AlabamaSpothunter

Toledo Bend booms and busts....it's super booming right now......it's close to being a "Great Lake", and it's ability to reload is endless like the Great Lakes. 29.5 29.5 29.5 29.5 ? NEW BIGGEST SINGLE DAY RECORD FOR ALL SMS

It took 20lb bags to win just a decade or two ago according to Davy Hite on Bass Live. Trust me this lake will have another bust, and another boom, and so on. All these fisheries are cyclical. I don't think the end is near at all.

It's like MLF Cayuga but without having to depend on uber stupid bed fish, and all the sketchy stuff. Agreed, this has to be the hottest SM lake in the world. It's ridiculous, all you can say. eta: I might take a trip there this time next year. I'm not a SM guy per say, but this is a bucket list fishery, and sadly it won't always be. OH Ivie is already on the down swing again according to biologists.

Cooper is putting on a show, three 5+ with a 5.12 kicker fish. He's easy to root for, hope he gets a blue trophy.

Caught 8 a few trips ago using it on the Gika Rig for the first time. Makes a great bait for either rig I would think.

Love to see you try it given your history on pressured waters and producing truly monster fish out of said waters.

I've been meaning to C-Rig big time, bought some C-Rigging stuff a couple months ago, but I tend to sell out to learning something new and haven't gotten around to it. I C-Rigged a bunch growing up, but since coming back to the sport haven't picked one up. I think you're absolutely correct about the slower fall, and then once they commit, I believe the Free Rig accounts for a better hookup percentage and fewer lost fish than a T Rig in my own usage. I would have never used the Free Rig until I watched Ben Milliken keep coming back to it in his videos over the summer, and the same deal goes for why I'll definitely be focusing heavily on the C-Rig in the future.....it's one of Milliken's bread and butter baits. He used it to win at Toledo Bend, and then was using it to catch SMs on the SLR up north. His other big bottom contact bait is a swing head, says he stopped throwing jigs for the most part and throws a swing head instead. I've really boughten into his whole "freedom of movement" mindset that he stresses. The more I study him, the more consistently I'm able to catch 5+ fish it seems.

I've mentioned in a previous post that I'm perplexed by how something that I can't really see with the naked eyes even in tank tests translates to such a huge difference to these fish. Another thing that I mention and continues to stand out to me is the hook placement on caught fish. I'll have to upload the video to show, but on so many of these fish, especially the 5+ fish, they're hooked deep in the roof of the mouth. That's telling me something but I can't say exactly what it is.......the fish are able to pick this bait up without feeling the extra weight which I think adds to this. Lastly, and another thing I can't really explain is how often fish hit this thing after you pop it up verses dragging a standard T Rig where I think less is far more in terms of retrieve. The fish are cuing in on that little 1ft drop when I pop it more than anything else I'm thinking. So something is happening differently. If I was just dragging it will little input I'm not sure it would be beating the T-Rig. This is one of the most nuanced techniques I've tried thus far, and not nuance to me but rather nuance in the mechanics by which the fish are finding it more appealing. I didn't use it for a long time because it seemed extremely stupid, looked like a solution in search of a problem. I think I proved myself thoroughly wrong at this point lol.

I don't leave home without D-Bombs, pegged in the Spring they are dynamite. Fish them on a Free Rig or T Rig in the summer time around deeper cover, grass lines, flats and they're fantastic as well. Something about this bait bigger than average size fish find attractive, but that's true for most craw type baits. You don't have to flip/pitch D Bombs, just throw them to targets like you would a jig.

Tom. perhaps I'll upload a video and some pics I've collected over the last 2.5 weeks on this Free Rig at night. Tonight was second 20lb bag in a week on it. First time was 22.5 with a 7lb kicker, tonight was three 5s.....5.6, 5.8, and 5.11.......but could only get a couple 2lb fish to round out the bag....really thought I was gonna hit 25lbs tonight, but it just shut down instantly once the moonset happened around 10pm. The 5.11 from tonight was one of those fish that you can't even feel them hit it when you bounce it, you just feel weight.....thankfully I hammered it, and bingo. That's the greatest sensation in pitch darkness. Free Rig Til Die boys ? Yeah I simply can't beat the Zoom Black Grape Ol Monster 10.5 on this Free Rig, they like everything on it, but this is the obvious clear winner. Two 20+ bags exclusively on that combo. I dedicated a night last week to the Gika Rig...Gama's version. Caught 8 fish, biggest was a 2.11. Might throw it more in the future, threw it tonight a bit as well, but didn't wow me instantly like the Free Rig.

2nd and 3rd at Lake Murray and Lake Seminole. Seminole was dominated by the scope, but his finish at Murray was pretty unique so I'll give him that. Basically what I mean is he needs to learn how to fish like Jon Cox, Seth Fieder, and similar guys who can just go up shallow and power fish without electronics. He'll continue to dominate events that FFS ones, but I think he'll run into places he can't always scope his way into a solid finish. There were like a handful of 5lb fish weighed in over 4 days. Very, very few.

