A-Jay

I'm saying none of this is good For Me. Small dink bass would come out easily, however I would have zero expectation of successfully extracting a big bass out of cover with your set up. Might be good for you though, especially if you enjoy posting up 'I lost a Big One' threads. Seem to be a lot of those lately. Hope you don't join the club. Good Luck. I'm done here. Read up on some stuff it will help you, I promise. https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish A-Jay

Following. A-Jay

If the line rating is something like 4-8lb test and the lure rating is 1/8 - 1/4 oz, yes. All jigs incuding bladed jig excel when fish in or at least near cover. Usually soft cover. Think weeds. You may be under gunned using a medium light moderate rod, regardless of the hook. A-Jay

Simms Sun gaiters are contour cut and have decent breathability which 'helps' but may not totally eliminate sunglass fogging. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-SIMMSFNPRTC.html?from=basres A-Jay

@radiozephyr I am going to say in adance that IMO, there will be times that your medium light moderate fast stick is going to be ineffective when it comes time to set the hook with Mini Max. And thats regardless of the trailer type & size as well as what line you choose. Perhaps consider a Medium fast instead. That hook may be small but it's still beefy enough to over power such a light blank. A-Jay

SMALLMOUTH BASS LOVE FEEDING IN THE SUNSHINE A-Jay

We don't consume very much beef, (bugers included)anymore, but when we do treat ourselves, grilling is our choice cooking method. Used to be an almost raw/rare guy. Lean more towards medium now unless I grind it myself. Something very primal about eating hot, not quite burnt meat. A-Jay

A-Jay

I've got a Ducane stainless steel model bought new right after I got married, (the second time) so like 2000-ish. My dogs ate the first vinyl cover right of it. I got another one that I still have, but I have replaced 'the guts' (burners, deflectors and the grill) I'd say 5 times. Sort of lost track. The 'shell' is in really good shape but the guts are about ready again pretty sure. A-Jay

In the bait pic below, the top bait is ½ oz Jackhammer with a 4” Zako (Mostly for size comparison). Below that are a selection of trailers and then the 3/8 (left) and ½ oz baits (right). I have been having a hard time differentiating between the sizes. Old Guy Eyes. Not sure it shows up in the pic but, I placed a small black sharpie dot on the bottom of the ½ oz heads. We’ll see how long that lasts; hope it gets chewed right off ! Finally the trailer selection. Using what I had on hand . . . SK Baby Rage Craw, SK 4 inch Caffeine Shad, Evolution Baits HD Goby Swimbait, Yamamoto 3 inch Zako and a 4 inch Swim Senko. A-Jay

So Fitness . . . . Yup. Besides fishing, nutrition & exercise has been the other constant through my entire adult life. Started seriously in 1979 at 20 years old and 44 years later I'm still at it. It was part of my job description in the service for almost 30 years. Soon after enlisting, I figured out being the best version of me might help keep me alive. So I stayed with it. About half way through my career, I was selected to go to Army Master Fitness Training, which at the time was a big deal. Course completion really opened my eyes to the world of fitness and even allowed me to test for and receive a ACE Personal Trainer Certification, which I did. Very helpful even today. I retired from the service at 47 years old and after a couple of years of a semi-sporadic gym membership, I'd had enough missing workouts. So at 50 years old I added a small home gym in our basement. Filled it with some very basic equipment & weights and I was good to go. Been 14 years (renovated it once) and it's easily The Best Investment I ever made in myself. Of course, it still takes a special type of commitment & devotion (or crazy) to get down into the home gym every other day, week after week, month after month, year after year. I need to add that this would be virtually impossible without a solid life long nutritional plan to support it. Along with challenging resistance training, it Really is the secret sauce to staying lean, fit & balanced. I have a thread here I started almost 6 years ago that I add to routinely. Sharing my workouts helps keep me motivated. This ones from this morning. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/198637-working-to-stay-lean-~/?do=findComment&comment=2983983 A-Jay

Workout 2 this morning. Starts with some single leg training that always gets my attention. Competed 3 working sets of 5 movements and I'm showing all 3 set here in this one. Been a while but it does offer a good sense of what I put into this every other day. Might be a special kind of crazy, especially at 64 years old. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

For many years my wife was a regular back when every trip happened in the Old Town Canoe. She was usually up for whatever came our way. We had some killer days & 1 very special night on the water together. Sadly her health has declined to a point now where we really have to pick our spots. Still the best though. I only get to share the water with Big Fish Jeff one, maybe two times a year. But for the last 10 years or so, most everyone of those trips, has been memorable. A-Jay

Good Luck ~ A-Jay

Sometimes I just want to catch Bass and when I do, those are good days. Sometimes I want to catch as many Bass as I can, and when I do, those are good days. Sometimes I want to catch a Big Bass and when I do, those are good days. Other times I want to catch bass the way I want to catch Bass, and when I do those are pretty good days too. But when I can be on the water with my wife and help her catch bass, those are the Best Days. A-Jay

