thediscochef

I fish them if they're around...but usually that requires boat. I also dont cast at anything with non-fish animals present. I'm confident in my aim, but hooking a person is very time consuming and I'd rather keep casting the other way. I digress. I'd generally have to trespass to fish much more than boat ramp piers and such. I do just fine with those, but I do better casting over the rocks and beds and other things near the ramps. Most ramp piers I'm at are too heavily used to have much hiding under them, save for the occasional slow day. Right now while exploring, I'm focused on finding gravel and sand beds with dropoffs I can cover the gradient with from the bank.

I'm feeling OK about the day honestly, it was beautiful out and I'm starting to see more signs of life in the river below the dam. I could have dealt with less people but thats a fact of life around here. Just a matter of time before we're off to the fish races like we were last year. I think I'm going to go fish some different spots tomorrow, change things up a bit. My days will come, I just have to be patient. I love it when something just freight trains your bait like that, what a thrill! Especially when it does that and immediately starts taking drag...nothing quite like it. Congrats on a fun day!! Looks like we'll hit 90ish tomorrow, should be a good day.

Looks like a solid day! Great Job, some pretty pretty bass!! Ready for things up here to turn around...first day over 80 this year up here, the lake was "standing room only". The spool bearings on my new tatula SV TW started making the most God awful noise in casts so I went and exchanged it for a lews inshore custom SLP which I like much better already. It's quieter and feels tougher. I still spent 6 hours at the lake, you never know what can (or can't, in this case) happen. A leader knot failure claims another jerkbait. I'd just cut my vision 110 off that line for a $6 academy lure, maybe three casts before. So I'm going to count today's luck as not losing a brand new vision 110, and not having equipment issues at a worse time. I lament my landlock. The end.

Man that's rough about the big girls but I would do...things...for only a 10 bass day right now. You'll get em next time I'd bet These were my two dinky catches...took something like three hours to get the two fish. That little guy is just further evidence that bass will try just about anything once...inspiration for all of us. That fish tried to eat a 4" jerkbait lol. Water is still in the 50-54 region and there was a lot of pressure+boat traffic at the lake today, so there's bites to be had but they're pretty few and far between. The crackle and hickory jerk shads continue to produce. Ready for warmer night temps to show up.

Is the spool or handle moving as you pull line off? -If both, engage anti-reverse switch below spool. -If only the spool is moving when you pull line with the drag all the way tight, your reel is indeed defective. -If neither your spool nor your handle are moving, you need backing on the braid. Without backing the braid will simply spin on the spool and pull out with basically no force. If you didn't add backing, I would be 95% certain that's your problem. I did that with my first one (I have four of these, size 2500 in 6.2 gears) and it slipped like crazy. No chance I could have fought even a fingerling with that. A good layer of 15lb big game mono or a little piece of electrical tape that covers 1/2 the open spool surface or so should do it, though I wrap it all the way and also spool with mono. The mono uses less braid, usually adequate for bass fishing as you're rarely going to spool out much unless you hook a monster or are using super light line and have to let it take drag. I use 20lb 8 carrier braid with a 10-20lb leader of various kinds. Hope this helps.

Bass can be located near all parts of the retrieve in my experience. I fish it all the way and almost always regret it the few times I don't. It feels like half the time I do burn it back in, something tries to grab it as I'm pulling it out of the water and that is heartbreaking. So I don't do it. Also usually a cue to fish faster.

I had a real lucky day today all around - found out I WAY overestimated how much I needed to save for my self employment taxes. My investments jumped. A piece of audio gear I ordered in November finally showed up. So naturally I went and got a new baitcaster combo, and another vision 110. And given the rest of the day, I had to get by some water. I spent about two hours casting in various areas, with 10 minutes left I landed this nice spotted bass. Weighed in at 2.4lbs, which is technically a PB, though only by a quarter pound. It's definitely a larger fish than the last one. Now I'm going to go play bass in my band. It's a beautiful day

It can happen to perfectly healthy folks too, with good diet and all. I think that's when I would be most concerned, as your controllable variables are less if you have a major heart attack and were already doing things right. My grandmother had an LAD with 95+% blockage...walked up the block to use a payphone (it was 1989) for help. They resected a chunk of her heart, and she lived till 2021 - passed at 86 of totally unrelated causes. She had an eating problem, but would overeat generally healthy foods instead of trash. We believe this, along with longevity running in the family, contributed to her outcome. Early detection, action, and prevention are extremely effective in general health, but with extra emphasis in cardiac treatment

@Glenn has a great YouTube video on that here: I followed the principles here and I've never had issues with dig. I've used strike King 30# (no likey) and a "rikimaru" never fade 8 carrier 20# that I much prefer. You already have a solution marked, I mostly just wanted to post Glenn's video lol

Whoa I'm glad you're still with us. Permanent diet change (mentioned above) is a hard thing, but a good Registered Dietician can help and it's 100% worth it. Wish you a healthy recovery!!

