A-Jay

Only two more days of snow to go - Then we get a 3 day break. I'll need to get to the store for some supplies before the next one. Ask me again why I drive a jacked-up truck. A-Jay

The Benefits of Long Casts for Big Brown Bass. Been wanting to supplement the thread with this one for a while now. Today’s that day. Back in Chapter II, I touched on this subject a bit. This info was a couple of decades in the making, and the post itself was put up over seven years ago. Since then, my time on the water and subsequent fish catches have only served to reinforce what I wrote then. I believe in this approach and would strongly encourage any and all would-be big brown bass hunters to at least consider it. First off, there’s the obvious. I am a huge proponent of remaining undetected. #stealth Launching my bait out and away from my rig reinforces that. And I’m talking like in another time zone. IME, getting bites after plus size bass know I’m there is dramatically more challenging, if not impossible. Making this part of my approach every trip. Next is something that I have capitalized on over & over again in warm, cool & even cold water—SMBs love to chase stuff. I mean, they will often chase just to chase. And while I do not own one, the videos I’ve seen from others' FFS units seem to reinforce this. This is one reason I am such a big fan of LONG CASTS—they give them time to chase and then eat. Short casts—I get the chase to the boat, but then they turn away. Long casts seem to satisfy the ITCH! With the clear waters I fish, I can often see them coming a long way off—sometimes whole packs of them—it's pretty intense. So when looking for fish or when looking for chilling fish, because the bite has died in the feeding areas, offering a presentation that they can 'chase a while' before they eat it can be an effective approach. I need to select a bait that works with the water temp—meaning slower in cooler or cold & faster in warmer or hot. So by presenting a 'chase bait' to a chilling SMB—or even better, a school of chilling bass—I can sometimes trigger that chase button - and get them to strike—good times. This becomes even more significant in ‘skinny’ water. And that can be a relative term when it comes to big Brown Bass. I’d even go as far as to say when the conditions are right (or wrong, depending on my attitude at the time), 12 feet can be skinny. Other times, during low light or heavy cloud cover, for instance, 5 feet might be the mark. I hate ‘burning’ fish, meaning getting too close as to see them either spook or speed off in a mad dash. Or even worse, slowly meaner away, like I’m some kind of minor inconvenience. Either way, it makes me a little nuts. But if there’s not one already there, I’ll drop a pin. Come back another time, and maybe next time don't be such a knucklehead. My tackle is geared to support my mission. Mostly longer rods, lighter line, and quality aftermarket hooks & hardware if I can swing it. Interestingly, I have learned that it is possible to out-cast my hookset. Meaning I have so much line out, I am unable to sink the steel. Happens more with single-hook presentations and/or something that is or has a soft plastic involved in the rig. Smallies will clamp down on it with their crushers, play tug-o-war with me for a minute, and then spit the bait back in my face. Quite unceremoniously, I might add. Back in the day this happened to me with tubes and swimbaits baits; Perhaps half the time. The equalizer in all this for me is braided line. Dramatically improves my strike-to-Frabil ratio. My spinning gear is all braid/leader, and my casting gear is all FC, most of which is 15 lb Tatsu. I’ve gone as high as 20 lb and as low as 12 lb. 15 lb seems to be a happy medium, allowing plenty of distance while retaining enough horsepower to hook a beast when needed. Regardless of the line type or test used, my drag needs to be in tune with this whole dance routine. As I'm posting this, it's snowing rather heavily and will be for most of this weekend. I tell myself that all the shoveling over the long winter helps my casting distance next spring. And someday I might actually believe it. A-Jay

I smell what you're cookin'. You obviously have access to the right type of bass. Just don't forget to get an unofficial weight for the rest of us hacks. Good Luck A-Jay

After last year's performance, we're all keeping an eye on you. Could it be The Redemption Tour or more Steamed green pees. 🤢 Time will tell . . . . . A-Jay

After some welcome and unseasonably warm temps the past two days, we are being reminded that it's still only February. This is only supposed to be 2-4 inches of wet sloppiness. My roof's looking primo either way. A-Jay

PSA —although not directly addressed in the OP 'rules' section, Feeding a bass any number of spark plugs before the weighing process is highly discouraged. Thank you for your cooperation. Signed, The Management. A-Jay

Workout Day 4 ~ Completed three working sets of the five movements scheduled. This one had me digging pretty deep. I'll be taking two recovery days. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I might change a reel spool for a different type or size line, but I'm never changing reels. A-Jay

