Jar11591

Try a 1oz spinnerbait! Let it sink all the way to the bottom, and then retrieve it as slow as possible, just enough to make the blades turn.

20-22’ is usually the max. I fish clear water so outer weedlines can be around that depth. In the summer my big fish generally come from 12-18’, but there are times when I have to go a little deeper to find em.

Fished for a few hours this morning. Got on the water a little later than I would have liked. Late working last night made that 3:30am alarm get snoozed. Fishing was a grind. A few bass, lots of pickerel. Cold, calm dawn gave way to a warm, breezy morning. Was filming my fishing but I forgot my new SD card, so I could only film for an hour. Was able to capture a few topwater catches anyway. Air temp was 32 at launch, water temps ranged from 53-57. Skitterwalk and wacky rigs today.

I think jigs mimic generic “food” more than it imitates a craw. If we’re being real, apart from some swim baits or glide baits, most baits don’t actually imitate their living counterparts . Not very well anyway. Even a bass who has never seen a crawfish probably wouldn’t waste time scarfing it down if he was hungry and the craw was presented to him. That being said, even if you don’t see them, crawfish can be present in a body of water. They don’t need rocks even if preferred. They’ll use grass, mud, and wood as cover.

Took a big ol goose egg. For only the second time since 2016, I blanked on bass. And not just bass. I didn’t have a single hit. River was way way up, and moving very swiftly. Little murkier than usual too. If there were fish in that river, then they fooled me.

Heading a little further up into the mountains with a buddy to do our annual float down a small river. It’s loaded with smallmouth, wild trout, and panfish so the action is usually non stop. Torrential rain the last few days should have the river lookin swole. Hopefully not flooded. Tiny poppers, inline spinners, ned rigs, and dry flies are rigged. A-Jay, hopefully you get some more lake time soon.

Poppers and walkers, 10lb nylon. Buzzbaits and frogs, 50lb braid.

Yes. 6-8’.

I’ve already had to cancel 2 trips because of High Wind Advisories. Like 30mph sustained and gusts up to 50. That kind of wind and water in the 40s is just dangerous. And I can’t fish from a seated position.

To me it’s not about the bait. It’s where I’m throwing it. And apart from short windows very early and late in the season, my big fish come from deeper water (8-20’).

Man I’m glad I live in the north. Common snappers are the closest thing we get. And unless you like skinny dipping you don’t have to worry about them.

I’ve fished George a few times, June and July. I remember having a lot of success with the smallmouth around islands. It’s been over a decade ago so I don’t remember which islands, but I think the majority of them should hold smallies, and if there are a bunch of islands grouped together that’ll be money. Poppers, specifically a 2.5” Chug Bug, and 4” wacky senkos were what I was throwing. Lake George has all kinds of structure, drops offs, islands, flats, ledges, rock piles and sand bars. Water is clear, too. Visibility can be 8-10’ or more. Here’s a link to a contour map, as you can see it has a ton of structure, and every shoal and sand bar isn’t even on the maps. Shouldn’t have to paddle your kayak very far to find fishy spots. South end: https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/lkgeosomap.pdf North end: https://dec.ny.gov/places-to-go/maps/lake-george-north-contour-map-region-5 Also should add, Lake George is smack dab in the middle of vacationland USA, and it is loaded with camps, marinas, and lake houses and during a nice day the lake will be an absolute ZOO with pleasure craft. Luckily it’s a big lake and the north end gets a little quieter, and there are islands, points and coves to hide behind.

If I see a big fish spawning or on a bed, I may make a cast at it, or a I may not. I never specifically target bedding fish. Just not interested. Something in my brain/gut usually tells me “let em do their thing”, and I usually do. But like mentioned above, bass spawn everywhere and I’m not foolish enough to not believe that if I’m fishing during the spawn, I am going to catch bedders or guarders. Just comes with the territory. And I certainly don’t judge people who do bed fish. At the end of the day even if I’m not bed fishing, I’m still ramming a hook through the face of a living creature, so I have no room to judge anyone. As long as the fish is treated humanely after the catch, I don’t judge how/when/where people do the catching. So if you bed fish, good luck and get after those big girls that’ll be movin up!

For the 10 years I worked glass construction, I wore Wolverines. They were comfortable right out of the box and only around $100 so I didn’t mind the fact that they only held up for about a year of heavy use. $100 per year for work boots that gets used every day is pretty good in my book. When I started landscaping, I started out with hiking boots from Columbia. Got thrashed pretty quickly but were good boots for landscaping. Now when I landscape I wear Nike runners. I found I don’t need work boots to landscape. But as I transitioned to the electrical field, I had to get steel-toe boots again and I went with Carhartt. They weren’t cheap, and they took a little to break them in and get comfy, but they seem like they will last forever due to the quality. So we’ll see how that plays out.

Awesome northern bag

Knicks up 2-0 after their second 20-point come back! These playoffs have been pretty d**n exciting so far.

I’ve never noticed any correlation between turtle behavior and bass. I haven’t ever considered that a turtle jumping into the water would scare bass off. As a frequent hucker of heavy spinnerbaits, I can’t imagine a turtle could be louder than a 1oz spinnerbait slapping into the water and there are times where I get bit the second the bait hits the water. In general, I haven’t found bass to be anywhere near as spooky as they are made out to be.

Yeah Pacers up 2-0

Yeah if they come in a clam shell, that’s where they stay for me. Keeps them straight. I hate dunking plastics in hot water to straighten em out so I keep em in their package.

Been some wild finishes these playoffs. Gordon’s buzzer beating put-back, his game winning 3, and Halliburton just nailed a game winning 3 to put the Pacers up 1-0.

Lawrence and Wheeler on BTL today!

Gettin to be that time!

I have more Fenwick rods than any other brands. When I get ready to buy a rod I usually look at Fenwicks first. Guess you could say they are my favorite.

Pat making a strong case for BR AOY!

@Pat Brown unreal fish!