Woody B

I love fishing in the rain. I'm not ready to buy another phone, and I suspect all that water isn't good for it. I had to buy this phone when I lost my last one fishing. I caught, photographed and weighed the biggest Bass I've caught in my current boat. (7 lbs 13oz) After taking a picture of the weight on the scale I "released" my phone, and held on to the Bass and scale. I wish I had a video of that. I have some kind of "family tracker" on my phone I turn on while I'm fishing so Mrs B knows I'm OK. After throwing my phone in the water (that was 60 degrees and 15 feet deep) I high tailed it several miles down the lake to a Marina and called Mrs B to let her know I was OK. The family tracker still showed my phone where I had caught the Bass. I don't know if it was still working there under water, or the position never changed because it never moved. The signal went away after a few hours.

Abu-Garcia 5500c on a Zebco Rhino Tough rod. I've still got both. The reel seat is broke on the rod. I've got 2 of those old reels, not sure which one I caught my PB on. My PB is 10 1/4, on a Devils Horse. I think I lost the same fish a month or so before I caught it. A month before I caught it I hooked a BIG Bass on a T-rig. It jumped. I snatched my rod, jerked the Bass onto it's side and "surf boarded" it to the boat. I was reaching down to lip.....it "got traction" and broke my line. I learned that day not to get a big fish that's not tired too close to the boat. Right next to the boat there was no stretch in the line, and very little in the rod for a cushion against breaking off. A month later my PB "slurped" down my Devils Horse. It hardly made a sound. It was in the middle of a lay down. I was able to surf board it away from the lay down, but I jumped on the trolling motor pedal and kept some distance between me and it until it was tired. The line was probably Stren, 14 pound or so. I used a bunch of it back then. IIRC it was made my Dupont back then.

I've pondered about the depth of mud before but I "think" mud spans most depths. A well set up thermocline may change things. I do believe water can be "murky" on top, but clearer deeper. Again, I think mud sinks and covers all depths. That's just my opinion. I rarely catch Bass deep when it's muddy. The few I caught earlier this year in cold, muddy water were all shallow, hugging cover. I "think" one of the reasons I struggled was pretty much every chance I had to fish in cold muddy water was when the wind was blowing and gusting at 20+ mph. This made accurate casting to the cover the Bass were hugging really hard.

I fished 3 1/2 hours in the rain this morning. I managed to get 7 in the boat. I only took a picture of the first, which happened to be the largest. (18 inch skinny post spawn Largemouth) The lens on my phone was fogged up so I put it inside a dry zip lock bag to keep it from getting any wetter. The water temp was 2 degrees cooler than yesterday, (73) but I was on a different part of the lake. I've only seen one school of Bass fry. I wonder if the spawn was unsuccessful this year due to the strange weather. The water temp/weather kept going crazy. I've read that if they lay their eggs, then it cools too much they'll abandon them. I haven't seen any Bass on beds for the past 2 weeks, so I'd say the spawn is over. This years Shad spawn has been a bust for Bass, at least so far. I've only caught 1 Bass anywhere near spawning Shad. The Bass, at least the ones I'm finding are on secondary points and ledges. There's plenty of White Perch feasting on spawning Shad. The Bluegill spawn should be starting soon. They're gathering on flats and in pockets. There's a few Bass around them. I suspect more Bass will be coming soon for a Bluegill feast.

