A-Jay

I don't have one but I bet that Loomis IMX Pro 901 S SJR @Dwight Hottle recommended is a pretty sweet stick. @Will Wetline goes totally next level by designing & bulding his own hair jig, fantastic work IMO. I like the 7'6 length here as well. The smaller hooks in these baits can really benefit from the right blank. Need a good tip but still have at least a little horse power on the back end. Not a fan of a noodle rod for hair. I use the same stick for ned rigs as well. Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS Spin Rod 7'6" ML Feider fits the bill for me. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-DAIWAROD.html?from=basres Quickly became a fan favorite. I don't always throw hair jigs but when I do, This stick gets the bait away from the boat, Pins & holds the fish them quite well and most importantly. put them in the net for me. Below is a clip of Diawa stick in action, I happen to be throwing a ned rig in this one. https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?t=61 Nice way to start any morning. A-Jay

IMO your line/terminal dropshot setup for smallies looks fine. Matching your hook style & size to your bait is a solid plan. What rod & reel are you using ? A-Jay

Congratulation to Jacob Wheeler. Domination A-Jay

Maybe he's wearing them new fangled flip flop sonar readers ~ ? A-Jay

MLF Format ~ Day 1: May 16 – Qualifying Round – Group A Forty anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Each pro’s five heaviest bass per day will be scored Total weight carries to Qualifying Day 2 Day 2: May 17 – Qualifying Round – Group B Forty anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Each pro’s five heaviest bass per day will be scored Total weight carries to Qualifying Day 2 Day 3: May 18 – Qualifying Round – Group A Forty anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Each pro’s five heaviest bass per day will be scored Day 1 + Day 3 = total weight Anglers who finish in 1st-20th place advance to Knockout Round (Day 5) NO AUTOMATIC ADVANCEMENT to the Championship Round for winning the Qualifying Rounds Bottom 20 anglers are eliminated Day 4: May 19 – Qualifying Round – Group B Forty anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Each pro’s five heaviest bass per day will be scored Day 2 + Day 4 = total weight Anglers who finish in 1st-20th place advance to Knockout Round (Day 5) NO AUTOMATIC ADVANCEMENT to the Championship Round for winning the Qualifying Rounds Bottom 20 anglers are eliminated Day 5: May 20 – Knockout Round Forty anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Zero weight to start Each pro’s five heaviest bass per day will be scored Top 10 anglers advance to Championship Round Bottom 30 anglers are eliminated WEIGHTS DO NOT ZERO FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND. Top 10’s weights will carry over from the Knockout Round Day 6: May 21 – Championship Round Ten anglers compete Catch, weigh, immediate release Weights carried over from Knockout Round Each pro’s five heaviest bass will be scored Highest cumulative total weight from Knockout and Championship Rounds wins A-Jay

While we may both fish the above presentations differently, in my fishing, I can cover A BUNCH MORE water with a swing head than a T-Rig or a jig. Fishing a swinghead for me does include pauses, but there's more time where it's moving along the bottom. Both situations get bites; the stop and the crawl. So when that's an important part of getting bites, the swinghead shines for me. A-Jay

Nicely Done. Killer bass and thanks for sharing. A-Jay

Haven't updated this one in a bit. Seems I may have jinxed myself with that previous entry. I managed to tweak a hamstring loading the boat earlier this month. Makes my knee (R) mostly unstable & comparably weakened. Been out of the gym & waiting for this deal to heal ever since. May has not been good to me recently. Last year it was Covid and now this. Might be June (or later) before I'm actually able to get back in the gym. Trying to stay positive but I can't fish either so there's a added level of frustration I'd rather not have to manage. More to follow . . . . A-Jay

OK - Down & Dirty Who ya got hoisting the hardware ? The local weather says today's temperature is forecast to be WARMER than yesterday. 3% Precip ~ Sun and clouds mixed. High near 80F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. If Wheeler has even half the bag he had yesterday, the rest of this group of hammers is going to need to do better than they did yesterday to over take him. I don't see it happening so I'm sticking with the leader to pull this one out. Jacob Wheeler 29 - 09 2nd Ott DeFoe 24 - 08 3rd Adrian Avena 23 - 12 4th Edwin Evers 23 - 11 5th David Dudley 23 - 01 6th Randall Tharp 22 - 07 7th Matt Becker 21 - 07 8th Jacob Wall 21 - 02 9th Bradley Roy 21 - 01 10th Takahiro Omori 20 - 12 A-Jay

