Troy85

It may have not even been a bass. A decent size alligator gar will bend a hook pretty easily. Also, their mouth is very bony so thankfully you won't get a good hook set and usually the fish will come unhooked without having to be brought into the boat. Even a big bowfin will bend a hook, I've had them thump my jigs before and when you set the hook you think you're about to break the the state record. Imo, unless you can visually confirm that it was a large bass, you shouldn't lose to much sleep over it.

I use a Okuma EVX 6'10" Med/Fast with a Daiwa Legalis LT. If i remember correctly ,the rod ran about $100 and the reel was about $70.

If you need to learn how to catch bass during Ice out...here is the expert.

Mine isn't very exciting, but it was creepy in moment. A few years back, I was going squirrel hunting with my brother and cousin. We were walking together though the woods to get to the area where we were going to split up and start hunting. It was still about 15 minutes or so before legal shooting hours and pretty close to pitch dark in the woods. I remember you could just see well enough to not trip over stuff, but other than that it was black. We are moving down this mostly dry sandy creek, so we are about as quiet as you can be. I heard this faint sound and I froze and said "psst", my brother and cousin both froze to listen. When we stopped the sound got louder, it was something breathing and the sound was coming from right in front of us and it sounded like it was coming from eye level. Its hard to describe how it sounded exactly, the I can best describe it was angry wheezy breathing, with some sort of growl mixed in. I've been hunting my entire life and I've never heard anything like it. We raised our guns, it was so dark that we couldn't see what it was that was making the noise. The sound started moving away and out of the creek and we could hear it snapping what sounded like some very large branches as it walked off. All 3 of us had our flashlights in our backpack, so we never got a chance to hit whatever it was with a light. I don't know what it was, but it sounded big. I've heard we have a few black bears around(I've never seen one though), so maybe that's what it was, either that or the mother of all wild hogs, but I've never heard a wild hog make that sound. I guess I'll never know.

I used to keep mine in the original bags. I got tired of looking thru the bags to find what I wanted. Or I would buy baits that I thought I was out of. Now I store them in Plano 3600 boxes, everything except Senkos and Rage Craws. I keep those in the original package. I like the new system, makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for, and easy to tell when I'm running low a specific bait.

Ha. Around here its all coke. What do you want to drink? A coke. What kind? Sprite.

I like the show. I do agree with @12poundbass about the infomercial part, sometimes it sounds like the end of a NASCAR race or something "This Abu Garica 7'2" Fast Action Veritas rod paired with this Shimano Curado 8.1 gear ratio spooled with 12lb Berkley Trilene Flurocarbon is working great under these conditions! I'm not having any trouble staying in place with my Minn Kota Talons, and my back feels great thanks to my Smooth Moves boat seat suspension!" I understand though, gotta have the sponsors or the show wouldn't happen. Overall, its a good show and and enjoy it. If the set was a decent price I'd probably pick it up.

Outdoor Channel or World Fishing network. Depending on if its a new episode or a rerun. I have the sling orange subscription, with the added package "heartland extra" which gives me an additonal 7 "outdoor activity" themed channels, which includes the 2 mentioned above. I think total I pay $30 a month for Sling.

http://www.majorleaguefishing.com/article/fans-will-get-in-on-the-action-at-mlfs-bass-pro-tour-events/21153

Thats a nice looking setup. Sounds like you need to take a fishing road trip down south and get that thing out on the water. 5 months is to long!

I have an H18' Xpress and love it. Rides great and keeps you dry most of the time. Mine was 8 years old when I bought it(2016), but it was hardly used. The engine only had 34 hours on it. They were asking $15,500, I ended up getting it for $14,500.

If visibility was 300', how long would your fluro leader have to be??!?!?!?!?!!?

Download the google maps program on your computer. They have a timeline feature where you can see satellite images from different dates, I use it to find grass in summer and find deep water on low tides(tidal marsh). It may have some other satellite images that give you some info. i can’t really tell much from the above photo. Other than I bet that concrete drain at the top has probably carved out some sort of hole or ditch where it flows into the pond.

Ha! Last 3 times I fished near here over the years. I always saw a boat fishing out where I think you're talking about, I went and checked it out on day when there wasn't anyone fishing it and saw the bridge on my electronics. If its the same one, it was in like 30ish fow. I didn't fish it because I didn't really know how. It was before I had discovered this site, and pretty much just beat the bank for all my fish.

Someone Should organize a cross tour world championship. The top 10 from each of the pro tours: Elites, MLF and FLW.

I use 5/0 EWG gamakatsu weighted swimbait hooks. They are just as weedless as as any offset worm hook. As far as the swimbait itself I use Zoom Super Swimming Flukes.

That’s why I really enjoy bass live. Even with MLF, I found out on instagram who won the championship. I still watch the show, but it does take away some of the suspense. If you don’t want spoilers for the season, don’t follow MLF on social media. ?

Probably a lot warmer than what you consider cold! ? For me anything below 50 is cold, 50-65 is chilly. I don't mind fishing in winter. I can get very tough though, especially when stiff post frontal North winds blow all the water out of the marsh and muddy everything up.

I watch MLF thru my slingtv subscription, but I wouldn't pay a separate fee just to watch BPT/MLF. When it comes to the elites show, I've never understood that either, why does ESPN air a fishing show during a time when most of their fan base are probably fishing. MLF airing on Monday night makes much more sense, although to be honest, I wish it aired on Friday night. After watching it I always want to go fishing, but still have to wait 4 days.

I'll add a little more clutter to the mix. I think the article didn't go into detail because speed is relative to the bait being used. Working a spinner bait fast and working a worm fast are two completely different retrieve speeds.

The Navy base near my house rents boats, RVs, tents, sleeping bags, etc. Everything you could need for just about any trip. They also do a good job of maintaining everything and keeping it in good shape.

If your current or ex military(with ID) you can rent boats from MWR at a lot of bases. Usually for a good price too. Military Place I was staying at Toledo bend rented 17’ Trackers, fully equipped for $40 a day.

I’m curious how they will televise the BPT events. Personally, I hope they air BPT live and keep the cup events as they are.

When I fish early in the morning I use coffee scented lures...bass want the caffeine . In the afternoon I use garlic scent, because garlic makes everything better. ? I use Berkeley Garlic spray on occasion, usually only in cold water conditions tho.