A-Jay

"Poor is the Nation that has no heroes, but beggared is the Nation that has and forgets them." Those we honor this Memorial Day answered their call to duty, and in doing so, they honored us. We owe them our deep and profound gratitude, and we must pass that sense of obligation on to the next generation. Tens of thousands of names are inscribed on war memorials and headstones all across this country and in a number of overseas locations. From a distance, those names may seem indistinguishable. Yet, every husband or wife, mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter, who visits, will always see his or her loved one's name first. This Memorial Day, we also honor and thank them those who placed so much on the altar of Freedom and for whom the pain of loss remains undiminished. In honor of Memorial Day, the USO, CMT and Zac Brown Band bring you the brand new video 'FREE' ... http://www.cmt.com/videos/zac-brown-band/522070/free.jhtml?id=1640299 Lest we forget. A-Jay

I'm a fan of Columbia's PFG series (Performance Fishing Gear) featuring Omni-Shade technology. Long sleeve and short sleeve shirts as well as pants and shorts ~ perform as advertised. Check it out. A-Jay http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp;jsessionid=I4PAJLY0XF4PVLAQBBICCOFMCAEFCIWE?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat400018&id=0030074902834a&navCount=1&podId=0030074902834&parentId=cat400018&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IA&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

Last week I realized that I needed a "new Bait". Something (soft plastic) different just to throw a little spark into the day. I decided to try several of the Rage Tail baits. So I put together a solid selection from TW and was just about to place the order. Then, I happened to open up this thread ~ I read the whole thing and now I don't know WHAT to do ! And the bait Monkey is bumming. A-Jay

WTG ! That's a really beautiful Bass. Congrats on the PB ! A-Jay

x2 on the Cliff bars ~ they don't melt and they don't freeze. A-Jay

I use a net. I just think it's safer. I fish alone often (at night also). Fish taken on single hook baits (soft plastics and jigs etc) I'll occasionally thumb. Pike, walleye and anything with a face full of trebles goes in the net. I replaced the original net bag with a rubber one which helps keep any trebles from making a mess of a tangle in the net. Last week my wife and I were on pike every other cast for a while and I got lazy and reached for a freaked out 2 footer and ended up having to yank the rear treble of Rapala out of my thumb. Good times. A-Jay

Stud Smallie. Nice job as usual J. I've never heard of anyone holding a Rocky Tournament. I think it's cool and bet it's probably fun too. Those wacky rock bass, what they may lack size but they really try to make up for it with attitude. And a 16" red eye surely would have taken "Big Fish". I'm in the same situation up here as well, plenty of keeper smb but the "Photo Fish" have pull the old Houdini Act. I'm heading out tonight for some night ops. This week has been very hot, I hoping the night shift will produce. A-Jay

WTG ! Success does breed confidence and that only breeds more success ~ and of course "Good Times" A-Jay

Congrats on the new PB ! A-Jay

Is this it ? The video link is half way down the page. This is valid reason to make sure you invite Smith & Wesson fishing with you. A-Jay http://gawker.com/5545253/armed-mexican-drug-cartel-pirates-operating-on-texan-lake

Nice Bass ! That HAD to be fun ~ our top water action is just about here. A-Jay

Thanks ~ She was release. If she had been close to or better than the state record, I would consider a replica. As it turned out a few photos and some video will take care of it. A-Jay

Nice fish. Man you guys have been tearing them up. WTG. A-Jay btw - your friend has a great fishing hat ~

We were stationed in NJ for 12 years - WAWA Rules ! A-Jay

Great Smallie ! A-Jay

Yes sir, I think those were the ones I was using. I had the yellow one and I'd color it Black with a Sharpie. By using a separate Uni knot, you do not need to tie the line around a little tube in advance. Just lay the braid on your main line and tie the knot. I bet others are already doing this, I just haven't seen anything on it before. Besides, those little tubes are a PIA. A-Jay

FYI - I have been using bobber stops to peg my Texas rig sinker. The other day I ran out. I tried using a short length of used braid from a couple of years ago 50 lb I think. I just tied a uni knot in front of the weight. Once in position I snugged it up, cut off the ends and it worked fine. I now have another use for old braided line. A-Jay

Thanks Catt ~ I had a feeling you'd say that. What's that, the bait monkey's calling? Tell him I'll be Right there. A-Jay

It's ALWAYS windy here. I have two choices, either fish in the wind or don't fish. So I've tried to learn to deal with it. One thing I have learned is that I have done much better on the windy side of the lake than the calm/protected side. I would always run right out of the wind and find a calm cove somewhere and not have much success but hey, I was out of the wind. I still do that occasionally but more often I'm on a wind blown point or weed line catching fish. I do anchor quite a bit and that's a skill all it's own. Boat position is always critical especially in the wind. As a matter of fact I just came home from a day on a lake I've never been on. The wind was blowing as usual like 15 knots and the calm side was dead. All the life we saw and all the fish we caught came from areas on the lake that were exposed to the breeze. A-Jay

"This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces ... to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty." -New York Times, May 14, 1952 Let us all take a moment to reflect and say a "Thank You" to our Active Duty, Reserves, National Guard & Veterans for their commitment and dedication to our country. A-Jay

Another vote for 12lb ~ and it's Yozuri Hybrid A-Jay

Wasn't a honey hole before this trip. I had only fished this place 3 times so I'm still learning it. But I'm happy with the results so far. As for a location, ya - OK ~ it's way up yonder past the caution light - there's a little country store with an old Coke sign - be sure to stop in and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea - then a left will take you to right to the ramp. hehe A-Jay

This is my 1 and only right here ~ A-Jay

God is great, Dogs are good and PEOPLE ARE CRAZY ! A-Jay

Excellent. Timing is everything. This is a something that I hope to employ a bit more of this season as the water warms up here. I don't have much experience doing it as only a few bodies of water contain this type of cover. However, there are some and I'm hoping to capitalize on this rather untapped resource. I've been reading up best I can and have searched through many posts here which have been very informative. Can you recommend a favorite brand and or model jig for grass/vegetation ? Are you still fan of Oldham's Jig 3/8 oz. black/blue with a 6" Gene Larew Hawg Craw with the tail cut completely off making for a stubby jig. A-Jay