Woody B

Disclaimer, I'm not a hammer, and I'm not an expert at bite detection. I'd guess that a Bass will hold on to a wacky longer than anything, giving a larger window for bite detection. I keep my index finger under the line. This really helps me feel stuff. I'd guess a Bass will hold on to a shaky head, or t-rig longer than they will a jig. When I was a kid an old man who occasionally took me fishing caught Bass on jigs all the time. I rarely caught a jig Bass but could catch them on a t-rig. By the time I was 18 I was determined to catch Bass on a jig. I started catching a few by using a real pork trailer. I suspect the pork made the Bass hold on longer. After a while I got better at jig fishing. Now I manage to catch a decent Bass on a jig occasionally. My first 5+ pounder of 2024 was on a jig.

I do NOT beat myself up but I suppose I can point out my weaknesses without beating myself up. First I create a "plan" before every trip. My plans are usually pretty good. The problem is, Mike Tyson said "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". When the Bass punch me in the mouth, by not cooperating with my plan I'm too slow to adapt. If I don't catch a Bass pretty quickly I'll tend to struggle most of the day before formulating another "plan". I will leave Bass to find Bass, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I do this for multiple reasons. The waters I fish have decent populations of both Spotted and Largemouth Bass. Spots are really fun when they're grown, but catching a bunch of 10 inch Spots isn't what I'm looking to do. If I catching "micro" Bass every couple casts I'll leave that area in a heartbeat. Another reason I occasionally "leave Bass" is I try to to overfish an area. I'm not in a contest so if I catch 2 or 3 decent Bass I'll leave without "bleeding" that area dry. I also won't fish the same spot 2 days in a row. Another thing I do whenever possible I catch a Bass on my last cast. I don't get to go as often as I'd like but most trips my timeline is fluid. At some point I'll decide how long I'm going to fish. I usually decide something like "first Bass after 11AM" or something like that. If it's 11:01 and I catch a Bass I'll leave. If I don't catch one for a while I keep fishing until I do. Catching a Bass on the last cast keeps me excited for the next trip. I'm sure many people around here think that's crazy. Probably the worst thing I do, compared to others around here. I'm hard on gear. I occasionally break a rod, most of the time doing something stupid. In the last year I've probably broke 6 or 8 rods at no fault of the rod. I've also lost a couple overboard.

I've always considered Buck Perry to be a genius. He was from NC. I never met him but know a couple people who were friends with him. So, my opinion, and views regarding structure and cover. I'll be the first to admit I use both of those terms wrong at times. I've always believed points, especially ones that are fairly long to be Bass magnets. I believe it helps if there's stumps, brushpiles or rocks on or around the point. Maps have been mentioned. It amazes me the people who don't pay their maps/charts or electronics any attention. Points aren't always, or even usually where the shoreline indicates. I see people all the time fishing what I believe they think are points that have no under water point, or a curving point that isn't where it "looks" like it should be. I "think" if there's a (real) point, relatively close to the main channel (and ledge) AND a protected pocket there will pretty much always be Bass around. I suppose size of lake makes a big difference for some of this. When I catch a decent Bass I ask myself "why was that Bass here?" Sometimes, especially if I felt like I "stumbled" on a decent Bass I'll spend way more time graphing the area after I've caught Bass than I do before.

I was busy as a one armed paper hanger yesterday but I managed an hour on the lake. I spent as much time driving as fishing. I went to a spawning pocket near the landing. I haven't seen any bedding Bass on Active Target so I messed with my settings until I could see them. On my 3rd cast I dropped a Red Eyed Shad on top of a bed. Both Bass hit it. They came unhooked while I was fumbling with my net. They weren't BIG but the combination of them was too big to boat flip. I'm sure they aren't all that easy to catch, but I decided I wasn't going to target bedding Bass with Active Target. I'm not changing sides in the FFS debate, and I'm not saying anyone who uses it to target bedding Bass is wrong. It's been 40 years, but I've targeted bedding Bass sight fishing clear water, but I figure they can see me too. I will still target bedding Bass but I'll do it like I have in the past. I'll find the areas they're in with side imaging, then fish that area with my FFS off. I will still use Active Target FFS in every way I know how to target Bass. I'm just not going to use it when they're bedding. I'm not looking to start a FFS, or bed fishing debate. It's just a decision I made. So, I turned my FFS off and went old school. (kinda) I caught 3 spots, including one on my last cast when it was time for me to leave.

