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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/18/2023 in all areas

  1. Picked up a boat last weekend to fish the lake and rivers. The old man who owned it barely ever used it and he kept every receipt since it was new. so far, I’ve changed engine and drive oils, new plugs, installed side guide bunks on the trailer, put a hydro foil on the 30 HP Honda. the Humminbird 788ci HD Di is pretty ancient snd probably won’t produce good results so I’m considering the Garmin Echomap 93sv. I also need to install some lights inside and probably pick up to new marine batteries. heading to the Indianapolis Boat Sport & Travel show today where I may pick up some goodies. Can’t wait to get this thing out on the water tomorrow. 4.7 out of 5 st
    14 points
  2. Here’s a shot from the local lake cam this morning showing foam lines on the water. These are known as ‘Langmuir streaks’ or ‘windrows.’ They require steady and sustained winds of at least 7-8 mph in order to form, and become more apparent with stronger winds (10-15 mph). If you see them on the lake, you can be confident the wind has been blowing strong out of the same direction for several hours. In the spring, this means the warmer surface waters have likely been piled up in downwind pockets and coves. It also means there has been enough time and strength to form mudlines on susceptible banks. This, combined with the wave action, will often lead to more stained and warmer water, resulting in shallower, more aggressive bass.
    14 points
  3. *Cracks knuckles* Well, talking about big bass I've caught is practically a professional sport for me (just ask my wife ?) so OF COURSE!!!! Today was fixin to be a day like any other. I work from home and own a small business and I like to wake up at 5 and hit it before the sun comes up so I can get to work at a reasonable time and still get some fishing in. I've been doing this consistently since the weather got to be about 50° daily around here (maybe 3 weeks?). For the most part the mornings have been mild and the bites infrequent. This morning, I awoke and made my pot of coffee and sat watching Bill Dance on YouTube or something ritualistic of that sort. I saw on Facebook a post where Josh Jones was lauding the swim jig as his magical bait this year. I almost chuckled to myself as I super glued my 4.5" Scottsboro minnow to my 1/4 oz Siebert Bluegill Flash swim jig...perhaps this bait was the illusive trick to provoking violent reactions from the giant bass I knew had been carefully evading my crawdad/vertical presentations (black and blue/PB&J brush jigs pitched into cover and around high percentage spots) and my noisier horizontal presentations (chatterbait and cranks). I figured these fish are probably mostly pelagic like tuna or salmon and probably roam the amorphous flat, fairly shallow, cover devoid pond, perpetually corralling mindless schools of shad/crappie all year long and what happens right now!?!? They gotta take a break from that grind and move up to do there thing....any day now right??? Maybe that innocuous/stealthy but BIG presentation that resembles their preferred forage WAS gonna do it? I could feel my confidence building before I even turned my car ignition on the way to the pond. This pond is small and located 7 minutes from my house. It's public access and has very little for fish to relate to, but a few small fish and bites have told me that they are moving into the NW corner pocket adjacent to the dam in preparation for this seasons coming spawn. My instinct and limited time coupled with knowing I will be attempting fairly slow presentations has me making a bee line for this area today. When I arrive, it's balmy. The wind is whipping. Visible chop all over the pond. The sky is that almost maroon color it gets on nights where it perpetually drizzles and light pollution reflects off the low clouds. I'm tempted to pack it up and head home. It's noticably getting colder. Those 50-70 degree temps are obviously giving way to a cold front that seems to be just starting to hit as I arrive. I tell myself those fronts can be big feed windows, especially right before the spawn in the spring and I force myself to walk in the cold drizzle down to the dam. I make my first cast across the dam. The same place I pulled a 6 lber out 2 weeks ago on a bulky flipping jig and chunk. Nothing. I move my cast 3-4 feet out from shore and make another parallel toss and slowly Retrieve my swim jig. Trying to get the wedge tail on the Scottsboro minnow to undulate seductively. Again nothing. This time, I place my cast maybe 20 ft out from the dam and let the jig sink the 4-5 feet to the bottom and slowly begin to retrieve it across a deeper expanse. I feel my jig get thumped hard about half way back to the shore. This bite tells me a lot. I'm confident now that they're feeding. I'm confident now that I have selected the right bait. I'm confident that my presentation is working. Armed with this confidence I fire a few more casts across the channel in front of the dam and get not a nibble or a whif of a fish. At this point. The drizzle turns into rain. I haven't been there but 30 minutes... I consider heading to the boathouse and seeing if there is a bite over there but I tell myself