When water temps are under 50 degrees I struggle after big rain. When the water is warmer I do better. We had thunderstorms yesterday and fairly hard rain overnight. I went to the lower part (near the dam) of a 13000+ acre lake today. The water clarity hasn't changed yet but the lake is up a little. There may be a mudline coming down the lake, I didn't go up far. The landing I used is a good ways up a major creek. It wasn't muddy yet. After it get's muddy it's my experience that Bass will be hanging right next to or even in the middle of dense cover. It's my belief that hanging in the cover lets them "know" where they're at, but I'm probably overthinking it. During, or right after a storm I like to find places where (storm) water is entering the lake. I believe this washes nutrients into the lake that attracts fish. Throw a wacky, t rig or other soft plastic into these areas and more times than not I'll get bit. Well after the storm when there's no storm water entering the lake I sometimes have success fishing the mudline. Other times I've had success trying to find water that's "different". "Different" could either be clearer water, or water that's even muddier. I don't think the Bass have rules. My best day numbers wise in the past couple years was right after a hurricane had passed. I'm a couple hundred miles from the coast, so a hurricane is basically just a bunch of rain. I caught a BUNCH of Bass that day where storm run off was entering the lake.

I suppose the "shortcut" is using a guide. If you only concern is a DD Bass then that might be the way to go. I fished with a guide once. (in Florida BTW) I caught some nice Bass, including an 8 pounder and a couple 7 pounders. It just wasn't for me. I recommend spending as much time as possible on whatever water you can fish. Concentrate on catching the biggest Bass in the waters you're fishing. If you can do that you'll eventually catch a DD. Also, stop looking at the "look at me" stuff on social media. I saw a local "hero" a while back pulling a decent size Bass out of his livewell taking pictures at different areas of the lake he was fishing. His social media post that day was bragging about how many he caught. It was different views and angles of the same fish.

I didn't have much time when I was posting. I'll add some thoughts. I keep an eye on what other people are doing. Not so I can copy them, but so I can do something different. If they're mostly throwing jerk baits, throw a lipless. If they're throwing lipless, throw a spinner bait, ect. (my specific examples aren't meant to be specific) Watch how they're fishing. I've caught a BUNCH of Bass right behind other people fishing. I'll gladly go right behind someone who's fishing around docks or lay downs. You've got to fish under the docks, and in the lay downs. I don't think this is exactly thinking outside the box, but it appears to me that it's outside the box for many people. Many things that get obsessed over are secondary at best. Type of line, brand or type or rod and reel, or even lure selection isn't important if you don't put the lure in front of the Bass..........without spooking that Bass. Going by what I see every week on the Lake pinpoint accurate casting, as well as being able to have your lure land like a feather, instead of a brick is thinking outside the box.

I caught 6 this morning before the lightening ran me off the lake. 4 Spots and 2 Largemouth(all pictured). I suppose you could call 5 of them "cookie cutter" Bass since they were all the same size. The good news is the 5 cookie cutters were all between 15 1/2 and 18 inches. One was a 11 inch micro Bass. The first was within my first dozen casts at 5:45. The last was at 8:53. I usually try to end my trip with a Bass on my last cast, but today a few minutes and several casts after what ended up being my last Bass I saw some lightening down the lake. Rain doesn't bother me and wind has to be really bad to run me off, but I don't mess with lightening. I high tailed it back to the landing and called it a day. I also caught a small White Perch and small Channel Cat. No pixels on those. Water temp was up to 75 degrees. I don't keep "records" but have recently started taking a picture of the water temperature on my graph every trip. I keep this picture with my fish pictures. That way I can look back and see the actual water temperature instead of mis remembering.

If you're going to catch any Bass on pressured waters you'd better think outside the box.

It's been over 40 years since I've been there so I don't have a clue about ramps. However, according to the Duke Energy Lake App Cedar Creek access is closed right now.

I put "R1 Concepts" brakes and rotors on my Titan. I didn't do a bunch of research. For some reason that's the brand I picked off Amazon. I suspect many of the "kits" are all made in the same factory. The stuff is all made in China but most of the brake stuff is made there now. I've got 10,000 miles on them now with no problems. It took 25,000 miles to develop pulsations with the original rotors, and after machining them. My original brakes weren't worn out. I had machined the rotors a couple times due to pulsations and it was time to replace them. The dust is about the same as the factory pads. (not too bad) FWIW 97,000 miles when I installed the brakes, 107,000 now. If anyone just needs pads "Napa Adaptive One" are quite, low dust and long lasting. We put them on our problem cars at work. (I'm an auto tech)

In addition to much of the stuff already mentioned. Glock 32.

