senile1

I break down, clean, and service all of my reels once a year. The last time I had someone else clean them I sent them to The Reel Mechanic in Park City, KS. David, The Reel Mechanic (username .RM.), was a member here and my reels were smooth as butter when he took care of them. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2014.

@newapti5 If your drag is set correctly the line should only break if the musky's teeth cut it. Rules of thumb for setting your drag range from 20 to 30 percent up to a third of the pound test of the line. I have always used approximately 1/3rd of the pound test of the line.

I haven't used every brand so I can't say I have a favorite. I have some I have used that I liked so I continue to buy them. Currently I have spools of Sufix Siege, Sufix Elite, Berkley Big Game, Trilene XL, and Trilene XT. Quite a few years ago, I used Stren but I had some batches that seemed to have more stretch than I liked so I stopped buying it.

I suppose I viewed this question as this: Is what I am doing while performing the act of fishing more science or art? We certainly study the science behind fish behavior, how to find fish, lures, fish finders, FFS, etc. and use products developed with science behind them. When we are on the water we are making decisions based on what we have learned, as well as intuition, and this learning does make us better anglers. But ultimately at the point where the rubber meets the road (when we attempt to catch a fish with a lure) numerous factors come into play that can only be processed through that imperfect memory of what we have learned and our imperfect intuition, while trying to catch a fish that we imperfectly understand with a plethora of techniques, lures, and lure cadence choices before us. After putting it that way, it makes you wonder how we ever catch a fish. LOL. Fortunately, perfection is not always needed to hook them.

We don't have the time to incorporate the full scientific method in our observations on the water, nor do we get to repeat the same experiment under the exact same conditions to confirm our results. Also, it is pretty much impossible to isolate and control for the variables we alter when it comes to fishing, nor can we ever know exactly what our prey's true motivations are when they bite or don't bite. Therefore, we use some science when we fish, but fishing isn't a science. We make somewhat educated guesses based on the relatively little bit of science we do know. Some synonyms for the word, "art" as a noun, are craft, knack, facility, talent, flair, etc. By this definition there is an art to fishing. Some people have a flair for it, while others have to really work harder at it. It is absolutely more of an art than it is a science.

@Columbia Craw I hear you. Like you, I also missed about 6 weeks in the spring because I had to get a new outboard for my boat. Additionally, the last few years have been difficult for our family. (See the post below.) In the past year it was discovered that my wife's 97 year old Mother has terminal cancer. We spend a lot of time driving to her town and spending time with her. Her husband, who is 96, has a bad back so I also take care of chores and maintenance at their house. They have both lived long lives, have their wits, and up until now had been physically capable so they don't like this new stage of their lives. I think they thought they would just pass away in their sleep, but unfortunately, life is full of surprises. Having said all of that, like @king fisher, I plan to fish every chance I get and see what bites. There will be a trip or two to Table Rock and quite a few to my local lakes within a couple of hours.

We moved out of the city onto rural acreage last year. My wildlife camera picks up coyotes now and then at night but our pets are in the house. When I was a kid on the farm in the 60s and 70s we had a lot of coyotes. I would hear the packs quite often, especially at night. We also had outdoor cats that lived in our shed. The males were never neutered so they would roam. Many eventually never came back. I am pretty sure a few of those became meals for owls and coyotes.

Good article. @J Francho's "Everything in moderation" signature applies in most things. Taking an extreme position on most subjects usually misses the best position lying somewhere in between. Leave too many bass and there isn't enough food for all of them. Remove the big ones to eat them and you take out the genes that lead to additional big bass. So eat a few, leave a few.

@Pat Brown Good advice, especially when the water temperature is in the 40s to 50s. I suspect this is as cold as the water gets in North Carolina where you are, but correct me if I am wrong. Further north, the water gets colder and when it reaches 39.2 degrees its density reaches the highest point. For any readers who aren't aware, as the water temperature continues to cool this 39.2 degree water sinks to the bottom and the cooler water between 32 and 39 degrees is above it. At this point, many baitfish prefer that warmer water near the bottom and this is the point where fishing on the bottom is probably your most high percentage location. I catch almost all of my big fish in the winter either in the deepest basins used by the bass or on the edges of those basins or underwater creeks per Pat's post. The biggest issue on a huge lake of a few thousand or tens of thousands of acres is finding the basins and creeks where the bass are congregated. It is easier to find them in small lakes that haven't frozen over. Having said that, I only have an idea of how cold the water gets in Connecticut since it is on the coast. If it never goes below the low 40s, fish the underwater channel banks or steep drops. Of course, no rule of thumb ever works 100 or even 75 percent of the time. I have caught a few good fish in basins and dragging a jig up the side of a drop into a basin when water temps were 40 to 43 degrees.