I've thought about that a lot, the 'casting it and watching it sail away' bit. I think with the right lines and knots, it's less of a hazard than you'd think. Someone on this forum had the genius idea of clipping a wire leader with a float to the chirper so you can get it with a lure if it snaps. But I'd think 100lb braid with a modified Albright knot would be adequate. My main concern with those is more how it could change my relationship with fishing, and the giant splash it makes as it lands. I'm still not sold on it. But it would certainly give me a wealth of information. As of right now I think my money is better spent on a second baitcasting combo tbh

I've been casting blindly this whole time, from the bank. I think if I had a real fishing boat I would absolutely have something to watch out for submerged hazards. Not sure I'd want to see my lure and all that jazz...though I have mixed feelings about that. While I see guys on Ray Roberts with livescopes absolutely pulling more fish than most, the guys who seem to pull the most and the heaviest appear to be balancing between locating the fish with electronics, but leaving some stones unturned so to speak There's a part of me that really really wants to get one of those castable chirp units, but they're pricey. It's tough because I never really know if I'm just throwing at empty water - getting a skunk on 10 hours of fishing in an area that normally produces...bad for mental state. Knowing there's fish there, and that they're just uninterested? Potentially worse for my mental state imo. I do study the topography of all places I fish on navionics, before I go. That alone improved my fishing massively when I started doing so.

Great thread. One thing I've learned about bass fishing is that surprises are certain. My PB came on Christmas at 10pm in dead calm water. I rarely do well in those situations but for whatever reason that worked. Right place right time is huge when it comes to catching big ones blindly from the bank. Electronics help but there are never guarantees. It can really affect your mental health if you're throwing at nothing for a whole day, but equally if not more when you're casting at something that never bites. I think my best example of this is the muddy little sports complex pond I caught good bass and solid crappies in. The best part of the pond is the tip of this weird canal bit that's maybe 5 feet deep and 10 feet wide. All but one of the multipound bass over caught there were in that weird little spot.

Itty bitty spotties! First ever trip to Lake Palestine, had an extra hour after the shoot today so naturally I found somewhere to go bassin. I think jerkbaits are good.

I've had plenty of success in east wind, west is usually challenging just because of the geometry of Ray Roberts access points. Almost everything public faces west or north. I can cast into the wind just fine, chop is usually the issue. Wind 5-10 is ideal from any direction, as it generally doesn't build enough swell to ruin spots.

I am also fairly new to this. I think if I had more discipline I would probably branch out and challenge myself a little more, although this month I took on jerkbaits and baitcasters at the same time. It's been frustrating when skunking after having mild success, but overall the results have been worth it. I have a tendency to find something I do well with, and then keep using it until it's no longer effective. Last year it was chatterbaits, this year it's probably gonna be jerkbaits given the current trajectory. Early on I would just mix it up until something bit, but I have recently found it to be more cost effective to narrow down to a bait type or two that should do well for the location and conditions, and then mix up the sub-types until something works. I also like to settle on baits that can be used in lots of areas and situations successfully. Like chatterbaits, or - for example - for this winter's colder waters, chatterbaits and moving baits in general were not so effective. I needed something that could suspend or stay stopped in the water, therefore jerkbaits seemed to make the most sense. From there, it's the subtypes of size, action, buoyancy, etc. I found some things that seemed to work so far, if there's fish nearby. So far I think that's been my main problem this year. Really seriously considering getting one of those castable sonar units so I can at least see if I'm casting at anything. They just splash so hard when you throw them...

