LrgmouthShad

I am hooking more large bass than in years past, but having a hard time landing them

@Kozholy cow! Glad you are safe. Didn’t know it was that bad

Say less

What hair is used and could you make a version with a light weedguard?

I am very happy to report that my knees have been making a significant comeback. A period of rest with light activity has helped a lot. I’m hoping for a full recovery but I’ll take anything I can get. The recovery time has been quite long. It is comparable to the amount of time my rotator cuff took to heal a while back. Here’s hoping I make it out of this with just some mild arthritis in my back and a physically fit body 👍🏻 At 24 years old I have abused my body more than enough

Dropshot and jerkbait Necessary evils

@Koz my bad man I thought you said you caught a 6, not the guide. Was reading too fast

@Koz 6lber is a great fish and sounds like you gleaned some good experience from that trip. Sorry to hear it was a disappointment though

@Susky River Rat for sure, and any fish that requires a dropshot or minnow because they are entitled bratty fish are not my fish. I need real dumb ones or I just need em to make one mistake. I’ll be happy with any finish. Fork is a cool lake.

Woo! It’s Monday, top of the week! Let’s get provocative! I like this post because the author brings up some good points but the community will bring up some excellent reasons they prefer to fish for bass. After all, it’s a hobby. We should do what makes us happy!

As for myself, I am wrapped up prefishing. Koz and I meant to link up but our schedules did not align. I’ll see him the 15th. I’ve been fishing Fork for the past three days over Veteran’s weekend. I have oscillated so much between thinking that I know what I’m doing and thinking that I don’t. I’ve got some stuff marked. Some stuff is shallow some stuff is a little deeper. I’ve got a halfway-there game plan. I don’t know, man, I’ve never done this tourney stuff before. So I’ve concluded to stick to my plan but be ready for it to fail, focus on the mental side of things this week, and don’t stress myself out. I’m going for the big fish because it has the highest payout potential.

No, I’m still several years away from peaking. I have more to learn and at my age in my mid twenties, I will stay in my physical prime for much longer.

I’m the same as JHoss I am really adamant on a 5 speed reel for spinnerbaits. Nothing else feels right

@BrianMDTX I completely agree!

Depending on what part of the country you are in, late fall is the time to throw big spinnerbaits for LMB. I discovered this a few years ago in NY but I’ve seen it play down South as well. It’s still early for it here in TX, but farther North it’s about time. In NY I found that no spinnerbait was too big. I would use 1oz spinnerbaits with 4.5 paddletails on the back for added bulk. If you catch a nice fish on a big spinnerbait this fall, be sure to share. It is a pretty cool bite

I grew up with hunting, not fishing. Around the time I was 17, some friends of mine suggested we try fishing. We went but they lacked patience. Since I am accustomed to sitting in the woods waiting on deer, the initial lack of success did not deter me. Shortly after, I mentioned to a family friend that I was fishing but not having much luck. He invited me to fish at a private lake off one of his kayaks. He taught me the improved clinch knot but most of the time he just handed me a fly rod with a sinking leader and had me troll around the lake backwards with a fly so that I could see the fish strike with the rod held between my legs. I caught a lot of fish doing that. He encouraged me to fish for anything that would bite, but I became passionate about trying to catch bass because I watched many YouTube videos about catching them. I was a gamer prior to fishing and my parents much preferred me fishing, so my Dad bought me a spinning rod and reel I could use for bass. I could go whenever I wanted. Fast forward to COVID and whenever I wanted became an awful lot. Then I joined BR. The winter of 2020, I caught my freak PB bass out of the same private lake I first started fishing on.

Brightly colored bluegill spinnerbaits that don’t work so good for me in the waters I fish here, but up north on ponds they were killer

The iRod Genesis III Swim Jr is a good quality rod with Fuji alconite guides. I suppose it’s possible you got a bad egg. I remember a post you made a while back saying that this rod is lifeless. I bought one months ago and it’s one of my favorite rods. 🤷🏻‍♂️

On shaky heads I have a pretty good hookup ratio but it is not uncommon for a few to become unbuttoned or even break off if you are using really light line. My standard shaky head setup is an owner ultrahead with a zoom finesse worm. Shaky head fishing is an art. There is a lot to it

Tried those this year. Absolutely fantastic bait. It is very versatile

Zoom Ol Monster has been one of my top baits this year

14ish lb mono is what I would run

Zoom scuppernong, zoom green weenie, and zoom plum apple are some of my favorites

No, I wouldn't want that. Tom brings his own experiences and history to this site. No one else can do it the same way he did. Currently, I believe the most exciting things in bass fishing are night fishing and whatever the heck has been going on in NY this year. Looking at you, Cayuga. The smallmouth scene is just crazy up North, too. Down South, TX is the best in the nation, because TPWD actually cares about largemouth bass and their habitat.

I prefer to get in quietly and fish slowly, then get out. I will come back later if it is a really good spot and I want to test the timing. A much better fisherman than me would already know the proper timing and he would be set up prior. I will only anchor down and camp if I catch two quality (5+) bass in a short period. Then I’m locking down and throwing everything in the tackle box at them. Once I’m done, I probably won’t move far. Just check out another angle or another small spot nearby. The game of do I stay or do I go is entirely results driven. If I see and catch the quality of fish I am looking for, I am going to stay until that stops happening for a while and I just might be back later, too.