WVU-SCPA

Had about an hour to fish last night so hit up a local state park. Was disappointing that they still had areas closed and gated that were open this time last year. These two came on back to back cast on timber in about 3 FOW. Really starting to heat up.

I would say the Big Bass lakes in in the south central region are perfectly fine with the management. There are large fish in all of them, you just have to know each lake individually. If anything the amount of pressure on some of them is a bigger issue. A certain lake will have had 4 tournaments on it in 3 weeks when the season goes out Saturday. There could have even been some club tournaments I wasn't aware of. 40 boats and say each boat gets just get half a limit of 2.5 fish. That's 100 fish each week being brought into weigh in. Add that with a solid amount of recreational fishing and that's a lot of stress to the population on a 400 acre lake. I have never saw a tournament on any of the lakes when the season is out. On the fishing report side, Saturday was the first time this year a true bite turned on. Water temp went from 47 to 54 by tournaments end. Was able to grind out a limit by 11:00 with on a ned and then culled with some spinnerbait fish once the temp came up.

The most concerning thing I see in my waters is long strands of braid. Every trip I'm pulling a 20' section out of the water that is either wrapped up in timber or attached to a catfish rig. The havoc braid can create for humans and animals is scary.

First tournament of 2019 was humbling. Believe I had the winning bites but didn't have the winning execution. Water temp started at 46 and raised to 49 by the end of the day. The lake was stained and had less then 6" of visibility. The wind went from dead calm to 20+ gust by the end. This all lead to only 2 of the 37 boats bringing in a full bag. Didn't have confidence is many spots other then a 20 yard section so the game plan was to spend the majority of the morning cycling different baits there. Swimming a trd 2-3 ft and killing it for 10 seconds brought most of the strikes in practice and that didn't change in the first pass of the morning. The first 10 cast produced the lunker of the tournament, a 14" short, and snapping off on a hookset (Mistake 1# should have retied and may have been a little aggressive on the hookset). Was unprepared and had some livewell issues which allowed the boat to float over the small section (Mistake #2 as I believe there were more active fish but the noise shut them down). Mistake #3 came a hour later after hooking a solid 3lber and having the net tangled up with a crankbait, tried to flip it and the hook popped right out. There were many more mistakes throughout the day but you get the jive, being prepared goes a long way. This beautiful lady went 5lbs 10oz. I'll be ready for better execution this Saturday.

Since I'm surrounded by electric only lakes....both. A 55 tiller on the back adds almost a mph.

Double down and put it all on black. Or American Express has a 2.1% APY savings account.

I grew up with about a 3/4 acre spring feed pond with a max depth of 4ish. In prime light conditions you could take a lap and see everything in it. From the ages 9-12 we had a good idea on how many bass were in there over 15" with several having names. Moby (had a large white scar on her snout) was the biggest for a couple of summers and measured just shy of 22" before she disappeared.

Spinnerbaits are just as good at catching cats attention as they are bass. Another point is be careful if you bank fish with multiple rods, dogs off leashes can be on a bait before you can react. I have a bad habit of not securing the hooks after switching rods and panic every time a dog comes running (even though they are supposed to be leashed).

Holy shirts and pants! That is an impressive black drum. No long arming that thing.

+1 for the extra life jackets in adult and youth sizes. A third person always seems to pop up when you only have 2.

Not hatefully long, a properly sized net goes a long way. Saw over a dozen cruising that day and had an 8" swimbait rigged up that they wouldn't commit to. Didn't see either of those fish, but clearly they were on the TRD pattern.

These 2 last May about a hour apart, both on a Canadian Craw TRD, 1/16th ned head, and 7lb floro.

Has the first "founded them" moment of 2019 on a hike after work last week. The last ice chunks melted away with temps getting into the 60's. Didn't find any active fish on the steep banks or points where I thought they may be, but as I walked past a small inlet and feeder stream the unmistakable black blob of mature gizard shad was a welcome sight. Found the bass off them at opening of the inlet. Couldn't get anything to commit to a jerkbait, but caught a few on a chatterbait with Jenko tremor shad worked as if I was slow dragging a C-rig. 2 more hit a yoyo'ed lipless. Below is the best one, boat comes out of hibernation this weekend!

