Sphynx

That's a great counter point to the school of thought that goes "heavy as you can get away with" and I'm glad you brought that up, I just ordered a whole bunch of different lines over the Black Friday sales and have intended to be more deliberate in which line I use when and why, thanks for the tip.

Lol, fair point, I rarely get a crack at fishing more than a few hours a day, during the summer I get to fish all day every other Sunday, but the rest of the two week cycle is a couple of hours after work, so 45 minutes can be a sizable chunk of my available time, still though, it does give me plenty of time to consider conditions, and what to throw.

@Bluebasser86 is right on this one in my experience, with this caveat, you aren't going to get away with the same level of sloppiness you can get away with during the fall and spring, your going to have to be throwing the right sorts of baits into the exact right places, and you probably aren't getting away with sloppy entry as often either, you bomb a Texas rig out there like an artillery shell you'll probably have already blown a spot, spring and fall are EZ mode for bank anglers, summer and winter are not, and the success in some cases will depend on how big your water body is, if you can't reach the whole body you might have to target a much lower number of fish than other times because you just can't get to the deep fish, also remember to respect the elements, they will pooch a day of fishing really fast.

The one big benefit I can see for holding any large, well funded events out here is that it might convince some of the larger tackle retailers to carry a higher percentage of bass related tackle as opposed to the usual trout/salmon/steelhead stuff that dominates the areas out here, whether or not that is a likely enough effect to offset the negative effects of those sorts of events I will let others judge for themselves

Nice double digit, all those long hours, days weeks months and years asking yourself "What the heck am I doing with my life" tend to feel awful justified when you get one like that huh?

If you say so, putz! LOL!

Found a great deal on a pile of Biospawn soft plastics and I can't complain, the VileCraw has been a producer for me this year, haven't really fished anywhere needing the VileBug yet, but I'd be shocked indeed if it didn't produce too, in the past I have used Speed Craws, Rage Craws, and probably others I'm not thinking about, I really like the Paca Chunks for jig trailers, and the bass seem to like them pretty well also.

Biggest LM was a prespawn fish, March if memory serves, largest SM was in September this year..I call it my birthday fish lol...as far as generally speaking, bigger fish in and around spawning periods, and closer to winter, after they've been feeding up for the bad weather seasons, numbers usually peak post spawn and again right after summer, I usually figure out the transitions are here when it goes from daily grind to EZ mode, usually will last a couple of weeks then I gotta go figure out the new patterns again.

Please tell me you've named him Catfish Hunter...

Well, there are both, and you will miss fish, just part of the game, not a person on this board, or that fishes for bass who doesn't miss bites on occasion, the idea is just to minimize how often it happens, and that you'll pick up as you go.

Bass can hit the line a lot like a crappie or a bream, same basic idea with the series of Morse code style taps, or they can try to rip the rod out of your hand and leave no doubt at all, if something is trying to pull your rod away from you, it's a really good chance it's a fish lol, if your line is moving and you didn't do anything to make it move, it's a fish, if you move your line and you feel it shake like a dog with a chew toy, it's a fish, really a bass isn't much different than a crappie or a bream, just a little bit bigger, usually...

Other than the obvious "I wish I had started out throwing what eventually ended up working" which hardly counts as a productive review, I guess spending more time at it is my biggest one, I tend to drift off and just enjoy the outdoors while I'm fishing, I take breaks and have a pipe and just soak it all up and suddenly 45 minutes of fishing time is gone, not the world's worst sin by any means, but one I am certain is costing me fish, I also would like to continue refining he selection of gear I take on bank trips, and have a few techniques that I want to get better with, next year is going to be the walking bait for topwater, I always seem to overlook them and I want that to change, for a moving bait I want to start fishing a jerkbait and swim jig more often, and this will be the year I want to really get the drop shot figured out.

Replacing the adrenaline fix you got used to having on tap is a very, very common thing for vets man, it can take some very unusual or unexpected forms, sure lots of guys get into skydiving, or base jumping, bull riding or whatever, some of us find things that are a bit less physically demanding for obvious reasons, it also isn't likely helping that nearly every unit I ever served in absolutely encouraged us to hate failure above almost anything else, thing is, with only 3 or 4 years in this thing, you aren't failing, it's no different than learning any other skill, repetition, and you've only had 3 or 4 of any given season to figure them out, and I'd bet none have been the same, and if your like most of us you fish different water bodies too, and any time you introduce a new element, there is a learning curve, it'll get shorter over time, but if the very best bass fisherman can whiff on a given day, after dedicating decades to this pursuit, it is only logical that you'll have to pay your dues too, the only way you fail at bass fishing is if you don't make the effort to learn something each time you go, occasionally that something is what doesn't work, I think I can safely say I have improved more as a fisherman on any day I came up empty than on any day I caught fish reliably, and sometimes I actually look forward to days where I skunk, wouldn't want things too easy or I'd lose interest.

Coming from a guy who did 27 months in Afghanistan in a line platoon and has seen just what PTSD can do to people close to me, just remember that you are never alone, and somebody out there does care, even if it's just some idiot from the fishing forum. As far as your bank fishing difficulties, I like to break down the water into 3 basic levels, you have your top, your bottom, and everything in between. I will usually bring something to cover all three of those levels based on the time of year, frog summer, walking bait or popper in the spring, lipless in the winter, squarebill in the fall, etc, in addition I bring a finesse option of some sort, usually a ned rig, or finesse jigs, something like that, and I simplify my colors to 2 choices, clear water, and anything else, usually this means some kind of green pumpkin/natural color, and something black and blue/bold color, I don't take a skunk very often, may not always catch monsters, but I catch fish most of the time, don't rush to pitch something in the water when you show up, look for the low hanging fruit, obvious places fish hang out, and catch a "warmup" fish, it's amazing how much better a day is when you get the skunk off the boat/bank with you, even if it's just the one fish, might also help to set time limits, 30 minutes on a topwater, if nothing is biting try something else, 30 minutes etc, you stay anywhere more than an hour or so and haven't got bit, change it up, grab your searchbait of choice and run and gun until you get bit, I'm willing to bet either a soft plastic swimbait or a lipless would serve you fantastically this time of year, whichever you feel most comfortable throwing in a new pond, nothing wrong with putting it down and tossing a ned rig at a lay down, rock pile, or other no brainer spot as you pass either, the high percentage spots are nearly always worth the effort, that is why they are high percentage spots after all.

