AlabamaSpothunter

Yeah that'll get the Saturday off to a rocking start ?

I love it Katie! You are amazing writer, and poet. "He's free to cast, free to roam" Put that on my tombstone that's such an epic line ?

What a memorable day for a variety of reasons. I managed to catch two of the big three on a single cast......this now has me obsessed with the thought of catching all three on a single cast. TNRiver46 lives in prime country to pull of this feat. If anybody knows about someone catching all three on a single cast please let me know! Got into Katie numbers level of hot fishing, I stopped trying to keep count after 30. So many 1-2lb butterballs, and then I had the EXACT opposite thing happen in the exact same place as yesterday (thought a 5-6lb Channel was a big Bass on the Flashback Mini), today I knew I had a big Cat like yesterday, NOPE..... schoolgirl mode activated ? I managed to best my Flashback Mini best fish on that girl by 3ozs......4lb 10ozs. I'm gonna get a fish over 5 on it, I just know it. Lost one a week or two ago that might have done it. 15+ on A-Rig 10+ on the Flashback mini 5+ on the MB 110jr sexy shad Took 1.5hrs to find them, but for 4hours straight I watched 2 acres of water at the mouth of a creek in 2-6ft erupt with half pound fish all the way to at least 5lb fish......if you just sit still in the boat you can watch the Sharks swarm through Shad that numbers in what I can only guess to be millions. Little Bass getting sometimes 3ft in the air, other times dozens of fish clearing the water at the same time, constantly watching dozens and dozens of silver flashes dance across the air all around you in every direction. Every fish slap full of Shad. Incredible spectacle. pics: 4lb 10oz Flashback Mini fish, and biggest Spot of the day. I'm in love these two species but for totally different reasons, to get them together was a privilege and joy I won't ever forget.

I was in the high end tackle store the other day, and a mother was in there barking about her college age son not using the 75k rig she bought him with another 5-10k in electronics including Garmin Live Scope. Some people are blessed like that young adult kid and never realize it before it's too late and he's squandered his incredible opportunity and boat. I might go to the show in my town this weekend because a neighbor wants me to help her get a new to her pontoon. I don't want to go because I don't want to see a bunch of Skeeters ?

Nice pics!

Wow that's awesome, you just barely beat my PB that I caught a month or two back at 2.7. Congrats.

Congrats, looks like a tank of a SM....love that fat belly!

I owned the first Calcutta DC model back in the day, it was was complete waste of money even when measured up against half the cost Team Daiwa models. Super finicky, required way more tinkering than a reel should while on the water. When you finally dialed it when it a heavier aerodynamic bait, it would outcast anything made at the time. I have no idea how they are today, but after buying some new Daiwas I really hate to see them fix what's not broken.

Yeah Shimano made it that I won't ever buy a DC reel ever again. Daiwa shouldn't mess with perfection, there is nothing wrong with their new flagship line of reels, nothing.

This is an awesome interview with Hayes, you can hear the pain and frustration over the process in his words and voice.

Give it a go, one thing you want in a trailer is durability....these things flat out get bit a ton. Zman stuff is super durable. The thing that drives the fish crazy about this bait imho is it's very unique and completely random "darting" action on a simple retrieve let alone with some action imparted by the angler. The right combo of stiffness up front (heavier), and looseness in the tail section seems to give off the best darting action. The Fluke style lends itself to this idea of mine really well.

The Tiny Fluke by Zoom is an excellent choice however I feel that it's fatter tail section doesn't have the same "wag" as the Armor Shad. Armor Shad is smaller in the tail section. I've found the more "wag" you get on a chatterbait trailer, the better. That's why if I had to go with a second option it would be Jackall's Rhythm Wag....it's a half inch longer, but it's a sexy bait. Not durable like the Armor Shad though. I think cost is the main reason why I've never used them, I know they'd be dynamite. The Armor Shads are $4.50-5 per 15, but they are much more durable than Zoom plastics.

Very true, and his level of dedication to a full time job, being a full time father, and then to be a full time night angler is incredible......that ole saying "I'll sleep when I'm dead" must have applied to this legend ? His story, and Josh Jones recent interview where the world got to learn his humble cable guy backstory got me full of inspiration. I love reading stories of the big Bass savants, it defies logic in my brain to catch even 10 fish over 10lbs, let alone 1000.

The key for me was having a 3" bait, once I got there I wanted the one that looked the most like a small Shad, which was the Damaki Armor Shad. With some superglue, each one lasts 25+ fish. Most importantly why I chose the Armor Shad is because the blade enhanced the action whereas on many small chatterbaits a paddletail will actually detract from the action of the blade. I can't run paddletails on Minimaxs or Flashback Minis. I've got a bunch of other types to try, but I'm pretty sure for my situation, I'll never top the Armor Shad. The Jackall Rhythm and Wag is a great bait that would work well I'm sure, I want to try those at some point.

Absolutely, I've made it a goal to fish 60 nights throwing a buzzbait after reading that article. Really inspiring stuff for sure.

I can accept that, but as its own category "neo western" or something. Part of the western genre was the lawlessness that went on before the west was truly settled. Tombstone is the perfect representation for that in regard to time period.

I love the memes from that scene of the stare down ?

Great looking fish! There are days when the bank is the best boat. Not to mention my two biggest fish were caught from the bank.

That's just one of the best movies ever made to me it's too modern to be a western. If it's a western than we must also consider Hell or Highwater

I found out about this guy some time ago, and it inspired me big time. Night time has always been my favorite time to target big fish.

Down here in Bama during the summers, the mosquitos are ridiculous. 7-10% Deet, your still getting chewed, but with that max Deet stuff in the 30-40% range IIrc works wonders. I had putting it on, but it bets get chewed. Keeping the usage of lights to a minimum makes a big difference as well. Once you handle the bugs, you'll crave the serenity that night provides a fisherman.

Thanks Bob and Kyle! Well I was Catfished by the wind today lol......I literally looked at the weather report before I left at 11am said 10mph winds, by 1pm I had to hug a bank in the back of a creek for an hour before calling it with those 35mph gust headwinds back to the dock. At times my mighty 50lb motor on high was just barely getting the job done, white caps on the main body. A real Moby Dick saga, Captain Ahab was almost lost to 1.2ft seas, and 35mph gusts ? Caught a nice Spot on the A-Rig, then thought I had a white whale for a second when I caught a solid sized Channel on the Flashback Mini and spinning rod. Catfish jumped right away which I never seen them do, and I thought it was a DD ?

Tombstone.....Unforgiven, you guys can fight over third....maybe 3:10 to Yuma or Three Mules and Sister Sara

Stop posting I can't afford to burn all my likes in one thread ? When you get a lake to yourself, it's magic, that quiet is truly priceless. This is why night fishing will always be my favorite way to Bass fish. You can hear a pin drop from seemingly a mile away on the water some perfectly calm summer nights. I've never seen another night fisherman on my home lake.

1/8oz heads are the most popular and also size I use. I like to combine that with a size 3/0 hook. Then run 3.5-4.5" swimbodies I've been fishing it in 2-3ft of water the last several days chasing Shad and Bass back in creeks with the warm weather here. To me it's nothing but a big spinnerbait...so burning it will bring it very high in the water column.