JediAmoeba

500 Bass. 500 Boulder Bass to be exact. Last year after talking to someone and making a friendly bet, I made it a personal goal to catch 500 bass in 2019 out of our local community lake, Boulder lake(I call it a pond). As a personal aside I wanted to catch a bass on as many different types of lures as I could. I really didnt think it would be too hard. All bass were caught on artificial lures and all the bass were released. This little lake is highly pressured - from May through September you are hard pressed not to see at minimum 5 people fishing. Since it is stocked with Trout, on opening day you will see 75-100 people lined up and in canoes. So fishing pressure is extreme. Boulder lake is small at ~8 acres but is the deepest water of 5 in the community where I live - it's deepest part is about 20 feet. It has a volume of approximately 25 million gallons. By comparison we have our main lake which is about 40 acres and its deepest part is only 9 feet with the lake holding about 32.5 million gallons of water. April and May were hot as I would go out and land 10-20 bass per trip with the best day being 24 at the end of april on a jerkbait. By the end of June I had caught 335 bass. Things really slowed down with all the fishing pressure, the heat and the fact there just isn't any large bass. At the end of July I hit 400...then it got tough. I only caught 64 bass in August. I stopped fishing at Boulder for a few weeks and managed to hit 500 bass on September 30th. Now the details of 500 bass out of little Boulder. Obviously, I probably caught some bass multiple times but the most shocking thing to me is there are no large bass. Only 4 bass caught were over 2 pounds. I caught 2 over 3 pounds with the biggest being 3.25 pounds. It seems to me our community needs to add some forage baits like Golden Shiners or something that can breed. Overall it was very disappointing to not catch any big bass. Adding more regulations probably wouldnt have an effect since most people don't follow the current regulations and Pa is really low on enforcement. Notable catches besides the bass; a 26 inch, 6 pound 8 ounce pickerel and a 26 inch Walleye(no one knew any walleye were in this little pond). I ended the year with a total of 552 bass and will never attempt this again. Lol

I use 65# braid because I have a lot of it. I fish for Muskie and use 65 and 80 # braid a lot - so it is what I use for frogs and other large baits. A 3# bass seems to be monster in eastern pa.

I almost always change out my hooks to owners or gamakatsu's but lose more of these fish than all others combined. It may have to do with the small fish I target unlike the BIG bass you are catching ?

This is a good easy option and lays to rest, to me, the biggest problem with terminal tackle storage. To me anyone that doesn't either store their terminal tackle in the original package or transfer it into a separate baggie over putting it loosely in a plano box has never had to throw out 100 dollars in terminal tackle due to rust. I have tried a rustrictor box and that may help to lessen rust from condensation due to temperature change but it didn't work for me.

Crankbaits and Jerkbaits - because if they swipe at it and you only get one hook meagerly in the lip, your only hope is they turn and get the other hook in the face.

Fishing at night really ups your fishing game. Some of my best fishing trips have been at night!

All the pros are going fast until one of them kicks butt in a tournament by picking apart each piece of cover...and then you will see a whole bunch of the others follow suit.

They are 15 minutes from my house!

I have tried everything and I am back to multiple 3700 plano boxes and keep everything in the original packaging or I put it in a lot of small watertight ziploc bags and rip the package label off and shove it in the little baggie and keep it in the 3700 box. I have 5 3700 boxes for terminal tackle - weights, heads, hooks and such. When I go fishing I use the small 3600 boxes with everything thrown in I need for the day. After going back and forth and having to throw everything away once, when it got wet and everything was in a 3700 box but loose - I am sticking with this.

I know a lot of yinz aren't in Eastern Pa, but if you are, Wacky Worm is one of the best local shops. They have a ton of megabass stuff and it is part of this sale. They have a variety of their own worms that I use all the time. It is a great place...

I throw a few big baits. Up here you will lose some to pickerel- so anything you throw, be prepared to lose it.

There was supposed to be an upload but the site is being weird....

I live an hour and a half north of Philly in the Poconos. They don't work - you will never catch a fish.

Through the ice...first bass of 2020 caught on 31 January.

I just mapped the closest Academy - 507 miles or 7 hours and 57 minutes of driving. With tolls

BUT, have you tried fishing all 100 pound braid? How do you know it doesn't work?

Sometimes when I am using a short leader I will leave more line at the end so it doesn't pass through the line guide. Otherwise I would say usually it's 6-10" depending on the rig. Sometimes it's less if I am not paying attention. Also, If I am trying to be really accurate I will leave 2-4" at the end. Overall I don't think there is a right answer - do what feels comfortable for you.

That sucks. Sorry you and your family had to go through this, but at least he is living pain free now.

It's like they are overcharging for the name brand stuff knowing people will still buy it at a huge mark up and then offering their brand items at a slight discount over others normal price. The problem is, they stay a few years behind the curve and allow other online retailers kick their prices butts.

This is the reality for so many of us in the Northeast. No academy or any other sporting goods stores...

I didn't notice the date! Lol.

You are better off getting a Yak and entering some kayak tournaments.

When you are playing in the tub don't forget the rubber duck.

If it wasnt for my local fishing store that only plans on being open 3 days a week this year, the closest thing to me besides DSG in regards to fishing gear, within 90 minutes, is Wal-Mart

I had huddlestons on BO for 14 months from TW. I ended up buying them through another source. This is the response I received from Hudd baits inquiring about why it took so long from TW. Hi Paul, I am sorry you are having a delay in getting your order. Tackle Warehouse has open PO's with us being made and filled it is a slow process. We are a small custom bait company all of our baits are 100% custom made and hand painted in the USA not mass produced in another country. We have many retailers waiting on orders as for a ETA I can't give you that because I don't know to be honest I am at the mercy of production. Sincerely, Steve Gough Customer Service & Sales Rep. Huddleston Deluxe Inc. contact@huddbaits.com Hours: 8 am- 5:30 pm M-S 702-941-1993