BrianMDTX

I read your post, and it got me thinking that, back in the day, the rod fought the fish vs the reel. Now a lot of bass anglers look to haul the fish across the surface solely by action of the reel. You can easily bring a good-sized bass to boat or shore with a 1000 or 2000 series reel if you use the rod as nature intended!

Beautiful brown bass, sir!

I want to add one more (which came in handy yesterday). How to remove a hook from a gut-hooked bass. How that bass got gut-hooked is a mystery. It was a 4” Senko on a 3/0 EWG, but it took the bait on the retrieve so I set the hook immediately. But it was gut-hooked. I went through the gills and in a minute or so I had the hook and not one drop of blood. I held it gently in the water until it slowly turned and swam off perfectly fine. If anyone learns anything on BR, that’s the thing to learn!

I do not back reel. But I find it useful to add line length before a cast if I reel it in too close to the tip, and also comes in handy keeping tension on the line while letting line out when trying to dislodge a snagged bait. Yeah, you can simply open the bail, but I find using a reel with AR a better option.

I am willing to bet that a large majority of 2020 COVID anglers gave it up in 2021. But even if only 5% stuck with it in 2021, that’s likely still a major increase over 2018/2019.

That I will. As I have at least a dozen lure types that “never caught a bass” that started catching them regularly. The Fat IKA is at the top of that list. I was ready to deep six them and all of a sudden, I started getting bites. Let’s face it. All lures will catch bass. Some better than others for some folks. But to have a lure that never catches bass for anyone is a rarity to non-existent.

It looks like a good day to me!

I have caught one bass on a jig w/trailer. And that got hit as soon as it hit the water. But as far as I’m concerned, patience has nothing to do with it. I’m a patient angler with T rigs and apply the same level of patience with jigs. So it’s gotta be something else. Only lost two to snags but I get a lot of fouled hooks in the ponds I fish. That may be a big reason. So far I’m batting 0.000 on a chatterbait.

I got a Sienna 2500 for free (using points from a company awards program. It’s on a Daiwa Procyon MXF (also free with points lol). It’s not a bad reel for the price. I also have a Daiwa Revros 2000 (on a St. Croix Bass-X MLXF) and a 2500 (on a Fenwick HMX MF). Of the three, I prefer the two Revros over the Sienna, but not enough to lose sleep over. All have AR, but the switch on the Sienna is small and awkward to locate quickly. But all three rigs have caught bass in the 4-5 lb range without a hitch, so I’m happy with all three.

Yesterday was a dinkfest. So was this morning, which was dead until about 10:00. Nothing was working. I took a Zoom Trick off a 3/0 Gammy EWG and replaced it with a 4” #956 Senko. That was the “trick”. I even said to myself “this is catching a fish!” Caught six. Five dinks, but this one was pushing 2 lbs. Biggest one I’ve caught in a while.

Too bad the LMB pic doesn’t show the whole fish as that looks like a real decent bass. The smallmouth ain’t bad, either! Congrats!

A few things: First, there still are Internet forums that have been around a long time that have not devolved into nothing but trolls, vitriol, insults and outright insanity. That’s a huge kudo to Glenn, and the mods. Second, even anglers way better than I get skunked now and then. It’s a learning tool rather than a disappointment. Third, there’s no end to the number of specialty rigs one can have to cast different presentations to perfection. But if you only have a MH/F baitcasting rig and a M/F spinning rig, you can fish a lot of different lures and still be successful.

First time on the water in weeks. Been busy at work, getting ready for and then actually bowhunting the rut (killed a 5 pt on Tuesday) and assorted honey-dos. I got 5 rigs ready last night and hit the water at first light. It’s been a while since I was at the pond and while it really hasn’t rained much, the water level was as high as I’ve ever seen it. The only baits I caught bass on were one on a X Zone Adrenaline Craw and six on a 5” Senko WR (the good ol’ 956). But the wacky (to me) part was that no bass hit the WR on the initial cast and fall. Not one. Every bass hit the bait as I was twitching it back to the boat. It’s wacky to me as 95% of my catches on a WR are on the initial fall. So much so I rarely do anything other than reel it in and cast again. I may have to change that. Most were real dinks. These two were the “biggest” lol. Although…something hit that Adrenaline Craw…hard. So hard it looked this when I got the bait back to the boat. Whatever it was it ripped the craws off! I’m thinking turtle, although the strike didn’t feel like a turtle. If it was a bass, it must have been a good one.

Congrats on the new PB!

I like Sufix 832.

I was using 6 lb. Trilene XL on my Revros 2000 and 2500. I now have 20 lb. Sufix 832 with a 6 lb leader (XL) on the 2500 but still have the spool on the 2000 filled with 6 lb XL. I also have 20 lb Seguar Smackdown with a 6 lb leader on a Shimano Sienna 2500. To me, 10 lb XL is kinda big for those reels. Try the Lefty Kreh knot. It’s very easy to tie and (knock on driftwood) I haven’t had a failure yet. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GDxGy3Nld2g

I could not agree with you more concerning the Terps. Which is sad, as years ago they had some good football teams. But Maryland is and will be a basketball school first and foremost. They can compete with anyone on the boards. The gridiron? Against the vast majority of the Big 10 they are cannon fodder.

Now THAT’S really “At Home With Baker Mayfield”!

Jackson had a pedestrian day overall, but the Ravens manhandled the Chargers on both sides of the ball. A real beatdown!

Lamar Jackson had one heck of a game on MNF last week. I hope he continues as I flew back to Maryland for a mini bowhunting trip that turned into going to the Chargers-Ravens game today. This’ll be my first tike seeing Jackson in the flesh. If they get their traditional play on defense back on track, the Ravens have a shot at the AFCN title and beyond.

Headed back to Maryland on Thursday for some pre-rut bowhunting. Hope I “catch” something on that trip as well! Good luck and tight lines!

Work, truck needed fuel line replaced, work, someone ran into my car changing lanes, work, lol. Haven’t been out in a month. Finally took the boat this morning. Nothing to write home about-just four dinks. But I did catch my first on a Ned rig, so that was good!

I would not have discovered the joy of the Daiwa Neko Macho if not for Fishmas last year. So yes, I’m in!

I felt the same about Irsay, so I feel your pain. Partially. Still is a thorn in my side to see the horseshoe. Hoping Ravens crush Colts on Monday! With no 66 yard FG required!

It’s hard to compare stats over the decades. Johnny Unitas played in 211 games and threw for 40239 yards and 290 TD’s. Drew Brees played in 287 games and threw for 80358 yards and 571 TD’s. Brees’ completion % was 67.7%. Unitas’ was 54.6%. By stats alone, Brees was a vastly superior quarterback. Yet back in Unitas’ day, a QB could get leveled two seconds after throwing a pass and that was not a penalty. Brees, Brady, Manning, Mahomes, etc. have not and will never face the intense hits quarterbacks like Unitas, Staubach, Bradshaw, etc. faced every Sunday. Most stats are not comparable over decades. But having watched football since the early 70’s, I think I can say that I’ve seen some darn good RB’s. Harris, Csonka, Payton, Smith, Simpson, Riggins, Tomlinson, Peterson and many, many more. And in my opinion, I’ve never seen a better running back than Barry Sanders. He made something out of nothing. Brown? Well, sometimes stats are what they are. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game, and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career. That’s a stat that’s hard to beat.