ajschn06

So I just picked up a Shimano Chronarch MGL- awesome reel. So smooth- love it... but I’ve fished Daiwa reels for years, they always tout the “swept handle” design that sounds like marketing BS, but I really did notice a difference in feel handling the Shimano and it was really my only complaint. Do any of the swept daiwa handles fit that model Shimano?

I went out two Saturdays ago with the mindset that it would be my last go. Had a good day too. Then I saw the forecast for this coming Saturday- mid 50's. Then I looked at the forecast for next week- high of 60. Not done yet...

Putting together a box of stuff for my nephew... I'll probably throw them in there, maybe he can figure them out!

I bought a handful of packs of Senko's a few years ago.... I can't give those things away. Next to worthless......

I know what you mean..... I don't make my own but one of my favorite things to do when tinkering is matching up jigs and trailers- I could, and probably will, do it all winter long just to pass time...

Haha this is what I'm going through. I've said it before but the thing I love most about it is the versatility- which is why I have a hard time getting it out of my hands.

So for the first time in almost a decade I put the golf clubs away this year and focused on fishing again. My son loves boats and fishing, and while he was my golfing buddy too, he gets a lot more out of fishing. Boat is in the garage and we had snow yesterday, so season might be over.... I started out the year stuck in my ways.... swim jigs and crankbaits and picked off a few early in the year but nothing consistent. Started mixing it up a little bit and threw some finesse swimbaits and toads as summer started to crawl in. Lots of action, but nothing big on the swimbaits and had trouble hooking up consistently with the toad. By the time I got the hang of it and started throwing hollow frogs, the bite was over. In early September, I ordered some 1/4 oz brush jigs from Siebert Outdoors and paired them with a SK rage chunk. I was excited about this because there are plentiful options for lighter swim jigs, but not really for anything I can flip with. I started using these as a multi-purpose bait flipping them and swimming them, a lot of time on the same cast and my season completely turned around. I caught more fish and bigger fish on this bait alone than I did all season long. Black and blue was the money color but California Craw worked great too. This was on the heels of Tom Monsoor winning the Mississippi event, I tracked down a youtube clip of him talking about swim jigs where he said two things that helped me out a lot: 1) Never uses anything heavier than 1/4 oz and 2) If he had one color for the mississippi, it would be black and blue. Up until then, a color I had but one I was reluctant to throw. Thanks Tom! I say all this for a couple of reasons- looking forward to next season (already), I know I'll have a rod with a topwater/frog on it most of the time. However, outside of that- I'm struggling to convince myself that I need anything else at the ready besides a jig. It's a confidence thing for me, and a versatility thing as well. I'm a little different than a lot of folks here because A) I'm fishing the same areas ALL THE TIME and B) my excursions are short, 3-4 hours max and I'm out once or twice a week. Does anyone else here limit what they throw that much? Obviously I've got a few favorites on standby if I need them (SK 1.5, Spinnerbait, Jackhammer, a few paddle tail swim baits) but I just have not had much desire to throw them. I think I'm a jig junky....

Why upside down?

Before the days of internet I can remember my grandpa discovering this bait and figuring out how well it worked on the panfish he chased. I was probably 10 years old and I can remember him, my dad, and his brothers all gathering around the table looking at the Slider catalog and putting together an order that would last the family YEARS!!!

THIS is, for me, 100% the reason a jig has been so productive this year and is more often than not in my hand. The ability to do two things, effectively, on one bait. I went over my catches this year and other than 2 I caught on a crankbait every bass I caught that was worth anything was caught on a jig. I would say about 50/50 they were pitching/bottom contact bites vs swimming...

I can feel this in my bones.... I had an encounter last weekend with a giant as well, I didn't get the bite, but we locked eyes and she's been on my mind ever since...

I've spent the majority of my fishing season on the backwaters of the Mississippi River.... I've caught plenty of bass. Lots of smaller ones (12-15) with some pretty solid fish mixed in (16-18)… but nothing REALLY big. I've been looking for one that's really big.... I don't know if the water is clearing up a little, or the coloring is working better with my glasses, but I've been able to see a bit better the last few times out. I was floating down a stretch that I fish often pitching a jig into some brush areas that looked pretty good- this particular pile of brush was covered with some matted vegetation as well... my jig hit the water, floated there for a second, then I saw what I would consider a HUGE fish for this area come out from under the vegetation to take a look at my jig. It didn't last long, she bolted back under pretty quick. I am not sure if she would have hit the 5 pounds I've been shooting for, but it would have been really close. One positive that I'll take from this is the areas that I'm targeting are holding big fish.... but I can't stop thinking about her....

How far south do I have to go to have a chance at some successful fishing in February?

I know who I'm listening to....

Can't thank you enough for pointing me towards this video!

Jumped back into bass fishing this year after a bit of a layoff... with the season winding down I can already tell winter is going to be agonizing. Can anyone recommend some good bass fishing books to read and pick up some knowledge in the offseason. PS: For those in better climates, I don't care about the fact that you "have no offseason".....!!

Lol- I can understand not wanting to give up a secret spot.... but I can't see what harm disclosing this info could lead to. Edit- especially here. Sounds like everyone wants to help other catch more and bigger fish..

Looks like I’m ordering some Tatsu- thanks fellas!

Go back to your tried and true for a while... never fails...

How long of a leader do you use? Long enough that the mesh point is going through the guides?

Thanks, that's kind of what I was wondering! I did like some things about it, but I can struggle to detect those subtle bites- if it's a downgrade from braid in the sensitivity department it's no good for me. What would your recommend for a good fluoro in terms of sensitivity and handling?

Is there a point when you put topwaters/frogs away for the season? Or do certain topwaters work better as it cools down? Water temp is about 55 currently....

Made the switch to fluorocarbon on my jig pole both for increased sensitivity and decreased visibility. I have to say I have been disappointed in the sensitivity portion- did I get bad line? The only thing FF had in stock was Berkley Vanish and I went with 14 pound. I felt like I had more sensitivity when I was using a fluoro leader with braid (it was a daiwa leader) but I didn't like it catching going through the eyes.

I’ve always used 5/0 ewg hooks and haven’t had issues... I picked up some of the double hooks and they stink, bait rolls like crazy doesn’t work...

You could tell me that today was scientifically proven to be the worst fishing day of all time and I’d still wet my line if I had the chance