Dwight Hottle

Happy Anniversary BR. For smallmouth fisheries the great lakes system & specifically Lake Erie. Largemouth fisheries Lake Baccarac Mexico. Florida state fisheries Rodman Reservoir.

One to two days at most.

My Starcraft never failed me on Erie. Have fun.

Bought lessons are always more meaningful than taught lessons. I had a similar experience one time only.

Congrats on your new PB. Looks like a solid 9lber to me. Trust the scale. I think your rough estimate with the fishing line is off.

George Perry WR bass measured 32.5" long by 28.5" girth. Manabu Kurita WR bass measured 29" long by 26.7" girth. Come to think about it I have never seen or heard/read of a bass having a 30" girth.

Here is a little info that might help clarify the stated measurements & photo. The below picture & the original weighing & measuring was done by me. It was weighed on a Salter Brecknell digital scale & a Berkley digital. This bass weighed 14lbs-8 oz. It measured 25.75" long & had a 24" girth. It was caught from a pond in southern GA.

Since your having problems with flouro substitute a good copoly line instead like Maxima Ultragreen or Suffix Advantage. I guarantee your breakoff problems will go away & you will get just as many bites. Problem solved.

Welcome to the 50" club.

Don't be cheap when it comes to your health or wellbeing. Losing a $12 lure is the cost of doing fishing business.

Sweet!

Glad to have you Adam.

Welcome to BR.

Use them

Just because it was caught & documented does not necessarily make it a new record. To achieve an IGFA record you must first submit it to IGFA & follow ALL of their rules & regulations to be considered.

I set my drag based on single hook versus treble hook & weight of line used. Also I adjust for how heavy the cover is I'll be fishing. Light line with treble hooks in open water I set the drag lose enough to barely slip on a hard hookset. I also like reels that have individual detent on drag settings so you can adjust one interval at a time. For single hook baits with heavy mono or braid in heavy cover I tighten the drag so I can just barely pull line off the spool. Everything else gets set in between light drag to heavy drag. I will also loosen the drag a little when I get a big fish close to the boat in case it goes ballistic at boat side.

Gels last longer.

I have had that feeling before.

Three colors. Red & white with nickel back. Five of diamonds with brass back. Red & white with copper back. These three colors cover all water coloration & light visibility, i.e. full sun/cloudy conditions and tannic versus clear water. Steady retrieve with intermittent stoppage to let the spoon drop & flutter before continuing the retrieve. Most fish that follow a spoon will hit it when you stall the retrieve.

No

Happy birthday to him. Great, great photo, well done. Frame that for him as a life long memory.

Cloudy low visibility days bone is good as well as brass & copper colors.

Rule of thumb is to go with the same size as the manufacture did or up it one size only.

The area we fished on the St Johns is southeast of Rodman by about a 55 minute drive. Both are excellent fisheries. The river is easier to navigate than Rodman because it is so filled with stumps. We were fishing south of lake George. Both areas give you an honest shot at a DD.

For those not getting the shot did you get vaccinated for polio, measles or smallpox? I understand it's a personal decision based on your own medical history & situation.