AlabamaSpothunter

Please explain this.....beyond the obvious fact they are from Canada ?

What lure weighs 20oz that is used for LGM Bass? I fish baits well into the 3oz range, 6"+ hard swimbaits, A-Rigs on a Zillion HD. It's fantastic in that role on a 7'9 Alpha Angler Wide Glide. Ergos are killer, lighter than most similar big bait setups, holds enough 17-20lb line for my needs. If anything it's maybe too nice of a reel for big baits. Too me a Tat 300 is the best/most expensive reel I wanted for this role, but then the Zillion HD just did it's magic. Now a question for you, how many times do you buy something because of all these "XXY top tier vs ZVY top tier" threads?

Finally 2/3 ingredients for creating two of the most memorable days I've ever had fishing. I've never had a bait match so perfectly outside of maybe a big swimbait and the common sized 6-8" Gizzards on the lake.

40gb of catch footage is a bit much to go through tonight, but hopefully tom goes well and I'll roll only the big girls from the two days into one. If not I'll just make a video of one of the most wide open bites I've ever had. All these fish are suspending over and around huge carpets of what I believe are mostly very small, like the smallest size I ever see Threadfins. I think it's extremely key to why this bait is producing so spectacularly. I consciously fished several other baits to check, and while the Damaki Vault produced a fish relatively fast, only two other fish were caught on a downsized A-Rig, and then nothing again for the two dozenth time on that stupid Tactical Crank. Matt Allen got me on that zero of a bait ? Truly Garmin's and Damaki's fish. It was a pleasure to be a witness to their incredible day though. Unlike yesterday where I knew lots of big fish were present, today lots more fish were seemingly present in a larger area, and oddly enough LOTs more quality and big Spots showed up today. Still the best 5 LGMs would have gone close to 20lbs. A couple of 5lb class fish. Several 4lb class fish as well. Best 5 Spots would have gone 12-15lbs. Several at or slightly over 3lbs.

Dang Katie, you own two more than me now......Luckeeeee ? I will 1000% be ordering at least a few more after today. In the last 48 hours this bait has caught over 75 fish. After going through the files on the GoPro, I got 46 fish alone on film, "quick released" another 3.....that's almost 50 fish in 7 hours. A single bait, 75+ fish with the caveat that the stock treble sucks big time!!! Same goes for the ones they put on the Vaults. Two broken hooks over the last 48 hours but thankfully no cost fish because of it. The big lost fish at dusk yesterday just straightened one side of the small stinger hook which is an ingenious design regardless. The second best angler on the lake who has been fishing it 25yrs, and certainly a better Bass angler than myself, has his own nice Bass boat, has fished some tourneys......caught 6 fish today. I'd like to take credit, but the reality is that I lucked into one of those rare occasions when you find the absolute perfect bait they want. My thumb actually died at 4:46pm, it was an amazing soldier.....pour one out for my homie if you can ?

I love this thread. Beautiful pics, incredibly cool boat and connection, and good luck tomorrow with the LM! Dang bro, looks like the Great Lakes in the background......also what a toad!

Tim stacks deep on only the essentials, guns and tackle. When I grow up I'm going to have collections just like his ? "That sonofagun, braided wonder" was the first thing that went through my mind when he went on his recent epic big Musky tear, and I was like yeah I'd fish braid too ? You and me both Katie, that's one of the coolest fishing holes I've seen! The camping thing is so cool and talk about epic potential for a BR article......your fans demand continual content ? Thanks so much for that Dwight, that's a real compliment coming from a hammer such as yourself! Talk about taking a bait that puts the advantage in the angler's corner squarely to a bait that puts the angler at a huge disadvantage. Must be an artform trying to get the fish to key in on one specific bait with 4+ baits surrounding it.