Knowing the slammage will be directed my way from the devout Frogg Togg disciples, I'll give you this anyway. May depend on which 'version' Frogg Toggs you have. While most of the ultra-lite polypropylene suits are an extremely affordable rainwear option, they often lack the sweat-free comfort, durable breathability and quality of some higher priced options. Also running down the lake at any speed in the rain, the wind will push water through the suit onto your humanness. Might be OK for brief periods of lighter drizzle and a couple of uses. After that, they sort end up as a disposable unit. Enjoy A-Jay

I agree with @Choporoz In that I stopped believing in and even looking, for hard & fast bass fishing rules. The last one I was a staunch believer in seems to have gone right out the window. So everything's up for grabs for me at this point. However, we have to start somewhere, so I'm OK with calling what follows 'generalizations' rather than rules. So what's 'near deep water' mean ? No way to offer an actual unit of measure on this deal but I can get with this . . . . The 'distance' bass might be from 'deep water' can be dependent on: The season; early & late (cooler water in other words) sort of expect them to be closer to it. Warmer water periods might see them willing to venture a bit farther from it to eat and even hang out a while. Water Clarity could play a role - regardless of the season, clearer water could see them holding & feeding closer to it. While more turbid deals might offer them enough security to leave the depths a bit further behind and get all up in the skinny stuff. The Presence of cover: most every bass head on the planet knows that shallow weeds & cover provide a safe haven for bait & bass. And if there's enough cover to give them 'a route' straight to the shallow food from the deep, they'll probably use it. Low Light / night time; this one can be tricky but 'generally speaking', this may be the universal 'go to' for most every bass maniac. Fish will often go places and travel distances to eat that they will not do any other time of the day #coverofdarkness. Bass like 'edges' and bottom color & composition changes as well as 'something' to hold on. Often doesn't need to be much or it can be pretty massive. Again, not a hard & fast rule, as there are big bass taken off 'nothing banks' and open flats all the time. We may never know exactly what that's all about but it happens. The dreaded boating traffic and even fishing pressure can make bass a little wary and somewhat unwilling to venture away from the security of the depths. Finally, I can only go by what I've experienced. And when I think about & look back at many of my productive fish catching areas, at any given point, at least some of this plays a role in my results. Duplicating it on new and especially Big Water can be a daunting task. Either way, if you figure out a short cut, please fill me in on it. Otherwise, my search continues . . . . Good Luck A-Jay

Like this ~ A-Jay

Know the signs and what to do in advance. One of my least favorite deals is the massive headache I can get folliwing a long period in the heat and being insufficiently hydrated. ? A-Jay

The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten. Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. YMMV A-Jay

I fish 'northern natural lakes' and many I get on also have deep bottom weed. Clear water and light penetration may be contributing to that. However, as I move deeper, at some point the weeds stop. Bass like 'edges'. Consider finding those 'edges' and fishing the cleaner bottom area immediately adjacent to the weed bottom edge. Especially in the warmer summer period. The very bottom of a deep weed line - especially a sandy bottom, can be killer if the winds right. Often I'll need to get very close or even go into the weed (coontail for instance). Boat position is key as I need to drop a jig or Texas rig into the first few feet of weed, get it to the bottom and work it out onto the sand - usually 8 - 20 ft deep we're talking here. Bass will take it when it comes out into the open. Another sneaky deal is to switch that around 180 degrees. Sit back over the weeds. Cast into open water - work the bait back along the bottom and pull it right into the bottom of the weed line - bass will stalk it and eat it often right before or right after it goes into the weeds ~ I guess 'before it gets away'. And finally something worked parallel to that same weedline - doesn't always have to be deep but sometimes it's best - but unless the 'weedline' is long & straight or you can see it clearly - it's hard to work anything with trebles along there without getting a bunch of salad every cast. But if you can or if they are willing to pop out of the weeds and strike as bait goes by - Swim jig w/ craw or paddle tail, vibrating jig, a standard jig & craw, Just about any Texas-rigged plastic, a plain old grub on a jig head - when there's too much weed action. And any mid-depth or deep crank if the opportunity presents itself. (dig it into the bottom the whole way - it's like magic - even on super calm days). Good Luck A-Jay

From NOCO https://no.co/support/gen-error-led-is-illuminated-or-flashing A-Jay

Knocked out Workout 1 this morning. This is the 'longest' workout of the three I do. Performed 3 working sets of 7 exercises. Showing the last set of each here. Went pretty good as my training weights continue to creep up. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Yup ~ A-Jay

Cool ~ I'd give this a shot on the water. But not sure I'd have cell service the whole time. A-Jay