BrianMDTX

Well I never…and likely will never. But man, oh, man! That had to be a blast and a half! Especially the “nothing” until it jumped. It could have been a 4 or 5 lb’er. Seeing that hawg jump must have raised the ol’ pulse level!

I have a Daiwa Fuego that was less than $100 and it’s a nice reel. Having said that, I also have two Black Max’s, and truth be told, they ain’t that bad. Especially for that price. I’ve caught some nice bass on them.

I have a Daiwa Tatula 100H on my Dobyns Fury 705CB. It’s a great rig for squarebills and other light crankbaits.

Lefty Kreh knot.

I wonder what the locals would think if I was in full camo with face mask crawling on the ground lol.

Maryland Crab Soup Start with a lb. of beef cubes, cut smaller and add to 3-4 quarts of water. To that add: 2 beef boullion cubes 2-3 white potatoes- peeled and diced 1 small white onion- minced 3-4 cloves garlic-minced 3 16 oz. bags frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, lima beans, corn and peas) two cans of crushed tomatoes one can of diced tomatoes one can tomato sauce 1/2 cup of barley (rinsed) 1/2 head of cabbage-shredded 4 soup crabs, devil removed, cracked in half (steamed blue crabs, if you can find them. Not mandatory but a plus if you can get them) 3 bay leaves 7-8 dashes of Lea and Perrins Worchestershire sauce 4-5 dashes of Tabasco sauce dash or two of cayenne pepper Old Bay and black pepper to taste 1 lb jumbo lump blue crab meat (added just prior to serving). Maryland crab meat preferred but not mandatory. Serve with bakery rye and Keller’s butter.

I’ve tried a few other ponds but most are very shallow. I think I’m going to try Lake Raven in Huntsville. Lake Conroe is too big for my inflatable.

THAT was a game! As Dick Enberg would have said…”Oh my!!!”

It’s definitely bluegills and crawfish. I’ve never seen any other fish but catfish. Some are 8-10 lbs.

I’d say it 3-5 acres in size. Shaped like a capital L. It’s a private community pond. It gets about 7’-8’ deep but the average is 2’-4”. No aeration. It can receive some pressure, but 2020 was the most pressured and I did great. Was good in winter and spring of 2021 then it started to slow down. But nothing like this. Hard to do. The turtles will take any live bait you throw unless it’s a shiner.

Just to clarify, in the past two weeks I have casted: weedless Ned rig Senko wacky rig Senko weightless Texas rig Neko Macho Neko rig weightless Zoom Trick and Mag 2 worms Googan and Megabass jerkbaits

I won’t dispute any of that. All I can say is that the appearance of the pond seems to be the same as before. Same level of algae (low to moderate), same level of leaves on the bottom, etc. Maybe testing the water might show something. But if the bass had or were dying off, I would think I would see some evidence of that. I’m going to start to fish other places, but I’ll keep an eye on it. Especially starting in March as the spawn approaches. The pond is only two minutes from the house so it’s easy to check on it frequently.

I’m saving the water for the pond!

The last bass I caught that was a decent size was May 4th of last year (over 3.5 lbs.). The last one that was over 5 lbs. was on April 16th. Since then it’s been dinks and maybe a two-plus pound bass. But the last bass I caught was on November 20th. Since then I’ve had two soft strikes (missed the hook up) and that’s been it. I haven’t seen anyone else catch anything except cats. I haven’t seen any dead bass, but something has changed. I’ve been fishing this pond since 2020 and I was catching 3+ lb. bass regularly with some 4 and 5 lb’ers mixed in as well. Now it’s just dead. It’s not stream-fed (just replenished by rain), but the water level has been high since summer. It’s got me stumped. I know we had that week of super-low temps last year in February, but as the pond did not ice over I can’t see that really having an affect. It’s got to be something else.

I’d like to give it away lol! Yeah, saw that live. Oh man, it was bad. Last night may have exceeded it!

Crappie and big bluegill on UL tackle.

That Kyler Murray Pick-Six was very Garo Ypremian-esque!

I just don’t get this in this day and age. It cannot be difficult for rod manufacturers to come up with a standard of what constitutes power (UL, ML, M, MH) and action (XF, F, M). Carbon arrows are manufactured by many different makers, yet spine deflection is a standard. One rod manufacturer’s MF should not be akin to another’s MFXF. It does a disservice to us all.

Mine is 9” in Blackberry. Not only do they have great action, but they seem to catch a few more bass before they get mangled lol. I normally rig mine with a 3/16 oz tungsten bullet weight and a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG.

Zoom Tricks Zoom Mag 2 Mann’s Jelly Worm Senko Zoom Z Craw

I lived in Newark, DE for 3 years in the mid 90s and discovered Cappriotti’s. We eventually moved back to MD and shortly after they opened a Cappriotti’s near us in Forest Hill. First time I went in, I told them that folks here expect to get fries, onion rings, etc with their cheesesteaks and subs (hoagies). I was told they “don’t do that”. They didn’t stay open a year.

I wish I could elaborate more on the Fishmas gift, but I have COVID and just opening the box and getting the contents out pretty much kicked my butt. Needless to say, just the number and selection of baits is fantastic. But a baitcasting reel? I am humbled!

lol. Good way of looking at it!

Thanks. I’m guessing it’s Omicron, and with being vaccinated it’s supposed to not be as bad. Doesn’t feel that way though!

Well, after being vaccinated and after all this time, I thought I dodged a bullet. But nope. I just tested positive for COVID after starting with symptoms on Christmas evening. Yesterday was rough. High fever, cough, wheezing, terrible headache, etc. As Charlie Brown would say, “Rats!”