Bankbeater

Like others have said baking soda and water. I always let the baits I find soak for a day or so before I try to remove the crud that has built up on them. Makes cleaning them much easier.

I use the same baits that I do when it’s warm. I just work them slower and deeper through the water column.

I’ve always put the snap on the split ring, and I’ve never removed a split ring from a crankbait unless it was damaged.

The humps I fish are usually made of small rocks and gravel. When I fish them I start by parking the boat downwind from the hump, but I make sure I'm close enough so that I can cast all the way across to the opposite side of the hump. I'll be casting out a jig, or a t-rigged plastic. I reel slow and just drag the bait up the far side of the hump, across the top, and down the side closest to me. I may have to reposition the boat a few times, but I can usually catch bass.

Nope. For some reason, I don't like to use other people gear.

I haven't caught anything since October either. I'm hoping to break that cycle over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

That's a good bass!

For me, the last one happened back in the spring and probably would have been my largest catch of the year if I had landed it. It was raining and my rubber boots are not the best on wet rocks. I cast out with a super spot and when the bass hit I knew it was a nice one. It looked to be about a 4 or 5 pounder, and it was sluggish from the cold water. I worked the head of the bass into the rocks so it couldn't swim out, and start down to lip it. As I'm going down I slipped, and I started swinging my arms around to catch myself. I guess I either pulled the fish out of the rocks when I was swinging my rod around, or I let it have some slack, because I see that bass just swim off. I have been back to that pond 3 more times this year and have been skunked each time.

My gear stays down in the basement year round. It’s cool down there and out of the sunlight.

This is a great write up. Thanks!

I’ve always had pretty good luck with the BPS Stik-o. They hold up much better than senkos.

This year it has been "The Longest Day".

I only use two colors. White for clear water, and green pumpkin for murky water.

Nice one.

Huge bass. Congratulations!

Ksam1234, I know exactly what you are talking about. My Mom was raised during the depression and thought the same way. It’s not about ROI, or cash vs payments, or anything like that. It’s about saving money just in case.... Best advice I can give you is go through your finances and crunch the numbers. If you can afford a boat and not have a huge monthly payment then go for it.

Mine was fairly light, only 17-1/2 lbs.

Friday night we had a dusting of snow, and record low temps. I can usually get out on the water until the first part of December, but we'll see what happens.

The only time I worry about distance is when the water is clear, and there is no cover around.

I’ve been fishing with Sassy Shads for the past several years. I just let it sink to the bottom and then slow roll it back in.

There was a pay lake on a farm I use to fish about 40 years ago. The property was sold to developers and they built condos on it. Now you have to live there to use the lake, but there’s no more fishing because people were stepping on hooks.

I’ve had both shoulders operated on and the left side tore a second time. The tear is small enough that the surgeon thinks going in to fix it would cause more problems than it’s worth. It doesn’t really bother me except in the winter when the weather changes, or when I’m out fishing in cold weather. When I start getting the sharp pains then I head home.

My biggest problem crappie fishing is that the small bass tend to go after the bait. I probably catch 10 six inch bass for every crappie.

I'm still using the old BPS Extreme, Bionic Blade, and Tourney Specials for any bait that doesn't sit on the bottom. All are MH, but they have a lot of bend in the rod to help when you set the hook.

I got rid of my Shimano and Daiwa spinning reels when I got my Pflueger Presidents.