A-Jay

A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resources. A-Jay

Great Bass ! PB's are always a Blast especially when they keep coming. Congrats A-Jay

High 40's for me ~ A-Jay

Really wish @Wayne P. would poke his head in here - just once of old time sake. Miss him. A-Jay

Hello Scott and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

I do not see 'the problem' ??? What am I missing ? A-Jay

Weak. A-Jay

Perhaps it only works in Tokyo ~ ? A-Jay

This might help ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ I have had some killer days on the water right at ice out and even with ice still on the lake. I'm routinely searching for brown bass - and jerkbaits are my tool of choice for these times. Here's video of a decent day I had with ice still on the lake . . . . A-Jay

Nicely Done Rick ! I'm hanging tough (so far) Thank you for sharing and Congrats A-Jay

Yup ~ And one could replace the term "Swimbait fishing" with "Most all Bass fishing" and be right on point as well. A-Jay

My preference - A-Jay

Good Luck - That rig should still have some serious warranty life left. A-Jay

Fair Question Matt ~ I'm generally not 'working' my cranking baits like I do a topwater walking bait or even a popper. It's desirable for my crankbait blank to be 'slower' initially to allow by crankbait to deflect while the rod is still slightly 'loaded as well as while I'm playing & hopefully landing a spirited bass. Conversely, 'working' a topwater plug with a 'slower' stick would not offer same 'crisp & responsive' blank action that a Fast or X-Fast stick can; which is really needed to get the job done right. Not trying to over think it, I use a couple of different 7 ft (ish) Medium Fast action Spinning rod to present most of my larger topwater walking & popping baits. Along with 20lb braid mainline and 12lb test big game mono leader - I do OK. Long casts - works the baits effectively - offers solid hooksets - land the bass. A-Jay

Nicely Done ~ Congrats Good Luck tomorrow. Stay Safe out on that cold river. A-Jay

I use both red & green headlamp lens colors with equal effectiveness at night. Meaning I feel like I retain the majority of my night vision and still catch fish safely doing it. I only use the light when I need it, so it's not on all night. Can't say if either color is better or worse at spooking fish but I'm certain both are considerably better than white for my vision. YMMV A-Jay

HB Fan Boy here ~ A-Jay

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from the 45th Parallel! #GaylordMichigan ? A-Jay

I must admit your powers of observation are only exceeded by your keen sense of humor ~ The GTO earned a spot on my rig by providing funds. The Mat use helps divert 'the Crimson Tide'. I run my cloaking device on high most days to hide me from the crowds - super effective. Really Glad you enjoyed it my friend. ? A-Jay btw - This may explain my obvious diction style . . .

The Strike King KVD Shallow Squarebill 1.5 Crankbait ~ A-Jay

Gear selection, whether it be heavy , light or somewhere in between, is considered 'effective' when it allows the proper presentation, imparts an action that solicits a strike, can set the hook, and then will fight / play the fish successfully to the boat. IMO - the rod & reel is never part of the actually landing of the fish. Small(er) bass caught (without trebles) meet my thumb and everything else goes in the net. While I do not fish derbies - my objective is the same; put the ones I catch in the boat - without getting a hook in the hand (which even in a derby can cost valuable time performing an extraction). So all that said, when considering Boat flipping vs Thumbing (landing by hand) vs Net use; a case can be made to where the is a certain amount of risk / lost fish using each method. I do fish an assortment of tackle types & presentation, including quite a bit of gear commonly considered 'light', IME a net offers me the highest & safest level of 'effectiveness'. YMMV A-Jay

Been using this for a while. Really good. http://www.corrosionx.com/corrosionx-grease.html A-Jay

Buy a new rig. You know what you're getting ~ Unused. Still challenging but not nearly as 'Hard'. Good Luck and here's a decision matrix to help make it 'easier' A-Jay