thediscochef

Tough morning. Killed two fresh spools of line and lost 4 of 6 bites and had to remove two snakes from the pompadour. I guess I just didn't have my head in the game. So much casting. At least this isn't a skunk

I'm not sure I feel spoiled lol

I took some advice from @LrgmouthShad and threw a spinnerbait at night. Good things happened. I had four hard bites, landed three. First bite got away, it happens. I haven't thrown a spinnerbait in months, mistakes were gonna be made. Biggest ran 3-14 so nothing huge but not bad for about 40 minutes of fishing. Best catch rate I've had in a while. Eventually storms started percolating just south of the dam and I started hearing thunder from the lightning so it was time to leave. It's a good Sunday night.

I would never disengage the drag/click the cast button while fighting a fish. One good jerk or a loss of contact with your thumb would end in a backlash and then likely a snap-off. Especially with a decent fish. Some people do this with success but every risky thing you do in bass fishing will eventually bite you, even if you're the best in the world at it

I can't rig plastic on a round bend worth a darn, so it's always been the gamakatsu offset worm ewg for me. Texposes super easy and has a way higher hookup than an inline ewg. 3/0 for a fluke, 4/0 for a z craw, 5/0 for an ol monster. I fish through thick thick invasive milfoil a lot and any exposed point will drag in a few pounds of it. I can't seem to rig a round bend properly to where the hook point stays buried in the plastic to save my life, it always pokes out the top and causes regrets

That is one of the things about the NWS forecast office in DFW that I appreciate, their discussions usually feature some better explanations than what you get on the news. The office forecast discussions are easily just as useful as the 7 day forecasts, they help give a better understanding of larger patterns and what can be possible on a given day. I can match the time the bite stopped today with the NWS's surface pressure readings, that's been my best predictor of catch rates lately

I had to look at what I was holding, but I have a st croix 7'6" mojo yak, a 7'6" shimano clarus spinning rod, and a 7'3" daiwa aird-x

all but three of my LM over 5lb were caught over riprap, small boulders the size of a large boulder a 4# SM too. I would posit that the SM prefer the riprap the most, as I've caught 90%+ of mine on the ripraps how and when those fish show up depends on where on the rocks I am and what's around the rocks there isn't a bad time to fish those rocks but I do best in the dead of summer, but any time I can see shads swimming around it's almost automatic that I will catch something

Fuego 2500 6.2:1 alllllllll day siege is such a good line, tough as nails

Mono is much better than fluoro but a braid-to-leader gives a lot more control over where along the line a breakoff happens

Get the Exceler 3000 and then put 15 or 20# sufix 832 on it, with a leader of your choice. I like the P-line tactical for a FC leader, but I normally use monofilament or Sufix Tritanium Plus. Fluorocarbon mainline on spinning gear is borderline unmanageable, I've never left it on for longer than a day and always kicked myself for the waste afterwards. Some of my 832 is over a year old. I don't like throwing out perfectly good line.

A couple of little 2-2.5s on the good old T rig this morning. Our days have been sunny and 90-95 and overnight lows still in the 70s so the water temps have come down but we aren't fully into a fall pattern yet - scattered business. Basically just have to follow the bait and hope for the best. I got an opportunity to put the Sufix Tritanium Plus line to the test around some concrete pillars...it did not disappoint. Not a scratch on the stuff. So far I'm having a hard time understanding why it's not the premier line in LMB fishing. I desperately need this hollywood strike to end so I can get back to work, this stoppage is killing my wallet

from what I remember fin coloration is usually attributed to diet, typically high in crawfish or other non-shad forage. Can also be influenced by the local water chemistry

this page is persistently open in my phone's web browser, for Lake Ray Roberts. Well, this and also the three day history. Surface pressure has been my best bite predictor since the beginning of August. So many decisions can be made on just this page.

