shimmy

oh my goodness. What a day!!! That is an incredible picture. Their mouths are huge!!! Those are such long bass.

Boy oh boy! I love this rod. It has been such a great change from previous rods and felt like it wouldn't hurt to put a review of the rod. I use the Powell Endurance 723 for jig fishing and was blown away with how well it handled 1/8 ounce jigs and 3/4 ounce jigs. It was crazy to feel the jig slide down reeds and feel solid against rocks. To me, it just seems like it is at the top tier of 200 and under rods for jig fishing. Got mine on sale for 125 a few months ago and believe it is the best bang for the buck. Using this rod, you just never worry about it breaking. It is thicker than other medium heavy rods but feels just as light. I had it teamed up with the Lews tournament pro, 16 lb line, which felt like a match made in heaven. When i talked with a Powell representative, he stated that the 723 is a power in between the Powell Max 703C and 704C since many people complained about the drastic difference between the 703 and 704. On a side note, i fished an *** *** 6'10 Medium and loved the power (felt like a medium heavy) and the sensitivity was great (but not as good as the Powell). The handle on the rod is amazing and feels better than the Endurance in that sense but both feel equally light. As for the negative, the rod tip broke while trying to pull a lure out of the weeds. While the rod worked great, the Endurance just outclasses it. Just ten cents on a good rod and information i wished i knew prior to make my decision even faster when i sought a jig rod under 200. Shimmy

I just can't imagine trying to horse something like that all of the time like you do. Just amazing.

I'm sure this will take many tries to upload these but might as well get started. So i just finished my annual spring trip to MN to rip some lips with my brother, brother in law, dad, and uncles. Opening day was the 25th and we really had no idea what to expect for the water temperatures. As we emailed back and forth, we decided that if the water was in the mid 50's, we have a chance at fishing a prespawn pattern which rarely happens opening day in Ottertail County, MN. We thought, if temps were right at 60, it might not be as good as if it were in the mid 50's, so we hypothesized. So we arrive and sure enough, the first lake we launch it is 56 degrees. Wow, i have never fished a spring where the temps were this cold. So, prespawn pattern it was. Of course the jig rods stayed on but that meant we switched to a lot of jerk baits and weightless senkos and suspending whatevers. The whole time we kept thinking, man, this could be a great trip for big bass and terrible for numbers. As tradition held out, the first day of the trip, the monsters started coming out of the woodworks. Started off with an obnoxious 10 pound northern to get big snake of the trip, aka, BSOT (not a coveted award). One of the days during the week we had a fun 6 fish 30+ lb stringers. So, as tradition held out, within the first hour, one of us hooks into a monster which happened to be my brother in law. Sure enough, tipped the scales at 7 lbs. 4 oz but weighed in at Ben's Bait Shop at 7 lb. 3 oz six hours later. We knew then that we were on to something, just not quite sure what. We figured we would live off of priority spots and avoid cove fishing altogether with these temps for this lake in particular. We just rotated back between 5 or so points and rocky ledges and just kept rotating to get lucky. About two to three hours later, i hook into a giant at a point with my jiggly piggly wiggly coming in at 6 lbs. 7 oz. One thing i noticed immediately was that these fish were so dense! My goodness, they were weighing heavier than they should which i was not used to here since we usually catch bass spawning with their busted up tails and less full bellies. As you can see from the pick, they were big, but my 6.7 just looks small. Weird to hook into that and have it not be the BFOT (big fish of trip). My brother in law shortly after hooks into a 5 lb. 0 oz on the dot. This was perhaps the smallest looking 5 pounder i have ever seen in a photo as it stands next to the seabiscuit. As the week went on, we caught many 5's and a ton of 4's. However, we actually did not catch that many 4's compared to years past which was due to the colder water temps. Then later in the week, i strike again. Was busy workin the jiggle me timbers piggly and hooked into another bassquatch coming in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. As always, had the camera rolling when i hooked into her making some great new footage to watch on a rainy day. It got me thinking about that state vs state thread. My two biggest would put me at: 6.7= 103 ounces and the state record is 8:15=143 oz. So 103/143= 72.02% & for the 6.13 = 109/143= 76.22% putting me once again in 2 out of the 3 years for that dang state vs state thread barely second behind the Dwight himself. But as we all know, we are competing for 2nd and Dwight cheats. Anyone that fishes MN has an unfair advantage of winning that competition but Dwight messes everything up. On my last day fishing, i caught 27 fish and had six over 4 pounds with nothing over 5 but still a ton of fish and i realized, i had not caught more than 13 fish in any outing throughout the week. That is just absurd for these lakes but that water temp will do it to you on some of these lakes. It was a great week and can't wait to get out to the land of 10,000 lakes.

Hey fellas, i was wondering what the water temperatures are out there in central and/or northern MN right now. I fish Fergus Falls and absolutely love MN. Best place on earth.

