AlabamaSpothunter

Lmao, yeah saltwater is still catch only on just about everything but Billfish and once you reach your limits

I'm a huge Zoom Mag Lizard guy, and the gap of an EWG, or having the point being not inline with the eye makes all the difference in the world with the unusual and thicker profile of a lizard. Because of this I thought these would be fantastic. I bought a pack of these in 4/0 to try on the Lizards, Got 1 left out of 5 so I've about fished the whole pack. Maybe caught two dozen fish on these over the summer. My thoughts are they were relatively disappointing. Not nearly as sharp as I've come to expect Owner hooks to be, and the name is appropriate for them as they are a huge gauge wired hook which I'm not a huge fan of. It's really tough to beat the Gama EWGs in whatever variety you like. Their gauge wire is more than enough and doesn't impede the action of the bait as much as the heavier Haymaker hooks do. Always brilliantly sharp. I won't be buying anymore Haymakers.

You can't underestimate the effect Ray Scott has had on Bass fishing, and more importantly catch N release after seeing a picture like that. That picture would never happen in today's world. My life I've dreamed of fishing the big O with live shiners and catching just one of those fish in the pic. I can't imagine a 10lb+ Bass tasting any better than a Carp. Crazy to think at one time people kept almost every Bass they caught. This really was the mindset of every generation before BASS and Ray Scott. Moreover I've heard of stories of people getting mad at anglers back in the day for throwing Bass back....like they were appauled to see someone throw perfectly good food away in the trash.

Lot of great stuff in this post, especially the last part. Fishing is as much about me being left the heck alone in nature as it is catching fish. I'm also a "Goal fisherman" meaning that I set a goal, work to achieve it, and then find another new goal within the sport. Right now it's to catch a DD LGM and 5lb+ Spot on my home lake. So far this year I've got a 8lb LGM, and 2.4lb Spot. I won't quit until I reach at least one of those goals.

She's one of kind for sure, she fishes like a possessed teenager, and catches lots of fish. I do believe she's quite rare not just in being a huge Bass fisherman, but again like I said she seems to have that obsession over Bass that I've only seen in about 10% of male fisherman, let alone female ones.

Thanks to a fellow member @RDB I learned that Alpha Angler is having a sale....it's on the front page of their site with code for those interested. Way too good of a deal to pass up on a rod I was already planning to purchase. Now that I see it's public on their site, I figured I would give folks a heads up in this thread. I got a new complete chatterbait setup now thanks to research/members on this forum, and between the exchange rate and the sale at AA I'm saving almost $200 Daiwa JDM Zillion SV TW 1000 reel Alpha Angler 7'2 Chatterbound rod P-Line Ultimate Fluorocarbon 15lb

Fished another 2.5 hrs until dusk, another just beautiful day, but not a cloud in sight. Lucky for me the wind went from 8mph to 0 when I decided to start fishing. An hour of that was wasted chasing around Crappie trying to figure out how to catch foolishly without knowing a single thing about Crappie fishing. Some days you just get out there and it's so nice you just enjoy being there. Animals/Birds seen today: 1. Barred Owl 2. twelve Deer including several fawns 3. Mallards and Wood Ducks 4. numerous Blue Heron 5. Red Tailed Hawk 6. A flying V formation of Canadian Geese Sometimes it's easy to take for granted how much we fisherman are blessed in regard to experiencing nature in the most serene and quiet settings. 4 fish total: 3 Spots/1 LGM. Biggest was actually a Spot for a change, right at 2lbs. Everything else was smaller. Not sure why the last Spot is bleeding, he was hooked in the lip. Swam off mad as heck, all I could do. All 4 came off a 6" fat Roboworm in New Ayu on a 1/8 tungsten with 2/0 EWG T-Rigged. Lost a fish on a chatterbait which happens at least once every time I throw it lol. Water temps actually rose a little....avg. was right around 82. Still a long way to go before we get into that Fall mode even though outside temps are falling nicely around central AL.

