FishTax

I've got my new buzzbait tied on and have dedicated a rod to it, and am determined not to take it off until I start catching them on it. @Pat Brown has inspired me. No time is the wrong time for a buzz bait.. apparently So awesome to see you hauling them in nonstop. And motivating to pay more attention to the ponds around the area for quick stops!

Thanks for sharing when you get skunked. Makes me feel better that it's not just me! When I get skunked, I spend days mulling it over in my mind thinking of what I could have done differently. I definitely grow more from that than from a hot bite. If they're on a strong pattern, there isn't much to learn, just catch as many as possible as fast as possible

The sharp hook discussion probably isn't valuable for someone who has never caught a bass.. definitely read the @roadwarrior thread posted above about fishing a senko. I caught the biggest bass I've ever caught (8lbs) on a knockoff Walmart version of one almost 20 years ago, just flinging it blindly off a dock at my buddies Grandpa's lake House dock. Found out later I dropped it right into a Christmas tree they'd sunk, but I had no idea about that when I cast it. Now I've spent hundreds of hours reading and practicing and thousands of dollars on equipment and still haven't topped that fish. 😂

I went out again yesterday thinking it would have cleared up some. Wrong. It may have been worse actually. There were significant pieces of wood floating everywhere, I got a 4' log stuck under my kayak that I had a struggle getting out. My transducer was constantly covered in junk and my kayak has a nasty mud line stain now that I need to wash off. Never got a bite, I marked a ton of something at 15' that looked like big fish but I'm thinking was submerged debris due to the quantity of it. No way there works have been hundreds of large fish over a half mile of lake?

Here is my bass pro haul from a week ago. Notable items inspired by this forum, the buzz bait @Pat Brown, the snagless Sally @Catt and the blade baits although they didn't have the vault so I got a few others to try. Someone mentioned the steel shad, don't recall who but I went with the big one. No dinks here 😎

I had to drive through Richmond today. Bass pro is visible from I 95, so I had to go in. First tackle store I've found in 2 months with blade bait in stock, and now I may have missed the window but I've got some to try. Anda few other things 😉 Photo coming later, left bag in my truck in hotel parking.

Just left there. Hasn't started yet 😎

Helix 7 does have depth offset feature, I was playing with that setting on mine a few weeks ago. I"m not sure if it works with all cards or not, but it should work with lakemaster at least.

I failed 2024 if we're only counting Bass. January was tough on me. I should have hit some farm ponds to catch a bass with no pressure, but I'm stubborn and like the challenge of pressured public lake on my kayak even when I'm getting skunked. I did catch yellow perch and shad this month so I'm not totally fishless for 2024!

You could tell from my photo of the threadfin in latest catch thread how muddy our usually clear/stained lake is, and that was before all the rain yesterday. This is definitely new territory for me, but I do think it's warmed the water up a little bit (almost back to 50) so hopefully we'll get into spring patterns sooner than later in this area. I'm ready for it!

I need a lipless course. I have no confidence but throw it consistently, I always catch other species but no bass. Somehow I catch crappie on them regularly, which is weird since the hook is larger than their mouth.

6 lb LM is realistic. Would love to nab a PB which would be over 8lbs. They're definitely swimming around me, I just gotta get better and lucky. Lucky is easier than better 😎

I'm also used to clear water and I'd say it was about 4"of visibility this morning. Water temp about 49. I couldn't find them. I think I saw some on electronics but they didn't like what I was throwing, or maybe weren't bass. The debris was slightly better then beginning of month, but still a mess.

I found the bait this morning. Confirmed with this photo. No bass though. Still spending a lot of time playing with electronics and learning how to position kayak in the wind, and my confidence launch spot wasn't accessible so I've been in a newer area trying to figure it out this winter. Is this a threadfin? I think it is but would love someone more experienced to confirm.

I just got the email Wednesday at 1p. I was on the list prior to all this starting. That's odd.

Catching trees. If there is a tree near me, It's highly likely I can hook it.

Old town 106 for me. I'm not sure I could flip it if I intentionally tried, but I do get nervous about falling out when standing. I've almost fallen off a Jon boat numerous times though so take that for what it's worth. I only stand up to fish when the water is warm and people are in eye site of me. But I love the old town. Never tried another brand.

Do you have cards for your new helix? Those aren't cheap. Depending on where you fish, maybe a lake master card and/or auto lines card? I also have a new helix and that's what I'd spend part of it on. The rest I'd save until I need something. Or get an awesome combo I couldn't otherwise afford as other have suggested.

It was online as well, but that has now ended. They seem to always be running a sale, but it only applies to clearance items which usually isn't much good stuff. I got lucky in store that they had some quality items in the clearance rack.

Extra 30% off clearance. Everything pictured was clearance receipt the h20 items. Sales like this feed the bait monkey... Needed 2 things that were both out of stock.

Academy has extra 30% off clearance. Local store had red lipless from SK tungsten, 6th sense, spro, and several others I don't remember. Also got booyah covert spinner baits, rage tail swim baits, and a few other things I didn't need 😂

Glad to see my NC buddies getting it done today. I didn't want to deal with the wind so I went to academy to see what's on sale. Big clearance, lots of red lipless on sale from various brands. Pat you may want hit the Burlington store if you have a minute in the next couple days.

Weather and sickness are keeping me off the water as well. I've missed 3 trips in January already from one of those 2 things. I'm hoping I can go somewhere this weekend even though it's high winds again. Don't think I can go out in my kayak as every day looks to be > 15 mph sustained winds, but maybe I can hit a pond. Feels like it's been 6 months since I went out, although in reality only about 2 weeks. I don't know how you northerners do it, I'd go insane if I was locked inside for months on end!

I've got a helix 7 on my kayak and bought a litime 12ah battery to power it. Very good reviews on YouTube teardowns compared to others at that price point. Still too new for me to give a good review, but I can say if this is your first lithium you'll probably need a new charger. I had a noco 1 that is supposed to work with lithium but it doesn't. I think the charger went bad so I bought a cheap lithium charger on Amazon and so far an happy with that. It's 4 amp, which is Relevant to how fast it charges.

Junebug Black Watermelon or baby bass, something like that in clear water. Funny to see the pink comments. I bought a pack on clearance at Wally and haven't even got a bite, but slay with the other colors. Pink is the only color with a livelong skunk for me. Maybe that should be my summer challenge this year.