that they are IN this NW corner. I KNOW it from bites and smaller fish caught the past couple days leading up to this front. I traverse the outflow creek and make my way into the shady dark NW pocket just beyond where I was casting previously. Just out of the current and tucked away where I know soon they should be spawning. I think to myself that rain means they will move up shallow to avoid the muddy blow out, especially relatively warm rain (50 something degree light rain). With that in mind I decide to line my first cast up with a large oak tree dead center at the back of the pocket and then bring my jig back slow parallel to the 5 ft of horizontal dead vegetation stems along the right side of the dam/outflow. I make my first cast and the rain is really picking up. I can't see my bait go in which gives me a confidence boost. Means the bass can't either right? I slowly begin a steady retrieve with my reel hand only imparting subtle changes in speed and mostly trying to just barely get the swim jig kicking. Almost immidiately, in a foot of water, no more than 2 feet from the bank where I cast I feel her hit. The bite is far from subtle and I know it's a bite immidiately. I drop my rod tip (it's pitch black so this is all done by feel at this point). I reel the slack up, careful to pay close attention to the exact moment I feel her begin to load up. At precisely that moment, I lift my rod and reel vigorously and feel as though I have set the hook on a log.....or perhaps a bag full of wet towels glued to the bottom. My rod tip all but doubled over while I kept my pole as close to vertical as I could. I felt her pulling and it was like fighting a bull red. Pandemonium and splashing this way and that and my 20 lb fluorocarbon groaning as my drag gave up little bits of line as she surged. I was careful to keep even pressure on her at all times and NOT STOP REELING. I finally see her breech just on the edge of the vegetation line 6 ft from me. I can't believe my eyes. She's thrashing. My heart is pounding. I know under that vegetation it's nearly 4 ft deep so there's no walking in at this point. I decide at this exact moment I have to trust my equipment and get her out or she's coming off. I've lost my fair share of big fish. I know the drill. It's go time. I lift and reel and walk backwards and see her lurch forward on top of the slop to about 2 feet from the bank and I reach out and grab her giant lower lip. I immidiately see her distended belly and feel her mass and then the fact that I couldn't get her airborn all dawn on me at once in an adrenaline soaked moment of relief and victory. This is a VERY BIG fish I hold in my hands at the end of my line. I stumble over to a bench in the now pouring rain absolutely shaking with adrenaline and excitement. She's being very patient and cooperative. Almost like she's done it before and knows I have her best interests in mind. I quickly snap a couple pictures. Say a few words to the creator of the universe and the bass I'm holding in my hands and walk her down to the water. I feel her bite down on my hand as I revive her in that cold muddy February pond water...as if to assure me that she's ready and that she's going to be okay and then with grace and power I've never seen before she lunges away. I can see the power of her tail in the wake she leaves behind and she swims back down. To say it was a profound experience doesn't really do it justice!
    12 points
  4. Hey Decided to cast out after work and landed my first Mayan cichlid of 2023 lol. Was a decent sized one too. The Mayan cichlids seem pretty scarce right now, but I'm sure by March they will be back in my area
    11 points
  5. Got a few smaller swimbaits and a small swimbait combo (Zillion 1520 with a Megabass XXX Mat Bucker) to play around with this year - Valley Hill Boogie Back RTF Bluegill S-Waver 168 Magdraft 115 Silent Killer Spro Chad Shad (on hold at TW, but pumped about it!)
    8 points
  6. What ever it is, I hope it is inexpensive, is easy to install, on a kayak, and comes with a free gift for my wife.
    7 points
  7. Been think'n about using Reapers for probably almost 50 yrs !! Thanks to wrb for letting all us know this is about it for them. The 25% off at TW sealed the deal, of course had to get other stuff for the free shipping ?
    6 points
  8. First fish of the year for me, hybrid hunter jr shallow, color is bully. Tried my normal pond still a little ice on the bank that I wanted to target. No takers there on a 110 jr or the hunter, figured that I might as well fish the deep bank of the river on the way back to the car, successful caught a fish. Although it was a pike and not a bass, I will take it to keep the skunk away. It’s been cold here the past few days, I saw that it was going to be 40 degrees and had to go.
    5 points
  9. I see these "prices have gone up" threads often ... yall need to learn to shop tbh
    5 points
  10. Starting them has never been the issue, it's keep'n 'em running. ?
    5 points
  11. I'm Thinking Ryan Leaf...
    5 points
  12. My first largemouth of the year. I caught her fishing a Texas rig in some dead lily pads. I never felt a bite, the rod just loaded up with weight. I pulled back on the rod thinking I was pulling the bait free and that's when I knew it was a fish.