Most excellent reply, thanks! You might not have gotten the WR like you were chasing, but you caught Bass that again 99.9999999% of all Bass fisherman couldn't even imagine. I honestly struggle imagining a 20lb Bass. A 10lb Bass is truly remarkable, to double that is mind boggling.

Not at all, while I get a great boost when I catch fish on my non confidence tackle, all that matters to me is catching fish. One of the few things in life that excites me the same way something did as a kid.

You break a number of sterotypes.....you outfish men, you seemingly have the energy of a teenager, and you're making Maine a Bass state ? It's awesome how you get both numbers, and quality fish. Keep up the great reports and catches! Really nice fish brother! Healthy looking too. You rig that whacky worm in the middle with a shaky head or you talking about just making it weedless the standard way with the shakey head? Jackle makes a shakey/jig head with built it weed guard so you can hook those whacky worms in the middle that I got a pack of. Need to try them out. Awesome stuff! That last fish is a real beauty!

Good luck pal, and I think you're 100% correct about the heat sapping the Southern Bass over the long hot summers. I love your pics, and mine aren't good....I'm just a technophobe who still uses a point and shoot camera lol. I'm a boomer stuck in a late millennials body Our country is so big and beautiful that I'm ashamed of all the places in it I've yet to see. I love how these amazing fish connect us all though!

I totally get your first reaction where you make another cast and see if somehow that escapable gut punch feeling will miss you.......yet inevitably you collapse 30 seconds later when the enormity of it all sets fully in. Your video depicts the emotions perfectly. What does a 19.3lb LGM fight like? 99.9% of all Bass fisherman will never feel how these big fish fight. One of these days I'm going to research and learn how to livebait those Crawfish. I know you were fishing a jig likely, but the Crawfish seem like a great way to catch DD Bass.

Thanks, my wallet is marked safe during the great "JDM currency exchange storm"

I'm going to give them the benefit of having a huge labor day sale and perhaps this is the result of that. I'm also big into 2A stuff, and companies in that industry are notorious for having blockbuster sales at BF, and then taking months to finally ship out all the orders they receive in a like a 4 day period. I love the selection at TW, and they offer things I can't get locally. Great prices too when compared locally, but taking two weeks + to get someone their order is not a great way to generate repeat customers for sure.

I'm out about $500-600 since I joined here a month or two ago, at this rate I'll be posting fish pics from a cardboard shack Do they still come with a Japanese warranty then? Like you can't take a JDM to a US dealer to get fixed, but you can send it back to Japan to Daiwa? Also wonder how long this will last. I really need another high end spinning reel, and I'd love to add another Steez to the lineup

Thanks Katie, means a lot coming from such a fisherman such as yourself! I wonder if the added weight or the slightly colder water is giving them more fight. All I know is that the fish I catch in mid July even at night take forever to recovery if they are over about 5lbs. Seems to be the hotter water temps really sap their ability to fight, and the recover quickly.

I've broke off big fish before but nothing that has ever stuck with me more than a day or two. On the other hand I've lost Saltwater fish that made me physically ill, and will stick with me for the rest of my life. I think it has to do with being involved in a fight vastly longer than with a Bass. I lost a 150-200lb Tarpon in the Keys after a 2 hour fight, and following the fish for 1.2 miles. Lost a Blue Marlin in Saint Martin that broke my heart. Finally as a kid I lost a giant Cobia I hooked on a pier in the Outer Banks, NC. The only fish that most likely should have been caught was the Tarpon. Cobia spooled me on a pier, nothing I could do, and the Marlin just pulled it's hook. Knock on wood I've been blessed with freshwater.