It's very nice to be able to stay out past 10am and not feel as though I am evaporating

I think it's a very slept-on line by bass anglers, it's thin, strong, and tough as nails

I would hope that anyone in this forum eating fish from a pond or lake would have the very basic common sense to cook it all the way through ?‍♂️?‍♂️

Yall are aware that most fish you eat have a cooked parasite in them somewhere right? We are aware of the function of cooking, yes? ?? disease like LMBV don't affect humans and that would be the main concern I think

I've been using 14# sufix elite, which is great line. Stays strong, has the right amount of stretch for a mono line. I just spooled a few with 14# Sufix Tritanium Plus though - I'm really impressed so far. It's extremely castable and impossible to break a palomar knot off without a dowel. Also .001" smaller than the Elite. We will see how it holds up with some time and use around concrete pillars and large rip rap. The saltwater guys have sworn by it for a long time and that usually means at least something. I'm curious to see if I find an obvious reason why it isn't the primary plastic mainline in bass fishing, it's a third the cost per yard for # equivalent Elite and so far I like it way better. It is still more expensive than Big Game, but way less stretch, less slinky-coiling, smaller diameter for same tensile strength. I would be curious to know how the knot strengths relative to tensile strengths compare between tritanium and big game. I set the hook on a tiny spotted bass that ate a walking bait at 50yd this morning, easy sweep set and it was pinned. That usually requires cartoon motions with all types of standard mono, which in my opinion gives up some level of control right away

For those three species give me 10# or 15# all day. 15 is more manageable in the wind. Smaller line gives better cast range. Just have to be more careful with your drag and cast gently

Count me as an H2OX fanboy, I've not used a product of theirs that was subpar yet. The Angler rod I have is the best $30 rod I own, but for an extra $20ish a daiwa aird-x is an excellent step up. I use several of their old Tac40 and Tac40V rods. Those were the best value in rods I've come across. Their jerkbaits are one of the best values around in fishing lures. I've found the line, reels, and plastics to be somewhat less impressive, but overall in my opinion they are the single best house brand in existence and it isn't a close contest at all. In my hands, the BPS house hardbaits and hardware feel ridiculously fragile by comparison

I'm not sure that the visbility matters, except maybe on the most crystal clear and pressured situations. I've mostly chosen line for its abrasion, handling, and strength characteristics. Line diameter, memory, and stiffness will completely alter the action of a bait. I will also use a uni knot over a Palomar for something that can use more articulation at the line tie but would encounter issues with the addition of a split ring or duo lock (think rebel popr). The most recent experiment is going to be with Sufix Tritanium Plus. I've been using Elite 14# for texas rigging and it just gets torn up too fast to justify the cost. I'm fishing concrete pylons and also long casting so I hear tritanium is trusted surf line for those applications. Surprising lack of in depth analysis of that line here, I may do a write up later. All that to say I bought it in a very dark green and we will see how it does. It is thinner diameter for the pound test rating which I basically always much prefer

I got the multi-species high-freeboard model

I have too many classmates who ended up living, and dying, a similar way. Lost another one about three weeks ago. Devastating things come to and from the broken pieces of us that search for vice. We all carry forward parts of our past whether we like it, try to, or not. Bless you for what you chose to do My dad passed in January of '21, I was 29. He was 65. We had a complicated relationship, at times very strained but at other times very close. I am lucky and unbelievably privileged in many senses, but there will always be a part of me that wishes he (and by extension, I) could have had more emotional stability in the house. Dad sometimes had the shortest temper you could imagine and would go on unbelievable tirades directed mostly at me, but at other times could also be the funniest and smartest guy around. He had some hidden talents like I do, and was an awarded E.R. physician. We didn't see him a whole lot for most of my schooling years just due to work and some other things. I saw more of the world before the age of 10 than most americans will in a lifetime thanks to his love of medical missions, and was able to develop many hobbies and loves in life thanks to his hard work. I miss the good times terribly. I always wonder if he did as well on Roberts as I have, and if he ever caught a double digit. The people who would know best are also passed on at this point. I have no idea what his PB was. I can remember going with him once and I think it was a frustrating experience for him. We used a guide from then on, I learned early that a good guide is worth every penny and then some. Going through his old tackle was educational, there are some old plastics I wish I had saved. He was using Black Grape stuff back then too, in some shapes that aren't made anymore. He had a ton of a-frames, curly tails, swimbaits, and rat-l-traps. We have a similar style from what I can tell, and many of my initially successful color choices came from what I saw in that tackle box. He may not have taught me much about black bassing in life, but his choices in the box did. I like to think he would be proud of the things I've done on the bank by myself but that was never really an option

Josh is a pleasure to fish with