Last January(2023) with the water temp at 48 degrees I caught several topwater Bass. I had caught a few deep early on an A-rig then that bite died. I couldn't find and Bass on sonar, but I saw some Bass right up against clay banks. Most every thing I threw their was would either get ignored or spook them. I finally found the combination, that casting a Devils Horse several feet up onto the bank, then dragging it back to the water worked great. I suppose they were warming in the Sun and couldn't resist a Devils Horse crawling into the water in front of them.

Berkley Big Game(mono)for everything except 1 combo. I use Braid (sufix 832, 50 pound) for A-rigs and other really heavy stuff. I've tired a bunch of different lines I just keep going back to what works for me. A bunch of people catch a bunch of Bass on all kinds of line. Use what you're comfortable with. I think confidence makes more difference than line type or brand.

I'm thinking there's too many SLX-something reels. I've got a couple SLX-XT reels and I love them. They've got 6 centrifigual brakes. I normally keep one of two engaged. I'll pop the cover off and engage more for skipping. I've also got a Tatula, but I'm not sure what other letters or numbers go with it.(maybe SV-TW} The brakes are way too aggressive. They go to "20", I usually keep them between 2 and 5, and I still feel they rob distance at times. I'm not bomb casting much anyway though. I hate the position of the brake adjustment. I accidently move it while palming the reel. I'll be fishing along with the brakes on "3" then all of a sudden I'll make a cast that goes nowhere. I'll look and the brakes will be on 15 or something. I'm not a fan of the "wing" system either. I have a habit of keeping my index finger under my line for feel. This lifts the line out of the narrow section of the guide and makes a mess out of the spool. I'm trying to get in the habit of keeping my finger over the line, instead of under it on all of my reels. This would solve my wing problem. So, basically l love the SLX-XT. (don't know what an "A" is) The Tatula is a nice smooth reel. IMHO it's excellent for short distance flipping, pitching, and other casting where distance isn't a major concern. Turn the brakes up just a little and it's hard to backlash. I think the wing is a decent feature. Me and it are still getting used to each other.

Short trip today. I would have fished a little longer, but my shoulder was hurting. A few years ago I avoided surgery on my shoulder with PT. I kept doing the PT even after all my appointments. For some stupid reason I quit doing it a couple weeks ago. I've already done my reps for today since getting home and won't be skipping them anymore. I caught 5 Bass, 4 Spots and 1 Largemouth. The first (pictured) was a 16 inch Spot within my first dozen casts at 6:57. The last,(pictured) a nice 18 inch Largemouth was at 8:38. I thought the Largemouth was bigger. It hit like a BIG Bass. No bump, or tap, I just felt the spinnerbait blade quit spinning. I swung on it and connected. It walked on it's tail like a BIG Bass does too. I considered fishing longer but decided to give my shoulder a break for the rest of the day. The rest of the Spots were between 13 and 15 inches. I also caught a several small White Perch, and 2 small Channel Cats. (no pixels on the perch or cats)

If it's a early trip it's usually an apple and a glass of unsweet tea. It's funny breakfast was mentioned today. Yesterday around 8AM I was hungry. I saw some kids camping on the bank. They had a fire going. As I went by I yelled "do y'all have some bacon and eggs for an old man?" One of them yelled back "all we've got is beer, do you want one?" Camping with plenty of beer, and no food could have been me several decades ago.

A million years ago when I was single I found that a guitar and my raspy singing voice worked better than Drakka Noir. Super nice Bass Katie.

