A-Jay

Congrats on having some success with a different approach. Word of friendly advice, leave the braid on the rig you plan on fishing the frog. Especially if there's heavy surface/sub surface soft cover involved, which there almost always is. You'll be glad you did. A-Jay

I am fishing in northern lower Michigan and can openly admit to being a big time jerkbait user and abuser; especially early & late season when the water temps are below 50. The SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE advice I can offer is to work your bait as Mark Zona describes in the video link posted below. In it he is specifically mentioning deep diving baits, which are awesome & I use a ton. However this approach works really well in cold water with most all jerkbaits, regardless of the depth they run. Shallow, deep and anything in between. As for gear & line, I mostly use medium fast spinning gear with 10 lb braid mainline and a long FC or Mono leader depending on the conditions and the bait. I will use casting gear as well, but that's often relegated to larger size jerkbaits like a LC 128. https://youtu.be/XQPCll1NNfA?feature=shared&t=31 Good Luck A-Jay

Nice ~ And if there is something that translates in most every fishing situation, regardless of where it may be - add in timing and that is probably it. A-Jay

Thank You for the kind words. There are plenty of supremely good brown bass sticks on this sight with as much and many times, quite a bit more success than I could even hope to have. Perhaps I hold my fish a little closer to the camera lens though. 😎 A-Jay

Seems the OP noted that his SMB pursuit and his inquires here were mostly happening while fishing rivers. I do not do hardly any of that as I'm hunting larger inland natural lakes. Can't say if what I've found to be helpful would or even could translate effectively to river bass. If and when I'm making a river presentation, I'd be starting from scratch. Will admit to feeling right at home on Lake Menderchuck though. A-Jay

Need to take an additional off day before resuming my training this week. Muscle soreness is just a little too much today. I look at both as a good thing. I trained with enough intensity to require my body to adapt to it. And at 65, it's particularly important that I offer it the opportunity to do so. Be back at it tomorrow and expect it to be good. A-Jay btw, this thread now has over 91K views, Thank you.

And with good reason too. Fear the night. A-Jay

I am a fan of this one. Seems to be decent solution for most any challenging situation. I would however like to recommend adding the word Big in front of word dogs. A-Jay

I fish exclusively for smallmouth Bass. Early season (Apr/May) is my best time frame for size. While late summer (Aug/Sept) is pretty darn good as well. My best 5 bags for the last few years are listed below. Video of each trip is included) I weigh my fish on an Accu-Cull digital scale. 06 May 2020 had a 26 lb bag https://youtu.be/yfnYSE-HjIE?feature=shared 02 May 2022 had a 27.92 lbs Bag (included 2 over 6 lbs) https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared 13 Apr 2021 (my wife's birthday) had a 28.16 lb bag https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared 22 Apr 2024 Had a 28.88 Lb bag (included one over 7 lbs.) https://youtu.be/562lRx7sKgs?feature=shared 14 May 2019 and my Best bag to date went 29. 7 lb https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?feature=shared I'll be trying hard be break into that elusive Dirty 30 club this year. A-Jay

Way To Go @T-Billy Bomber ! Congrats A-Jay

Not sure what makes you think I would know anything about that deal. I mostly use the Mike Long approach. #thebigsnag A-Jay

Yes - I get great casting distance by filling the spinning reel spool to about 1/8 of the edge of the spool lip. Also over filling it is often a problem too as line can & often does 'spill' off the reel in a rather uncontrolled manner. Just close to 'full' but don't go over. A little under is better than a little over. Sort of like 'Let's Make a Deal rules". Good Luck A-Jay

I kept a journal for YEARS ~ For both day & night bass fishing. It was fun to keep it up and then go back and re-read what happened, where, when & how. My final analysis on fishing journals is that they can be helpful especially if & when a basshead is learning how to fish or learning new water. Beyond that, I never felt like I really gained any type of repeatable advantage from doing it. That said, I still document most all of my fishing but it's in video form. Actually tells me everything I need to know and quite a bit more than I was able to capture in a journal.. YMMV A-Jay https://www.youtube.com/@AjLynn45thParallelFishing

Don't tell anyone but I'm actually from the Twilight Zone ~ 👽 A-Jay

My younger brother was the primary care giver for both my parents until they passed away several years ago. The vehicle operation of both was seriously sketchy at that age. My Dad took the local PD on a brief high speed car chase to our home after leaving the scene of an accident. His fault and thankfully no one was injured. His driving days ended there but he hated it. Turns out dementia had set in. My Mom called my brother from a store parking lot saying her brand new car wouldn't start. He went to help and found her sitting behind the wheel turning the ignition key on & off over and over. The car was running. Read that again. My Dad had already past so my brother moved my Mom in with him and his wife. My brother became her permanant on call chauffeur. They both hated it. Sorry no real answer, but this is something we all deal with eventually one way or another. Losing one's independence is brutal. My wife hasn't driven in over 10 years. And that started far too early. I would recommend making this transition for your Dad as painless as possible. Hard to do sometimes and it almost always means someone else will need to step up and bear the burden. Finally, I hope this can be resolved for both your Dad and your family without anyone else being hurt. A-Jay

Bringing this one back. It's timely and had a good outcome. (for a change) Please start with the OP and then let's ensure we are giving ourselves and all passengers on our rigs a fighting chance. Stay Safe A-Jay

A Mid March morning in northern Michigan ~ A-Jay

You're Welcome John. Certainly hope you will find your best way to take control. IMO, supplements may be slightly helpful, their effectiveness pales in comparison to just putting in the work. More than Half the battle is won just by showing up. Getting meal portions in check can be an eye opener as well. Good Luck A-Jay

Thanks & Yes. As well as a few other select supplements. The Amino Energy is my 'morning coffee' Beef liver goes down with every meal. Nitraflex is the pre-workout Aminolast, Creatine & L-Glutamine I have in one drink when I get up and before bed. Syntha-6 and Collagen are post workout. (they mix together well) I take everything "as directed" on the labels. Not a magic bullet but taking these helps me stay on track. A-Jay

I use quite a bit of Strike King with a decent assortment of other deals. https://youtu.be/E8UfnBPoH-M?feature=shared&t=2622 A-Jay

Not judging how other bassheads do it, I 'handle' the bass I catch but with as much care as I can. Using a net, boga grip and a silicone mat to protect the fish (and my boat carpet) best I can. And despite my best efforts, I'd be foolish to think that all of them live through that deal. Truth is, some die. But that's just part of it. A-Jay

Giant Set Workout Day 4 right here. Started this training in February with 4 working sets. After a month or so, that seemed like a little too much as I wasn't recovering fully between each workout. Accordingly, I've dropped back to 3 working sets of each movement and we'll see how that goes. If today was any indication, I'm going to like it. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I hear ya ~ However, I've had some success becoming proficient at matching the presentation to the conditions. Never really worked out well for me trying to select an effective bait in advance of knowing what I was fishing. Good Luck A-Jay

What a difference a day makes. Saturday ~ Sunny & 65 Sunday ~ Snowing & 25 Good Times . . . A-Jay

Big Fish Jeff just returned from what looks like an unforgettable trip to Colombia. Fishing for Peacock Bass on the remote Tomo River in the heart of the Amazon. 20 lb Fish are rare and saying they are hard to get to is a wild understatement. Congrats my friend. A-Jay