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Cold and rainy, but the fish didn't care. Yesterday, got a school fired up with the jerkbait. Probably 25ish fish in a few hours, with a stretch of 20 minutes of fish on every cast. So much fun that I didn't care that I couldn't feel my fingers and forgot to eat. Got another limit plus this morning, gantarel jr, R2S TB crank, and the killer nishine darter did the damage. scott

Today was frustrating with a capital F. Hit up the spot from Monday to see if that high water situation still had the bass pushed up shallow. They were still chewing pretty good, but it was just one of those days for me. I lost probably twice as many as I caught, and lost all four bigger fish I hooked into. Ended the day with only ten bass and five tilapia. Was throwing the Stunna in gold that I just picked up. Action is great but I'm not a fan of the Fusion19 trebles on it, the ones I got are not very sharp out of the box (I feel like a $15 lure should be ready to go right out of the box but maybe that's just me). Had three big fish spit it, one threw it on the jump and she was a biiig girl, she was easily 8lbs. That one was pretty demoralizing....Out of all the bites I got with it, I only landed two small bass on it. Both about the same size. Most of the fish were on a Booyah One Knocker, mostly dinks but a couple of "slightly" better 1.5lbers or so. Had one eat it pretty good head first. Thankfully no hook in the gills, just one hook right in the top of the mouth. And what would a trip be for me without catching more of these buggers..... I seriously cannot escape them.

Yesterday's bike ride from Stinson Field in far SW San Antonio. First stop at the aqueduct, which has been here 300 years. @TnRiver46 ok, 280 Mission Espada the retalbo inside the chapel Mission San Juan spring has sprung - we should have bluebonnets in a week

Man that's rough about the big girls but I would do...things...for only a 10 bass day right now. You'll get em next time I'd bet These were my two dinky catches...took something like three hours to get the two fish. That little guy is just further evidence that bass will try just about anything once...inspiration for all of us. That fish tried to eat a 4" jerkbait lol. Water is still in the 50-54 region and there was a lot of pressure+boat traffic at the lake today, so there's bites to be had but they're pretty few and far between. The crackle and hickory jerk shads continue to produce. Ready for warmer night temps to show up.

Got my stuff in and just installed it. I was really surprised at how light the batteries were! I knew they were lighter but actually holding them was very surprising. My battery compartment pic was taken a bit prematurely. I hadn't cleaned up the cables and wires yet. One battery sits a little higher than the other due to the live well drain running under it, the joys of putting a 24V system in a boat designed for a 12V system, I guess. I got them charging up now and can't wait to get it on the water next week to see if my investment was worth the effort.

You said you weren’t going to mention A-Jay. You’ve said his name twice now. If you say his name one more time….well

I was going to fish Lake Raven this morning, but the report was it was extremely muddy due to heavy rain earlier this week. So I stayed local. Haven’t had much success lately. Been a dinkfest and not in big numbers. But I had off, so I was going fishing! Got in the water just after sun-up. Started with a Megabass Vision jerkbait, followed by a jig-n-craw. Nothing. Went to a Ned rig and got a strike but missed it. Went to a #956 Senko WR and caught two dinks. Not on the initial drop, and not lifting and letting it drop again, but on a decently fast retrieve. Tossed it again and when it broke the surface it got hit, but missed it. Tossed it out again and this time it got hooked. Not a giant. But I haven’t caught a 2 lb. bass in a while, so I was happy. Thought it was bigger as it put up a good fight. Caught another dink on a Zoom Trick Texas rig, but figured they were chasing. Took the jerkbait off and tied a squarebill onto the Dobyns. Caught a dink, but it was fun! All-in-all, a good morning. Beats working!

I fish that LTB rod & have the reel as well, although they are not currently paired. Either way both very nice IMO. I'd suggest for a braid mainline either Sufix 832 or Seaguar Smackdown - both in 20 lb https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Sufix_832_Braided_Line_Lo-Vis_Green/descpage-S83B.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Seaguar_Smackdown_Braided_Line_Stealth_Gray/descpage-SMD.html If you chose to go with a mono leader (I do) Maxima Ultragreen or for something less $, it's hard to beat Berkley Big Game (I like green) Both in 12lb test is a decent starting point. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Maxima_Ultragreen_Line/descpage-MUG.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Trilene_Big_Game_Line_Green/descpage-BTBG.html A-Jay

Of course you could use one or the other but you paid for dual braking, why wouldn’t you take full advantage of what your equipment offers?

