A-Jay

From this morning . . . . Downer works but I'm about ready to kick that description up a notch. Perhaps something that rhymes with trucks . . . A-Jay

LOL ~ No, off day. Is it that apparent ? A-Jay

Still have hard water here - I'm letting my mind wander. More than usual I mean . . . . . Spawned out of another current thread regarding bass fishing 'off shore'. Active vs Not Active How can we determine this in advance ? Can we even do it ? If and when a bass eats, does that make her active ? Can she be 'active' and not eat ? IME, bass that are relating to something; cover/structure, whether they are in shore, off shore or somewhere in between, seem far more prone to be 'active', Especially LMB. I feel like the presence of bait can increase the likely hood quite a bit. Suspended fish seem to be 'inactive' more often than not. 'Opportunistic feeders' is a term we hear quite a bit. What does that even mean, and who decided this ? How did they figure this out ? At no point do I ever feel like I 'fooled' a bass into eating. I present a bait, the decision of whether she eats it or not has very little to do with me. In my mind, when it comes to feeding, bass that can't figure out where to be and when, in order to survive, don't. Sort of goes along with the term 'confused'. I've heard many an 'expert' say where the conditions have the bass confused - Really ? Yea, I'm not buying that one either. We all know who's confused here and it ain't the bass. I'm standing by for heavy rolls . . . A-Jay

When I put out a platter of freshly caught & fried up fish, regardless what the combination might be; keeper walleye, yellow perch, crappie & bluegill. The Bluegill is Gone first - Every Time. #sweetmeat A-Jay

Local Lake Menderchuck this morning ~ Right before it started snowing ~ again. A-Jay

Perfect, you're welcome. A-Jay

Seems the search could be over . . . https://www.scheels.com/p/daiwa-tatula-elite-spinning-rod/04317821754.html?store=&msclkid=ed91c84aa4cc17044099aa1403bf08cd&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing Shopping&utm_term=4585032214824024&utm_content=Bing Shopping_23 - Fishing A-Jay

It was Cold & Snowy Monday ~ But not in the Gym A-Jay

As soon as there's open water up here, I will be engaged in what will invariably be a losing battle with the boat gas monkey . . . . He is a wicked and evil scallywag. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Nice Bass ! Congrats on the new Michigan Personal Best. I'm up in Otsego county and my best local LMB is a 23 inch Pre-spawn fish that came in at 7 lbs. The PB Brown bass was a super Fat 7-5 lb Fall fish ~ As far as 'goals' go - surpassing either one of those anytime soon might be unlikely. But that's not stopping me from trying ! (as soon as we get some open water that is) Fish Hard A-Jay

I almost went this way as well but double clutched right at the end . . . Killer bait either way. A-Jay

St. Croix Avid X Series Spinning Rod This is a decent stick. Fished it last season and like it quite a bit. And it's on sale ! https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-STCROIXRODS.html?from=basres Good Luck with your decision A-Jay

Had to think about this one for a bit. I have a couple - The 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X and the SPRO Mike McClelland RkCrawler 55. While I don't recall 'completely destroying' the bass first time out. Both of these baits produced nicely in fairly shorty order. And still do, thank you very much. A-Jay

Nice Bass ~ Congrats btw - I enjoyed reading your report. So I read it twice. I've got that kind of time. A-Jay

Early would be anything in March or 1st week of April Average is 3rd week of April, so we could be close to that in 2022. Anything close to or into May is a little later than average. Best bite for bigger brown bass happens within the first 3 weeks or so of open water. Doesn't matter water the water temps are, I just need to be there. Wind direction & speed are a huge deal during that time. SE & SW are good if they are not to wild. NW is the prevailing wind direction then and I can safely fish that deal with it blowing a good bit. Happened last spring quite a bit A-Jay

Still waiting on open water ~ This is not helping the cause much . . . . . Although only half over, this has been one miserable April weather wise . . . A-Jay

Welcome Back ~ A-Jay

It's a passion & an obsession . . . A-Jay

I don't over run a bunch (any more) but I definitely still blow one up a couple a times a year. Regardless of the line type, unless it's just a minor deal, something I can pick out in a minute or two, I'll do that. I also always want to ensure there is NO damage to the line. Otherwise, I'll either switch to another rig or replace the spool. (I carry extras). Then I can keep casting and it always seems easier dealing with the blow up on the beach when I get in. A-Jay

A-Jay

Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS Spin Rod 7'6" ML Feider https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-DAIWAROD.html?from=basres I use it for Ned Rigs as well https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?t=61 A-Jay

I use a 7'6" ML Stick with a 3000 size spinner loaded with 8 lb braid, which is Really Thin. Clearly the 'casts' are not super long. But this set up gets me the most distance vs other shorts 7' rods I've tried. Also 3/32 is the lightest I use. A-Jay

I like these too ~ A-Jay

Wicked Bad ? A-Jay

Complete mess up this way ~ Cold & snow for 3 days - Lakes are still frozen over with little signs of relief on the horizon. Just Brutal A-Jay