Team9nine

A bass trip that turned into a crappie fest after the first stop - lol - but I got some green ones, too; the right kind and the wrong kind. Best crappie 2-02

FINALLY - A Classic in my backyard! The last time that happened was back in 1987 when they went to the Ohio R., Louisville and I lived in IN.

Warmed into the 40s, about the same as the water temps (46-47 deg). Wind finally died after a couple days of 30-40 mph gusts. Picked off a dozen bass on mostly jighead minnow - nothing big. Hoping for another trip at the end of the week.

According to statements made by the developer, the answer is 'No' to both questions.

Yep, 2 full years down here (SC). I’ve got so many stories and pics of the lengths we went to to fish open water in IN through the winter under all kinds of crazy conditions - lol - about 25 years worth. I even ice fished bass a few times with good luck…and so many multi species trips I’ve never really posted about over that time - walleye, hybrid stripers, flatheads and channels, bluegill and red ear, white and yellow bass, buffalo…and, of course, crappie 😎 I’ve had a pretty blessed fishing life.

Better to be lucky than good, they say. Temps in the mid 70s yesterday, but those were brought in by steady wind gusts of 30+ mph all afternoon. My first and largest fish hooked in a large pad field in 3 ft of water. Got it near the boat and it dove under the boat and tied me up in some emerging pad stems. Wind trying to blow me away from the fish in the opposite direction, string stretched and twanging, about ready to break, all while fighting the trolling motor and wind to get back toward the fish. A mess that gets worse. The line breaks - I lose the fish and my only bladed jig. Had a hunch the line got into the TM prop and broke, so pull it up out of the water - yep, wrapped. Then the light bulb goes off…what are the odds? I grab the line and the fish is still on. I hand-line the dangling 8ft or so of broken line, land the fish and get my bladed jig back. A few unwraps of line wound around the prop and we’re all good to go. No more drama the rest of the afternoon, and I go on to land a limit of bass, all in 3 ft or less in windblown pockets on Chatter.

About the same conditions as yesterday - mostly sunny, breezy and warm. Fish weren’t biting any better, just two keeper bass - jerkbait, A-rig - but did get one of the oversize crappie (2-1/4) that made the trip a bit better.

Rain cleared late yesterday evening - about 1.75”. Nice post front day today - lol. Was hoping for some stained water, but only found one small area on the lake I was on today. Surprisingly, water temps held up, around 48 deg., give or take. Picked off a limit of bass in the 3 hours I was out, but nothing over 3 lbs. Jerkbait and A-rig accounted for all. Also found a mix of crappie and white perch hanging near the one mudline I came across, but not much size to them.

Have a few laying around, or at least I did. Just for clarification, there were 3 distinct baits. The original floating Rat-L-Trap was a Trap that floated and came out in the early 80s. It, at first, had just a single belly hook. The billed versions were Diving Rat-L-Traps, and they came out in two versions, the first around 1991 - a floater (see 'floater' printed on side) and a sinker, which was a sinking model with a bill that fell as fast, or faster, than a standard Rat-L-Trap (think countdown Rapala). The problem they had with them is they were really tough to balance and run right. It all depended on the number of BB shot placed in the bait. There was a "right" number for the bait. Too many or two few, and the baits ran on their side and were nearly worthless. You almost had to get lucky in getting one with the exact right number of BBs to make it work right. I'll have to go look in the garage and see if I can still find mine, or if I gave them away or tossed them.

There’s a fine line between a good and properly tuned bait that “hunts” and catches bass good, and a piece of crap manufactured bait that they SAY “hunts,” but is really just a cover because it doesn’t run properly and never will no matter how much tuning you do…

Ned, himself, does. It is one of the original Midwest Finesse baits he used when first writing about the technique. It gets overshadowed a lot by the traditional straight grubs more commonly utilized, and the media’s focus on them, so you just don’t hear as much about it.

The post frontal conditions persisted - high blue skies - but the wind died to a light breeze, and I changed lakes to a more shallower one. Water here was a bit warmer at 46 degrees, and while the crappie I saw wouldn't cooperate, a few of the bass did 😎 Everything on jighead minnow or A-rig. Best fish was 4-1/4 lbs.

