Logan S

Didn't measure length, just put her on the scale...But yes it was long.

Got a big one this weekend... 7lb 15oz

I fish the same lake you're talking about and use three group 31 batteries for my 112 Fortrex. Mine are Interstate, but same specs as you listed....They work well and while I can certainly run them down, it would take a lot of 'running' (like the back of Seneca to the back 10-Mile in the same day). I used to have 27's but they weren't cutting it for a full day. I plan to go Lithium the next time I need batteries but that's not for at least 3 years...Hopefully by then they'll be a bit more affordable. When "running" I usually don't go above 80%...Only like one or two tenths of a MPH difference between 80% and 100%.

Loops = Bloops

The Fuji hook keepers that you put on with o-ring/band hold the bait out a bit further than on-the-rod keepers...Might try those. I use them on my spinning rods and they work about the same way as hooking to a casting reel. The reel is really the easiest place to hook trebles though .

Hook the rear one to reel, let the front (or middle and front) grab the line, then give the line a twist around the rod once to make it snug. Very rare that the hooks ever contact the rod this way. I do this so the hooks are less likely to grab stuff in the rod locker, not prevent scratches...But it works well for both.

I was on the other end of the spectrum last weekend - Took a trip to Deep Creek where the only thing on top of the water was skim ice . Caught a couple smallies, but the bass fishing was a bit off...Thankfully the walleyes were spawning and I caught probably 20+ in only a few hours, none were big but it was fast action and a lot of fun. Every time I came to an ideal spot, a group of large boulders usually, I'd get 3 to 5 in a row. And yea, that's snow in the background and on the docks, they got a couple inches the day before I went up. Surface temps were 40 to 43 and every single bite was on a jerkbait.

Won a little preseason team derby this past weekend, great way to kickstart the season. Our limit weighed 12-2 and this 3-2 was our biggest. My partner caught a 2-11 which culled out a 1-10 with about 10 minutes left in the day, without that fish we would have lost by 1 ounce! It was a catch-weigh-release tournament and the 2nd place team is a good friend, so we got to know exactly how that played out when we talked at weigh in .

1: There's no right number, zero would be ideal though . It's all situational, some are easier to go get than others. Most people don't mind going to get a few if it's not in a sketchy spot or they don't have to back track a ton. The ones that are frustrating are if you can't stay out of the tree branches on the shoreline or end up snagged 100' directly behind the boat (bonus points for if it's windy/rough/current too ) or other things in that same category. Also, if it's just a soft plastic rig (IE, hook/weight/bait)...Just bite the bullet on it, they are cheap and easy to retie. 2: It's not wrong, but don't expect action on it...For better or worse, most boaters aren't going to ditch their plan for their co-angler/non-boater's ideas. The ratio of actual good input compared to garbage someone saw on youtube or 'heard from a buddy' is like 1 out of 100 though, so don't be surprised if someone shoots you down...It's a kneejerk reaction . 3: I'm assuming based on the context that the pairings are done at the meeting the day before? If so, I can see where some might get annoyed if a non-boater isn't there...They probably want to meet, talk to, and coordinate right then and there and then be done with it. Having said that, I don't see anything wrong with your solution either assuming you follow through and communicate. If you happen to draw one of the guys that wants you to be there you'll have to dig yourself out of that hole though.

Used to do it all the time before GPS was common....It's gone the way of the dinosaurs for me along with marker buoys (which made triangulation easier too) . If my electronics died or something (and couldn't be fixed within an hour or two) I'd be able to dust off the cobwebs... Even basic electronics these days makes it obsolete.

Putting my opinions of the lawsuit aside... Regardless of the outcome, I think it will make the directors/coaches of these HS events think twice about conditions they send anglers out in...Which is not a bad thing. IMO some of the HS circuits/anglers/events need a slight reality check, this might provide it. (The incident itself should have, but the lawsuit might drive it home).

Sort of, it's really only about a 1/3rd, the 'private' side is the cooling pool for the nuke plant and it's separated from the rest of the lake by dikes, with one small outflow near the dam (boats can't pass through). There are no public ramps on the hot side, only private ramps. So you either need to be a homeowner or know one to get access. It makes it essentially 2 lakes even though technically it's the same lake. The private side is traditional warm water discharge lake, remaining warm all winter. The nuke plant is midlake and the intake at midlake and outflow near the dam makes for a very unique lake for the 'public' side...The flow is actually upstream from the dam to the plant midlake and downstream from the rivers to the plant area. It's a very odd fishery. That's your Lake Anna 101

I don't know what it is about some people, but they are just drawn to pass you close...Even after blast off. I cruise at 40 to 50mph a lot in the middle of the day (tournament or not) and occasionally a boat will blow by me at close distances with zero reason for doing so. It's one of the most infuriating things about some bass fisherman and one of the most unsafe...I always make sure to check behind me when changing directions to make sure one of those knuckleheads isn't coming up. Thankfully most people operate normally, but you never know when that guy is coming up behind you.

I REALLY wanted to go to lithium this year since I was due to replace my trolling batteries...But the initial cost is still just too much for me. My boat doesn't have performance issues where losing all the weight would be a huge gain, so I'm thinking maybe in 3-5 years when the batteries I got this season are due for replacement I'll go lithium...Prices should be lower then too. I think the standard flooded/wet 12v batteries still work well assuming you use the appropriate size/model for the intended use and keep on top of maintenance. Lithium is definitely the future though, just tough to justify currently when I got three 31 series batteries for less than what a single lithium would have cost.

