CharlieTN

At Walmart and elsewhere, in the section where they sell hair bands, they have these really small, clear, bands that are used for holding braids. They’re less than the diamater of a dime. Wrapped a few times around I bet they would hold very well and are extremely cheap.

1st smallmouth was over 30 years ago with a Wee-r-spot my grandfather found snagged on a cable holding a boat dock. 1st largemouth was a couple of weeks ago with a Berkley Havoc Pit Boss in green pumpkin/purple flake on a 4/0 EWG fished on a diy jig rig. I hope it’s not 30 years before I catch my next one. LOL

Congratulations to you both. May your marriage always be blessed and may you learn to lean on one another through the hard times.

As an outsider coming in to bass fishing from the catfishing world I wonder why more people don’t use the fish grippers. I have a set of the while Rapala ones and I’ve picked up 33lb catfish with it. Works great, especially if the fish flops some more. One other thing they’re great for is weighing a fish. I did watch a video where Gene Jenson used a smaller set to clip into a bass then place it in the water to revive it some while he got set to take come pictures. Looked like a great use. He was on a kayak and had the grippers tied to the kayak. I would think, especially for dealing with treble hooks that it would make it a lot safer and easier to get them unhooked and back in the water or in the livewell. Just thinking through this.

I live on Watts Bar and they’ve kept it at winter level by dumping water as fast as they can. One issue that complicates maters is that the ground is absolutely saturated so any rainfall has nowhere to go but to run off. I don’t doubt a bit that Watts Bar will be raised to close to normal summer level pretty quickly by this weekend. It is certainly going to be interesting to say the least. If you have seen any flooding in the past in a particular area, it WILL BE flooded again by the end of this weekend. Everyone stay safe and slow down driving.

Shhhh, don’t tell my wife. She gave me that look when I explained why I needed 6 heavy catfish rods. Now I’m talking Baitcasters, lures, line, etc.

Thanks. I’m certainly hoping so.

They are both marine batteries, so that’s a good start. I’ll have to check the amperage and see how close they are together. Thanks for the advice. This is all new to me.

I’m adding a 24v trolling motor to my pontoon boat. My plan is to run two 12v batteries instead of a single 24v. How crucial is it that the two batteries are identical? I have two marine batteries that appear to be good and charge up well but they’re different brands. Thanks in advance for answers to what is likely a dumb question.

Oh yeah, I love the simplicity. I had to reattach the starter out on the lake one time and first summer I had it I had to jump it off of the solenoid. I’ll run her till she falls apart and duct tape won’t hold her together. The bait monkey already has me. Went back today and bought two more packs of the Pit Boss in the green pumpkin/purple flake. It is my one and only confidence bait. LOL

It does seem like a pretty good lake. I’ve been catfishing from my pontoon last summer and plan to do that a bunch more this year but I dont’ venture very far since the motor is a 1973 Johnson. Hoping to put a trolling motor on the boat this year and then I’ll be able to target bass, crappie, and such a whole lot more.

Thanks everyone. I honestly didn’t expect to catch anything and was more playing than anything. There are dead shad everywhere along the banks so i know that all the fish have been gorging themselves. I have been reading a lot and watching tones of videos so I expected the bight to be subtle and it certainly was. I would have sworn it was just bumping into some rocks. On a side note, I really like the action of the jig rig (or Jika Rig). This is the rig I was fishing. 4/0 EWG with a 3/8oz finesse sinker rigged as a jig Rig (Jika Rig).

Caught my first largemouth today off of a dock in roughly 8’ of water. Watts Bar Lake here in TN is still at winter levels but I had some time to kill while visiting with a member of my church who lives on the lake. Mainly I wanted to play with a new to me Baitcaster (Abu Garcia Black Max3 with 12lb mono) and some lures I had picked up. Started with a red/craw pattern lipless crankbait, then went to a square bill in the same color. Next was a white spinner. Finally I tied on a jig rig with the Pit Boss in green pumpkin with purple flake. On about the third cast I thought I felt a couple of bumps but wasn’t sure if it was rocks or what. Cast back out to the same area and again felt the bumps so I paused for a moment. As soon as I paused my slow retrieve the line headed to my left so I set the hook. I was super excited. My first largemouth bass. Hope to catch many more. I’m not sure on the weight but figured maybe 1-1 1/2 lbs or so.

Actually I’ll be doing a bit of both. I have a pontoon and once I get a trolling motor on it I’ll be fishing for bass more from it. For now, I use it to mostly catfish out of.

When I used to shoot competively some we used to say “You can’t miss fast enough to win.” I guess the same would apply here. Accuracy first, then distance.