Nitrofreak

It's a great time that's for sure, im interested !

Some how fishing always has a way of deflating ones ego...LOL ! Glad to hear you got out and it "sounds" like you enjoyed the day . I took my wife with me too, since I have been doing so poorly on my last several trips to Anna, reason being is that I have dedicated the last couple of seasons to different baits, different techniques, in short I came home empty handed more than I care to admit through this learning curve, the whole point was to broaden my skill sets and be a more diverse angler, instead I ended up with the comment yesterday of "I don't know why you needed all of this stuff since you never catch any fish anyway"...ouch.

Went to Anna for a few hours yesterday, the fish are on the main lake channels moving up on the top of the brakes getting ready to make their move, there are some way back in the shallows but the water is heavily stained, big spinnerbaits will get em but it's a slow go. Mid lake areas were where I located most of the fish on the brakes, most were on the tops of the ledges, some were still on the middle to lower portions of the old river channel, primary points did have some activity but not much, secondary points had males chasing some schools of bait, seen a few breaking the surface in some of the better spawning areas. I didn't fish much at all because I really wanted to learn more from my sonars and learn more about how and when and where these bass in this lake migrate, what I did learn is how important structure is to these fish and what kind of structure, here in the next couple of weeks there will be a big change in Anna. Good luck and be safe!!!

SHAWEEEET !!! great outing Chop and pass along congrats to the wife for us, thanks for sharing !!

I used to dread fishing in the wind and would do like others did and that was to find areas somewhat protected, I found that the wind is actually a good thing and eventually purchasing good anchoring equipment and learning how to use the wind, I agree with others in the fact that it takes practice and that markers are a big help, especially when you are first learning, I also found that it's important to pay attention to details, bring along a change of clothing, although I have not fallen overboard there were a few close calls, having protective clothing is also a big plus, watching where you are is also big key, being close to wooded areas in the wind you must be mindful of the trees and of the soil especially if it's saturated, winds will topple trees and they can fall as if they were cut down, being prepared for the wind is no different than being prepared for a winters day, or a hot summers day, if you don't have a good anchoring system then make sure you have your equipment ready to face the challenge of a windy day, a good strong trolling motor and strong healthy batteries are a must and should be matched for the size of your craft, I learned that the hard way, a 17 foot bass boat and a 50lb thrust trolling motor aren't a good match when fishing in the wind LOL, but it did aid me in my anchoring abilities so it kinda evened out, it truly does take a good bit of practice and awareness to get it right but the rewards are worth the effort.

Well, my daughter wants me to take her fishing this weekend, as if I wasn't already excited enough you just added a little fuel to the fire and now I'm like really excited and have to endure the rest of this work day... THANKS A LOT !! LOL !!!

There is not a whole lot going on this time of year, although with the current weather you will start to see it more and more, you can almost tell when everyone puts their boats away for their long winter naps too, all you see is how great the fishing is in Fla. threads for the southeast section LOL !! Not that I don't enjoy reading our Fla. brethren anglers stories and gaulking at their catches mind you but, every year I keep telling myself that I'm buying a hut down there and make my friends in Va. Jealous as HELL !!!

Sounds FANTASTIC !! hopefull things will hold up, can't wait to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones !!!

It would be great to see you again buddy, hope you can make it!!!

Try to control yourself Chop, your getting us all excited LOL !! Are you going to fish with us?

Looking forward to meeting you nitro557!!

As others have stated, I believe it's more important to put the work in finding the right location first, it really depends on sun and water conditions, I won't change colors but I do look for subtle differences within a color, the addition of green flake, red flake, etc... the base will stay the same, I change baits completely when I change locations and I feel something else could be productive, there are certain times when thinking outside of the box does influence a complete change I agree, especially when you know your in a good location and you try to fire up a school.

Somehow I don't think being short armed is going to influence our perspective... Great job Wayne !!!

I'm glad I live in Va. That sounds terrible.

Much appreciated !!!!

Still the same, same boat launch as last time?

I used a swim bait hook rather than rigging it weedless, the hook was exposed, I did see someone do that on you-tube while researching this bait though, how does that change the bait? Different fall? More swimming action? I tried this bait in my swimming pool to get a feel for the speed of retrieve, too slow and no action from the tail end, too fast and it wants to lift and roll around, I'm finding it difficult to get just the right speed out of this bait.

Looking forward to it already John , you still have my cell number?

Saturday the 2nd ok with everyone? long trip for me, I'm old and I would like to have Sunday to piddle fart around the house before going to work on Monday ?

Didn't pick up anything about in skinning the bait but most of what I read is that they are supposed to be fished very slowly, I'm assuming that makes them a structure type bait, it was pretty effective using it as such, I had it rigged on a medium action Lews Rod, I'll switch it to one of my MH rods and try again, I was surprised just how much attention it did bring, I think that a few of the bites they just bit the tail because the bait was dislodged from the jig head, I may have tried to set the hook to soon and just need a little more time with the bait as well but for all the times I missed the bait seemed to hold up really well with very little wear.

Just fished one for the fist time yesterday, got a few bites on it with one hook-up, lost it at the boat, I think I used the wrong rod but the way I fished it was on the bottom slow rolling it, any advise on this bait?

I don't or have not just up and quit using a bait, what I do however is put it aside, I try to gain as much knowledge as possible on my home lake, what works in what color and when the best times are to use what I have learned, I take what I put aside with me to other bodies of water and usually it will end up working even better than what I would have thought, or at the very least hoped for, I take those baits and put them in a separate Plano box and mark it for Lake X, in turn it gives me better feedback for color choices that works during a given time of year and conditions for the lake.

I'll check and make sure we aren't doing anything and let ya know tomorrow, who else can join us? I very well may have an open seat for someone as well if your interested.

Although I regret some of the choices I have made during the 60's, 70's and 80's that are unfortunately hampering my ability to communicate, learn and then retain that particular lesson for any length of time, I am still happy to be where I am at today, I probably shouldn't be here at all amongst the living but none the less I have found this sport to be that of an outlet, a happy place if you will, I would enjoy tournament fishing and the competition if I did but would keep it at a local level or amoung friends, the added pressure of having to perform on someone else's dime along with your investment I think would change the happy place, at least for me.

Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, God bless and be with you all!!