Trox

what in the world is going on here? ???

I finished last in my fantasy football league this year, so there's nowhere to go but up for me here. Count me in.

I've never been to Lake Fork, but Choke can put out BIG numbers in the spring as well. You may struggle if you aren't a grass fisherman, but if you get a guide you should be OK. Stanky's Guide Service just had a couple of clients pull out a 40 + pound bag, so they're in there!

I never go out thinking "I'm going to fish slow/reaction/fast". Instead, I try to let the fish tell me what they want... For example, in a single cast, I can do all 3 (like w/ a jig, start with slow drag, dead stick a couple of times, then a few suddle hops into a few more agressive hops, then medium retrieve back). Or in 3 independant casts, I can vary the tempo until I get bit. Once I get bit however, I take note of what exactly I was doing when it happened and begin fishing whichever retrive got bit a little more frequently, but I don't disregard the other tempos until I can establish an actual pattern... disclaimer though, I don't do any of this until I actually find fish... The reason I do this is because the bite can be on all 3, or just a single tempo in any given day... If I was to go out with the mentality of just fishing a single way, I could be missing out on a lot of good bites. The exception to this rule imo is when I am going out to "practice" a single technique.

improve core strength, stamina, and flexibility so my back doesn't start bothering me halfway through the day... There's nothing more frustrating than trying to focus on fishing and have patience when you're distracted with pain Since covid, I've been working from home and sitting on my butt for 40hrs a week and I'm starting to feel the consequences of that when I get out on the water. no bueno...

Personally, I love Livescope and have had it on my boat since it was released... but just because it is on your boat doesn't mean much, in fact, it can actually hurt you. Here's my two cents... When I first installed and used the Livescope, for the first few months it turned out to be detrimental to my fishing. I found myself relying on it WAY too much... I would see a fish on my Livescope and work that one fish for 30 minutes or more just because I knew it was there, and it really bothered me that I couldn't catch it so I would spend way too much time in tournaments casting at lock jawed fish.. or gasper goos... or big crappie... As time went on, I found myself using the tool less and less, until I got to where I am now, where there are times I never put it in the water (it's pole mounted)... What people don't understand is that Livescope is actually horrible at finding active bass. From my experience, that's what side scan, downimaging, lake and seasonal knowledge, and experience come into play and are ment for. If I had to choose between the normal side scan and down imiging, or my Livescope, the livescope is coming off. It's just another tool, but not nearly as effective as SI or DS... can you imagine trying to prefish and explore a lake like Sam Rayburn or Toledo Bend using only your trolling motor? You're just donating money to tournament trails or wasting a day possibly fishing less productive water in that case... So, in conclusion, Livescope is a tool to use ONCE you find your fish using other tools, and definately nothing to rely on. Without time on the water and expereince and knowledge with the other tools that I mentioned before, you can and WILL still get skunked with it on your boat while casting at fish all day... It's not magic.

My biggest fish are typically caught when I'm wearing a heavy jacket. That's a very short, sparatic window here in south Texas though (mostly cold fronts) i.e. was wearing shorts and a t-shirt on christmas getting hot on the boat, and now it's 35 degrees outside... It's funny though, I tend to catch more 4-5lber during the dog days of summer, in winter its either 1-2lbs or 7-8lbs. Still chasing that 10...

There are a ton of variables that go into this question but I am almost exclusively braid to floro leaders of various tests based on the conditions such as water clarity, etc... The only time I use straight braid is for topwater and HEAVY punching, but even then, depending on clarity, I'll use a leader (mostly just a confidence thing at that point though). Only time I use a mono leader is for carolina rigs, but will still use floro there as well depending on the action I am wanting out of my plastic.

