A-Jay

62 days ~ Conditions will start mostly sunny this morning before cloud cover increases this afternoon. Big story (but not exactly a new one) for the next several days will be mild temperatures and no precipitation across northern Michigan continuing to melt our snowpack. Expect highs in the upper 30s and low 40s for most areas into next week. (used to be local weather pic here - but now, not so much) Unless the waters of local Lake Menderchuck are somehow able to defy the laws of physics, it's hard not to believe that an 'earlier than average' open water date here is imminent. Funny part of this may be, as exciting as that is, and it is exciting, a few years ago I believed that an early open water would prolong the routinely insane brown bass pre-spawn fishing. And while it might by a few days or so, what really ends up happening is that the early start has me out on big water in weather conditions that are closer to winter than anything spring like. So, it's cold, windy and last year we did a few fishing in the snow trips. All were productive, but I'd sure like to be using the net & scale repeatedly in shirt sleeves rather than a permaloft gumby suit. One things for certain, if it's semi-safe, I'll be there either way. A-Jay

I'll just leave this one right here ~ A-Jay

Brown Bass Green Bass Jerk Bait Swimbait Vibrating Jig Rattlebait Walking Bait Spinnerbait Spinnerbait Jig Blade Bait Popper Doing only 5 baits leaves out a Metric Ton of product baits A-Jay

Grew up fishing for bass all around New England. My career put me on the north Atlantic where I had a chance to fish the back bays, in shore and off shore waters from Maine to South Carolina. From bottom fish to blue water pelagic brutes, I was super lucky to be on adventures I'd never imagined as a boy. Now as a retired enlisted man, my focus is on bass. Mostly brown with a few southern green bass sprinkled in. The by-catch here isn't too bad either. Not sure I am best at anything but do put quite a bit of time & energy into preparation. Don't think it's hurt me any. Fish Hard A-Jay

When the pike are thick & persistent and I don't want to relocate, I use this and lose very little if any action on jerkbaits. I fish clear water mostly for brown bass. Both these fish came on a Vision 110 bait with this wire. Jerkbaits will run a little deeper and perhaps even slow sink on the pause if I use more than 12-14 inches. Still get bites. A-Jay

These threads always remind me of the Four stages of competence. (That boat handling failure clip in particular) 1. Unconscious incompetence The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn. 2. Conscious incompetence Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, they recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. 3. Conscious competence The individual understands or knows how to do something. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration, and if it is broken, they lapse into incompetence. 4. Unconscious competence The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. Stay Safe A-Jay

Add the Cosmic Clock and you should pretty much catch 100 bass a day for the rest of your life ~ Good Luck A-Jay

Pull 2 Workout today. Felt pretty good. Of course eating right, staying hydrated and getting plenty of sleep is a big part of that. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Lighten up on the Sake ~ A-Jay

So glad to hear you're living your life under your own terms. Enjoying being on 'Brad Time' . . . Stay Well my friend. A-Jay

Right back at ya my friend. Pull Day for me tomorrow ~ Fan Favorite. A-Jay

Bait monkey does that on a slow day . . . . Just ask TW . . . . A-Jay

Anyone have some experience with this newest offering yet ? Hasn't been out all that long. Both my 9 Blacks overheat regularly with the media mod on them and it's a PIA. Hoping that Go Pro has finally addressed this. What say you ? Thanks in advance A-Jay

While I can agree that bass will go where the food is, the more nomadic on smaller water deal is not something I can get with. I always felt like when fishing smaller waters for bass, the fish were 'trapped'. And if I fish enough, eventually I'll bump into them, even if they were roaming around all day. Sliding out onto water that's 20K acers plus , 15 miles long, 5 miles wide and 150 ft deep offers a different level of nomaticness. (not really a word) Both waters can offer great bassing, but the sheer size of one may dramatically reduce a basshead's ability to repeat success; especially during those 'transitional' periods. A-Jay

You are welcome to keep that Canadian cold all to yourself thank you. A-Jay

Quick update and good news ~ Timber is already out on his two week trial at his new home. So we'll keep an eye out for a different new project. A-Jay

Hello Joe and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

From "Brown Bass Tools" ***Old School Crankbait Tip for colored or even cold water; OVER Weight your bait so IT SINKS. Suspending baits are good and floating cranks catch fish, but there are times when smallies will love & choke, a mid-sized crank that will sit on the bottom at rest - you can even work it like a jig over a clean(er) bottom. Not even close to a new deal - Rapala made the Countdown (sinking) minnow like 50 years ago - but somehow - they seemed to really lose favor with bass anglers - don't know why - they catch the heck out of the bass. I even do it with jerkbaits - Just don't talk about - Imagine paying all this money for a super suspending Megabass 110 only to really want it to sink like a rock ! Yup- Guilty as charged. A couple of different ways to do it - Suspend strips (the little lead strips made by Storm) - or sometimes even just bigger trebles will do it - I've even used both on one bait - try it you might like it. A-Jay

Tank's not too bad but KYA is a real dirt dawg and will totally wallow in the half frozen slush/mud. It's ugly and we usually end up giving her a total wash down. I'll post a pic after her next event. It's all fun and games until it takes an hour to clean and dry the little darling. A-Jay

The snow/slush is still 6-8 inches deep so their feet aren't making it to the turf yet. But it's coming . . The mud room is well stocked with 'brown' dog towels. We finally smartened up and got that color to start with. No doubt they end up that way eventually anyway. A-Jay

Total slush fest over this way right now ~ Until it freezes again, I don't hate it. A-Jay

^^^ X2 ~ My hook of choice when throwing the swinghead for brown bass, with Rage Bug trailers, has been the straight up regular wire Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG. Works well, still lose a few but by & large this one did most of the heavy lifting. The balance between being stout enough to get the fish to the net and still be thin enough to enable long distance hooksets with 15 lb FC is a fine one. I’ve had a few of these ‘open’ just a bit, which never makes me happy. However there’s a new kid in town which may take this ones place. It’s early in my R&D but the Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid Worm has massive potential IMO. At 4/0 maintains the right shape & size BUT carries just a little bit more horsepower on the hookset. So there's very little IMO, that's finesse going on there. Time will tell but until it proves me wrong, I’m going with it. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_G-Finesse_Hybrid_Worm_Hook_4pk/descpage-GFHW.html A-Jay

Push 2 this morning. Shoulders, Chest & Triceps making it happen. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Hello Ryan and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

In what application(s), would I need a reel with 8.1:1 gear ratio? None. A-Jay