T-Billy

It was 29 when I hit the water yesterday morning high of 49. Water temp has dropped 14 degrees in two weeks. It's down to 52. Bite was TOUGH. Six dink LM and a 38" musky. Weird bite, I missed another 5 LM pitching shallow brush. Short bite window in the afternoon. Started at 8am put the first fish in the boat a little after 3pm. Had several followers on a spinnerbait but couldn't get'm to eat it. I left the ned rod at home to force myself to fish for biguns all day. By mid morning I was wishing I'd brought the ned rod. ?

Winner winner chicken dinner!!! I 100% agree. I suggest buying in person if you can. Rod grips and prefered tapers are very personal things. What's perfect for me might be terrible for you. If you have a local shop where you can check them out in person, I highly recommend it. Same for reels but to a lesser extent.

I hold it pinky behind the stem R hand, and feather the line, open/close the bail with my L hand. Been doing this way since I was a kid.

It's crazy. My local guy orders what he needs, and takes what he can get, sometimes months later.

Falling water levels can make it tougher from the bank. I'd recommend steeper banks and the spillway if you have access to it. T-Rig on one rod. Moving bait on the other. I'd probably start with a squarebill or swimbait on the moving bait rod.

Great little tackle store in my town. Pretty good selection and fair prices. Best part is running into old friends and making new ones. It often takes me an hour to pick up a spool of line. I buy as much as I can there, and only shop online for items they don't have in stock. Great owner who often hooks us regulars up with a discount on more expensive things like rods and reels. It's a real blessing to have around. I wish we still had a mom and pop hardware store.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=Awr9DWsI835hR0cAKAGJzbkF;_ylu=c2VjA3NyBHNsawNpbWcEb2lkAzVmNTc1MjRiMjI3ODMyMWE4NzlkMzQyMTdkNmNlYTYwBGdwb3MDMjgEaXQDYmluZw--?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbullfrog%2Bimages%26fr%3Dyfp-hrtab-s%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D28&w=583&h=370&imgurl=fw.ky.gov%2FWildlife%2FPublishingImages%2Famericanbullfrog2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffw.ky.gov%2FWildlife%2FPages%2Famerican-bullfrog.aspx&size=73.0KB&p=bullfrog+images&oid=5f57524b2278321a879d34217d6cea60&fr2=&fr=yfp-hrtab-s&tt=Kentucky+Department+of+Fish+%26amp%3B+Wildlife&b=0&ni=21&no=28&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=ELGmzWvuhHow&sigb=c6zUujHeqL5z&sigi=tnKa4za6saTg&sigt=sXbQrYT0RHby&.crumb=frDHzSPcPww&fr=yfp-hrtab-s Yep. Bullfrog. I hadn't seen one that color either but found a couple pics of them that color.

I've not done well with smallies on a spinnerbait at night either. Crawling a chatterbait around the rocks at night is a whole nother story. They LOVE that thing!!!

Sometimes I like to reel them along so they're creating a surface bulge and make the blade blow out here and there with a hard turn of the reel handle.If there's one following, that usually triggers them.

#1 Ark Tharp King Cobra, Lew's Super Duty, 40# 832, T-Rigged Beaver. #2 Ark Tharp Meterman Special, Penn Spinfisher VI 2500, 6# XT, Z Man TRD Bug on a 1/8 football jig. #3 Abu Veritas Winch 7'6" MH, Lew's Super Duty, homebrew chatterbait, 30# 832.

I agree with the above. Incoming water, and tight to the bank and cover. Flippin stick, and a spinner bait or chatterbait. Maybe a squarebill. Two or three rods will cover it, with most of my time spent pitching a T Rig probably.

Weeds flourished here this year. I think it was the lack of high water last spring. Our lakes never got much over normal pool. The lake closest to me has the least weeds. This year it had more in it than I've seen since the 80's. I had my best year ever on that lake by far.

So THAT'S why he keeps talking me into going back there. Dang monkey. Always on my back.

Good luck tomorrow. Hope ya finish out the year with some of those giant brownies you're famous around here for.

I don't know why I waited so long to go this route. Believed the hype about flouro, and line shy fish I reckon. It cost me. 7lb+ bass are VERY few and far between in OH. I lost two in two years. One wrapped me up in a wood pile just out of reach, and broke off before I could strip down and go in after it, and the other ran under the boat and broke off as I tried to turn it. I went to 20# XT, and while I didn't break any off, I had a few close calls. I sometimes struggled to move them out of grass or big wood tangles. Not an issue at all with braid. So far with 40# 832, I've pulled bass up to 5#, and catfish up to 13# out of thick wood and grass no problem. Had a couple big flatheads kick my butt and wrap me up deep in wood piles, but I couldn't break my line with rod and reel. Braid burned my thumb, bent the handle on my Super Duty, and made some terrible sounds come from my flippin stick trying to turn the first one. Had to wrap my line around my plier handles to break it. Braid allows me to fish confidently in places I was afraid to go with mono and flouro. Which brings us to the T-Rig. I can fish cleanly through stuff with a T-Rig, snelled flippin hook point buried in the plastic, that I could never fish a jig through without hanging up. I still prefer mono for open water, especially if it's cold. I think baits move more naturally with it. It's been an enlightening year for me, and I'm fishing better than ever as a result.

14 or 17# XT on my jig rods. With the exception of swim jigs, jigs are structure and light cover baits for me. If I'm fishing wood and/or weeds I'm fishing a T-Rig on straight braid. I had two 7-8# bass break me off on 20# invisx. NEVER AGAIN!!! No more flouro period, and no mono in moderate to heavy cover. I've spent enough time now with straight braid, that I'm confident it doesn't cost me bites in cover, and when I stick one, it's coming out.

I bought an electric Bubba Blade this year. That thing is...

Surface temp is down to 60. Weeds are pretty much dead and breaking up. Bass and musky are both moving to shallow wood and rock. Fall brawl is about to go down!!!

Bass ain't the only fish that like short arm spinnerbaits. This 42 incher freight trained mine this afternoon as I was rolling it along a blowdown.

The monkey works in mysterious ways.

? You're fish'n out of a first class rig compared to my 74 14' Smokercraft. I got the greenlight from the warden to buy a new boat, but not until we find a house and get that financing out of the way. Nothing like house hunting in the worst buyers market in like 60 years. Might take awhile.

I see both LM and SM doing this. Mostly in the summer.

I've been 100% satisfied with Dr Scott's. I get them from that big auction site. I fish alot of rock. Never had any chipping.

Big Game 6# or 8#. Quality line that's very budget friendly. For the techniques you mentioned I'd personally go with 6#.