A-Jay

As the waters cool off up here in the northern mid-west, one of my favorite techniques comes back into play - Blade Baits. The air & water might be cool or even down right cold - but the blade bite can be Smoking Hot ! Up until recently, my success with this technique was marginal at best. A few years ago I watched the attached video trying to gain some insight as to why I was not getting the results I expected. Mr Scott Dobson's approach to fishing these baits was a GAME CHANGER. The less is best deal Really worked for me - A fairly weed free clean bottom of sand or gravel really helps here. If you have the right conditions and haven't tried this yet, or have but would like to give it another shot, watch this clip. Reproduce this technique the best you can and have the net, scale & camera rolling. You'll be glad you did. A-Jay https://youtu.be/kLOoWcoPIK4?si=93Gel0pX0mArr2Eu

Viko's a little stud ! Congrats on the foster-to-adopt. A-Jay

OK ~ For air temps and or wind chills on the water that dip into or below the 30's, I wear a moisture wicking (thin) base layer top & bottom. Brands are Columbia, Simms, & Under Amour. Second layer is mid to heavy weight Thermal Midlayer top & bottom (Simms) Next is a thermal wind blocking fleece heavy weight Hoodie. (Simms) Finally I cover it all up with a Simms Insulated Challenger Jacket & Bibs. The feets get Cabela's Midcalf Polypropylene Liner, Simms Men's Merino Thermal OTC Socks, and slightly oversized Columbia Titanium Insulated Boots. A-Jay

Sweet ~You're a Superstar ! Congrats A-Jay

Workout Day 4 ~ Once I understood that each day isn't one more day but one less, it helped me to focus on the things that truly matter. This is one of them. #borninfiftynine https://youtu.be/KlR6FiOtUFY?si=C2EmOjG9x0tnUDM1 A-Jay

Here's this mornings updated northern Michigan snowfall totals so far ~ 80.4 inches here seems about right. A-Jay

Improving ourselves takes a commitment to self-awareness, setting clear goals, building supportive habits, stepping out of your comfort zone, and consistently learning from both successes and failures. Focusing on consistent small actions rather than perfection to foster lifelong growth in knowledge, character, and well-being. I film my fishing. I have mentioned many times here that I believe it has helped me become a much better bass fisherman. It has made me safer on the water. It has shown me the importance of keeping the deck of my rig clean & well organized. Having my net & fish handling tools ready and available. Video replay has made me better at hooksets, fighting, and landing fish. I actually developed a repeatable fish landing and handling process that is both effective and helpful when it comes to safe fish release. It has helped me streamline and make my boat launching and recovering procedures safer. Bottom line - I get out of it exactly what I'm willing to put into it. And the word "hassle" doesn't come into play here for me. Good Luck. A-Jay

Nope A-Jay

https://fishtechy.com/ A-Jay

I go straight FC on all Casting rigs. Usually 15 or 12 lb (not pictured) Braid (8, 10, 15 or 20 lb) to FC or Mono leader ( usually 6, 8, 11, 13, lb ) on all Spinning Rigs. A-Jay

Started off the new year with Workout Day 3. The mindset for 2026 is to move on from what's gone, be thankful for what remains, and stay hopeful for what's to come. #borninfiftynine https://youtu.be/D676YZ7w_BA?si=pBBmksKeveBSJfKI A-Jay

OK ~ I think as long as it's a Red Ryder BB gun, you should be all set. Good Luck A-Jay

Interesting ~ This whole deal is just for fun. So as long as the rules and scoring deals are satisfied, it's fine by me. Good Luck A-Jay

This 5.37 lb Smallmouth bass came on a Megabass Vision 110 in Shrimp. https://youtu.be/uurSA2M9X0Y?si=_UrIa-FIO0Spzu1B&t=209 A-Jay

Sounds like a plan. Don't forget to schedule in a few off days and keep getting plenty of sleep. That's when we adapt—insert improve. Remember, we cannot exercise out a non-supportive diet. So take a serious look at that as well. Enjoy your journey. A-Jay

And I'm putting a wrap & a bow on my 2025 training year. Finished this one off with 160 training days. Perhaps more importantly, hardly any setbacks. The few I did have were minor and resolved themselves in a satisfactory manner. I took the New Year's Eve training day off after some major snow removal operations. But I'll be back at it a bit later today. Looking to start the new year off in a positive direction. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ And this is my last post of 2025 Happy New Year ! A-Jay

If I need heat - my refrigerator is the great outdoors. A-Jay

Something just over 15 hours or so, depending on your latitude, before the Offical 2026 State vs State "Line In". Don't forget to check your drag ! A-Jay

I am right there with you. The state record SMB here is half a goby poop under 10 pounds. I might need to borrow Jake Housman's half a kayak, just to be in contention . . . Keeping it real . . . . 😁 A-Jay

Propane yes - Generator no. I've been holding off as long as I can. But we have been without power "Many" times. And while it always sux a little, wood stove and a cord or so on stand by inside the garage, always gets us by for heat. The propane stove takes care of the cooking. Burying food & frozen goods in the snow keeps them for a while. Biggest challenge is no well pump. Stored H2O never lasts as long as we'd like. Especially using it to perform septic duties. Now switch the no power to summer, and things get a little dicey. A-Jay

Every time . . . . . A-Jay

We'll be starting this new year off mostly buried in more snow ~ Oh My ! A-Jay

Lo sentimos, la lubina de roca no está incluida. A-Jay

After bringing this one back last year and having some fun with it, it was suggested that the next one run all year. January thru December. So here we go . . . . . This is a bragging rights only contest. It’s fun and pretty easy to do. To make it somewhat fair, bassheads are competing against the state record bass in their home state. (or the state where the bass is caught) I do realize that some states have crazy big bass at the top of the list but not all of them. From the bank, boat or wading, they all count the same. Lakes, rivers, reservoirs & streams. Goes like this . . . RULES 1. This is for FUN... 2. There are 3 divisions. Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spotted Bass. 3. Contest runs from sunrise 01 January 2026 to sunset 31 December 2026. 4. Artificial bait ONLY. If you are sight fishing, the fish must be hooked inside the mouth. All fish must be caught in PUBLIC fishing areas. No private stocked ponds or Mike Long imitations. Let's just police ourselves and be proud of that. 5 In order for your fish to count, you must submit a picture of the bass, the state record weight for the state the fish was caught in, and an accurate weight of the bass. Your fish must be submitted in THIS THREAD within one week of being caught. (No sandbagging) You may submit as many fish as you want as long as subsequently caught fish are larger within each division than your previous submission. 6. Scoring of the fish shall be completed as follows: Example Your fish weight = LMB 7.5 lbs state record of where the fish is caught for example Kansas state record = 11.80 lbs Your fish weight / current State record weight x 100 = your score. So in this case it’s 7.5/11.80 x100 = Your score of 63.55 (we’ll go 2 decimal places.) If you don’t have an accurate scale and you’d like to participate in this, get one. In the case of an actual tie, you both win. Now for the one time Entry Fee – At the beginning of your first post/entry, you must name the one food you’d never eat Again (even ay gun point). No need to claim whether you’re in or out. Just post’em up when you get’em. It’ll be a while before I can add anything here but I’ll be watching . . . . Good Luck, and I might even mean that this time. A-Jay