AlabamaSpothunter

Should have taken a picture but my local high end shop just got the Tactical Bassin Tactical Wake baits in, man they are killer looking! They come in this sweet big wooden box with the hardware separate. They were about $80. So close to buying it like an idiot lol. Had Daiwa days going on, and had a few Tat 300s left for $170, I'll regret not buying one, but I just wasn't quite ready to buy another reel. They had Zillion SV TW Gs for $300, wanted to tell the dude that I could get them for $250 from Japan and if they'd price match haha. The Burrito saved me as I had been wanting one for some time and decided a $40 bait was enough. Haven't bought Tungsten in close to 20 years, man it sucks to spend good money on bullet weights while hard baits are screaming pick me. Lastly, I never thought somebody could make prettier colors with soft plastics than Roboworm, then I found Missile Baits. The colors they create are so unique and cool. Inflation truly sucks, these things were 3.99 a pack a week or two ago, now the most recent batch they got in a 4.69. My local store usually has similar pricing as TW.

Chris Kingree's 8lb+ fish....looks post spawn to me.

8.12 was just caught.......now that's what I'm talking about!

You sir are the silver lining reminder I needed ?

Show us on the wire frame where the Spinnerbait touched you ?

Man I'm pumped about the Bass Open event there this weekend. Ben Milliken does these incredibly in depth videos after these tourneys are over. I can only imagine how helpful they will be for people who fish the lake. I got Ben in the top 10, and I could very easily see him winning it given it's a big Bass factory firing on all cylinders. Will a DD be caught, and if so will more than one get weighed? I think somebody will catch 8-10lb fish easy. ETA: 10:45 the leader already has 5/19+, hope they bring monsters across the stage. 2023 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Toledo Bend - Bassmaster

Yeah the "Made in China", designed "in the USA" deal is used by so many products and companies these days. Lots of high end products too which was surprising at first. Apple stuff for example. Or to bring it back to the topic, 6th Sense....."Made it China, proudly designed in Texas". The biggest surprise was when I discovered $300-500+ JDM brand rods made in China but designed in Japan. It's a brave new world, things have certainly changed. The consumer has a tougher job but vastly more options than 20 years ago.

Excellent water temps to throw them in. In my area, those are peak pre spawn temps given they occur before the first major push to spawn happens. The key to me if finding a tighter wobbling, and more silent model. The colder it is, the more I'm looking at flat side silent model. This bait works well all year long, but it's especially great in colder water. 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X Crankbait - Tackle Warehouse Spro Little Jon 50 is another great choice. SPRO John Crews Little John 50 Crankbait - Tackle Warehouse The Berkeley Frittside 5 is another excellent bait I've had luck with Berkley Frittside Crankbait - Tackle Warehouse

LOL, I've had some quality fish here and there that I'm super thankful for, but I just didn't have a clue how fast and how shallow these fish would go. Didn't realize short strikes were a common thing in the Spring because fish will just bump baits off beds, so downsizing from a Lizard to a creature gives you that much better odds at them actually biting the hook. Thought I could just power my way through it with moving baits, until I started literally catching one fish a day lol. To end last week I think I had a 1 fish, 3 fish, and 1 fish day. I got tired of telling the neighbor who only throws a shakey head and likes hearing my reports that I only caught a dink ? I suspect all you folks in this thread know more about the Spawn, and Spring fishing than myself. Winter and Spring were the only seasons I didn't hardcore fish in my previous Bass fishing life. I feel I stayed with the fish over the winter like Matt Allen talks about so much, but then lost them very quickly once they started spawning. This place and you guys have been invaluable on my journey, and I have no doubts I'll have a significantly better Spring next year because of the stuff I learned here, and on the water the last two months. It's just frustrating when you realize you could have been throwing a bait that produces big time but instead you were hard headed until forced back to bottom.

Great stuff Tim, and thanks for the tips. The Da Bomb has been a revelation, might have to get a braid setup and get down in the nasty stuff like you ?

Thanks Katie!

A true gem you are Katie...lol is used to much but that made me lol ??

Another weird day......but then again not that weird when you account for the "first 15mins rule". Time after time you hear about and see it firsthand, laying the hammer down in those first 15mins usually means you've seen the fireworks already. First 10mins, 25yds of bank I got 2 for #8.5........I'm thinking I'm Rick Clunn and about to put a 20-30lb bag together, LOL. 7 fish total for about 3.5 hrs fished. Big fish was close to 5, second one was close to 4, and the rest were 2-3lb fish. Still a quality bag, but long gone are those sweet 20lbs+ bag days of winter. Admittedly, I got Spring completely wrong, but have learned a massive amount. Something about this D-Bomb seems to make quality fish eat it. 6 fish were on it, 1 on the buzzbait. Gonna buy several more colors tomorrow and reward the bait monkey. Then I need a new camera.

Awesome fish, congrats!

Woody, she's the anti-Karen, where are all these women on my homelake ?

Get a load of that belly, magnificent! Congrats on the toad! I might have motored off in shame, but I would have binoc'd your lure before I did so ?

Sorry about the Skunk Scott, but thanks for the report. Hope you guys are having a blast on the trip! Stay safe, and have more fun ?

Man that sucks about Adam Duvall. Hate that he left the Braves, but he just couldn't produce last year. Hope he returns in peak form for you guys. Such a class act.

Looks perfectly fine to me, and I'm a Garmin user.

Those are some awesome strikes in that video for sure. Thanks Matt Allen ?

Thanks, and you're a good man for recognizing the value of a rare friendship over a material object.

what's the second one?

Man I got a 20+ yr old Terminator Buzzbait that has caught 100+ fish, the shape is the same as when it came out the box. To be fair, 100+ fish on any single bait is ridiculously good. I've got a 110jr+1 and Axe Blade that have over 125+ fish during the winter, and while those baits can still be fished, they most certainly should be retired, and have gone through multiple new hooks. I got half a dozen Spinnerbaits that are the same way, but I don't fish them nearly the same amount. Everything about them is so nice in comparison to the ones made today outside the $15+ JDM models like the MegaBass or Jackall. I find it hard to believe that somebody hasn't picked up the slack and started making buzzers and Spinner widgets with Ti wire. Bass anglers have proven by now they'll pay whatever for a lure if it works.

Man that's a really beautiful fish there. Looks like it's been aerated.