TnRiver46

Prayers sent

WE got lots of Christmas Day bass and a few crappie. Was after white bass but largemouth and smallmouth seemed to have moved in on them.

The Hull matters not, all the importance lies inside the cowling. Or at least the expensive importance........... serioisly though, I have been burned on some Craig’s list deals. The most important thing is a test drive/fish. Launch the boat before you buy it, pretty easy to tell if it leaks. Then put the hammer down, a lot of boats run great in a barrel full of water but put them under a load and they go half $&@. Then you have the matter of a transom. They are a pain to replace for a regular joe like me. I have done it but it will take up all your free time for a weekend or 3. To see if transom is rotten, grab the skeg of the motor and shake it up and down while watching the transom. If it wiggles and it’s made of wood, you will need to replace the wood . If the whole boat and trailer shakes instead of the transom then you are good to go

Bearing buddies are great but there’s a big difference between pumping grease into a bearing and actually packing a bearing. After years and years of pulling trailers I have learned a couple things. One is instead of replacing bearings, just replace the hubs. I replaced the bearings in my 1957 trailer my grandpa gave me and I was wailing on the races with a hammer every evening after work until people 1/2 mile down the road were complaining. New hubs only cost about $15-20 more haha. Another important thing is to always keep some spare parts (bearing, hub, wheel/tire, jack, tire iron, grease, etc) on hand. That way when your wheel flies off and into the woods, you can still just roll on home. Believe me it happens .

Look at all that slop.......... poor trolling motor........... nice fish though!

@smalljaw67 couldn’t have described the entire technique any better. It’s crazy how picky they will be

Old timers use wd40 as fish attractant. They don’t tell the EPA either hahaha

Huntin smallmouth!

Good gracious......... I’ll have that........... but make my cobbler blackberry. My mom and cousin are making prime rib for supper tomorrow. Hopefully I will remember to post a picture here

Foles has been impressive. That throw he made yesterday when Clowney hit him in the chest was unbelievable

You can fish a drop shot on a baitcaster with a heavier sinker and heavy line. It works great but I wouldn’t call it finesse. Just toss it around in stained water where you would throw a Texas rig, it gives the fish a different view of a worm they might not have seen that day

It works great both video game fishing and casting at the bank. You want the heavier jig heads for the vertical dropping (at least to start with) and the lighter jig heads for casting. I like a 2.5 inch gulp minnow on 1/8 oz for casting. Just let it pendulum and hang on!! For watching the graph a heavier head will get the bait where you want it quicker and pick off the most agressive fish. If this doesn't work after a while you may need to downsize. This method has nearly taken over winter fishing in the highland reservoirs in my area. Check out the coverage from the 2018 bassmaster elite series tournament on Cherokee lake in February

Pads are a heartbreaker. Heaviest rod and line possible and hope for the best! As far as the problem you are having with the backing knot in the spool, I always keep enough braid on the spool to bury the knot deep enough to where it never effects the cast. When the knot starts effecting distance, it's time to add more braid

I have fished the Alabama river a lot but never this time of year. Which pool are you on? I would think the spots should be crashing bait in the shallows. A White spinnerbait seems to be a favorite in AL all the time no matter what. Maybe fan cast a dark color Texas rig craw/worm or jig or yo yo a rattle trap

Longer days means more fishing time! I'm not a fan of night casting

Why Sam...... Why........I'm beginning to think you just like to torture me..........why dont you just bring up the 07 title game when your backup QB beat us............again........... It's ok I don't need to watch these reruns........... They play over and over in my head everyday............... People from up North just wouldn't understand............. By the way if TN wins the 01 game you are referring to, we play Miami in the Rose bowl for the national title...............

White

My buddy calls them buzzards in tuxedos. We have a whole bunch of them nowadays, even some downtown

Common problem not easily solved

All I can say for sure is that shad hate to be eaten! Ironic because it seems to be their sole purpose

Just because fish like the dark depths doesn’t mean they hate sunshine. Where I’m at they just follow shad. A lot of folks say that fish hate sun because results can be so good in overcast rainy conditions . I usually just attribute this to incoming fronts that put fish in a feeding mood. The post front bluebird days can be tougher, probably leading people to assume that bass “hate sunshine,” where in reality, they just eat...... then rest....... then eat....... then rest. Reminds me of me

Me and Bo share a Bill Dance hat

I personally find used Abu Garcia round reels in that price range because I can take one apart and put it back together blindfolded by now haha. 1980s technology still holds up pretty well

I lost one of the Biggest largemouth That I have ever hooked today but it could have been worse. No bites at all where we found the big smallmouth yesterday

Maybe the channel edge? That's where I like to start . Seems like they go from deep to shallow throughout the day