Never gets old seeing these guys achieve their ultimate dreams! Makes me almost tear up, I can't imagine that feeling. Fujita is incredible, hopefully he learns how to fish down South a bit better which I'm sure he will. BASS HAS TO GET A JAPANESE TRANSLATOR! It's 2023, come on!

You realize how true BOAT....bust out another thousand rings true when you watch these events. I'm always stupefied by the amount of top shelf, basically brand new gear breaks for these guys during a day. They are no different than us.......something always is breaking ? If Bass fishing had a 5 tool superstar type player category, Walters would be in it. I'd say he's easily a top 10 angler in the world regardless of where he's fishing. Most importantly he has the mental approach for the game it seems. He's a super positive person without having to say he is like so many say they are.

I wonder if you can get a DUI operating a jon boat with a trolling motor on a private lake....like those dudes getting DUIs on riding lawn mowers mowing their grass ?

KGB Swimbaits It's a rush trying to buy them, and it's a even bigger rush fishing with them. They do everything perfect as a business, they're the American dream....dude was fireman who made baits in his basement, now he's running a small business, employing a number of people, and making some of the greatest big swimbaits on the market. Hard not to love a company like that.

I pick baits based on seasons, the Bass movements, and the bait/size they are eating at that particular time.......add all three together and then select a bait. Secondly you must build a history in fishing in order to know what best to throw in the future. Go fishing, throw the first thing that inspires confidence, after an hour of no action, put it away and grab the second thing that inspires confidence and so forth. Keep doing this month after month, year after year.......time on water will teach you everything you need to know, and everything you can't learn on the internet. My last calender year primary baits......I'm a power fisherman from the South, that's important to realize when reading my bait picks. Jan: A-Rigs, Blade baits, Axe Blades, and Suspending Jerkbaits Feb: Lipless Cranks, Blade Baits, Axe Blades, Chatterbait, A-Rigs March-May: (Full blown Spawn) Pegged/T-Rigged Creature bait, Buzzbait, Whacky Rig senko, Chatterbait June: (Post Spawn) Big Glides, T-rigged plastics, Buzzbait, Chatterbait July-Aug: Night fishing only due to climate........Free Rig or T-Rig hunks of plastics like mag lizards, mag straight tails, and mag curly tails. Buzzbait, wakebait, popper, chatterbait, and colorado bladed spinnerbait all work for moving baits. Cranks will work as well. I throw a Free Rig/T Rig big contact bait the majority of the time. Sept-Nov: Squarebills, Chatterbaits, aggressive Jerkbaits, Free Rig/T-Rig baits, Buzzbait. Dec: Anything that moves seemingly, although I could only fish a suspending jerkbait this month and be fine. The absolute best time to throw a Vision 110/Jr/+1/+2 type Jerkbait. A-Rig season comes into full bloom as well. December is the start of the best 3-4months of fishing in central Alabama (Pre Spawn). ********* I'll dedicate days or weeks to throwing a big swimbait now anytime of the year. That's a whole different rabbit hole than traditional Bass fishing though.

Imagine making the 10 cut and having Mercer emcee you onto the stage for the final 10 showdown. He's the greatest, and I can't wait until he does that in about an hour.

The commentators are realizing how awkward and hard to watch this is, they've been talking about in straight for 3 hours lol. The genie is out of the bottle, if SM are involved, scopes are going to win outside of spawning event like Cayuga. BASS should hold these northern events during the spawn, hold the southern events in the winter.....best of both worlds. Monsters in the South, exciting viewing in the North.

Thought this place was a big fish factory, they've caught like half dozen to dozen fish around the 5lb mark. Big fish is like 5.4. They put these northern swing events during the dog days of summer for a reason, what else you gonna watch? ? The best events are on true big LGM factories imho. The Toledo Bend Open this year was fire, and yet it wasn't even covered except weigh in.

Just a matter of time, the only time I played I picked him. He's a prodigy, he has Cifuetes/Palmer level scoping abilities, but he's got a methodical approach, and presentations that nobody else on the planet is doing. Hope he wins, hope he learns English as well ?

7ft MH Fast 16lb Sniper 1/4oz teardrop weight fishing heavy cover, bulky baits

Nice, stupid they do only 2 out of 3 days in the Opens if weather cancels one day, figured it was like that in the big leagues. 4 days is important especially on great fisheries, who doesn't want to see century belts handed out ? I've started evaluating myself for the most part on my 5 fish weight after each session. Once I started committing to that method, I've become humbled in a sport that is the king of humbling. I've never put together 4 straight sessions of 20lbs+, that's absolutely next level professional ability.

3/0 would be my pick.

Today was postponed due to weather. Guess it'll just be a 3 day derby now.