MIbassyaker

Thanks a lot....now I had to go and order another one. TW had "pumpkinseed" in stock, so that's on it's way now.

^^^^ Yup. I have the 6'8" MXF Avid X and it is one of my most used rods - I use it mostly for senkos and flukes, but it's great for any weightless or lightly weighted plastics, including tubes, grubs, and shakyheads, and can handle ned rigs, dropshots and sliders depending on weight. It's also good for smaller topwaters and jerkbaits, as well as balsa lures. I think it's ideal for plastics, but it gives me no trouble with trebled lures at all.

If you open the question up to any "jigworm" presentation, then I have a few favorites: --Zoom trick worm --Zoom U-tail worm --Mister Twister Phenom Worm --Biospawn Plasmatail If we consider "shakyhead" specifically to mean a shaking presentation on the bottom, then my favorite is the Strike King 3X Super Finesse worm. First, because it floats and the tail always stands up. Second, because for awhile it was available in Pumpkin with Green Flake, which is my favorite of all soft plastic colors. That color is discontinued now, but I have a few dozen bodies left. And Third, because it's made of elaztech, I have been able to get by using the same worm going on three years...so my stock might just last the rest of my life.

June through August I usually fish early on weekdays to avoid people. I'm usually up around 4 or 4:30 depending on how far I have to go, to get a line in the water before dawn. But the earliest I have been up is the prior evening to fish through the night; I just haven't done it in a long time.

They're going to ban you from entering if you keep this up...

Probably more than 1.5. A 19" LM, as long as it is basically healthy, could be anywhere from high 2s to 4+. But if this is a post-spawn female, which it probably is, it will be lower weight than is estimated on most of the charts. According to my records, I caught a skinny 19" last year the first week of june that was 2.95. Actually, all the length-to-weight charts I've seen overestimate the average weights of largemouth I tend to catch around here, except for a few waterbodies. I'd call it a 3, update your PB on your profile, buy a scale, and declare that your next PB will be the next one you catch that you can confirm is over 3.

I haven't fished in the Kalamazoo area, but I've done some scouting in preparation for trips that I never quite got around to -- doesn't Austin Lake have smallmouth? I thought it did. I also thought the Kalamazoo River by Otsego looked good; might be the same stretch you're thinking of.

799 for me at Guntersville, which is my lowest of the season so far. Although I have been going with lower-owned choices more often than usual. On DTL, however, I'm at 99.1%, ranked 116 after 3 events.

Yeah, 74 where I was. The smaller lakes really heated up early this year.

Got out this morning at dawn before some storms that were scheduled to roll in. I chose a 50-ish acre lake I haven't been to since last June to try for my first topwater bite of the year. This 16" post-spawner slurped a perch-colored Yo-Zuri 3DB prop, which also produced 5 more before I had to go: Propbaits never seem to get much love, but I use them a lot, especially post-spawn.

I have also had more success in rivers. Give me a regular old buzzbait for lakes.

Pumpkin with green flake: I would get every plastic bait in his color if I could.

Mat Frog I fish these on 6'4'-6'8" MF or MXF baitcasters.

Well, I haven't caught a bass over 4 pounds in more than a year, but this year has been uncommonly slow for numbers and low for size, even compared to last year at this point (which was my worst in some time). I've seen larger 4-5+lb class bass cruising, but all biters have been under 3. However, It's probably just a small sample as I've only been out 9 times for 3-5 hours each time, and four of those trips have been to places I've never fished as early in the year before. Haven't been skunked yet, though.

Is "the one they're biting" a type? I can't think of any lure I'd rather keep throwing without success, rather than switch to something else and start catching.

a. Mosely b. Lowen c. Menendez d. Jocumsen e. Latuso DTL: Christie, Sumrall, Cherry, Swindle, Gross, New, Arey, Lester

Yeah, it's not for everyone. If I could not be physically comfortable in a kayak for several hours at a time, that would be a deal-breaker for me too. Most of the places I fish are small waters under a few hundred acres, max. A few have only carry-down access, with no ramp. I don't have any long runs to make, other than occasionally paddling-in 15-30min from a creek. Wind is problematic, but as mentioned above, it can be managed and harnessed for advantage with some preparation. I have two kayaks, one of which is stable enough to stand on, but in practice I sit almost all the time. If I felt I needed a motor, less restrictive body positioning and movement, and more stability than I already have, I would get a small boat. But I don't.

Tough sledding this morning after some rain came through overnight (and continued in brief patches during my first couple hours out). I managed three in just under 5 hours; The best one (below) gobbled a senko and went about 2 and a half. So the parade of two-pounders continues (still haven't broken 3lb yet this year...where are they?). Two others bit on a green pumpkin/purple Siebert Fogy.

Prefer either a drag-pause retrieve, or a slight lift-and-drop retrieve. The rig gives the impression of something fluttering along slowly near the bottom, but not directly on the bottom (unless it's a non-floater and you pause long enough for it to settle completely.)

I use 1/8oz and let the weight slide freely above a bobber stop rather than peg it in place. This allows the line to pull through the weight when the bait is picked up, rather than move the weight. I can't prove it, but it feels like this helps strike detection. Any small creature or worm is good, especially if it floats or is neutrally-bouyant, but it doesn't have to be.

Yup, gotta love it: what's the absolute best? Nobody agrees. In other words, there is no "absolute best"...only preferences which you must discover for yourself. No shortcuts!

And I don't like paddletails on my trailers. For thin profile, Yamamoto Zako or Strike King Blade Minnow. Zoom Super Fluke does well in a pinch. For a "fatter" profile, Rage Menace rigged vertically.

I have a few autographed books, most of which were acquired randomly from buying used on online marketplaces, at normal prices, when the autograph wasn't mentioned in the listing. I can't actually verify the authenticity of them, but who would fake the signature of a fishing personality? Tony Bean seems to have autographed the outside cover of this copy of his book: This one is direct from the Lindners, at least...the reprint of "Catching Fish", republished a few years ago. I think they just signed and numbered all the copies:

All year round, and is a top producer in the summer when other techniques are a bust.

It seems perfectly plausible to me that bass in a small, still-watered pond in NJ could all have been spawning over the last week, and that could by why you're having trouble. The smaller waters in my area are right now about to spawn and probably will start over the weekend, provided weather is as stable as it's predicted to be. NJ is both warmer than MI and has much less volatile weather, being near the coast (I lived there for 4 years before moving here).