A-Jay

Here in MI ~ Pike possession regs are 2 per day and at least 24 inches. A couple of the smaller, weedy places I fish in the canoe, I'd need to fish through 25 12-15 inch pike to get ONE over 24 inches. A-Jay

@August ~ How to fish your own way. Great question. Unfortunately I think the only one that can answer that for you - is You ! Each basshead does some form of this but how they got to it is their way, not yours. So passing on info regarding the question almost defeats the purpose. I totally get why you're asking and it makes a ton of sense. Especially today where everything is such an information over load it's hard to know what the heck to do. Despite all of that, my version for you to finding your own way to fish starts with the bass itself. Forget about rods, reels, lines, lures and patterns. Forget it. Instead perhaps start at the beginning. Learn all you can about the life cycle of a bass. From the spawn, to the hatching of the eggs, to how fingerlings manage to survive and eventually grow into adulthood. Learn about what they eat at each stage of their life, what do they do when they are not eating. Where to they hang out in the spring, summer, fall & winter; and more importantly, why? With this approach you'll not be putting the cart before the horse. In other words, how can you know what baits to fish, where to fish and when to fish, if you don't know about . . . . . . The Fish ? ? ? Then, take what you're learned and apply it, your way. Don't ask for help, expect to struggle, remember there are NO time limits on learning to find and catch bass and bass do not care if you've fished 5 minutes or 5 decades. No need to compare your results with what anyone else is doing. Who cares ? It will never effect what you do or do not do unless you let it. But then, it will happen. You'll develop the August way of catching bass. Believe me, it's a good time. It's about the journey not the destination. Have fun. A-Jay

Might lose a few points for wearing completely intact trousers. 😎 A-Jay

@ww2farmer Thank you very much for checking in. Very happy your situation has improved so much for the better. You've always seemed like a straight shooter. Really hope you can continue to be strong as time moves on. Life is the ultimate challenge. A-Jay

You haven't mentioned anything about 'timing'. These bass might not be ready to feed when you're ready to fish. Perhaps consider changing that. Putting your property presented baits down there at a time when they are feeding, might get you a few. Also, maybe don't sit right on top on them. 20 ft deep might sound like a good distance but in most situations it's barely the length of your rig. #tooclose. Good Luck A-Jay

I do that with my rig as well, but at clutch speed; 5 mph at most. 30 mph is 44 ft per second so with the transducer near the stern, once our unit records that 'little hump', and we see it on you graph, in 3 seconds, it's is already several boat lengths behind us. Time to circle back to make sure we saw what we think we saw. I get that covering/graphing new water, especially big new water is time consuming. But IMO, to do it right, a slower approach may be more effective. Good Luck. A-Jay

Sorry to hear you're having some challenges with your electronics. Personally, I hate that. Mind if I ask why you want or feel the need to read the bottom depth while your rig is on plane ? Are you looking for fish at 50 mph ? A-Jay

Workout Day 5 on this brisk Saturday afternoon. Some days when I step into the home gym, I feel like I just want to break something. This was one of this days. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I say stick with it best you can, and don't kid yourself. Either you're doing it, or your not. Consistency is a big part of it and IMO, the Secret Sauce. Don't be this guy. A-Jay

@Mobasser First off, thank you for starting this thread. It offered an opportunity take a little stroll down memory lane. I fish waters that all have pike. The bigger the water and or the less pressured, the bigger the pike. I've caught some decent sized pike from both my canoe and the Pro-V bass. I rarely target them so they are almost always a by catch deal. Sizable specimens are usually a welcome distraction, snot rockets are just a Bait Wrecking PIA . When fishing places that have a healthy pike population, I'll usually use a wire leader. But not always. And that's cost me a few baits, OK maybe more than a few. I've posted pic & video of a few of my pike landings here over the years and I'm going to add a couple here at the end of this post. The first one is one of my favorite battles with a pike. (I'll apologize in advance for the colorful language at the beginning of this clip) I was in the Old Town on a late fall day several years ago. The Pike was just over 25 lbs and came from a fairly small body of water. I towed it to the beach to land it. If you read my comments in this video you can get a little more info as to what happened and why. Good Times. https://youtu.be/gSHOgDGlJGE?feature=shared A-Jay

