Woody B

I'm not a reel connoisseur. I want my reels to have decent drags, and adjustable brakes. I've got a couple SLX XT's that I really like. I'm usually pretty good with my thumb. Normally I keep 2 brakes engaged with the dial set fairly low. I can engage more brakes and /or turn the dial up when skipping, casting into the wind, or if I had one to someone who wants or needs more brakes. I've got a Curado MGL 150. I like the SLX XT's better. For me the drag on the Curado is kinda "jerky" and the brakes are really sensitive.....meaning it's really easy to go from too little to too much without much adjustment. It's probably just me. I'm sure many people will prefer a Curado. They're not expensive. Buy one to start with and try it out. If you were closer to NC I'd "toss" you one of mine for a trip or two.

I don't even know what DRT is.....but I know what trolling is.

Probably not the smallest Bass I've ever caught but I caught this one on an 8 inch long swimbait.

Most of the time I take a picture of the first, last and any that are decent size, or unique in any way. I give them all a quick look over....but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. I've got 14" 18" and 22" marks on my boat so I can get a quick reasonably accurate length. If I think one might be 5 pounds I'll weigh it.

My Summer has been pretty much like my entire year. I'm not getting great numbers. It's been a while since I've been skunked though. I have been doing pretty good catching big(for me) Bass. I've caught at least one 5 pound Bass every month this year. For, and the waters I fish I consider them to start getting "big" at 5 pounds. My PB Spotted Bass came in June. It was 5,26 pounds. One night trip in July my only Bass was a 5.02 pound Spot. I consider a 5 pound Spot to be huge. The NC state record is just over 6 pounds. I've found the Bass this Summer to be scattered, and moving around quite a bit. The water a couple weeks ago was the hottest I've ever seen here. (89.9 degrees per my graphs). The thermocline has been changing every day......and even every hour. When I've located schools of Bass they've been "micro Bass" 12 inches or less. When I catch 2 that size I move on. I don't believe the Bass I'm trying to catch will be hanging around with "micro Bass". I have considered getting either an ultra light or BFS set up to battle the 10 inch Bass with when that's all I can find.

Decades ago I used to work on vehicles for Bass fishing hall of fame member Guy Eaker. He'd put out a bunch of coffee cups and walk around casting a spinnerbait into the cups while we were working on his vehicles. I'd be willing to bet pretty much all of the pros can hit a coffee cup sized target at any reasonable distance.

Not watching.

I may be in the minority here, but transducer technology changes quicker than trolling motor technology. I'd recommend any scissor lift GPS motor without a built in transducer. You can clamp a transducer to the motor, then easily change it when technology evolves.

I've got a couple Tatula's. The brakes are way too aggressive for me, even turned down really low. For me they're distance robbers. For ~$130 I'd recommend a Shimano SLX XT. They're super nice reels with centrifugal brakes that are easily adjusted.

It's good to see many of you still catching the heck out of them. I had a slow weekend. 2 Spots Saturday, and 2 Spots Sunday. At least no micro Bass. One was borderline micro though. They varied between 13 and 19 inches. They were all on points between 12 and 18 feet deep. 2 were on a Shaky head, 1 on a Spinnerbait, and the biggest on a XD3. I also caught 7 smallish Catfish (~3 pounds and under). I shook them off beside the boat so I didn't get slime everywhere.

A bigger trailer will help keep it "up". I can use a slower retrieve while still maintaining the same depth. IE with trailer trailer like a Zoom Fat Albert, or Strike King twin tail menace grub you should be able to use a slower retrieve and still keep it above the grass. A smaller trailer or no trailer will require a faster retrieve to keep above the grass........or a slower retrieve to get down to the grass. Either way you still need to let it sink to the level you want it to run at. Different trailers, (and blade combinations) will require different speeds to not come up, or drop down during retrieve.

