lo n slo

i’ll knock it off after Christmas and pick it back up again sometime in February.

i just now saw this. so happy for you brother. your story is compelling.

yes

low and slow

now we rarely, if ever, ice up down here in NC. i’ll do some fishing til around Christmas time and then back her down for a spell. that being said, the dead of winter (Jan-Feb) is when i like to do alot of my outdoor projects. hardly any snow or really long term frigid conditions allows me to do whatever without the heat and humidity to drag me down. plus, i get to finish up right about pre spawn. i’ll also take this time to sink some brush and keep the outboards from sitting idle for long periods.

has anyone said location yet? that’s my pick

in bed by 10, up by 5, every day, fishing or not. i like to be on the water early from mid spring thru early fall, but wait til the afternoon when it starts getting chilly.

now i’m hungry

is there any other way?

this is kind of the way it’s been in western NC here lately. i’ve been catching some fish but i haven’t been wearing them out like i’d like to be doing. swts are still in the mid to low 60’s. one day they’re in 20+ fow, two days later, on shallow wood. afternoon’s seem to be better than mornings. that’s about the only “pattern” i’ve been able to put together. but i’m gonna continue working on it. ?

SEMPER FI

went out this morning and struggled early. my usual spots weren’t producing, but i managed to stumble across two areas that were holding some fish. i had to anchor, and fish deeper, in the wind. never easy but that’s where the fish were. i ended up with 5 spots and a rare largemouth on the day. life is good.

agreed ...but on that second or third day after the warmup....now you’re talkin’

i own two boats now, a Javelin for the bigger lakes and a little 14’ johnny with an 85 Johnson 15 hp tiller for a smaller lake near the house. guess which one i spend the most time in?

i went out today for about 4 hours, caught 7 spots, one on a spinner bait and the rest on a texas rig. swts are around 60 degrees. i’ll be back out there Sunday morning.

good deal ?

yep, i’ll be out there this coming Friday and Sunday. can’t wait. we’re fortunate to have halfway decent weather here in western NC for much of the fall/winter. good time to refresh those brush piles too.

hooked up with this nice blue cat last week while dragging a plastic lizard thru a brush pile. first i thought it was a big bass that had me wrapped up but then it began pulling the little johnny around. it didn’t take long to figure things out after that. she must have been well over 10 but i wasn’t about to bring that thing aboard to find out! edit: i bent the hook with the needle nose pliers.

i think i’m in love

most times you can find some real talent walking around in that place, if you catch my drift. ? plus, they carry my Testors model paints and clear coat.

where i live, the spots have pretty much taken over. so it is what it is, not much choice for me. i do have one small lake that still produces some nice largemouth bass, along with the multitude of spots. so i just go fishing. around here you can catch them just about anywhere in the spring, up until around Memorial Day. after that they like to school up and thats the time i like the most. from late May until early August is when i catch the bigger fish on deeper brush and structure. late summer thermocline has a tendency to scatter both the bass and the bait. good luck with that. now, after the turnover period, they’re free to roam both the shallows and the deep. feast or famine period for me as i’m a texas rigger at heart, and hard headed to boot! my pb spot is this 4.26 i caught in May 2019 on a Zoom 5” lizard.

texas rig, dragged or hopped

you sound like a good man and i’m glad to see that you called in some help. taking care of elderly parents is tough duty, i know from experience. please don’t try to carry all these burdens by yourself. those kids need their father to be of sound mind and body right now. it may be hard to consider this thought right now, but time passes and changes all things. knowing that you gave from your heart will afford you a good conscience as you grow older.

that’s great news!