A-Jay

We get what we pay for, which is to say this whole deal is free for the viewer. Apparently, MLF ownership doesn't feel the need to give up their advertising $$$ for more coverage. Would you pay a subscription fee for better coverage ? A-Jay

I use St Croix Avid series in both M/F and ML/F. Very happy and love the full cork. #oldschool A-Jay

Agreed ~ Having some trouble with the whole hard target casting thing. #wideright A-Jay

Never did add the video - well better late than never. A-Jay

I agreed with @raydomz I use the 20 lb the Most Above that the wire is just a tad stiff for me. I also have used the 13 lb several times. It's decent as well, will prevent bite offs, but coils and frays a bit after a few fish. Which IMO, requires it to be changed out. So the 20 in camo is sort of right in the middle and where I land the majority of the time. A-Jay

Isn't that the PWC proximity deterrent device ? 😎 A-Jay

While not really a huge Jeff Sprague fan, I am Really enjoying watching him hook, fight and land fish on gear that requires him to actually fight the fish That slow & steady landing style seen this morning is something that works for me as well. @JHoss Doesn't hurt that he's also bumping into several genuine quality bass either. A-Jay

With a 33 lb opening period so far and moving all the way up into 3rd place this morning is Mr Jacob Wheel. Perhaps you have heard of him. A-Jay

Overcast & Snow is a fan favorite here in the north woods. Best Time for the BJ's . . . Bladed Jig and Jerkbaits. A-Jay

Giant Set Workout Day 3 ~ Nose to the grind stone. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

@RRocket I have been an AFW user & abuser for many years here in the north woods. Plenty of toothy critters in Lake Menderchuck. I've learned some lessons along the way. The uni to uni knots works for both the leader connection knot and the lure tie. Main line type doesn't come into play as I've been using it successfully on braid, FC and mono. IME, leader length is fairly important. While I realize this product is not cheap, I also realize that plus size pike & Muskie (common bait stealers) have a BIG HEAD with a Deep mouth & throat; Like 20 plus inches deep when they totally engulf my bait. So not accounting for that (like using a wire leader length far shorter than that) is just asking to get bit off. I've mentioned before here that AFW WILL drag down any bait (including suspending baits) when a proper length is used. It's a trade off and something to keep in mind. Either way I rarely make them so long that they are going in & out of the my rod guides during the cast. That can get pretty hard on the connection not. Good Luck A-Jay I talk about the AWF wire at the end of this clip https://youtu.be/gSHOgDGlJGE?feature=shared&t=9

@JHoss We All lose some fish with most any treble hook bait. But losing more than we land is not good. Sounds like you've addressed most everything I would have recommended you take a look at. Including the totality of the system you're using. While I do not use any Bagley baits, I could never 'blame' the bait anyway. I do use a few different brands/types of treble hook baits for bass. Rarely use stock hardware. If & when I get a fish hooked up sufficiently that the treble hook bards are planted in some flesh, and not half poked into some part of the jaw bones, I expect to land it. Doesn't always happen the way I expect or want but I'm not losing a ton of bass either. In the end, if we have quality gear & terminal tackle, all that's left is operator error. I rarely blame my gear, but I can openly admit to jacking up my fair share of fish landings. IME, (and after watching myself on video) there are three things I changed that had noting to do with my gear but made a world of difference in my own landing percentage. 1. Having a Plan on how & where I am going to land a fish. 2. Slow Down 3. Be Smooth. Good Luck A-Jay https://youtu.be/W2jqCf7BVAE?feature=shared btw- I do prefer to use a net.

Unless you know for sure that your 16 year old charger designed for lead acid batteries, will even charge your new lithium battery, you may need a new charger. I'd contact both the battery and charger companies for the real skinny. A-Jay

Made it into March ~ The anticipation of these trips is always pretty intense, but I have an entire brown bass season to fish before heading south. So while I am ready to go now, I'm glad to try for a few local fish before hand. You know, like a warm up. 245 days and a Wake Up. A-Jay

Giant Set Workout Day 2 for this one. My warm up takes almost as long as this whole workout. When I'm doing it right, more work in less time equals better fitness. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I'm like 95% basic Plano 3600 & 3700. I've got a few 'Cabela's' & 'Lund' boxes, (came with the boat) but they both just seem like re-branded Plano products. I try not to 'put away' wet baits; especially jigs/skirt type deals. Drying them out helps keep the rust monkey away. Oh no, a new monkey ! A-Jay

First full season for me fishing in Michigan at 65 years old. Purchased my season 2025 Senior Citizen all species licenses last night on line. Dropped a whole $11 bucks on that deal. So it's $2.20 a piece for the first bag of brown bass. Everything after that is Gravy ! A-Jay

Past several seasons I've landed and weighed quite a few (unofficial) state record brown bass. Unfortunately I don't fish in any of those states. State record smallmouth here in Michigan was recently set at 9.98 lbs. Probably safe from me. A-Jay

Don't forget the power head ~ #jealous A-Jay

We better get open water soon ~ Loving this FA Peacock flavor. A-Jay

It's been hard for me to come up with any hard and fast rules. I think you know that though. I have come to believe some real 'general deals'. Super early open water does not prolong the pre-spawn bite for me. And pre-spawn is just a what is commonly called the time period before the bass spawn. The fish I am targeting early season are looking to capitalize on the perch spawn and while they will be spawning later, they are looking to eat NOW. No love making on their minds. 42-44 degree surface temps in the areas I'm fishing seems to be a good thing. Air temps mean virtually nothing. Fish bite on both clear & sunny days as well as cloudy/overcast days. Some years when the water temps right and I'm hammer fatties, I'm wearing no coat and other years I'm in the same gear I use to blow snow. So as long as the winds & waves allow me to transit to & from the areas safely, AND I can present baits effectively in those areas, I'll fish them. The bass ARE COMING to these spots eventually, I just need to be there when they do. Unlike the fall bite, early season still demands being at the spot before sunrise. First light can still be surprisingly good, and I almost always have very little company. Especially when the docks have not yet been put in and I'm using waders to launch/recover the rig. Mid day straight to sunset depending on the conditions keeps me casting. Surface Water temps above 55 for me signal the sad end of a great bite. Mostly because the perch have long finished spawning and move back out to deeper water and the bass have no other reason to be in there. Good Luck. A-Jay

Well we made it to March. Before this hard water season and since the past winters have been mostly mild, I was really anticipating at least an average winter. Hoping the lake water levels would at not reduce any more and perhaps even rise up some. Nailed it - with a record single season snowfall for this area. Been a seasonably cold one too which keeps a hat on Lake Menderchuck reducing the evaporation that happens when it's not. Still have 39 days and a wake up, which is looking more and more unrealistic by the day. Either way, totally looking forward to that first early season flat water run across the lake. A-Jay

Back to Giant Set Workout Day 1. Starting to find a groove but still feel like I'm sucking wind. I think that's a good thing. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

I think it's great that as long as it's legal, we get to do it the way we like to. A-Jay

Remarkable bag of Bass ~ @22RangerZ520R Congrats. However, what's far more impressive to me at least, is the 10 YEARS of Blood Sweat & Tears it took to put yourself in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Day after day, month after month, year after year all for days like this. It rarely happens by accident. Figure Two years of fishing your Arse off in all types of conditions, for each one of the beauties. I know how hard you work at it too. The planning & preparation, the time, the travel, the sacrifice & the drive to stick with it not willing to settle for less. THAT'S what it takes. Congrats again. btw, nice job on the pics, especially if you were fishing solo. Ice out/open water may be later this year here. A-Jay