That would take time away from fishing, and is not likely a decision I would make.

If he smokes a pipe he's alright in my book, lord knows there are few enough of us who enjoy them for brown leaf left in Louisiana, though I daresay those who enjoy a very different color leaf are abundant. Can't say I've ever had any fishing related activity, but it is generally agreed that grandfather keeps a watchful eye on the family homestead, the smell of toast, and of either Sir Walter Raleigh or Half and Half pipe tobacco are smelled several times a week, and whenever one does not return his tools to the proper place there is an inevitable feeling that you have been a disappointment to the families patriarch which will settle over the offending party, personally I find the presence comforting, and I often drop by to smoke a pipe with grandpa and to chat about life, I have found many times in the quiet of the basement with a pipe and his company that many of life's difficulties seem to become less complicated, I do not generally fear ghosts, spirits or the other unexplained mysteries of life, some of these things it is my lot to discover, the good lord will be certain to leave productive work for those who come after me.

I think it's magic, the ordinary, every day sort of magic which makes it worth exploring that which is unexplained.

The Jig is my very first confidence bait in bass fishing, I remember my first jig fish like it was yesterday, and with the obvious exception of a terminal tackle box, my jig box NEVER stays behind, and any time I get into a pickle and can't figure out the fish, it'll be what I tie on, I have a preference for the 6th Sense Divine Hybrid jig in either Black and Blue, PB & Smoke, or one of the green pumpkin with blue accents in it in the 3/4oz size...you can hop it, drag it, swim it, and catch fish from Alabama to Washington state, I don't consider myself an expert at all, just a guy who loves to throw a jig, and finding ways to get a softer entry further from the bank is my current project, it can be very challenging I am finding, my jig rod is a 7'3" MHF St. Croix Mojo Bass paired with a 7.3:1 Shimano Curado K, I prefer to use a 30lb braid to a 12lb mono leader. There is plenty of room for finesse jigs, bladed jigs, dedicated swim jigs, and football heads, but that Divine Hybrid is my comfort zone for sure.

I think your best indicator of a wintering area will be getting bit, but once you do, be extra thorough in the area, I don't know what constitutes finesse fishing in the world of live bait, but it's the sort of situation where ned rigs, drop shots, mojo rigs, finesse jigs etc thrive...might even get a jerkbait or crankbait to work, but I usually have best success with the spinning gear in cold water, perhaps isn't the worlds most fun way to get them for folks who enjoy power fishing techniques, but it is undeniably effective.

Boy ain't that the truth...and we all thought it was us going after the fish...LOL

I have never once felt fear of a wild critter, they play by very predictable rules and in 99.9% of incidents that result in some sort of harm being done to a person by a critter, the person was doing something to either threaten said critter, or make itself look like a convenient meal for them, don't do those things and they will live and let live...you go to downtown (insert major city here) you will get no such predictability from the addicts and other low quality examples of humans which predate upon their own species in one way or another, humans are far more dangerous to other humans than any critters. As to overestimating sizes on fish, or game animals, one of the difficulties is the subjective nature of the comparison, "I saw the biggest bass of my life yesterday!" is a thing that two guys can say about two completely different sized fish, and both are telling the truth, it is for exactly this reason that scales were invented, so that everybody has an objective point of reference from which to base things off of.

Jerkbaits are one category of bait where I truly feel that buying the right tool for the job makes a huge difference, trying to save a buck is going to cost you big time, I consider that there are exactly 2 kinds of jerkbaits, those which work correctly, and those that don't, unfortunately a lot of the ones in the first camp are the expensive ones, just the way it is with some baits though.

Put me in the "one size does not fit all" camp on this, I have some expensive baits, whopper ploppers, Vision 110's, Lobina Rico's, to name a few, these baits are great, they do exactly what I want them to do, but then there's things like the Rebel Pop R, the Cotton Cordell Super Spot, Walmart $1 spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and all kinds of cheap soft plastics that get the job done just as well. I believe this is a case of I like to buy what I know catches fish, and price is a secondary consideration for me, that said, if I can get away with buying a less expensive version of something, or can get away using it instead of an expensive one (particularly in high risk of loss situations) I usually do, I'd much rather throw a Rapala Ripstop or Strike King KVD jerkbait into unknown waters than a Vision 110 for example, but if that doesn't work I have no objection to throwing whatever ends up getting bit

I have the unfortunate circumstance of having whatever weather happens to be wherever I am sent, I have spent Christmas fishing private ponds in Alabama, and Florida to being stuck near Duluth, and northern Wisconsin, from Oregon, and Washington to Virginia and the Carolinas, and everything in between. Some places are great fishing destinations year round, others it's a 3 season sport, if I had my way about things, it'd be a year round thing every year. I think spending a full late spring to early fall someplace like deep southeast or gulf coast Texas, southern Louisiana/Mississippi or Alabama might change your mind on that, the midwest gets hot don't get me wrong, but after having owned a home in Louisiana and having lived in Texas, and having worked many summers in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas I can absolutely say with confidence that overall, the midwest summer is far, far more enjoyable than the southern article.