Aaron_H

You love to see it!

I don't see why a bunch of professionally certified ElectroSamson scales wouldn't be accurate, but I definitely get your perspective here.

I will die on this hill. I like the 5 fish format, but wish BASS would move to a catch-weigh-release format.

Rodman is an unreal fishery, I see tons of TrophyCatch submissions from there. That's a gorgeous bass and sounds like you had an excellent trip!

The Rick Astley of lures. I don't think I have one lure that will 100% produce no matter what, but it's a rare day I can't trigger a bite on a lipless or a senko.

Also as a tip, you can use Google Earth Pro's past satellite imagery to get an idea of how long a pond has been there. Skip anything built within the last ten years if you're looking for quality fish IMO. Public parks are a good place to start, and FWC has some info on their website about managed lakes and urban ponds in the central FL area. As suggested, be very wary of no trespassing signage. No fish is worth getting into legal trouble over (unless it's the state record I guess). Most of what you'll find in those golf communities is going to have signage, so you may need to cast a wider net. Keep your eyes peeled for gators and snakes, and make sure you tell us about your successes.

I imagine you occasionally wake up in a cold sweat with glide baits on your mind, nightmares of big fat prespawn girls laughing just below your S Waver....

Today was a STRUGGLE. I made a major miscalculation when I left the house that started me on the wrong foot. Last time I was at this spot was a few days ago and I saw males on beds with tons of fry around, I assumed the females were spawned out and the males were just guarding fry. Went there today with a post-spawn attitude and tackle to match. Walk up and the first thing I see is a cluster of beds with nice females on them. Nothing big at first, but some nice 3-4 pounders up in ~1 foot of water. Double check the tackle I had with me and of course, nothing to effectively bed fish with. I saw a much nicer fish on bed, upper 5, maybe 6 pounder. Rerigged with the only things I had, a bullet weight to a T-rigged green pumpkin Zako. Figured I could at least make an attempt at mimicking a bluegill nose down on her bed. Spent 30 minutes on that fish, no dice. Wasting daylight at this point so I moved on. Saw a couple of other nice fish as I made my way down the banks, still no bites almost two hours in. Finally hooked into one on the chatterbait, but lost her close to the bank. Sub-2lb, but starting to sweat at this point that I might get my first skunk of the year. Getting some short strikes from tiny bass and overly aggressive panfish, but lost the only one I connected with. Finally after 2.5 hours I landed two dinks on the chatterbait. Nothing to write home about but the skunk was retreating into the woods at least. Third fish was one worth sharing, though. There are some submerged branches that overhang a (small) ledge at one spot, usually good for a fish. Ran the chatterbait over it and WHAM. Thought I snagged the branch for the briefest moment until that bass let me know how unhappy she was with me. Not a long fight but she bulldogged me pretty good. Was the best fish of the evening at 6lb 13oz, and made me feel a little better about having to pass over so many quality bed fish. Ended the night with two more smaller bass, 5 bass limit probably sub-11lbs but the one bite made up for it.

I'm flattered! I was very fortunate last month, but I promise most months are much more on the mundane side for me. I'd be happy to beat the banks with you if you make it to my neck of the woods.

Nate has always struck me as a good-hearted, fun guy to be around. I'd fish with him, too.

That's my minimum as well, I track catches over 3lb as in smaller fisheries they are IMO a good indicator of a potentially quality fishery. No pictures of anything smaller unless, as you said, there's something unique about it (unusual pattern, a big milestone, entry for a lure challenge etc). Of course I show off the catches I'm proud of! It's part of the sport IMO, just like when Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game. Sometimes you just gotta brag. ? Only a problem when it's a person who cannot also be humble or needs to brag over other people/put them down to feel better about themselves.

It was not a comment meant to disparage them, you are correct that they produce quality plastics that get bit for the price.

Right on the money there, my go to lipless color on a cloudy day. Thanks Dwight, I'll definitely pick up a pack of those STX-45s.