Clearly we have to select our fishing days carefully all the time, but especially early and late season. Wet foot launches for me are best when the wind is not crazy (calm) or blowing my rig onto the trailer. Especially helpful when I recover. Doing this with full rig that weighs probably close to 3K lbs can get sketchy, and there's definitely a learning curve. Winters in the home gym surely help. Sudden wetness is always an indication that I jacked something up. Best one was when I stopped the rig too soon and in too deep a water during recovery. When I slipped off the bow to retrieve my truck, I filled my boots with 40-degree water. There was some sailor language uttered along with the inevitable shrinkage. I have since 'marked' my push pole as a double check to ensure I am positioned sufficiently shallow as not to repeat that debacle. In the past 9 years, I've only seen one other human do this with a full-sized rig. He was running solo, also clearly not a rookie and he made it look easy. Stay Safe A-Jay

Docks ? We don't need no stinking docks . . . . Maybe hip boots but not docks. Also, this deal seriously reduces boating 'traffic.' Stay Safe 🙂 A-Jay

We've been checking off the different birds as we ID them for years now. The "Bird Book" (complete with detailed pictures) has the dates of each sighting. While most all of the usual suspects have shown up, we haven't had a 'new' entry in a while. But late this past fall Lynn snapped a picture of the one and only 'evening grosbeak' we've spotted so far. Pretty cool colorings, especially in the snow. A-Jay

Bummer. Certainly not what you guys where hoping for. But you made more casts than I did. A-Jay

Yea - today it was just nasty. Cold, brisk NE wind and big, fat snow all morning. We had an early doctor appointment at the VA which is pretty close, thankfully. 🥶 A-Jay

I've sold rods, reels and even some baits here. Quite a few in fact. And I really appreciated every sale and buyer. IME, I see there are two challenges facing potential sellers. First, there's the cost of shipping. Especially rods. Second, there's the flea market-style prices most potential buyers are willing to pay. Think low, and then it's lower than that. Combine these and post-sale money in the pocket dwindles Selling baits is a bit better because several will fit in a smaller box that costs less to ship. Good luck with your potential sales. A-Jay

We hang 'several" feeders out during the year. Some we bring in during winter to discourage squirrel raids. However, we leave out the thistle and suet. Pileated woodpeckers are big fans of the suet, and my wife "modified" a couple of commercial feeders to better accommodate them. A side benefit is these big birds have just about eliminated every hanging wasp nest on our property. Here's some up-close and personal video from last winter. A-Jay

Workout Day 3 ~ While I certainly didn't need a calendar to direct my deal, I did take advantage of the new year to double down on keeping my diet clean, training with a bit more intensity and the big one for me—getting the proper hours of sleep. Every Night. A body just knows. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Well, let's do this then, my friend. Since there is no way for you to compete in a state vs. state because you're in Mexico. How about you simply use your PB as 'the record weight". As I recall, it's bigger than most anything posted stateside anyway. Yeah, just do that. Sometimes it's good to be the one making the rules. Good Luck and if you do catch a new PB, you'll be the first entry with more than 100 points. Now wouldn't that be something? As great as that is, the prize is the same. Nothing. 😁 A-Jay

I am willing to blame the wild & crazy weather we've all been subjected to nationally for the minimal number of submissions early on in this one. Hope it improves drastically, leading to a plethora of bug-eyed giants being loaded up here. Good Luck (pictured added for motivational purposes only) 😀 A-Jay

A storm system will bring mixed precipitation to much of northern Michigan starting Tuesday evening and lasting through much of Wednesday. There is high potential for 4” or more of snow, and high potential for 0.1” or more of ice accumulations across northern Lower. Parts of northwest and north-central lower Michigan have a low chance to see icing in excess of a quarter inch. Like we didn't get enough of that mess last spring. Finally, Mud Season this year should be spectacular! Either way, it's Tanker Tuesday ~ This red-eyed mutant choked the Thunder Goby in some pretty skinny water. Cloud cover helps with that, I think. 58 Days and a Wake-Up. It could happen. A-Jay

A few jerkbaits. Some soft plastics for bottom feeders. And a new knife. A-Jay

Bet it floats ~ Congrats A-Jay

Next to shining a prop, the last thing an old Boatswain’s Mates wants to do, is run out of gas. #rookiemove A-Jay

We've had a bit of a warm up and it's been raining on & off since early this morning. Best part is my shoveling efforts seemed to useful. Half my roof is bare and exposed. More snow is on the way it's inevitable since the calendar indicates February. A-Jay

Oh man ~ That's crazy talk. When planning trips in advance anywhere, and we both know this, the weather is the Big X factor. Besides being a little butt hurt, it sounds like you, your buds, and your boat all came through it mostly OK. And now your 'local' rig is sort of good to go for a while after those concerns were met before leaving. As usual, thanks for sharing. A-Jay

This is just no fun at all ~ 230 Days & a Wake Up A-Jay