The Bassman

I was a west side Indy resident. Grew up at 30th and Georgetown. You could see turn 4 from our kitchen window.

I actually ice fished out of the back door of my Dodge station wagon on the upper end of Monroe in '78. The ice was a foot thick. Game warden still didn't like it and chased a bunch of us off saying we weren't on a "designated road" in the Hoosier National Forest. Another time I wore myself out spudding a hole at the end of a long dock on Geist reservoir. Break through chop got me a hole full of muddy water. It was only a foot and a half deep. No more ice fishing in my old age now.

Ned rig and cold water goes together like peas and carrots as Forrest Gump would say. Stick with a light head and swim it just off the bottom rather than hopping it. I had my first "handwarmer session" of the fall this afternoon and caught about twenty along with two crappie. Not the most exciting bait to fish but simply put, it works.

Dark Sleeper was a go to for me last winter. Substituted well as a ned rig when there was wind that would belly my line with the lighter baits. Was very effective.

I've owned several Scorpions and my favorite is the '16 70 with the stock spool swapped out for a Curado 70 MGL spool. Second was the original 1000 with a carbon fiber handle. I tried to love the 50E series. I owned a Chronarch 50E, two Scorp 1000XT's, a Brenious, a Core 50 MG7, and an Aldeberan MG7. Without exception they all felt geary to me and except for the high end magnesium ones felt labored under load. I'm doubtless in the minority.

I fish when my guides are icing up. A toss away hand warmer in each pocket, a few neds, a jerkbait, and maybe a small blade bait. Life is good. BTW I just came in from a decent afternoon jerkbait bite including one that was between 5.5-6 lbs. This is a good time of year for big bass.

I'll be able to do my usual Thanksgiving routine again thanks to our milder fall and winter in recent years. Go to my sister in law for dinner (they eat around noon), visit a little, then bolt with enough daylight for a couple of hours of fishing. Supposed to be about 50 today then at least a week and a half of cold weather. The wife is glad to send me on my way so she can enjoy the chaos among her large family.

It's nice to have that option. I'm fortunate to be self employed and go AWOL (most of the time) when the mood strikes.

I live in Indiana and have been able to fish and catch year round for several years now. We still get locked in but not nearly as long as we did decades ago. Looking forward to starting my Nov. tally. We're in our first real cold snap of the fall but will rebound nicely by the weekend.

There's a lot of good choices. I would look for a quality 8 strand with a diameter at or less than .15 mm. Power Pro SuperSlick, Sufix 832 are two good ones. 6 lb. 832 is .14mm and very strong.

Go by line diameter. Break ratings are subjective and vary widely between brands.

When I was playing with BFS I liked 10# PP Super Slick. It's about .15 mm. It doesn't take much to clean those spools so 15 is pushing it.

Started October with a bang. Didn't have high expectations with almost no wind but caught two that were bigger than anything since spring. Teeny Pop-R did the trick. I've caught a lot of big bass on this unassuming bait. Also caught fifteen or so of the usual suspects (foot longs). This particular lake typically serves as a numbers pond when the bite is tough but these two gave me a new point of view.

Alberto is my go to as I'm using leaders more now. Two tips: 1. Make two wraps with your braid in the the leader loop as you finish. Good insurance that the braid won't unravel. 2. Trim the leader tag as close as possible (don't nip the braid, though). This will minimize guide hang ups and make the knot quieter. Also, I don't stress over getting my wraps perfect. As long as you get them to lay neat by not backwrapping over the ones you've done already you'll be fine. A poorly tied knot will look lumpy. A well tied one will be very neat and small. Glue just makes the knot noisy. It'll hold on its own.

I thought that I was the only one that hated these things. I fish in neighborhoods that hire large crews to maintain green space. Seems I'm always fishing at the wrong time.

Had a good chatterbait bite midday today. Caught 16 in about three hours. Bladed jigs tend to catch quality fish for me. I had several over two lb. This was my biggest.

I'm betting a lot of you guys don't remember Homer Circle but he was a wise and witty dude. His take on this was to get the fish in the boat then you can play with it.

Thank you very little.

Catching has been decent lately even with pond levels dropping from a lack of rain. Caught several today with ten or so on topwater and a half dozen more on my trusty Booyah One Knocker when the breeze finally kicked in a little. This one was the best. Got her(?) on a 04 SubWart. I actually sight fished her and she took it dead stick like a bluegill sucking in a fly rod popper.

I use to stumble more when I was out of the water because I wasn't as careful as when wading. I was in too much of a hurry to get to the next pool. Sorry about your ankle. Mine's the right, too. My other problem is a doting wife that throws a fit if I act like I'm going to try. You got me thinking about tomorrow (maybe). Conditions are perfect with low water just starting to cool down.

I intended to get back in the creek this summer but it didn't happen. I thought that with a knee replacement last Nov. that I would be good to go. Knee's golden but a bad right ankle has only gotten worse so no rock hopping on slick algae. Wading creeks here in IN has always been my favorite form of fishing. We're pretty close in age so a tip of the hat to you. That sure is a nice smallie. Go get another one before the weather turns.

Looks like something in the herring family to me by the jaw shape. Lower pic brings back memories. We called those creek shiners. We would catch them early in the year when sucker fishing. Later on we caught them on small spinners when wading for smallmouth.

I'm not sure but I seem to remember a prank he pulled by trying to claim he had caught a world record bass. Seems he ate it and all he had to show was the head which turned out to be a grouper.

I've been lazy about posting fish pics for a while. Decided to go out with less than ideal conditions this afternoon (heat, no wind). Actually did better than I expected with two this size and a half dozen smaller. They came on a Rapala Skitter Walk and a bladed jig. 90's+ the rest of the week.

Since I'm a bank walker carrying food isn't really practical. I just time my outings accordingly. No more 6 hr. trips like a few years ago. Also keep hot weather trips short to stay hydrated. Years ago the food frequently mentioned among tournament anglers was Vienna sausages. I'll pass.