K_Mac

Great job guys. A nice write-up too. Okeechobee is on my bucket list. I hope to get there one day...

Very nice. 8-)

The advantage of having no scaled weight, measurements, or pictures is that this fish can grow to epic proportions as time goes by, without any evidence to ruin a good story. Keep up the good work. There are more where that came from. 8-)

Fortunately my granddaughter has not discovered Hanna, Carly, or the jonas brothers. Bilgerat you are a better man than I am. More than a couple of minutes of that would send me screaming into the street.

I agree with what has been said. Good stuff. 8-) I used to spend way too much time looking for the magic bait and color. I've finally learned (mostly :) that it does not make a bit a difference what you throw if the fish are not there. :-?That seems like a simple rule, but it is not so easy to practice. Learning seasonal patterns, how to adapt to changing conditions, and then applying that to the lakes you fish takes time and effort. It is an imperfect science that most of us never quite figure out. That is part of what makes fishing interesting IMHO. Figuring out what fits your style and personality is another big part of the puzzle. Like Big Tom, I do not like throwing crankbaits very much. A crankbait fisherman will catch fish in all seasons, in all kinds of conditions. I will throw jigs or plastics in those same conditions, and probably catch fish as well. Confidence is another of those things that takes time to develop and makes a huge difference. Good luck.

I'm not sure that you're ever done raising daughters, but having raised a daughter to adulthood and having a 5 year old granddaughter, it is my conclusion that if a father/grandfather isn't making his daughter/granddaughter mad or embarrassed occasionally he isn't doing his job. The look you mentioned is one I am familiar with. My sweet baby girl granddaughter has a look that is just down-right frightening. Good luck.

Same here. I think the people who get most of their jig bites on the fall are mostly flipping shallow water. Around here the 'flippin' scene isnt that great and we're constantly fishing 10' - 20' deep so dragging and hopping is king here. I get bites on the fall but only maybe 2 out of 10. I'm with you guys. In deeper water only a small percentage of of my jig strikes come on the initial fall. I do try to keep good contact with the jig at all times; it is very frustrating to feel the fish as it spits out the jig. :'( When you look at Catt's fishing stats you will see he catches a lot of big fish. Why? He fishes spots he is confident hold big fish, he is careful to fish them in a way that maximizes his chances, and he uses a relatively small number of baits that he knows will catch those fish. When Catt says he never leaves an area without throwing both a T rig and a jig and craw, the lesson is: There is a time for both. 8-)

If I had your card I'd buy some tungsten weights to try. I just can't justify spending my own money on these. ;D

I have a couple of Pflueger Presidents that I have been well satisfied with. They are worth a look.

In no particular order: Wacky rigged 6" watermelon/red Senko. I would fish this on a 2/0 EWG, and add a split shot to the hook keeper bend as needed. 1/8 oz spot remover shakyhead/junebug Trickworm 1/2 blk/brn/amber SK football jig/bama bug Paca chunk Sr. T-rigged 10" bama bug SK Rage anaconda (5/16 oz is my standard weight) I might cheat with the 7" if not not watched closely 1/2 oz SK Pure Poison chatterbait chart/white

I have a mix of reels with/without the swept handles. I don't think it makes much, if any difference. Just my $.02

Big-O I forgot to add there was enough wind yesterday to put some chop on the water.

It has been near 100* here in So. Illinois for the last several days. I have hardly left the house. I talked to a friend yesterday evening about 7:30 who was on his way home from the lake. He, his son, and another friend had fished about 4 hours yesterday afternoon. They had just killed during the heat of the day on soft plastics in 10-15' of water, on breaks near the old river channel. They had 5 fish over 18", 3 of them over 20", and over a dozen in the 12-14" range. I am not sure what you can learn from this. :-/ Maybe fish don't care how hot the air temp. is? Maybe several days of steady weather played a roll? Maybe all the stars lined up, and they were there at the right time? Many times fishing in that kind of heat has left me nothing but sunburned and dehydrated. I think the more I know about bass, the less I understand.

My favorite rod is a BPS Pro Qualifier 7' MXF. For jigs to 3/8 oz and most plastics it is perfect. It is a very good multi-purpose rod. I am not necessarily trying to sell the PQ, just the length, power, and action. I don' think you can go wrong with the PQ though.

+1 I've used Gammy hooks for more than a few years though.

The energy required to start a spool with a non-disengaging level wind is a bit higher. On a big reel that is off-set by the energy saved as the line comes straight off the reel when casting, rather than creating friction as it goes through the level wind guide at an angle. On smaller reels the spool is not connected to any gearing during casting, making lighter baits easier to use. Carlos I haven't had a chance to use that reel, but I hear good things about it. 8-) Enjoy.

It is entirely about distance for me, in both spinning and baitcast. Shorter casts, pitching, skipping, etc. are one with one hand. For all longer casts, two. The only exception is when fatigue sets in. Then I will use two hands more often. Like Long Mike and Goose I'm not as young as I once was.

Very good. I wonder why they don't include those instructions in the manual. I like their products but the manuals could use some work.

I hadn't thought of that. Light golden brown would be very nice. My eyes are blue though. : All of my combos match perfectly: Spinnging reels on spinning rods; baitcast reels on baitcast rods.

Well said.

Sme here. I have three of the Extremes that I use regularly.

BPS Extreme rods are decent rods. They are not as light as more expensive rods, but they are a decent rod for the money. They are tough and reasonably sensitive.

Most of us would agree that modern gear is far superior to the generation of gear you're using. I still have an old Berkley rod from that era that I use for for moving baits. The weight, balance, and sensitivity of newer rods, even inexpensive ones, will surprise you and make you smile. :)When it comes to reels it is the same. That old Shimano wasn't a bad reel in its day, but any decent reel you buy today will out perform it. What you should buy to upgrade is more of a challenge. The Shimano Citica and Curado reels get a lot of love here. Diawa and Abu Garcia are major players. I like Pflueger spinning reels, and Bass Pro Shop's Pro Qualifier for baitcast. If you read through past posts you will find the choices are huge. The choices in rods are even greater. The choices in the $100-200 range will make your head spin. Just about anything in that range will work fine. When you move to the higher end gear the performance is amazing. You certainly don't have to have it to fish effectively. Most of us don't, but if you have the resources it is fun to use. Good luck.

If you do a search of night fishing you will find many ideas. Big, dark worms/creatures, big jig and craws (with or without rattles), and dark spinnerbaits/chatterebaits slow rolled or fished like a jig are my favorites.

Rotated that far will have your foot position messed up. I looked in my MK "manual" and the is no directions on how to change the position by adjusting the gears in the head. I believe I have read somewhere that you can do this. I would call MK service and ask them. You may need to take it to a MK service center, but I think it can be adjusted. Good luck.