Jar11591

I credit the waters i fish. And this size has been the skunkbuster on a couple occasions if I’m being completely honest ?

I’ll see y’all in April

Bass season is open year round, provided you C&R and use artificial only before June so as soon as the ice on the lakes melt it’s bassin’ time for me. But some streams will open up before that and I’ll be able to target native brookies and both wild and stocked browns and rainbows.

My main goal will be getting a new PB smallmouth. This past July I lost boat-side what would most definitely been my PB. So I’m gunnin’ for her next year. Like every year, a new domestic PB largemouth is a goal as well. Currently stands at 6-3, and next year I’m trying for one over 7. A 7lb largemouth is a fish of a lifetime in my waters, and I know of a few lakes that hold 7lbers and bigger. I like to add at least one bait or presentation to my list of “confidence baits”. This coming year I’ll be focusing on cranking. I’ve sort of got away from it the last decade or so, mainly because the lakes I fish are often not suited to submersible treble hook baits. But I fished a lot of new water this year that should be suited for cranking, got a couple new cranking-dedicated set ups, and am ready to start slaying them on a crankbait like I used to. As always, I just want to become a better, more knowledgeable and well-rounded bass angler each year. It always amazes me how much I learn each year without realizing it until reflecting on the past season. This year was no exception. Time in the water is truly the most valuable tool for an angler, and I was able to get out a good amount this year. At lastly, this is sort of a fun, non serious goal. That is to continue my streak of at least 6 years of not being skunked (that is a caught at least one bass every single time I went bass fishing). I don’t fish just to keep this goal alive, because that’s no way to fish in my opinion, but it is a fun thing to think about.

While not black bass, rock bass are still in the sunfish (centrarchidae) family.

Northern LMB Florida LMB SMB

Spicy pork ramen made with leftover Christmas ham bones and meat If you have a stuffed up nose this will clear you out immediately.

The Tour Grade Spinnerbaits are killer and have basically become the only ones I throw. Rage Menace, Craws and Baby Craws, Swimmers, and Anacondas are all mainstays in my box as well. Almost forgot the Rage Structure Bug. My #1 flippin and pitching bait.

Do we get an after photo? I’ve been cheffin’ it up over here. Todays breakfast was crispy hash browns with some shredded cheddar and parsley on top ? Got the Christmas ham bone boiling into stock that I’ll use to make some spicy pork ramen tonight.

I have success on flats too, but it’s seems like those flats are always adjacent to steep contours.

My recreation of a dish I love from the local Thai joint: Prik pao fried rice. Jasmine rice, bell pepper, basil, cilantro, Thai fish sauce, Nam Prik pao, lime juice, garnished with a over-easy fried egg and a couple sprigs of cilantro. Every time I make Thai food it comes out perfect. This was no exception.

Bored. No snow in the forecast so I don't have much work to do. Went down to the basement just to stare at my fishing equipment at least 4 times today.

I prefer the pull over style. I have about a dozen of them. In the winter time and I’m hanging around the house, there is a 100% chance I’m wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Doesn’t get more comfy than sweatpants and a big pullover hoodie for house lounging. I have a Cabela’s Guidewear insulated hoodie for fishing that is super warm and comfortable and an excellent choice for early and late season bassin’.

The people close to me like family, girlfriend, friends, they probably think I never shut up about fishing. My girlfriend especially because she has to share a house with me and she works from home. But for people I don’t know well, I generally don’t bring it up unless asked, because I’ve found most people can’t even get past the fact that I catch and release.

Absolute bruiser bronzebacks.

I agree. The details that often get left out of this story tell a much different picture of what the urban legend has become.

The section that has contour lines closest together, simply speaking.

I generally don’t peg the C-rig bullet. Main reason being is that when unpegged, it acts as a slip-sinker rig. I’m usually using a heavy weight (3/4oz+), and if unpegged, the fish won’t feel as much of the heavy weight when it eats the bait and starts to swim away.

Couldn’t believe how many bald eagles I saw this year. There are a couple lakes that I fish that I expect to see them every time, but saw them several times at other lakes that I know have not had them in the past.

Looks like a golden shiner.

Somebody took the “think like a fish” line a bit too far it looks like

Bass Talk Live I listen to a lot. It’s more oriented towards following the tournament guys a lot of the time, but it can be informative.

The Adirondack Mountains are truly a sight to behold. If you ever find yourself in NYS, make sure to drive through them. It’s a 6 million acre sportsman’s paradise. It even has several designated “forever wild” areas. Even though I don’t live right in the mountains, I consider the ‘Dacks to be my true home. Very short drive up the highway and I’m there. Oh, and the fishing is pretty darn good as well.

$25.00 annually in NYS

Not much makes me appreciate my life like being on my boat in mountain lake while the sun is coming up. It’s wild to me that some people go their ENTIRE lives not even knowing what a sunrise looks like. When I’m fishing, or camping up in the mountains, or on a peak I just climbed, the feeling of “I belong here” is pretty powerful. We belong in nature, on a primal level. I believe if you take any human, regardless of background or upbringing, and put them in nature, there will be a sense of familiarity, of belonging and “home” even if deep down or subconscious.