Steveo-1969

Welcome to BR from a fellow smallmouth addict.

I don’t ask other fisherman for advice but if someone shares I’ll listen. I have a couple friends I’ll share everything with. And if I take someone fishing I’ll do everything in my power to help them catch fish. With the exception of children I’m not helping strangers. Over the years I’ve seen too many people keep fish that are below the minimum length, above the maximum length, over the bag limit, out of season, etc. If I don’t know you I don’t know if I can trust you to do the right thing and I’m NOT helping you catch more fish.

Welcome back from a fellow West Virginian!

Thank you for the heads up @Kayak Koz! I ordered two pairs last night with gray and amber. My dad is flying up from Florida next month to fish and now I’ll have a pair for him to wear.

G. Loomis fan boy checking in!!

I was skunked in January and February. The water temp hit 50 and it was on. First bass of the year on March 2.

The new BPS Maxx Action Speed Shad really wiggles and waggles.

^^This^^ This is my #1 (I could argue ONLY) reason for tying a leader onto my braid mainline…

I’ve had my 8 year old grandson out half a dozen times over the past month. Found a fairly open bank on the river, taught him how to cast a spinning rod, and turned him loose with a little paddletail. He caught one tree the first day and has been good since. Last weekend I caught a tree over my head just out of reach and had to break it off. An hour later I did the exact same thing. He thought it was hilarious and was still telling people yesterday about the two trees that Pap caught…

The smallmouth bass I love to fish for in the Upper Potomac River are not native. Should your same rule apply here?

3-inch Baby Ragetail Craw

I’m fortunate to fish a river that stays open year round. This winter I didn’t stop fishing, but I stopped catching from December-February…

Whew! Thank goodness I’ll never have to worry about this one! 😁 Count me in the “lucky fishing hat” crowd.

Skip Bible Study. There’s a reason the church was built right next to a fishing hole. God wants you to go fishing!!

Why not go custom? A few years ago I was looking for a rod to use with a very specific jig. @Delaware Valley Tackle built the perfect rod for me.

I fish a shallow rocky snaggy river and don’t use straight braid for two reasons: 1) Braid has poor abrasion resistance. 2) When I get snagged it’s easier to break the leader than the braid mainline. If I just fished weeds or open water I wouldn’t hesitate to use straight braid, even hi-vis.

Lake hopping in Michigan for a week with Mark Zona. Bonus participant would be @A-Jay…

Welcome to Bass Resource Mike! 🐻⬇️

You should also look at @Siebert Outdoors “Lil Man” jig.

Instead of prescription polarized sunglasses I went another route. I bought “over-the-glasses” polarized sunglasses and wear them over my normal prescription eyeglasses. They were about $20 on Amazon. Do I look like a dork? Yep. Do I care? Nope. I fake a Minnesota accent and introduce myself as Babe Winkleman.

I usually resolve to fish more often and then the opposite happens and I fish less than the year prior. So this year I’m resolving to fish LESS. 😁

The only hooks I have trouble sharpening are ones with a cutting edge like Trokars.

I really like a skirted finesse jig in the springtime.

There’s an old adage “Never say never” but… I will NEVER use a spinning rod with anything except braid to leader. Braid for reasons already given, leader mainly for ease of breaking off. I’ve been using uni-to-uni for years and can correctly tie on a new leader in under 2 minutes even while standing waist deep in the middle of a river.

This was my thought too. Why can’t bass fishing be a fun activity instead of ONLY about food or winning money?