@Glenn is correct certain powers have been using the "us vs them" thing to keep us turned against each other for a while now. Some people (from all sides of the debates) are just looking for a fight. I try hard not to take their bait. If someone gives me the finger I just laugh at them and wave. I rarely have a problem on the lake. I see road rage pretty much every day going to or coming home from work. I decided a while back that I'm not playing their came. But speaking of road rage. I think some people think that if they ride within a couple inches of my rear bumper the car in front of me will speed up. I would never brake check anyone, but it's fun to tap my brakes just enough to make my brake lights come on.

Electronics, and maps for places deep or shallow. Paying attention to the wind, and the winds direction is a BIG one I think some people miss. Unless I'm going to a strange lake I usually have several "milk route" stops planned before I even get to the lake. Certain times of the year if the wind has been blowing the same direction for a day or 2 I'll have channel swings the wind is pounding picked out. This time of year, (spawn, including shad, and Bluegill, not just Bass) I'll pick out flats and pockets sheltered from the wind. IMHO "Windy" is an excellent sight for wind information. You can zoom in and see if the wind is funneling over a channel, or just swirling. I understand that this thread wasn't about wind, but I suspect the hammers around here like Ajay, Pat Team9nine ect pay a BUNCH of attention to the wind. I think this is important on any lake or pond regardless of size. Current, current breaks, and eddy's "may" trump the wind on rivers. (?) Also, if you see something that looks like a point on land, confirm it with maps and or electronics if possible. Some of my most productive locations are points in places that don't look like a point belongs. A also see people fishing (but not usually "catching" ) in areas that "look" like points, but really aren't. As far as getting fishing spots from others, I don't fish for other peoples Bass. I do my own homework. To me a bunch of the fun is finding spots and figuring them out. If I had Ajays waypoints from Lake Menderchuck I wouldn't use them. I'd look at the topography and terrain around them but I prefer to find my own spots, and fish.

Nice Bass Fred, especially the double!!! I had a good trip today. I caught 9 Bass in 4 hours today. (that's a good day for me) 6 Largemouth and 3 Spots. All but one were "keepers" (14 inches). Pictured are the first, a chunky 15 1/2" Largemouth caught at 5:58 on my 3rd cast, the biggest Spot, a 16 incher that fought like a 16 inch Spot, and the 4.48 pound Largemouth I caught on my last cast at 9:45. Most including the biggest came on a spinnerbait, a couple on a wacky, and a couple Spots on cranks. I was surprised by the water temp. It was a couple degrees colder than last week (68.5) if I'm remembering correctly. I don't keep "records" but I've decided to start taking a picture of the water temp every trip in case my memory get's "off". Added: The Shad Spawn is just starting. Action should be good by next weekend.

The fuse for the front wires are inside the console in an inline fuse holder. There's a plate on the bottom of the console with 4 screws holding it on.

While I don't ever accept missing hook ups short strikes are common around spawning time. There's also other species shallow, perhaps protecting beds. It's my belief that many fish (including Bass) will simply try to knock whatever is getting nears it's bed out of the way. Last year, about this time I was getting a bunch to "taps" but no hookups on cranks. I put a smaller hook on the rear and ended up catching a fairly small White Perch.

The "magic" is a lithium marine battery is the BMS. While it's true all the cells are made in China a quality battery simply has a better BMS. That's the difference between a battery that last 3 or 4 years on one that last 10 or more. Lithium Hub (Ionic) is a local company for me. I picked my batteries up instead of having them shipped. That made a difference for me too.

It's no secret that I'm not much of a youtube watcher. There's no requirement for a video to contain factual information. I've seen youtube videos about things I'm pretty familiar with (auto repair, wood working/guitars, music) that are downright dangerous. It's kinda like sifting through fly droppings to try and find some pepper. The bottom like it, there's probably a BUNCH of good information out there, but there's some bad mixed in with it. Every lake, pond, river, stream ect is different. Every day is different also. I believe, at least in the waters I fish there's "fish" in 90% of the water, however, there's active Bass in 10%, or even less of it.