Bankbeater

There is a pair of eagles close to one of the lakes I fish. I think these two nest down here year round. I took this pic in October with the cellphone.

I love the note on the bottom that says this does not actually work and it’s for entertainment purposes only!

Sounds like it may be a little of all three.

Sometimes it feels like I’ve caught the only fish in the lake.

The line going through the guides on the rod will also add drag.

Sometimes my pitching is dead on and other times I can’t even get the bait out of the boat.

It's common around here to catch largemouth with red eyes.

In deep water if you feel that you have a really good hook set, you might try giving the fish some slack and see if it runs back out. The problem with this is you can never be sure if the fish is going to run out the same way it went in.

I trim the weedguard back so it clears the hook. I don’t shorten the skirt unless it is very long. I usually just even it up.

I like bladed jigs, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits, and shallow running crankbaits. If those don’t work I switch over to plastics.

I caught a 4-1/2 pounder years ago. The owner of the place we were staying said we’re going to turn that into a bigger bass. He told me to hold the bass out in front of me and bring my elbows to my sides. Looking back at that pic now it looks staged not a natural moment.

Wow thanks for the tip. Not sure if I could split a four inch worm right down the middle though. My eyes aren’t what they use to be.

I went on my first real fishing trip of the year yesterday. This is a trip where I expected to catch bass and not just practice pitching and flipping. Fishing from shore I was casting a white bladed jig from over some dead lilypads into some fallen trees. Water was way up and murky in this pond. The water was still cold even with the warm days we had last week. Got my first bass of the year on the outside edge of the pads. Bass didn't fight at all until I got it in close to the bank and by then I just lifted it out of the water. It was a chunky little largemouth about a pound and half. Hopefully spring will continue and we won't have any more arctic cold fronts come through.

Everything else being equal I look at water clarity.

I’d say probably 8 out of the 10.

A few years ago I was fishing from the shore with a weightless fluke. I cast out over a log and a nice one hits the bait. For the life of me I couldn’t get that fish back over that log. After about the third try that bass swam off.

Around here the lakes and ponds start filling up with vegetation so sight fishing can be hit or miss.

Baitcaster is the Curado E7 which I use fishing jigs. Spinning reel would be a Pflueger President because all my spinning reels are presidents.

This time of year I would be using a lipless crankbait, bladed jig, or some kind of plastic.

Jig and craw.

I just put the spool on a pencil and then run the line through the pages of a book. If I need more tension I stack more books on the pile.

This time of year I would start off with weightless flukes or senkos. If it's warm enough I would try to work a topwater between the grass mats on the surface. A small 1/8 oz. jig is another option. Around here those small jigs pull through the vegetation pretty good without picking up too much. For the areas where the growth doesn't come up all the way to the surface I would try a shallow running crankbait, or burning a lipless crankbait. For the lipless crank I would keep the rod tip pretty high and start reeling as soon as the bait hits the water.

Going to be in the 60s for a couple of days this week. That should warm up the water a little for this weekend.

Congratulations! It’s great when the lightbulb comes on and you’re able to put all the pieces together.

There is a lot of good information in Glenn’s videos. I usually watch them a couple of times.