thediscochef

Went and spent a little on some jerkbaits. Time to go use em.

I battled some serious hay fever all day, pulled muscles in my back from all the sneezing. Tomorrow is gonna hurt. Felt good to get a 10pm jerkbait bass. Also the second time I've hooked a shad this month. I guess jerkbaits really do catch all species. I'm feeling good. Yall are catching some pretty bass!!

I think it's more than one reason, like many above. When I started fishing solo last year it was mainly motivated by an abundance of free time and the inheritance of my dads gear, he'd passed a few months prior. We'd mostly done guided trips but he had some usable stuff so I got to throwing it. Eventually I did my own thing with gear but I wouldn't be fishing without my dad's influence. He gets a skyward look every time I catch something heavy. Sometimes it's just catching anything and everything. Other times I just want the heavy fish. Right now I'm in heavy fish mode, though I'm perfectly happy catching three pound fish all day too. Also I fish to get away from the general public when I can...tough this week with spring break happening at the state park. I appreciate fishing with buddies very much, so fellowship to some degree. But I like and need my solo trips.

In all seriousness today was a total beatdown - just total failure in everything I did, save for things like breathing and cursing. There was plenty of BS outside of fishing today, I was really hoping it wouldn't spill over. But sometimes that happens. I take pride in the fact that I did not give up or quit at any of the things I did though. Also nobody died. We'll get back at it in the morning. A yet still more glorious dawn awaits. It's gonna be a good day.

I spent 12 hours on the bank today to catch this beauty

The lonely consolation fish. I was only out there an hour and a half to begin with - I had three good strikes. The first one would have easily been my heaviest fish of the year and felt like a solid 6-9lbs of something...not even sure it was a bass as I never saw it and it never surfaced. It kicked hard twice at the bank like a cat does sometimes. An absolutely devastating blow to morale as it bent a hook out while I was fumbling with my net. The next one was this lil dude. The third one happened on a slack pause and I didn't realize it was there...it came unhooked as I was pulling it out of the water. I went back out after sunset and listened to the guys on the dock with live bait and green lights reeling them in. Caught nothing, went home. Gonna practice the new leader knot I learned today and just remember to keep my dang thumb off the spool when I hook into something good. Gonna go get em tomorrow though.

I take photos of everything I catch at this point in time...it started as kind of showing off, but then I got into the exif data and started looking at times, locations, etc. I think I'm back around to showing off, but I also like to look back at the big fish and remember what it felt like to fight/land/hold that thing. Makes me think about where I casted, how I was retreiving. And I can look back at weather for that week. Also makes me eager to go out and get another one.

3/14/22 GOOD Water is still pretty chilly, but we're firmly into the spring patterns as of yesterday. I think we are right around that 49 degree mark. Winds 20-30 today. LMB are good on sexy shad color jerkbaits, worked actively near gravel beds and flat areas. Lure should suspend in the top 5ft of water for best results. Faster moving baits aren't producing from what I'm seeing, but I did have one bass follow my lure on a fast retreive so they are starting to move again somewhat. When I start having trouble catching with jerkbaits, it will be back to chatterbaits. If that happens. I don't see how a jerkbait will become any less effective as water warms. This week I'll be looking at Wednesday and Thursday next for best catch rates...77 and 81 high temps, cold front Thursday evening. If it's clear and windy ahead of the front, the hour or so leading up to storms will be great. If still and/or overcast the whole day, it should be solid all the way especially if wind stays 5-10.

I think jerkbaits are good We had a line of severe weather roll through which cleared us all out for a bit. I managed to get back to the ramp as the back side of the front was rolling in, and it paid off. Another 2.5ish, followed quickly by a 4.75. The larger girl really inhaled that thing - all three trebles hooked inside the mouth. Took me a minute to get them all out but she swam off all angry as desired. I had her out of the water a while so my photos were not the best...my focus was elsewhere. I was making a very dumb*** face lmaoooo Best fishing I've had this year, in terms of total weight average per fish. I think spring is good.