I love reading your replies more than catching the fish ?....you might be the most supportive and encouraging person I've ever known, you are truly a gift to all of us in this thread! You fish so hardcore and spartan that I think your fishing season is perfect. Most year-round anglers aren't spending the time on the water that you do once conditions permit you to. As for the sizes of your fish, you catch so many fat fish it's crazy, and I honestly believe that you could break Maine's record. She just might be in that special place you recently discovered. I love how Bass fishing is relative, a Maine hog is equal to an Alabama hog is equal to a Texas hog. We can only control catching the biggest Bass we have in our home waters. I bought them as dead of the winter baits, but now I'm thinking I'm going to try fishing these things whenever I think they are keyed in on really small bait. I'm finding that when they are eating a smaller particular size of bait, I have lots of trouble getting them to consistently bite a single bait like a Jerk, or A-Rig. I think right when you hit the water for the year, throwing one of these in deeper open water pockets might work great for those girls still staging in a bit deeper water. Might be coincidence or a testament to how many people listen to Tactical Bassin, but many of the items they'll recommend will be sold out.

Thanks brother, yeah those are the new Zillion reels with clicker style drag. Really addictive hearing that drag ? Thanks Tim! Now if only this pattern can hold for a few days. I'd love to see how big of fish is down there.

I feel like in many ways today was the biggest breakthrough I've ever had in fishing. I've been working on these deep fish for months, had my first real breakthrough a week or so ago I guess, but today it was the plan from jump based on the conditions. Today was the make or break it confirmation of my theory that my goal can be accomplished in this place with my new hard earned knowledge. I lost the big fish of the day at dusk, another easy 6.5-7lb+ fish.....however big fish today was a 6.4lb beautiful girl. Two more fish right on the 5lb mark, a couple in the 3.5-4lb range, and 12-15 fish ranging in between 1-3lbs that were all butterballs. Best 5 would have been well over 20lbs, and if the big fish of the day didn't come unbuttoned it would have been my best 5 day out there ever. Around 30 fish total, close to 25 of this Damaki Axe Blade in 1oz in Holo Shad. 100% bought because of Matt Allen and Tactical Bassin. They are salesman obviously, but a day like today was 100% because of his bait, and a quality Garmin unit. The feeling of catching quality fish because of sonar is a high I've got to keep pursuing, if you use these things, man they are fun and effective. When I brought this Shad up early on in the day, I knew I had the bait

I think this thread has run its course sadly mods. I'll think better about posting in the future

Congrats on a magnificent fish! The weird filter is cool. I have no idea how you guys fish 4lb test....that's pretty impressive, the Drums I caught up there pulled hard below Wheeler Dam. I'm so used to power fishing that when I last took out the panfish setup with 6lb, I was breaking off left and right.

Dang brother, it's truly magnificent! The only Shimano I currently have in the line up is the Calais 100a, and I hear it's the predecessor to that reel. It's so bombproof and awesome that I have to get another one.

Yeah that fish was caught last year when a few guides like Josh Jones, and Nick Kefalidas all got together, similar to this year. I think you're right, the record has a great shot of being broken, they are already catching a number of 13-14lb fish, and those fish are going to be getting bigger by several pounds over the coming month I'd imagine.

Solid takeaway from that bit of information.

Excellent, gonna have to get one for sure. Thanks!

Thanks! Out of reactions for the day and it's not even 9am ? Awesome, I know what I'll be watching tonight. Thanks!

Heck yeah, target those fish. Catching a quality fish from the middle of the lake makes you feel like you tapped into the secret truth of the Bass fishing universe ? On smaller less pressured bodies of water, you know at least right now in Bass history, very few people are targeting these fish.

Wow, I didn't know that he pulled one from 60ft. Wonder if he stops targeting when they are that deep like that given the mortality risk. What's the point of trying to catch sharelunkers if they are gonna die. Not only does it not help another lake, it hurts Ivie.

Been looking at them actually, any recs? The Frabill 15ft looks nice for not a lot of money. Guy I know swears by these things.

