MIbassyaker

The chef is cookin'

Oh, I still use a lot of these.

No, I do not intentionally shorten the lifespans of plastic worms.

Gussy Meyer Fothergill Canterbury Hamner

I've been in Michigan a little over 15 years, and the first several years I fished here, I definitely did the kitchen sink thing. But every year I've gotten simpler and simpler as my understanding of the specific waters I've been fishing has improved. Once I decide where I'm going to go, I pick a handful of things i know I want to use at that place in that time of the season. that selection of baits is going to be different from place to place, depending on what I've learned from trial and error over the years about what conditions I'm mostly likely to find there, and what presentations will be best suited to it. My first decision rule is almost always to take at least one thing that can be fished horizontally and one thing that can be fished vertically, maybe a couple options of each. Early in the year, I know I'll be looking for potential spawning areas and I'll want options for shallow as well as adjacent deep areas. I consider what depth and cover options fish will have and how much weedgrowth will be present. How much am I going to cover water, and how much am I going to hit specific targets? That's going to vary place to place, and maybe week to week, depending on progression of the spawn and how conditions are developing at the lake. I usually don't worry about topwater until late May or early June. Most of these decisions are made before I leave the house on the basis of the timing of season and recent weather, and possibly scouting trips to check out current water temperature, clarity, and weedgrowth.

I recommend checking out Josh Alwine's books "High Percentage Fishing" and "Lunker Lore".

Other than Hack, my other guys seem to be hanging in there on day 1. And now that I have checked BassTrakk and noticed this, everything will reverse.

Finally back in the 20s here, after 3 weeks of...well, less than that. Only overnights have been strictly below zero, but we've had probably more of those in the last month than the last couple years combined (I could look it up but, but I'm tired). In any case, I'm still 2-3 months out. Even if we ice out earlier (guessing mid-late march), I have no chance of being free to do any actual fishing until April, maybe May. Too much life stuff.

Now that sounds like a good time, Bob!

I don't fish anywhere large enough to handle the increase in pressure that would result from publicizing a new state record catch. And I don't really have the means to keep a fish alive long enough to be certified either. So I think I'd just have a Fish Tale.

It's not a situation I face often, but occasionally. A hula grub really seems to do the job. I put them on 1/4 and 3/8 Fin-Tech Title Shot heads. There is a football head version which would be good, but I've found the bullet and "skip" heads to be fine in rock as well. Among crankbaits, I've liked the the DT series, Rock Crawler, and 6th Sense Curve 55 For covering water also consider a wobble head. And for finesse, a straight-tailed worm on a shaky head.

Zoom Lizard Tiny Torpedo GYCB Hula Grub Not new! But when was the last time you tried them?

J Lee Logan Cobb Hack Menendez Looking ahead, the Lake Martin event is immediately after Guntersville the next weekend. I hate that they keep doing that.

I have two kayaks, one is 15 years old and one 8 years old. Both have had some gaskets replaced and rigging connections re-sealed. They still get a little water in there after a few trips, but its on the order of tablespoons. Never had an issue with mold though. But a couple summers ago, one was taking on a lot more water than usual, so I looked it over and found a crack near the seat. Repair was quite a bit easier than I though it would be: Got some plastic rods from the company in the right colors and a plastic welding kit from Harbor Freight, and that was all I needed. Done in about 20 minutes.

Filming is something I've thought of doing, but I barely have time to DO the fishing, much less review hours if footage!

Oh heck yeah!

Boom! Congrats

5.97# on a Gambler Burner Craw, 1/2oz t-rig. Green Pumpkin/Chartreuse claws A month earlier, 5.73# on a 3/8oz t-rigged Zoom Lizard, Junebug/Chartreuse tail The chances I top either of these in 2026 are pretty slim, but you never know...

Fishing out of a kayak clearly isn't for everyone, but I love it. If I had space to store a boat, I'd consider getting one. But even if I did, I'd still have and use recreational kayaks, and I'd still probably fish out of them on occasion when it was convenient. Also, having kayaks hasn't made me stop bank fishing and wading on occasion either. I have two kayaks that I use for fishing, one of which is equipped with 2d sonar, but otherwise I haven't sunk too much into upgrades - no pedals, no motors. They have definitely cost me less than a boat. They don't consume gas and require little to no maintenance. Both are light enough that I can lift and car top when unloaded (at least for now while I'm still strong and and healthy). I fish almost exclusively small waters up to a few hundred acres, some of which boats cannot launch on. A couple are fished pretty infrequently by anyone. I don't often have a lot of open water traffic to deal with. I fish alone, and don't do tournaments. I do wish I could move from spot to spot faster. But this is only a minor inconvenience given the size of places I fish. Several minutes of paddling is usually enough to take me any distance I need to go. I couldn't get here with a boat: or here: or here:

Tom published two articles that I know of in In-Fisherman Magazine. He referenced the horizontal jigging one above frequently. It appears in volume 20, no. 1, Feb. 1995. There is another one on trophy bass in California, from issue #64, Dec/Jan 1985-6. I dug it up once -- look at that pic of Young Tom!

Oh no. So sorry to hear this -- I will miss his deep knowledge, generous advice, and stories of his own long and vast angling experience. A first-ballot Bassresource Hall-of-Famer if there ever was one. RIP Tom.

The two colors I always have on hand are "dark" and "light". I have my favorite versions of each, but those preferences are entirely local and situational based on a highly rigorous and precise balance of critical factors such as: Forage; Stain; Clarity; Lighting; "What some guy told me"; "What I read on the internet"; and "What kinda looks good in the water to me right now." (in no particular order of importance)

Go fishing when I'm able. Fish some lakes. Fish some rivers. Catch some green bass. Catch some brown bass. Don't break anything or drown.

Top 5 producers were 1. Yamamoto D-Shad -- The hero of May+June 2. 4.3 Keitech + Flashy Swimmer -- Outperformed other moving baits 3. Yamamoto Senko -- Usually weightless t-rig, but also wacky on a weighted head 4. Cavitron Buzzbait -- Morning topwater king 5. Yamamoto Hula Grub -- The best creature I know of Runners up: Zoom Lizard, Booyah Covert Spinnerbait, Rage Menace & Space Monkey, Megbass Pop Max. Weirdly, I didn't use a finesse worm much, but they usually make the shortlist. And it looks like I didn't throw a crankbait or jerkbait at all this year.