A-Jay

Congrats on the new Personal Best Bass ~ A-Jay

Sort of an under the radar option but don't sleep on the Reaction Innovations Little Dipper 3.5" Love me some Dirty Sanchez ~ https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Reaction_Innovations_Little_Dipper_35/descpage-RILD.html A-Jay

Losing big bass is always a major downer Especially when it's the sole mission of the day. @bishoptf no doubt you'll get her next time. Over the years I've come up with my own 'system' of fighting and landing bass. Clearly every fish & fight is different, but with such a large percentage of big bass being lost close to the boat, I try my best to be ready. For me, repetition helps a ton. So except for the dinkiest of dinks, I work to fight, net and land all my bass the same way. Same side of the boat, which is always clear of any obstructions, (nothing to trip over, get tangled in or otherwise add more of a challenge to an already emotionally charged deal) Net very close by and always at the ready. *** A-Jay's tip of the day ~ Choose to bring/lead the fish into the net and forget about lunging at the fish with the net going for the speed scoop. You'll be glad you did. Anticipating where the bass is going can help. Works best when the bass is mostly played out, which I allow her to do AWAY from the boat. A big bass boat side full of pizz & vinegar is an accident waiting to happen. Netting a mostly tired bass is surprisingly easy. Perhaps most importantly, I go slow - take my time. Can't stress that one enough. Looking back through my videos over the years most all of the fish I've lost close to the boat, were operator error on my part. But sometimes they just come off. Like this one . . . btw begging doesn't always help. https://youtu.be/yfnYSE-HjIE?feature=shared&t=887 A-Jay

I use the nicer stick jackets. some rod gloves and the TW brand as well. The secret is to use these KastKing Lure Wraps with them. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C3WRLBJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 A-Jay

The Quill is Loaded and Ready to go to work. Please open the boat ramps. A-Jay

Lawsuits aside. There will no doubt be legal action taken whenever there is loss of life. Responsibility will be assessed and folks could be found guilty of some level of manslaughter. Often includes incarnation. A-Jay

So very sad for all involved. A-Jay

It's a Goby Thang ~ A-Jay

Had to pull two no training days in a row prior to this one. Cutting, Lugging and clearing behemoth oak tree branches takes it toll on the OG. Still mustered up the gas to get this training done today. Giant Set Workout Day 4 - but it was a definitely a 'light day'. May need to drop my training back a bit to one day on and two days off for a while. Just so that I can have the energy make some headway on this disaster of a property. Going to be a long summer but I do feel fortunate that I can still make it happen. A-Jay

Perhaps consider venturing over to the dark side. Megabass Vibration-X Smatra & Vibration-X Ultra. They don't suck. A-Jay

IME - it does not taste like chicken. A-Jay

Really sorry to hear this my friend. Sound pretty serious. You're in good hand though. Lynn & I will be sending you & Nora all the positive vibes we can. Hang in there best you can. Andy

Great way to start your off trip ! Congrats on another Lake Erie Tanker Now go set the PA record why don't Cha ! A-Jay

3 jerkbaits (rattling, silent and a deep diver) 2 bladed jigs (3/8 & 1/2 oz) 2 topwater baits (a walker & a popper) Rage Bug on a swinghead 3/4 oz spinnerbait A-Rig A-Jay

Well, it's Official. As of 10 AM this morning, Local Lake Menderchuck is Open Water. So I was 3 days off on my guess this years, well, it was really Tank's guess. Daily I've been working to get our property back together #longprocess, as well as making the final preparations to my fishing deal. State parks and all DNR boating access points up here are all still closed which now becomes a serious bummer. The clock is really ticking on that pre spawn brown bass bite. The sooner these places open combined with some fisherman friendly weather, the happier I'll be. Either way, that pretty much puts the wraps on this one for another year. Certainly hope to see you all here next time around. Thanks for playing. A-Jay (target species)

Well stop throwing them at him why don't cha ! 😁 A-Jay

This one makes me feel like I really should be getting a few more bites than I usually do. What's wrong with me ? A-Jay

Nicely Done. Btw your posts here are exemplary. Thank you. A-Jay

Totally my standard move. I go across the yard. A-Jay

I use quite a bit of SK plastics. Mostly Rage stuff and zero of that stretchy foolishness. Never has a problem with age related stiffness. Wish I could say the same for my lower back. A-Jay

I've had several very memorable days on the water. In both the freshwater and saltwater area. I'm going to choose to be a poisoner of the moment and select something more recent. April 2024 ~ 28 lb bag of Brown Bass. I got out onto Lake Menderchuck around noon. It was clear blue skies but with a pretty stiff Southwesterly wind. Surface water temps were in the mid to high 40's. I was on this lake a few days ago and the fish seemed to be staging just a bit outside on the steeper drops. Very few had moved into where I like to hunt them. Well the warm sun & wind pushed a bunch right up into my lap. Action started around 1 PM and was a steady pick until I left right after 6 PM. It was jerkbait city. Other baits may have taken fish, but I have a bit of an addiction to the stick baits; so that's what I threw. There were a couple of big schools of 3 & 4 pounders roaming all over this one wind blown flat. I managed to weed through quite a few hoping to mine out some big bronze babes. My best 5 went 28.88 lbs, (5.02, 5.11, 5.35, 6.35, 7.05) including my 2nd ever smallmouth over 7 lbs. Fish was just a beast, I could barely hold her. A-Jay

If by mainstream we're discussing what might be considered normal, and having or using ideas, beliefs, etc. that are accepted by most people: Then I'd say I have some yes and some no going on. When it comes to my own 'bass fishing', my boat, motor & trailer - mostly mainstream. Rods, reels & Tackle - again mostly mainstream. Techniques employed, approaches utilized and results realized from those - less mainstream. A-Jay

Earlier in this thread, I noted that I preferred to have my poop in a group before heading to the lake. Well, current circumstances being what they are, I will need to figure out a way past that particular mind set or I might not get out onto Lake Menderchuck all year. Serenity now A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Several A-Jay