I fought the wind for a while today, then gave up. The good thing about Spring is there's usually a few Bass in pockets that are protected from the wind. That doesn't make getting to the pockets any easier though. On top of the wind the wake boats are starting to get out again.

Over the years I've had all kinds of strange stuff happen. Even though it wasn't a BIG Bass what happened to me today was.....crazy. I caught a 15 inch Largemouth on a Devils Horse (top water prop bait, with 3 treble hooks). Usually when I unhook a fish I'll toss my lure (especially if it's got trebles) over the side of the boat and let it hang in the water while I deal with the fish. This keeps from getting hooks in my carpet, seat, lunch box ect. I unhooked this Bass, tossed the lure out of the boat, took a picture of the Bass, then released it. It was 3 feet or so away from the floating Devils Horse, facing the other way when I released it. I bolted to the Devils Horse (the one it had just been caught on) and grabbed it. I was barely able to grab my rod before it went overboard. So basically, I caught, and released the same Bass 2 times, with one cast.

Don't react to this post until you read it. This post is also a poll without hijacking the thread. I caught 3 or 4 today in a short trip. I fished a part of the lake I had never fished before. I had ridden through it in my boat but never fished. (Nivens Creek for you people who know Lake Wylie) Why do I say I caught 3 or 4? I caught the same Bass 2 times, with one cast. I caught a 15 inch Largemouth (middle picture) on a Devils Horse. When I unhook a fish , especially with trebles I just toss my lure into the water next to the boat. This keeps from getting hooks in my carpet, lunch box ect. So, I unhooked this Bass, tossed the Devils Horse into the water next to the boat, took it's picture and released it. I released it 3 feet or so from the Devils Horse floating in the water. When I let it go it turned and smashed the Devils Horse. I barely grabbed my rod before it went overboard. This was the same Devils Horse I had just caught it on. I unhooked it and released it again, without a picture, and without the Devils Horse floating next to the boat. So, did I catch 3 or 4? Use the laugh reaction if you think I caught 3, or the like reaction for 4. Had this been a catch and immediate release tournament would it have counted? The Spots (13 inch and 14 inch) both came on a spinnerbait. None of these fish (all bucks I'm guessing) show any signs of spawning. Last week, a few miles North (in the same lake) I was catching females with rub marks on their sides from spawning. Fish behavior is interesting.

The can't legally shoot you for stepping on the shoreline. There's crazy people everywhere. Be careful. Regarding use of a tourniquet. Many of the points posted about this are why I stressed getting some first aid training. I'm sure there's classes available pretty much everywhere. Most first responders will probably have info on local classes. One of my favorite sayings is "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity". I hope no one here ever needs to use any first aid training, but if you don't I'm hope you're prepared enough to be "lucky". I'm an Eagle Scout. Being prepared is important to me.

Decades ago I used to drag race all over the Eastern US. Every November I'd go to Florida for some races. "Moroso Motorsports Park" (now closed) was in West Palm Beach. There was a canal around the entire track/property. At the widest spot it might have been 25 feet across. Most areas were much smaller. It was literally packed with 'Gators and big Bass. I never caught a DD there but I caught several 8 pounders. Texas Rig and a Devils Horse done most of the work. Like the waters where Katy and others fish stealth was important. You couldn't stand right at the bank. Your lures had to land like a feather when casting. If you could do that you could catch huge Bass. I suppose there was a certain element of danger too. I had Bass taken off my lines by 'Gators. A friend of mine got bit by a pygmy Rattle Shake while fishing there too. I always kept a rod and reel in my race car trailer. I've stopped and fished all kinds of "puddles" on the side of the road all over the Eastern US. There was a really small pond, 1/2 acre or less past the end of the drag strip in Baton Rouge. I caught Bass there too.

