AlabamaSpothunter

Love it, you can feel the enthusiasm to get back on the water in this post.....I can tell you've been pondering that lineup for some time, the anticipation to throw it all must be great. The break you yanks have to take sucks I'm sure, but that priceless feeling of getting to do something that you haven't for sometime is a drug unto itself.

I bought a Chatterbound without ever hearing about the company or the rod, let alone handling it after it was recommended by a few on here. The rod single handedly changed the way I Bass fish. It spawned a confidence in moving baits that changed everything for me. Also ordered three JDM higher end Daiwa reels this last year, best three reels I've owned. Never felt them in hand prior. People on here, the TW reviews, and a few other places will usually give you the straight and narrow. Homework is paramount, but buying without handling isn't as risky if one takes a little time to research.

My OCD nature is one of the main reasons why I love the Spotted Bass so much, I think they are just perfect in form and function. Much like a big cat, they are as lethal as they are beautiful. Nice ones, and awesome trout by your dad! Heck of trip I'd say.

Kind of the story of MegaBass in America..... "THE BIRTH OF MEGABASS IN THE U.S. IS THE STUFF OF LEGEND, INVOLVING A CROSS-COUNTRY TREK IN THE EARLY 90’S IN WHICH MEGABASS FOUNDER YUKI ITO CHALLENGED PRO STAFF OF LOCAL STORES AND AREA PROS TO FISHING DUELS. THE RULES WERE SIMPLE: IF YUKI WON, THE STORE HAD TO BUY HIS LURES; IF THE U.S. ANGLER WON, THEN YUKI HAD TO BUY LOCAL TACKLE FROM THE STORE. THIS “PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS” APPROACH, COMBINED WITH THE QUALITY AND UNDENIABLE FISH-CATCHING PERFORMANCE OF YUKI’S HANDCRAFTED EQUIPMENT, CONVINCED STORES TO TAKE ON THIS PREMIUM JAPANESE TACKLE."

83 with 35mph gusts in central AL.....top that buddy ?

Neato! If it came in a MegaBass box, I'd likely buy it ?

Time on water is absolutely everything. Being on the actual water and just exploring trumps even the greatest resource in print or online. What is your level of commitment, the more committed you are, the better results you're going to have. For example, if you are fishing 4-5x weekly, you are fully committed and should be seeing the results. If you are only going a couple times a month, how can you expect to have your hand on the pulse of the fishery. Being on the water and believing in yourself enough to keep throwing a bait is the only thing I got.

1000%, doesn't change the fact that big Bass are extraordinarily hard to catch.....but they simply aren't intelligent organisms. Big Bass are very rare to start off with. Bob Lusk has some fantastic insight into this topic. I slap junk off my lure every time out, and when I find active fish, they are literally jumping right beside the boat because I put myself right in the middle of them. They are completely oblivious to me when they are fired up chasing Shad, much like a Buck chasing a Doe.

Awesome! What did she weigh?

She'll turn up friend, and if she doesn't that would be my line in the sand. Yeah that's the first time I thought this is a terrifying animal.

I remember the first time we took my best friend's dad's 911 Targa for "speed trials", we'd take turns trying to get our new high speed, and we'd reach 150mph in the blink of an eye, however from 150 to 173 it was like waiting for eternity. Ivie is incredible, but it just puts in perspective how truly epic SoCal and the fish it produced were during its heyday.

I saved this image for you when I saw it.....first thought was "Bob is gonna blow a gasket over it" ?

***monkey noises whispered softly into a caressed ear

Lol, that darn tactical crank is one of the few baits I've bought because of Matt and Tim that hasn't delivered in a major way. I've perhaps fished that bait more than any other one this winter without catching a single fish or getting a bite. I think ole' Jones and the Ivie crew using mainly the odd Swim jig config. or occasional A-rig is a big key to catching them it seems. He talked about it in a recent interview IIrc.

I threw the Flashboost all through the fall, and then downsized to the 110 jr+1 for depth and to better match the size of winter Shad in my homelake during the start of winter. I'd consider the Shimano WM a fullsized Jerk. A bit longer than a 110 IIrc. When these fish have been pushing shallow after a week of warm weather, I've broken out the 110jr. It has to be a matter of time until Shimano comes out with a junior size, and at that point I might just go with Shimano all the time. The hooks are stronger and stupid sharp. The finish is more durable it seems as well. Like a 110, it's so beautiful out of the box you hate catching that first fish on it lol.

That's the main reason I want it, I want to be able to throw a bait on fish I currently easily find on downscan/clearvu, but outside of something like dropping a Damaki rig on them, I'm not getting a picture of their feeding posture. That said if bait is very close by, and especially if you see the fish suspended among bait, those fish are usually catchable I've finally discovered even in very deep water. I want to know how to lure the inactive or nuetral fish lingering in 25-30ft of water.

Yoing Yoing flats and then the deep water where they then pull back too has been paying off well for me these last two weeks. Fall rate is always important on the Yo Yo retreive, so have a few different weight options. I find regardless of the moving bait, the faster it drops on the Yo Yo, the better results. The TN70s fall like a rock and that's what has been working for me. Burning a trap is another common successful retrieve, but to me I just have to impart some action into my bait's retrieve.

Exceptional in every regard except options particularly +1 junior sizes. Has a great perfectly level suspension to it, and the flashboost seems to really work. They throw about as well as the 110 series as well. The colors aren't as catchy even though the flashboost is. Something about MegaBass paintjobs ?

You gonna clean the drool on my keyboard bub? ? Once you get hooked on the Flashboost and 110s, it's hard to buy others even though many great ones exist. I buy way too many Jerkbaits, but not enough yet to invest in an awesome setup like that.

I can't say for certain, but you can see that the smaller one in the first pic has lost one side, whether that was a drop, or lost earlier from a fight or something else who knows. We have this weird thing in Alabama where our population is made up of native and non-native populations that all rut at different times. Just two weeks ago that same buck was chasing a single or pair of Does every time I saw it, now it's co existing like it might be over. Unraveling Alabama’s Rut(s) (buckmasters.com) “There are several oddball areas. If you look on the map and check the (color-coded) dots, you’ll see where the deer came from. You’ll see deer from Wisconsin or Texas and where they were placed throughout the state. Even though it’s been 50 or 60 years ago, the rut still mirrors the basic genetics of that deer herd. So there are isolated pockets in Alabama, unlike any other place in the nation where I’ve worked, where you’ve got deer rutting in November, December, January and February. You’ve got months that, depending on where you are in the state, you can hunt the rut. “If I’m managing property in Illinois or Ohio, you’ve got two weeks you can hunt the rut, and then you may have two weeks with a small secondary rut. In Alabama, in some places, you can hunt part of the rut four months out of the year. It’s unlike any other place in the country.”

I see this big fellow several times a week. The whole herd had just swum easy 500yds and then I snapped the pic once they grouped back up on the bank.

That's a sweet setup you're packing, love how it's all organized and mobile.

@TNRiver46 I was informed the way to tell the difference is Gizzards have their mouths towards the bottom, that Shad looks like a Gizzard to me the way TNRiver46 explained the two to me. This was gonna be my second argument for why that's a Gizzard, I saw your location. Those threadfins should have started to die off once the waters fell below 45-50d

I use my Zillion HD for 1.5-4oz A-rigs and big Swimbaits......couldn't ask for anything more including line capacity. Running high end Fluoro allows me to pack plenty of 17 or 20lb on it for my needs. I'm not glidebaiting in super clear waters making bomb casts. Turn key money setup right there.....very nice stuff, the line makes me the most jelly lol.