Tennessee Boy

I honestly have not measured the length of a bass in 25 years and when I did then it was in a tournament when I knew the fish was close to the size limit. I would say that about 1 in 25 fish I catch are over 4 pounds but it varies so much depending the body of water I'm fishing and even the time of year. Some lakes it's more like 1 in 100. I used to live close to the Tennessee River in Huntsville Alabama. I fished a lot after work from the ramp nearest my house. In the Summer I never caught a fish over 4 pounds. In the Winter I rarely caught one under 3 pounds and I fished far more hours in the Summer than the Winter.

I have Humminbird Mega Live on a Target lock mount and Mega 360 all mounted on an Ultrex which makes for a very heavy trolling motor. If I had to choose Live or 360 I would choose live but it would be a difficult decision. There are days when I prefer 360, they serve different purposes. The Live landscape mode is very limited. Remember the sonar beam is 20 degrees wide so when you flip it sideways you are seeing a very limited 20 degree swath of the bottom. The 360 beam is 84 degrees wide and there are two of them pointing in opposite directions. You can adjust how fast it turns and the image is much higher resolution than Live in landscape mode. If you’re looking for a map of the bottom as you describe then Mega 360 is what you’re looking for.

Plastic bags are how a store and organize almost all my tackle. You can order any size and thickness plastic bag you want off the Internet. I have a bunch in various sizes. The thicker ones (4 or 6 mil) work better. For labels I tend to over do it. If the lure comes with a good label a just trim it down and put it in the bag with the lure. If it doesn’t, I laser print my own label on water proof paper and put it in the bag with the lure. I wait till the lures dry out after use before I put them back in their bag. I mostly store all of the bags in open Plano boxes that have no dividers. I use a few that have a single divider. I even store crankbait in their own very thick bag. A lot of tackle like hooks come in their own bags which work perfectly in my system and of course soft plastics stay in the bags they come in.

I live in the south. Fishing all winter is cheaper than paying for mental health treatment, alcohol, bankruptcy attorneys, and gym memberships.

I don’t leave my batteries on the charger all the time but I use them and charge them regularly. I would not be concerned about leaving them off the charger for nine days. Nine months might be a problem.

I fish the reservoirs of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and their tributaries. I’ve fished 10 of them in recent years and I fish 4 of them regularly. They range from about 12,000 acres to 160,000 acres. These lakes are great fisheries and offer a lot of variety. Some might be offended by this but I own two ponds about half an acre each that I never fish.

Now I understand. 😁

The same is true for humans. I'm a nice guy as long as someone gives me good food, a treat occasionally, and scratches me behind the ears.

It has most definitely changed the game for me. It makes it possible to fish in ways that were impossible before, like tracking suspended fish in deep water. Those new techniques require a tremendous amount of skill which I have not developed yet. What I love most about it is it makes fishing so much more interesting. Knowing that a fish followed your bait is much more exciting than just casting and wondering if there are any down there. Randy praises the mystery of fishing. I prefer to know what’s happening. Is it the greatest advancement in fishing technology ever? I’m not sure. If the goal is to have fun then it’s the greatest thing since the trolling motor. For tournament fishing I’m not so sure. If I was fishing a tournament where you could use FFS or GPS but not both. I would probably choose GPS depending on the time of the year and the lake I was fishing.

I agree. I’m sure all of the private equity firms that have taken turns owning True Fishing have figured that out.

I’ve rolled a few also and I found that it came easy for me. Where I struggled was knocking the pens down. I have no idea who Earl Anthony is so I probably can’t add anything here. 😆

It’s a good video. We all choose who we buy from and for most products we have plenty of choices. These guys buy the classic fishing brands that we grew up with and they milk them for whatever they can get out of them. They know we will keep buying the brand because we love the brand. Money can buy you love and that’s why they do it. I don’t think all private equity firms are bad. Some buy the companies to make them better. It’s the one’s that buy the company, shut it down, and exploit the brand(s) that we should not be buying from. If this stuff bothers you then do your research before you buy.

Milliken posted a rant a few days ago about the state of fishing industry and its effects on professional fishing. What do you think?

A few weeks back I took a friend fishing and it was the first time he had seen live sonar. On the way to the lake he was talking about how it seemed like cheating to him. Afterwards, I ask him if he still thought it was cheating. He said no, he couldn’t figure it out what he was looking at.

I do like the looks of the Owner Rig’n hook although I would probably go a size bigger than the one in the graphic. 😆 The Owner Jungle Gap and Haymaker might be other good options. The Fat Albert is very soft and is less likely to prevent the hook from penetrating than many grubs so go with the size you confident in.

Probably won't win any rewards for my photography but here's how I rig it.

One thing I love about fishing in the winter is you don’t see many jet skis. I did see this one today however.

People finish the FG knot in different ways. The tool doesn’t care how you finish it. I tie it the same way with or without the tool. I have limited use of my third hand so the tool helps. 🤣

I use this one and it works well. It’s sold under many different brand names but I’m sure they are all made by the same highly paid craftsman in China. https://www.amazon.com/Daiichi-Assist-Braided-Leader-Connection/dp/B007WI10CU

I’ve fished a Texas Rigged Fat Albert Grub a lot. My PB smallmouth (6 lbs) was caught on one. I use a 3/0 hook. I would be concerned about using a 1/0 hook with such a thick bait. Grubs are a very versatile bait for sure.

Check out this video about a processing plant in Kentucky that buys mostly Asian carp from local fishermen. They also buy Buffalo, catfish, and common carp. You can go to their website and buy two fish heads for just $12. Yum🤣

Except swamps have man eating gators 😲. No thanks.

It’s amazing how the Internet has changed the world. 25 years ago I would go in a book store at least twice a week to browse the books and the newsstand. I don’t think I’ve been in one in the last five years.

You don't think ChatGPT can pass the Turing Test? Have you ever used it?