The one local to me always has an area with fishing stuff. It's a mix of cheap items and some more expensive items at a discount. Last time is was in they had 500+ packs of sick fish, senkos at a discount, Storm swimbaits, and some random Rapala and Lucky Craft hard baits. It is hit and miss on what each store will have.

Do a little bit of everything mentioned. I prefer to keep items in original packing most of the time, however plastics that are paired with something like chatterbaits, scroungers, jigs, ect have been moving into the plano box that holds them. A plano weekender bag rides on deck filled with a single pack of each plastic that I intend on using, what is in it rotates by lake, season, gameplan. Duplicates sorted by brand sorted in ziplocks and stored away. At the end of a day anything low gets pulled out and consolidated with a new pack and replaced. One day there will be a peg board in the garage, but currently everything not coming on trips is stored in boxes. Bit of an elaztech connoisseur, so they have their own weekender bag with the terminal tackle to go with. All of this leads to the deck in shambles and everything needing reorganized after a day of fishing.

Correct. While tempting to cast at carp cruising or suspending in the water column, the chance of them taking the offering is slim. I highly suggest trying to get on a berry hatch. 2 years ago I stumbled upon a condition that I hope to hit again sometime in life. Mulberry tree dropping berries like it was its job, gin clear glass water, a current moving along the bank at about 10' per minute, and a thin layer of vegetation for me to hide behind. Usually after hooking a carp the other fish in the area scatter for a period of time, however this day had the carp piled up for 75 yards. The max time there wasn't a fish to target was 5 minutes. The only other time I've stopped fishing because of a sore shoulder beside steelhead.

And the only good thing about the cold weather is you have plenty of time to organize it, pull everything out again, then organize it, then maybe lay it all out again, and then organize it.

The lady friend got me a set of the Simms Challenger jacket and bibs for Christmas 2 years ago. They are very light weight and comfortable, yet keep you warm and dry. In the summer they do get a tad toasty for my liking, but I'm fine with no rain gear in a warm rain. Never looked at the price before, looks like I'll be making dinner tonight to say thank you again.

Yep, not afraid to drop a pin when I come across a overhanging mulberry tree. Geese can ruin an area quickly, as they think that mulberry fly is for them.

When the mulberry trees start drop their berries the bass rods get put down for a week or 2. Fly rod, mulberry fly, and sight fishing for big cruising fish is hard to pass on.

It is possible a current angler on one of the circuits has a case of aspergers and solution to your issue. We would never know as there is such a wide spectrum. Just like people with atypical stature have been successful in the NBA, but they had a higher set of probabilities to over come then someone born with the genetics to be taller. Life isn't always fair, the important thing is you are aware that the probabilities are not stacked in your favor in this situation. It's up to you and your support system to decide if you are capable of chasing your dream, but by saying you can't and the current system is just "shameful and unfair" is failing before even trying. Myself being color blind means that I have a 0% chance of legally flying an airplane, or telling the difference between the color of different soft plastics. Unfair? Depends on who you ask. Bass Resource is part of that support system. Several members have suggested ideas on overcoming the limitations. It is up to you to decided if you will use the support.

1/15 oz head and a trd fished like a faster moving jerkbait. Allows you to hold a desired depth and a variety of species can't stand the pause. With a little work the bait can become very erratic.

Trying to land a muskie with a undersized net is not an enjoyable experience. After the 2nd unsuccessful muskie landing while targeting bass the Jaw's quote was change to "You are going to need a bigger net". I net any bass that is questionable to be swung, and if it wasn't hooked with trebles 95% it is out of the net and unhooked without touching the deck.

Only 12 days away and kind of a true start to "fishing season" for myself. Being light till 7 allows for the weekday fishing option. Now if these 50 mph winds would just bring warm weather. Spring is coming.....

Get bit by a carp cranking... it'll give you a whole new perspective.