15 lb FC. A-Jay

Swing heads can be killer at times for me. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/?do=findComment&comment=2467689 A-Jay

Sneaking up on a 30 burger ~ Looks like he's going for pizza now. A-Jay

I was going respond with this ~ Almost verbatim. No need. A-Jay

Sasha just chilling on a rainy Saturday ~ Her story has been shared on various social media deals several hundred times. Hard to believe we still get to hang out with this little lady. A-Jay

JW with a 5er. And the floater flopping around on the surface behind Wall's rig is bad optics. A-Jay

Three 6's is a good day. When you don't even realize it's raining ~ Hard. I love the format and am a big Wheeler Fan Boy. Be interested to find out what that bait is at Icast. A-Jay

Cast Net ! j/k A-Jay

President Harry S. Truman established this single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. THANK YOU to all America's men & women currently serving in our Armed Forces ~ E Pluribus Unum A-Jay

Interesting ~ Got to think Dr Vinnie Boombatz would be very proud. I had a crab so big once, it stole my wallet ! A-Jay

I have never fished for spotted bass or smallmouth bass in CA. Not sure how they may differ in each location, but I have spent the past several seasons specifically targeting northern Michigan Smallmouth bass. When it comes to bait size, I am not confused. Sometimes, I even get a few. IME, fishing large profile 6-8 inch baits for smallmouth (like big glide baits) is not the best approach to consistently get bites. While there's always a few suicidal fish that will hit anything, day in & day out, presentations in the 3 to say 5 inch range with a somewhat slimmer profile, are far more productive for brown bass. Tubes, standard size jerkbaits, 1/2 oz spinnerbaits, regular crankbaits and an assortment of topwater baits, just to name a few, have been putting large smallmouth in nets all over the country for decades. More recently Bladed Jigs and an A-Rig has proven effective for me at times. As always, timing & location both play huge roles as does matching one's tackle to the presentation. Finally, I'm very willing to say that for every trophy sized smallmouth caught on an 8 inch bait, there are 100 caught on something else. YMMV Good Luck A-Jay

Sasha is liking it here at The Pawz Pack Inn. Seems yesterday's Grooming made a significant difference in her appearance. A-Jay

I do not use these but this looks like it would work. Price seems right too. https://www.amazon.com/T-H-Marine-Supplies-Outboard-Hydraulic/dp/B07VQ8L16T A-Jay

Admittedly not a line stretch expert. While completely disregarding if & how heavy or light line effects any given presentation and if there is any 'cover' present, I'll submit the following. In my own fishing, when using FC or mono, a couple of factors come into play when selecting line size and considering line stretch. One is, how much line I expect to have out (casting distance) when I get strikes. The more line that's out, the more the stretch will be, regardless of LB test. (the less sensitivity as well). Second for me is, how much hook setting 'power' do I need. Because the 'stretch' can play a role here, it seems hook selection (type & size) matters as well. In the end 'bigger' line offers 'more' of just about everything. Some good, some not so much. 'Smaller' line conversely, provides 'less' of many of the same characteristics But there are deals where one is better than the other. Much of it is a trade off. One thing's for sure, I need to get the bite first. Fish Hard A-Jay

MARINE-TEX EPOXY PUTTY is a heavy-duty structural epoxy, used to repair aluminum, fiberglass and wooden boats, reinstall loose or stripped fasteners, permanently bond dissimilar metals without galvanic corrosion, and fill gouges in wood, metal and fiberglass, making repaired areas stronger than before. Marine-Tex is an excellent choice for repairing problem areas located below the waterline. Marine-Tex is resistant to water and many chemicals. A-Jay

Bummer and I'm glad you're OK. But the bold type is straight up BS by your insurance company. YOU PAY THEM to take care of you when this happens. Make them do it. Now. They can chase any $$ they want to recover AFTER your needs are met. Do Not accept anything else. Then, I'd consider changing insurance companies. Good Luck A-Jay