Team9nine

That would work if ‘harvesting fish’ and ‘catching fish’ were one and the same thing to you They both probably cost about the same these days, too ?

Nope - "You go fishing to catch fish. Forget the defensive rationalization about the fresh air, sunshine, and pretty scenery. People talk about these things only to disguise the fact they're not catching fish. Concentrate on the fish. Then you'll enjoy the fringe benefits even more." Bill Binkelman December, 1963 YMMV

I’ll be curious to read the future articles he mentioned, but I’ll probably get to hash it out with him over the phone before they’re ever published I want to know how literally he intended some of those comments to be taken - lol

Sounds like this is a spinning outfit, not a fly outfit. No need for tippets with spinning, just leaders (and those are even questioned by many - lol). A more advanced 'fly guy' can come along and explain better or correct me, but with flies you need that step down in line diameter via leaders and tippets to help transfer power from the line to the fly in order to cast properly. With spinning, the lure has the 'weight' or 'power' and just carries the line with it. As such, no need to have that decreasing diameter (or the additional knots).

I think the official Fact Check nomenclature for the highlighted statement is "Missing Context," or perhaps even "Half True" I agree with his second statement above, but would again apply the 'Missing Context' label to that last statement.

Drain bite doesn’t work on any of my ponds. They almost never have good rushing water. I think some are old and silted up. Makes a big difference in the bite. My old neighborhood, you could catch 2 dozen from a good drain, then move to the next one and repeat. I miss those days - lol.

Interesting. I expected a great bite with high, warm and stained water yesterday over here. Instead, I had to fish 3 ponds and work way too hard to avoid the skunk, finally getting one at the last stop after nearly 40 minutes of fruitless casting. I think I need some new water…

I’m pretty boring - lol. Original ShroomZ get the most work. Also original Gophers poured on Gamakatsu hooks, as well as the newer Zman OG heads (both double barbed). I have a few custom pours that are clean shafts and require Super Glue Gel, along with some Venom Ven-Rig Ned heads. I did buy some Mad Bites to try over Black Friday because they were dirt cheap. Haven’t thrown them yet, so can’t comment on them. Oh, and every once in a blue moon I’ll throw a VMC Rugby Head.

While manufacturers don’t necessarily hold tight to a size standard, generally speaking, the closest hook sizes to a #2 would be a #1 (slightly larger) or a #3 (slightly smaller). This trend reverses once you get into ‘aught’ numbered hooks, so a 1/0 would he smaller than a 2/0, and hence closer to a #2.

SJ “Action Jig”

A couple more ponds thawed overnight, so stopped and threw at each for a bit today, landing a handful. Several came on a bait few of today’s anglers probably either own or throw. Always a kick catching them on a piece of angling history ?

My 8-pounder technically came in 2021, on the last day of the year and less than 24 hrs before 2022, so a 7-pounder gets the honors. It came on a Ned rig using a Roboworm Ned Worm.

Only takes one bite to be your first bass of 2023 - but I played it safe and got 2 ? from the only pond that was about 85% ice free. Everything else I saw was still locked up.

Mono - BG or something similar, even a little less stiff. Beginners should never start on braid or fluoro, IMHO.

Don’t watch them that much, but historically, the Lure Jehnsen Hot Lip series set the bar for small ultra deep divers. They were designed by Tom Seward. Looks like the ‘Deep Secret’ might be their equivalent these days in the lineup. Just guessing that might be what they were talking about.

Usually crappie here. No good perch or walleye fisheries within an hour, and I’m not much into river fishing these days. Yellow bass come with the territory around here year round. Spring white bass run is a blast, but it’s a bit later than ice out.

MLF has always had a ‘made for TV’ component - it’s part of their business plan. It is geared more toward the entertainment side of things, casting as wide a net as possible to bring new eyeballs to the sport. That part isn’t directly geared toward the hardcore bass guy or the traditional live sporting event. Think of it in the same vein as any movie or weekly television series you watch, most all of which are filmed months if not a year or more in advance, and then edited before airing or release. Same principle.

Deep/deepest water requires context. Within that, you have 3 options in any given situation; The deepest water in the lake. The deepest water in the area. The deepest water available. Evaluate all situations based on those possibilities, knowing that those 3 conditions can overlap.

One cat 30 yrs ago, and that was the last one - lol. On our 3rd dog in that same time frame

Hard to believe they're all gone. Live at the Rainbow (1977) is still one of the best live recordings ever, IMHO

More like, where did Team9nine get the idea for wearing holey jeans around everywhere? Ramones rock! That was me in my younger years - still have the jeans to prove it (and the leather jacket and Ramones albums on vinyl)

I haven’t, but I have used the larger sizes - lol. HJ08 seems like the perfect pond size to me. Good balance between running depth, ability to cast reasonably far, and gets bit by all sizes of bass. I try to carry as little tackle as possible with me.

HJ08 - They have a nice roll/twitch to them - not crazy erratic. Just make sure to adjust your line size to the smaller profile. I typically use either 6 or 8 pound test with these. I've caught a lot of bass on them the past several years, including some nice sized ones, too.

Another vote for Megabass 110 Ito (standard model) as well as Deep 110 Jr. With smallies and spots in the mix, I’d lean toward something with some brightness - Elegy Bone is a favorite