Bankbeater

No. I caught mine in August during a terrible heat wave.

I use a split shot for anything smaller than 1/16 .

I was off work, so I went out early each morning and fished a few different ponds that I have been wanting to try. Most people were still at work on Thursday morning, so I had the pond pretty much to myself. Friday morning was a little more crowded, but I have seen it much worse. On Saturday morning I didn't see another angler until around 10 a.m.

I'll start with a popper when I'm fishing matted vegetation. If the bass are up near the surface under the mats they will usually come out when I bring the bait past.

Granola bars and water. About four hours into fishing I'll start to get hungry.

If I have had a dry spell for a while then 20 or 30 dinks can really bring my confidence level back up.

I have four of the old ones left, They're heavy enough to fish in the wind and they're deadly when you fish them around submerged vegetation.

I put the trailer on when I get out to the water. When I change baits, I take the trailer off and put it back in it's package. I leave the jig out until it dries then I put it away.

Two years ago in October, I was fishing a swim jig in very windy conditions, but the water was clear. I was retrieving the bait along some rip rap and it is maybe 10 feet away from me, I was almost ready to lift it out of the water. A big very big largemouth comes in behind the jig and inhales it. A split second later it spits the jig back out, never even closing its mouth. Then the bass took off like the devil was after it. Two things dawned on me. The first was that this bass knew what was in its mouth, and the second was that if I hadn't seen it bite the swim jig, I would have thought I clipped a piece of vegetation.

I have both SLX, and Tatula reels. Both are good, though in my opinion the SLX is a little smoother.

This little guy hit a 4" weightless dinger. It kind of looks like a cross between a green sunfish and a bluegill.

@TOXIC, I was going to keep my dad's 2005 Tundra after he passed. I filled it up on a Friday morning drove it to work, back home, and ran errands over the weekend, The gas tank on Sunday afternoon showed between 1/4 and 1/8 full. No way I could afford to fill that tank up 2X a week as a daily driver. When we traded it for another Toyota, the salesman said Tundras are built solid, they don't have a lot of problem, but they get terrible mileage.

Good video Sir!

We have them in our sub-division. One morning, on my way to work, I saw some over in the grade school parking lot, and the stupid things ran toward me across the school yard, and up into the street. I had to swerve and hit the brakes to avoid them.

My wife had a 97 Cougar that lasted 14 years with just normal maintenance, and a 2011 Fusion that went for 11 years. The Fusion started to nickel and dime us. Each month something small would go out. We ended up trading it for a used 2020 Fusion. I just found out my 2017 Camry, with 116,XXX miles, is going to need brake work done in the front.

Any vegetation like milfoil or coontail? Most of the water I fish is only 15' or so deep. The bass get into that stuff for shade and oxygen.

@The Baron 40 fish in 3 hours! You were busy!

If she needed all of that privacy, then maybe she shouldn't have been on the porch in the first place.

I have way more rods. The only reason I keep a reel is for sentimental purposes. If I've had issues with a reel then it gets scrapped. If the reel is still usable I sell it, or give it away.

I check the line after each snag, or fish. I will cut off the line above any rough spot and retie.

Same thing with stumpy water. If you ride up on a stump just under the surface, you either have to redistribute the weight in the boat, or lighten the load until until you can float off.

Zoom Z-Craw, Zoom Z-Hog, and the Rage Craw. I've been Texas rigging them, until they get too beat up. Then I use them as trailers.

Out on the water I use Weather Underground for the radar. Before I leave on a trip I check the NWS, Accuweather, and the weather channel.

One good backlash and you're done for the day.

They are maybe an inch shorter than the Ol Monster.