everythingthatswims

Will someone explain to me why a fat*** fish is better than a fish that is the same age and just as smart? It doesn't upset me or anything but it is weird that a fat young fish is considered more of a trophy than an old, wise fish that may not be full of shad and eggs. Food for thought. I caught a 23" smallie, never seen one that big in my life before and never even dreamed of catching a smallmouth that size, but if I go bragging about my smallmouth that didn't even make the 5lb mark it doesn't sound like much does it?

I see lots of people in videos that try to lightly lip a bass and yank their hand back every time the fish thrashes (almost like it's a snake trying to bite them)---this seems like it would be a contributor to getting a treble in the hand...If you are gonna lip the bass, just hold on to him for crying out loud, then he will have a very hard time hooking you. If the hooks are in a position preventing you from lipping him safely, grab him behind the head.

Low teens and single digits at night for the next couple days here.......You aren't helping!!! Incredible fish though, keep it up

I would kill for some low 50s water right now. Get after that pre spawn bite!

Gotcha, I love the september season! Dumb birds that decoy to anything, young birds that taste like a duck, and warm weather! Season here ends this coming weekend...Having to hunt flowing water because everything else will be frozen!

Carolina rigged pink hula popper.

2.5" Rebel Floater in early March, and a BBZ Jr in May or June....(Caught her twice)...24"

Not going to look up the values, but I know for my fishing and hunting license combined in-state it ends up being around $125 a year. I also end up with various short term licenses for PA, NC, SC, and hopefully, this spring, FLORIDA

With an UL, a weed guard will prevent you from hooking fish, and also you would probably need to fish braid to make up for the lost power in hook sets because of the flimsy rod. Medium light or medium would be choice of rod

Are those coots on the lake behind you? Nice winter bass

I caught some (4 in an hour) today dragging a t-rigged 5" roboworm with a very light weight. May be worth a trying in your area if you caught one on a shakeyhead. Water was low 40s here as well. I was in a river so it wasn't cheating like when I go to ponds where I know the fish by name . The fish I caught fought like wet socks, even on a light action spinning rod with 6lb test.

If the water stays that cold (seems warm now but in the summer 58 is freezing!) year round there may not be many bass. Put some trout in there and make them your pets!

Where did you hunt geese in the summer? Canada?

Always good to get a winter bass, 3lbs4oz is way better than anything I have caught recently!

Yeah don't use any artificials if you want to keep one pinned. Just a spinning rod with light line, 10-15lb test leader, small light wire hook #8-#2 depending on the size of the fish, and a strip of cut bait will do the job. Sight cast to them, and let them swallow the bait. Their jaws are too bony to hook. The ones around here are very wary and not aggressive most of the time. I did hook one while burning a 6" bull shad swimbait though.

My friend and I both pitched a drop shot at a dock, and hooked up simultaneously. Then the fish jumped, and it turned out that our lines were just crossed. Wrong! The fish ate both baits! Has this happened to anyone else? (Took place at a power plant lake yesterday) So whose fish is it?

Can't enjoy nice weather and catch fish at the same time! Always ends up being one or the other for me.

That's nuts! Wanna give us a description of how you were fishing? I'm perplexed by the punching rig in February

I prefer to use my 'yak on the 'doah. Everything I have read has said fishkill-fishkill-fishkill, apparently the smallies were hit really hard last winter so I haven't fished it.

Turns out, Massanutten has more than just stocked trout in their ponds. Because who would go to a ski resort and actually ski ? Hopping a 3/16oz Rippin Rap. My first Dwight shaped fish, weighed 2lbs.

Great video but these guys do a LOT of salmon flossing.

Person: "Well, it's fun even if you don't catch anything right?" Me: "No." I absolutely love experiencing the outdoors but I don't remember any enjoyable fishless days. I'm thinking my age has something to do with it.

Sounds like it's enough to stand on! Go get 'um.

Texas rigged craws and creature baits. Toss at cover and drag/hop them back.