BrianMDTX

It’s now almost November. The registration numbers are still holding good as new. Absolutely perfect. That was $$ well spent The decal? It’s on, but I still have to press down on the decal and tape every now and then. Whatever adhesive they use on the decal, and the decal material itself, is different than the numbers.

Any pics of it folded?

@Swamp Girl I haven’t used that bait in a long time. I was going to put on a Zoom Trick Magnum but grabbed those by accident and wow! They just loved it today.

Summer and half of October was brutal. Hot, humid, not much action. But it has been heating up! Out for a few hours this morning. Caught 7, lost two. Started with a Zara Spook. Nothing. Used two different jigs (a 1/4 and a 3/8 oz). and the A-Jay Special. Nothing. Tried a Ned (not my favorite bait). Also nothing. Tried a squarebill (also noth…you get the picture). Cut off the squarebill and put on a 1/8 oz. bullet weight, a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG and a Zoom Z-Craw in California 420. And that’s what they wanted. Most were 1-1/2 to 2 lbs., but one was over 4 lbs. I was using a Daiwa Aird-X MHF (which IMO feels more like a MF or maybe a MHMF) and a Garcia Black Max with 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid. It’s not a top-shelf rig but it handled those bass without a hitch. Fun day! They are really smashing baitfish in the shallows. Right on the bank. I caught the last 5 by casting to where they were actively feeding. The big gal absolutely smashed it!

True. But Baltimore has a history of playing well on the road in the postseason. Keaton Mitchell is back to practicing. Highly doubtful he plays against Cleveland, and perhaps the Bengals as well. But if he returns to form and is healthy, he may be ready for the first game against the Steelers. A backfield with Lamar, Henry, Hill and Mitchell will be unreal. Imagine incorporating the wishbone with that lineup, with 300 lb. Ricard as FB.

Maybe a strange question. I know many love to cast baits far, either to reach an inaccessible area or to cover more water on a given cast. But when is far “too far”? I would believe it likely depends on the bait, such as, a crankbait is likely less of an issue on a far cast then a Texas rig. But is there a limit to where your chances of a successful hook-up suffers on almost any bait depending on distance?

I attribute that to A- a new DC and B- the OC was still figuring out how best to incorporate Henry into the offense. And C- the Ravens basically sat all their starters in the preseason so the first two games were essentially preseason games, so-to-speak. The DC still has problems to solve. The offense has solved them. The past OPOW winners over the last 4 weeks have been Henry-Jackson-Henry-Jackson. It’s likely to be one or the other this week against the Browns.

56…and not a wheelbarrow of dinks, either. That one has a head like a tank! When it’s on, walkin’ the dog is a fun way to catch bass.

I’d say Welcome to Texas, but you’ve been here a lot longer than me. So I’ll say Welcome to BR!

Reading this made me inspect my baitcasters. Ugh. This is my Daiwa Fuego FGCT100XS on my Kistler Helium TCJ: It’s definitely cracked. I think it’s almost two years old. I bought it when I bought the rod in January 2023. It operates normal at the moment, but I will need to have a new clutch bar installed soon. Darn.

If the Ravens can figure out what’s happened to their defense, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in February. Buck and Aikman were questioning why Henry had so few carries and yards in the first half against the Bucs, and the next thing you know, he off for 81 yards. He’s on a pace to go over 2,000 yards this season, with way less carries than he did previously with the Titans. When Henry has been in the backfield, you knew he was getting the ball, and still was almost unstoppable. This year, he’s sharing a backfield with a 300 lb. FB and a QB who is a threat to break off a huge run at any time. Who does the defense queue on? If Henry, you free up Jackson to throw or take off. If Jackson, you risk Henry taking it to the house. This offense is potent. Starting off 10-0 in the hole, they scored 34 unanswered points and the 41-31 final doesn’t tell the whole story. The Bucs are a good team and the Ravens scored on them at will.

No electronics so always pre-rigged lol. I can only bring five rigs. Normally 4 baitcasters and one spinning. The spinning is either a wacky rig or a jerkbait. The baitcasters are a topwater, a jig, a squarebill and a Texas rig. If no topwater bite, I’ll change that to a chatterbait or something else. I like to hit the water ready to go. Lately though, I’ve had a jig and that A-Jay Special rigged and ready to go. It’s starting to become a go-to every trip. It’s a jig, a swim jig and a Texas rig depending on how it’s fished. With that skirt and a Rage Craw it’s got serious action and it’s as snag-free can be. That is one great bait.

@throttleplate I see you 🤣. It wasn’t funny. Actually, it was hilarious. I had to look like such a doofus standing there, hands on hips, watching an empty boat just float away. But, I am proud of my casting ability! 🤣

