Functional

Took a shooting class with a DEP/C guy. I was told they planned to release some in the hudson valley because of an over population of deer. Also followed up with a story of how they loaded up a dumpster full of deer one night around one of the small cities due to all the car accidents and property destruction. Maybe a year later I was hearing about sightings for mountain lions in my area in Dutchess County. If you google it there is no sustainable population, but its not denied they are there. Kind of further backs up what I'd been told/hearing. Around that same time I was hearing the Canadian wolfs were making their way down south into far upstate NY. No idea what its like now or if it was just their territory and not expanding.

Not that bigger LMB cant be caught on those lakes (certainly can) the more notable ones for the state are by Raleigh (jordan, falls, shearon harris). If you stay on the east side of Raleigh you can still stretch out to High Rock/Badin in about 1.5hrs. As for non fishing things to do there is plenty at either place. @LrgmouthShad , @Pat Brown and maybe even @Choporoz might be able to help you with the lakes you listed.

The lizard has been my dad's go to plastic the last few years. He does pretty well with a 5 or 6" Zoom Lizard in pumpkin everywhere from northern lakes to southern lakes. Just a hook and a split shot just in front of the hook (weight pending depth and wind) and slowly drags it on the bottom.

Where in NC you plan on going? I catch both in similar areas. If you are going for LMB you are likely to fall into a Spot. I hit schools of them more off shore on submerged points or long tapering points that drop off on the sides. The bigger ones I'll hit where I get LMB. If you eat bass the spots in most lakes (if not all) have no limit on size or quantity to keep. They are "invasive".

They can set alarms for those beds when you get out....ask me how I know lol.

I carry everywhere except work. Its on me until I'm on my boat and away from shore, then it goes under the seat. Goes right back on me a few hundred feet before I dock anywhere.

I've owned 2 kayaks and use my wife's from time to time for fishing still. All 3 are paddle kayaks and I can confidently say the day that I buy another kayak it will 1000% at a minimum be peddle of some type. Half the time in here you see a key to bass fishing is boat position, well be prepared to fight for decent boat position 75% of the time in a kayak and 99% of the time with any wind or current. Its still better than shore fishing in a lot of ways but there are plenty of struggles with a paddle. Just realize that if you have to go paddle. Maybe a canoe is different but this has been my experience.

You should add an electric vest. I wear it just over my undershirt and then layer over it. Turn it on about 30 minutes before you go out and its heavenly. Used to ride my motorcycle into work in upper 30s low 40s in NY. Then I moved south and got used to the temps here and for sure cannot adjust back when I go and visit. My brother in law has on shorts and I'm next to him layered up. Woke up the other day and all the cracking from my joints getting out of bed sent my wife into a fit of laughter. She claims if our baby was still in our room it would have woke him him 🙄. I'm only 37....not looking good lol.

Thinking of you bud. I think one of the toughest parts is to be in between the maybe and maybe not. Hoping you get answers soon.

@Choporoz You should try a eastern NC sauce. Coming from NY I always thought BBQ should have a ketchup based sauce but I feel like the Eastern NC you can have a wider variety of flavor profiles. The vinegar with the pork is, in my, opinion a nicer blend of flavors. Here is one I've been making that's been a hit with nearly everyone I've made it for. JJ's Finishing Sauce 2C Apple Cider Vinegar 2T Worcestershire Sauce (or more to taste) 1/4C Brown Sugar 1T Smoked Paprika 2tsp Granulated Garlic 2tsp Granulated Onion 2tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper 1tsp Celery Salt 1tsp Cayenne Pepper (more if you like spice) 1/2tsp Ground Allspice Optional: I've added Red Pepper flake, some have subbed cayenne for Red Pepper too if you dont want the double heat. I do the same rub as you though half the time. Other half is just straight SPG mix. Scoring the fat on fat cap made a difference for me too.

My fool proof 3 step method...

Federal HST and Speer Gold Dot are my favorite. There is a guy on youtube who did extensive testing on a slew of hollow points to FBI standards. Tested in both long and short barrel guns. At this time I only carry Federal HST just because I can easily get it locally. Practice ammo I buy 500-1000 at a time when deals spring up or just when needed. Ammoseek.com makes life easy for hunting down ammo. Anyone have hands on with the new S&W Bodyguard 2.0? Briefly held one and have been thinking of picking one up as a really slim option for dressier/slimmer attire when I really need it. EDIT: saw what a squib round does to a bolt gun in person. Was at a match where majority of people hand load their rounds and he must have short charged it or primer only but it only made it partially through the barrel. No one must have noticed the pressure blow out the pressure ports of the action and the next round peeled the barrel like a banana.