That is wild. Forty inches plus is definitely a tank.

I hadn't seen the videos but I just pulled up a couple of YouTube videos. My wife and I have fished in Baffin Bay Texas a couple of times and once in and out of Mobile Bay. We caught a few 34 to 38 inchers in Baffin Bay. We were using typical bass fishing rods and reels. You definitely have to let your drag do its job on these fish before you can get them in the boat.

I fish for whites and wipers on occasion, especially when I take family out on the boat. There is nothing like putting a kid on a group of feeding whites when almost every cast brings in a fish. I use Southern Pro Triple Tip white with chartreuse tail grubs for both crappie and whites. I have also had some big days with bucktail jigs. I don't use these as much as spoons but I probably should. Wizard Custom Tackle 1/8th oz spoons in silver and/or white are deadly when you find white bass. They have other colors that work as well but these two are my workhorses. These will also catch wipers but bigger spoons are better to draw in larger fish. I have loaded the boat a few times with 2 and 3 lb whites using Wizard Custom Tackle 1/2 and 3/4 oz double-header spoons in white color. This is typically a late spring, summer, and early fall bait but works especially well for me when whites are feeding aggressively in the upper 10 to 15 feet of the water column. These will also catch bigger wipers. Trolling the deepest running Shad Rap can also locate and catch fish. Bigger wipers will go for this as well. For large hybrids gathered on the bottom, my brother-in-law in Arkansas uses a spoon similar in color and shape to the War Eagle shown below in sizes up to 1 1/2 oz jigged above them. When they bite he has caught larger fish in the 5 to 14 lb range with these. I don't see any War Eagles this large online, but he gave me a custom spoon that looks similar to this in 1 1/2 oz but I have yet to use it. BassPro makes a RealImage Jigging Spoon that looks like it might work in this situation also.

@JHoss It is good to revisit why we do things and to re-evaluate why we believe as we do. Thanks for prompting that on this subject. When I started fishing in the waters of Missouri, the main fishing staples were crappie, catfish, bass, bluegill, white bass, and redear sunfish. There were the non-gamefish like carp, buffalo, etc. but the six listed above were what most people fished for. Bass were always more fun to me than the others listed for a few reasons. While pulling a huge catfish off the bottom is a hell of a fight compared to a bass, I miss out on the puzzle of finding a presentation to fool them into biting. I have caught catfish on jigs and other lures while fishing for bass, but it is rare. And the joy of seeing a fish bursting from the water skyward is another thing I couldn't get from fishing for catfish. Two to three pound white bass can be a load of fun to catch and for their size the fight is tremendous compared to a black bass. But again, once I find whites there isn't much of a puzzle compared to the black bass. As for crappie, bluegill, and redear they all have their time and place but the bass is larger and I enjoy the fight more than the smaller fish. Having said that, catching bluegill on an ultra-lite rod can be quite the tussle. Through the years Missouri has added hybrids to the menu. I have fished for them and they are a great deal of fun due to their tremendous fight and size, plus they make great table fare when prepared properly. However, I still think that the joy of the puzzle for black bass outweighs the joy of catching hybrids. If I had more lakes near me that contained hybrids, I might alter this opinion somewhat. To summarize, the reasons I fish for bass are for the combination of decent fighting ability, decent size for freshwater, and the puzzle of determining where they are and how I can entice them to bite with lures. The puzzle, as the OP stated, is the main thing. One final note: If I lived near the coast and was able to fish inshore for redfish all the time, I suspect that would be the fish that just might take over more of my fishing time.

@mcipinkie, I use the Stern Saver also and am quite satisfied with it. One definitely has to be aware of it in stumps and brush. I destroyed one a few years ago backing it into a stump. However, similar to @A-Jay, I scope water at slower speeds.

I think these excerpts from three of our astute members pretty much sums up my thoughts on this. I will add that @A-Jay's statement that "any decent quality stick can get the job done" and @WRB's statement that "You can get all you need for under $300" say a lot though. In other words, the vast majority of us who have bass fished for many years tend to buy sticks that meet a certain minimum level of sensitivity and quality. When I am on the water I want all the elements involved to be in my favor. As for @woolleyfooley's Champion Extreme rod, I think that you have plenty of sensitivity to get the job done.