They were only calling for 3-6 mph, so I was really disappointed when I awoke to 21 mph gusts. A quick look at a wind map showed we were directly in a funnel of wind coming out of the mountains, but showed almost no wind 20 minutes east. So I gambled and went east, and arrived to see white-capping at the ramp. At that point, I felt committed after hooking up and driving out there 😁 It did finally die down after an hour or two, but calm post-front is worse than windy post front in my book. Only fish bit early.

Thought it would be tough, and it was. Post frontal, NW wind gusting to 20, and 43 deg water temps…but I avoided the skunk with this one on an A-rig.

I’ve tested this one out on the water plenty over the years, with lengths between 0’ (no leader), all the way up to 15+ ft, and everything in-between. Short answer - it doesn’t matter. Use what you prefer or what makes sense given your waters and situation. These days, I’m in the long leader camp. The bait does fish differently based on whether you use a leader or not; even how long of one, plus there are the other previously mentioned benefits.

After 3 weeks, a crippling ice storm, 7” of snow and the coldest temps in years, I was able to launch and fish open water. Surface temps 41-44 deg., but managed to swing on a couple 😁 Minnow jiggling for both.

Is designated fluoro leader worth it? On paper - yes. In practice - meh. It pretty much depends on your exact circumstances. I use regular mainline as leader material because I have no unique situations requiring otherwise.

I'm waiting to have that discussion with Ken Duke first...phone calls have been made ;) Not calling anybody a 'liar.' I believe he did catch all those big bass. Just suggesting there have been a lot of big fish catches and catchers questioned over the years, and in some cases the stories or accusations have proven true, or info later came out that shed a different light on the matter. Nothing wrong with a bit of healthy skepticism when any of these record stories or catches are involved. I'm guessing you're aware of the incredible mess all the musky record catches and catchers have become for this very reason, or the on again-off again nature and controversies around the WR smallmouth, largemouth and walleye catches, as just a few examples. And then there's Mike Long... :)

Just an opinion that's worth what you paid for it - lol. There are no 'holy grail' books on big bass fishing. I've got, read and studied about all of them, and a lot of related non-book media from them and a lot of other big bass chasers over many, many years. They are almost all interesting; I can just about guarantee you'll learn a thing or three from all of them; and they are all equally worthless at the same time (meant in the nicest way possible)...unless, possibly, you literally live near and fish the same waters as the author. That said, if I had to pick one, I'd say Bill Murphy's book (In Pursuit Of Giant Bass) is still considered the 'big bass bible' by most trophy chasers. Still my favorite. Not going into any details, but take the Cullen 'legend' with a grain of salt. Might just be legit, maybe, but might not. Even the MA state record bass story lived a life of 50 years, until...

I’m in agreement with the line of thought that believes ‘jerkbaiting’ is one of those techniques that can be successfully done with a wide range of rod options, very similar to drop-shotting. There is no one ‘right outfit,’ IMO. I’ve tried many different rod options over the years and have yet to settle on a specific setup as being ‘ideal.’

That's about as good of a summarization as I can come up with. Too much money on the line to be 'cute' or 'fancy.' Wheeler flipped that needle at the 2021 St. Lawrence BPT event, and Fujita is doing the same on the Elite side. JMHO - I'll go take cover now... :)

Crankbait Corp. “Fingerling,” also a Tom Seward venture after the Natural Ike stint.

I haven't strung it up yet, but I like the weight and balance for such a long spinning rod. Seems a bit stiffer than my MLs (6'6" and 7'), and just as fast, but not certain how to tell if it's a true XF. Does seem pretty crisp and responsive from just test bending, though. Big winter storm and very cold air coming through for the next 10 days, but hoping to get it out on the water right after. Should have a better sense once I throw a few baits on it. First impression is that this is a pretty sweet rod.

Woo-hoo! Can’t wait to string this outfit up and try it on some finesse fishing tactics 😎