The tooth patch is what people talk about a bunch, but there's other easy to see differences. (most not readily seen is that picture) To me the mouth in that picture looks like a Largemouth, as well as the coloring. There can be a BUNCH of overlap in the coloring. When looking at open mouth size a fat Largemouth can appear to have a Spot mouth. A skinny Spot can appear to have a Largemouth mouth. For a true mouth size indicator close the mouth. The jaw of a Largemouth will come behind it's eye. A Spot won't. I've read of differences in dorsal fin separation, but I've found some overlap between the Spots and LM's I've caught. I've also read about differences in the size of scales on the cheeks, but have found overlap. Beyond mouth size, and color the best, easy to see indicator I've found is where the scales and the anal fin meet. On a Spot (first picture) the scales will extend onto the anal fin a small amount. On a Largemouth (2nd picture) they won't.

Usually a Manns classic spinnerbait trailer, or nothing. I think a trailer is secondary to weight and blade(s). I use a trailer or fine tune the depth it will run at, at the speed I'm wanting to retrieve it.

I've got places I revisit. It's my belief that there's Bass who simply aren't active at times. I'm not going to catch them then. It's also my belief that the Bass don't talk to each other and "synchronize their watches". Bass in one area, or a particular Bass on a certain log may not be active right now but a Bass, or school of Bass may be active 1/4 mile away. I don't spend a BUNCH of time on a particular Bass, or area, but I will revisit later if I think it's a good area.

I believe "they" have taken the whole Florida strain vs Northern strain thing too far. We're dealing with "Largemouth Bass". It's not like we're comparing a Buzzard to a Turkey. Buzzards and Turkeys are 2 different species. "Florida" strain, and "Northern" strain are "sub species". I personally believe "sub species" is a made up thing someone made up to make themselves feel important. We are all "**** sapiens". There isn't any "sub species" (and shouldn't be) because we originally came from different areas.

Lakes go through stages and changes even without human intervention. Dammed lakes fill up with sand/silt over the years. Before the dam the sand/silt just continued down the river. As a lake fills in channels are lost and even structure gets covered/lost. This affects water clarity, which can reduce aquatic vegetation. This is (with the exception of building the dam) stuff that happens without human influence. Nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen are by products of humans. A by product of these "nutrients" is often harmful algae blooms. The government and land owners killing all the vegetation they can, as well as the introduction of Carp to control vegetation is harmful for most aquatic life also. I think "pleasure" boat traffic might actually be helpful to some extent. The waves oxygenate the water. That doesn't mean I enjoy being rocked by wake boat waves, or having jet skis zipping around though.

I'd continue to use what I've got. Money wasn't a factor when I bought any of it.

Disclaimer: I have a great life, it's just a busy life. Not looking for sympathy. I have limited time to fish. When I do get to fish I usually have "stuff" to do after I'm done fishing. When I first get to the lake and launch my boat the ONLY THING on my mind is fishing. It's both intense, and relaxing at the same time. After a while fishing "life" thought come back into my mind. The first hour or two it's like I'm back in my childhood with nothing on my mind except Bass. Regarding taps, engulfs, size of baits ect. It's my belief that when fishing bottom contact stuff you'd better set the hook if you "think" you feel anything. With Spots you'll lose part of a plastic occasionally, but I truly believe if you wait to set the hook you'll catch a few more small Spots, but lose out on many bigger Bass. It's by belief that big Bass (including Spots)....over 5 pounds or so don't mess around when biting. By the time you're decided if there's "weight" on your line they've already spit out your lure and moved on. Also, I've gotten away from using "monster" worms. Perhaps they're the ticket is some waters where there's really BIG Bass. It's my belief if you're not getting bit with a "normal" 6 inch worm, but can get bit with a 10 inch worm it's due to the fall rate. Simply use a smaller weight with the 6 inch worm. The bites will come back, and you don't have to play "when to set the hook" games with yourself.

