Bluebasser86

I use the same spooling station as @A-Jay. Works great and lets me get through a bunch quickly if need be.

The old warts didn't suspend, but they made a suspending wart also. I've got a few of them, like @rangerjockey said, they always take some tinkering to get them to suspend correctly. Very deadly for the pull and reel wart retrieve though when the water is really cold.

I use mono for jointed swimbaits, 15-20lb depending on the weight of the bait.

@everythingthatswims was/is such a skilled angler and really does seem to enjoy targeting all species. I enjoyed my conversations with him and his post and still follow his YouTube videos. @Fish Chris was a terrific angler and photographer. I miss the pictures of his monster catches. @SirSnookalot was another regular that I'm afraid stopped fishing due to medical reasons. I enjoyed his post alot.

@Smells like fish yes they are, just put fresh hooks on a couple Sunday in fact.

Haven't bought my 2024 license yet. Ours are good for 12 months so I'll wait until the night before my next trip to buy one.

The wind chill here hasn't made it above zero since early Friday morning and I don't think it's supposed to Tuesday either. Wednesday is supposed to get above freezing, but then straight back to sub-zero temps. Next week looks better, but looks like they're going to get at least a 3 week break from me bugging them.

The only new place I'm sure to be crossing off my list is Lake Tenkiller, OK in March for the Bassmaster Kayak Classic. I have a few local lakes I've been wanting to get to, maybe this will be the year.

I did have a regular workout routine and better diet but my new position at work has made it very difficult. I've been feeling it lately. My shoulders, hips, and elbows have really been hurting after each trip. With the Bassmaster Kayak Classic fast approaching, I've forced myself to get back in the gym and pay attention to what I'm eating again. I've been doing a lot of stationary biking to get ready for all the pedaling and working with stretch bands to get my shoulders and elbows feeling better.

They didn't cast or run well at all.

I've swam out to get a big bass that snagged me in a downed tree when I was bank fishing once. It was way more effort than it was worth because the fish had significant ground shrinkage after I got back to the bank. What I thought was a 5-7 pound fish while it was thrashing around on the surface was more like a 3.5 pound fish.

It was pretty nice, 34-38 during my time on the water. Comparatively, it's barely supposed to make it to double digits this weekend 😒

I like the H20 baits, but these were a miss for me.

The Jaint Juice Provoke is one of my favorite stained water colors.

Made the first trip of the year to the power plant lake Saturday. Every report I've been hearing from there has been terrible. No fish and no size at all. I wasn't hoping for much, but actually had a really good numbers day, just wasn't able to find the big one I was hoping for. Still caught around 30, mostly on a Zman Big TRD on a 1/16oz head. They're not missing any meals.

Never finished the report from the 1st I guess. Caught fish from my 3rd cast of the morning until the end of the day. Water temps from 41-43.5. Ned, flatside, and rock crawler did most of the damage. All small fish, but over 40 of them kept me busy.

Just hoping that at 0734 on the 1st I'll have the first one on the board of the new year 😄

@TnRiver46 my wife had to go to the new one in Springfield, MO while we were down there this weekend. I'm still a little shell-shocked from fighting my way through that madness.

@TnRiver46 there was a uniformed officer working off duty security there that I talked to for a while. I don't do big crowds well, don't like having that many people close to me, don't know many officers who do like big crowds. He said he was getting paid really well but I told him I couldn't handle the madness no matter how much they paid.

We stopped at one on our way down to Florida a few years ago, somewhere in Georgia I think? It was a lawless place. I liked the Wawa's in Florida a lot better. I wish we had those here.

There was someone following him with a phone and recording, it was surely for "Tik Tok Fame".

Pretty fond of the Baby Kingyo 110 JR, but IDK if you can find any in the wild.

I've caught lots of bass with bright red lips from ponds and lakes with virtually zero crawdads in them. I believe it's likely more of a circulation/body function reaction to the cold water. The fish slows down in cold/colder water due to it being cold blooded. As a result, the fish's body begins to pump more blood to vital regions (mouth and gills primarily for breathing and feeding). As the fish slows down in cold water, it feeds less, so it's important for cold water feeding attempts to be successful, therefore the body makes sure the mouth is a functional as possible by pumping extra blood to it, and as a side effect, causes the bright red lips. That's my story and I'm sticking to it 😅

Fog is very disorienting. I deal with very thick fog/steam each winter on the power plant lakes and even with GPS, it's unsettling. I think the worst of it is the guys with GPS that decide to just send it into the fog because they "trust their gps". Know what the GPS doesn't map? Other boats! I've had some pretty close calls with some idiots on the water so I've gone more to idling close to shore in shallow water where they're less likely to be running.

I get some pretty serious indecision sometimes on where to go and what to fish for.