Wow, Digitaka already sent me a tracking number. I ordered last monday from TW and it's not scheduled to be shipped until tomorrow. Anybody know how these points work for Digitaka? I got 300 points for the Zillion. I hope for my wallet it's not something like buy 4 or 5 nice reels, and end up getting another one because of points lol

Only personal buying experience: JDM Daiwa Zillion SV TW: $233 USDM Daiwa Zillion SV TW: $365-375 (taxes included) To say they are cheaper is a huge understatement. I went JDM and Digitaka without thinking twice. If these prices hold, and they get a reel or two I wanted that wasn't in stock like the Steez A models, I'm gonna grab it. I have no idea how long these prices have been like this or will be like this, but I'm sure this won't last forever, or perhaps even very long in the violate world we live in.

Every new spool of line on a spinning reel gets this treatment. Ever since I started doing this, I've never had line twists on spinning reels again. Agree with others in regards to OP's question......typical line twisting commonly found on spinning reels.

Fished for about 2.5 hours this afternoon from 430-7pm. Beautiful day, very little cloud cover and the first day where you could feel that Fall chill in the wind. Water temps were averaging at 81. Missed too many fish, but ended up catching 7, including a Crappie which really made my day. I've been meaning to learn how to Crappie fish as this lake is loaded with them. I see them all the time, but I fish big Bass baits mainly, so I don't get them as a byproduct. 6 fish came off T-Rigged Roboworms on 2/0 and 3/0 EWGs with 1/8th tungsten, 6" fat in SXE Shad, and 7" straight tail in Black Grape. The Crappie was caught on a 3/0 and 7" worm......crazy, and a testament to how irresistible roboworms are to fish in general! Last fish came off a 8" Zoom Magnum Lizard in Black Grape. Biggest of the day was in the 3-4lb range, all the rest were chunky super healthy looking little 1-2lb LGM. One fish even still had the "antennas" of a Crawfish sticking out of the back of it's gullet. You can really tell these fish are getting fatter, and fighting harder. The biggest of the day pulled lots of drag, thought it was gonna be much bigger. All the smaller ones had nice little bellies, love to see it. My biggest takeaway from the session is how quickly these fish are transitioning into cold weather months mode. Their ability to fight, and their belly size has significantly grown in just a period of about 2 weeks and 5-7 degrees of cooler average water temps. First year I've really been trying to plot and pay attention to avg. lake temps.

Your avatar makes me happy every time I see it. I grew up fishing in the summers in the OBX, and one of my favorite areas to fish was right down from that Lighthouse at the Cape Point. I love my white sand beaches in the South, but OBX is truly an awesome place. Yeah this is what has always concerned me about turtles. I've heard some pretty bad stories of small ponds especially being devasted by turtles. My home lake is only 200-300acres, and I constantly see turtles. Not so much sunning on above water objects, but sunning themselves at the surface of the water, and then they'll dive back down. It's always been that way since I was a boy on this lake, so I doubt it's a problem, but I always wonder if the fishery could be better if they were thinned.

This one everyone can test out and see it's true.... You are the same height from arm to arm as you are from head to toe. There are some outliers, but the vast majority of humans have the same measurement

There are easily at least two dozen spiders in the jon boat I fish out on my home lake every time I go fishing, it's tied up to a dock 24/7. I'd say fishing honestly cured me over time of arachnophobia. I've done the most ridiculous things to land a Bass.....stripped down to wade out and get Bass that were stuck in the weeds at night, fished golf course ponds at night with Alligators on the banks, it's funny the stuff you don't care about when you are singularly focused on catching Bass.

This is excellent question, and one I'd love to hear answers from qualified fish biologists on. I've always disliked the amount of Turtles in my home lake, and if I could ever get concrete data to support their removal, I'd start buying those turtle traps. Mine aren't the snapping variety, more like a Slider of some sorts. We know what they eat, many of the same things that much more important organisms do like Bass, and Bream, and they obviously eat Bass and Bream fry. To what extent, and to what potential effect this has on a fishery is the question I have. I don't think there is a connection to not catching fish when you see them though, or I'd be catching a lot less fish.