I've done very well on foggy days. You love to see it, congrats on the nice fish!

Some pretty fishes right there ! Way to keep the tenacity ??

I think jerkbaits are good. 2.6lbs. An ongoing lightning hazard ends my day not even 15 minutes later. Lost a lipless crank on a rock when my leader knot snapped. Pretty sure id nicked it when i tied on...RIP googan shad lookin thing...you will be replaced by a red eye shad

That is absolutely beautiful

Maaaan I had a big ole girl follow my jerkbait on a foul cast, got right up to shore and then swam off when she saw me. I was so focused on getting my lure back that I didn't realize she was there or I would have paused and maybe caught a PB... Naturally this happens as I have to leave, and the thing I left for has been delayed by an hour...after I arrive. irritation level 100. gonna go back out there tonight and see if I can find somewhere to cast. the lake is crowded with spring breakers at the moment, the first time i've had elbows on a weekday in a while

I have many but I've started trying to find some entertainment in at least one...will explain My biggest pet peeve by far is litter. I absolutely hate finding a crankbait package, a whole senko, clipped line tags, or a wrapper of old snells just chillin on the bank. Clipped line is a pain but that stuff will degrade in the water over time. Similar feelings with the cans of Steel Reserve I see in some of the rocks. It's the worst at the city ponds but it was really really bad after the bassmaster at Ray roberts last year...I've never seen that shore so littered. I carry a dump pouch on my belt if I'm going into the woods, but Ray roberts Isle du bois literally has a giant dumpster next to the ramp. There's no excuse. Leave no trace. Trespassing. You can find fish in places that are legal to access. Irresponsible dog owners. I see way too many dogs off leash in state parks. I also get a lot of dogs splashing around at city parks but that's a harder space to share. Ray roberts is deep and wide; surely there's a better swimming spot than a fast dropoff into a creekbed...like the beach area across the parking lot. People casting over me or encroaching on my casting range. I have mixed feelings about this - when it's a bank fisher who sees me catching fish and gets on top of me, I just laugh and go catch a fish at the prime spot they just abandoned. Cracks me up pretty hard tbh. If anyone asks what I'm using I'll tell them - that's the magic. Not the spot. Isle du bois has all kinds of great spots to catch bass. You just have to fish it right. The ones that actually annoy me are the boaters that run up and down a crowded shore spot, landing casts 10 feet from where I'm standing. That's dangerous, and also rude. I have visions of getting hit by one of those lures, catching it with my net, and cutting off to take home. There's 30000 acres of boatable lake, some of these folks have livescopes. why you gotta be casting at the fishing pier full of people? Surely that $85,000 ranger setup can do more than mildly enhance your success at the state park fishing pier... Instructional videos that aren't bassresource are just sales videos. I watch marling baits, typigpatrol, and underwater strike footage regardless of source...the underwater footage tells me more than some salesman ever could. Grumpy old dudes don't bug me, unless they're exhibiting one of the above behaviors lol I can be a little 'get off my lawn' at times myself

An old Nokia? LOL I honestly don't worry too much about snakes, I'm more concerned about the hogs, generally

So I'm absolutely loving the owner stx #6 hooks They are just so dang sticky. Nothing gets away. Except the whole bait when my leader snaps. Fluoroclear is bad and I feel bad. Split ring seemed to have increased the nose-down but I think other weight alternatives or bait alternatives are probably the thing. The owner hooks weight slightly more than the originals, I think, as the main bait I used today did not float as quickly as what I'm used to with these ultimate jerk shads.

I think jerkbaits are good Got 3 on a jerkbait today before a backlash sent my bait into the lake. Best, pictured, was 2.25lbs. I did not see others catching LMB, many boats coming in with blue cats and white bass.