    4 points
  13. Diesel hasn't been by my side now for quite a while. But he's Always in my heart ~ #thedeez A-Jay
    4 points
  14. Skip lunch for a day and you won't even feel the price bump. Spread out over the years you're going to use a reel, so what... Fishing is still the least expensive hobby I've ever had by a long shot.
    4 points
  15. Bill Lowen saying yesterday was high 80’s and today a cold front is coming in, “I don’t thinks it’s going to get 75”. You poor wretched Bill! ? 20* when I woke up this morning.
    4 points
  16. First photo are like new Bagleys Bass N Shads. Next are flat-sided, coffin Bill cranks from Tennessee. The bottom of the two small ones have a sticker that read TN-PRO. The larger one has a sticker that reads PERRY's. These are home made I believe. Anybody have any info on them? Then the bottom is a Rebel Craw and diving Rattle Trap . Paid three dollars a piece for them.
    4 points
  17. Feels like it’s been a while since we got a report from @AlabamaSpothunter. I wonder if he finally got his DD and needs some time process haha
    4 points
  18. Your story did her justice.
    4 points
  19. On the surface like a Stanley Ribbit or Horny Toad. Either weightless or light keel weighted hook.
    4 points
  20. Caught this fish on a Keitech underspin that had a Keitech underspin lodged in it's throat.
    4 points
  21. NEW PB! Happy Pre Spawn from muddy, rainy NC! 9.1 lber on the 1/4 oz Siebert Outdoors Bluegill Flash swim jig with a 4.5" Yum Scottsboro swimbait trailer. 7'6 medium heavy moderate veritas/daiwa Fuego /20 lb seagaur red label/san Diego Jam knot. She was taken out of 1 FOW in the NW corner of my local pond when drizzle turned to rain. Released shortly after a little DIY photo shoot and she swam away happy as a clam. The most incredible fight of my life and the peak of my bass fishing adventure so far!
    4 points
  22. It just drives me nuts to see Elite Series anglers pull all their fish out of the live well, lay them out, flip them over, then GUESS what fish is bigger. Put the bass on the scale, use a numbered cull tag, and get back to fishing. When you catch the next fish, check the scale, find the number, put it back, and KNOW you culled the correct fish. End of rant!
    3 points
  23. Finally picked it up today after closing the deal two weeks ago. 2005 Ranger Reata 1850VS with a 2013 Mercury Verado 150 and 9.9 kicker. Plenty of people on this site probably dont know what a kicker is but I digress... its been taken care of very well and there's only a few things here or there i need to do like new trailer tires and bunks.
    3 points
  24. How can we continually do this to ourselves? Right - unconditional love Bruno: 1967-1980 - literally grew up with him...I was 7 when we got him, I was 20 when we lost him. Sara: 1990-1997 - got her from the Humane Society when she was 8..a lady in all aspects of the word. Tawnie: 1995-2008 - another rescue dog, she was a cute little puppy of 10 weeks old when we got her. Maia: 2005-2019 - Nora's 'snuggle bunny', Maia's favorite place was cuddled up next to 'mom' on the couch.
    3 points
  25. Some more stuff for my bfs setup, 1/30th heads, micro baits and some skirts.
    3 points
  26. My wife’s 2017 Santa Fe engine blew way past the warranty, at 130k miles. They replaced it at no cost to her. My stepdaughter’s Tucson did the same thing a year later and it was replaced at no cost as well.
    3 points
  27. At my local Scheels with a $50 gift card in my pocket...nosing around. Find an interesting looking hat with a no-flop brim. @Lead Head they even float!! 99% of the time I can never find a hat large enough for my size 8 head... Not today! Scheels had several XXL and XXXL's in stock... Bonus: the huge sizes were discounted from $74 down to $59. I got two!
    3 points
  28. Oboy, I can certainly relate. Wife bought a low mileage 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, rode really nice. I changed the oil and filter religiously and noticed around the 60K mark the oil was really dark. Wasn't long, the wife calls with an engine code so we take to dealer. BLOWN ENGINE !!! Out of warranty, 16K for replacement engine. Only 72K on the car and Hyundai said nothing they can do. " We buy any cars.com " gave us a generous offer. Wife now drives a Honda CR-V.......done with Hyundai.
    3 points
  29. I don’t think there will be a big jump in improvement of the quality of these live sonar images. I think there will be small incremental improvements and a plateau that’s near. What I do think will really change is how the day are processed and displayed. The information will be begin to be displayed in 3D (think like those cute little 3D pregnancy ultrasounds) rather than 2D and the beam width will begin to grow to cover a wider area.
