BrianMDTX

It’s the same with hunting camo X100!

I needed some Gamakatsu 3/0 EWG hooks, so... as Academy is on my way home...I got some. Also got some Peg-It’s to try, as well as a pack of o-rings for wacky rigs. I needed some new 3.25” Rage Swimmers as I used the last one a week ago (that’s likely a penalty in the eyes of the Almighty BM), and picked up a pack of #196 Senkos (pumpkin w/black and green flake) as the color caught my eye. Also picked up a 1/4 oz Z Man chatterbait in brown/black, and as they had zero Megabass on the rack, I got a 6th Sense Provoke 106 jerkbait in American Shad.

Try a Daiwa/GYBC Neko Macho. They are great as a standard WR, a Neko rig or a weightless TR with a 3/0 EWG hook. It’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite soft plastics.

80% of the time I cast it in or near cover and let it sink. If no strike, I reel it in and cast again. Every now and then I’ll lift it and let it sink, repeating back to the boat or bank. But mostly one cast and repeat, as almost all strikes are on the initial sink.

They’d hit anything. There’s a big sign Do Not Feed The Ducks. Of course, goobers feed the ducks. So as soon as you show up, they swarm near you looking for a handout. But, they are a sign of a good pond. A hen swims by with six ducklings. Next time it’s five, then four. Some big bass is happy!

No pics for the pics thread lol. I stopped at a new pond on the way home from work. Just walked the bank with my Bass X MLXF spinning rod and a Daiwa Revros LT2000 with a weightless Zoom Trick TR. Caught four bass in 45 minutes. None over 8” lol. Tons of turtles and scads of ducks, but not any bass of any size! Didn’t even take a pic!

Nice bass! Sounds like you had a blast!

My pond is likely different from yours, but the last two 5+ lb bass I’ve caught have been on a weightless Zoom Trick TR and a weightless Daiwa/GYBC Neko Macho TR. Both caught at the dropoff from shallow to deeper water. The Zoom Trick was hit working it back slowly on the bottom; the Neko Macho was hammered as soon as it started to sink.

It takes all of 30 seconds. It’s not a knot for, say, braid to mono backing, as you have to run the leader back through the loop. But for braid to a 6’ or 8’ leader, it’s easy peasy. And it’s not that big and it’s strong.

I’m knot going to debate knots. All I will say is that I fish wacky rigs a lot, and I lost more fish on braid-to-leader than I did with straight mono. I like it for weightless TR where I need a solid hookset, but not WR.

I can’t complain. I had a decision to make. Fall/Winter for hunting, or spring/summer for fishing. I know many do both, but when you’re bowhunting almost every weekend from early September to the end of January (plus spring gobbler), doing the same for fishing is year-round and I drew the line. At almost 61, fishing is a lot less taxing then bowhunting. Especially when it comes to dragging out a dead buck or doe. If I hadn’t moved to Texas, I still may not have gotten back to fishing. It’s amazing what catching your PB at least 3x heavier than your previous best does to your motivation!

I'd say over 25, not counting the few times I taught my daughters how to fish.

It’s amazing what they will try and eat! At least you avoided the skunk!

I’ve been doing well with an XZone Adrenaline Craw lately. As well as Strike King Rage Craws.

I don’t fully agree with this. I’ve had bass hit a soft plastic as soon as it hit the water and set the hook as fast as possible, and they’ve still taken it deep. Sometimes they just inhale it and there’s nothing you can do except either remove the hook cleanly with a hook removal tool or cut the hook with wire cutters and take it out in two pieces. Or, if necessary, cut the line and leave the hook. Yeah, new anglers can miss the nuances of bites, but it happens to the best of us.

First off, congrats! They look like two decent bass! Second, things happen when fishing, but always have a tool with your baits for hook removal. You’ll be glad you do next time!

Nice, nice bass! “One more cast”. It’s never just one lol.

Kinda slow day. Caught six (all 2 to 2.5 lb’ers except one dink) and lost a decent bass (probably 4 lb) that was barely lip hooked just at the boat. Caught all but one on a #956 Senko WR. Nothing on a jerkbait, chatterbait, Texas rig Zoom Tricks and Jelly Worms or XZone True Center Stick Neko rig. But, I did finally catch a bass on my Megabass Pop Max!

I like a 2500 for 8 lb, and a 1000 or 2000 for 6 lb.

It works. It’s what I use. Haven’t broken a knot yet, and it goes through my guides well. I’ve had a leader long enough that the knot is wound back on the reel and it’s posed no problem. It it is extremely simple to tie.

Or 2000. I really don’t like big spinning reels for bass. And not needed.

Agreed! I like it and hopes it fishes as well as it looks!

Or medium, heavy, etc? It’s a rhetorical question. I read a lot of posts for a while that Rod A’s medium is more like Rod B’s medium heavy, etc, and took a lot of that with a grain of salt. But having purchased several new rods over the past year, I find it to be relatively true. I have two MHF baitcasting rods: a Daiwa Aird-X and a Falcon Lowrider. I thought the MHF Aird-X was just that compared to my Aird-X MF, but the Falcon MHF is definitely a stouter rod. Which is fine for me as it’s turning out to be a great rod for Texas rigs and other soft plastics rigged on a 3/0 EWG hook. But it may be too “medium heavy” for others. No doubt there is no standard such as spine in arrow shafts. At least the vast majority of similarly spined arrows (like a 300) from different manufacturers are pretty close when cut to the same length with like components. But rods? It’s a crapshoot!

Welcome to BR from another Brian lol.

Welcome Gunny, from an old ex-Army guy who recently relocated from MD to TX. Thank you for your service.