IME, what is important, regardless of the number of baits an angler may have, is to know & understanding how, when & where to use whatever the collection of jerkbaits (for example) in each type of different fishing situation an angler might come across. If I fished the same lake, that same way at the same time every season, then a bare bones collection of baits would probably do the job well. But fishing a variety of lakes, where I can face an almost infinite number of different deals and conditions, has taught me that these situations require a bit of a bigger tool box. Just for starters, there's deeper baits, shallower baits, different size & profile baits, loud baits, silent baits and then there's the mind boggling number of colors & patterns. Only way for me to know what works in the waters I fish, was to try a bit of it all. Takes some time & effort (and $$$), but even though I'll always still be learning & evolving, a few baits in each location and in each certain situation, on each certain lake have proven themselves as superior to many others I have. That can not happen for me with three baits. Finally, as much as we like to think we can 'pattern' bass, and figure out 'what bait they want that day and how they want it', I do not subscribe to that mantra. In my mind, each & every bass is an individual creature. With it's own like & dislikes, preferences and tendencies, and although they are Schooling fish, that may not mean every fish will bite or wants the same bait in the same way. This seems especially true when it comes to the larger, older bass I seek. One subtle little tweak to a presentation or a color, or a depth, a profile or a sound, can mean the scale goes to a new number not seen by me. A basshead needs time on the water to figure some of this out and it's always changing. The lessons learned come with many fishless days, just like watching 'deep dive' videos. btw, I watched that clip and it's pretty good, however Matt omitted the entire silent bait deal. I'm OK with that though. YMMV A-Jay https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=1215

Northern Green Bass for the win ~ Nicely Done Congrats. Sort of surprised you allowed yourself to be photographed with a pike. We all know how much you 'love' them. A-Jay

Thank you Sir. I surely needed it. A-Jay

Workout Day 4 this morning. Not sure how long this old bag of bones can keep this going. But so far so good. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

My last trip out onto Lake Menderchuck in the Pro-V Bass for the 2024 season was a productive one. But more importantly, it was wicked fun. With Air & water temps in the low 50's and a fishy South Westerly breeze, had me thinking I might get a few. Afternoon started off slower than expected but I was probably a bit overly optimistic. However as sun started to settle just above the tree line, 'The Time' came. Like they almost always seem to do, chunky brown bass invaded the point right in front of the boat. A couple of 4-5 bass groupings were zooming all over the place and a few of them liked that jerkbait I was throwing. Lost one initially, landed a couple in a row and then lost one I'd rather not talk about. All in all a great way to wrap up what has been one hectic year for me. I'll be having the ProXS winterized next week. Might still make a trip out in the Old Town Canoe a time or two if the weather gets right for it. Either way - another season in the books. Fish Hard A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Thanks I might still get out in the Old Town Canoe a time or two before it's all said and done. Lake Minichuck has a few brown bass. A'Jay

My Last Trip out onto Lake Menderchuck in the Pro-V Bass for 2024 was productive . But more importantly, it was wicked FUN ! A-Jay

I'd describe my version of this as experienced rather than analytical. And so I do both ~ A-Jay

I may have a few more shots at improving my totals before the final curtain falls. But like most every fall in recent memory, I'll no doubt be cutting close. A-Jay

Before heading to Lake Menderchuck to make my assault on the local Smallmouth bass population, I knocked out Workout Day 3. Went well and I'm feeling it this morning. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

My rattle / No Rattle choice usually is determined by water depth and clarity. The shallower and clearer the area I'm fishing is, the more I am apt to choose a silent bait. This approach as paid huge dividends on big brown bass for me the past several years. I have also used silent baits as a 'clean up bait'. Meaning after I've been through an area and taken a few, but the bite seems shut off, going back with a silent bait has gotten me some extra fish I might not have held otherwise. Often some fatties too. The Megabass 110 silent in perch has been a solid producer, especially with the wind at my back in skinny water. One problem with many silent baits is, they do usually lack any type of a weight transfer system, so they are not the best casting baits #potatochip. Not the best deal when fishing skinny water where getting the bait as far away from the boat as possible can be critical to getting the right bites. Enter the Megabass 110 LBO (not the MAX). It has a magnetic weight transfer system, casts like a ROCKET, but is silent when worked in a traditional Jerk / pause manner. Runs shallower at like 3-5 ft or so. Just started fishing it this season and all indications are, I expect to be doing damage with this one. Now we NEED Megabass to come out with the 110 +1 LBO. I would be very happy. A-Jay

While the clips may give the appearance that I'm riding around, the reality is I always going someplace. It's just that there is often a bit of a cruise involved. But I am usually heading directly to trophy town. I don't pass go and never collect $200, A-Jay

Dedicated Jerkbait rod - I say yes. If you fish them enough and you enjoy fishing them and you might even get addicted to fishing them - like I am. Here's a little fuel for the fire . . . . A-Jay

Had to find a way to get out on the water today as it was just stupid nice for the 3rd week of Oct up here. Water temps at 54 were twenty degrees colder than the air temps. When does that happen in October ? Like never at the 45th parallel. Spent most of the afternoon working a favorite long main lake point. I was hoping for one good bite and I think I would feel good. Water was very clear and I started with an assortment of Rage Bugs on a swinghead - no surprise I suppose. After a while with no takers I went to the jerkbait. Good Move as a nice fatty nailed it on like the third cast. Worked pretty hard switching back & forth between the swinghead and the jerkbait. Caught a couple more 'trophies in training', the best bass was the 4 something. So I got my one good bite and I went home at sunset happy. This wildly nice weather is bound to change drastically and soon. So this season is not far from over. A-Jay