    3 points
  30. Well shoot. This is an old thread! Happy to say I've broke the 5lb mark several times since then! Onward to 7lbs!
    3 points
  31. You'd think by now people would discover twistlock hooks. Worms or anything else rarely come off with them.
    3 points
  32. The Lews lfs is a proven winner and better than the slx .
    3 points
  33. It showed up today. Packed into a sort of janky triangular long box but fortunately was fully padded with beefy bubble wrap and was in perfect shape. All the eyes were straight and no blank damage. I’m relieved, I was a bit stressed after I read your post!
    3 points
  34. Attached is a pic of a nice spotted bass I caught on a senko yesterday. If you look at its mouth, you will see a second senko sticking out that he was regurgitating while I was landing him. I removed the second worm, which fortunately did not have a hook attached, and released him. One was a four-inch bait and the other was a five-inch.
    2 points
  35. When you rig a smaller diameter soft plastic worm like 5”-6” Roboworms, Skin hook the worm. Suggest inserting the hook point-bend going through 1 side in lieu of the center. This rigging allows the hook point to pop out easily with less hook setting force. Tom Rvf
    2 points
  36. Those look great, after sinking $100 worth of hats, I particularly appreciate that they float!
    2 points
  37. Yea, I was on the fence between 15lb and 17lb but ended up on the 15lb side of things. I’m sure both will work equally well but I plan on throwing crankbaits on the rod too and I was hoping to get some additional depth from the smaller diameter.
    2 points
  38. Dang, now thats a name I haven't heard in a hot minute! Honestly, being a native San Diegan, I could go the rest of my life an be just fine not hearing it! So... I take it you think its gonna suck? Or is it because that bait is turd colored? Or both...
    2 points
  39. I guess I’ll always associate Shimano with bicycle parts. I have more Lews (8 or 9) than any other brand for a reason - they do everything I want a reel to do. Lews all the way.
    2 points
  40. ^^^Yep^^^ I've got a few Lew's LFS Speed Spools, and a few Fuego's. Zero complaints with either. I've only had the Fuego's one season , but I've been 100% happy with them so far. I have shallow braid spools on them, spooled with 20# braid. Mostly use them for light Trigs. That's a plus with the Daiwa's. You can get light shallow spools for them, adding to they're versatility. I've been unable to find aftermarket spools for Lew's. That said, my oldest $99 LFS has 4 full seasons under it's belt, and it's still smooth as the day I got it, as are the others. Very solidly built reels. They're not great with baits under 3/8oz IME, but from there on up they are solid performers.
    2 points
  41. ^X2 I've had two Fuegos for the past 5 years and brutally fished them both in choked out water with straight braid the entire time. Somehow, they feel pretty close to how they felt out of the box. Perhaps a little clackity compared to a really smooth reel, but there's no denying their endurance. They're easy to adjust, are reliably consistent casters, and easy to endorse. My brother has owned 3 versions of the SLX and they've all lost their smoothness fishing the same waters. I could overlook their geary-ness, but my brother can't stand it. Probably because he's serviced them all several times a season and it just irks him. The LFS is the only reel from a major at the price point that offers a fully supported pinion. Besides that, and regardless of how I typically feel about Korean MagTrax braking, it's a sneaky good caster. Also, they hold up quite well to use, and like the Fuego they're adjustable externally. Any of the 3 will work out just fine. The SLX too, especially if you're not fishing jungle-thick water. Just choose which one feels better in your hand and don't think about it again.
    2 points
  42. Whelp - another Zoom to add to my collection.
    2 points
  43. Not bad, I’d say. I’ve caught quite a few bass that had Senkos or (in this case) Yum Dingers stuck in their craw.
    2 points
  44. I’ve never seen anything mechanical in a JDM reel that blew me away compared to USDM models. I’ve never seen one “all different” inside either. Although warranty is an issue, I think any good seller would make right on anything glaringly bad right out of the box.
    2 points
  45. East Texas lakes have marked boat lanes, get out of those at your own risk. As good as I know Toledo Bend when I'm outside a boat lane it's at idle speed.
    2 points
  46. I don't think the solution to this extremely rare event is buying something. I think the solution should be: don't travel 40mph in shallow waters you're not intimately familiar with, especially if there are stumps around.
    2 points
  47. Bill Cook weighs in the Biggest fish in Bass Champs history and sets the new Toledo Bend Lake record . 15.67 lbs .
    2 points
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