My most memorable one was probably when I was 6 or 7 fishing with my dad. I had always enjoyed fishing but this one was a core memory with him and one that really started an addiction. We always went camping in the summer months almost every other weekend at a place that had a lake in "upstate" NY and we had a boat there. Me and my father would always go out while my mom and sister went to the beach on the lake. Well I was fishing our standard purple worm and after letting it soak on the edge of some lily pads I start to slowly stroke the rod and though I had hung up on a log. I kept applying tension and started to feel it "float" up like I was pulling up a log. I mentioned it to my dad (we always had a habit of announcing when we caught things other than fish) and when he looked back my rod took a HARD dive down and I pulled hard as I could to set it. He coached me through the whole process as it stripped drag and made hard pulls back towards the pads. It had easily been the biggest fish I had ever felt and the process was new to me. We got it in and it was 3.5lbs, my largest and for the lake we were on still one of the top few we ever pulled from that lake. A lot of celebrating after that. I was pumped with my biggest fish and he was excited for me. For sure a core memory and a fish that really started something I hope to carry on and share with my kids. No pics, we were more of a family that lived in the moment and only had a handful of pics on holidays and some birthdays. Was nice at the time but really wish I had some more pictures to remember things.

I mean he lives in TN....

I have a really nice honey hole here that I buy 90% of my stuff from. He doesnt carry a wide variety of rods or fishing line and a few "higher end" baits I prefer like megabass jerkbaits. Other than that most everything comes from my local shop. Selection puts BP/Cabelas to shame honestly...

I can squeak out 34 with my 60hp on my PT175 by myself but loaded with gear so I'm right there with you in your thoughts lol. Youd be into a lot more than prop changes if you are really trying to hit 40, but kiss your gas goodbye. My 60hp sips gas if I keep it just under max but can get quite thirsty if I'm running it WOT. Its like gas flood gates open.

This has been my experience on some days. Sometimes a few feet in either direction or depth was all it took. Coincidence? Did the first cast get the fish on alert for the 2nd to be eaten? Are they just that lazy? I guess with FFS you could figure it out but a fish is going to do what a fish wants to do and when it wants to do it.

Probably the same reason we eat McDonalds...they put them right in our path of travel 😅

This thread may finally drive me to go to a few of the "heavy hitter" lakes here! I really like this idea, dividing by the state record kind of evens the playing field so Florida and Texas dont dominate the rest of the country. I do hate that they count records from "farm ponds" in my state though. Its a record...but is it?????

It'd be a lot easier to just go to one of the lakes with a healthy goby population and read AJ's brown bass guide and find your own spots than try and hunt down his spots/lakes. He literally gives you all of the tools right there in long form. (not directed at anyone in particular)

My brother in law was hanging out in water to his neck when a bluegill bit his nipple. One of the funniest things I've seen. Haven't seen him go in the lake without a shirt on since.

I'm with @Pat Brown in terms of speed. My PB and a majority of my big bass have come from ripping a bladed jig or spinnerbait around. I used to think you had to drag a worm to really entice a big on, no more. Also, to another comment, it seems downsizing has done better for me than larger baits. My PB was caught on a mini-max with a cut down split tail trailer. Mentioning the seasons, all of my memorable big fish have come pre spawn or at the tail end of fall right before/at lake turnover. Not to say I havent caught a decent one in summer/spring months but its much easier and more abundant in the pre spawn/fall timeframe. For me, like @Choporoz if I'm intentionally hunting for bigger fish I will up and move if I'm bringing in fish under 3lbs. I have yet to bring in the 4, 5lb+ fish when catching smaller. Everyone needs a bit of luck to catch a big fish but having the skill to put yourself in the position (time, area, season, etc.) with a suitable lure and presentation significantly increases your luck. My opinons may change when/if I can start landing a DD or 2.

depends on the lake, time of year and day I can get out. In months warm enough to go in the water you get pleasure boaters, recreational fisherman and tournaments. It can absolutely get slim pickins. Some pleasure boaters will park it in a narrow cove so you cant fish any of it unless you get in their personal bubble, some decide right by the stretch of shoreline or a small finger is where they are going to wakeboard/ski all day, then you have the camps with pods of 10-15 kayaks who have no problem going right over your line between you and shore. Not blaming all of them, just some things are part of sharing the lake. If I'm hitting a busy lake on a weekend day I'll either hit early mornings or evenings when they get drunk or go in for dinner.

I like the tension of cable steer but went with a Force a few years back mainly because it had a brushless motor vs MK who didnt at the time. Setting the tension in the Force foot pedal to match a cable steer I have noticed no lag. Only when you loosen it up a lot and start mashing it like a wild bore willl you notice a smidge of lag. Under normal use I've not experienced any lag. I will say (may be me) you cant coast up to a spot and instantly hit spot lock, it will backtrack you. You need to sit in the position for about 5-10 seconds before you hit the button for it to keep you where you are. Seems to be a bit of lag in the GPS tracking. I dont know if this is normal, first time I have spot lock.