the reel ess

People see my social media and ask how to catch bigger bass. I tell them they have to fish where bigger bass live. Location matters more than presentation, though that matters too. You can't catch a big bass that isn't there. That said, I'm about to lose access to that spot and I doubt I'll ever reach a double digit unless I move or go on vacation In Central FL, TX or CA. I fished for 40 plus years in a major lake and never caught a bass over 5 lbs. There simply weren't many there.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/rod-reel-setups.html I used this approach for building an arsenal. I have since added a couple combos and a technique specific frog rod. I usually take 6-7 rods with me on the kayak. It has built-in rod holders and I have a crate with 6 more zip tied in.

I prefer darker ones until the sun gets up. Then I prefer lighter colors like bone, frog, roan and firetiger. They all cast the same shadow though. And I very, very rarely catch anything in broad daylight. Once the sun is up most of my topwater bites come from the shadows and edges. The frog is a different thing altogether. They'll attack that thing when the sun is high.

Agreed. And I don't think bass can even see the back of a topwater lure.

I bought a pair of Orvis polarized sunglasses with 1.5X readers because I could no longer see to tie line and was always forgetting my readers. I've had them for about 6 years and they don't have a single scratch. Of course, I only use them for fishing. They were $60. My other pair are Calcuttas. They look expensive but aren't. $20-30. They get the job done. I'm a thrifty fisherman, spending the money where it matters most.

Tastes like pine tar. And I've had "good gin".

And people who sip Scotch whilst paddling their kayaks and fishing.

I like it for drinking straight (shaken) but for making an old fashioned it gets lost. When I can't taste my liquor I might go overboard. If you want to try an old fashioned, Knob Creek rye is great for it. Another full bodied, smooth bourbon I don't think anyone has mentioned is Bulleitt. One of my go-tos.

My local store has it, but they want $47 for it. Robbery!

A friend of mine called me this morning from Florida and said he found Buffalo Trace for $25. Told him to get me two.

It makes a decent old fashioned if you already have it around. I had that this weekend. It's a bargain. You can get the small batch at a good price as well.

If you're going to drink it straight look for Buffalo Trace or something that costs more than $30. Larceny is a steal (puns all intended) at about $28. But I like an old fashioned. That's a bourbon or rye whiskey (I use bourbon), several dashes of bitters a tiny drizzle of simple syrup (you can get those last two at any decent liquor store) poured over a single large ice cube. If you want to stay cheap, I think Jim Beam is smooth and you won't have to feel guilty for cutting it with soda. I'm partial to ginger ale and a lime wedge. I like Maker's but it's a bit overpriced for the taste. If you want to taste some good straight whiskey, not technically bourbon, all those flavored ones are good. There's a pecan one, and bird dog has them in all fruit flavors.

It's so hot right now that I'd rather work.

I work from home and the schedule is pretty flexible. Yeah, I've taken many mornings and a few afternoons to fish. I usually make the time up. I asked my manager once and she said "This is not a prison. Just go."

I just renewed my fishing license because I may be forced to fish public waters. LOL. There have been years I didn't need one.

I meant 10 families. Fat finger error. And I'm an estimator. LOL

I grew up on Lake Wateree, SC. We had the property since before I was born. We used a pop-up camper, then had a trailer and later a house on it. It was my dad's dream to retire there. My mom got sick and died and he didn't even want to go there. So I maintained it and used it some until he died. I had to sell it after that. But honestly, the lake is now overcrowded and almost intolerable around holidays. It gets more polluted each year and there are permanent consumption warnings. Not to mention, the county dramatically raises taxes every few years. I never caught a bass over 5 lbs. in the 40+ years I fished there. I was ecstatic when I found this private place and had carte blanche to go as I pleased in daylight hours.

The average where I fish is a pound. But then there's always that class of exceptions that has the potential to get bigger. Most places either don't have the upper class bass or has it in smaller numbers. This place has shiners, minnows, bream, crappie. Plenty for big bass to eat. It has turned me into a mostly shallow water specialist. The issue with this place is it's owned by all the people who owned property when the Army Corps of Engineers flooded it. So that's like 10 different families. And there's a guy on the other side who appears to be developing an AirB&B business or something. I'm afraid the place was already going to the dogs. I've even seen a couple guys running their gas motor in it. It's all electric, but who's gonna stop them? But, yeah, I'll be fishing there until the property is under contract. The current owner told me that's fine and made sure I had a good key. I think they'll probably float the idea to the next owners that they only let like 2 people go in and we're very conscientious, even looking out for their welfare. I just know if it was mine and right behind my house, I'd think twice before letting anyone in.

I have been fortunate enough to get a gate key giving me access to a private 30+/- acre lake. All my big fish pics, including my PB have come from there. I've been into the gym lately and had not fished in over a month so I went Saturday midday. On the way out there were people cleaning up the property and I could see some of the owners' stuff was gone from the yard. I asked if they were going to sell and the answer was yes. They're getting up there and 41 acres is apparently too much work for them. I understand. But I'm going to lose access to it when they sell. I've caught 21 fish over 3 lbs. there since Jan 2021. It's an amazing fishery. No doubt one of the very best I've been to. It also has crappie and good bream. This is very sad news. But I'm going to try to go once a week until it's sold. I know some would say I should buy it. It's well out of my range. Oh, and I caught a 6-3 there Saturday on a frog in lilies. A few of my greatest hits from this place:

There are a few urban places you have to keep your head on a swivel.

Preferably a black worm. And rig a glass bead between the weight and worm so it clicks.

When I tried them they seemed to perform worse than a T-rigged craw. Could just be the place/time I tried them. Honestly, where I fish, BIG baits don't seem to do as well, even for large bass. They seem to be homed in on smaller shiners and craws.

Amazon. Have it in 2 days.

I've been fishing a place with a good many 5-8 lb bass. I've been fortunate enough to catch probably 20 in that range with 2 over 8 lbs. Only once in all that time did I catch 2 big bass close together, geographically. And that was an hour or more apart, same spot, same day, same lure. They weren't the same bass because one was 7-something and the other 5-something. Both on the Whopper Plopper for what it's worth. This goes to the OP's statement that big bass behave differently than small bass.

Getting the bait to the fish is probably what they fail to do. I remember routinely getting out-fished by my dad. If there weren't many he would catch them all. And when I caught more, he would catch the biggest one. I simply had to slow down and do exactly as he did. Early in my bassing "career" my dad only used T-rigged 6-8" mostly purple worms. He would say if they don't want the worm they aren't hungry. That taught me patience that eventually paid off. You almost can't work a worm too slowly. In fact, I have a friend who goes with me very occasionally who only uses a weightless Trick Worm and reels it as slowly as possible. He catches fish most outings. He's caught a couple 5 pounders.