Woody B

It was nubbin (dink) day for me today. I caught 13. The biggest was 15 inches long. I'll post a picture of it, but the highlight pictures are launching my boat, and eating lunch while idling down the lake.

Mostly shad.

I've never watched and probably never will. For me fishing isn't a spectator sport. No offense intended for those that enjoy watching. We can't all like the same things.

In many NC lakes south and west of the ones you mentioned I have good luck with Bandit 200's, Rapala DT's from 6 to 10, Rapala Ott's garage, and a few others.

Yes.

Dolly attempted to swallow my shorts but my belt kept her from getting them.

I caught 21 today. The smallest was 13" so that's better than I've been doing. Biggest wasn't huge though. 3 pound 8 ounce Largemouth followed by a 2 pound 15 ounce Spot. The Largemouth showed out walking on it's tail. I didn't have the usb plugged into my camera all the way so the battery went dead. I've been "trying" to catch bass on a bladed jig but I left them alone today. 1 on a Devils Horse, 1 on a Texas rig, the rest on Bandit 200's DT8's and Red Eyed Shad. The bass were scattered, not really schooled up. Most were on ledges or flats near ledges.

Me too. I'm not saying some people can't change a lure with a clip quicker than I can cut and tie. I'm just saying I can cut and tie quicker than I can change a clip. I've got a million clips that were my Dad's and Grandpa's. I remove the split rings and use them on some cranks. I just leave the clip on the lure though.

Get well soon. You'll be in mine and Mrs B's prayers.

Last winter the bait monkey said I needed an a-rig so I got 2. I can't throw one without laughing. I know people catch bass on them but they look like a joke to me.

I got Active Target a few weeks ago. (Lowrance live sonar, or live scope with a different name) There's a learning curve but I like it. I normally fish a lake that I know real well. I have a lake full of "go to " areas. I've found that I can spend less time in some areas on some days. I had 2d sonar, down imaging and side imaging before but I've found some structure I didn't know was there. I don't stare at the screen while fishing much though. My transducer is mounted on my trolling motor so it's a little tricky sometimes in the wind. I've getting better with boat positioning so it stays pointed the way I want to look. I'm getting pretty good at telling which fish are bass, and which fish are something else. I'm still not good at telling big ones from small ones yet but that will come with time. I was torn between getting Active Target, or Mega 360. I went with active target since I'm already familiar with Lowrance interfaces. I wish I would have taken a video instead of a picture. These are spotted bass around a tree. I caught several at this spot. For me the "scout" view (pictured) is best for finding structure, and even fish in the structure. Forward and down views are best for watching your lure and the fish. It takes 30 seconds or so to pull up the trolling motor and switch the transducer position. I'm not an expert. I never will be. Right now my learning curve is in it's infancy. I'll answer any questions I can, and take any advice I can get.

The same 12 pound mono I use for everything else.

I too am happily married. I had an interesting first (and last) date several decades ago. I met a girl at a very redneck bar (my kind of place) and arranged a date with her the next evening. I picked her up at an apartment. When we got to my truck I opened the passenger door for her. She said "it's 1985, I can open my own door". On the way to the restaurant she was spewing all kinds of liberal BS, including a bunch of stuff about how bad guns are and how hunting and fishing is animal cruelty. I decided there wasn't going to be a 2nd date. At the restaurant she ordered chicken strips. I ordered a Porterhouse. When we were finished eating the waitress brought us the check. I don't remember the exact amount, but I said "It's 1985, your half is $xx. I'll get the tip" At least I didn't have to listen to her nonsense on the way back to her apartment. I wouldn't care what a first date had to eat but a well done steak, with or without ketchup makes me kinda sick.

I "will" buy some stuff from Academy but I get most of my stuff from 2 local shops. The Bass Shack is in Shelby NC is a small shop. They've got a decent selection and competitive pricing. The Great Outdoors is in Cherryville NC. It's not just fishing stuff but pretty much anything outdoors. They sell guns, hunting stuff, outdoor clothes ect. They also sell and service boats. They've got EVERYTHING you could want for bass fishing. I know the owner, but I think Bass Fishing Hall of Fame member Guy Eaker is part owner too. I see him there a bunch. (He's a friend of mines Uncle. I've known Guy for 50 years) I've also seen Bill Dance there a couple times as well as several younger guys dress up like professional bass fishermen. (sponsor clothing). They got my trolling motor for me, at a decent price back when they were on intergalactic back order. It's convenient to pick out and order stuff online but I enjoy visiting these places when I have time. I've also bought stuff online a couple times from Tackle Warehouse, Anglers Headquarters and BPS. Added: The problem for me with both these stores is they're closed by the time I get home from work. The only time I can go is on Saturday and I'm usually fishing.

