Biglittle8

Welcome from N.C.

The contour or channel of the old creek remains after it's flooded. Think of it this way, you have a mud puddle with a flat even bottom and you take stick and drag it through creating a ditch or furrow you now have a added feature on the bottom of your once flat bottomed mud puddle.

Congratulations!

Don't know of any in this area, but it would be interesting to fish a private lake that had very little fishing pressure.

We're with you Houston family! Prayers!

Congratulations! Man, I was nervous just reading your post! You were really on the fish and had a solid strategy. Good luck in your future tournaments!

☝️This!

Welcome from N.C.

They saw it was you and realized it was senseless to fight?

My opinion:1 Put the time in. 2. Be able to find the fish that day in present conditions. I think lure selection is the easy part! I always try to remember, big fish eat little fish.

Always in the arsenal... Color and technic are the only thing that changes for me.

Ratl-Trap

I don't overthink it because I don't have that luxury ? I only own 3 casting rods and 2 spinning rods. ( Please don't ever let me use your custom rods, I don't want to know what I'm missing!!!) ? I catch my fair share of fish on all my set-ups, I choose the best rod at my disposal for the lure I'm using. Bad enough I have this lure monkey on my back! I'm sure all of the bait and technic specific rods available are better than what I use, but thankfully, I will still eat if I get skunked. ?

Water temperature is a key factor, I pond fish a lot. When I go out I look for beds, to see if males are on them yet. Even if they are, it could be weeks(in my case) or days before the first wave of females spawns. Which brings me to the next thing that helps me. Even if females are spawning, there will be another batch behind them in pre-spawn mode as they do not all spawn at once. So for me , the key is going often to check out the conditions of the pond... Are males on beds? Is the water temperature right? Are females on beds? There are some very knowledgeable anglers on this site who know way more than I do, this is just how I go about it.

Pretty nice day today, 7 fish mostly small. 2 pickerel one was barely bigger then the lure, one was around 20 inches or so... everything on a Lucky Craft SP jerkbait. The Pickerel were hitting hard today I lost another decent size one at the shoreline. This little Pickerel was mean for his size?

You sure know where the hogs are! Nice fish!

+1 on Alan Parsons and any Haggard is great duets with the "possum" love me some George Jones!

Tore up the Lucky Craft and Berkeley sale at Ollie's again today!

I search in SI to mark cover holding fish, then I will use DI to move in and take a closer look. If it looks promising, then yes, set up and work that spot. In water I'm unfamiliar with, I'll sometimes mark a trail before I fish

I feel that scents work more as a way to make fish hold onto your lure longer giving you more reaction time to make a set. I use JJ's and lately, Edge Hot Sauce which simulates the slime coat of aquatic life according to the manufacturer. I feel there is a difference in the number of hits I get, so I use it. Even if it's just a confidence builder ... I'll take it!

It is swift, to be sure. We used to get a ride up river and float down in inner tubes. It takes a different skill set to fish there.

Get well quick!

Just found a bunch of Lucky Craft lures at Ollie's, don't know if all locations carry the same stuff... $6.99 a piece. That's $3.00 off regular price. They had a whole big box of them. Cranks, jerkbaits and top water. Also, had closeout Zoom baits in discontinued colors for $2.99.

Grew up on that part of Lake Erie, Niagara River...(Tonawanda) Things can get ugly quick there! Even on a good day you best be on your toes.

The Outlaws... Freeborn Man or Waterhole.