallow in spring to get frisky. Maybe the bass do it differently there.

Here are a few sleepers I enjoyed that you've probably already seen: Cabin In The Woods Dead Silent Trick Or Treat (1986) Starry Eyes - Particularly disturbing Something Wicked This Way Comes The Blackcoat's Daughter Suspiria redux - The original was just too Euro-hispter for me. Heredity Midsommar - If you've seen heredity, you've really seen Midsommar as well. As others occur to me, I'll post them. I like horror and realize it's a genre that dips into B film territory. So I make exceptions for B actors if the plot is good and the ending is not cheesy. Castle Rock series on Hulu is good. Probably the best arrangement of King's material I've seen. Bates Motel is a good series as well. If you've seen these you are truly into the deep cuts and I probably can't help you. In that case, give me some recommendations. I like suspense a little more than gore. But some gore is a necessity for some films.

Hit this guy up in the comments of his latest video. He always responds and he can probably help you out. Seems like a super nice guy. His video content is great as well. https://www.youtube.com/c/CreekFishingAdventures/community

I always try to take the eyeball size into account. Big fish have "bugeyes". You're not long-arming it. I'm guessing high 5 lb range. Pond fish can be older than their size indicates because there are seasons of limited food. A pond fish that reaches that size can eat whatever it wants, including other bass.

Happy Birthday my man!

WP's can be hit or miss. Poppers get more bites on average for me.

So, naturally, I wanted to get out and do some fishing this morning. You only get one 50th birthday, after all. I went to my favorite small lake and it started off slow. I was about 1/3 of the way around the lake and finally got a pounder under some overhanging trees with the black/blue jig and craw. About 20 minutes later I skipped the jig way under some trees. The cast was a thing of beauty, not my usual noisy entry. I started to retrieve and the bass yanked the jig back. I set the hook and the bass immediately got as entangled as it could. I had to go get it, guerilla style. I attached a pic of the jungle I had to go get it from. I could see the bass was right at the surface, pinned against limbs. I disengaged the spool and let out a little line as I paddled into the brush. I grabbed the bass and pushed back out with the paddle. I had to cut the line because there was no way I was getting that jig through all those limbs. I weighed it. 7.2 lbs. I took pics and released it. It took me 10 minutes to get my jig retied because the eye on this Seibert jig is tiny! The fish had wrecked my 20# mono leader. And my hands were unsteady. I paddled on around for about 30 minutes and caught another nice fish on a Chug Bug. 5.4 lbs. And this fish didn't suck the bait in like most big bass do with towaters. It annihilated my Bug with a huge splash. It was a better fight than the 7 pounder because it was on a treble lure (looser drag) and out in the open. I ended up with another 2 pounder on the frog and several 1 pounders on a finesse C rig with a small lizard and spinnerbait, 7 fish total. It was a great morning. Happy Birthday to Me!

Congrats! You're "hooked". Topwaters are the best. Before I ever caught a bass on a topwater I read someone saying they'd rather catch 2 on topwater than 4 by other techniques. I understand. Get yourself some Pop R's and Chug Bugs. They love those as well.

I'm looking forward to the day when blueback herring have been introduced into every fishery I go to. It's my understanding that any tank with corners will kill shad or allow them to kill themselves. And the circle where the flat bottom meets the sides is enough of a corner for them to die.

Generally, and this is just my experience, it seems to have a similar effect as a spring pressure front moving through. You're in a stable weather pattern, fish are biting OK, and along comes a major low pressure. Fish will usually do a lot better in front of it than behind it. You get those bluebird skies and the temps and humidity drop. You think it's great weather. It's a welcome relief. But the fish don't respond the same. Not that there are any absolutes. They get over summer fronts better than spring fronts.

I still have a few off their discount rack back in the day. I'm pretty sure they were made by YUM. Both have a Fort Smith, AR address on the bag.

I've seen more fish with injuries this year than normal. Those marks might still be from a bird's talons and it's just healing up. The first bass I caught over 5 lbs. was missing an eye and had bleeding sores all over it. My dad chastised me when I tossed it back. I said "It's too ugly to have mounted. And did you want to eat it?"

I use a 1/2 oz. Arky jig as my standard. On my jig reel I have 50# braid so I can yank good fish out of wood cover. I use it on a H-F jig rod. Watch Gerald Swindle's videos on jig fishing. When you set the hook on a jig fish, you have your drag already almost cinched down and you just crank the fish to you. Big fish will give you a good fight anyway. I made the mistake of playing them like I was using a worm and lost a few before I got the hang of it. The technique calls for heavy tackle.

I meant to say $100 rod. My most expensive outfit would cost you $260 if you bought it new retail. But I bought that rod used for $50 from a friend and put a nice new reel on it. So I have $180 in that combo and another I have $200 in. All my other ones are decent reels and lower priced rods. When I was on a budget I spent where it mattered most and skimped where I could. Now those old Lightning Rods just won't wear out so I keep using them. Now that I could afford about whatever combos I want within reason, I still take cost effectiveness into consideration. I've been shown up by people with much cheaper stuff than mine.

LOL. Well, they're using better equipment than me. To me a $100 rid is high end.

Pros have better equipment than most of us. But the spool needs to be loose and you control it with your thumb. The pitch is way easier than the skip. I don't use the underhanded pitch much at all anymore since I kayak fish almost exclusively. Just keep in mind, making noise upon entry is better than not getting to the desired spot. Rod length might depend on how tall you are. Since you want to swing the bait parallel to the water, a long rod would not help a short guy. My pitching stick is 6'10" and feels just right to me.

Same. I have lost many fish on one of my spinning combos with braid because I insisted on using it for Pop Rs. The line has no forgiveness. I fished with a FL guide who used all braid and I asked him about that. He said he thought I was right but he could not afford to lose the number of baits he would taking people out almost every day. So I lost a big one that day because I was not used to the setup. If I were to go back I'd take my own topwater combo.

Last time at my honey hole I almost zeroed. I lost one on the frog and got one on a jig near the landing where I take out. So I decided to go to my buddy's dink factory pond today for some sure action. I ended up with probably 13 total. I could catch more there, but I do what I like and try new techniques out there. I tried a custom 1/4 gold shiner grass jig made for me by @cadman for the first time. I put about a 4" Keitech gold paddle tail swimbait on it. The fish were chomping it. I'd just reel it slowly over logs and stumps and they would grab it and hold on. It was actually easier than detecting a regular jig bite. I'm "hooked".