Choporoz

Move to a warmer state?

@Lord Castlereagh, I know you already ordered a net, but consider also ordering a pair of Fish Grips. As @Bassunsaid, netting can be harder than it looks. I don't think I've netted any fish other than pike and walleye since I first got a pair. Especially, if you fish alone - I find it much easier to apply the grips while the fish is at the surface than to net by myself. I use the 'jr' size, but I had a gigantic snakehead shake free from the grip this weekend. I may need to get a bigger Fish Grip.

You'll see it written here on BR a LOT - MHF Baitcasting is one of the more versatile rods you can own. There's a reason...and not just for heavy cover. May want to consider it. Big bass do do the heavy cover stuff.

Nice fish. The calculator on this site (https://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html ) agrees with "Outdoor Life" - probably uses same formula. As to whether the extra size and weight of a pre-spawn are roughly equivalent to size/weight ratio of other bass is way beyond me. I don't recall seeing any disclaimers about spawn on these calculators. Maybe eggs are really, really dense and heavy.

So....I never did get any notification about cancelling. Checked my account and it still said 'backordered', but the item listing says "Sold Out." Just got off the phone with them to voice my displeasure; one, about selling more inventory than they held; and two, about NOT notifying me that no reel would be coming - order should have been cancelled, not backordered.....that I am still in need of a reel. CS was pleasant enough, but not particularly satisfying.

Like @Further Northsaid, 'sometimes'. Sometimes it is more than just clarity and light levels/angles. There are days when there just isn't a lot of movement and you are much more likely to see them when they're moving. Time of year affects how much baitfish you saw. Size and numbers are going to be lower now than in a few months. I was on a good bass lake month that was extremely clear and I didn't see so much as a minnow for the first several hours.

+1....well, except the 60 part Bought clippers and once a month my wife takes puts a number 2 comb on them and its done in about five minutes.

Holy cow! My experiences on Burke have been....challenging....and small...:) Fellas, don't let the brown water of the Rez dissuade you. I had one of my better days on there Saturday. Yesterday was much slower, but still hooked a couple decent ones. I'm interested to see how the tourny weigh-in went.

Count me as another Frog Toggs fan. I got a set as sort of an emergency buy - last year, I 'needed' something cheap to get me through a weekend, and hopefully rest of spring. I have been very impressed with how waterproof, wearable and packable they are. I got cheapest avail, maybe $45 for both, and my only complaint is that I don't have pockets in either the jacket or the pants.

I do that sometimes....not always a conscious decision - for me, it is a by-product of intense (for me) concentration. My focus is so intent on both the 'feel' and watching the line, that I don't want that disturbed by turning the handle and re-engaging the thumb-bar....doesn't seem like much, but to me, it takes my focus away from bite detection. I find it happens more in very calm, quiet situations.

I should probably break out the Senkos this year. Except for predominantly SMB rivers, I don't think I threw one even once last year....maybe the last two years.

Wear sun screen. Someone from BR will get sunburned this weekend....maybe not my Badger brothers, but someone will....sounds extreme, but he will be one step closer to skin cancer.

Should be somewhat clear in mid-September. Seriously, its never really a very clear lake. Yoo-Hoo, is what someone on here called it. The floating debris can be a bigger hindrance than the clarity. Not just for motoring. I was trying to fish a point last spring and the log jam that came in went from shore to shore; I couldn't even get a lure to the bottom. Jigs are always my favorite there no matter what the color of water. When the mud is worst, I tend to go in two different directions -- chatterbait if they are even a little active; and shakey head when they aren't.

I'd never heard of it, but looks like it should be very effective in heavy surface grass and pads. I think it was dumb of them to put 'spoon' in the name, however. I have surface gunk spoons, and they are nothing like this....more like Johnson Silver Minnow style.

Where are you headed out from? I'm pretty conflicted right now

You might also find that you don't have to go too far to find comparatively clearer water. Tides plus currents plus the big winds we'll be getting today will all conspire to make things 'dynamic' this weekend. I haven't been close to main stem yet this year, but grass is pretty sparse yet, from what I've seen. Conventional wisdom says they hold tight to laydowns when it is like this. They may be, but I have found that often it is after a very slow drag away from the wood that I get bit. Dunno if they follow it or or sitting off a bit. So flip into the wood, but be patient dragging your lure away for the first 4-5 feet. I haven't had a lot of action on cranks and chatterbaits yet, but I'm certain that is about to change.

Bait Monkey prevents me from being the least bit objective on this subject. However....couple of thoughts - notes above about features, easier 'dialing in', better drag, clickers, not to mention less drop off in performance between maintenance...etc....all probably add some incremental improvement; similar thoughts about 'better rods' - getting the power and tip for your style of fishing is probably more important, but things like strike detection and hook-setting can be better with higher end rods. One thing that I probably neglected more than rods and reels was line; as I got better line (that suited my fishing appropriately) I think there was more than just an incremental difference.

....

Yes. There was a whole article devoted to that in a recent Bassmaster magazine...the guys that like toads say 'toads'...the guys that like frogs say 'frogs'. I prefer frogs, but will admit that I haven't fished toads enough to make it a contest

Tidal waters present one more huge variable that must be taken into account. I don't know much about your tidal waters down there, but I would betcha a dollar that, just like up here, knowing how they move during seasons, weather, wind, moons, time of day, etc....won't be enough when you put tides (or worse, tides AND currents) into the mix. Are you keeping notes about your catches? Are the bigger fish on the inside weed lines during high tides? Or less active near main points during incoming tides? Again, I don't know much about your area, but I do know that tides can make things a lot more complicated; notes can help. I've seen tourny fishermen stake out reliable areas where there's no fish because they know the fish will come to them with the tide. Seems crazy to me. And then you hear about guys that chase them all over the place and never catch up to them. Nothing remarkable here...just keep in mind that the tide CAN be a significant factor. Sometimes its as simple as which side of a laydown gets the big girl - generally the eddy side -- the 'best' spot in a tree will often have the biggest fish

The one you have the most confidence in...the lure you will present carefully and effectively most of the time.

I have a 4" Rage Bug rigged nearly always. Accounts for probably more fish than everything else I use...combined. I use Gamakatsu 1/8oz weighted 3/0 ....almost exclusively. I've gone to Owner hooks for most other uses, but for Rage Bug (and Cut-R) the Gammy 3/0 weighted is perfect size, gap, etc. I do use owner CPS pins, or generic hitchhikers, though. I use greens mostly, and throw in some bama craw and black to mix it up sometimes. But, I'm not too particular about the color...its all about the action....Whites always on hand for use as chatterbait trailers.

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/boat-organization.html