Bluebasser86

Just get at least a quick length next time. That fish looks like it's around 18-19 inches which would usually runs 2 3/4-3 1/2 pounds depending on girth. Very good looking fish no matter the weight though

Brownies don't get big often around here, any smallmouth over 15" is a solid fish. Largemouth over 18" I'm probably taking a picture of it because that's a solid fish around here and a keeper in almost every lake close by. In some of the local lakes where it's really tough one over the 15" mark makes me happy. Now to get that "Oh dang!" feeling when they jump or I get that first look at them that makes me forget what I'm doing for a second they need to be 5 or bigger.

Did you get measurements of it? It's a lot easier to guess the weight of a fish with the length/girth of the fish than it is from a picture.

We had to book at the little office down there last time we camped there. You do have to use a home computer to do it, it won't let you book them on a smart phone for those sights that you can book online.

I've never seen the zebra mussels in there but they're supposed to be there so I'm sure they're there. There's a bunch of different campsites within the state park, just a matter of which one you guys want to stay in. I think we stayed in the Dade loop last time we were down there and it was really nice with electric hookups in case you want a fan or to charge boat batteries.

Forgot to add that part I guess. I'm thinking we'll go from Eisenhower State Park Ramp, the one closest to the dam. You never touch gravel and it's a pretty nice ramp minus one big pothole but it's easy to miss. It's a big campsite and very well kept for those of you that are camping.

You'd have to back that truck a long ways into the water to float it off the trailer hauling it like that.

I have a 7' MH/M Pro Glass and I love it. It has a great feel, it doesn't weigh a ton, it loads really well so I can fire a crankbait a mile. It isn't great for real deep divers but I fish mostly squarebills on it and it works really well for what I'm doing.

Green gizzard shad KVD 1.5.

It probably has something stuck in there so it's bodies natural defenses encased it like that to keep it from causing further damage. I've seen bass with old rusty hooks stuck in them that had big knots all around the hook that looked like that. Might be a piece of a stick or something that it ran into chasing a baitfish.

Yep, in Mercer County. Nice little lake and very well taken care of.

In the long run they aren't that expensive compared to say a Senko. At 8 bucks a pop with an average of a fish per bait you're only catching 20 fish per $16. I've got LC with the paint worn off they've caught so many fish. They might not always be the best option when they're eating cranks but a lot of the time they seem to be. The pointer 78 is my favorite jerkbait made.

Really not a bad way to fish them. They've become my favorite heavy wood/weeds flipping bait. Great jig trailer, good on a c-rig, good on a shakeyhead, great bed bait. Just really a good all around bait.

Seems like not many people have heard of it before, part of the appeal of it to me. Good deal on the truck!

I was fishing it with a pegged 1/4oz bullet weight and a 4/0 EWG superline hook on 50lb braid.

Decided to try a new lake today. Couple hours away but not a bad drive, never had to touch gravel. Started slow with one small one on a KVD squarebill. Couldn't buy a fish on a jig like I thought I could. Got to the first laydown and flipped a YUM wolly bully into it and caught another little chunky 14 incher. Flipped a couple really good looking trees and nothing. Got to thinking the water was pretty murky for color I was fishing so I switched to a black and blue Havoc Pitboss. First tree got a tick and stuck a good one. She was hung in the tree for a minute but I leaned on her pretty hard and she popped loose and the fight was on. She wallowed around on the top a little before I got ahold of her. 4.40lbs from the big nasty cedar tree behind me. Hit a couple other brushpiles and caught another 3lber. Flipped to a laydown and when I lifted I felt nothing. Cranked like crazy and caught up with the fish and hit her hard. Almost exactly a pound smaller than the first one, 3.39 on the same bait. Caught a few more small ones flipping trees before I ran out of good bank and putted across. Tons of willows with bass fry everywhere on the other side. I stuck another one in the 4lb range that wrapped up in the tree and came off. We got into the back of a cove and I saw a couple big fish in a willow tree. I could tell one was a carp, the other looked too green to be a carp. Pitched my bait and it caught a leaf and landed right on top of the fish. It was obvious that it was a bass that shot off and I thought I ruined my chance when she spun around, tipped down and inhaled my bait. She shot out of the water as high as I've ever seen a fish that size go and gave me a heck of a fight. 4.80lbs on an Okechobee craw Pitboss (ran out of black and blue). I caught another 3 pounder off the same tree I caught the 3lber earlier in the morning on a black and blue Rage craw. I had to fish the first couple brushpiles from the morning before we left, since I had the right bait now. The first one was a huge dead cedar, nasty real estate for a big fish to be. Pitch, shake, shake, thump! Slammed the rod back and she didn't budge. Seesawed back and forth on the limb, saw a big white side flash then she was gone. Don't want to guess a weight but without a doubt bigger than anything else I caught. Made a couple more pitches to that tree before I spun around and flipped into the smaller cedar behind me. Pitched in and lifted into weight. Crossed her eyes and the same thing happened. Tug of war, flash, gone. Another one that was bigger than the rest. Disappointing but still good to see that the monsters are there since it was the first time on the lake.