Fresh into retirement. I am a full time outdoorsman. I love all kinds of hunting and fishing. Especially introducing my grandchildren to the riches of the outdoors. I fish mainly local farm ponds. I mainly target large mouth bass with crappie a close second. I am 63 years pld and finely broke the five pound barrier last fall. I caught one 5lb 4oz and a 5lb 12oz a few days apart. I have fished spinning rods and reels my whole life but last summer picked up a baitcasting outfit. It opened up a whole new level for me. I now own five baitcasters. I have learned a lot from this forum and I am looking forward to making some small contributions. Chris

The travel involved in being a touring pro doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Things may be picking up. Only had a few hours to fish this morning. Based on yesterday, I started with a 6th Sense squarebill. Once again, nothing of size, but the bass did like it. I caught three in about 20 minutes. Tried a chartreuse spinnerbait after that with no luck, as well as a Megabass popper. Tried a Whopper Plopper and had a strike about 3’ from the boat but that was it. Started tossing a #196 Senko WR and caught a dink. Tossed it out again and caught another dink. Tossed it out again and on the retrieve it got hit hard. A little bigger than yesterday’s bass. About 2-1/4 lbs. Caught a few more smaller bass for a total of 10. Good morning!

I read Tom’s replies and I think to myself “ dang self , I wish I could have listened to him at a seminar “ , and then it hit me. Why not get Glenn to do an interview with Tom ? That would be awesome. What do you think, would you like to listen to a master fisherman tell his story?

I needed a good t-rig rod (well, needed is a strong word) so I took a 3 hour round trip to a little store to pick these up. It's my first current GLX. Considering my track record with the NRX in 2020 and the Expride last year, you can now look forward to the GLX line being refreshed next year. And on Thursday I placed an order with TW for a light Simms jacket (the Flyweight Access hoody) in blue, because I have the black one and love that thing, plus some U-40, fluorocarbon line, and a few more odds and ends. As soon as my order was processed the jacket got $80 cheaper because of their "Winter Apparel Blowout Sale". Called them up yesterday and they were cool enough to apply the discounted price.

So that’s a no?

There's 10 years of Toms posts on BR. You want' it all spoon fed to you? No disrespect to Tom but he honed his skills on CA lakes that produce huge bass. Does that apply to all y'all? Probably not. I'll never be Tom. Chances are you'll never be Tom. Catt has a zillion pages here on fishing TB. I'll never be Catt and chances are, you'll never be Catt I won't even mention A-Jay and Lake Menderchuck. A 20 minute video with Glenn and Tom won't even touch the basics. Go back and read old threads from Tom and whoever else. There are plenty of old threads from guys that no longer post here that can be informative, if you can find them.

Between two lilipads, yup.

Glad to hear your still with us and on the mend brother. I'll keep you in my prayers. I gotta ask, When they placed the stents, you didn't insist they suture ya with 15# Big Game did ya?

Tackle Warehouse sent me a second email saying to send the bad line back for a refund or replacement. Didn't have my return label since it was last November when I bought it. Call them and they are emailing me a return. Hats off to Tackle Warehouse!!!

I miss fishing with son when he young because he would try things I knew wouldn’t work and proved me wrong a lot. What that taught me is knowing bass are in the area something may trigger a strike thinking out of the box. With Tommy he was bored and trying what looked good to him. I was too narrowly focused on what I wanted to use for the conditions. Good lesson. Tom

Blasphemy!

We have a large lake ( Anna ) that I make it to a couple of times a year that has hundreds of docks and I only throw 2 baits....... wacky rig Senko's and Zoom flukes. Yes, it's because they skip so well.

What I'm saying is there are dozens of current and past BR members that are probably worthy of an interview but, how much information will you gather from a 15 minute video? The information already lies within the pages of this forum. It takes a special kind of person to dedicate their life to chasing the next world record. Tom is an accomplished angler and deserves credit for that. I'd much rather sit down and BS over a beer with WRB or catt or A-Jay or whomever, for that matter, than watch a video.

