Bluebasser86

They're not the best biters in cold weather but you can catch them. Look for deeper holes where they'll be wintering at and set a bait in the deeper water and one on the flat where more active fish might be cruising and feeding.

Texas' 18+lb state record was caught on a crappie jig. Bass are opportunistic, if a tiny bait wiggles close enough they can suck it in with minimal effort, chances are pretty good they will. A big plus to tiny baits is there's less there to look fake. You have to fish the right gear to get the most out of them though. A tiny crank on what is typically consider light bass gear is too heavy and won't allow it to work correctly. Drop down to 4lb or even 2lb test and they really come to life.

This^ ICAST isn't far off when all the shiny new things come out. Stick the money in a drawer for when those goodies come out and the monkey starts jumping up and down on your shoulders and dragging you to the computer to put in a TW order.

I usually start planning my next fishing trip on the way home from a fishing trip. Don't think I could ever get enough.

Both very nice baits that catch fish. I really like the 120 size Choppo because it's a good in-between size of the 110 and 130 size plopper. The Whopper Plopper isn't an original bait either since there's been chopper baits for muskie around for a long time. The Savage Gear Smash Tail is a good bait too with a little different profile and sound than the other 2.

Ned rig is my #1 drum catcher by far. I even sight fish them with it. A couple lakes I fish it's not hard to catch a couple dozen on one in a day.

It was a really a great concept, everyone dreams of finding that hidden honey hole, but it was very poorly executed.

Gimmick

I keep them semi-organized on pegboards in my shop.

I've caught lots of bass on the Bitsy Pond minnow and the smallest size Hula Popper. I like to fish them on a light spinning rod and 4lb test. 8lb test won't allow them to swim properly, 6lb might work but is likely still too large unless it's a very thin 6. Not just little ones eat little baits, this is a 1/80th oz Turner Jones micro jig I was fishing under a bobber for trout when a 4+lb largemouth decided to snack on it.

Haven't tried that one but their Surge Shad and Jointed Surge Shad are both really nice. The Storm Arashi wake bait is a good wake bait that I've fished quite a bit.

Welcome!

7lb is a memorable milestone for sure, congrats!

It's part of the package we get. We leave the TV on that channel for the dogs while they're gone. Our younger dog gets pretty anxious and it actually seems to help.

Has been a slow year for those "other" fish, not Friday. First cast of the day, shook my Ned rig about 3 times before a Goo thumped it. Caught 1 on a jig and one on a jerkbait too. Also had a first with a carp that actually ate my jerkbait, took off with it on the pause and was hooked inside the mouth. Had visions of state record smallmouth for a minute.

Found water up to 53* when I got off the water Friday. Largemouth, smallmouth, trout, drum, and a carp all on jerkbaits, ned, jig, crank, or a spoon. The carp actually ate my jerkbait, took off with it on the pause and really made me think I had a monster smallmouth for a minute.

You can still go get them with the big motor if you really want to. Or throw some cheaper baits that won't hurt to lose.

Cork is my least favorite rod handle material. Winn grips or EVA foam is what I prefer.

If it's going to be windy I'll just try to pick a lake that sets up well for the forecast wind direction. 20-30 mph winds are pretty standard here, especially in the spring, gust will go over 40, sometimes 50mph. Small bodies of water with some protected areas, plus a strong trolling motor and good batteries, I go fishing regardless.

Picked up a pair of group 31 Duracell AGM batteries for the boat today (thanks for the heads up @Dirtyeggroll) Taking the set out of the Stratos and putting them into the johnboat, putting the new ones into the Stratos. No more pulling a battery out of my bass boat every time I want to take the johnboat somewhere. Plus I can run them parallel for day long trips.

I have but I hate fishing a C-rig so much that I'd almost rather stay home than fish one. It works so well for crawling a bait along the bottom slowly while keeping the actual bait up out of the snot that grows everywhere early in the year here.

Welcome!

My biggest swimbait bass was from a tiny pond I can easily cast across, it was 6lbs. I was shocked there was any close to that size in there. I've held the lake record for flathead catfish for a few years at another lake and it was much larger than any other than had been caught there but I wouldn't be surprised if a bigger one was in it, especially since I released mine.

He finished 3rd and won 40k, I'd say it was worth it.