Love hearing that brother, especially in the times we live in. I reached a put where I thought my fuse was gonna blow in 2020/21, I think rediscovering Bass fishing and this community has helped heal my soul.

Sorry for your loss, Groot was such a handsome pup. May he RIP. Most good animals are better than people I've found, I'll never forget or really get over losing my two best cats, one from childhood, one from about 5 years ago. Just sucks. They are so loyal, don't ask much in return. Time helps though friend.

Size 2 is excellent, 3 will work just fine, but I wouldn't go bigger. I run 2s on the 3.25 Rage Swimmers which are very close to a 3-3.5 keitech I run 3s on the 3.5-4.5 similar swimbaits.

Like many, my oldest fascination has always been with the Big Bass hunters, not the all around greatest Bassmasters, but the folks who are dedicating their lives to catching the biggest Bass in the world. As a kid it was the SoCal lakes, and folks like WRB. Today it's Texas, FFS, and folks like Josh Jones and Ben Milliken. What they are learning with FFS, and then confirming to the world with their catches is what I think many here have said, big Bass roam around in wolf packs, many times offshore in deep water. Anyway Jay Kumar has an email newsletter full of amazing info I've been finding, this recent one has an interview with Milliken and a few answers and questions are super informative, and I thought others would also appreciate this info. Some real nuggets that I will be thinking about right away on the water. 4. Before forward-facing sonar, big-bass fishermen would either deadstick live crayfish in CA or fish big swimbaits there – not including random catches on "regular" baits in TX and FL. Are we in a new era of big-bass hunting? > "My approach is based on a lot of that historical [big bass stuff]...couple of these guys catching big fish have been bass fishing for [a short time]. My approach takes a lot of my 25 years of bass fishing prior to this and applies the same [stuff, also things] outlined in Bill Murphy's 'In Pursuit of Giant Bass' book. > "...apply natural, refined big baits with sonar in different parts of the water column or part of a lake where these giant fish have not seen a lure before." Follow-up Q: Some guys have said that with forward-facing sonar they're finding bass in new places they haven't even considered before, and that bass spend more time there than the classic bass spots. Have you seen that? > "Yes and no. I think the biggest thing I've learned since moving to TX is these big ones aren't necessarily solitary predators...not just one 15-lb blob in the middle of the lake by itself. The majority of fish I catch are in groups of 6-12 fish that, depending on the fishery, are all 7 lbs and bigger in open water...using size and numbers to overtake their prey. > "Think more of them are together out in open water in schools, just big wolf packs, than we ever thought before. > "I know for a fact that if you catch a fish, a 10-lber, on a point after dragging a Carolina rig there for 3 hours, it's not because he was there and didn't want to bite. It's because him and 6 of his buddies came by at that moment – because they're constantly moving." 5. What's one thing that's blown your mind about big bass behavior that you've learned? > "It would definitely be what I just said – their propensity to live with other big fish in groups. And it's in every single lake...especially grass lakes...giant fish in wolf packs. I think it's nothing we could ever know with out forward-facing sonar." Bonus Q 1: Do you have a favorite giant bass bait, or is it possible to have just one? Or is there a key to big bass baits? > "Every lake is different, but one thing I've found is that the best lakes down here are the lakes that have a large population of big gizzard shad. > "It's not possible to have just one bait, especially seasonally. A lot of LiveScope guys only fish one body of water for 3 months of the year in the winter, so they can just have an Alabama Rig. But a 6-8 inch line-through swimbait is a good bait to have, a 10-inch shad-style glide bait, and a jerkbait is also another one. That's one of the only small baits that can fool giant bass consistently."

I recently lost a trophy caliber fish right at the boat after already trying to net it once.....truer words couldn't be spoken in regard to sometimes the fish just wins its freedom. I'm still dying because of that fish, but wow did that fish earn my respect and admiration. First fish to significantly squeel a Zillion drag almost on max.