Switched over to braid+leader on all my spinning rods last summer. 10lb bright yellow power pro with 8lb or 10lb fluorocarbon leader. Works great with weightless senkos, NED rigs, t-rigged plastics, jig+grub, etc.

Yup, a light braid mainline will do well. I personally use 15# power pro to 8# mono or 10# mono depending on the cover I’m fishing.

All fresh water in the US (and elsewhere) have elevated mercury levels, even the remote pristine looking ones. It comes from the rain, so there is no escaping it. As long as you aren't feeding fish to small children or pregnant women on a regular basis, there should be no issue. PCBs, and other such pollutants are more of a problem in estuaries and the ocean.

Welcome to the forum. 63 and retired? You are just a kid. I retired 3 times already and I'm 75 going on 40! Retirement is not the end, it's the beginning. Now you get to do what you like, not what you must. My advice is to stay busy and find something challenging to occupy your time. Humans need a little aggravation to stay sharp. Start a business? Do some volunteer work? Write an autobiography and give it your kids. Stay fit! Buy the best health insurance you can find. Stay away from the TV news channels. Make some friends that share your interests and values. Every day is another chance to get it right. You may live another 40 years or another ten days. Be happy and live each day like it's your last. ☺️

Curado MGL….all day long

Dave’s not here, man

Did any of y'all read the entire research? On Toledo Bend one would have to eat like 3# of filets a month to ingest any noticeable amounts of mercury. Not a 3 pound bass but 3 pounds of filleted bass per month!

Hey man, I thought this thread was about something else man... Yeah me too man. Let's go get something to eat.

Regardless of all of Tom's post's, I for one would love to see Glenn interview Tom. I bought some of Tom's tackle awhile back, and just listening to the few minutes of him talking fishing was an experience, so yup, let it begin.

I could add. I grew up living in lake front...and fished ALL the time.

For $2.50 they are pretty good. I had one tied on almost all last summer. They catch fish for sure. Eagle Claw hooks and a bearing swivel, whats not to like?

Few orders came in.

Hundreds of hungry herring were happily had

The ice is almost ready to go... (L.George, NY)

Florida Fish and Wildlife: "TiLaPiA aRe RaReLy CaUgHt On ArTiFiCiAl LuReS" Me, who seemingly cannot escape them: I've caught almost 50 of them already this year, all hooked in the mouth on aggressive strikes. No big ones so far this year, one ~5lbs. I've caught a few over 7lb and my biggest is 8lb 10oz, good fighters when they get that size, great at using their flat sides to their advantage.

I don't if there's someone present on the dock, in the yard, on their deck, etc. Aint worth it to me, I just move past to the next dock.

Goodnight Irene...

It's 8am....you're my kind of drinker

Thanks - The little I did see was mostly like that. I like when they struggle. Not the most fun to watch but it's reassuring to see the Pro's try to figure it out. Especially when they are trying so many of the same things I would do and still take a digger. Just like me. #thatsfishing A-Jay

Amazing how fast they can run with heels...

Waiting on the Sun at the hunting so I can fish the beaver pond.

I rinse mine off at boat ramps as often as possible and just let them air dry.

Been lurking and looking at the responses, really appreciate the input and that I've been able to open up a discussion about mental health. I haven't been fishing yet, the new job has me stressed and beat so by the time I get off all I want is to go home and relax. Honestly, once I get home I don't have the energy to do much more than fixing up dinner, putting on some TV and going to bed. I think that'll change this weekend though, I plan on getting at least a little fishing in and just get out of the house for a while (assuming my motivation carries through). I've been trying to stay off social media as well, like a bunch of people suggested. I didn't realize how often I had been "doom scrolling" and stressing myself out about headlines that I can't change. I am on a prescription, but I think it's time I consider talking things out with a professional and try to get to the bottom of some issues. I'll be honest, too, I strayed from faith in recent years, but in the past it really did help me to feel better and more positive about the things I couldn't control and to recognize the good in life. I'll work on getting more in touch with that side of me as well. Thanks again for the outpouring of support, it means more than you know

I struggled with anxiety, depression, alcoholism, and drug addiction from my early teens until I was 41. A man from Nazareth cured me. Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Nobody thinks it will happen to them....until it does. So it's worth posting this video again:

You're way over thinking this. Any of those rods will fish bottom baits within their weight range well in addition to jerk baits imo