Dwight Hottle

I like it when a plan works out & yours is definately working!

Nice report.

Florida has been good to you again. WTG

Simple solution is just go all white for daytime & all black for low light & night. Those two colors are all you need unless the bait monkey is choking you out.

A few favorites all caught on a custom St Croix legend extreme blank MHM and 10lb braid with a mono leader fishing jerk baits.

Thanks again for the prayers & good wishes. I'm home from the hospital after 8 days in & feeling pretty good. I have this week & next on an automatic feeding tube then evaluated by the surgeon. I am able to swallow & can eat small softer meals ok. Still waiting on the pathology report results to determine if I will need 2 more months of chemo. Either way I can see the light at the end of this tunnel. Glad to be alive but missing my prespawn smallies for the first time is rough.

Doesn't get any better than that.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to show your support. I'll carry your good wishes with me tomorrow.

I love the look on the guys face fishing with me when I tell them I think a fish is looking at my bait & then he sees the rod bent over. It really does happen. Part of the cool factor of fishing jerkbaits.

Yes to this. Jim's comment about pulling the bait is spot on. During the cold water period I often just pull the bait with the rod tip for 2-3 feet. Then pause, twitch & pause. Try working the bait with a series of just pulls then try twitching or jerking with pauses in between. The colder the water the less movement you need & the longer you want to pause. The fish will respond to different techniques on different days based on water conditions & their own metabolism. When it is colder water the fish will often hang with the bait before you feel much. Warmer water once the fished metabolism has sped up they will flat out crush it. When you get really proficient with a jerkbait you will often sense the bite before you feel it. There is a ton of info about jerkbaits in this pinned thread in the tackle forum if you have read all of it.

Staysee is good. The kvd is too new to get any feedback. The regular kvd jerkbait did not impress me. The Rapala husk jerk deep diver & the smithwick rogue deep diver both work well. They are both 5-1/2" long if you want a bait larger than a staysee. The pointer 100 dd & the pointer 100XD both are bigger than the staysee. The rapala , smithwick, and pointer 100XD all run about 15-18 depending on line diameter & line length out.

There are getting bigger!

Interesting cork on the rainshadow & beer in the background Scott.

If you want a pointer get a pointer 128 (5" size-weighs 1 oz). Also a smithwick suspending rattlin rogue in the 5-1/2" size & rapala husky jerk HJ14 also 5-1/2" size. All have rattles & three treble hooks. Like others have mentioned the larger size will help prevent bite offs. My experience with larger jerk baits is you will limit some of the smaller fish bites but not the bigger fish.

Way to start your day off right.

All done with pre surgery chemo. The tumor responded well to the chemo according to the most recent tests. Met with the surgeon last week & he has scheduled my surgery for March 7th. Will be in the hospital for 7-8 days then home to recuperate.

Well we are both scheduled for surgery on the same day. I'm hoping we both have a quick & sucessfull recovery.

If it wasn't leap year you never would have caught that fish- this month. Sweet new US PB buddy. Congrats.

What took you do long? Mike really knows his jigs.

Sweet fish. Congrats.

Not to single you out but I take it you are not a swimbait fisherman.

Congrats on the new PB's

Glad to see your usual spring fling has started Paul. Keep then coming.

Looks like cubera snapper. He is an excellent caster.

Nice one.