A-Jay

The Local brown bass population thrives in the routinely clear water. So if the rain muddies it up a ton, I'm looking for cleanest water I can find. If there isn't any 'clean water, I'm fishing close to the bottom & tight to 'cover'. Rattle & bight colors is SOP. If it's not too bad, maybe just a little 'color', I'm looking shallow. Sometimes both pay off . . . https://youtu.be/eGeAS26LB3w?feature=shared https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared&t=319 A-Jay

4 years later . . . . . and I still Hate Braid mainline on casting gear. All FC for me with the caveat that I rarely fish heavy cover. Spinning gear is all braid & leader. And I fish a 20-25 ft leader at LEAST. FC or mono leader, which ever is appropriate. Either way, with a big fish getting close to the boat, I want that connection knot on the reel well before she gets anywhere near the net. But I rarely ever catch any good ones so . . . . . A-Jay

Big Game is still a very decent choice IMO, and used quite a bit this spring with success. But when I want the highest level of confidence, I reach for the Armilo. Last few seasons it's helped me land every topwater brown bass over 5 lbs and 6 pounds. Still looking for that elusive topwater smallies over 7. I get giddy just typing that. A-Jay

May not look like much ~ But I'm very happy. A-Jay

Thank You @OG Crankster And you know what ? I totally missed that until I reposted the link here. My bad and that's what I get for not paying attention. I was initially just happy with getting what I needed and at half price before it was gone. K as in Knucklehead. 🤓 A-Jay

While I haven't seen anything 'official' sure seems like the writings on the wall. Seeing all the 'signs'. Fortunately, if you're a fan of this one as I am, and are looking for a last gasp shot at a few spools It's still available and On Sale (54% off) https://sunlineamerica.com/collections/line/products/shooter-defier-armilo (Fair warning - The standard shipping is a little rugged) I got mine as it makes a killer topwater leader. A-Jay

Hook sets Standing on the front deck of the Pro-V bass vs Sitting in the Old Town canoe are totally different. The seated deal requires far more 'force', at least for me. Over coming the boats movement toward the fish and the fish coming at me is often quite a challenge. Being anchored in the canoe helps quite a bit. The few times I've fished from a kayak it's even tougher, especially a super light one. Unless the fish is directly under the smaller craft, sweeping the hookset while never stopping the reeling (at least at the start) can be a decent way to keep a determine stout bass from coming unpinned. https://youtu.be/gSHOgDGlJGE?feature=shared&t=10 https://youtu.be/NArz656wh9I?feature=shared&t=294 A-Jay

This dirty bird has been tearing up the dog yard since the early spring. Dogs aren't much help unless you like fox holes everywhere. All the while the tricky bugger managed avoiding multiple attempts to do what is pictured below. Happy Fathers Day ! A-Jay

Makes guys partially sink their rig to get under a bridge to access water otherwise only available to beavers. On a personal level, maintain a valid passport, procure specialized tackle and baits, endure far too much air travel, (I hate airports & flying), drink way too much tequila, bake my brain in sub tropical heat and lose serious amounts of sleep. But sometimes it evens out. A-Jay

Just follow these signs right to the ramp ~ Compliments of @FishTank 🤓 A-Jay

I'm pretty sure that's directions to Lake Menderchuck. 😎 A-Jay

I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom ~ Happy Fathers Day A-Jay

After an unscheduled lay off, I eased into Workout Day 1 this morning. Didn't take long to remember why I do this. #borninfiftynine https://youtu.be/TqKn0TuqWac?feature=shared A-Jay

The environments we all fish can be wildly different and require vastly different gear and landing techniques. I fish mostly open water early season and I'm around some soft cover late summer & fall. My gear & fish fighting style reflects that. While I don't like to drop fish, especially big fish. My angling adventures rarely include losing too many bass. I may participate in a few long distance releases a year, but for the most part, it's not sometime that plagues me and I can't really place numbers on it. I'd be guessing. In truth, I use casting to, hooking, playing & net landing most bass over dink size as practice. Besides helping me fine tune my gear and presentation, this Practice is for the one maybe two, truly trophy bass opportunities I may get a year. I figure if landing smaller fish is a struggle, I for sure feel like I'd Dump most every plus size bass I get a shot at. And that would not be good. Still might but So Far - So good. Fish Hard. A-Jay

Coming up on 5 straight days of not working out. Totally unscheduled lay off and the kind I've really tried hard over the years to to avoid. This deal was not. Interesting thing is with that type of lay off, barring an injury, which I do not have, the eternal muscle soreness that comes with training every other day, is totally gone. Kind of nice. However what's also missing is that 'really great feeling' that effective routine and consistent resistance training provides. Mind, body & soul. In the end, I much rather be a little sore than feel as flat as I do right now. Hardest part of these deals for me is once I get out of the groove of eat, train, sleep & repeat; it's a bit of a chore to spin that all back up again. That's where understanding and believing in the benefits this offers come into play for me. Makes it the driving force to just put my head down, grit my teeth and get it done. Well all of that starts back up in about an hour. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Topwater Smallies at sunrise cleanses the soul ~ A-Jay

Yup ~ even up here in Northern MI the temps are forecast to be in the 90's for a few days. But unless there's a need to shovel the 'heat', it doesn't really get my attention. 😎 A-Jay

If you've got the time . . . 😎 A-Jay

Thanks @Team9nine And I agree with the premise that the connection knot choice almost doesn't matter as long as it's tied correctly. The uni to uni connection knots works for me and my style of fishing. I use straight FC on casting gear so no leader there. Spinning gear gets either a FC or mono leader. I will also say that I do use a fairly light drag setting whenever I can. So after an effective hook set, I back off the drag. IMO, this does at least two important things. Protects all the connection knots a bit plus helps keep big fish pinned. I try to be as smooth through the fight and net job as I can. Always includes a stick and gear ratio that supports all of that. An Extra Fast stick with an 8 speed reel, skiing the fish 50 ft across open water to my rig for a Bassmaster Boat Flip is not for me. YMMV 😎 A-Jay

I adopted the name after seeing that first Live episode. Been a thing here ever since. A-Jay

Big Fish Jeff turned me on to the Mexican Bass fishing insanity over 10 years ago. Sharing some of the The Best LMB fishing days I've ever experienced is something that's hard to repay a man for. I felt it was only right I do my best to return the favor. When he's on the bow of the Lund, I hardly even cast. He complained about the blindfold at first but eventually he got used to it. A-Jay

This is the longest LMB I've ever seen. We don't usually measure length/girth, just being satisfied with an accurate weight. We happened to have a mat so we laid her out. This one was 12-4 and seemed almost as round as she was long. Mexican bass are just different. btw-this giant came compliments of Big Fish Jeff. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

My Idea of 'best looking structure' has changed a few times over the past few tears. In fact I rarely fish super obvious spot anymore. Instead, attempting to reproduce, the spot on the spot, where my best catches have been recorded, is the mission now. There's a very important and specific reason big bass are where they are at any given time. Whatever they may be, those particulars are not all posted on You Tube. Good Luck A-Jay

If I could - I would ''MARK THIS AS THE SOLUTION". I really enjoyed that ~ especially today. Thank you and nicely done sir. A-Jay