A-Jay

Ample forward visibility in the Pro-V Bass. A-Jay

The US Coast Guard is tasked with having a presence in federal and international waters. For the purpose of this discussion, we will focus on federal waters. Basically that means waters that have shorelines in at least two different states. and/or at least one other country besides the USA. So the Great lakes, large long rivers like the Mississippi and inland lakes like Lake Tahoe and Lake Champlain. A-Jay

I have to start getting psyched up for these leg workouts at least a day in advance. They are always pretty brutal and this one was no exception. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I was about to quote you but my keyboard zapped me. I blaming @Glenn Either way, I am pretty sure the answer to your questions is rather involved I'm certainly not qualified to be the one to attack it. But I am glad that I bump into a few 'other species' several times a season. It's a hoot. A-Jay

At times, the quote button is a source of entertainment. Fixed that one for you, my friend. 🙃 A-Jay

Tomorrow is a fishing day for me. I am planning to switch gears and head to Lake Menderchuck this time. So we'll see how that goes. It should be a 'nice day' at least. 😎 A-Jay

Well Played ! I'm ashamed of myself for not coming up with that one. 🙃 A-Jay

I am not an attorney, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express a few times. In other words, I'm legally clueless. This state limits umbrella rigs to 5 hooks. I do fish them when the time is right. For me, that's late summer through mid-fall. In fact, I might be launching one tomorrow. A-Jay https://youtu.be/-Me1PRCP6Vw?feature=shared&t=51

Nicely Done @Bluebasser86 Those colorful crocs get more and more famous with each tournament win. Congrats A-Jay

A while back I dropped a little segment on this subject in Brown Bass Tools. Regarding the smallmouth bass I pursue, I am quite inconsistent in my approach on this matter. SUNSHINE vs The SMALLMOUTH BASS Back in Chapter II of this deal, I penned the following paragraph ... “SMALLMOUTH BASS LOVE FEEDING IN THE SUNSHINE—to disregard this statement will lead to many, many, many fishless trips—over and over and over again. Can they be caught on cloudy and/orovercast & rainy days? - yes. But if you want to improve your chances of getting bit—at least some sunshine will always help.” That was in December 2018. At the time, I believed in that philosophy very strongly, as so much of my own brown bass results (or lack of) seemed to conclude this was mostly the way to go. Well, after several more mostly productive seasons on the water and quite a few plus sized brown bass later, I am singing a different tune. Besides some nice smallies, these local lakes are home to big trout, deep-water walleye, pike & muskie. About half the waters I fish regularly have largemouth as well. The green bass seem to populate the skinniest water, perhaps out of self-preservation. And when I get a few LMB, there’s rarely any brown bass mixed in with them. This is one reason I have been discouraged from searching for SMB in shallow water very often. Shallow in these instances means less than 5 feet or so. While First and Last light have been eternally productive, I’ve still slipped my Frabil under plenty of good ones with the sun shinning very brightly; all be it usually deeper than 5 feet. As a retired human, I can pretty much pick & choose when I am and am not on the water. Once I got over my ‘cloudy skies phobia’, there has been at least as many brown tanks on the scale hooked with a decent layer of cloud cover or even no sunshine at all. In fact, cloudy might even be better for big bass. And don't even get me started about the freaks I've held while it was snowing. Either way, the more it happened the more it made me rethink my approach and in a big man way. As I reflected on all of this, I realized that I needed to adapt my presentations, timing, and especially the locations where I fished to better fit the conditions. The primary factor has to be that, almost like night fishing, I started finding bigger smallies much shallower than I would have ever believed. So the cloudier it would be, the shallower I would fish. Dark bottom area’s turned out to be just as key as when the sun was shining. Stealth & long casts became even more important. Admittedly, none of this is exactly rocket science. But it has opened both my eyes as well as my own big brown bass fishing opportunities quite a bit. Especially when one considers ALL the cloudy/overcast days I spent on the beach when I could have been yanking on trophies. Frankly, I’m somewhat embarrassed by the whole thing. #knuckhead But that’s how I learn sometimes. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/page/8/#findComment-2928027 A-Jay

I kept written fishing logs for several years. It was advantageous IMO, especially as I was fishing many new lakes. It enabled me to monitor and remember the information I deemed essential. Overall, it ran its course and I stopped doing it. Thereafter, I started going at it again, this time fishing inshore saltwater. Noting dates, tides, and lunar phases year to year seemed useful. In the last 10 to 12 years, I have been recording videos of my fishing activities. An added benefit beyond the obvious fun factor is how these clips have doubled as very decent and fairly detailed accounts of my trips. It's been considerably more useful to me than the written logs ever were. Plus once I set the cameras up and hit go, everything happens organically. The footage quickly revealed a few bad habits I had. I was able to improve my skills in hooking, fighting, and landing fish. Been able to capture some very special days on the water and this one I'll remember for a while. https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?feature=shared A-Jay