Shimano SLX XT

I normally only get to fish on weekends but I was on vacation for a week right before this thread was started. That had me fishing and posting fish pretty much every day. This Spring, and 2024 in general has been different for me. I haven't caught the numbers of Bass I've caught in the past, however the Bass I have caught have mostly been big, at least for the waters I fish. I'll have to go back at add up the number of Bass I've caught over 5 pounds. So far in April I've fished 2 times, catching 3 Bass over 5 pounds. (I think I'm around ten over 5 for 2024, I'll try to get an accurate count soon). So far my biggest Bass of '24 is just over 6 1/2 pounds back in March.

I don't know any equipment to add to what's already been mentioned. However, if you haven't had any get some first aid training. All of the first aid equipment is useless if you don't know how to use it. I take a course every year offered by a friend who's a firearm instructor, and first responder. If you fish/boat alone you really need training to apply first aid to yourself. A couple years while fishing alone he cut himself badly on the leg. Due to his training, and the fact that he didn't panic he was able to apply a tourniquet and make it back to the landing to get more help. He had barely nicked his femoral artery. Get training, and be prepared.

FWIW I thought I got a "bad spool" of line a while back. I buy BIG spools when I buy line. I was storing these spools in my boat, which sits outside, under a black cover. I believe after a while the line got hot enough to damage it. I threw that spool away and now keep my big spools inside my house. My reels are stored in my boat, but I change line often enough that I don't think heat is an issue.

Like GreenPig said, if it's working keep using it. I normally use Big Game, 12 to 15 pound. It's tough. It's also not expensive so I change it often. Every year, usually during the Spawn I miss a few Bass probably due to short strikes. Most years I'll try something different but I keep going back to Big Game. This year I'm sticking with Big Game.

I don't think they were there but hugging the bottom. I'm pretty sure they I would have seen them with one of the sonars I was using. This is a 13,000+ acre Lake. Even at 13,000+ acres it isn't a wide lake. It's basically a river run lake that's 20+ miles long. I've rarely went more than 1/4 mile without seeing baitfish. They're literally everywhere. I caught Bass last Spring in the pockets all the way to the back of this cove. I was fishing pockets off this cove, catching, and missing Bass pretty good. (either short strikes or lack of skill LOL) I wasn't paying much attention to my Active Target beyond picking some underwater cover to cast to. That's all I had on at the bow. When I stopped getting strikes I started looking at my sonar. No fish of any kind. They can hide (from me) on the bottom with Active Target sometimes, that's why I went to the console for other graphs. After the flooding last year, when the South Fork river turned lifeless baitfish, and Gar were the first to return. Gar have the ability to breath air. I suspect they were feasting on baitfish that were sluggish due to whatever was wrong with the water. I checked the South Fork every month or so. The rest of the fish returned a month or so ago. All of the Bass (15) I caught Saturday were up the South Fork. Last year at this time, and several months after that the South Fork was lifeless. We had record rains, and flooding this year too but for some reason the South Fork is good again. This cove is at least 10 miles from the South Fork. Thanks for the replies.

How often to any of you run across dead, lifeless fishless water? I usually see some kind of fish activity on sonar even if I can't catch any Bass. Today I was fishing a long cove, probably 2 1/2 to 3 miles long. It was a big cove fed by a small creek.....not really big enough to be called a creek. I saw plenty of baitfish and other activity on sonar for the first 1/3 or so. I caught 4 Bass including 2 over 5 pounds in pockets off of the first 1/3 of the cove. After the first 1/3 I quit catching anything. I was going from pocket to pocket on my trolling motor, looking mostly at Active Target (FFS). The back 2/3 or so of the cove was lifeless. I fired up my outboard, but kept my trolling motor (and Active Target transducer) deployed. I idled along looking at FFS, 2D sonar, Down Imaging, and Side imaging. NOTHING!!!!. No baitfish, no pan fish, no Carp...nothing. I saw an occasionally turtle, but nothing beyond that. At the point the cove went fishless it was still ~75 yards wide and 25+ feet deep in the center. There was also nothing in the pockets off the cove. It wasn't a sonar problem. As soon as I got back in the first 1/3 I saw all kinds of life again. What's going on? I haven't been in this cove this year. Last year I caught Bass all the way to the back. Water clarity, temperature ect seemed to be the same as the rest of the lake. The only time (except when I had a voltage problem with my sonar due to a bad fuse block) I've ever seen lifeless water was up the South Fork River last year shortly after bad flooding upstream. In that case I suspect the flooding washed all kinds of bad stuff into the water. This cove is fed by a very small stream. I don't think that's the case here.