I promise the 10 inchers are only 10 inches long. I'm 5'10". I'm old and fat now, but even when I was young and "thin" I was "thick" I'm built like a fire hydrant. When I boxed, and kick boxed I fought at 175 pounds and didn't have an ounce of fat on me. I weight 210 now. I had high hopes for catching a bunch of decent Bass today. Whenever I think I'm going to do good I struggle. It's cooler and it rained last night. Not just Bass, but fish were scattered today. There's a bunch of mayflies floating in the water, but no fish around them. I'm pretty sure the water has been hotter than I've ever seen it. It was 89.9 last week. It's a couple degrees cooler now. The fish (not just Bass) were scattered today, similar to right after the Fall turnover. There's been no turnover with surface temps still at 86 degrees. I caught 3 today. (all pictured) First was a "micro Bass" skipping a dock. The second was a decent 18 inch skinny Largemouth. I caught it on a spinnerbait 20 feet deep on a rocky point. The last....I'm calling a "crossover" Bass......right between a micro Bass and a "cookie cutter" on a spinnerbait at a channel swing.

The thermocline is constantly changing where I fish mostly. Last week it was around 18 feet. Yesterday is was at 30 feet. Today I couldn't find any evidence of a thermocline. Last week surface temp was 89.9 degrees. That's the hottest water I've ever seen here. Yesterday, after a little rain, and a couple cooler days surface temp was 87. Today, after some overnight rains surface temp was 86. FWIW I know very little about a thermocline. I don't understand what I do know.

I suppose it's changed some stuff. As an angler I'd like to think I'm constantly evolving. I do things differently than I did a couple years ago before I had FFS. Some of my ways would have changed even if I didn't have FFS.

I went this morning for a few hours. It's cooler today, but I think I still have brain fog from the heat. I gassed my truck and boat, decided which landing I was going to then turned onto the Interstate toward the other landing. So....I cut through the country at the next exit to go to the landing I planned on going to........and managed to make a wrong turn in the middle of no where. When I finally made it to the landing there was a tournament there. I just sit around until they launched and had their blast off. I caught 7 Bass. 3 pairs of "micro Bass" and one "real" Bass. I was finding schools of micro Bass on channel swings. I know people say not to, but I will leave Bass to find Bass if the Bass I'm catching are 10 inches long. First picture is one of the micro Bass. I could have probably caught a bunch of them, but that's not what I was after. I managed to catch one "real" Bass in a "ditch" between a point and an island. I have some stuff I need to do here, so I decided to call it a day. I'm not sure if I'm going back tonight around midnight, or early tomorrow morning.

Big.......meaning oversized swim baits. I plunked down ~$50 for a Shimano Armajoint. I caught one 8 inch long Spotted Bass on it. I gave it to a friend of mines 13 year old nephew. He caught a 4 pounder on it from a country club pond. I've got a Megabass Magdraft that I use occasionally. I've never caught a Bass on it either. I kinda laugh anytime I cast one of those huge baits.

Not really anything new, but how about "revisiting" a technique I used years ago. For the past couple years almost EVERYONE I saw was either throwing a spinnerbait or jerk bait. I used spinnerbaits quite a bit in my previous fishing life 30+ years ago. I pretty much stayed away from them due to seeing so many people using them. This year EVERYONE is still using jerk baits, but instead of spinnerbaits they're using special FFS jig head minnows and various swim baits. I've caught a BUNCH of Bass this year on spinnerbaits, including my best of 2024 so far that weighed 7.91 pounds.

I went last night/this morning from 2 until 6. I didn't get skunked. I caught 1. The good news is, I've caught at least one 5 pound Bass every month this year. The only one I got in the boat today was a 21 inch long 5.02 pound Spot. I zeroed my scale and weighed it twice. I caught it on my last cast. (I try to leave on a catch every trip). I lost decent Largemouth a couple cast earlier right next to the boat. The LM I lost ate a DT6. I didn't want to damage my rod boat flipping it, didn't want to lip it and get trebles in my hand, and was too lazy to get my net out. I had the line in my hand lifting it up, and it flipped and got off. I caught the Spot on a Seibert Bladed Jig. I lipped it. Water temperature was 89 degrees. At one point the reading on my graph was 89.9. It will be over 90 degrees today.