BigAngus752

I'm the guy that holds the door open for anyone and helps strangers at every opportunity. I say you are good to fish that tournament or not. He opened his mouth. End of story. Don't want to share? Don't talk about fish club. I will add that I would still view it as "his" spot because he found it first. If I got there first during a tournament and he arrived I would immediately vacate. Otherwise, it is your spot now.

You out fished 68 pro anglers! Way to go!

These you get, my friend! Epic footballs!

Let me point something out... 1. We have all watched the shows and we have seen pro fishermen get skunked repeatedly. 2. (Nearly) everyone on this forum gets skunked. 3. @A-Jay never gets skunked. Robot? Alien? A.I.? Does A-Jay really exist? Or if he was a human at one time what kind of cyborg fishing machine has replaced him? I knew the threat would come from the north, I just didn't know it would arrive in a Lund.

At least you know what you were (or weren't) doing. There's a lot to be said for just fishing the way you like to fish and enjoying your day. Heck, you were catching fish and you had success with a new technique! I'm calling that a good day on the water!

@Ashboom and @Jar11591 you might take a look at the sale thread. Someone just posted about a 15-20% sale at a site. I got on and found the Duckett Jacob Wheeler rod I mentioned with a buy one get one. I've got two new ones on the way.

Sorry, it's Duckett. I bought a Duckett Terex years ago. I found that it was perfect for those techniques and I intended to buy a couple more...but of course they stopped making them. I called Duckett and one of their guys asked me to describe what I wanted in a rod for this purpose. I did and he said, "That is almost word for word what Jacob Wheeler told us he wanted". I bought one of the MH/MF and it's just perfect. I will pick up a couple more.

^^^100%^^^ Jacob Wheeler is not my favorite fisherman, but his 7'3" MH/MF is the most perfect spinnerbait/vibrating jig rods I've ever held in my hand. I would not fish a swim jig with that rod but the thread shows that opinions vary. I

I wanted a Garmin trolling motor. It had the features I preferred. My boat mechanic is a factory Minn Kota service center. There is no such thing for Garmin or Lowrance trolling motors. He sold me an Ultrex for the same price that they cost on the internet or any store you go to. It's a fixed price. He installed it for free to make up for the fact that he can't discount the price. If my Ultrex ever has a problem I just take the boat to my boat mechanic. Had I bought a Garmin or Lowrance and had a problem I would have to take it off the boat myself, box it up, and ship it somewhere. You can't tell me that Garmin or Lowrance has better customer service than a guy that I trust with my all of my boat maintenance and repairs taking care of the problem for me.

I never get tired of hearing them at night!

I love it when they start chasing crankbaits in a foot of water in the fall. Very angry fish.

Here is what I experienced the last two weeks. Small lake with extremely shallow north end where the bass spawn, deeper south end. Two weeks ago the shallow end had reached 63-64 degrees. Bass were not on beds but I was having a great time pulling in big bass hunkered down NEAR the spawning beds. Then an extreme cold front hit with multiple nights at about 32 degrees. Went out again and water temps had dropped 6-8 degrees in the same location I had been catching. The fish were no where to be found. I waited a few days for a sunny day (we are still having cold-ish nights). I went out and found the shallow north end spawning area was still at about 57 degrees (5-6 degrees lower than it had been). Had another bass guy flag me down and tell me that he had only caught one bass and we discussed the cold front slamming the water temps. I had no luck in the shallow north end. It should have been warming up with several bright, sunny days but it hadn't warmed enough to get the fish active. So, I did the exact opposite of what I should be doing on that lake in late April. I went all the way down to the south (deeper) end. Guess what? The surface water temps were still at 62-63 degrees. It takes a LONGER amount of time for the DEEPER end of the lake to warm up, AND the same to COOL DOWN. I started throwing into the thickest bank cover I could find with a 1/2oz jig and then a finesse craw T-rigged on a 3/0 hook and a 1/8 oz tungsten weight. I caught 11 bass in 2 hours. Historically this little lake would be the dead sea on the south (deep) end at the end of April, but with the screwy weather it became the only active area. Moral of the long story: After a bad cold front during pre-spawn try where they are supposed to be using what they should be eating. If that doesn't work, look for the deeper water for warmer water.

Try a Rooster Tail inline spinner. It's a "finesse"-sized moving bait that puts out a little thump for their lateral line, it's harder for them to get a good look at, and it can catch panfish if that's what's actually hitting you.

Yup! Have a 1.75 under the counter. It's fantastic for mixing with Coke Zero. It's not an unpleasant sipper, but you can't expect a lot at that price point. For a straight sipper close to that price I like the Old Forester 100 bourbon ($27). If you like rye, the Old Forester Rye 100 is excellent for $27. I don't consider the Wild Turkey 101 something I would just drink neat, but for just a bit more you can get Four Roses Small Batch ($34 at Walmart) and that is an excellent sipping bourbon.

Finally! At last we are having that "tough conversation" about extension cords! Great video and great topic. I have a cabinet full of extension cords. My boat has it's own 25ft 12GA. My heavy draw power tools (table saw, pancake compressor, circular saw) all get 50ft 12GA. You're absolutely right, people grab the "cheap" cord, but you get the power you pay for. You can overheat your charger or power tools if you aren't delivering enough amps.

This guy's going to jail for dressing a tuna up like a largemouth.

The ones that fly at your face are male and they have no stingers. I smack them with my palm straight down on the ground and step on them. The females have stingers but they rarely leave the hole they ate in your wood so I spray them. I have cedar siding. Not a happy combo.

Looks like we are all voting...again. I use two lines on baitcasters, Sufix 832 and 12lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid. I've tried many different lines and combinations. I settled on these and they have never failed me. I'm sure many people on here can say the same about the lines they prefer.

Welcome, central IL here. Great to have some more from Illinois!

I'm going to tell you something that makes me a little uncomfortable...my wife wants to move in with you. Just an amazing spread you've got going there, my friend. Beautiful.

Excuse me while I whip this out...

Alberto! Not to be contrary but....well...Alberto.

Fishing in the middle of the state has been a struggle so far because of the weird weather but this morning I saw the first identifiable spring pattern of the year. Water temps were 65-67. I checked all of my marked beds and there weren't fish on them. I did, however, find them in the area of the beds. Caught them in current breaks (strong wind) and cruising the banks dirt shallow looking for food near spawning spots. Went out for 2.5hrs, caught 9, the top five weighed 16-12oz and the biggest was this 4-12. Not a great pic because she was bleeding on my carpet. Feeling a little better about spring now. Unfortunately the weather the next two days is going to put a complete stop to the bite for at least as short while.

2.5hrs out this morning. 9 bass and this was the best of the bunch at 4-12. This is the best pic I could get of her because she was bleeding. Finally seeing identifiable spring patterns around here. The weird weather had the fish all confused.

Social media has "taught" people that you can (and SHOULD) become enraged and vent your anger on strangers in the most hateful way with total anonymity and NO CONSEQUENCES of any kind. It's becoming prevalent now in face to face contact in our society. This is keeping all of us from treating each other with love and respect. We must think of others before ourselves. It's our only hope.