Zach Dunham

I usually use a half ounce unless really necessary to go lighter. It is more versatile, in my opinion.

Happy birthday! Nice swimbait beasts!

Football fits that one perfectly!

Congratulations! Now to top that one... haha

Those were a few pickerel mixed in there. Not a fan of them, lol.

I did see that video! Glad you recognized the lake, lol. Thanks guys!

All the ice is officially gone in the last 10 days or so. Got out this past weekend on my favorite small lake in PA which will remain unnamed. Caught a lot of largemouth but no giants! Check out the video I made:

I fish them on very similar equipment. My general rule is: if there is a lot of grass or cover I throw a chatterbait. They come through the weeds amazingly. In more open areas I will throw a spinnerbait.

A jerkbait has been my new favorite thing to fish the last year or so, which makes my jerkbait rod/reel my favorite setup. Kistler Helium 3 7'0" medium x-fast with a Lew's on there.

All year! You can fish them at every depth and every speed to change it up for different situations.

Spinnerbait or chatterbait are easily my favorites

Yup. That was on the club scale, 10.95 lbs on a certified scale, which is still the world record! That thing is fat.

I agree. I do think they should move it around to different seasons some of the time just to get a change, but not to make it any easier. They should do one on a desert lake in the middle of summer! lol

Normally you fish from the back of the boat. In the bigger tournaments you are actually required to do so. If you are fishing a buddy tournament or something and it is your friend's boat, well then it is just whatever your buddy wants. When I fish with my good friends we usually both stand up front. That should cover all situations! haha

I've been a coangler in the Opens and will be again this year.

Beast! I wish that would happen during my vacations, lol.

What all of you are saying is true. They do go into the coves at night and go nuts. I fish the night tournaments there with Lackawanna Bass, and you can hear them at night in the coves hitting the surface. Sometimes even the stripers follow them in and you'll hear a cannonball sized splash near the boat in the dark, lol. It's odd, though, that a lot of times you can't catch much around the crazy schools of alewives. Spring time mid 40s to low 50s is jerkbait heaven at the Pack, especially down the south end of the lake. Last year we used the old school Smithwick Suspending Rodgue and Strike King KVD jerkbait. I have a video of jerkbait fishing there last April:

Visit lots of breweries and wineries, haha. Travel to other countries and islands I haven't been to yet. Anything to escape the cold hell. Avoid looking for new fishing stuff to buy so I don't spend a fortune because I'm bored. And I am in PA also....this morning it was a grand 2 degrees out.

Braided line does lose you more fish with treble hooks in my opinion. However, it isn't because the fish "didn't get the lure deep enough". From what I have seen, using braid with a fast-moving bait tears bigger holes in the mouth when the hook goes in, allowing the fish more room to throw the bait. Also, the stretch comes in to play a little bit when a fish jumps and the line goes slack, a very little bit of the slack will be taken up by the line contracting if it was stretched. To adjust for this you can use a moderate or slow rod and use braid. I prefer to use a moderate-fast rod or even fast for some moving baits and with that setup I lose a far greater number while using braid.

I might try this at the Opens this year. I like the idea.

I don't count the days but for the entire year I probably average once per week, so somewhere between 50-60 times.

Nothing beats a good old Smithwick Rogue! I still have a bunch of them in perfect shape with a few of my own mods.

I agree with this. Using braid with lures using treble hooks is a big no-no in my book. You need stretch/give with treble hooks; both to get it further in their mouth and to have more pull-back when they jump. In the end, each person will find their perfect match, though!

I have fished as a coangler in some major tournaments and plan on doing so again this year. From my experience, a coangler can often control how they will be treated by a boater; even one with many bad experiences. Some boaters and some people in general are just jerks and there is nothing you can do to change it. However, most of the time the little things count for a lot. 1. Don't be a hassle in the morning. Get yourself to the meeting location ON TIME. Know how to back in a boat and offer to help with launching/trailering. 2. At the Bassmaster Opens, I usually stop for a bagel or something for breakfast, and a sandwich for lunch. I always offer to bring my boater breakfast/lunch and pick up ice for the boat if needed. Usually they say no, but the offer is what counts. If they do say yes, I am happy to bring it. 3. Be respectful of their boat. Don't leave your tackle all over the place. Keep everything neat and organized so they can do their thing without you being in the way all the time. DO NOT cast to the front of the boat unless invited to do so. Respect the imaginary perpendicular line that intersects the middle of the boat. Do not cross it unless specifically allowed by the boater. 4. This one is my own thing: be excited for their catches, and usually they will be excited for yours. By excited, I don't mean flip out Ike-style, but your attitude toward netting their fish and keeping it positive will often make your boater much more ready to net your catches. You aren't on the same team, but you are also not against each other (at least in the bigger tournaments which I am referring to). I am a fan of fishing and I do want to see my boater do well. 5. Offer some kind of money at the end of the day. Do your best to estimate half the gas. After all of the previous steps, most boaters won't take your money anyways, but be willing to offer it! You might get a jerk once in awhile who will run around all day and then take a large estimate from you even though they chose to burn that absurd amount of fuel, but in the long run, acting in the appropriate ways listed above will save you money and make your life and results a lot better! Anything I'm forgetting?

Nothing warms up the hands like the adrenaline of pulling a bass that nice out in it!