Hmmm, maybe I should stop in Walmart more often then (the unthinkable). This seemed much higher quality than YUM's usual offerings. If the undamaged lure looks good, I'll definitely be giving them a try.

I've fished jerkbaits a tiny bit here and there over the years, finally kicked my butt in gear to put in the work with them. Can't say I'm disappointed! 7-4 is a monster bass and a great PB, looking forward to seeing you break it! My first big bass (one in my avatar) was a 7-5 and it took me almost 2.5 years to beat it. Since then I have been very fortunate to get a PB once per year. That will probably end now, DDs are a rare breed even in Florida, but you never know. If these two keep growing and don't get harvested, I might still have a shot. People sleep on H2O Xpress, but it's easily the best store brand IMO. Some definite gems to be had there.

Hmmm.... Ponds are a soft clay bottom, not too much in terms of structure for them to get me on, they are essentially open water for 99% of it. I admit I do thumb the spool right at the hookset to ensure the hooks penetrate, then don't touch the spool and let the drag do the work. Otherwise drag slips when the rod first loads up, and that was leading to lost fish. I'll keep tinkering, definitely food for thought. The Owner Zo-Wire trebles are definitely on my list to try, was looking at the 2x STX-45, hopefully light enough to not throw off the weigh of the jerkbaits. Gold is always a tempting color with all the shiners down here and the tanic stained water. I'm getting a Bass Pro gift card from FWC as well so I could always get a couple more than I was planning if I end up really liking them.

Thanks, I'll check out the bin next time I'm in the area. Don't see it listed in their site but that doesn't mean much. I knew the eye pattern was familiar, definitely a YUM look.

Very well could be it. I would think most of the force would be applied to the front hook, being closest to the line tie and all, but my degree isn't in STEM so what do I know ? This picture is the only hook that the 10lb 2oz one I caught bent. The 10lb 9oz I got before bent out three of the hooks, two on the middle hook (not quite as bad as this one) and one on the rear hook (even worse than this one, broke trying to work it back into place). Again the two hooks on the front treble that were in the corner of her mouth held.

Thankfully, the only hooks that bent were the ones that had her in the gill plate. The front treble on both DD bass were buried in the corner of the mouth and stayed rock solid. I freely admit I am still a rank amateur with a jerkbait, so maybe my drag is too tight since I'm throwing them on braid-to-mono leader on a 6'10" medium power rod. I was losing fish early into my 2022 Jerkbait Grind™ because I kept my drag very loose (anxiety over pulling small trebles) and the rod was not loading properly, bad hook penetration and rod coming unloaded on the jump. One of the fish I lost this way was very, very big. Tightened drag enough to keep the rod loaded but not so tight they couldn't take line on a surge and this problem disappeared, I have lost very few fish since then. Again, maybe it is too tight, but I feel if I can easily pull line with only two fingers pinching the line then I doubt it.

My drag on my jerkbait setup is just tight enough to keep the rod loaded properly, but loose enough for the fish to take line as it needs. I can pull line with just two fingers pinching the line, it's nowhere near locked down. And yet...

Table rock was another color I was considering, one of each may be the way I go. I mentioned hooks because I had multiple points bend out on my go to replacement treble (Gamakatsu EWG) while fighting two DD bass recently. Thankfully they both had multiple hooks in them, but my confidence in those hooks is not as rock solid as it used to be.

Hey all, getting a $30 gift card to spend at Berkley. Looking through their site and I'm leaning towards getting two Stunnas to try out, but I have some questions. I'm thinking of getting both in Shad Fillet, the blue back/chart belly has been working extremely well in my waters, but is there a color I should try instead? Secondly, looks like it comes out of the box with EWG trebles, but how is the quality of the hooks/split rings? Sturdy enough to hold up to potential double digit bass or do they need swapped?

Interesting, thank you for posting that, Glenn. I've never heard that myth before, but then, I'm still a relative newbie to the bass fishing game.

I would not say this is an accurate blanket statement, as size difference between males and females is a classic example of sexual dimorphism. You are correct that in the same size range there is virtually no way to externally sex a LMB.