avid

Ok so here’s a kicker I was absolutely slaying bass up to 18” for two days using a 1” mop fly ? I would strip it like a streamer then stop it and they would hammer it on the drop I was targeting bluegill but all I were hungry bass I swear I would have won a tournament ?

I wouldn’t put it in those terms but I agree with your point If I’m getting bit but not setting the hook it is MY error I need to change something Figuring out what that something is is the challenge If I never figure it out my day on the water was a “learning experience” lol by that I mean I’ll obsess over the why’s and what ifs ?‍♂️ Agreed ? I too rarely fish with anyone else these days (my ole buddy is fishing with the angels now ?) and getting bites is what I look for If The fish are biting it’s up to me to figure out how to hook them But then I loosen the drag and play with them lol Landing a bass is not a requirement

It all depends on you Now in a tournament you have to land a fish but I have never fished a tournament and never will just not my style I also rarely keep one so fishing is pure fun and challenge for me I play them untill I think they are beat and I lose more than half but I love it ? That’s how my me and my fishing buddy scored it back in the day except I would amend your method by saying that you and one other person have to see it for it to count We never bs’d each other about hooking a fish but we both had to see it for it to count

Sounds great I travel up north and out west every summer for trout I always thought my dream home would have a trout stream on one side and a bass lake on the other lol seems like your pretty close to heaven ?? I think your progression into fly fishing is pretty typical I guess we all started with a zebco (except for us geezers who started fishing before zebco’s became ubiquitous) then progressed to Spinning (Mitchell 300) then To fly and bait casters I too learned to fly fish from trout guys but when fly fishing for bluegill I was also catching bass

Mos def but don’t give up on trout flies for bass read on … Imo it would be the perfect way to honor his memory ?

How many of y’all enjoy fly fishing? I live on a nice lake loaded with bass and bream I enjoy using my bait casters and spinning tackle but I find myself pulling out the flyrod more and more

I slayed bedding bass using a jerk bait I would cast behind the bed slash it hard then let it suspend over the bed BAM ‼️ Another favorite tactic was paddling a super frog over the nest and then stopping it over the bed the frog corkscrews toward the nest and the bass destroy it Oh yeah I rarely fish bedding bass directly on the nest I love using tube or horneytoad and watching it spiral down toward the nest

I’ve cataloged all your jig secrets and sell them on the internet ?????

Oh now Tom, stop being such a cranky old man ? I’m 72 and tomorrow I’m getting my knee scoped so I have my cranky days for sure But after having been in fb groups and others since the earliest internet days I’ve long since learned to have fun with the trolls or just ignore them Lighten up man who cares what some adolescent minded butt hole thinks of you ?‍♂️ Tight lines ?

Hey Catt ‼️ What was your old favorite

Really cool question ?‍♂️ It’s brings back lots of memories I’m gonna do some research for details but I remember driving from Riverhead Long Island to somewhere for I think in Pa for the annual shad run Maybe y’all know where I’m talking about My buddy And I liked to read the “what’s going on now” articles in the fishing magazines and then go fish there This article was about a shad run on some river in NJ NY or PA that is kinda famous for it Anyway it was a long ass drive but we did that **** back then That’s what I’m talkin about ‼️

I’m In SW Florida so virtually all of my freshwater fishing is around gators they will hammer a top water I have fun sometimes when a gator lazers in on my top water I’ll wait for him to get pretty close then pop it over his head It’s pretty amusing to see them absolutely confused ? ???

I have no hesitation buying a rod or reel online Keep in mind that I’ve been fishing for nearly sixty years and pretty much know what a rod will feel like just by knowing the rod company and model info

I don’t believe in “trash” fish if they are non native and damaging the eco system then they are harmful invasives that should be eliminated but any native fish will find it’s niche The only time I was ever ridiculed over a fish was when I tried showing off to my bass buddies the gorgeous 6”-8” native brook trout I caught ?

I felt a hit and set the hook flew back at me so fast I forgot to duck ?