BigAngus752

I think it's rare that a cover turns out better than the original. The two I can think of off the top of my head were both Michael Jackson songs. Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm Billie Jean - Tyler Rich Runners up: Hurricane - Band of Heathens Black Betty - Spiderbait House of the Rising Sun - Five Finger Death Punch Can't You See - Black Stone Cherry

You just described east central Illinois. Ditto with the maples. Much too early.

The when and where are more important than the retrieve itself. As far as the retrieve goes, you just want it to appear to be a baitfish in distress. Bounce it off stuff. Especially rocks. The when and where are during the most active feeding seasons, which means prespawn and fall. In spring and fall if I can find a windblown bank with rock on it then I have nothing on deck except a lipless and a spinnerbait. I've spent entire days with just a lipless catching 30 plus fish in the fall and I ALWAYS fish the wind. Wind blows the bait, bass follow, and the lipless acts like and injured baitfish. Summer not so much. I will pull them back out again in late October. I've posted pics of 10lb striper I've caught in less than a foot of water on a 1/2oz lipless in November. One of my favorite lures spring/fall.

100% are and we need to try that one also! Thanks

Have you tried Wild Turkey Rare Breed? If you like cinnamon, maple sugar with some spice it's a great value. Gotta find this now. Shiner has several that the wife and I both love. Haven't tried this yet.

Always studying, always evolving = always moving forward. Nice job, brother. That's good stuff.

I've ordered just a sideplate before due to this. It happens. If everything went perfectly every trip what would we have to talk about?

He's a younger fellow that hasn't had to deal with an Amazon error before. Many of us are happy to help him out. That's just how we are on this forum.

Several times I have "donated" an identical lure to someone or, more likely, have tossed someone a small handful of plastics that are working that particular day. If I see someone catching and I keep doing the same thing that isn't working...isn't that the definition of stupidity? I think what your asking is "should the guy that I'm copying be mad?" and the answer to that is, what he chooses is his choice. You be you. If it means pretending to be him for a day then go catch some fish. Big disclaimer, I've never fished a real tournament. Just competitions with friends and I tell them my spots and techniques when we do that so...

Oh yes. There are some cash wells dotting that area.

My in-laws live in Olney, IL which has the largest concentration of albino gray squirrels on the plant. They are pretty proud of it...

Best fishing typo ever.

I'm with the OP. Rods have the most influence on what I "feel" and keeping the fish pinned. I could fish every day with a spinning reel loaded with monofilament if I had all the modern rods.

I'm jumping on the offset worm hook bandwagon. I fish Ol Monsters with 5/0s when I'm setting up for them specifically but I never change from a 4/0 if that's what on there and I have zero problem keeping them pinned. I'm a braid guy but I have to say if you can't keep them on with flouro I think braid is going to make it even worse. I'd try a more parabolic rod if they are jumping off a few seconds after a good hookset.

Congrats on getting your hands on a hard-to-find vehicle that you really wanted! My path is a little different. I'll have a Shelby Mustang sometime in near future (and I already have a 1968 Mustang). Thanks for offsetting my carbon footprint!

I'm surprised at some of the answers because I find a HUGE difference between mono and Yo-Zuri hybrid. Just like all lines, it has it's place. My BCs have either 12lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid or 50-65lb Sufix 832 or the 9 strand Berkley. On BCs I have found Yo-Zuri Hybrid to have less stretch than mono, more than flouro, it's MUCH tougher than mono, is more sensitive and holds stronger knots, it's easier to manage than flouro. I'll never change from it. It allows me to use my preferred style of rod for moving baits. A fast action with more parabolic bend to cast further and keep a fish pinned on trebles better. It just works perfectly for me. Mono is still a great line. I've got 6lb and 8lb on some spinning reels. For me, the hybrid is perfect for moving baits on a baitcaster, but that's all I use it for.

Nope. The opposite. She knows my passion (near obsession) with bass fishing and she promotes it. In 2016 she convinced me to buy a newer, larger, nicer boat than I intended and she is currently encouraging me to move up to an even nicer new boat. I'm definintely not out of control with my spending because I'm just not a "gear guy". My gear serves a purpose and it's all just tools but I do buy stuff beyond true "need" and she doesn't flinch. She wants me to be happy and I want her to be happy. We work toward those goals FIRST. Everything and everyone else comes second (except for the offspring but they are grown and out now).

Intuition isn't some kind of magic or psychic power. It's important to embrace that statement. Intuition is your unconscious processing what you are seeing based on any number of past experiences you've had, patterns that your brain has recognized, even emotional responses. If you are having "intuition" about a spot or technique then take time to stop and analyze WHY you are getting this gut feeling. The more you can define concretely what your unconscious is recognizing the more you will be able to apply your experiential knowledge to finding and catching fish. If you get a gut feeling just stop and figure out what's triggering that gut feeling. Then fish your gut feeling and your results (success or failure) will become another tool in your toolbox the next time you are on the water because it will no longer be a gut feeling, it will be a conscious application of your experience as a fisherman.

Interesting that you asked this right now. Mine just flip flopped three weeks ago. Up until then I was getting up and on the water before the sun was up. I would absolutely slay them with topwater for about 1.5-2hrs and then go home. Loved it. Then suddenly it came to a screeching halt. The water hit it's peak temp and the humidity moved in with no wind to speak of. I switched to evenings and a spinning rod and started catching big ones under stuff and in shade. In a couple hours in the evening for several trips I've caught at least one over 3lbs, sometimes 2 or 3. 11 fish in a few hours with a couple 3+ pounders is a great way to end a work day around my neck of the woods. I just sent my wife a pic of "bass thumb" a few days ago.

You beat me by five minutes!

It is strange. I could tell from the markings that the snake was a juvenile. Those fish are vicious fighters when you hook them. I don't know how, but the only thing I could think is the fish somehow knocked the snake senseless and then couldn't get out of it's jaws. Very weird.

It was a fight to the death, and confirms the old adage, no one wins a fight.

The only non-braid I use on my baitcasters is Yo-Zuri Hybrid 12lb. I tie only the Trilene knot and the Palomar. Excellent line with no knot issues. I did, however, try some 6lb Hybrid on a spining rod once. In two outings it broke at the knot six times and I tried four different knots. Maybe a bad batch? I have used Hybrid as a leader in a pinch and it was definitely not as consistent as having it on a full spool. Perhaps because of less stretch in a few feet of it? I typically use only leader-specific flouro as a leader on braid.

The most important thing to have "confidence" in is location. If you get good at finding bass, you'll catch bass. I have confidence in a large number of lures based on season, weather, time of day, and water clarity. If it's a bright, sunny summer day with water temps in the 80's and no wind then I have ZERO confidence in a shad-colored lipless crankbait. If it's late October and the water temps have dropped to 50 degrees and there's a decent wind blowing then that same lipless is absolutely guaranteed to catch 20 or more LM. Ask about specific conditions and you'll get better answers for confidence baits because the lures change with the conditions.