A-Jay

Thanks ~ I've become somewhat 'hooked' on this as well. Over the winter I banded up the 'entire' hard bait / treble hook arsenal; All the cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters, even blade bait & spybaits. Hoping to feed some of those squarebills to a few of the local and fatter brown bass population here starting in about 3 weeks. Fingers crossed. A-Jay

In my mind, Bigger Bass, both Green & Brown are challenging to hook, fight & land. However, as the size of the bass get smaller, the brown bass do seem to retain quite a bit more vigor(comparatively speaking) than some of the green ones I've caught. Not always the case, but generally. However, if I'm fortunate enough to ever hook a new personal best of either type, I would have no problem at all if it were to calmly swim right into my net - no problem at all. A-Jay

While I do believe Bass Mafia makes a quality product it comes with a fairly Premium price. I've been using Plano Pro Latch Utility Tackle Boxes for a while and do like them. Sizes 3700, 3701 & and 3750 (see below with squarebills) handles the majority of my needs perfectly for about a third of the cost. And because I also "I don’t like them banging up against each other or getting hook rash" nor am I a fan of a tangled mess, this year I started using small rubber bands to pin the treble hooks together on each bait. Clearly takes a couple of seconds to put them on & off each time I use &/or put away a bait but it has all but Eliminated what you've described as a problem. btw- a career supply of rubber bands might set you back like 3 bucks . . . Something to consider . . . . A-Jay

If'n I could ~ I surely would. And we're getting drenched as we speak - it's good though - we need it too. And as a trade - please be ready to send us some snow any time between January right through & including March. Bummed when we run out. If it's gonna be 30-40 below - might as well have it. Besides, without it the dog sledding gets particularly challenging. A-Jay

Fly fly rod exploits are mostly a by-product of need. I do make a few river float trips (usually at night) a year for brown trout - but again it's always during the hatch. When the these bugs are around - the fly rod is the only way I can get ANY smallies - especially a few days into it. Not exactly a great fly caster - nor do I really want to be - just a hack you likes to get his string pulled. A-Jay

I'm only fishing the mayfly hatch. The very first night or two is always the best. Requires some scouting: meaning being at the lake at sunset with fly gear ready to go, at least a few nights in advance. The fish know and will be there as well. And as soon as the bugs start popping to the surface, it's game on ~ for both of us. btw - this as been something I do from the Old Town - haven't tried it in the Lund yet. A-Jay

About The Only way I can get them during The Hatch Tons of Fun for sure. Frustrating without a fly rod though. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Hello Pat and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Stacker of a Bag ! Congrats A-Jay

Nice Bass and Congrats on the new rig. btw - I think I might have seen the early stages of a smile right there. Maybe not but it was pretty close. Keep working at it - you'll get it. A-Jay

Great Bass ~ Congrats Mike A-Jay

I see far more large appliances on front porches than I ever do in the lake . . . A-Jay

Barramundi Fact 1 Barramundi’s native waters span from Northern Australia up to Southeast Asia and all the way west to the coastal waters of India and Sri Lanka. Fact 2 Barramundi is known by many around the world as Asian Seabass, although its Scientific common name is Barramundi Perch. Some of the other names it’s called include: Giant Perch, Palmer, Cockup, Bekti, Nairfish, Silver Barramundi and Australian Seabass. Fact 3 The name barramundi is Aboriginal for “large-scaled silver fish.” Fact 4 Virtually all barramundi are born male, then turn into females when they are three to four years old. This means female barramundi can only be courted by younger men! Fact 5 Barramundi live in freshwater, saltwater and estuaries (where fresh and saltwater meet). Fact 6 Barramundi are catadromous fish, meaning that they are born in the ocean and live in freshwater — basically the opposite lifestyle of the salmon. However, they also are able to live purely in saltwater. Fact 7 A Barramundi’s age is determined by counting growth rings on their scales (much like counting growth rings on a tree). Fact 8 Large female barramundi can produce upwards of 32 million eggs in a season. Fact 9 Barramundi have been recorded to be over 4 feet long and weighing over 90 lbs! Fact 10 Barramundi can travel great distances in a lifetime; one fish was tagged and found 400 miles away. Fact 11 Juvenile barramundi have a distinguishing characteristic: the presence of a white dorsal head stripe when they’re between one and five centimeters long. Fact 12 Barramundi spawn on the full moon, and their iridescent skin can be seen shimmering through the water. A-Jay

Always wanted to do battle with a huge Tanzanian Tiger Fish on the Kilombero and Ruaha rivers in the Selous game reserve. Just not a big fan of yellow fever and malaria. Wild looking beast of a fish though. A-Jay

Clearly nothing 'wrong' with not using backing. However, it is simply a waste of resources. If you are only using it for bass fishing, you will never ever come close to using more than the top 25 % of that spool. My recommendation is to buy a 'bulk' spool of 10 lb Big Game mono ( 1500 yds for like 9 bucks) and load it about 2/3's full. The tie a connection knot (blood knot or Uni to Uni Knot) and spin the spool full with Sufix 832 10, 15, or 20 lb braid (depending on what you're doing with it). You're done. A-Jay

You may find that there are MANY ways to define structure. One simple way can be that Structure is defined as the shape of the bottom - the permanent features and the changes in the contour or content of the bottom of a lake, river or reservoir. And while I applaud your enthusiasm & willingness to learn, there may be a better way to go about learning what structure "is" than dragging a jig around. To start it will no doubt really help if you read at least one of the many BR articles on the subject. Here's just two ~ https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/structure-locating.html https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/structure-cover-difference.html Warmer water does often mean that much of the bass population moves off the bank. However armed with your new found information you'll be back on them in no time. Good Luck. A-Jay

Repoman walking bait has been a solid producer for smallies. The Megabass PopMax gets it done as well. If there's going to be a topwater bite, I'm usually throwing one or the other. btw the Megabass Dog-X Diamante gets honorable mention for me as well. A-Jay

A-Jay

A-Jay

Hooked up at last light ~ A-Jay

Got on the Brown ones again tonight - right at last light. She was a really Long Sally. A-Jay

I have been using braided line since it was first introduced. In my experience, a quality line that is stored and cared for properly, can be left on the reel for several season with NO ill effects. Not sure what the info you posted regarding removing line is all about - never heard anything like that. Additionally, the BR articles section has A Ton of very useful information which can answer most all of your questions regarding line types, size & choice and just about anything else. https://www.bassresource.com/fishing-gear-tips/ A-Jay

Big fan of Night operations for bass. In fact, I'm going out tonight. Plenty about the subject in this thread. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Nice Intro. A-Jay