F14A-B

I don’t know but the next dude that takes a swing at us seniors is gonna get it..🤣😂🤣

Flip Pallot has passed away. You may have seen Walkers Cay on cable TV. The show ran 15 seasons and imo was the best out of a plethora of outdoor shows..

I would reiterate what’s been discussed in this very thread and in others with many of heavyweights you see here and that is to ensure you have the proper tools..

I’ll chose plastic over pork any day. I used both and plastic was more user friendly and worked fine for me then and does now also.

Baitcasting reels have never been easier to learn than now. I’d suggest buying one and spooling up with a line that has soft ( limp ) characteristics like PLine CX or Trilene XL. Spool up and practice, practice. Practice makes perfect and I think you’ll be glad you did.

They have a very unique action and throw super easy.. just a great bait.

Love those rerange baits, I use the big boys.. 130’s

I’m a fan of Treys but I watched him in this tournament and he wasn’t mentally in it, it’s clear to me now that he doesn’t want to work on a non FFS tournament. On the other side of this, Johnston worked his butt off, he never stopped.. much like last year. I’m not an admirer of him but he’s got my respect for his toughness and ability. He can use the scope and find fish without it. Back to back AOY victories is no joke. He deserved it for sure.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLoP7EJOoqc/?igsh=MXN5a2QwaGFmYTduOA==

It is true. LMB eat crawfish, bluegill, crappie, minnows, shad, and LMB eat smallmouth bass etc etc. and lures that look and mimic these work. Birds and duckling are eaten, also dragonfly’s and other insects. That is nature and the truth of the matter and yes, your choice of baits also work because it’s cue’s, stimulate the fish into a strike. Why that particular bait works so well for you I cannot say exactly but it’s triggering your fish properly I’d say. There have been studies on color also.. look, guys have caught fish on Budweiser can baits ok, but those are nobody’s confidence baits 🤣. I’ve been fishing highly pressured waters for years and it’s a way different gig than fishing un-molested waters. Fortunately I get to fish a couple of private lakes where the fishing is spectacular, across all species. My confidence bait is a Texas rigged plastic worm however I love a crank bait bite or a spinnerbait bite.. Patoka lake in the spring, I’ve caught 150 bass a day on it when waters are warming and fish become active you can throw whatever bait you desire and get bit, those fish are highly active and feeding. I even caught a bass off a chicken liver one time, explain that one.. 🤣😂

That’s what I addressed as a reaction strike. The only time I’ve ever seen a LMB react aggressively was on the bed or while feeding or( protecting a nest) I’ve seen males and females do that. When schooling bass are feeding on a ball of shad let’s say, then often a large white Zara Spook can draw strikes, or a rattle trap. Those fish are feeding and feeding LMB have different behaviors than fish that are suspended at 24 feet on a ledge in Kentucky lake. We burn very large crank baits to elicit reaction strikes from non-feeding Bass. It works and it can fire up a school. I’ve seen guys catch doubles doing it.

Me too, the forage in the waterways are well known and because of this Lure Manufacturers have designed baits to mimic nature. Match the hatch isn’t just a saying it’s factual and is well known and understood by fisherman. This is in all water, fresh or salt, highland reservoirs, natural lakes, swift rivers, lazy rivers, streams, creeks, farm ponds. I would encourage anyone to read and study Doug Hannon’s work. Enticing a largemouth to strike is a different topic all together and it’s why we say the words, “reaction strikes” Pods of baitfish (shad) golden shiners etc, have been recorded making sounds and our rattle baits try to emulate this and are in fact successful. Crayfish make clicking sounds and it’s why some of our jigs have rattle bands on them and are usually dressed with a crawfish imitation.. It's an interesting topic and whole books have been written on the subject of LMB behavior, covering the topics we’re discussing here plus effects of weather, high pressure vs low pressure, structure types, deep vs shallow, moon phases, insect hatches and crawfish hatches. Tidal influences and sunlight and its biological effects.

Johnston wanted it, watching him on the water vs Trey.. it's just unfortunate for Trey but very telling. Johnston fished hard all three days and earned the trophy. Congratulations to him for back to back AOY trophies!

Johnston is AOY

Trey is back down to 47. If he doesn’t make top 50 he’s out of the AOY race.

I don’t think Trey likes to junk fish 😂 He has moved up to like 27th place.

Trey has some work to do. I’m surprised he’s not fishing visible cover. He’s still locked in on his electronics. In my opinion that’s a blunder by him. Kuphall is dialed in at just shy of 30 pounds..

Yea we’ve talked about that for years on here, concerning the BPS Stik-O and its effectiveness. I’m heavy on those over Yamamoto brand.

Spro Chad Shad are like $50 and they absolutely work. If you’re close to a BPS gotta ask for them, they started locking them up due to theft.

ZMan has added salt in nearly all these baits I use Owner hooks w CPS generally I wacky rig them and the same w a floating worm that I use sometimes for a reverse wacky rig.

Reel came and I removed the spool to have a look-see, definitely fixed rotor. Later I’ll post some pics, I’m covered up at this time..

I’m not happy about it and I really hope there is a better solution coming, but I’ve been thru so many price increases for various items and it’s just par for the course anymore..

I’ve bought lots from Japan, especially the last 18 months or so. Facts are facts, the other thing I talked about on this thread was a reel I purchased for $300 + tax (there’s that word) What I didn’t divulge was I ordered it from an American company and furthermore from a site sponsor called Tackle Warehouse. Fishing is a luxury in this country not a necessity.

Depends on jig type. But yes and if I do it’s at the base of the jig and from the back, then from the top. Also I spread the nylon and flex it downward a couple times and fish it.. Trimming if needed down to the base from the front causes those short stubby pieces to catch and pull in garbage, unless you can truly cut flush.

That has always been the case in this country. I mean it’s not like fishing is a critical, life safety issue here. BTW, who didn’t see this coming?? There isn’t a thing you or I can do, so, embrace the suck, or dont.