Choporoz

At 0:50, if Martha had said "out", instead of "in", I would be quite willing to try

Might be interesting to find out what percentage if the volume of water is hard in January. Might be that a condensed winter living area makes it like the fish kill lake, or the pike pond....a small population of apex fish that just pull their chairs up to the buffet for a few months

@FryDog62, I am same. I keep being told, "Brussel sprouts are different now; they are so much better than they were 30-40 years ago. And now we understand how to cook them"....riiiiight....I tried 'em....a couple times...air fryer-ed and restaurant-cooked. Nope. They are still awful

Yes....but be prepared to ask similar question after your next skunkish outing

I like hot dogs, but only grilled with enough char that most anyone else calls "burnt". Might could do 3 or 4 in such a contest. A little disgusting, maybe. But I have a weird fascination...or at least, respect, for Chestnut (and Kobayashi and Sudo). You don't get to such a dominant position without dedication...and I suppose, a lot of practice? These aren't the 480 pound guys and gals you see at Golden Corral.....now that can get pretty nauseating if you sit too close

I was the angry dock owner about three weeks ago. The sob trolled up within 15 yards and casted near my dock....while I was standing on it...fishing! I bet I could have pitched into his boat. It was rather unbelievable.

Cash back VISA from my credit union. Between 1 and 1.75% back on every use. I use it for every possible purchase and bill payment, and never carry a balance. Haven't kept track, but has to be $500+ per year cash back

I lost a PopMax to a big girl a couple weeks ago. 15# Elite mono; clean, loud snap halfway between me and the fish shortly after a beautiful leap. Can't explain it...and, I'm I afraid I cant help you, OP. I just chalked it up to happenstance .... or me not being anal enough about checking my line. Agree with above about checking your guides, though. If it happens twice to me, I'm tossing the spool. $20 lure and probably $300 difference in tourny standing...a lot more than a new spool of line

Thanks. I was less than clear in putting my thoughts to text. I meant the criteria where a few guys sitting in an office say "we haven't had any lakes near ..... lately...put x up there this year.....we'll bring y back next year..." the sort of stuff that happens when eyeballs are more important than ever

Disjointed thoughts on this.... -Like some above, I do NOT want any lake or river I fish to ever be mentioned in BR. I know some will get major tournament attention once every couple years, but I don't want them on this list even if Tuesday night tourneys are weighing 25 every week....shhhhh -The subjective criteria that has to go into this annual process will never be mentioned by the magazine, but it absolutely kills a ranking list like this in my mind. Varying the lakes in the top 10 or 25 or 100 is bad enough. But they also must feel a need to vary representation from states, river v lakes, smb v lmb, lg v sm lakes, etc. I doubt that anybody on selection staff ever fished all the lakes in the issue....especially not in last 12 months. So different people even added to the subjective variable mix. One editor is told by his cousin that a couple big sticks are bringing in routine big bags on Wednesday nights...boom...a lake is on the list....not saying that's how it works, but could be. -What makes a lake top 100 for you might mean nothing to me Didn't start out meaning to be all negative...I enjoyed this for first year or two I read it....but less so now

4/0, but mainly because that's such a great size for most of what I throw. So that's what I always have close at hand

I'm actually more concerned about Alpha Gal than Lyme. Right or wrong, I've decided that Lyme detection and treatment has advanced enough that I'm not too scared. But Alpha Gal....jeez...when my wife's friend told us she is allergic to red meat, I thought she was joking. I'd never heard of that. But dang....never again being able to eat a steak or burger....now THAT is scary

My only advice is to shower 13 times a day. I had never seen a live tick before this year. Now if I take the dog out for five minutes, I've got them all over. Bug spray helps a little. Permetherin helps a little. But I'm a tick magnet. I've had them on my junk....twice in the last several weeks. I need some of what my dog takes. He gets plenty, but they all die before they take root.