Great post and a fun read!! I find myself in stage 3&4 primarily, but this crazy year has had me spending a ton of time in stage 5 as well... #3 - I fish multiple tournament trails a year and small fish don't cash checks. If I'm around too many aggresive smaller fish, I'm likely leaving the area or throwing something that will target the bigger fish if I'm sure they are there. #4 - I often find myself trying to "perfect" new presentations and techniques, which forces me to keep them in my hands for a majority of the day. For example, I know I can whack 'em on the jig, chatterbait, swimbait, senko, etc, but today I'm going to fish my weaknesses and fish nothing but a jerkbait or deep crank, and be stubborn with 'em #5 - With the quarantines and isolation going on with covid, I've found myself inviting neighbors and their kids, family members that don't really fish, etc on my boat and have been finding an extreme amount of pleasure in seeing the smile of others when they catch their first bass. I've been spending a majority of this off-season doing that, and has led to lifelong memories for myself and the people I have invited. Will definately be continuing this going forward!

It effects me more in current or high wind situations. The jig is my go to bait, so when I think I'm still, and I feel a pull, I will likely be found setting the hook on nothing (or a tree), then immediately realize that the boat just drifted 5 ft and that was the pull I felt Other than that, over time, I've just kind of learned what a "tick" feels like and can differentiate it pretty well from everything else...

If y'all are new, all of the products and bait options out there WILL be overwhelming, and confidence is key. If you go out and buy everything, it will likely be impossible to be confident in anything. My suggestion (for your specific situation) would be that everyone gets three decent rod and reel combos, and each chooses a couple different types of baits/techniques to commit to, throw, and research for a week or so, and share information with each other about what y'all like and don't like about what y'all chose... Let's say that your Dad has been throwing soft plastics, you have been throwing spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/squarebills, and your brother has been throwing more finesse style baits, topwater, jerkbaits, whatever.... after a week. Share y'alls experiences with each other and what each has learned, then have each other share a bait for the other to try. Keep doing that rotation every couple trips out. Eventually, each one of you will find confidence in a specific technique and make it their bread and butter. All the while having experience with a little bit of everything that you can eventually find confidence in as well. It will be a process, and may take as long as a year or so, depending on how often that y'all go out, but I wish I could have started out that way. Instead, I've had to go through all the stages by myself and has taken much longer. Oh, the YouTube videos out there regarding each specific technique can save y'all a ton of frustration, just like the written articles on this website. ...And lastly, BE PATIENT!

Still more reliable than my local weatherman

When I first got married, arguments with my wife quickly became my boat launching ritual. Fortunately, she's found that it's one fight that she will never win, so things have chilled out a ton over the last few years... It's very closely related to her "I bought another pair of shoes, aren't they great?" every Friday ritual Very hard to complain when you realize that new pair of shoes costs roughly the same as a fishing trip... Ever since we put the "pro" in compromise, things have been great! needless to say, paying off debt is my new launching ritual

If the cows are down, the fishing is gonna be tough. If the cows are grazing, good day for fishing... Myth or not, I choose to believe this one. Mainly because every time I see a cow, I start thinking about fishing, and that makes me happy

going from 60 to zero in three seconds as I ran up on a shallow mud bank and got stuck within view of at least 4-5 other bass boats... It was literally my first time on the water in my first bass boat... Let's just say, a big lesson was learned that day in regards to boaters safety

Just finished a tournament there and it was won by punching grass up river. I came away with big bass fishing chatterbaits and ribbon tail worms just outside of the grass right across from the Calliham State Park boat ramp. Also, further into the cove, there is some pretty sweet structure in the middle of nowhere that some good numbers can be found by throwing a jig, dropshot, or a carolina rig on 'em if you are savvy enough to find it (hint, towards the back grass line of the covew, middle-right) During pre-fishing I caught a 20lb bag flipping jigs on a cloudy day with on and off drizzle towards the shoreline between grass patches above the 99 bridge. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to repeat that bite during tournament day so on day two, I went to that first area I mentioned and caught the two biggest bass of the collective two-day tournament before 9am on a jackhammer. One the inside of the grass, and one on the outside. Bite died off in that area by 9:30 and it was a grind for the rest of the day. I am not entirely sure how the grass will be in March, but the only place (unless you REALLY pushed through some thick grass) you could throw to the shore without a somewhat weedless lure was above the 99 bridge (and even then it was only select spots clear enough to drag a jig and such effectively). The grass is healthy and THICK throughout the entire lake. Really no avoiding it right now. 1st and 2nd place was won in the grass... Unfortunately, it was a kayak tournament and I didn't feel comfortable punching grass sitting level to the water, as I'm not really a kayak fisherman. Covered about 15 miles of water in two days though! I didn't fish the main lake area at all during the tournament since the wind was howling and it wasn't the best conditions for someone who had to paddle, but that was the only time that I had ever not been in my boat out there... All my pre-fishing was from the boat. and main lake was TOUGH. Same conditions with the grass and only way that I was able to catch was to graph the grass lines, find a small school, and yank a few out of it. Unfortunately, the wind kept me off that pattern during tournament day Hope this helps. It was fun writing about my most recent experience and reminiscing a bit! Have fun! Picture of the 20lb sack caught above the 99 bridge (all on jigs) during a pre-fishing sesh for an added bonus. They're in there!

