LrgmouthShad

@Catt if a faster rate of fall is so much better at getting bites, why do we use lighter jigs at all? Im enjoying just hearing what y’all think and getting some different perspectives.

Most of my t-rig damage through the year is done on three baits 1. Zoom ultravibe speed worm or gambler equivalent 2. Zoom ultravibe speed craw or gambler equivalent 3. Zoom mag 2 So for your two rods, I will recommend #1 and #2 with an honorable mention to #3. If it’s colder water, I do better with weightless senkos or brush hog-style lures

Okay so borne out of necessity

I can't understand the effectiveness of a heavy jig in cold water. Somebody please help me understand. When I started picking heavier jigs for 1. warmer water 2. clearer water 3. heavier cover, I caught more fish on jigs this year, up to 1oz with a lot of work in 3/4oz. It's been a great jig year for me. But heavy jigs in cold water? That does not make sense to me. Why would fish want something that is falling faster and causing more disturbance when everything is moving slow?

I want to do this more as well. Sometimes it’s just not possible and there’s only one day out of the week to go, but sometimes it’s possible to pick by getting ahead on household chores and such

there is a DD in your future

Oh so you’ve been on Somerville? What do those fish do? Roam around aimlessly with the white bass, maybe chasing shad, and occasionally popping up in the right places? I’ve located quite a bit of underwater goodness there, but it often seems like those places can only be described as community holes. If I find something, everybody and their mother already knows about it. Frustrating lake. I will take any advice from you that I can get and I will be grateful for it

Tentatively this beaut from my arch nemesis lake, Lake Somerville But I’ve still got some time left in NC! I am guessing enough for 6 trips. It ain’t over!

@Jar11591 it’s never enough. Even weeks where I was able to get out 3x, I had only just started to feel comfortable with what I was doing and in-tune with the fish

Hey y’all, I was reminded about a technique when I watched a YouTube video recently. I’ve seen Bassmaster Elites do this same thing. It’s widely known that you can gently lift a lipless off the bottom continually back to the boat, working deep water. This is ‘yo-yoing’. What I see utilized much less often is what I call ‘sweeping’ which takes the concept of ‘yo-yoing’ and applies it to shallow water. Here, anglers will cast into shallower water and instead of lifting gently off the bottom, they will pull the lipless along. It looks very similar to dragging. The emphasis is on horizontal movement - not jigging it off the bottom. I’ve seen this be very effective. I hope this technique is helpful to you this winter. I will certainly be using it. And…. love him or hate him… credit where credit is due…. the YouTube video that reminded me of this is one of Randy B’s. I am personally requesting that you refrain from commenting on your opinion of Randy in this thread. This is strictly educational.

I’m going to ballpark guess that I’ve fished around 70 times. I missed the month of October and mid November-mid December due to work. I was fishing like crazy from about May-September. Very early in the season I went quite a bit too. Trips other than bass…. About 5 lol. 2024 should be a busy year for me so I’m thankful for every trip. I’m fishing in NC again very soon while I’m home for the holidays! It’s been over a month since I’ve fished. Did somebody say Badin Lake? 🤩

What I didn’t know was that you could adjust internal brakes on the Gen 4, embarrassing for me to say. I have two Gen 4s It’s interesting that you only use the winches for heavier moving baits. I just made a comment to @thediscochef recently that I felt that the gen 4 winch does not do well for light baits. Perhaps with the different braking system of the gen 5, it may handle lighter stuff better.

@RipzLipz you can probably guess what I didn’t know about 🙈. Do you have the old winch already? I don’t meet too many people on here who own a winch but I’m a fanatic for those reels. They are cranking and spinnerbaiting machines.

Update: @RipzLipz user error on spooling the first time. It spooled up fine now. Im not sure if the braking system on this Winch iteration is the same as the previous generation. I love everything about the previous generation. This iteration is once again more comfortable and I really like the knobs as opposed to the previous gen. I’m going to wait before I give you an answer on my thoughts on this reel’s braking. Right off the bat, I had problems when I put it on settings that I would use for the previous gen. However, my big spinnerbait is anything but aerodynamic. I found settings that will work, but my brake dial is sitting way way higher than I’m used to.

@RipzLipz I’ll let you know once I figure out if the reel actually spools correctly or not 😔. The Tatula is great though. I find it comfier in my hand than the previous iteration

I was able to do a little test drive of the rod just now in the backyard. I wanted to see how it loaded with a 1oz spinnerbait which is my intended lure. It’s fantastic. Loads better than many of my rods, maybe up near the top. I have a feeling this is going to be a good deal for me. iRod Genesis III Swim Jr 7’8” 1-4oz

👍👍. A great way to target springtime fish

A very Merry Christmas to all @NorthernBasser

Skipping with a baitcaster, leave tension knob where it is. No exaggerated movements. Turn brake dial up and use aggressive thumb control. Change your thumb pressure according to how the bait is reacting. Be prepared to stop abruptly if you collide with something

The tacklebox remains pretty open around docks, even at that depth. I used to have a mindset that if fish are hanging around docks, I needed to get under it. There are a lot of fish that will utilize the edges at different times. Any vertical running supports or structures on the outside can be excellent. Accuracy is important, even if only casting to/along the edge or to an object.

@Pat Brown yes, you are offering them a snack instead of a buffet. If an a-rig works in the winter there is no reason that a spinnerbait or underspin won’t. That whole idea that spinnerbaits aren’t effective under 50 degrees is a load of BS. I’ve caught fish in the low 40s and high 30s on a spinnerbait. But you better be crawling it. More on the a-rig… I ain’t even used it before. But I remember multiple trips on Badin Lake in the winter where every single boat I passed floated an angler who was chucking that umbrella. The absolutely tremendous shad population has a lot to do with that, I’m sure.

Good bait picks. Historically I’ve had better luck in the winter when I keep moving. I’m not talking about fishing fast. Just fishing along at a good cadence… stopping at high percentage areas… and making good use of those select moving baits that stay effective when the water is cold Its a good top 5 but you could throw spinnerbait in the mix too

Shimano Sedona is a good option

@12poundbass @TnRiver46 someone at the store convinced me I should try Rieger’s which is a Kansas City whiskey. Sort of a unique deal. There were a couple hard to find bottles that they were looking for as well but the store didn’t have them at the time. Bringing the bottle back to Texas with me

I am out of town (traveling) and found a liquor store that carries difficult to find liquors. Please inform me of a scotch, whiskey, or bourbon that I need to look for that will not burn a giant hole in my wallet! Recommendations ASAP please!