BigAngus752

Tough conditions! You're absolutely correct, clear water is slower to warm. Don't sweat this though. Pre-spawn isn't some short window of opportunity. When bass are on beds that means there are some bass on the way to the beds and some bass who are done and leaving the beds. My "pre-spawn" tactics remain my tactics for two or three months. I fish the "highways" going to and from the spawning areas. You've obviously got flooding. Let the fish and the conditions settle down a little and get used to each other and hit it again.

I am at the age where I need these kinds of reminders. Done.

It's a beautiful area. Seven years ago my wife and I were shopping for land/homes from Clayton to Lavonia and we were certain we were retiring there. Made multiple trips and look at a lot of houses. I got a job offer here that was too good to pass. A huge boost for our future. I'm hoping we end up down there in a few years. Lake Hartwell is very pretty. Lake Burton is like a painting is so perfect. This sounds like a good reason to go back for another visit.

I love the bladed jig but I don't make a ton of adjustments to the trailers. During spring I use any paddletail I happen to have. Once the bluegill start to spawn I use anything flappy (usually a shortened Rage Craw because they are cheap at Walmart and work great) but I put it on sideways like a fishes tail. Late summer/fall I just turn the Rage Craw flat. I change the jig itself as much as the trailer. In cold water the most important thing to me is a bladed jig that I can roll as slooooowly as possible, and that bladed jig is the @Siebert Outdoors Fogy. For extra-tough fishing I use a Fogy with the "Turbo" blade (used to be called the Bubble Blade). I've gone from skunk to good day by switching to that blade. Siebert Outdoors LLCFogyThe Fogy is a classic blade bait known for its powerful thump and proven fish-catching ability. Designed with a football jig head , the Fogy produces more vibration than many other blade baits, while

I believe that you and all of the good people you’ve met in the past decade have the ability to bring peace back to your home! Prayers for you and your family!

Yes! That's a killer exercise. My youth was bodybuilding and powerlifting. My joints and old age hormones can't support that any longer. I'm on the downhill side just trying to slow down the inevitable. Due to my genetic predispositions I can't do any kind of testosterone replacement at any point in my life so I'm trying to maintain as best I can and remain "capable". That's my mantra these days. I don't mind being old if I can be "capable". I still squat and DL and so forth but I focus more on meaningful movement.

Outstanding! That's awesome that you feel such a big difference. I can't speak to rucking but you already received expert advice from @bp_fowler . If you dig it, go for it. I'm 56 yrs and I do a significant amount of functional fitness. If you're interested, you might try walking up and down stairs with some weight. I walk or run stairs with a 75lb sandbag or two 50lb kettlebells (I've worked up to those weights over several years). Running up stairs is no-impact exercise because there is no heel strike. You are only touching the balls of your feet. Slow down on the way down. You could do this with a weighted vest, also. I also do weighted "get ups". I found I was grunting and making noise when trying to get up off the floor so I started doing it as an exercise. Sit or lay down on the floor. Just stand up repeatedly. Add some weight. I do it with a 75lb sandbag but I started with a 10lb kettlebell. I do this to stay capable as I get older. Good luck with the rucking, that is excellent exercise and a huge congratulations on your success. You've changed your life. That is something many people can't find the discipline to do. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to do anything crazy like giving up bourbon, but I enjoy the exercise.

I've lost many a lure while casting. 95% of those sent to Atlantis were the result of my own laziness and not retying when I knew I should have. 4% were poor knot tying, failing to check my line consistently, or worn guides. The last 1% was Let's not forget the time that I was casting a frog with heavy braid and a 7'6 rod and, while hurling huge yardage bombs, I saw a splash about 10 feet in front of my boat. That was the side cover from my Revo SX. As always, I'm left with the finger pointing back at myself. My best advice is, if you say to yourself quietly in your head, "Maybe I need to...." then you do need to. Sit down and retie/check/lubricate/adjust. If the fish are gone when you are done then they were never there.

What a tough question. The first thing that popped into my head was the question of how to quantify "hardcore". For variety, frequency, and "stick-to-it-iveness" in all conditions my initial picks are @TnRiver46 @Team9nine and @pdxfisher . Throw in consistency, longevity, and knowledge and @TOXIC and @Pat Brown join in. But the obvious choice for any definition of "hardcore" is @Glenn . No one else here has devoted the time, money, energy, and sweat into this sport like he has. This is the devotion we all wish we had. I want to add one more category to my scoring list. We will call it "legacy". For me, personally, the people on this forum that have most impacted my ability to excel and enjoy in my favorite hobby are @Catt and @WRB-2.0 . Another thank you to my online mentors.