Well I got to Lake Paho today with the wife. It got pretty hot and I didn't want to keep her out in it for too long but still spent about 6 hours on the lake. Very well kept little lake and ramp. Trailer never touched gravel the whole way there and it was easy to get to. Water was stained to muddy in some area and the banks were pretty much either rock or mud. Not a deep lake at all, deepest water I saw as I was idling across (no wake if your motor is bigger than 10hp) was 22' with a majority being 6' or less within a cast of the bank. Lots of willow trees hanging over or growing in the water and lots of brushpiles in the lakes in some areas. There's also a little bit of weeds growing in the water but not very thick yet. If I wasn't around wood I wasn't catching fish. I caught my first bass of the morning on a KVD squarebill on a fishing pier and that was it for moving baits and catching fish on anything other than wood. Now to the good parts. Like I said small one on the squarebill, couldn't buy a fish on a jig like I thought I could. Got to the first laydown and flipped a YUM wolly bully into it and caught another little chunky 14 incher. Flipped a couple really good looking trees and nothing. Got to thinking the water was pretty murky for color I was fishing so I switched to a black and blue Havoc Pitboss. First tree got a tick and stuck a good one. She was hung in the tree for a minute but I leaned on her pretty hard and she popped loose and the fight was on. She wallowed around on the top a little before I got ahold of her. 4.40lbs from the big nasty cedar tree behind me. Hit a couple other brushpiles and caught another 3lber. Flipped to a laydown and when I lifted I felt nothing. Cranked like crazy and caught up with the fish and hit her hard. Almost exactly a pound smaller than the first one, 3.39 on the same bait. Caught a few more small ones flipping trees before I ran out of good bank and putted across. Tons of willows with bass fry everywhere on the other side. I stuck another one in the 4lb range that wrapped up in the tree and came off. We got into the back of a cove and I saw a couple big fish in a willow tree. I could tell one was a carp, the other looked too green to be a carp. Pitched my bait and it caught a leaf and landed right on top of the fish. It was obvious that it was a bass that shot off and I thought I ruined my chance when she spun around, tipped down and inhaled my bait. She shot out of the water as high as I've ever seen a fish that size go and gave me a heck of a fight. 4.80lbs on an Okechobee craw Pitboss (ran out of black and blue). I caught another 3 pounder off the same tree I caught the 3lber earlier in the morning on a black and blue Rage craw. I had to fish the first couple brushpiles from the morning before we left, since I had the right bait now. The first one was a huge dead cedar, nasty real estate for a big fish to be. Pitch, shake, shake, thump! Slammed the rod back and she didn't budge. Seesawed back and forth on the limb, saw a big white side flash then she was gone. Don't want to guess a weight but without a doubt bigger than anything else I caught. Made a couple more pitches to that tree before I spun around and flipped into the smaller cedar behind me. Pitched in and lifted into weight. Crossed her eyes and the same thing happened. Tug of war, flash, gone. Another one that was bigger than the rest. Disappointing but still good to see that the monsters are there since it was the first time on the lake.

The wife and I decided to brave the crowd at Wyco Sunday afternoon. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Lots of boats but mainly anchored pontoons towards the dam so we fished the south end a lot. I had 3 keepers despite the crowd and added pressure they've been getting this weekend, all the same way I got my limit last week. Nicole is finally getting the concept of having to set the hook with a wacky rig instead of just reeling like she can with a crankbait. She had 3 smallmouth from 14-15 inches and a 14 inch largemouth. She lost what looked like a really good fish in the marina before we saw it also. Not bad considering she probably only fished for an hour and a half.

5 1/2 for sure.

I carry most of the time I'm off duty, don't make many friends at work . They don't do any good in the safe at home when you need them at the gas station or bank. I also don't understand unloaded them at home. Keep them in a safe place away from children yes, but a burglar isn't going to give you time to load up and a gun without bullets is a rock. Loved the video, dropped that first guy like a bad habit.

If you don't have a tow vehicle by then I'm pretty sure kanasbassfisher08 can pull my boat with his truck and I could pull yours down there, shouldn't be too far out of the way for me really if need be.

Zoom trick worms netbait c macs 4" stickbaits Zoom fish Dr.s or centipedes I've never had much luck using a floating worm on a shakeyhead. I thought it would be good for similar reasons the OP stated but didn't pan out for me.

I take my wife fishing and camping all the time. She does pretty well when they're biting but loses interest quickly if they aren't jumping in the boat. It's a double edged sword though, I can't go to some lakes I like to go to because they are big fish lakes instead of numbers lakes when she's with me. Plus we aren't going to be there before daylight like I always want to be. She did just buy me a new BPS 100 mph suit for our anniversary though so I can't complain about that I actually met mine at a country/western bar a month after breaking up with my girlfriend of almost 5 years. It was the first time either of us had been single in a couple years, just good timing I guess.

I use scents on slow moving baits a lot of the time. They might not help much but I believe they don't hurt anything and at least cover up any bad smells on my bait.

Usually 8-12, sometimes down to 3 on bodies of water I know well that only limited techniques work on.