Gundog

@Eric J glad to see you added a new technique. Never stop learning and the sport of fishing will always be exciting.

THEY SAID "DO YOU HEAR..." oh never mind. Its an internet thing. We'll have a teenager stop by and explain it.

Am I the only person who hears Bigfoot in the background singing "Midnight train to Georgia" off key?

If you are accurate with the water temps then I would be fishing slow for largemouths. Jigs, worms and senkos would be a good bet. Also throw in some twin-tailed skirted grubs (spider grubs) on a football head jig. If it was me I'd concentrate on areas that go from deep to shallow quickly. If the sun is out and the water is warming maybe go shallower but don't expect all the fish to be in one depth range. Also don't discount jerk baits. Even in muddy water they can produce. Fish hone in on them using their lateral line. Just use bright colors like yellows, oranges and whites so when they get close they can find it easier. Spinner baits with Colorado blades and bladed jigs work good in stained and muddy water too. The dam is an easy spot because rocks hold 2 things bass like the most, food (crayfish) and warmer water because the rocks hold heat.

All the more reason to move to Tennessee. Trust me you ain't missing much. Trout, walleye, sunfish, perch, blue gill, and striper are much more tasty.

^^^This. I bought both of my Lew's for $80 on sale at Cabela's and I can vouch for the quality and tightness of the LFS reels. They are so good I'm thinking about buying a third.

Worst part is they now know where you live! Expect random unsolicited salesmen at your door, lots of junk mail and the occasional bag of flaming poop. ?

And a pocket catheter ain't??? I'm sure Tupac used a pocket catheter when he went fishing. ?

I like to piece together my own from parts. Just need a ball jig, a spinner arm and blade and a plastic lure body. Great thing is you can customize the weight, blade size and body type and color very easily by just changing one component. Easily adaptable to any fishing conditions you have. If you need heavier weight to get down deeper just change the size of the ball jig. Need more vibration, just change the spinner arm to a larger blade. If you want a more natural color, just change the lure body.

Cool musky. Those beasts are fun just to hook into but landing them can be tough if you don't have the gear for it. The thing that took a dump on your leg is a rock bass. I've heard them referred to as red-eyed bass as well.

Best advice, keep the line tight between the rod and lure and you should be able to feel any bites. That is the key to setting the hook at the right time.

After the 3 day rainstorm ended I got out to the lake today. The lake was flooded and cold and I wasn't sure where the bass would be so it was time to throw everything I had. Only caught 2 bass and 1 pickerel. This little guy barely had a spiny dorsal fin and bad scars on both sides. I'm thinking Big Feets got to him. The second bass of the day was a little better and gave a tough fight. Next week looks to be drier and warmer so hopefully that will mean better fishing.

My opinion is you're getting a quality reel with either brand. I don't own either reels but have owned both brands in baitcasters and quality of both are excellent. I may be partial but I really like the Lew's baitcasters and would probably go with their spinning reel.

Cabela's has Tatula 100HL,HSL and H for $90. Good deal or no?

Check the Big Foot thread.

3 of mine made it to day 3 and then there was none.

When the river calms down (if it calms down) I'll start my post-spawn process of finding fish. Pre-spawn and spawn are the easy times to find fish in rivers. With those over the tough part starts. I carry more lures than I usually do. Tubes, worms and craws with a small assortment of heads, small spinners both inline and safety pin types, shallow running small jerk baits and flutes and a couple Rebel Wee Craws. The areas I target are places with deep water near shorelines. If the river is low enough and safe to, I will wade to areas I know drop off into deeper water. I'll continue to fish this pattern till the water warms about 70 degrees and then I start fishing ripples and more oxygen rich water. Hope this helps.

Not just tournament participants. I find myself getting antsy after catching fish. Once I caught myself waking a spinner bait because I was so hyped up.

I believe Big Feets is real but you are fake.

Slimy rats. Nothing but a problem. Always nicking up my line and bending my lures. I fish a lake infested with those. So bad I started taking the legal ones and using them for fertilizer for my sister's garden. I'd much rather have a day of catching nothing than hook into one of those pests. They're the reason I buy Terminator Titanium Spinnerbaits. If they can bend it, they will.

You could get a couple dozen fillets out of that monster.

Now if we could only figure out which one of you is the evil twin.....

Hmmmm....lets see...... Can't think of a thing.

Find a 4 1/2 inch tube (my fav. SK Denny Brauer Flip Tube) and texas rig it with as light a weight as you need to get through the wood, grass or whatever else you are throwing into. Great thing is they are streamlined to come through heavy cover easily.

@Sharkicane the list looks good to me. Good luck and I hope you catch a lot of bass.