I'm getting to where I can (sometimes) tell bass from other fish. I never could do that with "regular" sonar. I should capture some of the sonar. (I think I can record it with the unit) A turtle swam by near the transducer yesterday. The turtle image was small but there was a HUGE turtle shadow moving on the bottom. A short playback of the shadow with Jaws music would be cool. I took this picture a couple weeks ago. I caught 4 spots out of that tree top.

I only caught 7 today but one was a 4 pound 5 ounce 19 inch long Large mouth. I'm still figuring out this video camera stuff. I didn't even think to turn the scale toward the camera when I weighed it. I also caught a super fat 17 inch spot. I bet it was over 3, but I didn't weight it. I've also included a morning boat pic.

I caught 10 today including an 18 inch largemouth and the FAT 16 inch spot in the picture. I ventured down the bladed jig/chatterbait rabbit hole with no bites. I tried 3 weights, along with various colors and trailers. I'd estimate 1/2 of my casts were chatterbaits. Bass simply wouldn't respond to them. I ran one right in front of the spot pictured 3 times. It didn't follow, run away or anything. It just sit there. (active target) It went after a Bandit 200 before it even got to it. The water was fairly murky. The bass were holding very close to cover. I would think a chatterbait would be ideal from what I've read here and elsewhere. I caught bass today on a Bandit 200, a Red Eyed Shad, and a soft plastic swim bait but nothing on a chatterbait. I don't think I'm missing strike detection. I can feel the vibration of the blade. It never stopped, and I never felt any kind of pull all day long.

When I bought my Titan I wasn't going to finance it. Nissan had a $7500 incentive( rebate) for financing with Nissan financial. I asked how long it had to remain financed with them. They looked like Deer in headlights. Finally they came up with a document stating it had to remain financed for 7 days. I paid it off on the 8th day. I worked at a franchised dealership for decades. (technician) I now work for the countries largest used car retailer. My current employer doesn't play games with pricing. They'll offer an extended warranty but from what I've seen they're not pushy about it. Our prices aren't super low, but our quality and warranty is second to none in the used car market. I do see people with bad credit financing 10 year old cars for 5 or 6 years at 20+ percent interest. When I was young I drove junk for a few years while making "car" payments to my savings account. In my life I've financed 2 vehicles. My Titan for 8 days, and a Silverado 15 years ago with 0% financing. I was prepared to pay cash for it, but taking 0% financing was a no brainer.

We get a discount on health insurance for doing a biometric screening once a year. I don't remember my individual numbers but my total cholesterol is 150. My blood pressure was 110/70. My fasting blood glucose level was 79. I'm 20 pounds overweight, I don't eat right, but I'm very active. Both of my parents and 3 of my Grandparents had type 2 diabetes. All except my Mom had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 40 years ago a retired Dr told me to take a shot of unfiltered apple cider vinegar every day. He said it would help all this stuff. I don't know if that's why my numbers are good but I still do it every day. (it's like taking a drink of fire)

I used to go to Florida every November racing. The racing ended Thanksgiving weekend but I'd not come back home until Christmas. I fished the St Johns river with a friend of mine who lived down there several times and caught a few 6 and 7 pounders. One time I hired a guide for Okeechobee. I caught two 9 pounders and three 8 pounders that day. (on shiners) I also caught an 8 pounder in a canal at a race track.

How far do you have the lure hanging from the end of the rod when you're casting? If the lure is hanging a long way from the rod the release point is more critical. I see a BUNCH of people casting with the lure a foot or more from the end of the rod. That doesn't work for me.

Match the speed of the reels with the baits used or the conditions you're fishing. Last Saturday I was getting a good crankbait bite but I lost 4 out of the first 5 I hooked. The 1 that I got in the boat was barely hooked on the rear treble. I figured my retrieve was too fast. I tried to slow down but kept going back to the same speed resulting in 2 more fish barely hooked on the rear hook. I changed my 8.1 reel for a 6.3 reel and ended up with 15 in the boat and no more lost fish.

I suspect I throw lure A quite often when lure B might be better. The problem is I don't know about lure B.

Moroso Motorsports Park (now closed racing complex in West Palm Beach Florida) had a canal running along side that was full of big bass and gators. We'd fish around gators all the time. They seemed pretty docile. One day one of them got mad at me. Gators are really fast. It chased me on dry land 30 yards or so before it turned around. I was an athletic 25 year old at the time. I doubt I could outrun it today. I don't know how dangerous I was really in but it got my heart pounding and my feet going. I suspect it was just "flexing" and didn't really want to catch me. I'd guess it to be 5 or 6 feet long. I had a couple bass taken by gators in that canal. I also caught a nice 8 pound Bass.

Mrs B says I don't tell her I love her enough. I reminded her that I told her I loved her at our wedding. I also assured her that if anything changed I'd let her know. (typical man, humor as a response to a serious subject)