Fishlegs

I’m a fairly new BR member so we be never met, but I’ve heard some great stories about @Big-O that I’m sure would be great to hear from the source. @roadwarrior introduced me to the rage tail line, and I’m hooked. They’ve become some of my favorite lures. Thank you on behalf of the fishing world.

I haven't been able to get on here much this week, but I'm trying to catch up. A little belated, but Happy Birthday @ol'crickety!

It depends on who I’m with. My friends who don’t fish see the fish I catch and think I’m an expert. The people who have actually fished with me…well, it’s probably safe to say that they don’t share that opinion. ?

Sorry about your dad. I lost mine to lung cancer several years ago. All I can say is it takes time. You never stop missing someone who meant so much, but the feelings change over time. I used to get upset every time I thought about my dad after he passed, but at some point the sadness that overwhelmed me changed to happiness when I thought of him. It took several years for that process to happen, but now I cherish the thoughts that pop up rather than dread them. Many people have similar experiences, but your journey will be different. Be patient, and give yourself some grace during the process. Hang in there.

Great fish @T-Billy and @RyAxion

@T-Billy It might just be the lighting, but that first picture reminded me of a barracuda with the silverish color. All cool looking fish!

Congrats on a great day!

Are those fish, or butterballs? Wow!

I am nowhere near the level of someone like Tom, but I have lost more big fish than I like to admit. After I lose a big one I try to evaluate what happened, learn from my mistakes, make gear/technique adjustments, and continue to try. You appear to have all of those traits. The thing that I think has helped me the most is being on the water with people who are better fishermen than me...like @roadwarrior.

I love that cold weather hat @T-Billy, but an autographed Bill Dance hat is even better.

Very nice!

Happy anniversary, and congratulations on a wonderful, and impressive milestone.

Well done, @T-Billy!

I've had success with trick worms, and brush hogs in/around emergent grass.

I think it's so interesting how diverse bass fishing can be. This thought comes from @Dominat0r's picture of a 4 lber standing on a sidewalk next to what looks like professionally manicured grass, versus @ol'crickety's pictures from a bog that she drags her canoe through what looks like untouched wilderness to get to. Very cool that bass can be caught in both places.

Happy Birthday!

Wow! If I caught that I’d be like…

The IFGA would probably be glad to follow @A-Jay & @Dwight Hottle around to take pictures for them. I'm sure there's a musky group out there that would do the same for you @T-Billy.

I think those are solid choices that would do what you want, and you could be happy with for a very long time. I've never used an SLX, but I have a Curado. $150 is a good price for that reel. I think a 2500 or 3000 size spinning reel would be about perfect for bass.

I have not been able to fish much lately. June and July did not allow much fishing time for me, but I was able to sneak down to the bank a couple times in the past few days. I'm not sure exactly why, but I always feel like the world is right when I catch a fish. I caught mostly dinks, but it still felt good to catch them. I did manage one nice 18" largemouth, and a 15" smallmouth that fought way above it's weight class. It really showed off. Hopefully, I'll get to catch this one again when it's full grown. The largemouth bit a TX rig creature, and the smallmouth was a rage menace.

Congrats!

@TnRiver46

Hopefully you can get permission from the new owners since you have some history there. Maybe try to offer some help to them when they move in. Good luck! ?

WTG @ol'crickety! Keep doing it your way. Fishing should be fun.