A-Jay

I fish a couple of big flats here that set up very similar to what you're described above. They do not get a ton of fishing pressure I think mostly because they are a PIA to fish compared to open water areas. Guys will see me in there and poke their nose in to see what I'm doing, but they never stay. But it's almost always loaded with bait; especially late summer & fall. Entire areas are choked out like in the clip below. https://youtu.be/Vsl5A_YmHzs?feature=shared&t=305 Just about every hole or small open space in the weeds is like GOLD. Here's my deal; Topwater on early calm mornings with little to no wind. When there's a breeze - burning a spinnerbait or Chatterbait just under the surface in whatever open water above the weeds there is. I can't reel fast enough - they will always catch it if they want it. 'Probing' the weeds rarely works. I rarely fish anything slow in there, so no plastics or jigs, they just don't get bites. Exception is if there is enough open water over the weeds - like 3 feet - burning an A-Rig is killer. But it's a lot of work. And that works with or without wind. Sun or clouds. Good Luck A-Jay

I had a rather spirited SMB rip the entire hardware package out of the rear of a SK Sexy Dawg. Split the plastic at the back of the bait so the clip, split ring and EWG treble all went the way of the deep 6. Wasn't using very heavy gear either. A-Jay

IMO and especially as we age, balance & strength go hand and hand. I can't expect to be able to maintain good balance, without the overall body strength to support it. I work at it every other day all year long. At 64 years old, Keeping my body weight in proportion to my frame is also a big deal. All done with my diet & life style. As my strength, bone density, joint, ligament & connective tissue all whither with age, My balance goes with it. However, the lighter I am, the less this becomes an immediate issue. If I'm carrying an extra 40-50 lbs or more, I'm an accident looking for a place to happen. I've had my share of serious injuries & set backs. I'm right in the middle of at least two right now. But I refuse to let that be an excuse to just give up. It's a commitment to a life style that I chose a long time ago. And my efforts will never effect the quality of my life more than right now and moving forward. Take it slow and Stay Safe A-Jay

Here we go again ! 😑 A-Jay

When there's fisherman friendly weather conditions (insert safe) April is the the best time for big fish for me here. August comes in at a close second. The weather conditions are obviously far more pleasant and the bass can be a bit more spread out. However that simply means A-Jay gets to chunk & wind All Day ! Fish Hard. A-Jay

Sorry to hear you are having these problems. Hope your procedure goes well and improves your condition. Good Luck A-Jay

Nice Bass ~ Bet that felt good ! Here's to continued health and more bass for you Congrats A-Jay

Sweet Rig and Killer pic ! A-Jay

I deliberately purchase deep spools (casting & spinning) and use very little backing. Often less than 1/3 of the spool is backing, leaving quite a bit room left for my mainline. Even then 'the backing' is still something decent and equivalent in size & test to whatever the mainline is. Clearly, a 2 lb bass or even 6 lb bass would never spin off enough line against the drag to be of any concern. However, there are some other rather plus sized fish here besides bass that can and will completely dump a shallow spool reel in a mater of seconds. It's a helpless feeling. So I come prepared. A-Jay

What's the limit on drag squealing by catch action ? A-Jay

Agreed. However there are gobies all over this country. Most will never see a fish like this with or without them. However if and when a basshead can combine commitment, dogged determination, over the top preparation and flawless execution, there's always a chance. A-Jay

Thank Scott ~ Pulled this one from the archives just for you . . . Not my smoothest deal but still OK. A-Jay

Thanks but don't blame me ~ It's all the fishes fault - I swear . . . . A-Jay

Local By-Catch on the bigger inland waters here includes Musky, Pike, Walleye & Trout. Early season, the brown and rainbow trout are a total blast on light spinning gear, putting on quite a show. My strike to land ratio on big Musky is pretty low but I've managed to hold a few. Pike are almost always a huge PIA, even when they are bigger. They trash everything. But when I hook a big one, I'll still work hard to land it; just to get my bait back if nothing else. When the toothy critters are thick, I'll either move or add a trace of wire. Then there's the walleye, I like them. Because they taste very good, I'll knock the sides of a limit of cutters just about every chance I get. I will often make them my target species after initially heading out for Brown Bass. Depends if the season's open on them yet or not. Panfish taste awesome too, just not a fan of cleaning so many at a time. A-Jay

I do use color coded rod sleeves to locate sticks in the rod locker. Which admittedly is often full most of the time. Still have to 'remember' which color means what. But I can usually get it pretty close. A-Jay (btw-this is only what I could fit on the deck)

Here ya go ~ The solution to all your problems . . . https://www.carvana.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=sem_b&utm_term=1&utm_campaign=382590914&utm_content=1220458366383788&utm_target=kwd-76278984290743:loc-71304&utm_creative=&utm_device=c&utm_adposition=&utm_rw=1&msclkid=c3101ffd50651b26777c798a43d97832 A-Jay

Nice Bass ~ Congrats btw- how about a new name for this lake. Might even improve your luck a little. At least you were wearing black A-Jay

Hate to sound like a cynic but while giving boating safety classes to tournament anglers sounds like a noble endeavor, it's a total waste of time IMO. And I mean total. This entire nation of vehicle operators ALL pass a rules of the roads test, and there's roads, and signs and even LEO presence all over the place. Are the roads safer - No. Face it, the lakes river & reservoirs have no roads, channels markers yes, but no one knows what they mean or even how to use them. Speed limit signs and no wake warning are completely ignored. Just like on the road. And with far less LEO presences on the water, every single day is a total free for all. Jet Ski's, Wake Boats, Water ski towers, tube pullers, Bass fisherman, no one's exempt. They can advertise and do whatever they want. We would all like to believe that Classes and education is the answer or maybe it would even help a little but it will not make much of a difference at all. It takes real people making unselfish decisions on the water to change anything. And that will never happen. At least not in my life time. Folks won't even wear seat belts. It's just amazing that the carnage isn't worse, but when it happens, I don't understand why folks act so surprised. 🥴 A-Jay

Thanks ~ Yes an Old Town Square Back Canoe. And fortunately we were anchored when both pike hit. A-Jay

Use HEAVIER TACKLE; much heavier. The 'fight' will be considerable shorter, with less time for things to go sideways. Good Luck A-Jay

You do know that any of these 'obscured' or partially obscured deals are easily over come now with another app. So either crop the entire pic off or just don't bother. A-Jay

I don't always fish a ned rig but when I do, the Big TRD is all I ever use. Green Pumpkin and The Deal have both been popular with the ladies. https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?feature=shared&t=61 A-Jay

I have to admit @MediumMouthBass I do enjoy being one of lucky few who have managed to purchase several new GMC trucks that remain trouble free for the entire duration of my ownership time. Can't imagine dropping that kind of scratch on anything less. When they run right - they're actually pretty nice. A-Jay

A-Jay

My full order arrived this morning via FedX. So at least there's some hope if others got their orders in prior to any inventory exhaustion, they would get it. A-Jay