A-Jay

As this 2nd week of March comes to a close, warmer temps, wind & rain seem to be dominating the local forecast. We've seen a significant snow loss recently with more & more bare ground appearing daily. Lakes are still iced over but I Like where this is trending . . . My projected open water date is 34 days away. A-Jay

Hello Johnny and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Glide Baits ~ ! I don't get it. A-Jay

I checked local Lake Menderchuck yesterday. Still locked up. A-Jay

Enforcing Boating While Impaired Laws was one of the more satisfying aspects of my job. Wish we had the video capability then that we have now. #peoplearecrazy A-Jay

Among other things, Jim likes jerkbaits. A-Jay

Life's been coming at us pretty fast here lately. It's at these times that this training is particularly beneficial. A-Jay

The gin clear lakes here are the waters I will always choose to fish. Zebra mussels have been driving that for a while now. Add the goby protein scoopy snacks and it makes for some very big brown bass. Not the easiest to find and catch but it's certainly awesome when we do. A-Jay

Long pliers and Jaw Spreaders are requirements for this guy. A-Jay

IMO, a dry line 'strength test' done in your kitchen, might not accurately represent how each line will perform on the water. There are a lot of forces in play from both you, a fish and the boat. Also that unrealistic length of line often used for 'strength tests', is not indicative of actually fishing conditions unless, you're using a cane pole. What an be particularly valuable however, is all the years of experience these most generous BR members have shared here in this thread, just for you. Keep testing. A-Jay

Been raining all day here too. Still is I think. While the next few nights will be right at or just below freezing, forecast for the end of this week looks warmer again. Fingers crossed. A-Jay

Perhaps try this. Fill your reel with backing that is the same or very close to the size of your top shot. Then go cast it. After a few long casts you'll be able to see how much line you may need. Maybe pull off another whole or half cast length, cut it there and refill the spool with your line of choice. Good luck. A-Jay

I like hearing that ~! And I bet they are... A-Jay

Nicely Tanker ~ Congrats A-Jay

The fish I'm targeting are usually feeding on perch, small bluegill / pumpkinseed & crayfish. A-Jay

Hello from up in Otsego County and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

As you know I think, I like and have flush mounted units bow /console. Only con I can list is removal for repair or replacement is somewhat labor intensive. Can not comment on temperature tolerance as my rig is not stored outside. A-Jay

Snapped this yesterday late afternoon. Hope gas stays at $2 bucks. And for a Loooooooooong time too. A-Jay

My comment was an attempt at humor, mostly. While admittedly not like a factory finish, I fairly confident that these re-wraps will last at least as long or longer, then what these sticks started with. A-Jay

Me too also I prefer a more secure method to keep my rig attached to the truck than a pin. A-Jay

Define "a while". And Good Luck with that. A-Jay

12 hours from the above - we get this ~ 45 degree temperature swing. Pure Michigan. A-Jay

Not a fan ~ A-Jay

So Drop Shot Hooks I've been through quite a few makes, models and even more sizes past few seasons - I've settled on these. Reasons are - they match my baits, they match the tackle I'm fishing them with, and most importantly, they HOOK & HOLD the Bass I'm Looking to Catch ! Both the Brown & Green models. Supplemental info - over the past say, three or four years, much of my drop shot fishing, especially mid-late season, has migrated to using 'bigger baits'; relative term. Where in previous deals I was using, the standard skinny 4 & 6 inch Sculpins, Robo worms & Dream Shots - and they catch bass for sure, I started drop shotting a baby rage craw, and then a full-size craw and then 4 & 5 inch Fluke and started getting bites from more bigger fish. But along with that, I was losing a few fish, because the hooks & manner I was using them was apparently inefficient. First off, in some instances, my hook selection was too small. Secondly, while I like nose hooking, seems it's not the best way when I'm targeting bigger smallies - which is ALL The TIME pretty much. Nose hooking also picks up eel grass when it's there and the little hooks have a tendency to skin hook a lot leading them to come unpinned too much for my liking. I do Tex-pose my drop shot plastic when needed but all things being equal, I prefer not to if I can. **Note *** regarding the Hooks Pictured - I use SEVERAL DIFFERENT sizes - I offered these to allow for the name, brand, type, and model number identification purposes. So we've ventured into using a little bigger, longer shanked hook. So if you look at the Picture provided, the bottom row - those are all GREAT DROP SHOT OPTIONS and ones I still use a ton; mostly for nose hooking. That whole top row of hooks are what I go to for bigger baits and when I want to 'top hook' a bait; meaning inserting the hook like you would put say a swimbait on a jighead. Where the hook goes in the front/nose of the bait, is threaded into & down the body of the bait BUT comes out the top. Still a drop shot, but when a fluke or a caffeine shad is rigged like this, the hook up to land ratio goes way up. Brownies are generally impaled in the top or the roof of the mouth and they generally Do NOT come off. I definitely use a little 'beefier gear', like M instead of ML and 8-10 lb fluorocarbon leader instead of 4-6 lb. The bigger Hook size demands a bit more pressure to sink it successfully, but after that, it's just a matter to playing that brown tank into the net. This works GREAT for Green bass too. Think Rage Craw ! A-Jay

Diawa Tatula Elite Seth Fieder Neko Rig rod. Really like the carbon fiber guides. Very nice. A-Jay