A-Jay

Starting to get real up in here ~ BLIZZARD WARNING ISSUED: 4:09 AM DEC. 22, 2022 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of 12 to 26 inches. Drifts will be much higher; especially on A-Jay's Roof ! Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of Eastern Upper and Northern Lower Michigan. * WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 7 PM EST Saturday. The worst conditions will occur Friday into Saturday morning. * IMPACTS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible at times. Widespread blowing and drifting snow will result in white-out conditions and snow-covered roads. North-south roads will be especially impacted by crosswinds and heavy drifting. The hazardous conditions will impact holiday commuters. Strong winds with snow-covered trees could bring down branches and cause power outages. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A-Jay

Megabass Ito Vision 110+1 Jr. Jerkbaits ~ https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Ito_Vision_1101_Jr_Jerkbaits/descpage-MBJ1.html A-Jay

Just Remarkable ~ What an insane bag of bass https://fb.watch/hA9B0Hp8Yy/ A-Jay

If that's the deal, my Dogs owe me MILLIONS ! ? A-Jay

Wait ~ Run that by me again . . . A-Jay

Looks like we're the the Red ~ Rarely a good thing. A-Jay

Took my scheduled day off plus an extra mainainance day, which included way too much snow removal. Back at it this morning with Total Body 1 Showing the last working set of 7 movements performed. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Working daily with Aries while we wait for a forever home for him. 15 degrees today ~ didn't phase him. Set up a 'promotional' grooming for him tomorrow. He'll be liking that. A-Jay

No doubt. And pressured by the worst knot tying bassheads on the planet ! A-Jay

Nice ~ Can't wait to check it out. I'm going to go right ahead and guess $$$ All inclusive boat, motor, trailer, accessories & electronics, Tax & dealer Prep ~ 199K out the door. And I actually think I'm low balling that a little. A-Jay

That's pretty outrageous ~ If that's a PB - Congrats ! I haven't found a single bait in the 15 plus years I've been fishing here. Hope it stays that was too. A-Jay

Are we bailing hay ? WTH ? A-Jay

A little on the upper lip under each nostril ~ Those who know; thank you. A-Jay

I fish from a canoe & a Bass rig. I'd agree with most everything you've listed above as having merit. For me the Bigger rig is easier to load & recover, mostly because all the gear is already in it. Versus loading & unloading everything in & out every time with the canoe. Then there's the tackle carrying capacity differences, the size water I can or can out get out on and the weather protection. Garage space for me is a wash as I have the space for both rigs to do whatever I need. Including storing my truck inside all season. Can't make the decision for you as our priorities are probably different. I'd imagine whichever way you chose to go there will be concessions made. Bottom line, I get bigger bass from my big rig as it offers safer access to bigger water. Canoe is a blast too but 'it's a different' deal. Good Luck A-Jay

Yea ~ You know what it's like. NWS could save a lot of time an effort if they just posted something to the effect of: "Be Advised ~ Old Man Winter will be dropping the hammer this weekend". A-Jay

Hey look ~ Mr. Mudgett's back Good to hear from you again my friend. A-Jay

Just tools my friend ~ What mostly happened was I salted away all the 'gas money' I never had to use fishing from a canoe for 10 years #paddlepower And the round reels are 200D's and are easily one of my favorites. I make excuses to fish them as much as I can. A-Jay

The Old Town canoe holds 9 - 5 casting 4 spinners The Pro-V Bass has rod 15 tubes in the center rod locker. But I would often "double up' several and could easily get 20-25 rigs in there. And as if that wasn't enough, last spring I got a wild hair across my Azz and removed the rod tube contraption completely. Now the space is cavernous and I actually have more room than I have rods. Which is saying something. Might have to address that deal. Either way, removing sticks 'at the bottom' is much easier now. Stick jackets rule btw. A-Jay

Besides joining this forum, the day I decided to go all in on one of these tops my local bass fishing improvement list. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/175465-got-a-new-boat-~/ A-Jay

Sounds like you guys had another most excellent trip. Can't put a price on those times together. Nice Buck Congrats A-Jay Nice

If I was on the deck of my own boat, I could use the trolling motor to help keep fish pinned. If that were the case, I'd use the round reel all day everyday. Gotta get the bites first And that's were my confidence lies. I use a 200D locally just about every trip. A-Jay

First Off ~ Nicely Done. I thoroughly enjoyed your OP, Really I did. And I bet you know why. However my response may not require quite as much detail. Most ALL of my 'swimbait' fishing, at least the type you've described above, happens south of the border. Most baits are in that 2-4 oz range. I use 20, 22 & even up to 25 lb Mono & FC. The Shimano Calcutta 300D is By Far my favorite reel for actually fishing the baits. It has accounted for several very respectable swimbait bass. At 5.7:1 I think, it just seems like the magic deal. It's a round reel and not the easiest to palm but it's do-able. However - the lower IPT is NOT the best when big fish rush the boat or race to the surface in an effort to throw the heavy swimbait. I was losing what I felt like was too many big fish. Enter the Shimano Tranx 300 and the 300HG. Low profile with the same TANK durability and is available in a 7.3.1 speed. Had to slow my roll on the retrieve but I landed more fish. All these reel cast great and are built to be maintained, which I like. Good Luck with your search A-Jay

Pretty sure there was a post about this fish a while back. Either way, it's interesting how the topic quickly switched from the rather magnificent Smallmouth to FFS. While it's fantastic that a smallmouth this big has been caught & now confirmed as 'possible', it is IMO, a major anomaly. Like a 20 lb LMB would be. So few of us fish waters that probably don't have either, that a catch like this is rarely in play. Not detracting from the angler or his great catch but it's seems like a powerball win to me. There's always quite a few tickets sold, but only one winner, and it usually takes a while to get one at that. As for the role FFS plays, I do not have a unit, but it seems like that in the right conditions, on the right lake, in the hands of an experienced & savvy user, FFS can help a basshead catch more & even bigger bass. #joshjones But I might be able to make that assertion in reference to all the tackle in my boat. Finally, I am betting there are quite a few MORE FFS units out there than there are 10 lb brown bass. YMMV A-Jay

Past couple of days we've accumulated about 10 inches or so. Plan on cleaning that up today because it looks like there may be a more significant snow event over next weekend and into the following week. Like 2 feet plus, all said and done. Some clean up now and then some later will be a bit better than waiting and doing it all at once. A-Jay

Total Body 3 this morning. Some days are just better than others. #borninfiftynine A-Jay