DitchPanda

Have I ever shown somebody a spot and have them exploit it? Sure...before. Now days I only share certain info with certain people for that very reason. My buddy Brian who just got into bass fishing last year has been fishing with me a ton and picks my brain daily. So what he is trying to accomplish by this is shorten the curve for himself by gaining on the water lessons and knowledge I've gained thru 20+ years of bass fishing. I'm fine with this because A) he won't harvest the bass unless he deep hooks one he won't go telling every Tom, Dick and Harry what and where we are doing our damage on. Back to the question of what to do about your dad? That's a tough one bud. Obviously you want to keep your relationship with your Dad solid and to your point it may not be worth it to make a big deal out of it. On the other hand you found this magic spot, told him what your intentions were, after that he went against what you asked and then turned it into an argument although your "rules" were agreed upon before hand. If it was me I'd bring it up, if you don't its gonna eat at you and come to a head. If he doesn't respond well, that's unfortunate, but also as long as your respectful then its on him. My dad and I had an argument like this one time years ago on my local body of water. So I got on a really solid largemouth bite and of course I shared it with him. He asked if we should keep some and I said absolutely not. He got pissy and said well its legal so ill keep what I want. I said yeah that's fine but ill never share spots with you anymore and we won't fish together. Put a stop to it immediately. I'm not anti harvest but these were pres pawn egg filled bass and honestly I don't like bass that much, on top of that bluegill and crappier were biting same time so in my mind no reason to kill spawn size bass. He saw how important it was to me to protect these big fish on the small watershed we fished and realized it wasn't worth it.

This...its amazing what kind of info you can get in a tackle shop...especially if you buy a bait or two. Its in their best interest to point you towards fish so you want to come back.

I actually just read this a while back and thought about checking it out next time I'm up visiting my parents.

Paddle tail swim baits...I've caught very few on them and given them more time than I should have

I've been walking, stretching and doing core exercises daily...even in this short time my back feels better then it has in 6-7 months. I'm excited to keep going to see what I can do.

Depends on who you ask...my wife would say thousands too much...I'd say not quite enough to be satisfied.

I'm not a fan...and my old lady hates it...so yeah its a struggle here.

Only baits I hate are ones I can't catch fish on...and once I realize that I don't throw them anymore

Nice work

Abu Garcia 5500 c3

I'm strictly a bank guy and my approach is usually 1 tackle tray and a few bags of plastics. Try to limit myself to 3 rods most of the time as well.

As always thanks for the info buddy!

I wondered if you had that model and was hoping you'd chime in. I'm thinking of using it for light T rigs and finesse swim jigs...sounds like it would work well for those. I've been extremely impressed with my Ark rods.

I'd say around me it starts getting consistent when water temps get mid 50s range ...not saying you can't catch them.before that but somewhere between 54-57 it gets more predictable. My 2 best top waters regardless of season are hands down a black buzz bait and 1\4oz popper. In the fall I can usually get fish to take top water down into high 40s temps.

Anybody have experience with these...in particular the 7'2" medium fast model? Thinking of adding one of these to the quiver when I get my next profit sharing check. I already have a Tharp series and a lancer pro series rod..both are fantastic for the money. No reason to think the Cobb would be different..just looking for first hand experience.

I had one of those come to Jesus talks with my PM and GM at work probably 6-8 months ago...but I initiated it without them bringing it up. I pulled them both into an office and said I know I've been rude and unapproachable but I'm sick of being an as#$%&@ to everybody because it just ruins relationships and I become part of the problem instead of the solution. They both commended me saying it takes alot of character to admit to this behaviour and we appreciate you being upfront with us. Since then I find myself having more productive, enjoyable conversations with co-workers and also getting ticked less and less often.

And BINGO was his name-o

Oh yeah I get locked in...last summer I went months throwing a popper, 1\4oz red eye and Ned rig. Kept catching em so why not.

Holy crap dude

Bingo buddy

Was gonna say the only times I've had depression is when I was drinking too much...knocked that crap off and I've done better ever since. When I'm feeling bummed, run down or stressed I go fishing...I'm sorry to hear your struggling with that right now. Hope you can find some relief.

Ponds and small lakes only because that's what's readily available to me and what I've focused on for 20+ years. I have done some small river fishing for small mouth over the years and enjoyed the challenge of looking for current breaks and presenting a lure correctly in moving water.

After today I'm not sure if bass eat

I never scale before I fillet fish and all I use is a standard old rapala martini knife...no electric. I just cut by the gill plate, work down the backbone until I get past the ribs then poke the knife thru and continue down to the tail but don't cut thru the tail, go back and work the meat off the rib cage then flip the whole deal open and take the meat off the skin. I believe its referred to as the Canadian method.

Looks yummy..."trash" fish fry time!