Bird

October in general is a great month for fishing but a HOT September has slowed the aggression here in VA........I'm thinking that'll just extend fishing season. Lol

I bought 1 high end quantum because of KVD......wasn't long before I was watching Bill Dance again. Lol Smart move Kevin.

We use the GPS, works fantastic. But we hit a stump yesterday do to low water, lake was down 3ft. Sad part was....the water was clear, simply wasn't paying attention.

For myself, I have an outside wood boiler and burn about 8 cords per year. Yes Red oak is easy stuff to work with.

Rod to short ? Action to heavy ? Perhaps it's sunfish being a nag.

I'm either deer hunting or cutting wood......but with an eye on spring bass fishing. Lol

Everyday is a good day when your out there. I'm retired and pay no attention to calendar's, cold fronts, heat waves, boat traffic.....I just go.

I have several variations of the chatterbait and much prefer the black/blue with painted blade but it falls well short of the spinnerbait for overall effectiveness......if that's what your asking. Chatterbait will land some good fish though.

Well that certainly sucks. I have always " like said " just pointed my rod tip to the snag, tighten drag and yank.....has always broken the line at hook. Don't ask me how many rods I've broken over the years though from other careless acts.

What I throw and really like.

They all pull my drag in the 5+ range ?

I throw the Zman on fairly light tackle and small craw, works great. I throw Ned everytime I'm in clear water, fun way to fish.

Yes safety first. I was taught as a child to treat every gun as if it was loaded before proceeding.

I fish from both, kayak and 18 ft bass boat. I'm much more accurate with my casting standing on a solid deck. As far as scaring the fish ? Not really an issue. I often vertical fish " drop shot " in bath clear water , only 8-10 ft in a blaze orange kayak.....I watch the bass take the bait. Your friend sticks with a very proven method to consistently catch bass, texas rigged plastics. I get bored and like to rip a few baits. Lol

Good write up and good fish ?

I happen to agree......Quantum ? Eh

Been hunting for exactly 51 yrs and agree with your advice.

This must be an old guy thread.....good I feel at home. Maybe I'm simply comparing braid to substandard mono but the difference is substantial, give me braid. MUCH better hook set, MUCH further cast , MUCH better sensitivity and better bait action. Polamar knot. My only complaint is the need " maybe peer pressure " for a floro leader in clear water which now gives you a weak link with the prevalent downfalls of floro....STRETCH.

That's a good day anywhere.

Use it like you would a spinnerbait then experiment from there......big fish bait.

7' med is very versatile, good advice. I always struggle with adding a weak link to my braid " floro" but gin clear water requires it for slow working baits......i have several reels rigged 15#braid to 8# floro. Like said, if your dealing with stained water then run straight braid as 15# braid is 6# mono diameter I believe.

I agree, marked Brittle off my list years ago.....terrible fishery.

I fish quite a few lakes that have warning signs prohibiting the use of live bait due to the introduction of unwanted guests. As kids, we'd dump our bucket of mad toms in the lake and now you have a lake full of mud cats.

I can tell you my personal favorites.....doesn't qualify as best. 1. Nose hooked flukes/assassins 2. Roboworms....drop shot, weightless, texas. 3. White spinnerbait in double gold willow. 4. Top water hard plastic jerk baits.....very aggressive is key for me. 5. Ned rigged craws, mostly greens. At dawn I may start with buzzbaits/Spooks.

For me it's kinda like....do I buy a Ford, Chevy or Dodge truck. I have Lews, Pflueger , Shimano and even a Mitchell 300.....years of dependability. Oh and my bait casters are all Abu Garcia's. The ones I didn't mention I've experienced premature failures, all I'll say.