Disagree on speed limits... Going fast isn't reckless, being reckless is reckless. Both of those boats in the video were going the same speed...Only one was being unsafe.

Good example of a series of mistakes compounding. Had that happened in open water he likely would have recovered from the hook and been fine after regaining control...But he got himself in a situation with zero margin for error and Murphy came calling. Glad he's OK and I'm sure he's learned a lesson for the future. Hopefully seeing the vid will be a learning experience for others too so they might avoid getting into a situation like that themselves.

Timely topic...Caught this one this weekend and it's entire mouth/throat was red. 42 degree water with decent stain (~1' vis) on a red craw crank . I've always assumed the red lips/throats in bass this time of year were irritations from eating crayfish combined with colder water (sort of like how it seems to hurt more when you bust your knuckle in 20 degree weather than it does in warm weather). When it's this cold, craws are probably tight to hard cover like rocks/wood, so every time a bass eats one it's probably banging into rocks/wood too (more so than when it's warmer and craws are more actively moving around). I'm a believer in the red craw colors, for no other reason than I've had success on it in the late winter and prespawn seasons. I personally think a lot of it is a simply a water clarity thing, since I frequently seek out dirty water in those times too and red craw is a good dirty water color...But either way, I'm in the red craw camp usually. At the end of the day though, if it gets beyond my understanding I chalk it up to bass being bass and I try not argue with success that I observe directly .

Caught a nice one this weekend. Local lake is very hit or miss when it's this cold...Usually a miss, so felt great to get this one .

I'll put some real numbers down for you ... Here is what I've found in my normal chatterbait fishing...Fast to slow retrieves. 1/4oz - surface to 2 or 3 feet (3' is sort of a stretch). 3/8oz - surface to 4 or 5 feet. 1/2oz - down to 6 or 7 feet, harder to keep near surface without high rod tip and fast retrieve (but possible). 3/4oz - I've not used a ton, but seemed to be pretty easy to keep down at 10' without being overly slow when I've played with it...I don't think you'd be effectively fishing the 3/4 shallower than 5 or 6 feet in normal scenarios. You can add or subtract a foot or two from all these for extra fast burning or extra slow roll retrieves and high or low rod angles. I generally use the same line/rod/gearing for all chatters and lot of times will have 2 or 3 on deck at once with different weights (identical rods). Only disclaimer is that most of my chatter fishing is shallow grassy areas so I skew heavily to the 3/8oz and even 1/4oz. I use direct-attach blade models like Jackhammer, original Phenix, etc...No split ring attached blades. Don't know if the split ring types run differently.

I did too for a while...But eventually realized that light FC (or mono) was better for longer casts, at least for how I fish. Everyone's different, but you might consider trying it if you are concerned about max distance...If for no other reason than to confirm your setup is optimized for the bait. I think as long as you can get relatively normal distances you'll be fine...Smallies love that bait.

Short line and/or shallow water it doesn't matter as much, when you don't have a lot of line out it's less likely for the braid to be 'dead'. But long casts and/or deeper water it makes a big difference, at least to me. Line watching is a good thing for whatever line you choose but wind, waves, glare, distractions, etc, etc, etc, can make it harder or impossible....Conditions and situations aren't always perfect so for me, what I feel through the line is more important than what I can see the line doing. That means I prefer flouro for many situations over braid (but not all).

With a 6'8" medium power spinning rod and 6lb flouro I can cast it what I'd consider pretty normal distances unless there's a decent breeze. If you really want to maximize distance you'll want to drop to a ML or L spinning rod and go to 4 or 5lb flouro (or mono if you prefer). Braid kills casting distance for these lighter baits so I'd stick with flouro or mono, as light as you feel comfortable with. Duo makes a 63-size jerkbait with a weight transfer system (Rozante63sp I think?) which casts better but doesn't suspend as well as the LC. The ultimate tiny jerkbait for casting distance is the Megabass X-80Jr (65mm), also with a weight transfer system...but these are hard to get a hold of now. The LC 65 is still the primary one I use though.

Lol yea I was also like 99.9% ranked overall too - Not saying I'm some mastermind though, I freely admit it's mostly luck. For St Johns, there was a glitch or technical error because I had no angler selected for bucket C - I double and triple checked it before the event started. Didn't notice til after the event started and one of my buddies in another group ribbed me about screwing up. Sent BASS an email but I'm resigned to the fact that I'm just out of luck and my overall season is tanked for it. It is what it is, it's a free service so can't complain too much. Let's just say I was giving you guys a head start this year to keep it interesting

I use lead wire (the kind used to weight flies by fly tiers) and wrap a few coils around one of the hook shanks instead of using strips/dots. Easier to put on, add to, and take off - Plus it doesn't leave sticker residue on the bait either. If you are trying to make a floater into a suspender, you'll need to use strips...But for tweaking suspenders or slow floaters lead wire works pretty well.

Depending on the ramp, the Potomac is as close as 30ish minutes or as far as about 2 hours...My favorite ramp is about 45mins away. There's a few other places including the upper Chesapeake that are around 1.5hrs away too...I consider all of these my home waters, fish all of them frequently. There's an electric-only lake about 15 minutes away that I also fish quite a bit, but it's been taken over by the kayak and paddleboard hoards...So I don't go as much as I used to .