Lottabass

@Rucksack You have found the perfect way (except for the hangups) to get reaction bites, which will work when fish aren't "feeding" or there is no "bite window" which is most of the time. I know you asked about cheaper baits to do this and I have no ideas on that but wanted to encourage you to keep this up because making fish bite when they don't want to is critical to success.

YES, Katie!!! And loving every minute of it!

Katie, it was another great day fishing! Those are some of the abundant timber in this lake, many with Chicken of the Woods mushrooms! Any problem I have is petty compared to others in this world, after all, I'm still chunkin and windin!!!

Best bite was on a fluke and a snagless sally slow rolled over a shallow weed flat. I got more problems than a pregnant nun but fishing solves all of them!

"The two best times to fish is when it's raining and when it ain't." Patrick McManus

@Pat Brown Thank you, great advice!

Looking for your experience with BIG frogs compared to normal and compact frogs. Talking about the SPRO Big Daddy and the Copper Red Tsunami, which is what I have. When the frog bite is on I alternate between the three (big, normal, and small) to try and determine if there is one better than another, like we all do with all baits. I don't have hard data, only my experience, but the big frogs are performing poorly compared to the other 2. None of the big fish I've caught on a frog have come on one of the big ones (which is what I thought they would do). What is your experience?

@Bazoo "They would include making friends, having informal tournaments, getting together to eat pizza and talk bass fishing." Sounds like my kinda club but I don't think you're gonna find many who are interested in that. Everybody hears that the stepping stone to the "pros" is starting in a club and they all want to emulate what they see on TV. Your idea is admirable, and I wish you the best.

If you started a club what would your goals be?

Thank you, Katie! Yes, a 2 pounder will pull this boat!

Switched to Trac connectors from BPS on boat and charger.

Bought a Fenwick Flippin Stik back in the 1970's. Never found anything better. Now that I fish out of a small boat and can't stand up I use a 10 ft, 2 piece rod to "dip" rather than "flip". It is a Todd Huckabee, Meat Dragger rod with a reel that has a flippin switch and 40# braid. Pretty clumsy but I make it work. Yesterday a big bass rolled over my frog, I swung a jig into the blow hole and THUMP!

@Swamp Girl Say, Al, what boat do you use in your boggy pond? Do you tow it? What's the launching like? How often do those bass drive your hooks into one of those many trees? I use an 8 ft pond prowler (BPS). Last year I had to get a trailer because I couldn't lift it into the back of the truck anymore. I can launch off the bank anywhere there is room (I can't lift it but I can still drag it!). My first boat was a canoe. I got my drivers license, a '54 Buick, and an Alumacraft canoe, when I was 16. I can't paddle due to arthritis but if I could that would be the best way to get into the jungle! Only use braided line and heavy rods. Had one big fish get into a tree and break off this year but have landed all the rest. Set the hook and reel like hell!

Katie, thank you for your kind words! When the frog bite is on my hands get to shakin' so bad I can't pick my nose! Those Ontario lakes sound like heaven, never been to Canada but always wished I had. Good lesson; I should have followed my dreams before it's too late!

Remember that old tune by Canned Heat, "Goin' up the Country"...well today I went up the jungle! Caught 29 on froggy, the braid was singin'!!! Biggest was 6# 2 oz on a jig!

And next year the cycle starts again.....

AWESOME REPORT!!!!

"Then please do this, Al. PLEASE!" @Swamp Girl Katie, I'm working on learning to get a decent video on my phone. It ain't gonna be easy but I think I can, my practice has been promising. So my question is why? It seems to me that a video should be educational and/or entertaining. Not sure I can provide any learning without coming across as a know it all. And who wants to watch an old man catch a bass? Anyway, messing around with this has added another dimension to my fishing so that is kinda fun, outside of the frustration of making mistakes. I value your thoughts.

Yes, when I was young and strong. I have a bit of a story here. I was introduced to wade fishing by a man who owned a tackle store in my hometown. In the fall when the river above town would get low and clear, when the air was cool and smokey gold, the smallies would chomp. He made a spinning rod out of an 8 ft fly rod blank, 4# line, and his homemade bucktail jigs. The jigs were poured with the lead along the hook shank so the jig would ride horizontally (this was in the 1960's way before the FFS guys started using this "new" design). He caught lots of 4# plus smallmouth. He showed me his technique and taught me how to read a river. I was blessed to have him for a mentor!

"To me, this is not a question of where the bass are, rather a question of which lure to use." Man, have you got it backwards! Also, those that chose to ignore the past are gonna pay for it.

You're not cursed, you just haven't learned to fish. I didn't say you haven't learned to go fishing, I said you haven't learned to fish. LEARN, like all successful anglers did when they started.

Thank you, Katie. BTW....Hemingway, too!

Caught 4 yesterday. Reminds me of what John Steinbeck wrote: "Any man who puts his intelligence up against a fish and loses had it coming."

Katie, @Swamp Girl is a wonderful writer! Lee Wulff and Lefty Kreh are awesome.

Not fishing specific but Robert Ruark is awesome.