Decided to head out real early this morning. I was on the water when still dark. About 3/4 of the pond is covered with windblown algae and pine needles, making topwater difficult. The spot where I launched was in one of those areas. I tried a squarebill but after three casts, it was useless. Switched to a jig and craw (no bites) followed by a black Zoom Magnum Trick TR. Caught my first bass on that. Headed to the opposite (clear) end and tied on a Zara Spook. I haven’t walked the dog in a while and it looked like a good day for it. 4-5 casts later, it disappeared. I got the bass about 5’ from the boat and it threw the hook. Definitely a nice ol’ gal between 4-5 lbs. Tried it for several more casts but no takers. Switched over to the A -Jay Special. Caught two more bass. Nothing huge but fun catches. My wife texted me and asked if I wanted Chinese for lunch from the place around the corner and as it was slow, I said sure. That must have been the text the bass we’re waiting for, as all of a sudden they started slamming baitfish in the shallows against the bank. But…a promise is a promise, so I headed for shore (with a few casts on the way in). I had a hard time getting on shore. It hasn’t rained in weeks and the water level has dropped. After maneuvering the boat several times, I finally got on the bank. I almost lost my balance and went over the side once, so I tossed my pouch (with phones, etc. inside) on the bank, as well as my net and one baitcasting rig (that becomes important). After stepping on shore, I grabbed the anchor rope (I always toss the anchor on the bank to keep the boat from drifting off) to pull it tight to the bank so I could grasp the handles. I pulled the rope and the next thing I knew, I was on my butt in the grass, holding a loose rope and watching my boat drift away. The rope still had the carabiner on it. I must have hit it with my foot getting off the boat and it pulled free. So I’m watching my boat drift off and think how the heck I’m going to get it without a swim. It started heading for the east end of the pond, so I ran around through the woods, found a long branch, and when it got close, I pushed it hard back towards my launch point. It got about halfway there and the wind stopped it. Then it started to drift towards the center of the pond. So I picked up the baitcasting rig (the Kistler with the A-Jay Special) and buried the hook deep in the Rage Craw (my boat is an inflatable, so I was thinking how to snag the boat and not sink it lol). I had a jacket on the back of the seat and was trying to snag that. I made several casts without success, then made a cast and the line wrapped around an oar lock. Huzzah! I caught my boat! No holes, except in my ego lol. By the time I loaded up and went to the carry-out, the cashier wondered if I forgot to come. So, three bass and a boat. My fortune cookie said “Success is good, but learn from your mistakes”. Check the carabiner!!!

Winter is worse. Spring/Summer/Fall it’s “buy what I need”. Winter is “Oh look! I should try those! And those! And new line! Maybe a new rig!” The BM is relentless in the off-season when we are at our most weakest.

Not too bad a morning. Should have brought a jacket as I got a bit chilly. Pretty good breeze that blew all the pine needles and algae to the west side of the pond on the north bank. Very nasty lol, but it’s also where the bass were hiding. Caught four, lost one. First was on a squarebill. Second on a black 5” Senko TR and the last two on a black Zoom Magnum Trick TR. Tried an A-Jay special, a jig-and-craw, a green pumpkin Yum Dinger TR, a stupid tube and a Ned rig with no bites.

I swear, I read this and heard it in Carl Denham’s (Robert Armstrong) voice as he announced King Kong (1933 original). 😂

Went bank fishing for a couple hours after work. Had to. The weather was so nice! I actually got a bit chilly in the shade lol. Not much action. Caught one about a 1 lb. followed by this one, about 2.5 lbs. Both on a weightless TR with a black Senko. Didn’t get a bite on anything else.

Go too low and hit one of their thighs and you may get concussed. Better to yell “Mommy!” and turn tail and run! 🤣

Ricard is 300 lbs. Having Henry carrying behind Ricard is like a bulldozer following a tank.

I always knew Derrick Henry was a great RB with the Titans, but oh my, he’s really banging it with the Ravens. Trying to determine if Henry is taking the handoff or Lamar is keeping it is a crapshoot. And even if you guess right, you still may pay a price. In the 4th quarter, he’s a hammer.

This is easy (although more of a “I read it” more than advice). As I’ve stated numerous times before, I got out of fishing for almost 25 years until I started again in 2020. I was 99% a live bait angler and started using live bait again in 2020. Until I caught my PB (still is) bass…on 1/2 a nightcrawler. Then and there I decided that after a lifetime of believing that artificial lures were a gimmick (I never caught anything but a few dinks on lures), I started researching what bass lures work, and somehow I landed on Bass Resource and heard about this magical bait called a Senko. Although I never really fished lures, I knew about plugs from Arbogast, Rapala and Rebel, and plastic worms from Crème and Mann’s. But I had never heard of a stickbait, let alone a Senko. But I decided to try them. And once I realized that “Hey! Artificial lures really DO catch bass!”, my life as an angler changed dramatically. New rigs, tons of baits, a boat, it’s been a heck of a ride the past four years!

Just a few hours this morning. Caught three (more like 2-1/2) and lost two. The first was on a squarebill. A true 6” dink. Wasn’t even sure I had a fish on lol. Didn’t get bites/catches on anything other than that A-Jay Special. Caught two. One I had hooked but lightly and it threw the hook. The other I think was pretty good. Most of my catches have been tight to the bank or in wood. I made a bomb cast in open water to get line out to reel it in tight, and as soon as it went under the line took off like a rocket. I was unprepared and by the time I reeled in the slack, it was gone.

Braid to leader on a spinning reel? Absolutely. Why? Well, I went from respooling fresh mono 2-3 times a season due to coiling/line memory to having braid on the reel for several years and only retying on leaders as needed. I use a Lefty Kreh leader knot (also known as a Seguar knot). I have St. Croix, Fenwick and Daiwa rods and the knot passes through the guides without issues. I like mono on my baitcasters (except my frog rig). But unless braid disappears from the face of the earth, I’ll never spool mono on a spinning reel again.

I think the last mL of adrenaline finally left my system after that game! After a 0-2 start, the Ravens are now atop the AFCN. Been a crazy five weeks!