Bird

The trick worm is a staple, fish catcher but always have been a huge fan of Zoom baits. The most buoyant worm I've tried and the only worm I throw Neko is Zman finesse wormZ. Imagine it would be a great choice for shakey head.

Had to go back and look, yeah had Rams by 3. I just have a knack for picking games ?

It was forecasted to be the greatest halftime show in Superbowl history.......I respectfully disagree. The game was pretty entertaining until the refs demanded the spotlight. Congrats to Aaron Donald and the Rams.

Moving and eating more has worked for me. Eat and keep that metabolism revving is critical....it's that simple.

Most of the water I fish is gin clear. Finesse techniques with a Flouro leader will produce fish......drop-shot Roboworm, Neds, speed craws, baby brush hogs and Jerkbaits all do well here. Early morning the whopper plopper does surprisingly well in clear water here. Enjoy your time in the cabin, wife and I do the same. This year is Smith mountain lake.

The difference? You'll need a different rod to accommodate each presentation. Lol

As an older fellow, I'm early to bed early to rise and consistently fall asleep in under a minute. Never need an alarm clock, always on the water at daylight in the warm months.

Good news is, they only top water fish.

It is a DEEP clear lake and sits at high elevation so water temps will be stubborn to rise. This time of year you may be better off targeting Smallmouth in the head waters. I've had some good days with speed craws and creature baits in pumpkin blue or red flake. That deep clear water in the main lake makes it challenging for LM bass but the last time I was up there I talked with DNR on site and he said with confidence to fish everything at the 20ft depth post spawn. If I were to fish it Pre-spawn, throw a suspending Jerkbait in bone.

That there is a fine day of bass fishing ??????

I've caught 90% of my biggest LM bass on spinnerbaits but my only citation bass on a culprit worm. AND believe it or not , probably 90 % of my largest Smallmouth have come via the spinnerbait, few on a creature and Zoom lizard.

I was an SLX, Speed spool kinda guy well before the first hint of inflation.

Well, I took a hit today. Ordered a 6'10 med XF rod early in the week and today I received a 7'2 MH. ? Returned it and now that rod jumped 15%. Stubborn me is taking a trip to BPS in the morning and don't care how much it cost in gas, I'm getting a 6'10 med XF rod. Lol

Well, I think the same way, it's why I asked the question to begin with. T-rig has always been a go to with just about every plastic under the sun until you start venturing into more finesse stuff like Neds and drop shot. Perhaps I'll give shakey head more time this year. Already devote quite a bit of time to weightless, wacky and Neko so why not. Lol

Weather is very erratic here. 63* today and 30* and snow Sunday.

Wife will be fishing with me a lot this year so that will mean more fish fillets. When she's a long I usually target blue gill and Crappie, more action for her. Rarely do we freeze fresh caught fish, they're eaten the same day.

Been using a baitcaster for 42 years, yes I remember. Lol I can't skip nor will I even try with a baitcaster when a spinning reel is so much easier under docks. BUT, I do carry more baitcasters than spinning on every trip on the water. Enjoy what you prefer.

My brother whose had his own construction business for over 30 years swears by Milwaukee. I've had good luck with Cobalt but certainly don't see the use his cordless tools do.

Was going through all my tackle and realized that I rarely throw a shakey head. My craw imitations, mainly speed craws and brush hogs I almost entirely throw TR. Under what circumstances would you throw a shakey head over TR? And or do you even prefer shakey head over TR? Just curious

The ice is getting very very thin and 50's are dominating the forecast. We're launching the boat next week for sure but even though we'll be fishing well before the spawn, in my mind it's not pre-spawn. I expect the water temps to be in mid 30's. I had my best day ever as a bass fisherman 2 years ago and my fish finder read 58* so that temp sticks in my head as the height of the pre-spawn around here. I'm definitely not a Bass fishing guru like so many here are but I simply troll around a lake and read water temps and fish accordingly until the actual spawn.

Ha ha, forgot about the hunting forum. Agree, warmer hunting seasons seem to be more prevalent. What I've done to offset this is instead of hanging the deer and risk losing it, I quarter it and drop the quarters into Rubbermaid trashcans " clean " full of ice water and salt, dump and re-ice for 3 days. This also draws the blood from meat. Been doing this for the last 10 years. Congrats on the nice buck. I also shot this 9pt at 15 yards while hunting on the ground.

Even after the kids moved out, the wife and I still get 1/2 beef but the kids still come over and raid the freezer. We have several family members that raise cattle. We have another freezer that gets filled with deer, again ransacked by the kids. Lol

Ahh yes, the 14 years of happy life would definitely help ease the pain. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful dog and happy to hear your dealing with it well. I on the other hand come completely unglued when a family dog passes, kinda embarrassing but it really stings.

This has been my toughest winter as well. New boat sitting in garage, my fishing buddy has a new boat. My cousin bought a farm that has a 15 acre and 5 acre pond that I can fish this year, clear water and looks enticing. Lol BUT, we're still iced over here.