I only caught 5 today.........but the 2 biggest were 5.61 pounds and 5.88 pounds. The smallest was a 14 inch Spot. (all are pictured)

I saw a guy standing on one leg at the ATM. I asked "what are you doing?" He said "I'm checking my balance."

I caught 15 this morning. 14 Largemouth and one Spot. I was going to stop all my sonar if I was seeing fish, but not catching any but I had no problem catching them. Most were 14" to 16". Biggest was 5.12 lbs. (12/100ths, not 12 ounces). Pictured are the first, then the biggest. The first 2 were on a Texas rigged lizard. After that I started getting short strikes. I switched to a Texas rigged craw for most of the rest. All of them were caught after running a buzz bait over them a few times. The big one hit the buzz bait.

I've often wondered what sonar pings Bass can hear.....or feel with their lateral lines. I'm sure there's been studies done but I haven't tried to find any. I can hear 2D sonar pings at 83hz. It sounds like something "ticking". I can't here pings at any other frequency. When I pull up to a spot I'm going to fish I deploy my trolling motor and start the pinging on my Active Target. (~1200 hz IIRC). White Perch and Bluegill will swim up to my trolling motor. After I got Active Target I put several types and kinds of baits in my boat to determine what these curious fish were. (Water isn't clear enough to see). I wonder if they swim up due to the sonar, or if they would swim up by simply deploying my trolling motor.

I'm like a kid in a candy store when I'm fishing. I love it. Each next cast is going to be something great. I can also immerse my mind into it so I'm not thinking about that intermittent squeak, rattle or electrical problem waiting for me at work. I like "catching" too but fishing is really what I like. I'll stay at the lake longer sometimes when I'm not catching many. I have limited times I can go but when I do I usually don't have a set time to leave. Many times I catch a Bass on my last cast. I'll decided that I'm leaving on the first Bass after 2PM or something like that. Catching a Bass on my last cast, especially if it's going to be a few days before I can go again leaves me excited for the next trip. @Pat Brown I didn't know you were a musician. It's my belief that the qualities that make a good musician also make a good fisherman. (FWIW I consider "fisherman" to be a gender neutral term). If I have a problem that needs to be solved, or I'm in some kind of bind and need help I'll pick the musician, fisherman or baseball player to help. (does this make sense to anyone except me)

A few weeks ago I discovered I had a wiring problem (voltage drop in my fuse block) that made all my sonar pretty much useless. I turned it all off and caught my 2 biggest Bass of the year. Before I discovered the problem I was seeing pretty much no Bass, or any life anywhere on the lake. I was not casting into areas I probably should have been due to a blank screen. I'll try something this weekend. If I "see" Bass but can't catch them I'll leave for a bit, turn off all my transducers then come back and see if they'll bite. Added/Edit- I don't have a BUNCH of transducers. I've got 1 Active Target transducer and 1 Lowrance 3 in 1 transducer.

We was talking about Watson/Boyd at work yesterday. My manager brought up a good point. There's people who believe any publicity (even bad) is better than no publicity. Also perhaps the need to get attention away from the boat wrecks. So is it all a show? Was Watson ready to quit, and cooked up this whole deal for publicity? They're selling a TON of hats, and people are talking about MLF. #FISHING BOAT DOCKS

Dolly (our Yorkie) is diabetic. She's on a strict diet. Her vet (I tell Dolly the vet is her "Dogtor) said to give her up to 4 "greenies" (the smallest ones) a day, but no more than 20 a week. Sammy (our Beagle mix) get's a couple greenies a day too for his teeth.

I hope I get a few more years out of mine but when I need to replace them I'm using regular wood covered with polyester paint. (bed liner material)