Finessegenics

I’m hoping Cory can somehow catch up to Cook, I’ve got him on my fantasy team. I’ve got hackney too and he’s not far behind

I buy dollar store 3$ braid shears but they inevitably get too dull after a full season. Just laziness on my part cause if I probably look around I can find some better ones. There seems to be a lot of options out there

I seriously can’t fish without sunglasses. Unless it is overcast then I can manage. Hemostat pliers are another item I absolutely need with me. And scissors which can deal with braided line makes life a lot easier.

it’s bothering me too ? just tighten it a bit!!!!

3 14 27 43 46 Not amazing but I’ll take that for Day 1

I really can’t explain it. I can say it’s because I like nature and being on the water. But I like those things because I like fishing. Walking in the forest doesn’t do what fishing does for me. I can say it’s an escape or stress reliever but I do get plenty of other time alone outside of work to relax but unless I’m fishing, then it means nothing. I’ve been asking myself a lot what in the world has made me so obsessed with fishing but I just can’t answer it.

Just never felt compelled to figure it out, but I know it now so thank you!

I have a feeling they will eventually move to C&R season for bass, so you can fish for them when the season for the other game species open. I know in southern Ontario along the SLR, they have moved to that instead of waiting for the second weekend of June. Shouldn’t be too long for me but everything just seems to move slower in Quebec. it’s also important to note that while bass are still insanely popular as a gamefish in Quebec, they aren’t as culturally relevant as they are in America. Walleye and trout fishing are more popular than bass fishing. Even pike fishing is arguably more popular. Hardcore anglers around here are usually of the ‘multi species’ type, not exclusively bassheads. So even the dedicated and average/casual fisherman just sort of deal with it and fish for other species until they can legally target bass. No one’s out here with pitchforks complaining that there’s not even a C&R season, except the bassheads like me but we’re the minority. It’s hard to explain but the average anglers here are just different, at least from my talks with you guys and the anglers which I know from my parts. For bass heads it’s just a long painful wait. But I do fish for everything regularly, bass are just my true love. Then there’s also the issue of poaching, especially in the city, so the season was probably created to counteract that but I won’t get into it. Sorry for the long post but I could talk about this all night. I’LL BE OUT THERE SOON ENOUGH ???.

All the other species keep me busy! When you haven’t fished 4-5 months you’ll take anything that bites, forget about bass!

I prefer BASS because it’s all I’ve ever known. I have never ever watched MLF coverage. What deterred me from MLF is the format they use for the BPT. I could be wrong but there seems to be a lot of funky rules and formatting compared to the traditional 5 fish format. With certain groups fishing certain days? If someone would explain it to me, I’d really appreciate. I like BASS and watch a bit of LIVE for every elite event.

Awesome stuff! That reminds me of the rainbows I caught while fishing for bass. It was quite the surprise. I fished a tiny mountain lake (couldn't have been more than 25 acres) which belonged to the owner of the cottage which I had rented with a few buddies for a long weekend. The two predatory species were largemouth bass and rainbow trout. I figured, heck I don't much about trout, especially not ones that live in a lake so I'll focus on the bass. After a night of partying, I went out to the lake alone to try to catch some bass off the dock in the shallows. I was fan casting with a 5-8 ft running crankbait and pulled up a nice rainbow. It caught me by surprise.

Would a tiny swimbait on a jighead count? That's in my arsenal 24/7 though no matter the conditions. If not a spinnerbait or swim jig has been effective for me after ice out/early season. I throw them for pike since I cannot target bass at that point of the season, but I get plenty of bass by-catch on them. In 2020, I slammed a bunch of eating sized walleyes off the bank in shallow water. Just a couple of weeks after the ice was gone, all on a sunfish colored swim jig.

I know I tell everyone on here but I can’t believe my first legal bass will only be in June ???. I always want to make a first bass post but it’s so late

I know absolutely zilch but I'll participate just cause ?

Settled on a dtl team

They’re not new but I did not get a chance to fish them in 2021 or prior seasons. Berkley’s Gilly has my attention. Have 2 packs of each size so we’ll see how that goes. I can’t imagine it being a total flop but I haven’t heard much about the bait from others. This year I really want to throw hard baits more. Squarebills especially but jerkbaits and topwaters too. I tend to avoid them because they don’t produce for me the same ways plastics or spinnerbaits do. There were a few outings in the fall where I threw a squarebill and got a few big bites. I want to see if there’s more to it. It’s just an efficient way of covering water and different from a spinnerbait.

1/16 oz mushroom head with a TRD in The Deal

I’m not sure about reel or what exact line would give you the lost distance but I think you can definitely go down in strength on the line. Nothing wrong with 50# but I have no doubt 30# would be up for the task as well. Tie a good knot and that bait won’t go anywhere. I’ve had my bait go into orbit a few times after a slipped knot with straight braid.

x2

You’re definitely right in your judgment, one of the MLs would be right for you. Either the 6’10 MLXF or 7’3 MLXF. I heard the 6’10 felt more noodly compared to the 7’3 but I have not fished either so I can’t comment on that. I have a 6’10 Mojo and I’ve fished the Avid 6’10 MLXF and neither felt noodly to me.

I’ve thrown it before with some success, but what kind of retrieve are you guys using? I was just dragging on bottom.

I noticed that too yesterday, I hope it’s just a bug due them updating their website

I’m excited for you, that first big step up in quality blew my mind. I know people say the rod and reel and tackle don’t matter, but it begins to matter at a certain point to a certain extent. When you begin to learn and know what your rod is telling you, “my bait is coming over grass, I’m on a soft/hard bottom, a fish just swiped at my lure” a higher quality rod can help you detect those differences. A Gx2 and Avid will feel the same to someone who has never fished is what I’m saying, but they certainly will feel different you.

I’d eat it for $20 as long as they are cooked ?

I don’t really have one. A swim jig with a beaver rigged vertically is a good big sunfish imitator because the profile just looks taller, which looks more like a sunfish, at least to us. And why not try the Berkley Gilly? Doesn’t get more Bluegill ish than that. The 130 size is real big. Just over 5 inches long and it is tall. It’ll take a big bass to get the hook on that thing. I picked some up this past holiday season so I will be using them in the upcoming season. It might be easy for me to say, but I think the no shad thing is often overblown in relation to bait selection. It surely will change the behaviour of the bass as they follow the forage’s seasonal migrations but I don’t see how it would affect which baits get bit. A 6.8 keitech resembles a big shad just as much as a big bluegill. You almost don’t need a bluegill specific swimbait; maybe just a different color. My two cents