A-Jay, i am loving what you are doing here. My only worry is you burn out and put that jig on and hit the shores...Hang in there, i think this thread could become unbelievable if you keep it up and stick to your guns. Don't putter out, can't wait till your first 7+ fishing this way. Get that net.

Guess you learn first hand that pike do not make good snugglers. Good thing she gave you the cold shoulder before any kissing started taking place, just sayin.

Yes it is. As long as you provide a weight and you make it look huge, who cares? I think the problem occurs when you get the full arm extension and the angler states the fish is 4 pounds bigger than it is. For people who like to catch big fish, it is fun to show pictures of a fish looking big. The pictures provide a memory of how exciting the relatively big fish was in our mind. Does anyone take a picture of a nice bass and hope it looks smaller than it really is?

I pulled the trigger on some of Mike's jigs a while back and am really impressed with everything i got back. Very easy to work with as well. He is definitely worth the investment. Please support the man and go buy yourself some tailored jigs!

What an unbelievable accomplishment for Washington. While i agree with others in that it is a great catch anywhere, that thing is truly extraordinary for that state. Flat out awesome.

Great advice guys as always. I think i'll stick with the 703 based on what's said here. Much appreciated.

Any thoughts as title suggests? Just curious to see what people have had through experience. I hear there is a big jump between the two and i do not have the opportunity to hold them since there are no stores nearby. Fishing around weedy areas, occasional wooden structure. What do you guys think? Thanks

i agree somewhat...Just because this is a classy site doesn't mean people don't stretch about the weights. There are enough threads and reports on this site to prove the point. I just think, what in the world could possibly be the downside of people including the weight on the scale to verify the fish? In every state vs state contest, there are a few that interesting. Last of all Dwight cheats. He keeps a livewell at home and feeds three fish that are in the 5, 6, and 7 pound range and takes them on field trips to the lake to take their picture and then takes them back home. A cheater i tell you.

Im in, however, maybe we should have the big fish pictured on the scale as well since some pictures and weights are a little fishy...

That is such an epic trip. A-Jay, Jeff, and Dwight, what a cool memory to share. When i go one of these days, i can't wait to get the details from you all. Great fish. I know the place is known for 10 pounders but i hear of many guys going and not sticking the 10 pound fish. You guys are clearly consistent with catching the bassquatch. Just awesome.

That is awesome!!!!

in the words of one of the greatest lines of all time, "i think we're going to need a bigger boat..."

Just beautiful. What an incredible trip. You guys really got in to them that week. I remember reading all of your statistics for that week and i got so into i started to feel like i was apart of the action! Unbelievable week. Was curious, in the area you went to, how much of a difference does the guide make? Obviously, my first thought is that the guide makes a huge difference, but then again, this is these guys main job, they know the lakes so well, and am just curious how much of them may differ. Last of all, did you all choose a few locations by yourself or did you just travel where he decided. I imagine he asked you guys if you wanted numbers or size. What an awesome trip

I am so jealous! Pulling a big brown through the ice must have been so much fun. What were you using to pull the big ones from open water and under the ice? Some serious hook jaw going on.

Everything said is great advice. Just remember it is January and exponentially harder. While you know that, that alone should lessen your self-criticism. I'm no expert by any means with a jerk bait, and quanjig could pitch in a little more, but i would try that out with long pauses out in those ponds. Good luck. I'm going to have to join you eventually on those ponds!!! Get em. Like Broke Bass Fisherman said, you will stick one unexpectedly. It's going to happen. Just keep spending time out there.

Man, you guys consistently put fish in the boat. Just awesome.

Awesome!!!

Great profile pic. Hope you get on some good ones.

I am glad you didn't take it offensively. I don't think lying or Bs'ing is the right term for when a fishermen stretches a weight. I think with fishing, people have this innate ability to push or imagine a weight slightly higher and a different word should be interjected than "lying" and i wasn't necessarily saying you are a lying individual. I just think if that truly is a 7 pounder, i am amazed and the picture does it a horrendous injustice. Second, i am a serious disbeliever in the online calculations since something fishy always happens in the process and a fish can grow not just a few ounces but a few pounds. I definitely did not think at first glance it was a 4. But i was thinking more in the 5 to 6 pound range. There is just something about a 7 pound fish where people do not doubt it anymore when you look at it. Shoot, i almost feel that way about a 6. But i am glad you are not offended and i am not trying to insult your integrity. Given it is a fishing report and people provide weights, i believe it is inevitable for many of us to have the internal alarm go off when something doesn't look right. If that is a 7, congrats man, an awesome fish and worth bragging to everyone about.

Nice fish...I sometimes wonder if people post certain weights of fish just to get me to chime in. The better half of me tells me to remain silent, but of course the online forum keyboard warrior portion of me takes control and tells me to question how the weight of this fish was calculated? Great fish nevertheless.