Jar11591

A couple years ago I was fishing a jig, and I broke off on a hookset. As I sat there for a minute wondering why that happened, a bass jumps 5 feet from the boat and tosses my jig right at me. If I was ready for it I could have caught that jig. Instead it hit the side of the boat with an audible "thump". All I could do was smile.

Got a double a few years ago at the small pond that my parents' camp is on. Got them on a Storm Chug Bug. I am still not sure if they both hit while the popper was on the surface, or if one grabbed it and the other got hooked while trying to steal it.

And weren't you worried that you were getting fished out? Lol nice fish, congrats on a helluva day!

Caught my PB Pumpkinseed this morning while fishing for bass. This guy nailed my Chug Bug.

Another vote for Siebert. Best jigs I've used. I mostly throw the brush style. And for trailers, the Net Bait Paca Craw or a Rage Chunk or Craw are good options.

Original: Heddon Zara Spook Replacement: Rapala Skitter Walk. The Skitter Walk has much better stock hooks, a lot better color patterns, it casts further and walks a lot easier. All around better lure.

Even when I fish every day it still doesn't feel like enough.

I carry about a dozen each of weights from 1/16 to 3/4 ounce and a couple each of 1 and 1.5 ounce.

My Buff UV mask, a scale and braid.

Ever seen the price of soft plastics on Amazon? It can be insane, like over $100 for a single pack. I have no idea why Amazon has almost every thing under the sun for the best price, except for soft plastics.

Getting excited just thinking about it!

Some suggestions: 1. Get on the water earlier. It gives you a longer window of prime time for top water fishing. It can work all day long, but if you're on the water earlier it gives you more time in that prime time for top water. 2. Down size your bait. Try throwing a small popper like a 2.5" Storm Chug Bug or Megabass Pop-X. 3. After you cast, let the bait sit until all the ripples disappear. Then very slightly twitch the bait. A lot of my strikes come this way. 4. Work your bait SLOWLY. Try killing it for a minute or so mid-retrieve. 5. Speeding up can work also. Try making your bait "panic" and work it very fast for a couple seconds and kill it again. Then twitch it like you would right after the cast. 6. Throw it in fishy spots. Along lily pads, under over hanging trees, over sunken logs, or parallel to the bank. 7. Ditch the fluorocarbon leader. Not saying it can't be done, but it certainly works against you. It sinks and can hinder the action of the bait. These are just a few suggestions that come to mind. I'm a top water nut and it's one of my confidence presentations. But on some lakes a top water bite is hard to come by. My "home" lake has produced less than 5 top water fish in my whole life, and it's not from the lack of trying. Most other lakes I fish I can get them on top in the early morning and evening, and a lot of times during mid day. Good luck!

Got on some decent brown fish this weekend on a mid-lake hump. Spinnerbaits, drop-shots and wacky senkos did the trick.

Loons in the fog. This is a different lake, and a different loon couple. Didn't notice any chicks with this pair.

These shows are nauseatingly scripted. I can't watch them, it's just too phony. This, 1000%.

http://buffusa.com/buff-products/men/gloves/pro-series-angler-2-gloves/skoolin-sage These are what I use. No complaints. Comfortable, light, UV protective, affordable.

When a big, hooked smallmouth tail-walks 15' across the surface. And of course a nice topwater blow up.

My most common by-catches are pickerel, with pike being a close second. Anything I throw for bass I've caught pickerel and pike on as well. Also just about every kind of panfish, but especially rock bass. They destroy bass lures like a fish 3x their size.

LMB SMB northern pike chain pickerel tiger muskie walleye yellow perch black crappie bluegill pumpkinseed rock bass common carp channel catfish yellow bullhead brown bullhead brown trout rainbow trout brook trout lake trout Atlantic salmon chinook salmon coho salmon steelhead creek chub fallfish striped bass white bass white perch golden shiner white sucker I'm at 30.

I'd look for overhanging trees, lay downs and logs, and I'd pitch a jig and Craw and a Texas rig into it.

More loon shots from this morning. The lake I fish almost every weekend has a family of loons living on it. A male, female and two chicks. The whole family is very social, and all four of them frequently come right up to the boat. I've watched the chicks grow this year. Around late June is when they hatched, and when I first noticed them they were about the size of a baseball. They are now a little bit smaller than a duck.

Berkley Trilene XL

Top water on a glass-calm lake, and also pitching jigs or Texas rigs to logs and lay downs.

It is exciting to fish a new body of water, but I also like to really learn a lake by fishing it over and over.

Netbait Paca Craw and the Rage Tail Craw & Baby Craw are my primary craws.