A-Jay

Hello Wayne and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Even if he doesn't - I'd still do it. Especially if I could get in there after dark. A-Jay

Big fan of late night bassing here - Night time is the right time as far as I'm concerned. Years of no light angling has taught me a few things. So here's something to know in advance of your headlamp purchase. You will benefit from a model that while it's strapped to your noggin, you can operate easily with one hand. You should be fishing without it as much as possible for several reasons, but once you hook that big bass of a lifetime, and she's fighting for all she's worth, you'll want to keep one hand on your rod and still be able to reach up with the other and quickly turn that light on so you can see & land the fish. I prefer a simple model that has a toggle with two options - a red light and a white spot light type beam. There are many good ones to chose from. Good Luck A-Jay

I can't speak for MN or WI, but here in Northern MI the "dog days of summer" are not the best times to catch big smallmouth bass. In Fact, it's probably the worst time for both size & numbers. Like most every where, the spring (like right now) and fall bites are the best. Though each season is a little different, the summer is rarely prime time for big brown bass no matter where you go. As for where would be good, several of the lakes in & around Alpena, MI are very good for smallmouth bass. As the Pro Anglers of Major League Fishing found out last fall when several 5's & 6's were caught during the competition. The locals have done a good job keeping that little secret for a long time, but the parties over. A-Jay

If your particular financial situation is such that you would spend this money on something else anyway, I'd get the membership to the managed area. With 18 different bodies of water to chose from, that's $50 bucks a pond per year. If you fish each one 5 times in a season, that's $10 buck per fishing trip. Before doing the math the $900 up front sounds like a lot; but after looking at it this way, you might realize that it's really not that much. My one question (and hope for you) is, does the management sell / offers a LIMITED number of memberships ? And if so, how many ? Another thought in advance of making your purchase is to go there, and get permission to check the most popular areas out when it's the busiest or when you'd be going and see what it's like. Also if there are "hour of operation" or is it a 24 hr deal. I say this because I like to fish at night. Good Luck and let us know what you decide. A-Jay

You could use a hook & loop system ~ "Velco Tape" Secure one part to the rod tubes bottom and the other to the truck bed. It's used in Bed Rugs. A-Jay

Excellent write up - documented your trip like only you can Brian. Congrats on some killer bass right there as well. A-Jay

Down south it was the Supermodel Shad & Wild Herring Shad and up here in the clear water of North woods the Bluegill & the Green Sunfish have been smoking hot. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello Boone and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

I like glass for treble hook baits. As for Chatter baits, I've only been throwing them for a very short time, but so far I prefer a Graphite stick and 12-15 lb mono; same as Spinner baits. Unless there's very thick vegetation, then it's braid. ** Edit ** ~ 12 Dec 2016. Have switched to a composite stick. I like it quite a bit. Line choices are now 15 lb Invisx for light to moderate cover & braid for in & around the Jungle. A-Jay

The X75 Flat was killing them south of the border and so far this year, it's been my top producer for both size & numbers. A-Jay

I just did and would like to say Thanks - Killer looking baits. A-Jay

Do yourself a favor and check out the hard baits put out by 6th Sense Custom Lure Company. You'll be glad you did. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Nice fish Dwight - Nice Smallie Dwight. I'm really looking forward to being out on Lake Erie Again. A-Jay

It's a very good bait for pre-spawn smallies. Good colors, quality hardware and it runs true. I'm a fan. A-Jay

After enduring way too many rainy days in a row I finally got out on the water today and you know it felt good. Water temps are still in the low to mid 40’s but the lakes are crystal clear. After eliminating quite a bit of water and several baits including jerkbaits and a lipless crank, I started getting bit on a squarebill crank. Had to really crawl it along but both brown & green bass were loving a Bluegill 6th Sense X75 Flat. Today was actually the first time I’ve been able to land 5 keeper Largemouth bass when the water temps were less than 48 degrees. That’s always been the number here for some reason; over 48 good, less than 48 not so much. Smallies seem considerably more willing in the colder water of early spring. Perhaps it was the bait – which really is killer btw. I’m back at it again tomorrow – new lake this time – going to work that squarebill early & often. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein A-Jay

I started keeping a serious log during my Striped Bass Addiction many years ago. Once I retired and started fish sweet water again I kept it going. It's a tool and like any good one there's a learning curve when it comes to using it. A little later on, I liked combining my trip logs with my digital photos. This turned into a nice way to document & enjoy the memories while still being able to go back and look over the data. Each season I start a fresh log and simply keep it running all year. What stands out to me after several years of documenting trips and their associated information is: The more things change, the more they remain the same. A-Jay