That beaming, fish-catching smile says it all. Clearly you earned every one of those sweet brown bass. You are an inspiration. Nicely done, sir. A-Jay

I am unable to provide assistance for the Goblins in your unit. But here's a list of online manuals for the motor. You'll need to ensure you select the one specific to your application. https://minnkota.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/support/manuals/trolling-motors/terrova Good Luck A-Jay

After a windy, wet, and mostly wild day on the water yesterday, I was back in the home gym this morning. Completed the Pull 2 workout as scheduled. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Good luck with that. A-Jay

It's a little sloppy out here, and the pike are chewing ! A-Jay

I do not buy into the common basshead belief that a bass sees things like we do. So what's a typical perch pattern look like ? I know what it looks like to me and I've caught a ton of bass on them. No clue how it looks to a bass. However recently and for whatever reason, in the right light conditions, the local big brown bass population has hit that shrimp bait with next-level bad intentions. Either way, I totally fish both baits. Wish they made a silent shrimp - oh wait . . . They do ! #LBO A-Jay

@Kayak Koz I am just here to offer my support and to follow along. Like any of life's fun adventure, this one will no doubt offer you plenty of challenges. And as a BR forum member who has kept up with just about all of the one's you've shared here, I am looking forward to this one as well. Good Luck A-Jay Carpet is great, until ....... It fades. It catches hooks. It gets wet, muddy and sometimes a little stinky. Cleaning it PROPERLY is a Giant PIA. Also it will eventually wear out and need replacement. Look up what that takes, brutal. Btw, my dark Grey boatcarpet is coming up on 10 years old. Other than the replacing it part I have had plenty of the rest of it. Sea deck might be an option. A-Jay

Megabass Vision 110 in Shrimp. When you know, you know. A-Jay

Perhaps, but maybe to save some carry on space. I Understand the unknowns. I have not been to the guide service you are going to but a good bit of advice I learned was show your guide what you have and let him pick your bait. And no matter how crazy you might think it is, fish it like your life depended on it until he tells you to change. Then rinse and repeat. Get all the sleep you can, booze will not help, and remember every morning is a new day. Doesn't matter if you got them the day before or not. Fish fresh every session. The days can be long, especially in the heat, but MANY GIANTS bite the last hour of daylight, BE READY ! You lucky Dawg ! A-Jay

You must be getting pretty pumped up. I know I would be. I've done it both ways—line on and no line on. I have never encountered any issues either way, but I am aware of others who have. But that was a while ago. The safest deal is to go no line, pack a bulk spool in your checked luggage and Spin on the new line when you get to the lodge. These are the reels I use there. 4 Tranx 300's 1 Calcutta 300D and a couple of lighter 200-size Quantums are used for topwater baits and smaller 5-inch swimbaits. Most IMPORTANT thing to remember is you are fishing for fish the like of which you have never seen. Please remember what I said, and when you return, let me know if you agree. Please believe me when I tell you not to fish Medium or medium-heavy sticks. Go with HEAVY GEAR, including hooks and terminal tackle; you will eventually get your heart broken if you don't. You may still get your heart broken, but at least you will have a decent chance of success. Use a line that is at least 20 lb; 22 Tatsu is my favorite there. 20 mono works for topwater. I am still working to get at least one more trip to Lake Baccarac lodge myself. It's proving to be even hard than it used to be for me. Good Luck and Safe Travels. A-Jay

The updated Lake Menderchuck weather forecast makes tomorrow a fishing day. Some traditional pre-fall, early September coolness has been blasting through here the past few days. It's been quite dramatic too. Lake might be a bit of a mess but I have to get out there to find out. Generally do not fish weekends until after Labor Day. At least I have that advantage going for me. A-Jay

Watch the full coin-flip show where hosts Tommy Sanders, Mark Zona and Davy Hite learned in real time which 2026 Elite Series events will feature forward-facing sonar. Only takes 2 hours or so. https://www.bassmaster.com/elite-series/video/elite-ffs-schedule-coin-flip-show/ 🙂 A-Jay

I had my annual physical yesterday. Dr. Vinny Boombatz conducted a thorough examination and provided me with a clean bill of health. He did use the word "freak," and I'm hoping that was a compliment. Either way, Push 2 workout today. Chests, shoulders, and triceps were all pretty busy in this one. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

My favorite of these are the "I'm in the market for a new boat". Then . . . . . . . Nothing. 😎 A-Jay