Your struggle sounds familiar to me. Lakes with little or no structure are more difficult for me to find fish. Like you, I would be checking the boatlifts, mellow underwater creek banks, the dam riprap, and any mild drops into the deeper water to find the fish. Keep in mind that in the Fall they are probably following the bait which in your case is gizzard shad. I seem to always be able to locate and catch fish on lakes with plenty of defined structure, but lakes like yours are a tougher puzzle. There is a lake I fish near KC that is loaded with gizzard shad as well. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the bass have plenty to eat so one must be more precise with presentation to get them to bite. For me, a big day on this lake is 7 to 10 bass. A typical day is 2 to 5. It can be frustrating. Fortunately, the lake has lots of big bass which can make up for the lack of numbers and is the main reason I fish there. Bass in lakes with lots of shad tend to scatter when the thermocline breaks up. Once the shad move back into creeks or arms the bass should follow and may be a little more grouped up and easier to locate. Other than these ideas, I have nothing else.

I think this sentence nails it. The combination of the spot and the way one fishes it is the secret spice.

As a few of you have alluded to, secret spots are few and far between these days. Unless you have a lake that is quite secluded or is used by most for some other purpose than fishing, there are likely no secret spots. Even on larger bodies of water such as Table Rock or Lake Ozark, many bass anglers frequent these lakes and a significant number of them are looking for the same types of structure to hold bass. Spots that are hidden below the water's surface are more likely to be secret, but with down and side imaging significant numbers of these can be found. And as @WRB stated, with FFS there will be even less of these spots that escape scrutiny.

I generally go with 8 to 10 rods although sometimes when the fish are scattered and responding to random techniques I will go up to 12. My older bass boat doesn't have room for more than that without making a tangled mess. Logically, you can minimize the rods to a point but there are some techniques that just don't work as well with a MH or M rod. One example is thin wire single hooks for Ned rig fishing. They stick better when you can just reel into the fish to set the hook and I have found that a light action rod is best for this purpose.

@RipzLipz It is the "3rd or More" designation that is bothering me. Sounds like Mahomes Sr. has a problem with getting behind the wheel after a few drinks on a regular basis.

@Glenn What an awesome trip! Looking forward to your updates and report afterward!

I bleed red, white, and yellow but the only play-off game I would have bet on the Chiefs to win was the Miami game. Like many, I expected the Ravens and 49ers to play in the Superbowl, though I would have loved to see the Lions make it after all these years. Sometimes, having an iron will to just win the game overrules statistics and sheer physical talent. We occasionally see teams like this and the Chiefs appear to have become one of them in the last few years. It seems great talented teams will sometimes lay an egg when they face one of these teams, especially in the play-offs, and that is what the Ravens did. Mental toughness is a talent that is difficult to measure, but paired with some physical talent it can be hard to beat. Tom Brady was the obvious master when it came to talent paired with a mind that just would not accept a loss. Go Chiefs! I hope they have one more instance left in them of beating a team that appears to be more talented.

@WRB Thanks, Tom. I remember messaging with you about the loss of your son. Such a terrible loss! I hope all is going well for you.

@Catt Thank you! My wife had another bad day yesterday but my 8 year old Granddaughter spent the night with us last night. That helps. She is a bundle of love. We will be attending our 13 year old Grandson's basketball game today and that helps too. He is the one whose Father passed. We have two other Grandchildren who are both adults now. I know I should drag myself back in here and try to participate but most of these days I'm just not feeling it. But then, sometimes you have to take the action before the feeling comes.

Fishing still occupies a great deal of my free time, but I think the last few years I have made a post maybe every three to six months, more or less. There are a number of reasons for that. January 1, 2018, my Father passed. On October 20, 2021, my Mother passed. Then on September 27, 2022, my wife lost her son, Justin, at 41 years of age. Cyndee, my wife, has had a lifelong struggle with depression and for the most part, medication kept it in check. Until now. It has been a real struggle for her, and by extension, me as well. On her bad days there is nothing I can do but hold her. Justin had been my stepson for 29 years so this was a shock to me also. Our participation in all social media has practically ended. I think most parents would rather die themselves than lose a child. My wife retired in 2014 and I retired in the summer of 2018. I have become more interested in hiking and climbing mountains. My wife and I take about 6 vacations a year between early spring and late fall. Between taking care of things at home, spending time with family, planning the logistics for travel, and traveling itself I don't find much time to spend on social media as is. Forums topics are repetitive and almost every time I begin to provide a response, I realize that the topic will receive responses from any number of members saying similar things to what I have to say. And finally, we moved to a new home and place last summer. We spent a lot of time looking for places between March and July of 2023 and finally settled on a 5 acre spread north of Excelsior Springs, MO. We had planned on moving to one of the lakes in southern Missouri, but after the death of our son, we both decided it would be best to stay near our Grandchildren in Kansas City, especially for our Grandson who lost his Father. To more recent arrivals to this forum, this is probably the best time to be a member of Bass Resource. @Glenn has done an amazing job of creating and molding it to be a place free of drama, for the most part. Back in the 2000s there were a lot more arguments, and Glenn responded with appropriate rules to make this place what it is today. I may not participate much but I do appreciate what is here.