RipzLipz

@Dwight Hottle I wouldn’t be so sure about that these days! Besides, I’m usually much happier when I pay the bar tab, at least until morning! @TnRiver46 Bungles might not have any starters left at skill positions once playoffs arrive! 😳😳😳

I know of one bottom feeder, to which I was once married, that you wouldn’t want on your line. The stink bait alone is not worth it.

It is often painful for me to put down the baitcasters but always enjoy the colors on these little guys. Released to the grease!

As far as I know through hull is 2D sonar only. DI, SI & FFS are all externally mounted transducers or you‘d be seeing your hull onscreen. I’m a ‘bird man & go with the biggest screen you can afford or for which you have room, even if you’re a few hundred over planned budget. Opinions will vary on brand - everyone has their own preference.

@Woody B I’ve had unsuccessful days where I cried so much my automatic life jacket also deployed.

Might be brand dependent but I believe most are wormproof these days with the exception of soft plastics made from Elaztech. I would think Plano & Flambeau & house brands from BPS/Cabelas would be fine. Read labels & make sure.

Northern strain are more resilient to colder water temps as well as cold fronts, or so I’ve read. I assume they’d be more likely to chase moving baits compared to FL strain when water temps dip down under 50°. I do OK on spinnerbaits where I fish but have yet to get a sniff on an A-rig.

Probably not too far off from flags hanging from their precious hips & high heeled cleats.

@PhishLI don’t you mean monkey hole?

This is turning BR into the Rough Fish Report. @roadwarrior’s gonna have a coronary. 🤣🤣🤣

@gimruis They just go from one provider to the next. If it’s not Dish, it’s Comcast or DirecTV or someone else. Affects multiple states at a time depending on how many stations they own. Nothing but utter greed.

@The Bassman I know bud, I know. I’m stubborn that way. Appreciate the help. I was at another much larger lake which has made me put the strip pits on the back burner for about the past year. Giant hunting & I know they’re in there - just a matter of time & hoping any potential "windows" don’t slam shut on my fingers. Strip pit needed a rest.

@J Francho I gave up before kickoff. @gimruis Lots of prime time stinkers this year for some reason. My 7 year old grandson could have picked a better prime time schedule. Apologies to any CHI fans but they’re probably years away from being a draw so why even bother putting them in prime time games for a couple years? To top it off we’re experiencing our 2nd provider/station owner dispute this season. First it was CBS affiliate to start the season now NBC affiliate to end it. Just about done with NFL. Change the rules to benefit passing QBs then draft trends seem to shift to running QBs with less passing skills (IMO).

@J Francho It took me a few days but I finally found the main highlight from that Vikings/Raiders game:

@AlabamaSpothunter Let me know when @NorthernBasser’s new tackle store opens. Was excited to see his first inventory shipment arrived. 🤣🤣🤣

Apparently all of them.🤣🤣🤣 @NorthernBasser You know.🤣🤣

@TnRiver46 Just one of those days man. Would have rather picked out a backlash on that Ambassadeur. 🤣 Got out of the boat & felt like I’d been doing this all afternoon… Dare I say a drum would have been welcome at that point? 🤣

Went fishing in December in my home state for the first time in my life. Didn’t matter what I did or how I did it. This pretty much sums it up. The end.

@TnRiver46

@NorthernBasser 🤣🤣🤣

@Pat Brown Thank you for clarifying. My post was in the same vein. Will PM rather than derail thread topic as I feel we’re steppin’ in what we’re both smellin'.

@Pat Brown @ol'crickety The point wasn’t the species of baitfish - the point was the behavior of the big bass watching their prey, noting I’d witnessed similar behavior as Pat mentioned but probably involving different prey species. We are in 3 different states - I wouldn’t begin to assume all of our lakes fish exactly alike, down to the preferred prey. However, if you were to come across bedding panfish (bluegill, red ear, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, bream or whatever the local name might be) it might be worth your time checking out what haunts the waters close by those beds at night. Simple as that. Does it mean you’ll catch a new PB? No clue. But it works well for me in the waters I fish. Only meant as suggestions which I feel have put nice one in my boat, take them or leave them (hope you both know by now that’s not a smart mouthed reply). @Pat Brown golden shiners are supposedly present here but I’ve never seen one in the belly of a bass that went under the fillet knife. I wouldn’t necessarily rule them out as prey but probably not top of the menu. Shad, panfish would be my first instincts for baitfish but craws will get bit just as well. Gizzard shad might also draw big bites but those can often get too big. If you want to find tilapia around here, my best guess would be a menu, grocery or pet store. 🤣 ETA: Also the comment Pat made about those fish eating at night - my response was all tied into the watching of the bait & night feeding. Have seen it here also. Not going to concern myself with what more than likely, in the waters I fish, isn’t at the upper portion of the menu in regards to baitfish.

When I see bluegills muddying up shallow spots in the strip pits, I know it will soon be time to start heading out at night. This will often begin around the time bass are close to being or completely done with their spawning. Once the bluegills have their larger bedding colonies established (more like subdivisions in some pits) I will begin to observe larger bass cruising the shallows nearby, probing the perimeter of the colonies. Probably making their plan of attack during the daylight in preparation for the slaughter to come once the sun goes down.

Love the muskie size. Surprisingly subtle sounding. This runt got a face full one night.

I know - other than 1 team being on fire (in a good way) here & there over the years, that division seems to be quite adept at stinking it up. Not that my home state team is in any better shape by any means. Their fire jumped out of the dumpster into the dry cornfields years ago & I fear they recently drafted the next JaMarcus Russell. 🤮🤮🤮