Snakes are a fact of life where I shore fish. In general, during the day they're only really a danger if I'm hiking somewhere with cover, like grass or brush. I've stepped on a handful last year. I wear sturdy leather workboots, if I'm really going on an adventure I wear snake gaiters too. I also carry a hardy telescoping net and a filet knife in case I want cut bait or something gets out of hand. If you fish enough bank at summertime here it's just a matter of time until you meet up with one. I don't take friends who don't have boots and/or gaiters and I never go alone without a charged phone; if it gets to 15% its time to go in.

The lack of sunlight will impact plant life below it more than anything. It's really only going to cause problems for the fish if it kills their food. The other concern is when the ferns die and decompose in that water. Until you actually see a fish kill or something changes, a weightless senko would likely do well on that stuff

So the tuning and hooks on jerkbaits has been touched on here a few times, but it's been a while. I did a little experimenting yesterday with some existing results. I love the action of the H2Oxpress ultimate jerk shad, but it's had a tendency to rise in the cold water lately. I like the depth they swim to and I really love the jerk action, but I'd like them to suspend. I think that will add to my ability to pause the bait. I swapped out the #6 hooks for #4 owner STX EWG, which are VERY sticky. I got myself several times on them. On one of the jerk shads I have, I replaced all three hooks, the other I did just the front two. I much preferred the action of the mixed-hook jerk shad, it had a harder nose-down action, but it sank just a little too much. The baits naturally rise just a touch. So I know the #4s were enough to make them sink. I was also having issues with the #4 hooks swinging up onto the top of the bait and getting stuck there, affecting action. I still caught a fish on it, but I couldn't help but feel like a yet still more glorious dawn awaits. So last night, I changed out those #4s all back to #6 owner STX EWG and gamakatsu short shank ewg. The #4 owners went onto some lipless crankbaits. I added one extra split ring on the front eye of two jerk shads. I also got two more of these jerk shads in other colors and swapped their hooks to either owner STX or gamakatsu short shank but didn't add split rings. I'm going to try the split ring-added baits either today after it snows or maybe in the next couple days just to see if that made any difference at all in buoyancy and nose position at stop. I may wind up grabbing some of the dots I saw mentioned in prior posts. I also want to see if maybe just changing the hooks out was enough in these water temps, hence the new ones with only the hooks changed, no extra split rings.

what I carry and how depends on where I'm going and when - but I use a molle belt with a series of pouches ranging from 4*6 to 5*8 and 5*7. Lately I've just been using hardbaits but I have one 3400 box and two flambeau 2003 boxes that allow me to carry big husky jerks, 1/2oz lipless cranks, but also jigs, C-and T- rig stuff, two weights of line, a scale, a cedar block, fish grips, a wide variety of plastics, a phone pouch, and room for my bluetooth headset receiver. I can add or remove pouches as needed depending on what I'm trying to use. I also have a water bottle holster for a 48oz yeti stye water bottle. All this leaves me with two open hands to help my buddy carry the big yeti in summer, or a whole bunch of rods and the net. I also have less back pain because my upper back isn't carrying the weight of the backpack - I have a slightly hunched back and roaming the banks with a backpack is a painful experience if I carry it too long. I also have an Igloo backpack that's really wonderful for catfish spawn on the upper Trinity, but it's more of a cooler than a tackle carrier. I can also carry the belt, igloo, and yeti if we're gonna be out in triple digits all day.

I think jerkbaits are good The water here is really cold right now compared to yearly average; upper-mid 40s in most places. The jerkbait continues to produce despite the cold water temps. Another snow event tomorrow morning but after that it looks like we warm up pretty good for a while. I'm ready.

Having different but flexible skillsets means the whole boat finds success sooner I would think. Nice

I think there's a time to fish fast and a time to fish slow. It's always good to be flexible but if you just can't compromise then I would absolutely mix in some solo trips. Get all your finessing done there, and then go attack with your buddy.