Living in San Antonio, The closest lakes for me are Medina (20mins) and Canyon Lake(1hr), unfortunately, they aren't really known for fishing largies. Every now and then, you can get a good one but it's few and far between. And Medina was down to 4% full a few years back and has a way to go to recover) So... 90% of the time I'm driving to one of these. I'm so used to the drives at this point that it doesn't phase me anymore Choke Canyon - 1.5hrs Lake LBJ - 1.5hrs Lake Travis, Buchanan - 2hrs A few others in the 2.5 range Amistad - 3hrs

I've always guaged my leader length by having the knot just at the reel, then the end of the leader going through the guides, then back to the knot. I just got tired of retieing leaders all the time so I started doing it that way to give me more room to cut off and retie different baits... Guess it's around 12ft or so. Never had an issue with the FG knot going through the guides or the reel.

Tatsu is the sole reason I made the switch to braid line to FC leaders on most of my setups instead of straight FC... The difference between Tatsu and other FCs is immediately noticeable, both on the water and in the wallet. There are still a couple combos where I continue to keep straight Tatsu spooled on, but only using it for a leader on the rest has saved me both roughly $500/yr, and my marriage - without having to sacrifice the abrasion resistance, etc. One of my favorite things about Tatsu is the ability to use lighter line without sacrificing strength. 12lb test Tatsu is just as strong if not stronger IMO than most brands 15lb test line. No brainer for clear water finesse fishing. And although I still do at times, it's also the only line that has ever given me second thoughts when it comes to biting the line to switch lures. Strong stuff.

y'all seriously keep braid spooled long enough for it to fade? maybe I'm the crazy one.

I like to stealth up to boats with my Ultrex, spot lock, and board. Now we're a team.

Last year I fished a tournament on a 100 degree day (which is pretty much all of them here in Texas during the summer), I remember watching a rainstorm in the distance praying that it came my way. It did, monsooned for about 45mins, then blue skies again. Still one of my favorite memories. Something special about watching a wall of rain make it's way across a lake as you put your rain gear on. The nature has always been one of my favorite things about the sport

I only keep white bass, stripers, hybrids, and catish. I fish for largemouth 99.9% of the time and I'll keep keep them just long enough to get them to weigh-in, but that's it

Fishing a tournament just under a year ago, doing mediocre. 5 bass, 9lbs. Super slow day in the dead of Texas summer. About an hour before weigh in, I figured that I would throw a wacky rigged senko (my "nothing is working, I don't even care anymore" bait), because why not. Skipped it under a dock, didn't feel the bite at all but noticed my line moving so I set the hook on what would turn out to be "the one that got away". The fish got juuust outside of netting distance before taking one last hoorah of a dive, never to be seen again. It was every bit of 10lbs and would have taken the tournament in a 70 boat field, as well as been my PB. I still have nightmares...

My wife tunes out until someone catches something where she will then say "whoa, look how pretty! God is such an artist". She's not much of a fishermen, but she LOVES nature and animals (pretty much all of Gods creations). When she is out on the water with me, it's required that I let her inspect and admire the fish that I catch, and I enjoy giving her the opportunity to do so. It's given me a better appreciation of just how facinating those creatures really are.