A-Jay

Effectively fishing deep / offshore hard or soft cover is IMO, what separates the best bass heads from the rest. And you can interpret that as you prefer. I do not have FFS, never even looked at one operating. But it is Not needed to fish what's listed above effectively. Does it make it better or easier, I can not say. Posts like this lead me to believe folks are looking for a FASTER way to get this done. Many feel FFS can do that. I do not know that either. But what I do know, is that locating hard & or soft cover on the best structure can lead to some great bass fishing. But it takes time to find it, learn how to do it and then present baits effectively to get bites, and to fish it. The following are the 'tools' I use when looking for & fishing the deep stuff and to get my baits on the the spot on the spot. Map study, Triangulation, Side Scan, Down Scan, AS360, way points, marked buoys precise boat control (Trolling motor) and even more exactly boat positioning and finally casting angles. The presentations the work for me in these situations depend on several factors that in all honesty, are the same in 3 ft as they are in 30 feet. BTW- In my fishing any water shallower than my 1875 Pro-V bass is long is 'shallow' and I can usually see the bottom, meaning the fish can see me. That changes things. Good Luck Fish Hard A-Jay

Thanks but 'now' isn't a good time. 🤓 A-Jay

Giant Set Workout Day 3 ~ I can only benefit from what I can successfully recover from. And my ability to recover fades just like everything else. But I'm not stopping. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Hello @Levi Watson and Welcome to Bass Resource. There is ALL KINDS of "information & data" readily available for most any enterprising bass angler to seek out. Some of it can be helpful, some not so much. Mapping and weather forecast at two I use often. Water temps provided at given locations are not something I ever benefit from. They change frequently and I can learn what it is when I get there. As long as there's open water and the conditions are safe, just go fishing. Beyond seasonal patterns, we never have the answers to the test in advance. We need to figure it out on the water. That's what Bass fishing is. Good Luck and Fish Hard A-Jay

Hoping for the best possible out come for you @Catt A-Jay

For size & numbers it was the Megabass ITO Vision One Ten ~ A-Jay

I want to be exactly here looking right at this Lady smiling at a bass. Second place isn't even close. A-Jay

Just One ? A-Jay

Just such a crazy Huge & Thick smallmouth ! If you added one single inch to it's length, it would probably be close to 10 lbs. A-Jay

OK Thanks Good Tip A-Jay

Really sorry to hear this. Hope all goes well my friend. A-Jay

Agreed , it's tough to pick just one if there's a few to choose from. But you've shamed me into it . . . . . My PB brown bass was over 7 lbs and came in 2017. However I landed one this past April (2024) that was also over 7lb (just barely). Perhaps I'm a prisoner of the moment but . . . . . The wind was pretty stiff (one reason I went to this Lake Menderchuck). I had already landed a bunch of plus sized bass but when this one struck my jerkbait and I felt her weight, I went into 'Auto Big Fish Mode'. Most of the time these bites aren't bass. Despite not knowing for sure, I really took my time bringing her to the boat. Was especially hard not to get over excited but I managed to keep my cool. Once she was on deck, I was pretty pumped. Be a while before I forget this one. A-Jay

Hello Abel and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Golden Dorado is a bucket list fish for me. A-Jay

First off, I expect to be out of 'likes' by noon ~ so many great bass & stories here. While I've had my share, my 'most Memorable Bass", at least in recent memory, was not one I caught. But am beyond glad I was there to witness. Sharing in the new PB experience with Big Fish Jeff and our guide Manual is something I'll never forget. Excited like little kids. So Good. Not to mention, she was the biggest bass Jeff & I had ever seen. A-Jay

The ignore feature is my single favorite aspect of this deal. Thank You A-Jay

Any news is good news. Crickets = bust. A-Jay

I am Not seeing any of the problems with the newer ST Croix products mentioned here. In fact, I recently added 9 new Avids to my rod locker. 5 casting & 4 Spinning. They seem pretty sweet to me. A-Jay

Giant Set Workout Day 2 ~ There's Lots of excuses and only one solution. I was grinding. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Crossed more days off on this trip calendar. Down to 254 Days and a Wake Up. Days are long but hopefully the weeks and months will whizz right by. A-Jay

New to me. I have been having fun getting bites on a vibrating jig in most of the same places I was using the lipless baits, before vibrating jigs were a thing, I sort of got away from throwing the lipless. I picked these up to sort of jump start or get me re-interested in throwing a rattle bait again. Expect the design to be killer on the fall, especially on a tight line. So we'll see how it goes. They look killer in hand. A-Jay

Not really flat sides but a whole different style of rattle bait. "Instead of relying on the shape of the head to produce the desired action (which requires a lot of water resistance to kick-start), the VIBRATION-X ULTRA utilizes internal balancers that activate action instantly. This system focuses on the tension between balance/imbalance as the driving force behind the tight action necessary to create vibration." The bigger baits is the Megabass Vibration-X Ultra Rattle Lipless Crankbait at 5/8 and the smaller 1/2 oz bait is the Megabass Vibration-X Smatra Rattle Lipless Crankbait. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-MEGABLLCB.html I plus sized the trebles a bit and changed out the line tie & split rings A-Jay

It's a Custom Hand Pour by Paul Krew. https://paulkrew.com/ That Goby bait is part of the "Smallie Collection!" He'll do ANYTHING he makes IN ANY COLOR you want. Baits are soft, super high quality and get bites. Been a closet fan boy of Paul for a long time. https://www.facebook.com/PaulKrewCustomHandPouredBaits/photos/pb.100044410270296.-2207520000/1570699426469161/?type=3 His baits have single handedly put me on several plus size brown bass. Makes some Killer drop shot baits too. Get your credit card out before you click here . . . https://www.facebook.com/PaulKrewCustomHandPouredBaits/photos_by A-Jay

Selecting a trailer (or any bait for that matter) for a bait based on what works for bassheads who live in other parts of the country, is IMO, like living in Alaska but dressing like the folks in Florida. Apples & oranges; Too many variables. That said, there are a few deals that keep showing up over & over and it's because they work. How many times has a ZAKO been listed here and in other threads ? I use them almost exclusively as a vibrating jig trailer and catch several trophy brown bass each season in the process. So that might be a great place to start, and if it works one could stick right there. As mentioned. I have for the most part. I do use a small swimbait goby type trailer here (with the tail turned up) with quite a bit of success. No doubt the local forage plays a big role in most all of that. Finally, when it comes to vibrating jigs, is there a bait where the trailer makes LESS difference in the action of the bait. If there is I don't know what it is. That bait is going to go what it's going to do, it will fish the way you want to fish it with little to no variation. Slow, fast, in between, low & slow Or fast & high. Up to you. So the trailer is just a bit of an accent IMO. One can help or hurt, but not really that much. So having confidence in that we're hanging on the bait might be more important than what it actually is. Finally when & where that rig is fished seems WAY more critical to me than the trailer selected. YMMV Fish Hard A-Jay https://youtu.be/sITpRNLz_04?feature=shared&t=186 https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared&t=1014

Spontaneous facial freezing ~ It's a thing . . . . https://www.facebook.com/100002096185350/videos/513703065084101/ 🥶 A-Jay

Stepped up my lippless / rattlebait game. A-Jay