I don't know how they can decipher it on those chicken scratch screens, but I have heard more than a couple pros say that the real benefit is being able to see how fish react to a lure.....and then being able to adjust your game using that information. That's a whole county beyond using FFS to help find fish

I have watched a number of videos of experts with screens, and I am not sure I'll ever see what they are seeing. On the other hand, about three weeks ago, I watched a boat troll around middle of the lake...sort of zig-zagging staring at screen, operating a pole separate from his TM....over 40-45' water. He stopped and within no more than 15 minutes, I saw him boat two bass on a spinning rod that both were easily 4+. Not giants, but I didn't sniff a 3 all day. I moved on, but when I came back through maybe 90 minutes later, a different guy with FFS, who was catching nice bass in the middle awfully close to where the earlier one was....probably same school? Idk...but I do know that I can't catch suspended June LMB to save my life....at least not with down and side scans. Single, small data point, but I am convinced that some weekenders and Wednesday night club guys are going to have game changing experiences with it.

-week-long trip, you may not even get noticeable color bleed. Even if you do, it is usually slow and subtle, and you get the benefit of unique custom colors -don't worry at all about Rage Tails out of clamshells. Soft swimbaits and flukes can get kinked, but craws and rage bugs and cut-r's are very immune to kinks and bends. I keep Rage Bugs in ziplocks for months -as mentioned several times, keep the elaztech separate. - zip locks are fine. Some hard plastics, like clear boxes that Rattle Traps used to come in can and will melt from many soft plastics contact

I got my first gas grill two years ago. Had always been a charcoal guy. New house had line from gas right to the deck, so I figured I'd get a gas capable Weber Spirit and join the gas crowd. I have not had one perfectly satisfactory grilling experience since. I wonder if maybe I should try a propane tank before I give up on the gas grill altogether. I was thrilled about the convenience of hooking into gas line, but the heat is low and uneven.

I'm envious. Let us know how it goes. I hear a ton about the Chick, but not a lot about James below Richmond. I'd be curious to see how much river you find bass between Richmond and James River Bridge, where I think it gets to salty.

No doubt you have come across Bass Talk Live. It is very tournament oriented. BUT, there is also a ton of very in-depth technique discussions. The Day 4 episodes, especially. I was where you are about a year ago, not caring at all about the pro events. But I have really come to enjoy all of it. It is cool the way pros are often willing to breakdown their recent events in a lot of detail....so even when tournament focused, there can be great info just about finding, fishing, catching.

I am a fan. I used their cheap light jacket for years. Didn't breath well and had no pockets, but for about $25, it was great. I have been using a pair of fairly cheap FT bibs (Pro Advantage?) for 3 years and they are still as good as new. Last spring, I bought a Pilot Pro jacket on sale and I absolutely love it. I seriously doubt you could find better jacket for $100 (though it was probably a lot more than that before they went on clearance) I have never had any of their gear leak even a little....or tear. Leaps and bounds better than low end Columbia gear.

Can't turn on a pro tournament nowadays and NOT see a spinning reel within about 15 minutes

I generally like fishing in the rain....not t-storms, or 2 in/hr downpours, but I don't mind most rain, especially if temps are over 50. I am far more tolerant of rain than I am of wind. Maybe biggest issue with hard rains, is that I can forget to test cast-control if I had an unused rod sitting in the rain for a good while. I've had my share of rain (and dunk) induced backlashes

@MediumMouthBass, Nobody wants to drill that first hole. Trust me, it gets easier.

I put Yak Gear kits on a couple different kayaks several years ago. No issues, whatsoever. I'm not sure if LeverLoc was available back then...it doesn't look familiar, so I have no comparison. I'm sure DIY can be as good for less $$. I am lazy and got exhausted by the variables and options of buying parts myself. Kits was too easy. I used rivets and marine Goop

Sorry, but it depends. And it is relative. Lousy answers, I know. Buy the fact is that bass don't have strict rules and limits. It would be nice to have some solid guidelines, but I don't think they exist. Every fish is different. Every depth transition is different; every bit of structure and cover near/on transitions is different. The same bass relating to a 2' transition in a featureless, rather flat pocket might prefer a dock end pylon set in 19FOW on the same lake. Now, I admit that I do start to make my own rules/guidelines as I become more familiar with a lake, or area of a lake. One lake arm, I like to see 12+ FOW within maybe 10-15 yards. Same lake, I might be looking for 20'+ under laydown crowns. Areas of local tidal Potomac have 1000's of acres that aren't more than 8' at high tide...anything within 50 yards of a kiddie pool size depression might be worth examining.