BrianMDTX

I think the BM Formula is n + ♾

Oh man. The Monkey is chattering!

Mahomes vs. Brady. Well, that’s not true. It’s Chiefs vs Buccaneers. But that’s the storyline the pundits will be riveted to the next two weeks. Brady looked great in the first half; not so good in the second half. But while many will pick the Chiefs (and that’s a good pick), I would not count ol’ Tom out yet. What the Buccaneers need to do is pressure Mahomes with four rushers and contain him. Keep the receivers covered. Yesterday I think he escaped the pass rush and hit Hill and Kelce when there were no defenders within 10 yards. You can’t let that happen, and it will happen if you blitz.

You could simply tie on a leader of 6’ or so to keep the knot out of the T Wing. That’s the least expensive fix of all.

I believe flukes would be ok, and probably shakey heads but not spinnerbaits. Probably lose bass if hooking them on a fast retrieve. Interesting. I don’t have experience with shakey heads but fish WR a lot. I feel like a MXF or MF spinning rig is perfect for a WR. Especially in close quarters where I want the bait to drop vertically.

I like a MXF for wacky rigs, weightless Senkos and Zoom Tricks, etc. My theory (especially for WR) is that I’m fishing more of a slack line, and when the bass starts running with the bait and I reel the line in tight, it’s a quick hookset with a WR, or it’s a faster hookset with a weightless TR Senko or Zoom Trick. Maybe not, but it’s working for me so far!

Old topic. Should I wax my braid like I do my bowstrings? ?

I would think your existing rod is likely grandfathered into the lifetime warranty, but new rods will likely have a limited warranty. I would think if I paid $400+ on a rod and it was defective, I’d know it way before 15 years.

Nor do I. Nothing built by man lasts forever. If you fish a lot, you put constant stress on a rod. Any rod. If it snaps in 15-20 years you’ve gotten great service from it. That’s not a warranty issue for a faulty rod. It’s simply age and wear-and-tear.

Just gotta get used to those Texas U-turns! Yeah, plenty of bass fishing opportunities here. Even small ponds can hold some big bass. And not just one and a ton of dinks, either.

Well, yesterday was the exact opposite. Hooked 9 and caught 7 and all were in 2’-4’ of water. Nothing bit deep.

Lake Conroe in TX may fit that bill.

Mind you, this is just an opinion. But if you toss a Senko or Zoom or any other plastic bait and just let it sit there, you may catch a bass, but probably not anything else. Toss a whole nightcrawler that’s basically on its last legs (so not wriggling or moving), and you may catch a bass, or a catfish, or have it taken by a bluegill, etc. Most likely from the scent. My issue sue is that I have scent and often forget to use it. But I think it’s worthwhile.

That’s what she said. So we did lol. I’m used to freezing my keister off in Maryland in January. Much nicer to be catching bass in Texas!

I fish an L-shaped pond similar to yours. Up until yesterday, most of the bass I’ve caught the past few weeks have been out deep (if you consider 8’-10’ deep lol). Today I hooked 9 and caught 7 and all were 2’-4’ from the bank. All they wanted were Zoom Trick worms.

Way back when in the 70s when I was in the Army, we had a Sp4 who was Filipino who used (used) to bring balut in every now and then. We also had an SFC who was one of “those guys” with the “Your mama doesn’t work here-clean it up!” and similar signs. One day he walked over to the Specialist and told him if he ever ate balut again in the break area, they’d never find the body. I never saw him bring it in again. That stuff is nas-tay!

It makes you wonder. Why? Why does the rate of fall matter to the bass? If you’re looking at ROF in 45° vs 75° water temps it sounds understandable. But it makes a difference day-to-day even when conditions are basically the same. Why? It really makes you scratch your head how the same bait with a 1/4 oz weight is good one day but not the next with all other factors basically the same. I know the bass bass have a reason, lol. I’d just like to know what it is!

Yesterday I was fishing with Pepe Le Pew. Not even a nibble. Same pond. One day later. Big difference! Started casting a variety of lures but all they wanted were weightless Zoom Trick worms. Color wasn’t important. Caught them on Pumpkin and Green Pumpkin Magic. Hooked 9 and boated 7. No big gals but still a blast. My normal methods (slow drag or hopping it across the bottom) didn’t get one bass. I got the first one (smallest one that I didn’t take a pic of) when the wind picked up and my boat started drifting. I had the worm out and it dragged along and that’s when it got hit. So I started sweeping the rod slowly and that’s what they liked. None were deep. All were no more than 2’-4’ from the bank. FYI- the one with the little blood was fine and was released with no issues. Tried out my new Daiwa Fuego CT on the Fenwick HMX HF rod. I tried that Fishlab Bio-Gill swimbait. It casted that perfectly. Also tried a Mann’s Jelly Worm TR with a 1/4 oz weight. Casted that fine as well.

Simple answer. There is no “best” lure. If there was, we'd all own it and fish it exclusively. That’s a fact. Seriously, your best lure on Saturday may get no bites on Sunday, and the lure that caught nothing but weeds Saturday reels them in on Sunday. There’s a lot of variables at play, the biggest being what the bass are in the mood for on any given day.

Not counting my old stuff (30-50 years old), I have 6 new rigs. 3 baitcasting and 3 spinning. I have a MF, MHF and HF for the baitcasters and a MLXF, MF and MXF for the spinners. Is that enough? Likely. But it’s like guns to me. How many is too many? That’s a different answer to each angler. That’s a big difference to me between hunting and fishing. I could own a .30-‘06 and use it to hunt basically any big game animal in North America and the vast majority in Africa. But you can’t cast and fish a Ned rig properly on HF rod with a baitcaster. You have to have different rods and reels for different presentations. Do you NEED 20-30 rigs? Absolutely not. But it’s a problem I’d like to have!

It was a slight drizzle this morning. Granted, it’s January, not spring or summer. But it was 59° when I got up. Took the boat out. Fished from 7:30 to 3:00. Not. One. Darned. Bite. Not one. I threw everything but the kitchen sink. Topwater, spinnerbaits, jigs, lipless cranks, worms, swimbaits, Ned rig and I’m probably forgetting something. Still had a good day being out, but man. That’s tough! ?

At this point, I’m still gaining experience. But I do prefer AR on spinning reels, low profile vs round in baitcasting reels and I vastly prefer cork grips. If I had my druthers I’d probably opt for full vs split grips, but split grips don’t really bother me.

I feel ya. It was almost 30 years for me until last April. I’m trying to make up for lost time. Reeling in a 5 lb bass is a lot easier than dragging out a 150 lb buck!

Well, I “T-picked” a Zoom Trick in preparation for tomorrow, weather permitting. Anxious to try it. Also will get some pegs and try WRB’s tip sometime soon.

Makes you wonder what a completely translucent clear worm would do!