A-Jay

I hear ya ~ I'm in the same boat as far as locating structure, cover, bait & eventually fish. No one does it for me and I do not fish anyone else's deal - ever. Why folks do it, I can't say as it's just not my style. Either way, I certainly can not control what these humans do. I can control my own experience however and I have no trouble going to whatever lengths I need to, to totally take them out of my own fishing equation. Super early & late season trips and being On & off the water early, really helps. And then there's Night Ops . . . . . . Fish Hard A-Jay

Seems to be a trend I guess. I am rarely on 'community holes' so there may be some curiosity involved. "What's he fishing' is something I've heard being asked in other rigs a time or two. (Thank you 360 imaging) The pics & video posted later usually answers that question. Fish Hard A-Jay

Doesn't bother me ~ Admittedly it doesn't happen a ton up this way. However, for whatever reason, when there's a few bassheads on the lake, the Pro-V Bass attracts some attention and 'the bent rod pattern' can definitely be like a magnet at times. If & when I get 'poached' - I will usually just stop fishing and eat a sandwich. After 10-20 minutes they usually move on. Fish Hard A-Jay

I'm a 'pauser'. At least 2 or perhaps 3 times during a retrieve. Nothing works every time but the stop & start approach has garnered enough strikes that I use it often. Payed off the other day while fishing a 105 Shower Blows. https://youtu.be/AsD61HAztV0?t=150 Fish Hard A-Jay

Hi Shimmy ~ good to hear from you my friend ~ I use my travel rods. (all G. Loomis Escapes that are no longer in production, all my St Croix & Fenwick travel rods eventually Blew up) However as we are frequent customers at the lodge, we have been able to leave our gear in a locked room at the lodge so we don't have to transport it. Very nice. Regular length rods in that travel tube are doable but clearly a hassle, an extra cost (on commercial airlines) and most importantly, there's NO guarantee that they make the trip intact. In fact a good percentage arrive compromised some how, if not completely trashed & unfishable. So there's that. However, good news, the lodge now rents rods. I used a few last trip - totally good. They have a full supply of very decent quality MH, H and XH casting rods from three different manufactures. So a basshead can simply bring his reels and mount them on the sticks at the lodge. Super convenient and the price is fine. The private air cost for four anglers works out to $1650 per man. We fly from a private airport in south Texas directly to the runway At The Lodge in Mexico. (stopping for fuel once or twice along the way and to clear Mexican Customs). It's the only way to go IMO. Once you've done the 4 hour customs deal in Mexico City one or two times, (which is doable but not exactly the smoothest process) you'll see the light. The charter allows for a super simple 30 minute customs experience at a different and very small airport (no 2 mile long line). Finally the 6 night stay at Lake Baccarac Lodge and the 5 1/2 days of fishing on the best Big Bass Lake on the planet, runs $2450- all inclusive. Additional costs for us include the commercial airline tickets to & from Dallas Fort Worth, Hotel stays in Dallas the night before and the night after the flights from Mexico, as well as assorted tips for the lodge staff & guides; which is all person preference of course. Lake Baccarac Lodge is first class operation and the price reflects that. I make one trip a year now, and it takes me that long to stash away the cash to be able to do it. It is SO Worth it though . . . . A-Jay

RIP and final "a-haw haw haw" A-Jay

I'm on the fence ~ A-Jay

I try not to make the stank face but sometimes I just can't help it. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Agreed ~ Sounds like you might need to get "stupid". A-Jay

Scored a topwater Brown Bass yesterday ~ This bite should start picking up here the next couple of weeks A-Jay

Just 'filled' our plane ~ Now it's just a matter of time . . . . A-Jay

Going to be a whole lot of Red Sox Baseball today ~ I like that A-Jay

Hello Elias and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Totally agree ~ Mount one of the hottest new 25:1 gear ratio casting reels, on to one of these tomato sticks and that's Everything I Do Not want when fighting a high flying brown bass. But that's just me. A-Jay

Well Congratulations ~ ! Sounds like you did it right. Looking forward to some New Boat Day Pictures. Enjoy the wait . . . A-Jay

78 Days & a Wake Up ~ A-Jay

While there's quite a bit to love, one of my favorite aspects of the basshead lifestyle, does revolve around hooking, playing & hopefully landing the fish that strike. Admittedly, there's a decent amount of time & effort expended in advance of getting a bite, so I am a fan of capitalizing on each and every one. Now it would be all kinds of excellent if that always happened but it doesn't, as there are always a few they get 'dropped' each season. Hate it, and do whatever I can to prevent it, but sometimes the fish just earns her freedom. At this point I try not to break stuff and instead just tip my hat and keep casting. When setting up & matching my gear (rods, reels, line & terminal tackle) I'm routinely looking to find that happy balance between being stout enough to handle the biggest bass I hope to hook and still having the necessary properties to present my bait in an effective enough manner to elicit the strike in the first place. Depending on the technique & the conditions, it can be a fine line, other times it's pretty easy. The one interesting variable in all of this is that there are some fairly plus size by-catch species living in many of the systems I fish. One of these on the line is when my gear and fish 'fighting skill' is usually taxed the most and put to the test. After a few decades of doing this, when I do tangle with any oversized mutant, especially in a mostly open water situation, I have learned to not freak out during the fight (mostly), remain calm and do everything I can do to try and be one step ahead of the fish, whatever that means. I want to be a smooth as possible. Much of that simply must happen in advance of the cast and having a plan for if & when it happens has served me well. The other deal which has been a HUGE learning tool for me, has been the ability to go back and review video of my catches. Found out I had some bad habits that were counter productive to the end game. The replay helped me 'streamline' my approach and eliminate wasted motion, big advantage IMO. This spring, in some less than ideal conditions, I hooked a plus size brown bass on what for me is 'pretty light gear'. The fish fought hard and felt bigger than the 5.80lbs she ended up being. I really took my time with her and the fight lasted several minutes. I really enjoyed that one And a Big Musky on 10 FC is always going to be an event . . . . https://youtu.be/c8ncmrbV3-M?t=304 Fish Hard A-Jay

On a trip to trip basis. Wind speed, direction and duration drive the train. After that it's all about seasonal timing and location. Fish Hard A-Jay

Happen to catch this jig bite on video. We were around some hefty bass here, so my gear reflects that. This was a 7'4" H Mod Fast stick, 20 lb FC and a 3/4 oz jig. She was in about 10 feet with wood everywhere, I wanted her to keep coming my way; fortunately, she did. Fish Hard A-Jay

So many workouts ~ So little time. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Hello Ryan and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

On my hunt for big Brown Bass, there have been a 'few' occasions, when fish are relating to the tops of mid to deeper depth weeds, selecting a crankbait that runs well off them has triggered strikes. This is mostly a late summer deal for me. However cranks that get too deep or if & when I 'miss' my cast line, the bait always bogs down in the soft cover and the cast is wasted as I wind it in and clear it off. I'm rarely ever able to 'rip' or 'clear' any billed crank bait of the any weeds during the cast', except perhaps cabbage. Which is mostly a pike magnet weed here, so I do not target it much. A lipless bait, a performs much better in these situation for me, as I have a much better chance of fishing it effectively over & around the soft cover. Haven't tried to 'burn' a heavier vibrating jig (like 3/4 oz) through this yet, but it's coming. Fish Hard A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Gotta Love the topwater smashes on the 'under the bridge' casts ~ Nicely Done A-Jay

Ok ~ Good to know Thanks for sharing. A-Jay