Metal fatigue happens quickly, especially with the added element of minor corrosion. I won't bend anything back that's high-stiffness; it's very likely to break. Chromed hooks are a sure sign that I need to replace bend-outs. Its one of the reasons I like the little chatterbait micros so much - they have a flexible light wire hook that can take some real abuse with a slightly lower risk of snapping. It's also a smaller lure so you're more likely to hook into something smaller anyway. I carry enough these days that I tend to just replace them when they're thrashed, but last year it was different. Since I've gotten into treble hooks I'm mainly using the owner zo-wire hooks. I figure the forces needed to bend the hook out and back are likely enough to cause fatigue that will compromise the hook sooner than later. If I bend a treble out, I change baits and replace the hook when I get home. I lose enough fish as it is, I don't need a broken or weakened hook making my hair fall out any faster. Same with line strength...I don't use anything under 12lbs regularly. I still break stuff off, but that's not because of the line. That said...I don't bend many hooks out. If I was bending out a hook every day...I might do things differently. A lot of this boils down to what lands you in the right balance of confidence and frugality. The intersection of those ideas is located a little differently for everyone. I've not taken to sharpening my hooks yet, I should start doing that. Trokars are a no-thanks from me, that tip looks like it would come out easy and the few times I've t-rigged with them it cuts my plastics up pretty hard.

3/19/22 GOOD Some chilly, windy nights and windy days has made for slow progress in warming the water. According to a few different anglers this morning we are still sitting in the 48-50ish territory. Jerkbaits seem to be king with LMB still, at least with those I see catching fish. Crappies and white bass seem to be on the move. The end of spring break has brought everyone to the lake, today and the 12th were huge boating days. Dangerous weather is likely on Monday, 3/21. If I can squeeze in between storms safely it should be good bank fishing weather. Not sure I'd want to launch a boat that day.

I feel you, OP. I feel you deep in my fishing soul. I should be fishing but the lake looks like this and all the shore spots at the state park have boats on em. Its the last good drinking day of spring break, it's sunny with a good 10-15mph wind. Everyone is here. I did manage to find a spot with no other shore anglers, but after the third boat trolling through that creekbed I just kinda gave up. Trying to decide if I should go driving in search of better water or just call it a day. Gas is expensive. There's hockey on at 1. I could put some new hooks on some things. My entire body is still sore from all the hay fever sneezing two days ago, finally stopped seeing blood in my nostrils last night. Maybe I just recover and get ready for next week...while dreaming of an empty lake. Water is finally above 48 degrees so next week should be killer pre-spawn. Have an exciting trip to canyon lake at the end of the month. I was out here last night and saw bass feeding on shads all around me, but three hours with a jerkbait and I came up empty handed. Hurts to leave that way again today but I think that's the move. Yuck.

Went and spent a little on some jerkbaits. Time to go use em.

I battled some serious hay fever all day, pulled muscles in my back from all the sneezing. Tomorrow is gonna hurt. Felt good to get a 10pm jerkbait bass. Also the second time I've hooked a shad this month. I guess jerkbaits really do catch all species. I'm feeling good. Yall are catching some pretty bass!!

I think it's more than one reason, like many above. When I started fishing solo last year it was mainly motivated by an abundance of free time and the inheritance of my dads gear, he'd passed a few months prior. We'd mostly done guided trips but he had some usable stuff so I got to throwing it. Eventually I did my own thing with gear but I wouldn't be fishing without my dad's influence. He gets a skyward look every time I catch something heavy. Sometimes it's just catching anything and everything. Other times I just want the heavy fish. Right now I'm in heavy fish mode, though I'm perfectly happy catching three pound fish all day too. Also I fish to get away from the general public when I can...tough this week with spring break happening at the state park. I appreciate fishing with buddies very much, so fellowship to some degree. But I like and need my solo trips.

In all seriousness today was a total beatdown - just total failure in everything I did, save for things like breathing and cursing. There was plenty of BS outside of fishing today, I was really hoping it wouldn't spill over. But sometimes that happens. I take pride in the fact that I did not give up or quit at any of the things I did though. Also nobody died. We'll get back at it in the morning. A yet still more glorious dawn awaits. It's gonna be a good day.

I spent 12 hours on the bank today to catch this beauty

The lonely consolation fish. I was only out there an hour and a half to begin with - I had three good strikes. The first one would have easily been my heaviest fish of the year and felt like a solid 6-9lbs of something...not even sure it was a bass as I never saw it and it never surfaced. It kicked hard twice at the bank like a cat does sometimes. An absolutely devastating blow to morale as it bent a hook out while I was fumbling with my net. The next one was this lil dude. The third one happened on a slack pause and I didn't realize it was there...it came unhooked as I was pulling it out of the water. I went back out after sunset and listened to the guys on the dock with live bait and green lights reeling them in. Caught nothing, went home. Gonna practice the new leader knot I learned today and just remember to keep my dang thumb off the spool when I hook into something good. Gonna go get em tomorrow though.