everythingthatswims

I always end up obsessing over a few particular individuals. Last year was not my year...Lost a couple big ones that made me sick. Spring is just around the corner and I'll be after them again!

Purple smoke drop shot of some sort would be my choice. As long as it's natural it should work though. A big swimbait can be deadly in that clarity

The fish around here don't mind that the baits I use cost $5-$8 instead of $15-$25+

There is no way you have it set on 8lbs of drag. Get a set of scales and see what it actually is. You can probably tighten it a little bit, just back it off once you hook the fish if you are worried about it.

Tell them about a "better" spot

My brother and I fished 3 days in Myrtle Beach last spring and caught this 22" SKINNY bass once each day, one of those days the fish shook the hook after a short fight and was caught an hour later. She wasn't on a bed. I thought they didn't get big by being stupid, but this one did.

That's what I have seen in extended forecasts for the past three weeks. Then it turns to highs in the 20s and 30s with snow

RIP Jose Wejebe. His show was one of the best ever made. When I fish braid and small leader I tie a triple surgeons knot, no issues with that at all, and when I use bigger leaders I will tie the FG knot or at least the version I learned. Never done anything other than an improved clinch or palomar to tie to a hook or bait. Maybe I can get 95% strength out of a sophisticated knot but I break of very few fish so I am sticking with what I got!

I'll buy it when they make one for a Bimini Twist

The sharks in Myrtle Beach are ridiculous. Can't fish for them on piers or the beach though. My friend and I would go out early in the morning to fish and you could see them come up into 2' of water and less, dorsal out and everything. Any big live or cut bait would get sharked pretty quickly, and if you hooked a decent fish, you had to horse it in or a shark would eat it! We saw multiple spadefish, multiple sheepshead, and a 2 or 3 foot bonnethead shark get "sharked" while on the pier. I watched some sharks probably up to 7' swim within feet of clueless swimmers/waders when I was on the pier.

And people still think swimbaits are TOO BIG

I was hoping this would be a thread on how in addition to the adult snakeheads walking on land for miles to eat your dogs and children, the eggs can be carried by tradewinds to new areas!

Watch this video, these guys catch a BABY that is already stressed and tired. Look at the power he still has! If someone managed to find a way to "boat flip" a big one, it would probably break the back of the boat into pieces and sink it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ker1KtZgyY I have caught small blackfin up to 12lbs, and been a witness to 40-50lb class yellowfin being landed. I can't even begin to wrap my head around the idea of a 500-1000lb plus version of one of those. I caught a 51lb cobia a few years back, and when we gaffed and brought it in the boat, my friend got slapped in the leg by the fish's tail. The bruise looked like someone hit him with a baseball bat, and that was a tired fish. You can't handle a big saltwater fish like largemouth, no matter what tackle you have, it just can't be done.

Great fish regardless, but we have to remember that he is going by California standards

Pretty work Paul. You have successfully defeated winter with that slither rig.

Do you fish the 8", 68, or both? Looks like a 68 in the photo

A good way to find out if trout make it during the heat of the summer is to take a carolina rig with powerbait and cast if off of a point into deep water or just beyond a shelf of some sort. Trout swim constantly so they will cruise these edges. Just toss a couple out and leave the bails open while you bass fish, if a trout finds it you won't need to worry about him spitting it out. Try different depths because you don't know what depth the oxygen gets too low at, and a bait sitting in dead water is a no-go. Trout regulations (one attended rod per person) don't apply in the summer here so you can use multiple rods. Not sure about your location. I did this in July last summer and ended up taking home a handful of nice 15-16" brook trout that picked up the powerbait while I was bass fishing Edit: The reason you would want to know if the trout are surviving is 100% swimbait related.

Yeah the pics aren't working, but good job! Glad someone is catching

Up here when the water is in the 30s it's more like Pause-Pause-Pause-Pause-Pause Jealous of you Florida guys

Fishing too fast in the winter because you are impatient is like not fishing at all!

Ask Matt Allen about leaders with A-rigs when using braid I have had experiences with straight braid vs braid w/leader that will keep me using leaders for as long as I fish. Of course I won't fish a leader when fishing heavy slop etc but you get the idea

My tip of the day is to put leaders on braid because bass can see it. Aaaaand go!

Don't start this

Carolina rig a minnow and just leave it there. No shame in live bait fishing when the water is hovering above freezing

If you measure the ice and don't go alone, some ponds are safe right now.... So yes, you CAN fish