So many great movies. He will always be Hodges to me. "There's two bulls standing on top of a mountain..."

Yup, love it. I have used it religiously for years on Yo-Zuri Hybrid and Trilene. Noticible difference. I've read comments from some people that they feel it weakens the line but I have not experienced that. Yo-Zuri Hybrid is incredibly reliable for me and the KVD Line and Lure makes it a joy to use.

Those are some beautiful fish! What a great story and I'm sure it will be motivational for some of us not to give up.

I would drop my mic and head 1000 miles south.

Defense wins championships but it puts the spectators to sleep. \

Thanks for posting this...I think. My initial reaction was that I need a Version 2 immediately. That seems like it would really open up my deck. Upon further review, however, I'm thinking about how often I drop to my knees or even lay down to lip bigger fish. I'm wondering if this would create landing difficulty during "finesse season". Nothing is perfect, right?

Outstanding work! Getting there is the hardest part. Maintaining is easy. You’ll be very happy you did it.

Didn’t even think about No Country for Old Men. Outstanding movie.

My top pick is the 1960 The Magnificent Seven. Just a perfect western (based on another movie that I like, Seven Samurai). Outstanding cast and I love the stories about how the cast interacted (or didn't). In no particular order I also love The Outlaw Josey Wales, Big Jake, Tombstone, and Unforgiven. There isn't a single redeeming character in the movie Unforgiven. It's a bunch of bad people doing bad things and yet we find ourselves rooting for some of them. I never pass up either version of 3:10 to Yuma or either version of True Grit. This last one is always listed as a "western" though it's not a traditional western, Hell or High Water.

It's the only time of year a lizard will work for me and it's top gun in early spawn...by a long margin. Zoom lizard in junebug or green pumpkin depending upon water clarity and cloud cover.

I can absolutely understand how you could be disappointed if you went to a fishing expo for the purpose of finding deals. One would think they are a "sale" event, but I think that's rare these days. When I go to a fishing expo, gun show, boat show, new car show, home improvement show, etc. I'm not going there to buy things. Might I end up buying something? Sure, but it's not the reason I go. I go to these events because I'm a "hands on" guy. I can read reviews and I can ask people I know, but that isn't the same as getting my hands on something, checking the fit and finish against MY standards, and being able to ask direct questions to a knowledgable employee if, for no other reason, to get a feel for their company standards. I find these events very helpful to me, even if I don't buy something that very day.

I have several Fuegos and I love them. I would add that my newest Fuego is not of the same quality as my older Fuegos, but I would not hesitate to buy another new one. If you have the opportunity to grab an older used model I would definitely recommend that.

The only knots I use to tie on lures or hooks are Trilene and Palomar. With the Trilene knot I have a hard number. It's unequivocal. This is unarguable and must be used every single time. I wrap six times...unless I'm distracted by a bird or a fish jumping or I think about something funny from 40 years ago and then I probably wrap 7 times...or maybe 8. Don't quote me. Interestingly, the Trilene knot is highly reliable for me regardless of my distracted wrapping number. My line weight for the Trilene knot ranges from 6lb to 15lb. Also, @scaleface is 100% but in Illinois we use our middle finger to secure the loop.

It has only been since Tom left us to fend for ourselves that I realized there was a pattern to my responses to other members questions. It usually went something like this: A member posts a question I read the question and think, "I have some good advice I can offer in response" so I formulate a response in my head. I read everyone else's response before posting MY response just for my own knowledge. I find that Tom has responded and, upon reading his response, I find that he is giving the same general advice, but with more detail and probably something else I hadn't thought of. I abandon my initial response and, instead, I post part or all of what Tom said with some kind of genius addtional comment like "^^^what Tom said^^^". Now it dawns on me that a good portion of my responses to other member's questions tend to be something I learned from Tom's posts years ago. Thank you again, Tom, for sharing with us. You left an enduring gift for all of us.

Wow, I'm blown away. Until I read this paragraph, I had no conscious idea that this is exactly how I approach all of my job and personal goals. This is something I unconsciously or unintentionally transitioned to probably a couple of decades ago. It took reading it to make me realize the specifics which, in turn, is going to allow me to refine it and improve it. Thanks for posting this.